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Cost analysis for high-volume and long-haul transportation of densified biomass feedstock

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  • Gonzales, Daniela
  • Searcy, Erin M.
  • Ekşioğlu, Sandra D.

Abstract

Using densified biomass to produce biofuels has the potential to reduce the cost of delivering biomass to biorefineries. Densified biomass has physical properties similar to grain, and therefore, the transportation system in support of delivering densified biomass to a biorenery is expected to emulate the current grain transportation system. By analyzing transportation costs for products like grain and woodchips, this paper identifies the main factors that impact the delivery cost of densified biomass and quantifies those factors’ impact on transportation costs. This paper provides a transportation-cost analysis which will aid the design and management of biofuel supply chains. This evaluation is very important because the expensive logistics and transportation costs are one of the major barriers slowing development in this industry.

Suggested Citation

  • Gonzales, Daniela & Searcy, Erin M. & Ekşioğlu, Sandra D., 2013. "Cost analysis for high-volume and long-haul transportation of densified biomass feedstock," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 48-61.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:transa:v:49:y:2013:i:c:p:48-61
    DOI: 10.1016/j.tra.2013.01.005
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. James M. MacDonald, 1987. "Competition and Rail Rates for the Shipment of Corn, Soybeans, and Wheat," RAND Journal of Economics, The RAND Corporation, vol. 18(1), pages 151-163, Spring.
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    Cited by:

    1. Marufuzzaman, Mohammad & Eksioglu, Sandra D. & Li, Xiaopeng & Wang, Jin, 2014. "Analyzing the impact of intermodal-related risk to the design and management of biofuel supply chain," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 122-145.
    2. Beagle, E. & Belmont, E., 2019. "Comparative life cycle assessment of biomass utilization for electricity generation in the European Union and the United States," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 128(C), pages 267-275.
    3. Awais, Fawad & Flodén, Jonas & Svanberg, Martin, 2021. "Logistic characteristics and requirements of Swedish wood biofuel heating plants," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 138(C).
    4. Chowdhury, Sudipta & Emelogu, Adindu & Marufuzzaman, Mohammad & Nurre, Sarah G. & Bian, Linkan, 2017. "Drones for disaster response and relief operations: A continuous approximation model," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 188(C), pages 167-184.
    5. Sangpil Ko & Kyoungjoon Choi & Seungmin Yu & Jun Lee, 2022. "A Stochastic Optimization Model for Sustainable Multimodal Transportation for Bioenergy Production," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-21, February.
    6. Aalto, Mika & KC, Raghu & Korpinen, Olli-Jussi & Karttunen, Kalle & Ranta, Tapio, 2019. "Modeling of biomass supply system by combining computational methods – A review article," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 243(C), pages 145-154.
    7. Ng, Rex T.L. & Maravelias, Christos T., 2017. "Economic and energetic analysis of biofuel supply chains," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 1571-1582.
    8. Poudel, Sushil Raj & Marufuzzaman, Mohammad & Bian, Linkan, 2016. "A hybrid decomposition algorithm for designing a multi-modal transportation network under biomass supply uncertainty," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 94(C), pages 1-25.
    9. Hossain, Tasmin & Jones, Daniela S. & Godfrey, Edward & Saloni, Daniel & Sharara, Mahmoud & Hartley, Damon S., 2024. "Characterizing value-added pellets obtained from blends of miscanthus, corn stover, and switchgrass," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    10. Mohammad S. Roni & Sandra D. Eksioglu & Kara G. Cafferty & Jacob J. Jacobson, 2017. "A multi-objective, hub-and-spoke model to design and manage biofuel supply chains," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 249(1), pages 351-380, February.
    11. How, Bing Shen & Ngan, Sue Lin & Hong, Boon Hooi & Lam, Hon Loong & Ng, Wendy Pei Qin & Yusup, Suzana & Ghani, Wan Azlina Wan Abd Karim & Kansha, Yasuki & Chan, Yi Herng & Cheah, Kin Wai & Shahbaz, Mu, 2019. "An outlook of Malaysian biomass industry commercialisation: Perspectives and challenges," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 1-1.
    12. Sushil R. Poudel & Md Abdul Quddus & Mohammad Marufuzzaman & Linkan Bian & Reuben F. Burch V, 2019. "Managing congestion in a multi-modal transportation network under biomass supply uncertainty," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 273(1), pages 739-781, February.
    13. Aghalari, Amin & Nur, Farjana & Marufuzzaman, Mohammad, 2020. "A Bender’s based nested decomposition algorithm to solve a stochastic inland waterway port management problem considering perishable product," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    14. Marufuzzaman, Mohammad & Ekşioğlu, Sandra Duni, 2017. "Managing congestion in supply chains via dynamic freight routing: An application in the biomass supply chain," Transportation Research Part E: Logistics and Transportation Review, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 54-76.
    15. Mohammad Marufuzzaman & Sandra Duni Ekşioğlu, 2017. "Designing a Reliable and Dynamic Multimodal Transportation Network for Biofuel Supply Chains," Transportation Science, INFORMS, vol. 51(2), pages 494-517, May.
    16. Lotte Visser & Ric Hoefnagels & Martin Junginger, 2020. "The Potential Contribution of Imported Biomass to Renewable Energy Targets in the EU–the Trade-off between Ambitious Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction Targets and Cost Thresholds," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-30, April.
    17. Hossain, Tasmin & Jones, Daniela S. & Hartley, Damon S. & Thompson, David N. & Langholtz, Matthew & Davis, Maggie, 2022. "Nth-plant scenario for forest resources and short rotation woody crops: Biorefineries and depots in the contiguous US," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 325(C).
    18. Sushil Poudel & Mohammad Marufuzzaman & Md Abdul Quddus & Sudipta Chowdhury & Linkan Bian & Brian Smith, 2018. "Designing a Reliable and Congested Multi-Modal Facility Location Problem for Biofuel Supply Chain Network," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(7), pages 1-24, June.
    19. Yun Bai & Xiaopeng Li & Fan Peng & Xin Wang & Yanfeng Ouyang, 2015. "Effects of Disruption Risks on Biorefinery Location Design," Energies, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-19, February.
    20. R. N. Ossei-Bremang & F. Kemausuor, 2021. "A decision support system for the selection of sustainable biomass resources for bioenergy production," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 41(3), pages 437-454, September.
    21. An, Heungjo, 2019. "Optimal daily scheduling of mobile machines to transport cellulosic biomass from satellite storage locations to a bioenergy plant," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C), pages 231-243.
    22. Salimi, F. & Vahdani, Behnam, 2018. "Designing a bio-fuel network considering links reliability and risk-pooling effect in bio-refineries," Reliability Engineering and System Safety, Elsevier, vol. 174(C), pages 96-107.
    23. Visser, L. & Hoefnagels, R. & Junginger, M., 2020. "Wood pellet supply chain costs – A review and cost optimization analysis," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 118(C).
    24. Ng, Rex T.L. & Kurniawan, Daniel & Wang, Hua & Mariska, Brian & Wu, Wenzhao & Maravelias, Christos T., 2018. "Integrated framework for designing spatially explicit biofuel supply chains," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 216(C), pages 116-131.
    25. Forsberg, C.W. & Dale, B.E. & Jones, D.S. & Hossain, T. & Morais, A.R.C. & Wendt, L.M., 2021. "Replacing liquid fossil fuels and hydrocarbon chemical feedstocks with liquid biofuels from large-scale nuclear biorefineries," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 298(C).

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