Abstract
Reed canary grass is used in several heat and power plants in Finland
and it is estimated that about 70–80 plants could utilise reed canary
grass as a co-firing fuel. Long-distance transport of reed canary grass
forms a significant share of the production and delivery costs. Reed
canary grass can be transported in bales or as loose matter. The density
of the matter and shape of the bales influence the load-size and the
cost. At present it is impossible to obtain the full load-bearing
capacity of a lorry even with bales, and with light bulk matter the
obtainable load is less than one-third of the load-bearing capacity of a
lorry. By using Orkel local-baler it has been possible to obtain the
largest load-sizes, but the total economy of the chain is not very good
because the baling and chopping of bales increase the total costs. If a
full load-bearing capacity of a lorry (30–40 tonne) would be obtained,
the transportation costs would be reduced significantly compared to the
present situation. Second alternative would be to mix reed canary grass
with wood chips or peat before long-distance transport. At the moment
feasible transportation distances are relatively short. With briquettes
the cargo space could be used more efficiently and the load-size of the
transport could be increased.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 209-212 |
Journal | Biomass and Bioenergy |
Volume | 33 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2009 |
MoE publication type | A1 Journal article-refereed |
Keywords
- Bioenergy
- Energy crops
- Reed canary grass
- Phalaris arundinacea
- Transportation costs
- Finland
- Load-size