Abstract
The biomass industry is growing due to the current search for greener and more sustainable alternatives to fossil energy sources. However, this industry, due to its singularity, presents several challenges and disadvantages related to the transportation of raw materials, with the large volumes that are usually involved. This project aimed to address this internal logistics situation in torrefied biomass pellets production with two different biomass storage parks, located in Portugal. The main park receives raw material coming directly from the source and stores it in large amounts as a backup and strategic storage park. The second park, with smaller dimensions, precedes the production unit and must be stocked daily. Therefore, a fleet of transport units with self-unloading cranes is required to help to unload the biomass at the main park and transport the raw material from this park to the one preceding the production unit. Thus, the main goal was to determine the dimensions of the fleet used in internal transportation operations to minimize the idle time of the transport units using a methodology already in use in the mining and quarrying industry. This methodology was analyzed and adapted to the situation presented here. The implementation of this study allows the elimination of unnecessary costs in an industry where the profit margins are low.
Highlights
Energy resources play a crucial role in the shifting dynamics of the global energy scenario [1].Energy is considered one of the primary agents of wealth generation and economic development [2].Currently, global warming and the reduction in oil reserves are challenges of extreme relevance that have encouraged the search for alternative energy sources [3]
It can be concluded that the efficiency of the transport units (TUs) considerably affects their performance
In a situation where there is a lack of maintenance of both the floor of the route and the TUs, the efficiency would be much less than in the situation explored and the results could be catastrophic
Summary
Energy resources play a crucial role in the shifting dynamics of the global energy scenario [1].Energy is considered one of the primary agents of wealth generation and economic development [2].Currently, global warming and the reduction in oil reserves are challenges of extreme relevance that have encouraged the search for alternative energy sources [3]. The use of renewable forms of energy is a pressing goal for all governments in order to comply with international treaties designed to impose targets for the reduction in greenhouse gases as a measure to mitigate climate change [4]. In this framework, there are energy systems supported by widely adopted renewable energy sources, such as hydropower, wind, and solar [5]. There are energy systems supported by widely adopted renewable energy sources, such as hydropower, wind, and solar [5] These energy sources are dependent on the Energies 2020, 13, 5512; doi:10.3390/en13205512 www.mdpi.com/journal/energies
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