Biomass transport for energy: Cost, energy and CO2 performance of forest wood and manure transport chains in Switzerland

Abstract

Biomass transport represents a significant share of the final price of biomass for energy, and transport itself requires fuel, whose combustion adds to greenhouse gas emissions. We conducted a techno-economic analysis of biomass transport for the main forest wood products in Switzerland (firewood and woodchips), as well as for solid and liquid manure. First, we identified the most common transport chains from the supplier to the final consumer in Switzerland, by conducting expert interviews that followed a mental models approach. Then, we quantified the cost, energy and environmental performance of 12 identified transport chains for these types of biomass, using performance ratios. The results show that transport of forest wood is more performant than transport of manure, except when underground pipes are used for liquid manure. In the case of Switzerland, the main barrier to biomass transport is cost rather than energy or emissions performance. Energy required to deliver biomass to final consumers represents between 0.4% and 1.8% of the primary energy contained in the forest wood, and less than 5% in the case of manure. Some forest wood chains attain the maximum break-even transport distances after 36 km only, whereas others could reach over 400 km. Using agricultural transport for slurry should not exceed 3 km from the viewpoint of cost, but could be extended to over 145 km in the case of energy or CO2 emissions.