Efficacy and profitability of a mobile grinder system for biomass production in Korea

Abstract

ABSTRACTForest biomass utilization is increasing in Korea, but on-site biomass operations have not been studied much. This study investigates the efficacy and profitability of a mobile grinder system that consists of a mobile tub-grinder, a grapple excavator, and a three-man crew. A time study was carried out to measure production time and to calculate the productivity of the system. The mobile grinder system ran 3 work cycles a day for total of 347.5 minutes. It was only productive for less than half of the 8 working hours a day (237.4 minutes, utilization rate of 49.4%). We estimated that the system produced 246.2 m3/day, which was 26% lower than the daily capacity reported by the grinder operators. This study found the system could make utilizing forest biomass profitable, although this depended on limited market information. The profitability of the system can be improved by increasing work cycles a day and decreasing organizational delays by better operation management. More research is needed to increase the on-site productivity of the system, and incorporate it and the actual price of wood chips to further assess the profitability of the system. The study results can be used as a justification for the grinder system, encouraging forest managers to adapt this relatively new operation.