GUIDELINES FOR THE OPTIMIZATION OF BIOMASS SUPPLY CHAIN

Transcription

1 Project cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund Work package 6: PROMOTE INTELLIGENT ENERGY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS AT LOCAL AND REGIONAL LEVEL (Smart Grids) GUIDELINES FOR THE OPTIMIZATION OF BIOMASS SUPPLY CHAIN Partner name: Region of Western Macedonia (RWM) Country: GREECE Contacts: Dimitrios Kouras (RWM) Nikolaos Margaritis, Panagiotis Grammelis (CERTH) Phone: & FEBRUARY 2014 [1]

2 Project cofinanced by the European Regional Development Fund [2]

3 Contents Introductory Note Introduction Supply chains of forest biomass Forest Management Soil characteristics Common working systems Market & local conditions Optimization of a forest supply chain District heating plants Power Plants Co-generation plants Examples of good practices Working Group 1 District Heating Systems Optimization of the biomass supply chain in Murcia. Reducing the price for the local communities from 50 to 27 /tonne Development of a local biomass cluster in municipal level, in order to optimize the logistics and secure the continuous, unstopped supply in given prices Make use of ORC for CHP application - Common problems, themes to be tackled with other partners of the same working package Development of a model for examining the feasibility of a CHP plant, taking into account the feed in tariff, the fuel market, thermal energy needs and costs Analyze the opportunity to make use of agricultural SRC for the biomass fuel needs Working Group 2 Small heating Systems Applications Technical details and choosing the right biomass boiler in order to substitute the former one Feasibility of a biomass trade centre Price regulation and energy contracting model (feed in tariff etc) Working Group 3 Cost relation maps with the use of GIS Production chains of forest biomass from forest to final user

4 Logistic models Comments Comments of the receivers regarding the first working group Comments of the receivers regarding the second working group Comments of the receivers regarding the third working group Literature...83 ANΝΕΧ

5 Introductory Note The promotion of intelligent energy management systems at local and regional level through the implementation of Smart Grids concept was the main output of this Work Package. The idea of Smart Grids is stated as a modernized electrical grid that uses analogue or digital information and communications technology to gather and act on information, such as information about the behaviors of suppliers and consumers, in an automated fashion to improve the efficiency, reliability, economics, and sustainability of the production and distribution of electricity The primary scope of the following work follows the Smart grid concept trying to transfer the concept of energy efficiency, reliability and sustainability into the biomass sector and the technologies and projects are pursuit in the following chapters. The idea is simple: to identify common problems were the smart grid concept could apply in order to cope with one of the main goals of this WP meaning the efficiency, the sustainability and the reliability of the proposed system. This challenging approach was applied to the Proforbiomed project consortium and the partners participating to this Working Package. For better address the needs of the consortium, the consortium was split into different Working Groups based on thematic approach. The 1 st working group deals with District Heating Systems and technological solutions derived from project partner that could possibly been adapted by other project partners and furthermore to the Mediterranean sea basin where similar projects are set or are in planning process. The 2 nd Working Group focus on Small Heating System Applications in the different territorial entities covered by Proforbiomed project and has the efficiency and sustainability as a key factor that can been transferred successfully to similar cases in Med-project area. The 3 rd Working Group works with the cost relation maps with the use of GIS. Partners from Slovenia, Spain and Greece examined the effectiveness of the biomass supply chains in order to examine the CO2 burden in the different territories. 5

6 In all cases, more than 10 cases were finally examined, a deep exchange of the applications was examined and further questions were answered. The idea of implementation is not apparent in some of the cases and this is due to the size of the proposed project e.g. the development of a CHP plant, or the application of a heat system to a building or a public facility whereas in other cases e.g. the testing of the different supply chains in terms of CO2 emissions was possible. In any case, an important information and exchange of experience took place which can be used successfully for the implementation of similar project in the different project partner territories in the future which was the primary goal of this Working Package. 1. Introduction Forest biomass is a renewable and sustainable source of energy 1 that can be used for the production of electricity, heat, and biofuels. Fuel biomass can originate from a number of sources, the main ones being: forest land, agriculture land, municipal wastes, wood and food industry. Each sector will have one or more possible supply chains, with a variable degree of complexity. In most cases, a short supply chain both in terms of physical distance resource - plant and in terms of operations involved will be more reliable and economical for all the actors involved. Regardless its complexity, a woody biomass supply chain (figure 1) will generally include the following operations: harvest, extraction, transformation, comminution, transport, and storage and energy conversion. It should be noted that according to the specific supply chain considered, the order of such operations may change and not necessarily all of them will be present. Harvest or recovery is the operation of collecting the biomass. It can be a mere operation of collecting material produced as a residue of a main activity (e.g. timber production) or as the main product of the operations (e.g. thinning operations, energy crops). Harvest as a specific operation may be missing, for instance if the residues can be piled up by a processor while delimbing whole trees at a landing, if the 1 N. Shabani, Value chain optimization of forest biomass for bioenergy production 6

7 biomass is made available in an industrial process (e.g. sawmill, food processing industry, etc.) or municipal waste collection station. Extraction is necessary when the biomass is harvested in forest stands or agricultural fields, where accessibility is poor and the resource is spread all over the area. With this operation the raw material is accumulated at roadside or other easily accessible facilities (landing, pads, etc.). Also this operation may be missing in the supply chain (see example above). Transformation is generally required for facilitating the handling, transportation, storability or quality of the biomass. It generally involves compaction of the residues (i.e. by baling, compressing, comminuting, processing, etc.) and in some cases the removal of undesired parts (for instance when delimbing trees to be used for the production of high quality biomass). Comminution is just one form of transformation, and it is the only operation that will be performed for sure at a certain point of the supply chain. In fact, as stated in paragraph, regardless the energy conversion process, it will require to be fed with fragmented biomass. Transport to the plant or the storage area may be performed with a variety of means (tractor and trailer, truck, train, boat, etc.). It may represent a major cost in the supply chain (over 50%) and thus should be carefully planned. Transformation is essential in most cases for keeping the transportation system cost efficient. When the distance is short, extraction and transport may be a unique operation and can be accomplished with relatively inefficient systems. Storage is generally required for securing the procurement of fuel to the energy conversion plants, for improving the biomass quality (e.g. allowing natural drying and needles loss) and for optimizing the logistic system. Storage is unavoidable when the biomass resource is made available in season different than the period of consumption, as it happens on the Alps, where trees are harvested in summertime and district heating operate obviously in wintertime. Many aspects must be considered when analyzing the possible supply chains of fuel biomass for a certain area. It must be kept in mind that in a certain territory a variety of resources will coexist, but each of them should be considered separately for better understanding their potential and specific characteristics. 7

8 Figure1: Integration of harvesting operations; source: Forest Energy Portal 2. Supply chains of forest biomass A supply chain starts with the supply of raw materials for the products, passes through one or several steps for manufacturing, storing and distribution, and ends at the customer for the final products (Gunnarsson, 2007). The main parts of a forest supply chain are presented in figure 2. Many factors are involved in the definition of the possible supply chains from forests. When considering a specific territory, the attention can be drove over some specific factors, which define the actual supply chains established or potentially applicable, namely they are: type of forest management soil characteristics common work systems market & local conditions 8

9 Figure 2: Parts of the forest supply chain; source: Linkoping University 2.1. Forest Management Many types of forest management may coexist in the same area. Generally speaking, biomass procurement will be drastically different according to the harvest intensity. Many silvicultural models could be adopted; the two extremes are hereby described: Clearcut this term means that it is possible to harvest all the trees present in an area of variable size (figure 3). According to local regulations, this area may vary from a few thousand square metres to tens of hectares. Clearcut is generally applied to mature stands (end of production cycle) and is common in industrial silviculture, such as conifer stands in Nordic Countries or broadleaved coppice forests in Mediterranean Countries. As a rule of thumb, harvesting with clearcuts reduces overall costs and the cost of residual biomass, which will be available in large amounts. The biomass availability is further increased in some countries, such as Finland, where stumps are also removed from the stand for facilitating the subsequent forest regeneration operations. 9

10 Figure 3: Clear cut forest in Alberta, Canada Selective cut this term means that a single tree, or groups of trees are felled and extracted from the forest. This type of management is common in naturalistic silviculture for final cuts of mature trees (e.g. in many Alpine Countries). Because of the remaining standing trees, working in this condition is more expensive (less productive) and frequently the extraction of residual biomass can be limited for environmental or technical reasons. A part of the removal of mature trees, silviculture works generally include many harvest operations, most of those being thinnings. The specific technique reduces the density of young trees in order to enhance the growth of the remaining trees and the quality (market value) of the final timber assortments. Thinnings have an approach similar to selective cuts (also in forests that will be clearcut-harvested at maturity), meaning that parts of the standing trees are removed from the area, and parts are left to produce the future valuable trees. Thinnings are expensive operations because of the difficult work conditions (the remaining trees must not be damaged) and the low market value of the extracted trees (generally small diameters). Fuel biomass is often the main or the sole merchantable product obtained from thinning operations. 10

11 Type of forest Main assortments operations Clearcut (final cut) timber or whole trees slash stumps Selective cut (final cut) timber slash (rarely) Selective cut (thinning) small diameter timber energy wood Biomass details potentially large amounts poor quality low amounts poor quality low to large amount according to the energy wood good quality Table 1: Biomass resources related to type of forest operations 2.2. Soil characteristics Soil conditions do have a strong influence on the cost of harvesting operations and the final cost or availability of residues for biomass fuel. Generally speaking, flat terrain are more accessible and mechanization can be fully deployed leading to lower costs and higher output of low value products, such as biomass. In steep terrain (figure 4) working conditions are clearly more difficult, full mechanization is not always applicable (part or the whole of operations must be done manually) and in some cases only the valuable assortments are extracted from the forest, leaving the residual biomass on the stand. 11

12 Figure 4: Harvesting system in steep terrain; source: Forest Energy Portal 2.3. Common working systems Many working systems could be distinguished according to the local custom, the type and degree of mechanization, the market requirements and the working conditions (season, soil, forest type and age, etc.). Trying to condense the whole matter in a short synthesis, the main difference can be pinpointed in the size of the material extracted from the forest stand: Cut-to-length system (figure 5) means that the trees are felled and processed (delimbed and cross-cut) into the forest. The material extracted is already at the final length, generally as 2-4 meters logs. This system is very common in Nordic Countries and generally performed with harvesters and forwarders (but a variety of equipment could be used, to the extreme that the whole work is done manually with chainsaw). Residues are separated from the timber at an early stage and normally just after felling, thus biomass will be spread all over the forest or roughly accumulated in small piles. The collection and extraction of residues is separated from timber extraction thus it represents a separate cost can be done with different equipment and can be postponed in time (e.g. for organizational reasons or for allowing natural drying). 12

13 Figure 5: Cut to length harvesting; source: Forest Energy Portal Tree length system (figure 6) means that after felling the whole trees or the entire stem are extracted from the forest. Processing is accomplished in a second phase, generally at a landing or at roadside. With this working method residues and valuable assortments are extracted in a unique operation, thus with no additional cost for biomass. Processing will generate both timber (sawn timber, pulpwood, poles, etc.) and residues (tops, branches, parts of defected stems) accumulated in large piles easily accessible. This system is common on the Alps (associated with cable yarder extraction) but can be found in other areas of Europe (France, Germany) when extraction is done with skidders in areas with moderate slope. Because of the lower maneuverability of whole-tree loads, this system is easier to apply on clearcuts (where it has a higher productivity than the cut-to-length system), while in selective harvesting or thinning operations the dragged trees could damage the remaining trees. The adoption of one of those alternative work systems depends, among other factors, on the availability of machinery, the market requirements and the local regulation in terms of forest works. Generally speaking, if the goal is to maximize the residual 13

14 biomass output, the whole tree system should be preferred, because it reduces the overall costs. Nevertheless, the risk of nutrient depletion caused by an excessive extraction of biomass should be carefully considered. Each forest stand will have a specific aptitude to provide assortments, including biomass, without reducing the soil fertility: in some cases the extraction of biomass should be avoided allowing the nutrient rich slash to decompose on the site. Figure 6: Tree length harvesting; source: Forest Energy Portal 2.4. Market & local conditions Many factors can affect forest biomass supply. Among others, they mainly include production costs, biomass market development, prices of other fuel sources and social acceptance. Technologies for forest production, biomass harvesting and transportation, and energy conversion will dictate the production costs of forest biomass and bioenergy. Research and development will be the key to bringing the cost down. The costs will also depend 14

15 on the scale of operation, biomass spatial density, soil conditions, tree size, and transport distance, among other things. The most cost-effective production of biomass for energy occurs when it is produced simultaneously with other high value products (sawlogs, pulping chips) or in coordination with stand improvement and restoration/rehabilitation. To encourage landowners to produce biomass for energy, local markets must have buyers of forest biomass. Potential buyers include independent developers, utility companies, biorefineries, larger-scale users of biomass for space heating and chilling, and the producers of future bio-based products. The prices of other types of energy such as fossil fuels will have an influence on the demand and supply of forest biomass. Increases in the prices of oil, natural gas, or coal will favor bioenergy. Forest bioenergy will also face competition with other renewable energy sources such as agricultural crops and crop residues, solar, wind, and hydro energy, among others. Social acceptance could become an important factor for forest biomass/bioenergy production. Many questions raised by the public are related to possibly harmful environmental consequences of forest biomass production. 15

16 3. Optimization of a forest supply chain The complex supply chain of forest biomass for energy purposes, makes the energy generation cost from biomass higher than that of the conventional sources of energy, such as fossil fuels. Moreover, variability and uncertainty in this supply chain, mainly due to the nature of material, economic condition and market fluctuation, affect the amount of produced energy and its cost. The optimum design of a forest supply system can be achieved by using appropriate optimization models. Optimization models are used to provide the best solutions for a decision support system related to network design, technology choice, plant size and location, storage location logistics, supply areas and material flows 2. The decision support system (DSS) can be used to evaluate action strategies that minimize the utilization cost of forest biomass and take into account environmental impacts and technological options. Moreover, a DSS should help local authorities or companies in defining effective and sustainable strategies for biomass utilization for energy purposes. 3 In particular a DSS is based in three modules: the GIS-based interface, the database and the optimization model. Figure 7 shows the system architecture. Figure 7: Optimization model based in GIS, source: Renewable Energy Laboratory, Savona (Italy) 2 N. Shabani, Value chain optimization of forest biomass for bioenergy production 3 F. Frombo, Planning woody biomass logistics for energy production 16

17 Some optimization techniques that can be used in supply chain design in district heating systems, electricity plants, and CHP plants are presented below 3.1 District heating plants District heating systems can use a wide variety of fuels including fossil fuels and renewables and offer better pollution control than decentralized systems 4. Some studies have showed that forest biomass in district heating plants is more expensive than other sources. However, it is notable to consider that forest biomass utilization for power and thermal energy has environmental, social and economic benefits in some cases 5. The cost of energy generation in a district heating plant is related to the delivery cost of biomass, location of plants, the technology and the operating scale of energy generation plants. Usually, an optimization model can be used to make decisions about different variables (e.g. size, location of the plant, material flow etc) at the same time. Table 2 below shows some examples of optimization models used for district heating supply chains. Author Region Objective function Decision variables Eriksson, Sweden Minimizing supply cost of forest biomass Kanzian, Austria Minimizing biomass supply cost to the heating plants (chipping, storing, transportation) Flow of biomass direct or via storage chipping location Volume of wood chips transported from each terminal to each plant Location of terminals and plants 4 C. Gochenour. District Energy trends, issues and opportunities 5 RE. Lofstent, The use of biomass energy in a regional context 6 LO Eriksson, Optimal storing, transport and processing for a forest fuel supplier 7 C. Kanzian, Regional energy wood logistics- optimizing local fuel supply 17

18 Frombo, Italy Maximizing net annual profit Annual quantity of biomass harvested from each supply area Plant capacity for different technologies conversion Keirstead, UK Minimizing system cost (biomass purchase, storage, transportation and conversion costs) Han & Murphy, US Minimize the weighted sum of transportation cost Minimize the working time Optimal capacity of boilers Whether chipped forest biomass should be imported from neighbor area or non-chipped residues should be imported and then chipped within the area Truck schedules Table 2: Studies on optimization of forest biomass district heating plant supply chain 3.2 Power Plants Forest biomass can be used in power plants for generating electricity. It can be burnt at a constant rate in a boiler furnace to heat water and produce steam. Then, the steam is carried through the furnace using pipes to raise its temperature and pressure further. Finally, the steam passes through the multiple blades of a turbine, spinning the shaft and the shaft runs an electricity generator which produces an alternating current to use locally or to supply the national grid. To optimize the supply chain of energy plants, it is sometimes necessary to formulate a problem with more than one objective, since single objective models cannot always represent the problem accurately. The objectives are often in conflict (minimizing and maximizing objectives) and it might be possible to achieve an optimal solution that 8 F. Frombo, Planning woody biomass logistics for energy production 9 J. Keistead, Evaluating biomass energy strategies for a UK eco-town with a MILP optimization model 10 S. Han, GE Murphy. Solving a woody biomass scheduling problem for a transport company in Western Oregon 18

19 optimizes all the objectives simultaneously. In this situation, the trade-off between objectives can be shown and the most efficient solution is selected. The following table summarizes some studies on optimization of forest biomass power plant supply chains. Author Region Objective function Decision variables Reche, Spain Maximizing profitability index Alam, Canada Minimizing total biomass procurement cost Minimizing total distance for procurement of biomass Maximizing the quality of biomass Vera, Spain Maximizing net present value Location and supply area of the biomass power plant Quantity of biomass procured from each supply location to each plant Biomass procurement zone selection Plant size and location Supply area Table 3: Studies on optimization of forest biomass power plant supply chains 3.3 Co-generation plants Combined heat and power (CHP) systems use co-generation technology to produce both heat and power in a district heating system. Some studies indicated that utilizing biomass for energy generation is more cost efficient than for biofuel production. Azar et al 14 proved that utilizing biomass in the heat sector was the most economical scenario. Wahlund et al showed that using wood biomass for pelletization would have a lower cost and higher CO2 reduction than using it for biofuel production. A summary of studies on optimization of forest biomass co-generation plant supply chains is provided in table P. Reche. Particle swarm optimization for biomass-fuelled systems with technical constraints 12 B. Alam. Supply Model for Bioenergy Production in Northwestern Ontario 13 D. Vera. Honey Bee Foraging Approach for optical location of a biomass power plant 14 C. Azar. Global Energy scenarios meeting stringent CO2 constraints- cost effective fuel choices in the trasportantion sector 19

20 Author Region Objective function Decision variables Alfonso, Spain Minimize transport duration, optimize the location Difs, Sweden Maximizing annual profit Rauch, Austria Minimizing total procurement cost Biomass resources, logistics structure, bioenergy plants size & location, technology type Capacity of new investment Selection of alternative investment for future The annual volume of fuel transported districts, terminals, regional departure railway and the CHP plant Table 4: Studies on optimization of forest biomass co-generation plant supply chains 4. Examples of good practices Good practices provided by partners are hereby presented. Partners carried out their experiences in three working groups Working Group 1 District Heating Systems As explained analytically in the minutes of the meeting in Palermo, the following actions will take place in this working group. INFO will disseminate information about how it managed to reduce the cost of biomass to the end user and the development of a local cluster in a municipal level for optimization of logistics. LEA will transfer its knowledge regarding the application of ORC technology CHP plant and problems aroused. LEA also developed a model for checking the feasibility of a CHP plant according to the fuel market, feed in tariff etc. Finally, ENGUERA will try to promote the use of SRC and agricultural residues in the other regions by taking input from the partners and helping them in relevant matters. 15 D. Alfonso. Methology for optimization of distributed biomass resources evaluation, management and final energy use 16 K. Difs. Biomass gasification opportunities in a district heating system 17 P. Rauch. The effects of rising energy costs and trasportation mode mix on forest fuel procurement cost 20

21 The first working group involves the following partners (table) Partner Responsible person Country INFO Jose Pablo SPAIN LEA Janez Petek SLOVENIA ENGUERA Jose Vicente Oliver SPAIN Table 5. Partners involved Optimization of the biomass supply chain in Murcia. Reducing the price for the local communities from 50 to 27 /tonne. This good practice studies the possibility to analyze in depth the yield and costs obtained in the study carried out in the month of March A different scenario has been set for the experience, in order to see how these changes affect the price for obtaining biomass. The modification of some factors such as labour employed represent a reduction in price going from 26,4 /tonne to 19,0 /tonne. On the other hand, on December 2011 an experience has been carried out, using a Serrat type chipper, Model Biomass 100 coupled to a 130-CV tractor. In this case the cost for obtaining biomass was 17,73 /tonne. It is generally appreciated that the experience in implementing this type of work leads to a reduction of the production price. It has also been noted that the use of technically adequate machinery greatly reduces costs. At this point, it is considered that the price of production of biomass can reduce the price by modifying the working system in some cases. The experience developed is described, a tractor and a driving labourer were employed, aided by a chainsaw labourer to cut branches exceeding 7-8 cm in diameter and two labourers who were in charge of collecting the branches that the machine did not chip. Then, the possibility of foregoing some of the staff employed for this work is analyzed, in order to reduce the economic cost of the production of biomass in field. Planting characteristics studied are described in the following table: 21

22 Planting Framework Distance rows Distance between Area per tree (m 2 ) Density (feet/ ha) Unit weight pruning (kg) Total biomass (tonnes/ha) Table 6. Planting Characteristics In terms of machinery, a CASSE 135-CV tractor was used, which was coupled to a BERTI PICKER C 180 BERTI chipper. The experience developed in the field has occupied a total area of 14.1 hectares, covered by 4-year peach trees which have been pruned to be grafted. Therefore, the amount of biomass produced per unit area can be considered to be superior to the corresponding to an ordinary pruning of trees. The following table presents the summary of the resources used in the experience, the hourly cost and total hours devoted to the experience: Resource Hourly cost ( ) Total hours 135 CV tractor Chainsaw laborer Normal laborer Table 7: Resources, hourly cost and total hours The breakdown of the number of hours of tractor and labourers to be dedicated in each area is set out in the following table: Partial measure Partial Zone 1 Partial Zone 2 Partial Zone 3 Tractor Date Tractor Chainsaw Normal Tractor with Normal with Chainsaw laborer Normal laborer with chipper laborer chipper laborer (total laborer (total chipper (total (hours/ (hours/ (No.) working (No.) working (No.) working wages) wages) hours) hours) hours) 27/01/ /01/ /01/ /02/ /02/ /02/ /02/

23 TOTAL Table 8: Operation hours of tractors and laborers Briefly, the following table summarizes the economic results obtained for each zone: Data registering Partial Zone 1 Partial Zone 2 Partial Zone 3 TOTAL Partial area (ha) Table 9: Economic results by zone Tractor cost ( ) Chainsaw labourer cost ( ) Normal labourer cost ( ) Total costs ( ) Chipped biomass (tonnes) Unit cost ( / tonne) , The average cost for obtaining biomass in field was Euros for this experience. The cost of transporting biomass to the plant is not included in this price. During the development of the experience, different aspects were detected influencing the final cost for obtaining biomass in field. Some of these aspects are: A. During the development of the experience a worker equipped with a chainsaw cut first the branches exceeding the optimal diameter for the chipper. B. In addition, two other labourers with pitchforks picked those branches rejected by the chipper. C. The yield for obtaining biomass can be improved in future works by increasing the size of the biomass storage container, using technological leading machines presenting less technical problems, hiring more experienced workers in this type of work, etc. Regarding these issues the following considerations can be made: A. It is not necessary to use a full-time chainsaw labourer. Using auxiliary machinery to facilitate the collection of the branches in the sides longer branches can be leaded then into the chipper. Furthermore, if the chipper used takes larger branches, the need to have a chainsaw labourer also diminishes. Nevertheless, it was considered that this chainsaw labourer should be relocated as a supporting driver, instead of being removed. Some of the tasks of this labourer should be supporting driver, supporting machinery maintenance, etc. B. In relation to the two labourers with pitchforks, they have been considered unnecessary for the development of the biomass chipping works. The use of an 23

24 appropriate equipment (branch-picker) facilitates the entry of biomass into the chipper without any auxiliary support. C. Although the density of biomass per hectare was high (7,65 tn/ha), the yield was 2,84 tn/h, which is 22,72 tn/day. It is considered that this yield can be improved by influencing various factors: a) The size of the chipper container to store the product was 3.5 m 3. Increasing the storage volume would result into a reduction of the biomass discharge time spent and hence time would be more efficiently used for grinding. b) During the development of the works some mechanical problems occurred, which should not be common in higher technical quality machines receiving the proper maintenance. c) During the development of the experience yields increased as days passed by. The more experienced are the drivers, the higher are the yields. This case below is based on the experience carried out on peach tree plantations (described above), but under the following changes in terms of resources: The chainsaw labourer is used as a supporting tractor driver. The two labourers with pitchforks are not used. Due to the increase in fuel prices during 2011, the hourly price for the chipper increases from 38 to 40. The tractor yield does not change in this case, but at the end of this document the possible variations will be mentioned, taking into account the aspects above described. So the new data of the practice are: Partial measure Partial Zone 1 Tractor Date Tractor Chainsaw Normal Tractor with Normal with Supporting laborer Normal laborer with chipper laborer chipper laborer (total laborer (total chipper (total (hours/ (hours/ (No.) working (No.) working (No.) working wages) wages) hours) hours) hours) 27/01/ /01/

25 31/01/ /01/ Partial Zone 2 02/02/ Partial Zone 3 03/02/ /02/ TOTAL Table 10: Operation hours of tractors and laborers Data registering Partial Zone 1 Partial Zone 2 Partial Zone 3 TOTAL Partial area (ha) Table 11: Economic results by zone Tractor cost ( ) Chainsaw labourer cost ( ) Normal labourer cost ( ) Total costs ( ) Chipped biomass (tonnes) Unit cost ( / tonne) , , When the two labourers dedicated to collect the branches are not used, the cost for obtaining biomass in field is reduced to / tonne. Another experience was carried out using a Serrat machinery, model Biomass 100. This chipper has been coupled on the back of a 130-CV VALTRA tractor. On the front of the tractor a 10 m 3 - volume trailer has been coupled. The work has been developed into an area of 1.14 hectares of almond trees. During the development of this experience the total amount of biomass obtained was 1.16 tons (estimated at 35% moisture). The useful working time for the development of this experience was 0.51 hours. The hourly cost of a 130-CV tractor, with an average consumption of 13 litres/hour, was 40 /hour. Therefore, the cost of biomass production was /tn. As a conclusion, we can say that, in general, in the Region of Murcia, companies in the field of biomass production from plant remains are in an experimental phase, where yields could be easily improved. To reduce the cost for obtaining biomass it is necessary to use the proper equipment for the type of work to be developed, to hire more experienced tractor drivers as well as the rest of the labourers involved in the works, and try different ways to coordinate the works. 25

26 Experimentation with different models of work organization can reduce the cost of biomass production in field, up to prices of /tonne. Currently, we are working to check that biomass can be produced at this price, by optimizing the organization of work and by using the suitable machinery Development of a local biomass cluster in municipal level, in order to optimize the logistics and secure the continuous, unstopped supply in given prices. In a first phase, this cluster is focused on renewable energies, in particular biomass and solar, and on energy efficiency. At this moment, this cluster is in a dynamization phase. A workgroup has been created. The Proforbiomed project coordinator in INFO takes part in this workgroup. The first work developed by Synergia was the state of the art of the regional industry involved in the cluster (both main and auxiliary), the factors involved in, the keys for the demand and its institutional environment. Figure 8: State of the art In case of biomass, this industry generates its value by replacing a conventional fuel by biomass. This technology, for thermal purpose, is not attached to feed-in-tariff 26

27 grants. The use of biomass is much more worthwhile when a high energy demand occurs, as well as when there is a possibility to use local biomass. The use of biomass requires high level of workforce in rural areas. This could offer clear social benefits for the impulse of certain economically depressed areas. Although many years ago (between 2001 and 2012), the regional priority for the use of biomass (more than tn/year) was the installation of big Power Plants (between 10 and 20 MW each), after the end of the feed-in-tariff grants, the market trends towards the use of biomass for thermal purposes. These are much smaller installations which require the established biomass market. In this sense, we have to mention the Association ARGEB which brings the most part of biomass managers together, organizing, in this way, a local biomass market, improving the quality of their products. Anyway, the biomass sector in the Region of Murcia is very new and, just during the last two years, some boilers using biomass have been installed. The companies are very small-sized and derive from the solar thermal sector or the conventional boilers sector. Additionally we can observe a lack of knowledge in the human resources of these companies. A higher technical skill is desired related to biomass boiler use. Regarding first line companies, we have to mention Cero Grados Sur (several biomass installations) or Dalkia (international company). The auxiliary companies are also very small-sized, except La Generala which is a big company. All these companies might participate in this cluster, at least by mean of the Association ARGEB. The biomass producers have also lack of knowledge and they require an improvement on their processes to produce, collect and treat the biomass. Proforbiomed is helping these companies for this purpose. It is absolutely required that the biomass produced fits to quality standards in order to guarantee a proper operation of the biomass boilers. In this moment, biomass fuels (both pellets and chips) are very competitive compared to fossil fuels. One target of the cluster is to coordinate biomass producers with boilers manufacturers and end users. It would be good to establish a feed-back process to continuously contribute to the improvement of the quality standards. Another issue is to solve the problem caused by the ashes produced by the biomass fuel. 27

28 In this sense, due to a biomass boiler substitute completely the conventional one, a very high reliability of this equipment is required. The main objectives of the Cluster Synergia are: To put the Region of Murcia on a leader position at a global scale in the use of biomass. To reinforce the appropriate industry to integrate the whole valor chain Make use of ORC for CHP application - Common problems, themes to be tackled with other partners of the same working package LEA prepared models for the following CHP and district heating systems: ORC system with the district heating systems for public buildings and/or industry; Fluid bed gasification plant of the biomass with district heating system for the public buildings, households and/or industry. ORC Technology In case of the decision for technology for DHS system operation, technology options should be analysed and the Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) technology could be also depicted. Heat energy is produced in thermal oil boiler being heated with biomass (wood chips) and then exploited to drive the ORC turbine, which produces electrical energy (see Figure below). The three-pass boiler on biomass is installed. Total heat output of the boiler is 5.14 MW. ORC power plant for converting thermal energy into electrical energy uses silicone oil as a working medium. Circular conversion in the ORC process is performed in the five sequential steps. At first, the silicone oil is heated to the boiling point and then evaporated in the evaporator. Afterwards, silicone hot steam is passed through a turbine that drives an electrical generator. The outlet of steam from the turbine is collected in a regenerator, in which liquid silicone oil is preheated. The silicon vapour is then condensed in the water condenser. This heat is used for heating the external users. The liquid silicone oil is pumped to the pre-heater tank to the thermal oil boiler and circular process has been completed. Data from the ORC system operation is presented in the Table

29 Figure 9: ORC technology 1/2 Figure 10: ORC technology 2/2 Heat source Thermal oil in the closed circuit 29

30 Rated temperature of thermal oil on the hot 310/250 C side (inlet/outlet) Thermal power of thermal oil on the hot side 4,690 kw Rated temperature of thermal oil on the cold 250/130 C side (inlet/outlet) Thermal power of thermal oil on the cold 450 kw side Hot water temperature (inlet/outlet) 60/80 C Thermal power for heat consumers 4,100 kw Electrical power at the threshold of electrogenerator 1,001 kw Own consumption of electricity 51 kw Output current (in el. network) 950 kw Dimensions of cogeneration system 15 x 4,5 x 3,3 m Electro-generator Asynchronous, 3 phases, low voltage, 400 V Table 12: basic information of ORC technology Economic assessment comprises the economic evaluation of the investment and operation part. In case of investment evaluation, the costs of different items of investment need to be estimated. Specification of investments include the purchase of land, preparation of project documentation, including a building permit, installation, insurance, engineering and construction work, namely: the cost of the project documentation, the costs of project management and planning controls 1.2% of the amount of investment, the cost of cogeneration system, construction work and pipes. The ORC technology is robust and several plants in Europe are operating. According to the other biomass ORC plants it provides the maximum heat according to the heat input into the plant. It is full automated, it operates independently through internet supervision (remote control). The only problem is that is fire sensitive. Therefore it has to be regularly checked (oil leaks) and maintained. The investment costs are high (6 million pro MWe without pipes for district heating), but it produces 4 MW of thermal energy and it is suitable for larger district heating systems. The profitability of the investment depends on: feed-in tariff for electricity produced; the quantity of heat sold; Price of the heat. Price of the heat sold to the public sector depends on the present heating costs and it is regulated by the government. 30

31 Development of a model for examining the feasibility of a CHP plant, taking into account the feed in tariff, the fuel market, thermal energy needs and costs The Company Energija URSAG d.o.o. from the city of Ormoz will invest in the ORC Cogeneration plant in Ormoz. This project was included in the Local Energy Concept of Ormoz Municipality, prepared by LEA Ptuj, which was accepted and confirmed by the municipality council. Mayor of Ormoz Municipality also signed the letter of interest regarding considering the possibilities to connect public buildings in Ormoz to the district heating system from this ORC Plant. During information gathering and considering the best available technologies for biomass cogeneration plant several technologies have been considered: ORC, steam turbine, and fluid bed gasification plant. First, the most important task was assessment of the existing situation of the energy consumption. The relevant data of the primary energy consumption of the public buildings, apartment blocks and of the nearby industries has been collected. The results are in the Table 13. Consumers Energy consumption (MWh/a) Heat power (MW) Pfeider and Landen Company 2, Carrera Optyl Company 5, City of Ormoz 4, TOTAL 12, Table 13: Heating energy demands of the possible consumers Because of the most appropriate feed-in tariff for electricity produced from the biomass the max. electricity net output power is 1 MW. Therefore according to the energy consumption of the final users the appropriate technology was proposed with the consideration that after energy renovation of the public buildings the net primary consumption would be decreased by 40 % and the final thermal power needed would be 6.1 MW. To assure the thermal energy needed for the consumers and to get max. income for electricity production, the ORC (Organic Rankine Cycle) has been selected. The biomass boiler with the net power 5.14 MW with the thermal oil and ORC turbine assures 1 MWe and 4.2 MWth. The difference between demand and supply side is 1.9 MW will be covered by heat storage tank or from the nearby biogas plant (1.4 MW). 31

32 The simulation of the whole process has been carried out and following results are obtained (at operating time 4,000 h/a): produced electricity: 3,960 MWh/a produced thermal energy: 16,630 MWh/a -thermal energy sold: mwh/a. According to the legislation the prices of the heat for public sector have been calculated, the prices for companies were negotiated. The income of the energy sold is presented in the Table 14. Income (EUR/a) Carrera Optyl (Thermal energy) 361,199 Pfeider and Kanden (Thermal energy) 104,493 Ormož City (Thermal energy) 329,878 Electricity (feed-in tariff) 1, TOTAL INCOME 2,087,899 Table 14: Income of the sold energy The investment costs are presented in the table 15 Type of the investment cost Investment costs (EUR) Project documentation, permits etc. 95,999 Engineering and supervision 95,666 Land 207,000 Biomass thermo-oil boiler 2,450,786 ORC Turbine module 1,358,000 Transport and insurance 100,000 Electric equipment, cables and transformer 200,000 Building and mechanical work (pipes, etc.) 941,862 Backup boiler and condenser 168,000 Start up with the one year consumed wood chips 523,772 Hot-water pipes to Pfeider and Landen 141,146 Hot-water pipes to Carrera Optyl 206,831 Hot-water pipes to City of Ormoz 1,066,383 Total investment costs 7,525,445 32

33 Table 15: Investment costs of the ORC cogeneration plant with the district heating systems (included the heat exchangers at final users). Operating costs after full implementation of the project will be 1,458,773 EUR/a (maintenance, water, workers, bookkeeping, own electricity consumption, ash removal, insurance costs, interest etc.). Cash flow was calculated for the 10 years operating time with the prediction of the 3 % to 5 % raising the prices and other operating costs. After 10 years the net profit is still high 552,515 EUR/a Analyze the opportunity to make use of agricultural SRC for the biomass fuel needs According to the actual socioeconomic and environmental background, this project tries to promote the use of bioenergy as a way to achieve the aims of the sustainable development mentioned in the Art 37 of LETTER OF THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS OF THE EUROPEAN UNION as well as to the fight against the climate change according to the Agreement of Copenhagen of 2010, driving, in addition, to a new style of development that favours the rural environment, rehabilitating left marginal areas, improving the income of the farmers, the opportunities of employment, reducing land abandonment and promoting rural industrialization. To achieve this challenge, the project will develop a set of actions that will have as specific aims the evaluation to pilot scale of demonstration the suitability of selected lignocellulosic SRC in order to: a. fight against the desertification and the erosion of the soil due to the abandonment of the cultures in rural areas, b. promote the rural development by means of the promotion of an alternative crop slightly demanding and capable of growing under an irrigation regime less than 400 mm/year, c. fight against the climate change by means of the development of a biomass production without entering in competition with the traditional agricultural crops destined for food supply, d. study the possibilities of utilization / valuation of other by-products (honey, wood etc.), produced by the crops without interfering in the energetic value of the generated biomass, 33

34 e. draft of a document of conclusions regarding the selected SRCs as source of biomass and of the applications of other by-products that could be obtained from it and f. demonstrate and disseminate the obtained results. In order to achieve the specific objectives, the participants in this project will develop following working programme from end 2013 to end 2017: WP1: The participants will study the soil characteristics of several areas with erosion problems in zones of abandon crops in each of the municipalities selecting the corresponding areas of work. WP2: In the areas of action selected there will carry out actions of demonstration. So, this working package consists of the establishment of pilot crops of lignocellulosic species (Populus/Salix, Robinia, Pauwlonia, Ulmus) or herbaceous species (Cynara, Miscanthus) in controlled conditions in order to establish their behaviour as SRC and its advantages in the fight against the erosion by means of their growing capacity in adverse conditions, mainly dry rural zones with marginal abandoned lands. The pilot plots will be of 0,25 ha for each species in each participating municipality. WP3: After the accomplishment of the activities included in this action, in WP3 there will be evaluated the best cultural treatments, production potential of biomass, rotations and harvesting technologies of the selected SRC species as renewable source of energy in the conditions of cultivation developed in the previous action and, for extension, its value in the promotion of the rural development and in the fight against the climate change. WP4: Along with the above actions, in this working package the selected SRC species will be evaluated as source of other valorizable by-products in the crop conditions developed: determination of the production of food products (honey, fruits) and wood for the wood-based panel industry (sawn timber, wood-based panels). WP5: The experiences and knowledge gathered during the project should be disseminated with a Best Practice Guide for SRC for biomass production in agricultural marginal lands in the Mediterranean basin. The project consortium includes the following municipalities in the Province of Valencia: 34