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Improving Bioenergy Economics: Forest Residues for Energy and Supply Chain...
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Improving Bioenergy Economics: Forest Residues for Energy and Supply Chain Modeling

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Energy Sustainability".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 4800

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Tapio Ranta

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
LUT School of Energy Systems, LUT University, Mikkeli, 53850 Lappeenranta, Finland
Interests: biomass supply; logistics; management; sustainability
Dr. Mika Aalto

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
LUT School of Energy Systems, LUT University, Mikkeli, 53850 Lappeenranta, Finland
Interests: agent-based modeling and simulation; discrete-event simulation; biomass supply
Dr. Raghu KC

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
LUT School of Energy Systems, LUT University, Mikkeli, 53850 Lappeenranta, Finland
Interests: bioeconomy; bionergy and energy sustainability; environmental life cycle assessment

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Bioenergy is the largest form of renewable energy worldwide, and 85% of the biomass that ends up for energy is forest energy. In modern bioenergy, biomass is used in district heating, electricity generation, and transport biofuels instead of traditional firewood burning. The importance of bioenergy will increase in all these sectors in the coming decades, as we are globally moving toward an emission-free energy system.

In addition to sustainability and availability constraints, the additional use of forest-based bioenergy has been slowed by a lack of cost competitiveness. Therefore, the supply costs of forest-based biomass need to be reduced, and the security of supply and fuel quality need to be improved. This is possible by developing forest chip supply technologies, business models, and logistical solutions. Resource efficiency throughout the biomass supply chain means lower impacts on the ecosystem and improvement in material efficiency, which can be described as “less is more”. In this way, a supply model with a lower environmental impact can also be more economically viable than before. This Special Issue seeks a comprehensive overview and in-depth technical research papers addressing the progress to improve the cost competitiveness of forest-based bioenergy and its role in increasing the use of bioenergy. It would be interesting to know the effectiveness of the measure under investigation compared to the existing situation.

Among the topics that could be addressed by potential authors are the following:

- Development of forest energy supply logistics using modeling tools;

- Reduction and assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from forest energy supply chains;

- Availability calculations of the regional forest energy resources and possibilities of increasing forest energy use;

- Development of energy wood storage methods and new supply chain alternatives;

- Development of methods for measuring the quality of forest fuels;

- Improving the quality of forest fuels;

- Improving the profitability of forest energy production and energy entrepreneurship;

- Clarifying the views and expectations of the population of the region toward wood-based bioenergy.

Original papers related to the above topics, including case studies, methodologies, applied developments, and the current state of emerging technologies in this field, are highly encouraged.

Prof. Dr. Tapio Ranta
Dr. Mika Aalto
Dr. Raghu KC
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • forest residues
  • supply chain
  • modelling, logistics
  • efficiency
  • economics
  • environmental impact

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 11896 KiB  
Article
Comparison of Individual Tree Height Estimated from LiDAR and Digital Aerial Photogrammetry in Young Forests
by Arun Gyawali, Mika Aalto, Jussi Peuhkurinen, Maria Villikka and Tapio Ranta
Sustainability 2022, 14(7), 3720; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su14073720 - 22 Mar 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 2200
Abstract
Biomass stored in young forests has enormous potential for the reduction of fossil fuel consumption. However, to ensure long-term sustainability, the measurement accuracy of tree height is crucial for forest biomass and carbon stock monitoring, particularly in young forests. Precise height measurement using [...] Read more.
Biomass stored in young forests has enormous potential for the reduction of fossil fuel consumption. However, to ensure long-term sustainability, the measurement accuracy of tree height is crucial for forest biomass and carbon stock monitoring, particularly in young forests. Precise height measurement using traditional field measurements is challenging and time consuming. Remote sensing (RS) methods can, however, replace traditional field-based forest inventory. In our study, we compare individual tree height estimation from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and Digital Aerial Photogrammetry (DAP) with field measurements. It should be noted, however, that there was a one-year temporal difference between the field measurement and LiDAR/DAP scanning. A total of 130 trees (32 Scots Pine, 29 Norway Spruce, 67 Silver Birch, and 2 Eurasian Aspen) were selected for height measurement in a young private forest in south-east Finland. Statistical correlation based on paired t-tests and analysis of variance (ANOVA, one way) was used to compare the tree height measured with the different methods. Comparative results between the remote sensing methods and field measurements showed that LiDAR measurements had a stronger correlation with the field measurements and higher accuracy for pine (R2 = 0.86, bias = 0.70, RMSE = 1.44) and birch (R2 = 0.81, bias = 0.86, RMSE = 1.56) than DAP, which had correlation values of (R2 = 0.71, bias = 0.82, RMSE = 2.13) for pine and (R2 = 0.69, bias = 1.19, RMSE = 2.08) for birch. The correlation of the two remote sensing methods with the field measurements was very similar for spruce: LiDAR (R2 = 0.83, bias = 0.30, RMSE = 1.17) and DAP (R2 = 0.83, bias = 0.44, RMSE = 1.26). Moreover, the correlation was highly significant, with minimum error and mean difference (R2 = 0.79–0.98, MD = 0.12–0.33, RMSD = 0.45–1.67) between LiDAR and DAP for all species. However, the paired t-test suggested that there is a significant difference (p < 0.05) in height observation between the field measurements and remote sensing for pine and birch. The test showed that LiDAR and DAP output are not significantly different for pine and spruce. Presumably, the time difference in field campaign between the methods was the reason for these significant results. Additionally, the ANOVA test indicated that the overall means of estimated height from LiDAR and DAP were not significantly different from field measurements in all species. We concluded that utilization of LiDAR and DAP for estimating individual tree height in young forests is possible with acceptable error and comparable accuracy to field measurement. Hence, forest inventory in young forests can be carried out using LiDAR or DAP for height estimation at the individual tree level as an alternative to traditional field measurement approaches. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Improving Bioenergy Economics: Forest Residues for Energy and Supply Chain Modeling)
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15 pages, 1561 KiB  
Article
Investment and Profitability of Community Heating Systems Using Bioenergy in Finland: Opportunities and Challenges
by Raghu KC, Jarno Föhr, Arun Gyawali and Tapio Ranta
Sustainability 2021, 13(21), 11757; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/su132111757 - 25 Oct 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 1882
Abstract
Oil heating systems are abundant in rural Finland and they need to be replaced by renewable energy as Finland aims to be carbon neutral by 2035. Bioenergy, one of the renewable energies, is a common source of energy in Finland as the country [...] Read more.
Oil heating systems are abundant in rural Finland and they need to be replaced by renewable energy as Finland aims to be carbon neutral by 2035. Bioenergy, one of the renewable energies, is a common source of energy in Finland as the country is rich in forest resources. In Finland, combined heat and power plants utilize such resource to produce district heat and electricity but Finnish rural areas do not have access to the district heating network. However, there are potential scenarios where community heating could be possible using portable chip-fired heating systems (heat containers). Ultimately, the cost of heating is an important factor for the consumers and the cost of investment is likely to put off any interest from the communities. In this research, we explored the cost and profitability of heat container investments in rural Finland and examined the challenges for the energy transition away from oil heating systems, as well as the opportunities decentralized biomass-fired heating systems might bring. The results of this research indicate that the price of heat produced in heat containers is comparatively higher than district heating, which is commonly used in cities in Finland, but is cost-competitive compared to oil heating depending on the price of oil. For example, the current price of LFO (~1 EUR/l) generates costlier heat than the 300 kW heat container provides. Firing wood pellets in the heat container is not economically viable due to expensive raw material but smaller-sized heat container (110 kW) firing wood chips could provide cost-competitive heat if uptime is raised to >2700 h/year. There are socio-economic impacts and value-added effects on the rural region due to utilization of local resource instead of imported LFO but there remain challenges and barriers such as high initial investment, low investment support and lack of policies focused on decentralised energy enterprises. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Improving Bioenergy Economics: Forest Residues for Energy and Supply Chain Modeling)
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