Biomass Power Plant Logistics: Things to Know

Biomass power plant logistics include all the unit operations necessary to move biomass wastes from the agricultural farm to the biomass power plant and to ensure that the delivered biomass feedstock meets the specifications of the biomass conversion process. The packaged biomass can be transported directly from the farm or from temporary storage to the biomass processing plant.

Biomass wastes may be minimally processed, for instance baled, before being shipped to the biomass plant, as in case of biomass supply from the stacks. Usually, the biomass feedstock is trucked directly from agricultural farm to biomass energy plant if no processing is involved.

Another option is to transfer the biomass feedstock to a centralized location where the material is aggregated and subsequently sent to the biomass energy facility. While in storage depot, the biomass could be pre-processed minimally (ground or baled) or extensively (pelletized). The storage depot also provides an opportunity to interface with rail transport, if available.

The choice of biomass storage options depends on the project economics and local practices. For example, in some areas, there is always space on the farm where quantities of biomass wastes can be stacked.

The major components to reduce costs in biomass harvesting, collection and transportation of biomass can be summarized as:

• Reduce the number of passes through the field by aggregating biomass collection operations.
• Increase the bulk density of biomass.
• Reduce the moisture content.
• Pelletization/compacting is among the best options.
• Trucking seems to be the most common mode of biomass transportation option.
• Rail and pipeline transport may be attractive if the capital costs for these transport modes are competitive.

The logistics of storage and transporting the bulky and variable biomass waste for delivery to the biomass power plant is a crucial part of the biomass supply chain but often overlooked by project developers. Whether the biomass comes from forest residues on hills or rice straw from arable land, the relative cost of biomass collection will be considerable.

An optimum biomass logistics strategy involves a system to minimize agricultural machinery use, human effort and energy inputs which may have a significant impact on the cost of biomass feedstock delivered to the biomass power plant.

The logistics of biomass supply to the biomass energy facility with sufficient volumes of biomass from a number of sources at uniform quality specifications, are complex and costly. Crop wastes can be stored on the agricultural farm until required. Then they can be collected and delivered directly to the biomass power plant when required. Infact, this requires considerable efforts to ensure only a few days of biomass supply are available on-site but that the risk of non-supply at any time is low.