Henrik von Hofsten

Past, current and future developments

of modern forest fuel systems

Utilization of forest biomass in Sweden

36 %

Paper & Pulp

16 %

Pulp chips

10 % Bark & sawdust

20 %

Sawn goods 46 %

Sawlogs

8 % Traditional firewood

23 %

Energy 46 %

Pulpwood

Annual felling

94 M m3

Source: Skogsindustrierna, 2003 och SCB/SKS

Low fruits are already taken

Bark

Slash

Fire wood

Black

liquers

Saw dust

Stumps

Small trees

So, what do we do?

Technical development – stump lifter

1978 2008

Reduce transport costs

Net cost comparison

0

50

100

150

200

Normal New

SKr/MWh

Soil handling

Transport

Comminution

Lifting

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

0 50 100 150 200 250

Euro(2002)/MWh

Cumulative use of biofuels (TWh)

Suorce: M.Junginger & Björheden 2005

Cost reduction of unrefined wood

residues in Sweden 1975-2003

Cost reduction in stump lifting 2006-2010

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

1 10 100 1000 10000

Costs, Skr/MWh

Accumulated area, ha

Sites

Average/yr

0,0

1,0

2,0

3,0

4,0

5,0

6,0

7,0

8,0

Normal New

Pe

rce

nt o

f o

utp

ut

Soil handling

Transport

Comminution

Lifting

Environmental benefit

Nort

h s

ea o

il

Input/output ratio – fossil vs. forest fuel

Felling methods

0

5

10

15

20

Today Sweep Tomorrow

m3/hour

Felling methods

Diameter 4-8 cm

Yield per corridor

20-40 stems

or 150-300 kg

Max. equipment weight 700 kg

Min. height upper/lower

accumulation arms 55 cm

Accumulating capacity

To accum 40 stems á 4 cm 0,078 m² or 30 cm dia

30 stems á 5 cm 0,09 m² or 35 cm dia

Felling equipment

Profitiability in small dia. stands

Yielded

stems/hour

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

0

Break even

7,5

15,0

22,5

30,0

37,5

m3/h

Diameter, cm

Surplus and shortage

areas

Railways ?

Logistic structure

– Terminals

Organization

Railway terminals

Logistics – what goes where and

when

Need for optimization software

Logistics on site – GPS can help

Productivity & fuel consumption

Effect of screen size

-30

-20

-10

0

10

20

30

40

Production Fuel consump.

Change, %

60 ˣ 40 mm

60 ˣ 240 mm

Maintenance

Knife maintenance

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

120%

140%

160%

180%

0 100 200 300

Tonnes chipped

Knife wear

-20

-15

-10

-5

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

New Bad

Production

Fuel

Other topics of interest

Supply chain

Logistics

Transportation

Certification FSC, PEFC

Business and trade

Terminal solutions

Other topics of interest

Supply chain

Logistics

Transportation

Certification FSC, PEFC

Business and trade

Many trade units = confusion

MWh

Ton dry

Ton raw

Hectare

m3 loose chips

m3 solid biom

m3 solid round wood

m3 solid ub incl. bark

ODt Oven dry tonnes

Costs 2009 Slash Small diam. Round wood Stumps

To land owner 39 14 60 2

Harvest ̶ 41 14 43

Forwarding 33 26 19 25

Other 8 6 9 3

∑ at road side 80 87 102 73

Comminution 44 31 16 40

Terminal costs 7 6 12 8

Road transport 34 34 29 46

Administration 7 6 8 6

∑ at heat plant 172 165 167 174

All costs in SKr per m3loose

Henrik von Hofsten heho@skogforsk.se

Thank you!