Reed canary grass transportation costs - Reducing costs and increasing feasible transportation distances

Reed canary grass is used in several heat and power plants in Finland and it is estimated that about 70-80 plants could utilise reed canary grass as a co-firing fuel. Long-distance transport of reed canary grass forms a significant share of the production and delivery costs. Reed canary grass can be transported in bales or as loose matter. The density of the matter and shape of the bales influence the load-size and the cost. At present it is impossible to obtain the full load-bearing capacity of a lorry even with bales, and with light bulk matter the obtainable load is less than one-third of the load-bearing capacity of a lorry. By using Orkel local-baler it has been possible to obtain the largest load-sizes, but the total economy of the chain is not very good because the baling and chopping of bales increase the total costs. If a full load-bearing capacity of a lorry (30-40 tonne) would be obtained, the transportation costs would be reduced significantly compared to the present situation. Second alternative would be to mix reed canary grass with wood chips or peat before long-distance transport. At the moment feasible transportation distances are relatively short. With briquettes the cargo space could be used more efficiently and the load-size of the transport could be increased. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.