Developing technology for large-scale production of forest chips

Wood Energy Technology Programme 19992003

Technology Programme Report 6/2004 Final Report

Developing technology for large-scale production of forest chips

Wood Energy Technology Programme 19992003

Final Report

Pentti Hakkila VTT Processes

National Technology Agency Technology Programme Report 6/2004 Helsinki 2004

Tekes your contact for Finnish technology Tekes, the National Technology Agency, is the main funding organisation for applied and industrial R&D in Finland. Funding is granted from the state budget. Tekes primary objective is to promote the competitiveness of Finnish industry and the service sector by technological means. Activities aim to diversify production structures, increase production and exports and create a foundation for employment and social well-being. Tekes finances applied and industrial R&D in Finland to the extent of about 400 million euros annually. The Tekes network in Finland and overseas offers excellent channels for cooperation with Finnish companies, universities and research institutes. Technology programmes part of the innovation chain The technology programmes are an essential part of the Finnish innovation system. These programmes have proved to be an effective form of cooperation and networking for companies and the research sector for developing innovative products and processes. Technology programmes promote development in specific sectors of technology or industry, and the results of the research work are passed on to business systematically. The programmes also serve as excellent frameworks for international R&D cooperation. In 2004, 25 extensive technology programmes are under way.

Copyright Tekes 2004. All rights reserved. This publication includes materials protected under copyright law, the copyright for which is held by Tekes or a third party. The materials appearing in publications may not be used for commercial purposes. The contents of publications are the opinion of the writers and do not represent the official position of Tekes. Tekes bears no responsibility for any possible damages arising from their use. The original source must be mentioned when quoting from the materials.

ISSN 1239-1336 ISBN 952-457-151-X Cover: Oddball Graphics Oy Page layout: DTPage Oy Printers: Paino-Center Oy, Sipoo 2004

Foreword

Finland is the world leader in utilization of bioenergy. The role of wood as a source of energy is more important than in any other industrialized country, as 20 % of the primary energy consumed is derived from wood-based fuels. The goal is to further increase the use of wood fuels because the mitigation of climate change requires the reduction of CO2 emissions. In Finland, one of the major means to meet the challenge is to replace fossil fuels with forest biomass. The target of the Finnish energy and climate strategies is to raise the annual production of forest chips to 5 million m3 or 0.9 Mtoe by 2010. In 1999, the National Technology Agency Tekes established a five-year Wood Energy Technology Programme to develop efficient technology for the large-scale production of forest chips for consumption by heating and power plants. In 2002, the programme was extended to include a sub-programme on small-scale production and use of wood fuels. This final report summarizes the results of the programme, excluding the sub-programme, which will continue to the end of 2004. As of January 2004, the programme consisted of 44 research projects, 46 industrial projects and 29 demonstration projects, in which 27 research organizations and 53 enterprises participated. Close collaboration between researchers and practitioners enabled the programme to focus on key problems, to build-up know-how and to facilitate its rapid application in practice. Throughout the programme, the operating environment changed. Today, much of the population, and decision-makers in government and industry support the increased use of forest energy wholeheartedly. Forest industry has adopted a pioneering role, the engineering industry has developed innovative technology and equipment, and heating and power plants have adapted their fuel handling and combustion facilities for wood fuels. The capacity of these plants is sufficient to consume all available wood fuels, as long as the cost is competitive. Furthermore, reliable delivery organizations for forest chips are now in place, and the harmful variation of chip quality has been reduced, although not totally eliminated. At first, the cost of forest chips was lowered, but an increase in the demand for forest chips and lengthening hauling distances are increasing the cost of production. During the five-year period of the programme, the use of forest chips was quadrupled. Finland has strengthened its position among the forerunners in the field of wood energy. This positive development is a result of many factors, and the Wood Energy Technology Programme has been one of the links in the chain. Tekes wishes to thank all the parties who contributed to the programme. Special thanks are extended to the

Executive Board for its strong support and supervision, and the coordinating team at VTT Processes: Programme Manager Pentti Hakkila, Product Manager Eija Alakangas and Programme Coordinator Kati Veijonen. Helsinki, April 2004 Tekes, the National Technology Agency

Summary

The national Wood Energy Technology Programme was carried out by Tekes during the period 19992003 to develop efficient technology for large-scale production of forest chips from small-sized trees and logging residues. This is the final report of the programme, and it outlines the general development of forest chip procurement and use during the programme period. In 2002, a sub-programme was established to address smallscale production and use of wood fuels. This subprogramme will continue to the end of 2004, and it is not reported here. The programme was coordinated by VTT Processes. As of January 2004, the programme consisted of 44 public research projects, 46 industrial or product development projects, and 29 demonstration projects. Altogether, 27 research organizations and 53 enterprises participated. The total cost of the programme was 42 M of which 13 M was provided by Tekes. The Ministry of Trade and Industry provided investment aid for the new technology employed in the demonstration projects. When the programme was launched at the end of the 1990s, the major barriers to the use of forest chips were high cost of production, shortage of reliable chip procurement organizations, and the unsatisfactory quality of fuel. Accordingly, the programme focused largely on these problems. In addition, upgrading of the fuel properties of bark was also studied. The production of forest chips must be adapted to the existing operating environment and infrastructure. In Finland, these are charaterized by rich biomass potential, a sophisticated and efficient organization for the procurement of industrial timber, a large capacity of heating and CHP plants to use wood fuels, the possibility to co-fire wood and peat, and the unreserved acceptance of society at large. A goal of Finnish energy and climate strate-

gies is to use 5 million m3 (0.9 Mtoe) chips annually by 2010. The Wood Energy Technology Programme was an important link in the long chain of activities that resulted in an unforeseen growth in the use of forest chips. The programme provided a frame and forum for joint research and development efforts. The key role was played by the participating enterprises in the fields of forest industries, production of fuels and energy, and machine manufacturing. The role of forest machine and timber truck entrepreneurs also was of utmost importance. Forest chip production technology matured during the programme period. Chips from logging residues from regeneration areas remained the cheapest and most abundant source. In 2002 they covered 63% of the total production of forest chips. As the demand for carbon-neutral wood fuels grew, industry sought for additional biomass sources and extended procurement operations to whole-tree material from early thinnings and even stump and root wood from regeneration areas. Special emphasis was placed on the development of system know-how. Baling technology revolutionized the transportation of uncomminuted biomass and opened the way to centralized comminution at the plant. Several large CHP plants installed a stationary crusher that, in turn, made it possible to process stump and root wood. By 2004, some 24 residue balers with a total annual capacity of 0.6 million m3 were in operation in Finland. The new technology was found especially attractive with respect to the flexible process control of large-scale procurement of forest chips. The traditional basic solution, comminution at landing, still held its leading position. The introduction of new chipper-trucks helped to cool the hot chain that is normally a weakness of the system. In addition to its application to logging resi-

dues, this system is suitable for whole-tree chipping as well. Regarding small-tree chips, the problem has been low productivity and the high cost of manual felling. After a long period of slow development, the use of accumulating felling heads is becoming common, and the production chain is becoming fully mechanized. Independent forest machine entrepreneurs now have a possibility to produce chips from young thinning stands independently of the harvesting of industrial timber. New technologies, the refinement of procurement logistics and learning through experience each reduce the cost of production. However, as the production is increasing rapidly, the operations have to be extended to more and more difficult stand conditions and distant locations. The average cost of forest chips has consequently increased in spite of technical developments. In 2003, the price of chips at the plant was 10 /MWh. Chip production organizations developed rapidly. Biowatti and UPM both produced 0.5 million m3

(1 TWh) forest chips in 2003. Forest chips became a credible fuel even for large CHP plants. Nevertheless, to increase competition small local producers are also needed, and forest machine entrepreneurs are examining the possibilities of networking in order to build secure delivery options. The use of forest chips is increasing in Finland faster than in any other country. The positive environment for growth has been a crucial factor for the development and deployment of new technology. It has given space to the industry to experiment and motivated investments, and it has strengthened Finlands position as a pioneer. When the Wood Energy Technology Programme was launched in 1999, an unofficial goal was to increase the use of forest chips fivefold in five years, i.e. 2.5 million m3 in 2003. Consumption statistics are not yet available, but it is estimated to be 2.1 million m3. Thus, the goal will be achieved a year late of the schedule, but production will have increased fourfold. The official goal, 5 million m3 in 2010, seems to be realistic, but the continuous efforts of enterprises, research organizations and the public sector will be needed to achieve this goal.

Table of contents

Foreword Summary 1 Wood energy in Finland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.1 Present use of wood fuels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1.2 Wood in the energy strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 The 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 The 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Raw 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 Wood Energy Technology Programme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 The targets of the programme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 The organization of the programme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 The projects of the programme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Sub-programme for small-scale production and use of wood fuels . . 10 The international dimension of the programme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 operating environment of forest chip production Management of forests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Procurement of industrial timber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Utilization capacity of forest chips . . . . . . . . . . . . Co-combustion of wood and peat . . . . . . . . . . . . material base of forest chips . . . . . . . . . Stemwood loss from logging operations . . Biomass residues from final fellings . . . . . Small trees from early thinnings . . . . . . . . Stump and root wood from final fellings . . Forest chip potential of the Finnish forests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 13 16 17 20 21 21 23 24 24 26 29 29 37 40 42 47 49 50

Production technology of forest chips . 5.1 Production systems . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2 Production organizations . . . . . . . . 5.3 Production logistics . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4 Production equipment . . . . . . . . . . 5.5 Buffer and security storage . . . . . . 5.6 Receiving and handling . . . . . . . . . 5.7 Production costs . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Quality control of forest chips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 6.1 Moisture content . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 6.2 Other fuel properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 Use of forest chips . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 7.1 The driving forces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 7.2 The users . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Use of bark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 8.1 Barking residues as a fuel source . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 8.2 Improving the fuel properties of bark . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

The 9.1 9.2 9.3

impacts of forest chip production . . . . Impacts on forest increment. . . . . . . . . Impacts on the management of forests . Socio-economic impacts . . . . . . . . . . .

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69 69 71 75

10 State of the art . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79 References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 Appendix 1. The Executive Board of the Programme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 Appendix 2. The Projects of the Programme . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 Tekes Technology Programme Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99

Wood energy in Finland

The harsh climate, long transport distances, high standard of living and the predominance of process-type industries raise the annual use of energy in Finland to 6.3 toe per capita. As there are no deposits of fossil fuels and the country is rich in forests, large amounts of wood have traditionally been used for the production of energy. Before industrialization, wood crops were used mainly for fuel, charcoal and tar. During the 19th Century, the slash-and-burn agriculture also reduced the forest resources (Figure 1). It was not until the second quarter of the 20th Century that more wood was used for raw material than for fuel. Even then, wood remained the primary source of energy, and on the eve of the Winter War at the end of the 1930s, wood accounted for 70 % of all fuels in Finland. Fuelwood only lost its dominant position in the late 1950s.

1.1 Present use of wood fuels

The total consumption of wood in Finland is about 75 mill. m3 annually. Per capita consumption is 20 times higher than the average in the EU countries (Figure 2). Wood and the entire forest cluster have played a very significant role in the national economy. At present, over 90 % of the wood harvest is used as raw material by the forest industries. Only 5 mill. m3 per annum is used directly for fuel, but much more energy is derived from forest industries processing residues. The proportion of the energy component in the timber flow is approximately as follows: In sawmilling 1525 % (sawdust, debarking and screening residues) In plywood manufacturing 3040 % (log ends, waste from plies, dust, debarking and screening residues)

Structure of removal, % 100 Natural loss and logging waste 80

60

Fuelwood and rural construction wood

Exp
40 Pulpwood 20 Slash-and-burn, tar and charcoal

ort

Sawlogs

1850 Felling, mill. m /a Population, mill.

3

1900 50 2.7

1950 53 4.0

2000 70 5.2

50 1.6

Figure 1. Removal of stem wood from the Finnish forests since the mid-1800s (48, the figure has been extended to 2000).

m3 / capita 16 14.4 14 12 10
8

Net imports Indigenous wood 7.7

6 4 2 Finland Sweden Austria

2.5 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.1 0.1 0.8

France Germany Denmark U.K.

Holland

EU average

Figure 2. Consumption of roundwood per capita in selected EU countries in 1999 (56). In mechanical pulping 1015 % (debarking and

screening residues) In chemical pulping 5060 % (black liquor, debarking and screening residues). Black liquor is a lignin-rich byproduct of kraft pulping that contains more than a half of the initial heating value of pulpwood. Black liquor is burnt for simulta-

neous recovery of energy and pulping chemicals. It is a significant fuel, particularly in Finland and Sweden, where most European kraft mills are located. Process residues included, almost a half of the wood used in Finland ends up as fuel, either di-

Mill. m3 / annum Industrial end products 53 % 30 25.9 25

Production of energy 47 %

Indirect use 20 15 10 5 1.9 0.3 Wood pulp Sawn Composite Other goods boards products Black liquor Bark Sawdust etc. 17.7 13.3 8.6

Direct use

5.4 3.1 0.05 Pellets, Traditional Forest briquets firewood chips 1.7

Figure 3. The end use of wood in Finland in 2001 or 2002. Recycled wood excluded (56, 80, 103).

Mtoe / annum 10 8.7 8

Total consumption 33.5 Mtoe / 2002

5.6 5.1 4.5 1.1 1.6 2.1 Traditional firewood Bark, sawdust, etc.

3.7

1.6 1.0 0.9 0.3 Oil Nuclear power Coal Natural gas Residues Imported from electricity imported wood Peat Hydro power Others 2.4 Black liquor

Wood-based fuels

Imported energy 75 %

Indigenous energy 25 %

Figure 4. Consumption of energy by source in 2002.

rectly or indirectly (Figure 3). Consequently, 20 % of the total consumption of primary energy, corresponding to 6.7 Mtoe in 2002, and 11 % of the electricity, is derived from wood-based fuels (Figure 4). These shares are greater than in other industrialized countries. More than 20 % of the wood energy, however, is derived from process residues from imported wood.

Wood fuels thus come from a large number of indigenous and foreign sources. By far the most important wood-based fuel is black liquor that is exclusively used by the producer. Other large sources are debarking residues and the traditional firewood in small-scale use. Forest chips are still a relatively modest source of fuel, but it has considerable growth potential (Figure 5).

TWh / annum

16 14 12 10 8 6 4

15.3

Total 25 TWh / 2002

10

Goal / 2010

4.5 2.5 1.6 0.7 Bark Sawdust Forest chips Industrial chips Recycled wood 0.1 Pellets and briquets 0.1 Other wood

Figure 5. Consumption of solid wood fuels in heating and power plants in 2002 (103).

1.2 Wood in the energy strategy

The objective of the Governments energy policy is to ensure the availability of energy, to maintain competitive energy prices, and to enable Finland to meet its international commitments with respect to emissions into the environment (44). As a Member State of the EU, Finlands obligation is to decrease the average greenhouse gas emissions in the years 20082012 to the level that prevailed in 1990, i.e. 76.5 Mt of carbon dioxide equivalent. The target level is currently exceeded by more than 10 %. The government has to find ways to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy (95). In 1999, the Ministry of Trade and Industry approved the Action Plan for Renewable Energy Sources (45). The goal is to bring an increase of 50 % in the use of renewable energy by 2010, compared to the level of 1995. As much as 90 % of the increase is to be derived from bioenergy, mainly wood-based fuels. The plan was revised in 2002, as the operating environment was experiencing rapid

change. According to the revised plan, of the different sources of renewable energy the growth is to be fastest in the use of forest chips. In 2010, the energy produced from forest chips will correspond to 0.9 Mtoe (Table 1). This will require 5 mill m3 forest biomass. Energy derived from forest industry liquid and solid process residues increased rapidly during the late 1990s. This was possible because of the growth in capacity and wood consumption. However, possibilities for a further expansion of the use of indigenous wood for industrial purposes are limited and, therefore, additional wood energy must primarily be produced from low-quality residual forest biomass. According to the plan, forest chips alone will cover one third of the increase in the use of renewable energy during this decade. The advantage of forest chips is that the input/output ratio of energy is 1/30. The entire energy content of fuel can thus be used for replacing fossil fuels, whereas the energy produced from industrial

Table 1. The revised plan of the Ministry of Trade and Industry for renewable energy (46).

Source of energy

1995

2001

2005 Use Mtoe/annum

2010

2025

Direct use of wood-based fuels Traditional firewood, small scale Forest chips, inc. small scale Indirect use of wood-based fuels: Black liquor Solid processing residues Wood-based, total Recycled fuels Biogas, agri-biomass, liquid biofuels Hydro power Wind power Heat pumps, solar energy Renewable, grand total 2.6 1.2 4.9 0.0 0.0 1.1 0.0 0.0 6.1 3.2 1.8 6.3 0.0 0.0 1.1 0.0 0.1 7.6 3.4 1.9 7.0 0.1 0.1 1.2 0.0 0.1 8.6 3.7 2.0 7.9 0.2 0.2 1.2 0.1 0.2 9.8 4.0 2.2 9.1 0.2 0.5 1.4 0.4 0.5 12.1 1.0 0.1 1.1 0.2 1.2 0.5 1.3 0.9 1.4 1.5

residues is actually needed primarily for the process itself. It is not available for replacing fossil fuels elsewhere. The Governments aim is to make renewable energy economically competitive on the open markets. The following support measures are employed: Energy taxation of fuels used for heat production. A carbon-based fuel tax was imposed in 1990, but wood-based fuels are free of the tax because of their carbon neutrality. In the beginning of 2004, the energy tax on different fuels was as follows: coal 6.3, light fuel oil 6.0, heavy fuel oil 5.3, natural gas 1.9 and peat 1.6 /MWh. The energy tax changes the price ratios of fuels, greatly enhancing the competitiveness of wood in heat production (Figure 6). Support for electricity production. The carbon-based fuel tax is limited to heating. It is not collected if fuel is used for the production of electricity. Instead, a tax of 6.9 /MWhe is levied from consumers of electricity, independently of the source of energy. If the source of energy is forest chips or wind, the tax is refunded to the producer.

Support for the production of forest fuels. When

small-diameter fuelwood is harvested from young thinning stands, a subsidy of about 5.5 / MWh is paid to chip producers. The stands must meet specific silvicultural criteria. When stump and root wood is harvested from regeneration areas which have been logged in summer time, a subsidy of about 0.9 /MWh is paid because the treatment helps to protect the next tree generation from root rot fungus. No direct support is awarded for the production of fuel chips from logging residues from late thinnings or final harvest. Aid for investments. Financial aid can be granted to promote the introduction of new technology in the production of forest chips. For special equipment, such as chippers, crushers, balers, accumulating felling heads and biomass vehicles, the subsidy is typically 25 %. Projects involving innovative technology are given priority. Financial support for the development and commercialisation of technology. The primary channel for funding applied R & D is the National Technology Agency Tekes, which gives a high priority to the use of renewable sources of energy.

Price, / MWh 28.9 30

Energy tax Price without tax 19.8 16.1 12.7 11.7 9.6 10.2

20

10

Light fuel oil

Heavy fuel oil

Natural gas

Coal inland

Coal on the coast

Milled peat

Fuel chips

Figure 6. Consumer prices of different fuels in heat production in August 2003. VAT not included (8).

The Wood Energy Technology Programme

The National Technology Agency Tekes is the main public investor in applied and industrial research and development in Finland. Renewable energies, an essential issue of subtainable development, is one of the key strategic areas. About 50 % of Tekes funding is focused through technology programmes. Several of the programmes have dealt with bioenergy technology, focusing on areas such as production of fuels, combustion, conversion and environmental impacts (Figure 7). The production of wood fuels was included for the first time in the research cluster under consideration in the Bioenergy Research Programme in 19931998. The programme was aimed at the production, use and conversion of wood and peat fuels. When the program was coming to an end, it was concluded that (98):

The great potential of bioenergy in Finland had

been demonstrated and recognized by the population at large, and by industry and decision makers. The use of bioenergy had started to grow. In the development and application of wood energy technology Finland, together with Sweden, was among the forerunners. It was agreed that ensuring further development and maintaining the research know-how required a new, coordinated programme. The forest industries and large energy companies were ready to increase the use of forest fuels and participate in a forthcoming programme. As many changes were occurring in the operating environment, including the Kyoto Protocol, the programme had to be reformed.

Artificial dewatering of peat Peat production based on solar energy

Peat Wood BIOENERGY

WOOD ENERGY
Small-scale wood fuel production and use

Use + Conversion Wood energy clinic Energy form waste and REF
Mitigating of climate change

SIHTI
JALO Fuel conversion

SIHTI II Energy and environmental technology

STREAMS Waste management and recycling CLIMTECH

Wood combustion in fireplaces LIEKKI 1 Combustion technology LIEKKI 2 Combustion CODE Modelling of combustion processes

FINE Fine particles DENSY Distributed energy systems

1990

1995

2000

2005

Figure 7. Tekes programmes of bioenergy. The area of a rectangle indicates relative expenditure (Tekes).

The most abundant reserve of renewable energy is forest biomass, but its utilization was being constrained by the excessive cost of recovery. Consequently, Tekes decided to focus on the development of production technology for forest chips. The new programme was called the Wood Energy Technology Programme, abbreviated in this report to Wood Energy Programme.

The programme set for itself an unofficial goal: to increase the annual use of forest chips from 0.5 million m3 in 1998 to 2.5 million m3 in 2003, i.e. a five-fold increase in five years. The final result of the consumption in 2003 is not available yet, but the preliminary estimate is 2.1 million m3. This means that the use of forest chips quadrupled but did not quintuple during the program period. The target will probably be achieved a year behind the schedule.

2.1 The targets of the programme

The ultimate target of the Wood Energy Programme was to create favourable conditions for increasing the use of forest chips. Consequently, the programme was aimed at developing cost-competitive production technologies and procurement logistics for recovering residual biomass. The emphasis was on developing systems for large-scale operations in conjunction with combined heat and power plants. Preconditions for a rapid increase in the use of forest chips are the reduction of costs, improved quality of chips, and reliable delivery systems. Chips must also be produced by environmentally sound methods that support sustainable forest management. The primary targets of the programme were therefore: To integrate energy production into conventional forestry and the procurement of industrial timber To develop production systems and procurement logistics suitable for the existing infrastructure To develop long-distance transport of chips, uncomminuted loose residues and composite residue logs To develop technology for receiving, comminuting, handling and storage of wood fuels at the plant To encourage the participation of forest machine and truck contractors in the wood fuel branch To develop quality control for forest chips and processing residues from the forest industries in order to improve the useability and energy efficiency of the plant In 2002 a sub-programme was established to address small-scale production and use of wood fuels.
8

2.2 The organization of the programme

The programme period was 19992003. The programme was composed of projects that typically lasted from 1 to 3 years. There were three types of projects: Projects undertaken by research institutes that addressed common and general needs. In these projects research organizations collaborated with industrial partners. The results and knowhow achieved are in the public domain. Projects dealing with product development, i.e. industrial projects, were related to practical applications. They served specific needs of a single company or group of companies. Examples include the development of a complete chip procurement system, less corrosive combustion technique for chips rich in needles, chipper, bundler, feller-buncher for small trees, forwarder for biomass transport, special vehicles for transporting forest fuels, and fuel receiving and handling system at plant. An industrial project commonly included co-operation with a research organization. The results and experience from company projects are not necessarily in the public domain. Demonstration projects were aimed to promote the introduction and deployment of new technologies. Funding was primarily investment grant-aid from the Ministry of Trade and Industry. Several research organizations participated in the programme: VTT Processes, the Finnish Forest Research Institute, Metsteho Oy, University of Joensuu, University of Jyvskyl, University of

Oulu, Helsinki University of Technology, TTS Institute, and the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority of Finland. Each research project had an advisory board composed of researchers and practitioners from participating organizations. The board typically met 24 times a year to discuss research needs, budget changes and major reports and to monitor the work programme. The industrial projects could also have such a board, but it was an internal company decision. Altogether, 27 research units and 53 enterprises participated in the programme. At Tekes Tarja-Liisa Perttala, then Heikki Kotila and since 2002 Marjatta Aarniala were responsible for the programme. The programme was coordinated jointly by Motiva Oy and VTT Processes. The former signed the contracts and took care of accounting, and the latter was responsible for daily conducting of the work. The Programme Managers at VTT Processes were in the beginning Satu Helynen and Pentti Hakkila jointly, and since 2000 Pentti Hakkila alone. Since 2001, the Programme Coordinator was Kati Veijonen. Eija Alakangas was responsible for communications with the interested parties. Tekes nominated an Executive Board to direct the work. The board was chaired by Pekka Laurila, Managing Director of Biowatti, and cochaired by Seppo Paananen from UPM Forest. The Executive Board consisted of representatives of the major market actors in the forest fuel segment. The following organizations were represented: Biowatti Oy (production and distribution of wood fuels) BMH Wood Technology Oy (manufacturer of receiving and handling equipment) Forestry Development Centre Tapio (promotion of private forestry) Fortum Power and Heat Oy (production of electricity, heat etc.) Kvaerner Power Oy (manufacturer of fluidized bed boilers etc.) Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (forest policy) Ministry of Trade and Industry (energy policy, funding of new technology demonstrations) Pohjolan Voima Oy (production of electricity and heat)

Plustech Oy/Timberjack Oy (manufacturer of

forest machines)
Tekes (funding) Trade Association of Finnish Forestry and Earth

Moving Contractors (forest machine contracting) UPM Oyj (forest industry, procurement of timber and wood fuels) Vapo Oy (production and distribution of peat and wood fuels) VTT Processes (programme coordinator) The total cost of the programme was 42 M, of which about 13 M was provided by Tekes. The majority of funding was provided by enterprises for their own product development projects, and for public research projects in which industry participated. Research institutes also provided funds. The Ministry of Trade and Industry promoted the deployment of new technology by supporting demonstration projects.

2.3 The projects of the programme

As of February 2004, the programme contained 44 research projects, 46 industsry projects and 29 demonstration projects. They were divided into 6 subject groups (Table 2). Planning and organization. The subject group produced the basic information necessary for system development and planning of operations. Examples are studies on technical logging conditions and cost factors of chip procurement, organization of chip procurement, contractor networks, scaling of fuelwood, and determining the boundary between pulpwood and fuelwood. Production systems and techniques. This subject group was the core of the programme, and it included all demonstration projects. The emphasis was in the development of machines, vehicles, work methods and entire procurement systems for the production of fuel from forest biomass. Quality control, handling and use. Major topics were quality control of forest chips and debarking residues, the effect of fuel quality on the useability of a plant, changes in fuel properties during storage, development of fuel receiving
9

Table 2. The projects of the Wood Energy Programme by subject groups.

Subject group Planning and organization Production systems and techniques Quality control, handling and use Impacts on forestry Small-scale production and use International cooperation Total

Research projects 5 6 14 7 7 5 44

Industrial projects 4 17 9 1 14 1 46

Demonstration projects

29

29

and handling technology at the plant, and co-firing of wood fuels with peat. Impacts on environment and forestry. Among the subjects studied were the emissions from forest fuel production, effect of intensive biomass recovery on the nutrient balance of forest soils, quality control of forest fuel harvesting, and the impact of residue removal and stump extraction on the forest regeneration. An wood fuel clinic had been estabilished in 1996 to transfer know-how from the Bioenergy Research Programme to small and mediumsized enterprises, and it was continued within the Wood Energy Programme. The clinic formed a rapid and flexible way to support small-scale product development. Financial aid was given to 29 small projects concering fuelwood production and use. Other subject groups listed in Table 2 are examined in sub-sections 2.4 and 2.5.

chips, chopped firewood and pellets. An additional sub-programme was therefore estabilished in 2001. Due to the delayed start, the sub-programme will continue to the end of 2004, or a year longer than the main programme. The estimated cost of the sub-programme is 5.2 M, of which Tekes will provide 2.9 M. The concept of small scale is applied flexibly, but in principle the sub-programme deals with boilers smaller than 1 MW. Small- and mediumsized companiesR&D needs are examined so as to encourage research and product development activities and to create national and international business opportunities (26). Companies are encouraged to implement product development projects. Four target areas are identified, all characterized by the small scale of operations: Production and handling of chips and chopped wood. The most important topics are the development of cost-effective technologies, the logistics of production chains, fuel quality, and the storage and feeding of fuel. Production, distribution and use of pellets. The aim is to create functional and comprehensive heat production systems based on the use of pellets. Heating technology. The aim is to improve the efficiency of combustion and to reduce emissions to meet the Central European standard. The means to be applied are automation, modern control systems, and modular solutions.

2.4 Sub-programme for smallscale production and use of wood fuels

The Wood Energy Programme was focused initially exclusively on the large-scale production of forest chips. Once this work was up and running, Tekes considered it appropriate to extend project activities to small-scale production and use of
10

 Business and service concepts relating to all tar-

get areas. Examples include the creation of heat entrepreneurship and energy service companies, and the development of customer-driven internet sales of wood fuels. The networking of companies is promoted. As of February 2004, altogether 21 projects had been started. Since most of them will continue to the end of 2004, this final report of Wood Energy Programme does not present any results of the sub-programme concerning small-scale operations.

jects with Sveriges Lantbruksuniversitet (SLU), Vxj universitet and Vrmeforsk. Three persons from Finland also worked for a year in the USA as visiting scientists within the framework of the programme. The topics studied were the co-combustion of solid biofuels and coal, maximum biomass use and efficiency in large-scale co-firing, and technology transfer on the production of biofuels. The programme also participated in the work of a number of international organizations: IEA Bioenergy Agreement, especially Task 18 (Conventional forestry systems for bioenergy) in 19982000 and subsequent Task 31 (Biomass production for energy from sustainable forestry) in 20012003. ALTENER bioenergy network: AFB-net, and since 2000 the subsequent EUBIONET (European bioenergy networks; http://eubionet.vtt.fi), for the exchange of commercial bioenergy information and to spread knowledge of the Finnish bioenergy sector in participating countries. The AFB-net and EUBIONET were coordinated by VTT Processes. OPET network (Organization for Promoting Energy Technology) for the exchange of information about bioenergy technology at international level in cooperation with industry. The OPET Finland was coordinated by Tekes (www.tekes.fi/opet). EU cooperation in certain research and industry projects. This included the preparation of the bioenergy IP project for the 6th framework programme of the European Commission. Results were mainly published in Finnish. In addition, results were made available in English through following means: the www pages of Tekes (www.tekes.fi/english/programm/woodenergy), a programme pamphlet, case cards on results, posters and a comprehensive interim report (18). Scientific articles were presented in international magazines, seminars and conferences such as Bioenergy 2003 in Jyvskyl, where the programme organized a specific session and study tour on the large-scale production of forest chips.

2.5 The international dimension of the programme

Although the primary driving force behind the wood energy boom is the global climate change, the Wood Energy Programme and its targets were essentially national. However, as wood energy is promoted for the same reasons all over the world, international cooperation opens up useful channels for the exchange of information, transfer of technology, and trade. From the Finnish viewpoint a problem was that corresponding comprehensive R&D programmes were not ongoing in other countries at the same time. At the programme level it was not possible to find a foreign partner that was prepared to fund and carry out an extensive research programme concerning the development of forest chip production technologies. The traditional cooperation partner has been Sweden. Similarities between the two countries are obvious in climate, forest management, forest technology, energy sector, infrastructure, and socioeconomic environment. Conditions for profitable cooperation are favorable, as both Sweden and Finland are forerunners in the field of wood energy (7). However, during the programme period the research emphasis in Sweden was on environmental issues such as the effect of biomass recovery on the biodiversity of forests, whereas the Finnish programme was focused on the development of technology. There was, therefore, no programme level cooperation. The cooperation was limited to pro-

11

The operating environment of forest chip production

In the interests of the Finnish national economy it is of great importance that timber crops are directed at forest industries. Export earnings from a cubic meter of unbarked softwood is about 100 if the product is sawn timber or kraft pulp, and much more if the product is paper or paper board. The surplus value is significantly smaller if the wood is used as fuel. The energy from a cubic meter of wood corresponds to less than 0.2 tons of oil; a saving in foreign exchange of only 30 . Energywood is actually a by-product, a leftover from the more valuable industrial timber crops. Therefore, energywood must be harvested at the terms of industrial timber.

a pre-commercial thinning, from which timber is not harvested because of the small tree size. The correct timing of silvicultural activities is essential for maintaining the vitality of the forest stand, to accelerate the diameter growth of the trees and to improve the physical conditions for future mechanized cuttings. However, where pulpwood is in over-supply, the early thinnings are a problem. Compared to the final harvest, the productivity of work is low and mechanization more complicated. Early thinnings are a particular challenge to forest owners, timber procurement organizations and machine manufacturers alike. Demand for smallsized wood and the presence of a well developed and disciplined wood procurement organization are preconditions for successful early thinning. Young thinning stands are a potential source of fuel. Currently, the richest fuel yields are found in stands were silvicultural activities have been neglected. These stands are over-dense, and the trees that have to be removed are too thin for industrial purposes. As such they are attractive as a fuel harvest, but if it is based on poor silviculture the availability of fuel will not be sustainable. The Finnish Forest Research Institute is therefore examining a new approach to the management of young forests: rescheduling the early tending operations in order to gain a better and sustainable yield of fuel from the thinning treatment prior to the traditional first commercial thinning (83). It is hoped that the use of low-quality biomass as a source of renewable fuel will promote management of young forests. In later thinnings and regeneration cuttings no serious problems occur regarding logging, but establishment of a new stand after regeneration cutting is also a cause of concern, since planting is still performed manually and forest la13

3.1 Management of forests

Private persons own 61 % of productive forest land, and 71 % of the annual increment occurs on private lands. There are 242 000 forest holdings larger than 10 ha, and the average area is c. 40 ha. The majority of the domestic timber is therefore harvested from private forests. The predominance of non-industrial family forestry strongly influences the care and intensity with which the forests are managed and utilized. The fragmented nature of the ownership affects the requirements placed on forest machines with respect to their mobility from site to site and friendliness to the forest environment. The small size of holdings strains the productivity of mechanized harvesting, increases the costs and disturbs the logistics. Thinnings are a standard silvicultural practice. In southern Finland, nearly all stands are thinned commercially from below twice or three times, and in northern Finland once or twice, during the rotation period. Commercial thinnings are preceded by

Table 3. A typical management regime of a southern Finnish forest stand. Biomass does not include stump and root wood.

Treatment

Stand age years 1020 2540 4060 5070 70100

Yield of timber 3 m /ha 3080 5090 60100 220330 360600

Biomass residues m3/ha 1550 3050 2040 2040 70130 155310 toe/ha 39 69 48 48 1324 3058

Precommercial thinning 1st commercial thinning 2nd commercial thinning 3rd commercial thinning Final harvest Total during rotation

bor is becoming scarce. The presence of abundant logging residues is one of the factors constraining the mechanization of regeneration. Thus, the removal of logging residues and stumps for energy production could pave way for good post-harvesting management practice. Table 3 presents an example of the management regime and biomass yield of coniferous forests in southern Finland. The lower values of the biomass

residues refer to Scots pine and the higher values to Norway spruce. These biomass residues form the bulk of the energy potential of a stand during a rotation period. An additional source is stump and root wood. The richest sources of energy are whole-three biomass from early thinnings and logging residues and stump and root wood from regeneration cuttings of spruce (Figures 810). As pine was the

Figure 8. Small trees from an early thinning of pine. The removal from a young soft wood-dominated stand is frequently composed of hardwoods (VTT).

14

Figure 9. Logging residues from a final cut of spruce (VTT).

Figure 10. Stump and root wood from a final cut of spruce (VTT).

15

Area, mill. ha 2.5

2.3 1.9 1.7 1.7

2 1.5 1

1.9

Hardwood-dominated Spruce-dominated Pine-dominated

0.9

0.5

0.3

0.2

1-20

21-40

41-60

61-80

81-100

101-120

121-140

141+
Age, years

Small trees from pine stands

Logging residues and stump wood from spruce stands

Figure 11. The age structure and species dominance of the southern Finnish forests according to the 9th National Forest Inventory (Metla).

preferred species of stand establishment in the 1960s and 1970s, a large majority of young stands are dominated by pine (Figure 11).

3.2 Procurement of industrial timber

In 2001, the Finnish forest industries used 54 mill. m3 of indigenous and 13.5 mill. m3 of imported wood. About 83 % of the indigenous wood was purchased from private forests, mainly on the stump but also delivered to road side by the forest owner. Three large forest industry companies, Stora Enso, UPM and Metsliitto-Yhtym are responsible for the procurement of more than 80 % of all commercial timber. They operate nationwide and perform their wood procurement through special forestry departments that contract the implementation to independent entrepreneurs. Cutting and off-road haulage are included in a single logging contract, whereas secondary transport is subject to a separate contract. A contractor typically owns 14 forest machines or trucks. The technology of wood procurement is based exclusively on the mechanized cut-to-length system.
16

Both the delimbing and cross-cutting of stems are carried out with one-grip harvesters at the stump. An exception is early thinnings where cutting is still commonly performed with a chainsaw. Timber is transported to the landing with load-carrying forwarders. This Nordic technology differs considerably from the North-American technology, an essential feature of which is haulage of whole undelimbed trees or delimbed stems to the road side. Conditions for biomass recovery are therefore very different in the two regions, and this must be taken into account when technology is transfered. Figure 12 shows the number of harvesters, forwarders and 60-ton timber trucks employed in 2001. The rate of employment varied considerably over the year. Under-employment in the summer time indicates that machine contractors may have seasonal capacity for biomass harvesting (23). The Finnish timber procurement system is efficient and cost-competitive, and it is well suited for operating in small private forests. Due to mechanization, sophisticated logistics and motivated machine entrepreneurs, the nominal cost of procurement is lower than 15 years ago. The current average is 14 /m3 from stump to mill.

Figure 12. The number of harvesters, forwarders and timber trucks employed in commercial roundwood production in 2001 (56).

This is the operating environment of timber procurement in Finland. Since forest biomass is to be recovered as a by-product of industrial timber, the integration of operations is the natural solution. It follows that of the utmost importance is the motivation of the forest industries to produce and use forest chips. An exception is the early thinnings were fuel is the primary product and pulpwood only a side product, if it is recovered at all. In these young stands, machine contractors can operate independently of the forest industry timber procurement organizations and form networks for delivering forest chips to local heating and power plants.

The traditional grate combustion method is competitive when boiler capacity is less than 520 MW. The Biograte technology of Wrtsil Biopower, based on a rotating grate boiler, is also suitable for wet biomass, such as debarking residues from sawmills. Larger plants employ the fluidized bed combustion (FBC) technology. In FBC boilers, fuel is fed into a fluidized bed of hot sand, which is circulated by a stream of high velocity air from below. Combustion takes place either in a bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) at low air velocity, or in a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) at a higher air velocity. As the bed material is massive relative to the amount of fuel, the combustion process is effectively stabilized and control of burning and pollutants is greatly facilitated. The majority of the global FBC boiler production is in the hands of two globally operating Finnish companies, Foster Wheeler Energia Oy and Kvaerner Power Oy. The technology was originally developed for the combustion of non-homogenous
17

3.3 Utilization capacity of forest chips

A precondition for the successful use of forest chips is that the fuel handling and combustion techniques of a plant are adapted for the specific properties of the fuel. Two alternative combustion technologies are available for the large-scale conversion of forest biomass to heat and electricity.

biofuels with difficult properties such as uneven particle size and high moisture content. The FBC provides the ability to burn low-grade fuels and on-line fuel switching, and reduces the output of harmful emissions such as NOx and SO2. A wide range of fuels can be accommodated with high efficiency: wood chips, bark, peat, sludge, industrial and municipal waste, coal, oil and natural gas. The FBC technology is therefore commonly employed in new large plants, and a considerable number of traditional grate boilers and pulverized peat and coal boilers have been converted to fluidized bed technology. In addition, the receiving, handling and feeding techniques have been adapted for wood fuels. This has significantly increased the potential for using biofuels in Finland. In heating plants where forest fuels are used for heat production only, 8588 % of the energy content of the fuel is recovered. Typically, heating plants are smaller than 10 MW. In condensing power plants designed for electricity generation only, about 4045 % of the input energy is recovered in the form of electricity, while the remaining heat is lost in cooling water and flue gases. Forest chips are not competitive in these plants because of

their high price and the low overall efficiency of the process. Combined heat and power (CHP) production or co-generation is a single process of a back-pressure power plant. Power is generated as in a condensing plant, but heat is recovered and used in an industrial process or for the heating of a nearby community. Under conditions of a high all-year demand for heat it is often possible to achieve good fuel efficiency and a high product value by combining power and heat production. The annual peak load time of industrial CHP plants is about 6 000 h (full capacity). As the need for space heating is low in the summer time, the peak load time of district heating CHP plants is only 4 500 h. CHP plants have an overall efficiency of 8590 %. About 2030 % of the energy input is converted to electric power and 5570 % to heat. CHP plants are responsible for 32 % (Figure 13) of the electricity supply and 75 % of the district heat in Finland. Almost all large towns use CHP plants for district heating. These plants are usually large, but the co-generation technology is now being scaled down for plants with an electricity output of only 510 MW or less.

Proportion, % CO2-free production 26.9

25 20

30

Production causing CO2 emissions

Use of forest chips possible 16.3 17.3 14.3 12.3 13.0

15

10
5

0.1
Nuclear power Hydro power Imported electricity Wind power District heating Industry Condensing power

CHP

Figure 13. The sources of electricity in 2001 (43).

18

Use of forest chips, TWh / annum 1.4 Materialized 1.2 1.0 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 Recycled wood and agri-biomass Forest chips

Prediction

Pohjolan Voima Oy alone has recently invested 620 M to biomass CHP plants with a total capacity of 559 MWe and 1 038 MWth. These investments made possible the large-scale use of forest fuels. In 2004, the companys use of forest chips will exceed 1 TWh (Figure 14). In the beginning of 2001, the electricity production capacity of the Finnish CHP plants was 5 200 MWe. The share of district heating CHP was two thirds and industrial CHP one third (43). The total capacity of electricity production in Finland was 14 990 MWe. According to VTT, approximately 7 500 MW new electricity generation capacity has to be installed by 2020 to meet the growth in energy demand or to replace old plants. Although a 1 600 MW nuclear power plant will start operating in 2009, a significant portion of the new capacity will employ CHP technology and co-combust peat and wood fuels (Figure 15). The share of forest chips in these plants will entirely depend on their cost competitiveness and availability. It is obvious that the limit of growth will not be determined by the utilization capacity but rather the production capacity of forest chips.

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

Figure 14. Use of forest chips in the power plants of Pohjolan Voima (PVO).

Because of its high energy efficiency, CHP technology is a powerful tool for the reduction of CO2 emissions. Therefore, the EU has set a goal to double the use of CHP during the period 1994 to 2010. However, as CHP technology is already widely employed in Finland, the possibilities to expand the overall capacity are limited. But where an old plant is being replaced, it may be feasible to shift from fossil fuels to biofuels, even though total capacity is not increased (25).

Nominal power (MW) 21 000 18 000 7 500 MW

15 000
12 000

9 000
6 000 3 000 0 2000 2010 2020

Demand of new capacity Demand of new capacity CHP, district heat Other condensing Coal-condensing Nuclear power Hydro & wind power

2030

2040

2050

Figure 15. Estimated shutdown schedule of the present electricity generating capacity and demand for new capacity (99).

19

3.4 Co-combustion of wood and peat

Peatlands cover one third of the land surface of Finland. A half of this peatland area is in its natural state, while the other half has been drained for forestry. About 1.4 % of the area has been designated for peat extraction. The area of the extraction working is currently about 40 000 ha. Nationwide, the growth of peat far exceeds the harvest. As there are no fossil fuels in Finland, peat plays an important role as an indigenous source of energy. In fact, Finland is the world leader in the technology of peat production and combustion. Vapo Oy annually produces over 20 mill. m3 and Turveruukki Oy about 2 mill. m3 loose peat fuel. In addition, more than 200 small producers operate locally. Some 90 % of the production is milled peat and 10 % sod peat. Peat was scarcely used prior to the global energy crises in the 1970s. When the Government intensified is support for the technological development of peat extraction in the 1980s, an epoch-making change took place. By 2001, the consumption of fuel peat corresponded to 2.0 Mtoe or 6 % of the total consumption of primary energy. It is used mainly in back-pressure power plants for combined production of heat and power. About 18 % of district central heating and 5 % of electricity is generated from peat. Large plants burn peat mainly in fluidized bed boilers at atmospheric pressure. They are typically multifuel boilers that also utilize other solid fuels, such as bark, sawdust, forest chips or coal. It follows that in these plants fuel peat competes with wood fuels. On the other hand, peat and wood fuels also complement each other. In large plants, the following benefits may be gained from the co-firing of wood and peat: The use of more than one type of fuel helps to reduce transport distances and costs.

The inferior storage properties of wood chips

prevent a plant from keeping large inventories. Peat, on the other hand, is easy to store, and it can be used for securing the fuel supply. In normal conditions nationwide, the inventory of peat is large enough for a years consumption. The price of fuel peat is stable, and it is not affected by the fluctuation of international energy markets. Peat has a rather constant moisture content, 4045 % in the winter time, whereas forest chips tend to be too moist during the winter when the demand for energy is highest. Blending chips and peat stabilizes the average moisture content of the fuel. Corrosion problems caused by alkalis and chlorine from needle-rich forest chips can be reduced when the chips are co-fired with peat, and sulphur emissions from peat are reduced in co-combustion due to favourable chemical reactions. In large plants, fuel supply can seldom be based on wood alone. Availability and security are improved, and the cost of fuels and harmful environmental impacts are reduced, through the co-firing of wood and peat. For example, the worlds largest biofuelled power plant, Alholmens Kraft in Pietarsaari on the west coast of Finland, uses a 50/50 mixture of wood and peat, with 10 % of the total energy derived from forest chips. The capacity of the plant is 240 MWe power, 100 MWth process steam for a pulp and paper mill, and 60 MWth district heat. The combined use of wood and peat places special requirements on the supply logistics, handling and blending the fuels at the plant. Removing the bottlenecks from the receiving facilities and scheduling the arrival of wood, bark and peat trucks are crucial issues.

20

Raw material base of forest chips

The annual increment of the Finnish forests is 78 mill. m3 including bark. The drain, which is composed of fellings and natural mortality, is 65 mill. m3 per annum. The balance is positive, but as a part of the forest area is protected and many forest owners give priority to recreation and multiple use, the possibilities for increasing fellings are quite limited. There is potential, however, in young thinning stands where the silvicultural targets are not reached. The fellings are composed of stemwood removals which are recovered, and stemwood losses which are left in the forest. Removals are divided into industrial wood and fuelwood. The traditional forest inventories are limited to stemwood only. Crown mass and stump and root wood are omitted (Figure 16).

4.1 Stemwood loss from logging operations

A part of the stemwood drain fails to meet the quality and diameter requirements of industrial wood. Figure 17 shows the proportion of stemwood left at site as residue in commercial logging operations. It can be concluded that: The proportion of residues is 2030 % in the first commercial thinning but only 45 % in the final cutting. The smaller the trees, the greater is the loss. The proportion of residues is in spruce stands higher than in pine stands. This is because the minimum diameter requirement of pulpwood is stricter for spruce, and small undergrowth trees are more common in spruce stands.

Scots pine Norway spruce Proportion, % Stem 100 69 100 59 Crown 23 16 45 27 Stump and root 22 15 24 14 Complete tree 145 100 169 100

Figure 16. Distribution of biomass between stem, crown and stump-root system in final fellings.

21

Loss of stemwood, % 30 25 20 16 15 10 5 0 First thinning Second thinning Final cut First thinning Second thinning Final cut 4 5 13 Pine stands 27 23 Defected wood Under-sized tops Small-sized stems Spruce stands

Figure 17. The relative loss of stemwood in commercial harvesting operations in 1997.

The primary source of stemwood loss is the un-

der-sized tops, especially in the first thinning, where a large number of trees is removed and the stem tapers slowly. In the integrated harvesting of pulpwood and fuelwood, the quality of both assortments is improved if the minimum diameter of pulpwood is in-

creased. The effect is opposite if the minimum diameter is decreased. This happened in 2001, as the minimum diameter of pine pulpwood was lowered to 6 cm. The residual stemwood is potential fuel. The total amount of stemwood residues from annual logging operations in Finland is 45 million m3, but as it is

Crown mass / stem mass, %

70 60 50 40 30

Pine stands 59 Dead branches Live branches

Spruce stands

54 48

34

22 20 10

21

First thinning

Second thinning

Final cut

First thinning

Second thinning

Final cut

Figure 18. Crown mass in relation to stem mass. Dry weight basis.

22

scattered over an area of 600 000 ha, the yield per site is too low to make the salvage feasible. Profitable harvesting for energy requires richer yields. This is achieved with simultaneous recovery of residual stemwood and crown mass.

eas of spruce is 0.5 MWh per m3 stemwood removed, and in pine stands 0.25 MWh correspondingly. In typical regeneration cuttings, the average yield of fuel from logging residues in 100120 MWh/ha for spruce and 5060 MWh/ha for pine. Figure 19 shows the logging residue potential within a 100 km radius of plants in different parts of Finland. The national frontiers, coast lines, water systems, road networks, age structure of forests and species dominance cause great regional differences in the availability. In the central parts of the country, the availability of logging residue chips to a given location is more than 800 GWh per annum, unless there are competing users. Nationwide, the technical availability of logging residues from final harvests is about 1112 TWh per annum, of which 68 TWh is presently economically harvestable.

4.2 Biomass residues from final fellings

As only stemwood has commercial value, crown mass and stump-root systems are not included in forest inventories. They are difficult to measure, and therefore biomass data on these tree components tend to be vague. Crown mass refers to branches with leaves, live and dead. In conjunction with timber harvesting, the amount of crown mass residues is estimated using empirical crown mass/stemwood ratios. When crown mass is used for energy, it is feasible to compare dry mass rather than volume. Since the basic density of branchwood is higher than that of stemwood, the ratio is higher on the mass basis. The crown mass/stemwood ratio is typically 4060 % for spruce and 2030 % for pine (Figure 18). Although the recovery of stemwood residues is not feasible as such, it becomes more attractive when the recovery of crown mass and stemwood residues are combined. Under Finnish conditions, 8090 % of this mix is crown mass and the remaining 1020 % is stemwood. The presence of stemwood facilitates the loading, feeding and baling of residual forest biomass. When the mix is comminuted with a chipper or crusher, the product is called logging residue chips. The availability of logging residue chips is, in practice, not as plentiful as Figure 18 seems to suggest. Some of the logging sites are out of question due to small size, long distance, difficult terrain or ecological restrictions, and in all cases it is recommended that 30 % of logging residues are left at site. If residues are left to season and shed part of the needles before haulage to road side, the yield of biomass is further reduced. According to a common rule of thumb, the recovery of logging residue chips from regeneration ar-

Figure 19. Logging residue potential from final fellings within a 100 km transport distance, and optimal location of power plants with an annual consumption of 300 GWh of forest chips. Smalltree chips and stumpwood chips are not included (73).
23

4.3 Small trees from early thinnings

The production of forest chips for fuel was started in the mid-1950s. The primary raw material was then small trees from young thinning stands. Trees were carefully delimbed, and the product was of high quality as required by the then existing chip feeding and combustion techniques. As the cost of labor increased, the competitiveness of stemwood chips suffered, and the use of chips stagnated. The introduction of hydraulic crane in the 1970s made multi-tree handling possible. Only then could the production of small-tree chips be rationalized and delimbing was abandoned. The appearance of a new concept, whole-tree chips, resulted in many changes: The yield of chips increased 1550 % The productivity of harvesting increased 1540 % The cost of procurement was reduced 2040 % The loss of nutrients from forest soil reduced 50150 % The particle size distribution and other quality properties of chips suffered The machines had to be more robust. The cost of small-tree chips nevertheless remained high. Production was subsidized for silvicultural reasons, but in the 1990s logging residue chips otherwise became more competitive. The increase in use was restricted exclusively to logging residue chips due to their cheaper cost, but a number of reasons have gradually appeared for extending the raw material base to young thinning stands: Tending of young forests needs to be intensified Broadening the raw material base improves the availability of forest fuels and shortens transport distances Independence of the timber markets assists the acquisition of fuel during times of depression in the forest industries when the production of other wood fuels is reduced Independent chip producers who are not involved in the harvesting of industrial timber have an easier access to raw material in young thinning stands

Seasonal fluctuation of employment may be lev-

elled by performing small-tree harvesting in the summer time when pulpwood and sawlog operations slow down Diameter requirements of pulpwood can be made more elastic to response the fluctuation of demand, if pulpwood and fuelwood are parallel products Small-tree chips are of better quality compared to logging residue chips. Small trees are easier to store and season, and they produce drier chips with a lower needle content. This is important, especially for small heating plants Small-tree operations create more jobs which are definitely needed in rural areas. However, in the long term the availability of labor is expected to decrease, and a higher need for labor may actually become a problem unless the operations are fully mechanized. Under-sized small-tree material is available mainly in young stands where good tending practices have been neglected. Two types of fuel harvesting operations occur. If fuel is the primary product, the treatment is called energywood thinning. If the removed trees are thick enough to allow pulpwood to become the primary product, with fuelwood as a by-product, the treatment is called first thinning. In both cases, technical logging conditions are difficult because of the small size of the trees. Improvements in logging conditions by concentrating of operations were examined in the programme (82, 84).

4.4 Stump and root wood from final fellings

The stump-root system is defined as all wood and bark of a tree below the stump cross-section. The use of stump and root wood for fiber and fuel was studied actively in Finland and Sweden during the 1970s and 1980s, but the cost was found to be excessive. UPM recently started to again develop the production of stump wood for fuel, and progress has been rapid.

24

Stump-root systems can only be salvaged from clear-cutting areas. Uprooting is carried out with heavy machines and, therefore, only stumps from saw timber-sized trees can be accepted. Moreover, thin roots break and stay in the ground. Sand and stones prevent comminution with sharp knives and so crushers are used instead of chippers. According to the earlier studies by the Finnish Forest Research Institute, the harvestable dry mass of a stump-root system is 2325 % of the stem mass, when sideroots thinner than 5 cm are not recov-

ered. In 2003, UPM harvested stump and root wood from an area of almost 1000 ha. The yield of fuel exceeded the FFRI research findings because stump height has increased following the replacement of manual felling by harvesters. A part of the root section thinner than 5 cm is also recovered. Figure 20 shows the dry mass and energy content of a stump-root system as a function of tree size. For example, if the breast height diameter of a tree is 30 cm, the stump-root system corresponds in pine stands to an energy content of 0.35 MWh and

MWh 0.4

kg 80

0.3

60

5 cm
Norway spruce

5 cm

0.2

40 Scots pine
20 5 cm

0.1

5 cm

10

20 Stump diameter, cm 10
Breast height diameter, cm

30

40

20

30

Figure 20. Dry mass and heating value of a stump-root system as a function of stump diameter. Stump cross-section at root collar height, under 5 cm root sections excluded (16).

Side roots
5 cm 10 cm 20 cm

Stump

Side roots
5 cm

Side roots
10 cm 20 cm

Stump

Side roots

% 53 16 27 25

% 32

15

20 12

Scots pine

Norway spruce

Figure 21. Distribution of dry mass in a stump-root system of sawtimber-sized trees. Under 5 cm root sections excluded (16).

25

in spruce stands 0.40 MWh. If the number of trees is, say, 400 per hectare, the amount of harvestable energy is 140160 MWh/ha. There is an important difference in the structure of a stump-root system between pine and spruce (Figure 21). Wet peatlands and the northernmost Finland excluded, pine typically has a taproot, and only a half of the total mass is composed of lateral roots. Spruce, on the other hand, has no taproot at all, but thicker lateral roots. In spruce, therefore, the central section of the stump-root system covers only one third and the lateral roots two thirds of the total mass. The difference between the species affects the techniques of uprooting and splitting. A spruce stump is easier to harvest and causes only a shallow hole in the ground. The removal of stump-root systems facilitates site preparation for regeneration. It also involves an opportunity to exterminate the root rot fungus from the stand, since the fungus survives in a regeneration area in the stumps and gradually infects the trees of the new generation. Removal of stumps prevents the root-rot fungus from spreading and heals the infected site.

Estimations of availability begin from the theoretical maximum potential. This is composed of two major sources. First, it includes all residual biomass left in the forest in conjunction with timber harvesting. Secondly, it includes the small-tree biomass which is removed, or should be removed, for silvicultural reasons in precommercial thinnings of young stands. The former is dependent on the markets of forest products, whereas the latter is free of market fluctuations. Only a part of the maximum biomass potential is recoverable. Many technological, socio-economic and environmental factors affect the availability: Price development of alternative fuels, taxes and subsidies Development of procurement technology and logistics Motivation of forest machine and truck contractors to participate Development of the quality requirements of forest chips. For example, will the foliage be taken or left? The acceptance of private forest owners, which is affected by the price paid for biomass The energy and climate policies at the national and EU levels. The trade of CO2 emissions will be of utmost importance. In Figure 22, the technological and environmental factors have been taken into account, but no price assumptions have been applied. The technically harvestable potential is estimated separately for five different types of logging operations: Energywood thinnings are tending operations in young stands in which the owner has earlier neglected good forest management. Because of the small size of the trees, the primary product is fuel. The age of the stands is typically 1525 years and a majority are dominated by pine, but the removals may be composed of hardwoods. The cost of harvest is high, and subsidies are necessary to make the recovery possible. First thinnings refer traditionally to the first commercial logging operation of a stand, normally at the age of 2540 years. Pulpwood is the primary product, but as 2030 % of the stemwood drain does not meet the minimum dimensions of pulpwood, first thinnings may also yield substantial quantities of fuelwood.

4.5 Forest chip potential of the Finnish forests

Inventory data on forest resources are important for the planning of capacity, product lines and location of new forest industries. A national forest inventory has been carried out nine times since the early 1920s, and precise knowledge is available of stemwood resources. The need for basic forest data now includes not only stemwood but all forest biomass because energy producers are prepared to invest in wood-fired heating and CHP plants, fuel producers are competing for market shares of raw material, and policy-makers are setting new targets for renewable energy. Forest biomass, although it is renewable, is nevertheless a limited resource, and its use must be built on a sustainable basis.
26

Energywood thinning 3+1 First thinning 3+3 Late thinnings 1+5 Final harvest 2 + 12 Stump and root wood, all operations 15 + 0

Mill. m3 / annum

Theoretical biomass potential 24 + 21 = 45

100 %

Energywood thinning 1.5 + 0.5 First thinning 2+1 Late thinnings 0.5 + 0 Final harvest 1 + 6.5 Stump and root wood from final harvest Energywood thinning and first thinning Final harvest 2+0 Technially harvestable biomass potential 7 + 8 = 15 33 %

1.6 3.4

The goal of energy and climate strategies for 2010 5

11 %

The goal of Wood Energy Programme for 2003 2.5 Energywood thinning and first thinning Final harvest

5.5 %

0.6

Production of forest chips in 2003

4.7 % 2.1

1.5

Figure 22. The biomass potential of the Finnish forests. The first part of the series of numbers refers to stemwood and the second part to crown mass (mill. m3/annum).

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Mill. m /annum 10 Crown mass Stem mass

8

Residue chips 16 TWh

Whole-tree chips
4

6 TWh
2

Crushed stump chips 4 TWh

4 TWh

Energywood thinning

First thinning

Final harvest

Stumps from final harvest

Figure 23. Technically harvestable biomass potential of the Finnish forests.

Later thinnings leave only small amounts of

stemwood at the site. Residues contain mainly crown mass, the separate recovery of which would cause logging damage to standing trees and unnecessary nutrient loss at a critical development phase of the stand. Production of forest chips is not recommended at this stage. Logging residues from final harvest are composed largely of crown mass which is abundantly available, especially in spruce stands. Logging residue chips are therefore produced mainly from the crown mass of spruce. Conditions of recovery are favourable. No subsidies are available. Stump and root wood from final harvest can be salvaged from clear-cut areas of mature spruce stands. Typically, logging residues have already been collected from the same site.

A summary of the amount and structure of the technically harvestable biomass reserve is presented in Figure 23. More than a half of the harvestable reserve is crown mass including foliage. If the targets set for forest chips are to be met, crown mass must be accepted as a source of fuel despite its inferior quality and accelerated nutrient loss. The technology of harvesting must be developed to keep needle removal at an acceptable level.

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Production technology of forest chips

The Wood Energy Programme aimed at the development of efficient technology for large-scale production of forest chips. To increase the flow of chips tenfold in ten years will require sophisticated and cost-competitive procurement systems. A prevailing feature of the programme was its system approach. The concept of system development was understood in its broad sense, including aspects such as procurement organization, logistics, machinery used in the production, receiving and handling of fuel at the plant, and storage as a buffer in the chain. Chapter 5 deals with these issues primarily from the viewpoints of technology, reliability and costs.

5.1 Production systems

A forest chip production system consists of a sequence of individual operations performed to process biomass into commercial fuel and to transport it from source to plant. The main phases of chip procurement are purchase, cutting, off-road transport from stump to roadside, comminution, measurement, secondary transport from roadside to mill, and receiving and handling at the plant. The system offers the organization, logistics and tools to control the process. The efficiency of a procurement system is highly dependent on the environment and infrastructure in which it is operating. Economic, social, ecological, industrial and educational factors, as well as local traditions, also have an effect. Consequently, no single production system is optimal in all countries, or in all conditions within a given country. Under Finnish conditions, the operating environment of forest chip procurement is characterized by the following attributes: The majority of the forests belongs to private non-industrial owners, the size range of holdings being typically 20200 ha. This means

small sales volumes, cramped landing areas at nearby road sides, and frequent shifting of machines from site to site. These drawbacks increase the cost of transactions and the scaling of biomass, decrease the operational availability of machines and so place considerable demands upon control of large-scale chip procurement. Up to 90 % of the potential is linked to the harvesting of industrial roundwood. The bulk of production must therefore be integrated with the existing timber procurement system, but the degree of integration may vary. In addition, small independent contractors and their networks are needed locally to increase competition. All logging machines and timber trucks are owned by contractors. The production of forest chips therefore rests on private contractors and the profitability of their enterprises. The demand for chips varies seasonally, especially in the case of smaller heating plants, which causes fluctuations in employment. In large industrial CHP plants, the demand for chips is more stable. Only small plants can base their fuel supply exclusively on forest chips. To secure fuel availability, to reduce the costs, and to level out quality variation, larger plants burn forest chips mixed with bark, sawdust, peat or coal. To keep the fuel blend constant, chip arrivals at the plant must be strictly scheduled. This requirement complicates the logistics of forest chip procurement. The Finnish forests belong to the Pan-European Forest Certification System (PEFC). Good forest management practices are essential also for the production of forest fuels.

A forest fuel production system is built around the comminution phase. The position of the chipper or crusher in the procurement chain largely determines the state of biomass during transportation and, consequently, whether subsequent machines are dependent on each other, i.e. whether the sys29

tem is hot or cool. Comminution may take place at the road side or landing site, at the source, at a terminal, or at the plant where the chips are to be used. Comminution at landing (Figures 2426) Comminution at a landing is the traditional option of forest chip production. The biomass is hauled by forwarders to the landing and bunched into 4 to 5 m high piles. The forwarder operates independently of the chipper. Comminution is performed at the landing using farm tractor-driven chippers in smaller operations and heavy truck-mounted chippers or crushers in large-scale operations. Chips are blown directly into a 100 to 130 m3 trailer truck, a process that makes the system hot and vulnerable, i.e. subsequent machines are dependent on each other. The close linkage of comminution and trucking results in waiting and stoppages and thus reduces the operational efficiency. A considerable part of the time consumption of a chipper or chip truck may be wasted in waiting. A smooth interaction of comminution and trucking is the most demanding phase of the system.

Another problem is that a wider landing area is required than in the alternative systems. This is because of the large road-side inventories of biomass and the simultaneous presence of the chipper and the truck. Landing chippers do not operate off road and can therefore be heavier, stronger and more efficient than terrain chippers. They are reliable, their technical availability is high, an they have a long life-span. If the biomass, such as stump and root wood, is contaminated by stones and soil, it is possible to use crushers that are more tolerant than chippers. To avoid the system from over-heating, the truckmounted chipper and chip truck can be replaced by a single chipper truck. This blows the chips directly into a container and then hauls the load to the plant. As the chipper truck is equipped with its own chipping device and crane, load capacity suffers and the operation radius around the plant is reduced. On the other hand, as only one single unit is needed, the chipper truck is suitable for small work sites and for delivering chip to small heating plants. This alternative was developed in the

Figure 24. Forest fuel production system based on comminution at a landing. Small trees from early thinning, truck-mounted chipper (VTT).

30

Figure 25. Forest fuel production system based on comminution at a landing. Logging residues from final harvest, truck-mounted chipper (VTT).

Figure 26. Forest fuel production system based on comminution at a landing. Logging residues from final harvest, chipper-truck (VTT).

programme jointly by Biowatti Oy, a large wood fuel producer, Oy Sisu-Auto Ab, a truck manufacturer, and Heinola Sawmill Machinery, a chipper manufacturer. Comminution in the terrain (Figure 27) Comminution in the terrain, or at the source, requires a highly mobile chipper suitable for cross-country operations and equipped with a tippable 1520 m3 chip container. The chipper moves in the terrain on strip roads and transfers the

biomass with its grapple loader to the feeder of the chipping device. The load is hauled to the road side and tipped into a truck container, which may be on the ground or on a truck trailer. Because a single machine carries out both the comminution of biomass and the off-road transport of chips, the cost of shifting machines from site to site is reduced, and smaller logging sites become commercially viable. The use of containers reduces the interdependence between the chipper and the truck, although it is not entirely removed, and the system remains somewhat hot. Large land31

Figure 27. Forest fuel production system based on comminution in the terrain. Logging residues from final harvest (VTT).

ing areas are not required, but a level and firm site is necessary for the truck containers. For off-road operation, the chipper must be as light as possible, although lightness causes its strength and stability to suffer. Even so, terrain chippers tend to be too heavy for use on soft soils, while the use of crushing equipment in terrain is out of question. A terrain chipper requires flat and even ground and, because of its small load size and slow speed, its range is less than 300400 m. Snow causes problems in the winter and results in an increased moisture content of chips, unless the terrain chipper operates at a landing. When large volumes of forest fuels are produced, the terrain chipping system becomes difficult to control. At present, the role of this system is diminishing. In the Wood Energy Programme, the terrain chipping system was developed jointly by Biowatti Oy, a wood fuel producer, and S. Pinomki Ky, a forest machine manufacturer. Comminution at a plant (Figures 28 and 29) Communition at a plant makes the chipper and chip truck independent of each other. The technical and operative availability of the equipment increases, control of the procurement process is facilitated, demand for labor is decreased, and the control of fuel quality is improved. Mobile chip32

pers can be replaced by heavy stationary crushers which are suitable for comminuting all kinds of biomass, including stump and root wood and recycled wood. The larger is the fuel flow, the more obvious become the advantages. Since the investment cost is high, only large plants can afford a stationary crusher. When comminution is performed at the plant, truck transportation of biomass takes place in the form of loose logging residues, whole trees or pieces of stump and root wood. The low bulk density of the biomass is the weak link in the system. The development of the truck transportation of uncomminuted biomass was therefore one of the key areas of the programme. It is necessary to increase the bulk density of residues, and for this an interesting prototype baler, Fiberpac, had been introduced earlier in Sweden. Experiences with the technique were encouraging, but it did not achieve wide acceptance at a time when the use of forest biomass was not growing and there was little room or need for new production capacity. The situation was reverse in Finland where the use of forest chips had started to grow rapidly. Consequently, Timberjack purchased the rights to the Fiberpac technology and developed the technology further. The project resulted the Timberjack 1490D residue baler.

Figure 28. Forest fuel production system based on comminution at a plant. Logging residues from final harvest (VTT).

In this new system, logging residues are compressed and tied into 70 cm diameter, 3.2 m long bales or composite residue logs. A bale of green residues weighs 500 kg and has an energy content of about 1 MWh. Bales are transported to the road side using a conventional forwarder (Figures 30 and 31) and on to the plant using a conventional

timber truck. About 12 bales form one forwarder load, and 65 bales or 30 tons form one truck load. The real advantages of the system did not show up as long as the profitability of the baling techniques was evaluated simply by adding successively costs from separate work phases of the chain. In a holis-

Figure 29. Forest fuel production system based on comminution at a plant. Stump and root wood from final harvest (VTT).

33

Figure 30. Timberjack 1490D baling logging residues of spruce (Timberjack).

Figure 31. Conventional Timberjack 1710 forwarder unloading compacted residue logs at road side (Timberjack).

34

tic systems analysis, the new technology compares well with the traditional alternatives, because attention is also given to logistics, operative availability, process control, reliability, scaling and environmental impacts: The machines involved operate independently of each other making the system cool and reliable. The integration of bundle production in the procurement of industrial roundwood is simple, as off-road and on-road transportation can be performed with standard equipment. The baler produces accurate real-time information about the daily production and inventories. Scaling becomes cost-free. The storage of bales is simple: storage space requirement is reduced, little loss or deterioration of biomass occurs, and long-term storage for the winter season is easy. The noise, dust and litter problems, which may occur in conjunction with comminution at a landing, are avoided.

The reliability of the fuel deliveries is greatly

improved, while the overhead costs are reduced.

Bales can be unloaded from a vehicle and stored

at any stage of the production chain. This possibility, as well as reliable information about the biomass inventories, create excellent conditions for efficient process control. The system based on residue bales and comminution at a plant was developed jointly by UPM, Pohjolan Voima, Alholmens Kraft and Timberjack to supply forest biomass to the worlds largest biofuel-fired CHP plant (Figure 32). Since then, more large plants have installed a stationary crusher and started to apply the same technology. At the beginning of 2004, 24 residue balers already operated in Finland. Their total capacity was 0.6 mill. m3 or 1.2 TWh per annum, corresponding to one third of the forest chips used by all heating and CHP plants. The organizations responsible for the procurement of raw material to the forest industries have found

Figure 32. Compacted residue logs in front of the crushing station of Alholmens Kraft power plant (E.V.A.).

35

Figure 33. Loading unprocessed logging residues into a biomass truck (Metsteho).

the baling technology an attractive way to integrate fuel production in their operations. Although baling is a proven technology, it still has significant development potential. Among the possibilities are: Improved productivity of baling by making the feeding and compressing functions faster, and forwarding more efficient through enlargened load space Broadening the application area from logging residues to small-tree material. The problem is the narrow working space in young thinning stands rather than the baling process itself Use of mobile chippers and crushers for comminution of residue bales at small plants or terminals where the use of a stationary crusher is not economical Solving some minor problems: keeping stones out of the bales, use of rear and side walls in trucks for traffic safety, and tangling of cords with the axles of crushers and disc screens. Over short distance, it may still be economical to transport logging residues to the plant as unpro36

cessed loose material (Figure 33). The stationary crushers currently in use are capable of comminuting loose logging residues, although the productivity is not as high as for baled material. An ongoing project of the programme aims to developed an enlarged load space and compressing techniques for residue trucks (93). Comminution at a terminal Comminution at a terminal is a compromise between comminution at a landing and at the plant. Biomass is hauled uncomminuted to the terminal for size reduction, and then transported to the plant as chips. If the network of terminals is dense, the distance from the logging site to the terminal remains short. The system does not differ much from the traditional option where comminution is carried out at a landing. Vapo Oy has developed an operation pattern where the farm tractor-diven HavuHukka trailer is used first for off-road transport from logging site to road and, subsequently, for on-road

Figure 34. Load-compacting HavuHukka forwarder for transporting logging residues from stump to satellite terminals (Vapo).

transport to a terminal over a distance less than 10 km (81). The load capacity of the trailer is increased with an enlargening load space which can be compressed (Figure 34). The system is not gaining ground, as it lacks flexibility. If a fuel producer operates only few terminals and they are located far from the biomass sources, off-road transport with a forwarder and on-road transport with a truck are separate operations. The size of the terminal is larger, and the system does not differ greatly from comminution at plant. The terminal may be paved, and the use of a crusher is possible. Large terminals are operated by Biowatti Oy at Janakkala and Hytypaperi Oy at Valkeala. A terminal is a tool for controlling the procurement process. Biomass can be stored at the terminal uncomminuted and processed during the winter season when the demand for fuel is high and working conditions at the forest end are difficult. The arrangement makes it possible to apply baling technology for supplying forest chips to small plants that do not have a stationary crusher.

5.2 Production organizations

The availability of fuel must be ensured in all conditions irrespective of weather, equipment failure, labour disputes or depression in the markets of forest products. Insecurity of fuel supply was a barrier to the use of forest chips in large plants in the late 1990s. The supply of fuel has to be robust. In the case of forest fuels, proving the robustness of supply is a difficult task, because the fuel is collected from a large number of harvesting operations, fuel inventories are small, and working conditions are unfavourable during the peak demand in mid winter. The majority of forest chips are derived from logging residues from industrial timber harvesting. It follows that fuel and raw material should be harvested as integrated operations. This is possible only if the forest industries are motivated to do so. In Central Europe, the forest industries are concerned about a possibly undesirable effect of forest fuel markets on the availability and price develop37

ment of pulpwood. Conversely, the Finnish forest industries see many reasons for being actively involved and for adopting a pioneer role, because: Demand for small-sized wood results in improved silviculture and increases the long-term yield of industrial wood Removing excessive biomass residues is a trump card in the timber trade because it brings indirect silvicultural advantages to the forest owners Traditionally, the forest industries control the raw material flow, and so it is natural that they also wish to control the fuel flow, since the general trend is for the integration of operations Renewable energy enhances the green image of the forest industries an advantage in export markets Harvesting biomass residues may provide more even employment for contractors. Energywood harvesting takes place in the summer time when the cutting of industrial timber is at a minimum Forest chip production is becoming a profitable business due to green certificates and CO2 emissions trading in the EU. There are three large forest industry enterprises in Finland: UPM, Stora Enso and Metsliitto-

Yhtym. They all have an advantage over other fuel producers in the access to biomass sources of private forests in conjunction with the normal timber trade. The fourth major actor is Vapo, the leading producer and developer of technology of fuel peat. Each of them has organized the production of forest chips in its own way: Metsliitto-Yhtym. The forestry department of this concern is responsible for the purchase and harvesting of biomass. At the road side, the biomass is handed over to a subsidiary company, Biowatti, which is responsible for comminution at the road side and delivering of the fuel to the customers. In 2003, the wood fuel deliveries of Biowatti amounted to 4 TWh. Forest chips alone corresponded to 1 TWh, and together with pellets they were the fastest growing assortment in the companys fuel selection (Figure 35). UPM. The procurement of forest chips belongs entirely to the companys forestry department, and it is integrated with the procurement of industrial raw material. In 2003, the production of forest chips was 1 TWh, most of which was delivered to CHP plants owned by Pohjolan Voima. Five of these plants are equipped with a startionary crusher for comminution of residue logs and stump and root wood.

TWh / annum 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.5 1.5 1.0 0.5
Forest chips Industrial chips Sawdust Bark Other Pellets

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

Figure 35. Wood fuel deliveries of Biowatti.

38

 Stora Enso. Compared to the volume of timber

harvesting, the scale of forest chip production is modest. The companys forestry department is responsible for production, which amounted to 0.1 TWh in 2003. Vapo. As a peat producer Vapo lacks a forestry department and direct access to biomass sources. Synergy is sought by integrating wood fuel procurement with the peat business. Vapo is also a pellet producer and an owner of heating and CHP plants. These four companies control three quarters of the commercial production of forest chips. Strong actors are creating the foundation for a robust supply regime. They can benefit from the large scale and the logistics systems available. However, as a large part of the chips is actually used by these producers themselves, competition is reduced. Instead of working as contractors for the large companies, some forest machine and truck entrepreneurs act as independent fuel producers, either alone or through a network. Because of the small size of the enterprises, they operate only locally. Nevertheless, they have a positive effect on compe-

tition in the field. The Trade Association of Finnish Forestry and Earth Moving Contractors encourages its members to sign independent chip delivery contracts by promoting networking (78). The Wood Energy Programme examined possibilities to use an internet-based information and marketing system to promote the mobilization of the smalltree reserves of young thinning stands, and to improve the operating environment of small local fuel producers (35, 37). Kotimaiset Energiat Ky, Metsenergia Ky (Figures 36 and 37) and Lhienergia Oy are pioneers among the independent chip entrepreneurs in Finland. In addition to the fuel producers mentioned above, 172 small heat entrepreneurs operated in Finland at the end of 2002. They were either private persons such as farmers, or co-operatives or limited liability companies that were responsible for both fuel supply and heating of rural buildings, and they were paid for the heat rather than fuel. The average size of a boiler was 0.48 MW. The total capacity of the boilers was 83 MW, the annual consumption of forest chips 80 000 m3, and the turnover 5 M (54, 86).

Figure 36. Moha chipper-truck unloading at a small heating plant (Trade Association of Finnish Forestry and Earth Moving Contractors).
39

Figure 37. Valtra farm tractor-based residue forwarder of Metsenergia with enlargening load space (TTS Institute).

5.3 Production logistics

Production logistics refers to the control of fuel flow from stump to plant. Developing the logistics is aimed at improving the operational availability, rather than the technical availability, of machines deployed by a fuel procurement system. The majority of the procurement costs is caused by terrain and road transport. Therefore, the core of forest chip logistics is in the control of transportation. Converting the biomass into transportable form with a chipper, crusher or baler also is an essential part of the logistics system, as chips have to be loaded directly from a chipper into a truck or container. The link between the chipper and the truck is the Achilles heel of the traditional technology. For a number of reasons, the large-scale production of forest chips is a demanding task from the viewpoint of logistics: Biomass has to be collected from a large number of timber sites. Conditions of harvesting and storage at the road side are directed by the industrial timber, since biomass is only a low-value byproduct from industrial logging operations. Obtaining of biomass is difficult for a fuel producer who does not participate in the harvesting of pulpwood and sawlogs.
40

Small size of sales. The yield per site is low. This

means the frequent moving of machines from site to site, guiding contractors to new sites, and the underutilization of truck capacity. Scattered location of work sites. Varying distance to the plants continuously changes the productivity ratios between the subsequent operations in the system. Issues such as the concentration of work sites, scheduling trucks, and exchange of raw material between fuel producers must be given due attention. Variation of biomass properties. The raw material base is composed of small trees, logging residues, and stumps and roots. Each biomass source may require the use of specific machines, and each source produces a different kind of fuel. The variation of chip properties must be levelled. Change in quality. Comminuted wood fuels deteriorate rapidly during storage, whereas the drying and purification of uncomminuted stump and root wood in piles improves the quality. The form and duration of storage have to be designed to ensure the quality of chips. Small inventories. Due to the risk of quality loss, buffer storages of forest chips tend to be small. For the peak season in winter, biomass is stored

at the road side or at terminals in an uncomminuted state. Blending of fuels. The supply of forest chips is seldom sufficient to meet the fuel needs of a large plant. Therefore, forest chips are cofired with bark, sawdust and peat. For the useability of the plant, efficiency of combustion and control of emissions, it is important to keep the fuel blend constant (49). The arrivals of fuel trucks must be scheduled accordingly. Achieving the benefits of the economy of scale is not, therefore, a simple task. However, the integration of fuel production in the timber procurement organizations of the forest industries creates many advantages in the purchase of biomass, the use of information systems, knowledge of local conditions, the use of existing equipment when appropriate, and in the supervision of work. The Wood Energy Programme placed strong emphasis on the development of logistics. Moving comminution to a plant or terminal was found to be an effective measure for enhancing the reliability of the procurement system. Residue bales help to

smoothen the logistics: the system becomes less vulnerable, waiting times between machines are eliminated, winter storage is facilitated and the entire process becomes easier to control (70, 71, 94). The current baling technology is only suitable for large-scale operations, and a precondition is a crusher at the plant. The crusher makes it possible to receive stump and root wood as well, and the raw material base and fuel supply are consequently broadened. Large 150 m3 truck-and-trailer vehicles have been built to transport loose logging residues, residue bales, undelimbed tree sections and stump and root wood to the plant, separately or mixed (Figure 38). It nevertheless remains more common that forest fuels arrive at a plant as chips. If the distance is short, the landing site crowded or reception at a plant limited, the truck does not use a trailer. The maximum load volume is then 60 m3. Otherwise the truck is equipped with a trailer and the load volume is typically 100130 m3. In one of the projects, it was found that compared with blowing of chips into the truck, the use of a belt conveyor equipped with a mechanical ejector increased the

Figure 38. Hauler truck of a 150 m3 truck-and-trailer unit for transporting uncomminuted biomass. The extendable trailer is not in the picture (Kome)

41

Figure 39. An internet-based logistics system helps to control the fuel flow (Biowatti).

bulk density and reduced the consumption of energy (74). Queuing of fuel trucks is an unnecessary cost factor which should be eliminated. Queuing may occur at large plants especially in cold winter weather when the need for fuel is high. The peak time of arrivals is typically in the morning. To avoid queuing, bottlenecks should be removed from the receiving system, and the arrivals should be scheduled. The use of an internet-based, general-purpose logistics control system applying mobile terminals was studied in the programme. Among the aspects investigated were vehicle control and terminal logistics, navigation of vehicles, work planning, and instructions for deliveries by internet to mobile terminals. The advantages mentioned by the participants of the project included paper free truck cabin, decrease of cellular phone calls, and GIS/GPS supported navigation. Technology should be developed further to support the whole business process of the truck entrepreneur so that the information needed in planning, operative work and invoicing could be monitored by the system (74, Figure 39).

5.4 Production equipment

In 2001, about 44 mill. m3 of industrial wood was harvested from the Finnish forests, the delivery sales of self-employed forest owners excluded. The equipment used by different contractors is fully compatible, allowing for organizational flexibility. Unfortunately, little machine compatibility has been achieved in the procurement of forest chips, even though the annual production remains less than 2 mill. m3, small-scale use excluded. The lack of compatibility is because the logging conditions vary from the early uncommercial thinning of young stands to the final harvest of mature stands, and because the technology is still new. Several alternative production systems are in use, and each system employs special equipment that is not necessarily compatible with other systems. This diversity causes problems in practice: The contractors flexibility is restricted and investments become risky when technology prevents changing from one system to another.

42

 Machine markets are fragmented, manufacture

in series is not possible, and machine prices remain high. Whenever possible, it is preferable to use conventional equipment for the harvesting and transportation of forest biomass. However, special equipment is needed in many phases of the chain, and they were given an important role in the Wood Energy Programme. Although the system approach was central to the programme, some projects focused on narrower topics with the aim of developing and demonstrating new machine solutions and removing specific bottlenecks in a system. Results from these product development projects are as follows: The Kome biomass truck is designed specificly for transportation of stump and root wood, but it is also suitable for logging residues and residue logs. The load volume is up to 150 m3. The total length of the truck and trailer is 25 m. The trailer is extendible to enable the crane to reach the rear of the trailer when loading and unloading. The load space also has walls made of special steel (Figure 38). Pika Loch 2000 is an 8-wheeled terrain chipper manufactured by S. Pinomki Ky. The cabin is leveled automatically and slews 330 degrees. The weight is 23 tons, including the 10-m-reach

Loglift 71 FT 100 crane, the Bruks 604 CT drum chipper with a 60 x 36 cm feed opening, and 20 m3 chip space. Unloading takes place from 4.2 m height, and so it is not necessary to lower a trucks chip containers to the ground for loading (Figure 40). The TT-97RM made by Heinola Sawmill Machinery is a medium-sized drum chipper with a 90 x 40 cm feed opening. It is designed primarily to operate at landing sites and small satellite terminals. The basic model is equipped with a bogie axle, and it is driven by a 100140 kW farm tractor (model TT-97RMT). The weight is 7.5 tons without the tractor. It can also be mounted on a truck (model TT-97RML). The power source is then a 225375 kW auxiliary engine, or the engine of the truck. The truck-mounted Giant chipper from LHM Hakkuri is designed to operate at landing sites. The power source is a 367 kW auxiliary engine. The reach of the Loglift 95 crane is 10 m. The drum chipper has a 140 x 60 cm feed opening, and it can be fed from both sides. It is equipped with a litter screw for salvaging loosened fine material from the feeding table. The total mass of the unit is 32 tons. High efficiency makes the Giant chipper suitable for large-scale operations, but flexible mobility allows also shuttling and small-scale chipping on farms (Figure 41).

Figure 40. Pika Loch 2000 terrain chipper (S.Pinomki Ky).

43

Figure 41. Truck-mounted Giant chipper (LHM Hakkuri).

Figure 42. Sisu chipper-truck (Biowatti).

The Sisu chipper truck performs both chipping

at the landing and transportation of chips to the customers. As the same unit carries out two subsequent work phases, the production chain remains cool. The base components are the Sisu E14 truck, the Loglift 75ZT crane, the TT-

97RMS drum chipper from Heinola Sawmill Machinery, three chip containers with a total ca3 pacity of 100 m , and Multilift LHS 260.5 system for moving the containers. Seven Sisu chipper trucks worked for Biowatti at the beginning of 2004 (Figure 42).

44

Figure 43. Timberjack 1490D residue baler mounted for a truck for Central European conditions (Timberjack).

The Timberjack 1490D residue baler is used for

baling logging residues and small-sized trees in clear-cut areas. The total mass, including the 10-m-reach crane, is 32 tons. The revolving baling device is fed from the side. The bale is formed by compressing and tieing with cord. The process is continuous, and the bales are cross-cut with a chainsaw, normally to 3.2 m lengths to fit ideally with the measurements of the vehicles used for transportation. The structure of the base machine is designed for working in terrain, but one baler has been mounted on a truck for Central European conditions. At the beginning of 2004, altogether 27 balers were in operation, 20 of them in Finland (Figure 43). Driven by logistic advantages and improved reliability of fuel deliveries, baling technology has developed rapidly, and new manufacturers have appeared. For example, S. Pinomki Ky has developed RS2000 residue baler, which is mounted on Pika Combi 828 harwarder. The 21 ton unit can be converted easily to forwarder for the off-road transportation of the bales (Figure 44). Timberjack 720 and 730 accumulating felling heads allow the multi-tree handling in young

stands. Any harvester suitable for thinning, such as Timberjack 770, may act as the base machine. The felling head replaces the conventional harvester head. Trees are cross-cut by shearing, the maximum stem diameter being 20 cm for the former and 30 cm for the latter. The feller-head automatically collects several small trees at a time to reduce the movements of the crane and to improve productivity. The two felling heads weigh 340 and 620 kg respectively (Figure 45). The fuel receiving systems of BMH Wood Technology, when a crusher is included, are capable of handling all kinds of forest fuels. Alholmens Krafts power plant has a rapidly rotating stationary Saalasti Crusher with 180 x 120 cm feed opening, powered by two 500 kW engines. The 3 capacity is 160 m loose/h. Jmsnkoski power plant has a slowly rotating 2-drum ECO Crusher with a 330 x 420 cm feed opening. The capacity 3 is 50180 m loose/h, depending on the properties of the biomass. Figure 46 shows the fuel handling system of Kymin Voima. The power plant does not have a crusher, and therefore the forest fuels have to arrive as chips.
45

Figure 44. RS2000 residue baler mounted on a Pika Combi harwarder (S.Pinomki Ky).

Figure 45. Timberjack 770 harvester equipped with the accumulating Timberjack 730 feller head for small-tree operations (Timberjack).

Although the Wood Energy Programme is ending, Tekes support for product development will continue. Among the machines under development are

stump harwarders for combined uprooting, splitting and forwarding stump and root wood with a single wheeled machine (69).

46

Figure 46. Fuel receiving and handling system of Kymin Voima (61).

5.5 Buffer and security storage

A fuel delivery system must be designed to overcome both anticipated and unexpected disturbances. The larger is the flow of forest fuels, and the higher is their share in a plants fuel blend, the more important are the precision and reliability of the deliveries. Disturbances may occur for many reasons: The need for fuel increases during the winter season, but then ice and snow hamper chip production and may lead to the breakdown of machinery The availability of bark, sawdust, and residues from final felling suffers in times of economic depression in the sawmill industry. The production of processing residues is also reduced during holidays. Small fuel delivery organizations that are based on a single machine chain are particularly vulnerable to illness, labor disputes or machine malfunction. Excessive moisture content of chips causes a loss in efficiency and an increase in emissions.

Storage can be used for decreasing and leveling the moisture content. Disturbances may occur in the global markets of fossil fuels and electricity. As long as the use of forest chips was only experimental and took place on a small scale, this problematic was essentially theoretical. Rapid increases in the use of wood fuels is changing the situation. As the systems resistance to shocks can be strengthened by means of buffer storage, the need for storage was studied in the programme (72). Short-term buffer storage is aimed to secure continuous fuel supply at night, during weekends and holidays, in extreme weather conditions, and in case of machine breakdowns. For comminuted biomass, the volume of the storage pile or silo is determined by the energy density of chips, 0.70.9 MWh/m3 loose. Seasonal storage aims at controlling the moisture content of forest fuels that are to be burnt in the winter time, and to move work from difficult win47

ter conditions to easier summer ones. Since forest chips deteriorate during storage and the loss of dry matter amounts to 13 % per month, only uncomminuted biomass is stored over periods of several months (Figures 47 and 48). The need of district heat is seven times greater in the winter than in mid summer.

Long-term security storage is fixed by law for fossil fuels, but no statutory obligations have been prescribed for indigenous fuels. Nevertheless, in normal conditions the inventories of fuel peat are large enough to cover the consumption of an entire year. As long-term storage of wood fuels is not possible on a large scale, shortages are normally

Figure 47. Road side storage of small trees for the winter season (Biowatti).

Figure 48. Road side storage of residue logs for the winter season (VTT).
48

compensated with peat. Consequently, large CHP plants seldom rely on wood fuels alone. They are prepared to receive, handle and co-combust wood and peat, and the fuel blend can be changed according to conditions. In countries were peat is not available, wood can be co-combusted with coal or other locally available fuels.

is roughly 20 000 /MW at the district heating CHP plants and 30 000 /MW at the industrial CHP plants, i.e. about 9 % of the total investment of a new plant. This proportion is increasing rather than decreasing in order to remove bottlenecks and improve the useability of the plant, as well as to handle uncomminuted wood fuels (Figure 49). The following findings are based on a survey of the bottlenecks in fuel handling at large CHP plants (39). A receiving station must apply technology that enables fast and undisturbed unloading of fuel trucks. The system should be scaled to handle materials with a low energy density. For forest chips, the minimum capacity is 3 m3 loose/h/MW of fuel capacity of the boiler. If the receiving capacity is insufficient, the unloading time of trucks increases, resulting in queuing and additional costs. A stationary crusher should be capable of comminuting all kind of biomass delivered to the plant: loose and baled logging residues, undelimbed tree-sections, recycled wood, and stump and root wood. The cost of investment is 12 M, and therefore only large plants can afford a crusher. Only five CHP plants were equipped with a stationary crusher in 2003. A disc screen, and crusher for reducing the oversized particles from screening to an acceptable size, are required to improve the fluidity of the fuel and prevent breakage and blockage of conveyors. Small heating plants do not always have a screen and an accompanied crusher. This forces them to use high-quality chips and pay a higher price. A buffer storage is required to ensure the fuel supply during weekends etc. It may be a rectangular A-building, circular silo or open field. Covered chip stores are typically large enough for 1020 hours consumption. Experience has taught that due consideration must be given to the properties of forest chips and the specific demands of the fuel trucks. The fluency of fuel deliveries and useability of the plant will otherwise suffer. When old technology is replaced, or a greenfield plant is built, participation of the forthcoming chip procurement organization in the planning is essential. Since the mid-1990s, a large
49

5.6 Receiving and handling

Wood fuels differ from peat and coal with respect to their handling properties, such as particle size distribution, bulk density, moisture content and fluidity. Differences also occur amongst the wood fuels. For example, forest chips and debarking residues behave differently. Diversity and variable properties of wood fuels must be given proper attention in planning. Unfortunately, this is not always recognized. Receiving, handling, blending and feeding wood fuels are problematic where the plant is not prepared for the special properties of chips and chip trucks. As these operations are an essential function of a forest fuel production system, they were given an important position in the Wood Energy Programme (34, 61, 62). The following topics were addressed: Development of inbound logistics of arriving chip trucks in order to reduce the time used for queuing and unloading. Modifying plants designed for peat trucks unloading sidewards to accept chip trucks unloading backwards. Making a homogenous blend from a variety of fuels. Blending is usually performed at the receiving station of the plant, but it may also take place in conjunction with intermediate fuel storage when loading or unloading silos. Modifying handling equipment, such as disc screens and conveyors, to cope with chips containing over-sized particles, impurities and excessive moisture. Developing comminution of forest biomass with high-capacity stationary crushers at the plant. Proportioned to the boiler capacity of a plant, the investment for the receiving and handling system

Figure 49. Fuel receiving and handling system of Jmsnkoski power plant (VTT).

number of heating and CHP plants have been refitted with the technology required to use forest chips. This has greatly increased the utilization capacity of forest fuels in Finland.

Focus on the key problems in machine and

method development
Collect basic knowledge needed by decision

makers who direct subsidies to the production of forest chips. The effect of cost factors associated with the operating environment depends on the scale of operation, the technology applied, the source, and the quality requirements placed upon the biomass. Examples of the findings of the programme are (3, 6): The cost of recovery depends on the yield of biomass per hectare. The recovery of logging residues from the final cut of mature spruce stands is typically 20 % of the recovery of roundwood. For pine, the corresponding figure is little more than 10 %. Halving the recovery raises the cost of off-road transport by 10 %. The cost of harvesting is thus lowest in spruce-dominated stands, and the availability of forest fuels is most abundant in regions where spruce is the dominating species. The proportion of foliage in logging residues from mature stands is 30 % for spruce and 20 % for pine. The yield of chips decreases if the residues are left to season on the site to defoliate so

5.7 Production costs

While fossil fuels occur in large deposits and can be produced at a constant cost, forest fuels are scattered and must be collected from a large number of locations. Technical logging conditions vary widely, and the variations are reflected in the productivity and cost of work. Knowledge of the cost factors of forest chip production has been vague. When the Wood Energy Programme was established, this lack of elementary knowledge was a serious shortcoming from the viewpoint of technology development. The effect of factors such as stand conditions and hauling distances should be known in order to: Identify the most advantageous stands for chip production Estimate the change in the cost when the demand for chips increases or when the quality requirements of the fuel are tightened
50

as to improve the quality of fuel and reduce the loss of nutrients from forest soil. The reduction in biomass recovery, the delay in the harvesting schedule, and accompanied logistical disadvantages raise the cost of procurement, If a plants demand for logging residues increases, the average cost of procurement increases as well, because the operations must be extended to less favourable stands and at greater distances. Considerable regional differences in the availability and costs arise from differences in the structure of forests and species dominance. The small size of timber sales from private forest holdings is also a serious cost factor. Proper timing and coordination of operations with neighbouring holdings could increase the harvestable fuel in a region by more than 10 % and reduce the average costs by 4 to 6 % (82). A significant gap exists between cost of fuel from the early thinnings and that from final cuttings. The gap is caused by the high cost of cutting and bunching of small-sized trees from thinnings, whereas in the other phases of the procurement chain cost differences are modest. If no stumpage is paid, the cost level is 10 /MWh for logging residue chips and 15 /MWh for whole-tree chips (Figure 50). The former meets the solvency of the users, but the latter exceeds it by some 5 /MWh. This is why whole-tree chips are subsidized but logging residue chips are not.

Average costs may be misleading, since costs vary considerably. Figure 51 shows how a single productivity factor, stem volume, affects the cost of cutting and, consequently, the cost of the entire procurement chain. The effect is steeper in mechanized than in manual cutting. Production costs and chip prices should not be confused. A goal of the Wood Energy Programme was the reduction of costs, not necessarily a reduction of prices. Cost reduction leaves room to manoeuvre in less favourable stand conditions, improves the profitability of forest machine enterprices, and makes it possible to pay stumpage to forest owners. Price reduction tends to have a reverse effect, although it improves the competitiveness of chips against alternative fuels. The average market price of forest chips decreased in the 1990s, partly because of a shift from whole-tree chips to logging residue chips. The low point was reached in 2000, since when the average price has increased by almost 20 %. This happened despite the development of technology and logistics, as the increasing use of wood fuels forced the production organizations to extend their operations to more difficult and distant stands (Figure 52). The price paid by small heating plants is also above the average because of their stricter quality requirements.

Cost, / MWh 16

15 Overheads Truck transport Chipping and landing Off-road transport Cutting

14 12 10 8 6 4 2 Logging residue chips Whole-tree chips

10

Figure 50. Cost structure of forest chips from logging residues and small whole trees.

51

40 35 30 25 Cost, / MWh 20 15 10 5 Manual cutting 20 15 10 5 Mechanized cutting Cutting Off-road transport Chipping at landing Truck transport Overheads

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 Stem volume, dm3

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50 Stem volume, dm3

Figure 51. Cost structure of whole-tree chips as a function of stem volume (5).

Price, /MWh 12

11.0 10 8.8
8 8.6 10.2 9.4

9.0

7.6 6.8 6.0 5.9

5.3

6.3

6.5

6.9

7.1

5.5

1995 1999 2000 2001 2002

1995 1999 2000 2001 2002

1995 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003*

Bark

Sawdust

Forest chips

Figure 52. The price of solid wood fuels at the plant, excluding VAT (19, 103, 8).

Although the prices of wood fuels are increasing in Finland, they are still substantially below the Swedish level. During the third quarter of 2003, the average price of forest chips at a Swedish heating plant was 14.2 /MWh (130 SEK/MWh), value added tax excluded, or 39 % higher than in Finland
52

(9). Fossil fuels used for heating are taxed more heavily in Sweden, and therefore the price level is higher. In Finland, the lower prices are explained partly, but not entirely, by lower stumpage prices of biomass, investment aid for production machinery, and production support for small-tree chips.

Quality control of forest chips

The quality of forest chips is dependent upon the source of the biomass and the techniques employed for comminution, handling and storage. Consistent particle size, low contents of moisture and foliage, and low ash production improve the useability of the plant and efficiency and economy of combustion. Different boilers demand different fuel properties. The larger the plant, the more tolerant it usually is of random variations in fuel properties. Even so, knowledge of fuel properties and careful control of quality are essential to the operational reliability and efficient combustion of all boiler systems, large CHP plants included. The role of quality becomes more pronounced as the production of forest chips increases. Problems may occur when a peat-fired plant starts to use chips (89). Such problems are solved by rearranging the fuel handling system, limiting the proportion of forest chips in the fuel blend, or by means of quality control that must be extended to all phases of fuel procurement, starting from stand selection. Very little can be done after the fuel has arrived at the plant. The quality of chips is affected by many properties such as moisture content, heating value, energy density, foliage content, ash content, specific emission of CO2, and particle size. It is not only the averages that matter. Perhaps even more important is the random variation of properties. Variation occurs within a truck load, between truck loads, and according to the season. An important goal of quality control is to reduce such variations. The Wood Energy Programme contained several projects that dealt with chip quality issues. Examples of these projects are listed below. Some of them deal with processing residues from forest industries:

Quality control of logging residues and small di-

ameter trees by means of seasoning (27, 28)

Critical properties of wood fuels with respect to

boiler corrosion and power plant useability (31, 66, 67, 68) Chemical changes in wood fuels during storage and thermal drying, and the effects of the changes on fuel properties, occupational health hazards and emissions during storage (10, 11) Flue gas emissions from co-firing by-products from the plywood and particle board industries (96) Improving the combustion properties of bark: reduction of moisture content prior to storage, removal of impurities, and optimizing storage (Section 8.2) Improving the particle size of chips through chipper development (79) Suitability of small-diameter wood for pulping, and establishing boundaries between pulpwood and fuelwood (36, 42) Effect of radioactivity of wood fuels on the use of ash (97).

6.1 Moisture content

The most important single quality factor is the moisture content of chips. Moisture content is a direct cost factor, and it is taken into account in the pricing of the fuel. An excessive moisture content results in a price reduction, while a low moisture content brings a bonus. It affects the heating value, storage properties and transport costs of the fuel: Effective heating value. Vaporization consumes 0.7 kWh heat energy per a kilogram of water. If the moisture content of fresh softwood is reduced from 55 % to 40 %, the initial amount of water is reduced by half, and the effective heating value increases 8 % Efficiency of combustion. Moist wood tends to combust incompletely, and a part of the heat energy of the fuel is then lost. This is a problem
53

particularly in small boilers where the temperature remains too low if the fuel is moist Emissions. Incomplete combustion results in increased emissions of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and fine particles Storage properties. Chemical and biochemical reactions take place during the storage of chips, particularly if the biomass contains active nutrient-rich material such as foliage. Dry matter loss can be avoided only when the moisture content is less than 25 % Handling problems. In winter, moist chips may freeze in a truck load or silo causing blockages and damage to the fuel handling system of a plant.

Large plants are more tolerant of high and variable moisture content of chips, because they apply FBC technology and co-combust chips with peat. Anyhow, excessive moisture content strains the energy efficiency even of a large plant. The moisture content of wood fuels should not be too high, and it should not vary randomly from load to load. The moisture content of fresh biomass must be reduced in order to obtain the full energy potential. Moisture is a critical fuel property, especially in the winter time, as a reduction in the moisture content occurs only during the summer. Maintaining the reduced level of moisture during the autumn rains requires the careful planning and timing of operations. During recent years, the procurement orga-

Moisture content, % 60

Large power plants, average 48.3 %

50 40 30 20 10
Small heating plants, average 38.4 %

1
M.C. % Water kg / m3

10

11

12

500
50

Large power plants, average 392 kg/m3

400 300 200

Small heating plants, average 262 kg/m3

40 30 20 10

100

10

11

12

Month / 2001

Figure 53. Monthly variation of the moisture content of forest chips in 2001. Averages of 4 large power plants and 7 small heating plants (33).

54

nizations have managed to achieve greater control of the moisture content, and truck loads of chips with an excessive 5560 % moisture content are no longer common. Nevertheless, energy is still lost because biomass arrives at the plant with an excess of moisture. A common goal is to maintain the moisture content of forest chips below 50 % at large plants and below 40 % at small plants. In 2001, average moisture contents remained considerably below these target limits during the summer, but during the winter the limits were exceeded slightly. The annual average was 48 % and 38 % for large and small plants respectively (Figure 53).

Effective or lower heating value (kWh/kg fuel)

depends on the chemical content and moisture content of wood. Lignin has a higher heating value than carbohydrates, and softwoods therefore have a higher heating value than hardwoods. However, the effect of moisture content is stronger than the effect of wood properties (Figure 54) Bulk density (m3 solid/m3 loose) refers to the ratio of solid and loose volumes of fuel. For example, the bulk density of uncomminuted logging residues is 0.150.20, but comminution raises it to 0.360.46. The common conversion factor for forest chips is 0.40. Compressed residue logs have about the same bulk density as chips in a truck load. In 2001, the average energy density of forest chips arriving by truck at large power plants was 0.77 MWh/m3 loose. Variations in moisture content caused seasonal fluctuations (Figure 55). Compared with other fuels, the space requirement of forest fuels is large (Figure 56). Forest chips are therefore typically a local fuel. If international trade of forest fuels becomes common in the future and forest fuels are transported over long dis-

6.2 Other fuel properties

Energy density refers to the amount of energy per unit volume of load space in a truck or storage pile. The energy density of wood fuel is determined by: The basic density of wood, bark and needles (kg 3 3 dry mass/m solid). It is typically 450500 kg/m 3 for small-sized birch and 370410 kg/m for other tree species in Finland. The lowest basic 3 density, only 270 kg/m , is found in pine bark

Heating value, MJ/kg 20

Dry forest chips

Fresh forest chips

Wet bark

Higher heating value per dry mass

15

10

Lower heating value per dry mass

5 Lower heating value per total mass 20 40 Moisture content, % 60 80

Figure 54. The effect of moisture content on the effective heating value of wood.

55

Energy density MWh / m3 loose

0.9

0.8

0.7

Large power plants, average 0.77 kg/m3

0.6

10

11

12

Month / 2001

Figure 55. Monthly variation of energy density of forest chips in 2001. Averages of three large plants (33).

Space requirement, m3 / toe 30 25 20 15 10 5

Fresh

Fresh

Fresh

Oil

Coal

Sod peat

Milled peat

Wood pellets

Birch bark

Logging Residue residue logs chips

Pine bark

Logging residue chips

Loose logging residues

Figure 56. Space requirement of selected fuels in truck transport.

tances, it may become profitable to refine biomass into pellets or liquid fuels. Forest chips may contain large quantities of needles. If no needle loss takes place in conjunction with harvesting, the proportion of needles in whole-tree chips is 59 % for pine and 1018 % for spruce. In logging residue chips the corresponding shares are 1520 % for pine and 2035 % for
56

spruce. Although twigs and needles are shed at various phases of the procurement process, needles still remain a nuisance in the combustion process. The contents of metal alkaloids and chlorides in needles are unusually high. Depending on the combustion conditions, the alkali metals can be oxidized or they can form sulphates or chlorides. If only wood chips are burned, the sulphur content is

Fresh

Wet

Dry

low and chlorides are formed. The chlorides then tend to condense on heat transfer surfaces of the boiler, slowing down the heat transfer and causing the risk of high-temperature corrosion. If the sulphur content of the fuel is increased, e.g. by blending peat with chips, sulphates are formed instead of chlorides, and the risk of corrosion is avoided. Unless the needle problem in combustion is solved, forest chips cannot be allowed to have a high needle content. Reducing the amount of needles slows down the procurement process causing friction in the logistics and increased costs. This topic was therefore given considerable emphasis in the programme (65). The content of ash is less than 0.5 % in wood proper, but in bark 67 times and in foliage 6- 11 times as much. The content of pure ash is thus about 1 % in whole-tree chips and 2 % in logging residue chips, or 46 kg/m3 and 812 kg/m3 fuel respectively. In practice, the yield of crude ash is higher, as forest chips contain impurities such as sand, and the ash may also contain char. Since ash causes costs and landfill problems, biomass should be as clean as possible when harvested. This is facilitated by the use of load-carrying forwarders for off-road transport, a characteristic feature of the Nordic logging technology. In countries where trees or stems are dragged to road side with a skidder, the biomass is soiled and the yield of crude ash tends to be higher. In Finland, the amount of impurities is especially high in stump and root wood.

The specific emission of CO2 of a fuel indicates the general level of emissions that are produced in combustion. The combustable elements are carbon and hydrogen. In complete combustion carbon combines with oxygen releasing energy and carbon dioxide, and hydrogen combines with oxygen releasing energy and water. From the viewpoint of climate change it is of great significance whether the energy is derived from carbon or hydrogen. If the carbon to hydrogen ratio of a fuel is high, the amount of CO2 emissions is also high. For different fuels the specific emission of CO2 is as follows: natural gas 202 g/kWh, heavy fuel oil 277, coal 342, peat 382 and wood of 40 % moisture content 396 g/kWh. However, if the biomass is a product of sustainable forestry, carbon circulates in a closed system without increasing the carbon dioxide content of the atmosphere. Under these conditions, biomass is almost a carbon-neutral fuel, as only the fuel and lubricants used in the procurement cause CO2 emissions. The input/output ratio of energy is low 1:30 (58). In conditions of emission trade this is a huge advantage, as CO2 emissions from fossil fuels become liable to charge.

57

Use of forest chips

Wood fuels play an important role in Finlands energy and climate strategies. One of the targets is to raise the annual consumption of forest chips to 5 mill. m3 by 2010. To direct the energy policy, decision makers need information about development trends and barriers constraining the implementation. Reliable statistics on forestry and forest industries are published annually in the Statistical Yearbook of Forestry. The statistics include detailed information on the consumption of wood by the forest industries, but use of wood residues for the production of energy has been monitored only occasionally (17, 19, 40). Since such statistics were found necessary for directing research, the Wood Energy Programme carried out a survey on the use of forest chips in 1999 (20). In 2000, the Finnish Forest Research Institute began to regularly monitor the consumption of solid wood fuels (101103). In addition, use of forest chips by heat entrepreneurs (86) and small farms (80, 87) has been surveyed separately. A considerable part of industrial processing residues is used directly at source, so that the fuel never enters the market. On the other hand, forest chips is typically a commercial product. Consequently forest chips play a more visible role in the wood fuel trade than the consumption statistics might suggest. Furthermore, as the price of forest chips is higher than that of bark and sawdust, forest chips have a greater share in the market value than in heating value of wood fuel trade. Table 4 refers to solid wood fuels used by heating and power plants in 2002. The total value of forest chip trade was 23 M or 22 % of wood fuel markets to consumers other than small-houses and farms in 2002. The aim is to raise the use almost fourfold by 2010. As the use and trade of processing residues, i.e. bark and sawdust, will not grow substantially, forest chips will be the primary article in the markets for unrefined wood fuels in the future.

Table 4. The share of forest chips of solid wood fuels used by heating and power plants in 2002.

Share of forest chips, % All solid wood fuels Heating value Market value Commercial wood fuels Heating value Market value 17.0 21.9 10.2 13.2

7.1 The driving forces

Figure 57 shows the development in the use of forest chips since the late 1950s. In the early days of fuel chip technology tending of young forests and creating of jobs were the primary drivers. When birch became a pulpwood species in the 1960s, the demand for low-quality hardwood improved and the urgent silvicultural incentive for forest chip production almost disappeared. The business faded. Interest revived in the mid 1970s as a result of the global energy crises. The major driving force was then the need to increase energy self-sufficiency, as the high price and uncertain availability of fossil fuels had become serious threats to the national economy and security. Unfortunately, much of the technical readiness and skill acquired earlier had been lost, and despite the efforts of the Government, it took several years before the use of forest chips began to increase. The peak was reached in the early 1980s, when the price of oil collapsed and interest in forest fuels again disappeared, and the use of chips declined.
59

Stumps Use, mill. m3 / annum 3 Small whole trees Small delimbed stems Logging residues

Use for pulp Use for fuel 2 Climate change Silviculture employment 1 Self-sufficiency Employment silviculture

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

2010

Figure 57. Use of forest chips since the mid-1950s (20, 103).

The deep economic depression of the early 1990s, as well as the mechanization of timber harvesting, aggravated rural unemployment. With the consequent reduction in the demand for wood from thinnings, attention once again shifted to forest fuels. Simultaneously, society began to take notice of issues related to climate change. Gradually, the global environmental threat became the prevailing driving force of forest fuels. The rationale seems to be lasting, and so the industry is in a safer position than before when investing in know-how, machine construction and the utilization of forest biomass. Since 2000, the average growth rate in the use of forest chips has been 320 000 m3 per annum, probably faster than in any other country in Europe. This has been possible due to a number of advantages offered by natural conditions, the structure of the industry and the high priority set by the Government to renewable energy. Some key driving factors are listed below. Massive biomass reserves. The potential of technically harvestable biomass is 3 m3 or 0.5 toe energy
60

per capita per annum. This is a huge resource compared to other European countries (Section 4.5). Attitudes. It is generally agreed that the use of residual forest biomass for the production of renewable energy has to be increased. The strategic goals set by the Government are supported unanimously by all actors: the forest owners, forest industries, energy sector, environmentalists, policy makers and the general public. Governmental support. The competitiveness of forest chips has been improved through the introduction of a carbon-based fuel tax, by refunding the electricity tax, by support for the production of fuels from young thinning stands, and through aid for investments (Section 1.2). Support to R&D. Research into biomass utilization and bioenergy both have long traditions in Finland. Several successive national programmes have resulted in the accumulation of basic knowledge. Close cooperation between researchers and practitioners in the programmes has greatly aided the transfer of knowledge to practice (Section 2).

Advocacy of the forest industries. In many European countries, the forest industries have a sceptical attitude towards the use of forest fuels. In Finland, no conflict exists between the pulp and energy industries concerning the use of low-quality wood. The Finnish forest industries are, in fact, a strong advocate for forest energy. This has been the foundation of the successful development (Section 5.2). Utilization capacity. A large number of heating and CHP plants have been modified and refitted with the technology required to handle and combust large amounts of forest fuels, and totally new plants have been established (Figure 58, Section 3.3).

Availability of peat. Fuel peat is abundantly available in many regions of Finland at a stable price. Blending peat and wood fuels helps to overcome problems caused by variable properties, high transport costs and lack of secure inventories of forest fuels (Section 3.4). Machine manufacturing. A majority of the global production of forest machines used for the cut-to-length technology in timber harvesting, and the production of FBC boilers, are in the hands of Finnish companies. The presence of leading manufacturers, and their active support for and participation in the development work, has greatly promoted the forest fuel boom in Finland (Section 5.4).

Figure 58. Use of forest chips at heating and power plants in 1999 and 2002 (20, 103).

61

7.2 The users

In 1998, before the Wood Energy Programme was launched, the total use of forest chips was estimated to be roughly 500 000 m3, small-scale use included. The next five years brought an unforeseeable growth in the field of forest energy (Figure 58). In 2002, forest chips were burnt by 365 plants larger than 0.4 MW. In the geographic areas of the 13 Forestry Centers, Central Finland (area 8) was the forerunner and leading user. The region has plenty of mature spruce stands that are being regenerated, several local CHP plants have been refitted to handle and combust forest fuels, and the region is the heart of bioenergy research in Finland. Another advanced area is the Pohjanmaa Forestry Center on the western coast. In the northernmost part of Finland, the use of forest chips is modest because of the scarce population, long distances, unsupportive structure of forests, and forest conservation issues (Figure 59). Earlier, forest chips were mainly used for heat production. However, excluding small-scale use, the combined production of heat and power is currently more important. Growth is fastest in co-generation, which is in agreement with the Finnish energy policy goal, and the proposal for an EU directive on the promotion of co-generation (Figure 60). The source of forest chips is important when considering its impacts on forestry, integration of operations, machine selection, job opportunities, fuel quality, and the need for subsidies. In the mid 1990s, the main source was early thinnings. Since then, technological development has been rapid concerning logging residue chips but slower with respect to small-tree chips. The latter has become more competitive and its use has increased rapidly, whereas the use of small-tree chips has more or less stagnated (Figure 61). However, in 2003 the

Figure 59. Use of forest chips by forestry centres in 2002 (103).

production of whole-tree chips began to recover due to the mechanization of cutting. Biowatti alone employed 20 and Vapo 10 fellers-bunchers or harwarders to harvest fuel from young stands. Moreover, the use of stump and root wood for fuel is expected to increase rapidly, although it cannot yet be seen in the statistics for 2002.

62

Annual use 1000 m3 GWh 500 1000 900 400 800 700 300 600 500 200 400 300 100 200 100 763

Heat production

CHP production 920 854

2001

656
2001 2001

546

390

218 150
2001

15 2001 Small houses 1999 2002 Heat entrepreneurs 1999 2002 Large houses, district heating 1999 2002 District heating plants 1999 2002 Forest industries

Figure 60. The users of forest chips in 1999 and 2002 (20, 103). Small houses in 2001 (80).

1000 m3 / annum 900 800 700 600

Young stands

Mature stands

806

2001

500 400 300 233 200 100 102 65

2001 2001

139 49 1995 2002 1995 2002 50 1995

142
2001

1995

2002

2002

Delimbed stems

Whole trees

Logging residues

Decayed wood etc.

Figure 61. The sources of forest chips in 1999 and 2002 (19, 103). Small-scale use excluded.

63

Use of bark

Under earlier conditions of undeveloped road network and an inefficient truck fleet, the weight of timber was lightened through debarking and drying prior to long-distance transport. Not until the early 1960s was debarking moved completely to plant in order to speed up the flow of wood, improve timber quality, and reduce costs. Debarking residues therefore accumulated at the plants, but only a part of them could be utilized. Even in the early 1970s, for some mills bark was still only a waste product. The global energy crises finally solved the problem, and even old, decomposed bark mountains were salvaged and used for the production of energy. Bark became a valued by-product. However, the use of bark may still be inefficient. The Wood Energy Programme focused strictly on the production of forest chips. An exception was the debarking residues from the forest industries; their quality improvement and a more efficient utilization of their heating value. Section 8 examines debarking residues as a fuel source and the findings of the relevant projects of the programme.

8.1 Barking residues as a fuel source

The use of roundwood by the Finnish forest industries is 6570 mill. m3 per annum. The proportion of bark in this raw material is about 12 % or 8 mill. m3. Although the goal is to use bark efficiently, loss of dry matter and energy takes place throughout the procurement chain: Bark loss in timber harvesting. The feeding rolls and delimbing blades of a harvester break and peel bark. Bark is also loosened when timber is handled by the grapple loaders. The loss is estimated at 10 % or 0.8 mill. m3 annually. Soiling of bark at sawmills. Logs are soiled when stored and handled on unpaved timber

yards at sawmills. Contaminated bark is not suitable for fuel, and it is taken to landfill areas or composted. The loss may be up to 5 % of the bark volume at sawmills (60), i.e. more than 0.1 mill. m3 annually. Incomplete debarking. When roundwood is barked, a small fraction of the bark remains on the logs. If the average bark content of pulpwood chips is 0.7 %, the annual yield of bark fuel is reduced by 0.3 mill. m3. However, a majority of pulp chips are used for sulphate pulping. The bark is then dissolved and recovered for energy when the black liquor is burned. Use of bark for other purposes. Small quantities of bark are used as a ground cover and soil improvement agent. This proportion is estimated to be less than 5 % of the total volume of the bark potential. Reduced heating value. Floating, water storage, debarking with water in wet drums, melting frozen wood with steam before debarking in dry drums, snow and ice on the log mantle, and the wetting of bark piles by rain water and snow all affect negatively on the heating value of bark. Dry matter loss in storage. Chemical and biochemical reactions start causing dry matter loss in bark piles after storage times of only 34 weeks.

Thus, a considerable part of the bark potential is lost. On the other hand, this loss is compensated by wood loosened in the debarking process. If the average wood loss in debarking is 1.5 %, as much as 1 mill. m3 wood is mixed with bark. To be precise, the fuel produced is debarking residue with a 1015 % mix of wood, rather than bark. In 2002, about 8.6 mill. m3 bark was burnt, mainly by large CHP plants, corresponding to 15.3 TWh energy (103). Bark accounted for 4 % of the total consumption of primary energy, and 13 % of the indigenous energy in Finland.
65

Figure 62. Uncrushed (left) and crushed debarking residues (VTT).

Problems of bark utilization are usually linked to quality issues rather than costs. To improve the fluidity of bark, it is usually crushed before utilization (Figure 62). Most of the bark is used at source by the producer. In 2002, only 3.6 mill. m3 or 42 % of the bark residues were sold. Market bark originates mainly from sawmills, which burn only a part of the bark for their own needs. It is possible that sawmills will increase the use of bark and sawdust for the production of heat, electricity or refined market fuels in the future. This may become attractive because of the low market price of bark. The cheaper price is not unreasonable, since the quality of bark causes problems particularly in small-scale use. Typical fuel properties of bark are listed below: Effective heating value (kWh/kg). The difference between wood and bark is insignificant in pine and spruce, but in birch bark the heating value is 21 % higher than in birch wood (63). 3 Basic density (kg dry mass/m ). The difference between wood and bark is small in the case of spruce and birch, but in pine the bark is unusually light. The basic density of pine bark is 30 % lower than that of pine wood. It is 20 % lower than in spruce bark and 40 % lower than in birch bark (Figure 63).
66

Moisture content. Differences between wood

and bark are minor at the time of felling, but during the production process moisture tends to increase in the bark. Excessive moisture content is a serious problem of bark fuels. Particle size. Long and thin strips of bark cause handling problems and bridging. Such problems are typical of spruce bark especially in the spring time, and they may occur also in crushed bark. Energy density. The properties mentioned above have a negative effect on the energy density of bark, resulting in extra costs in transportation and handling, and loss of boiler capacity in combustion. Figure 64 shows an example of the seasonal variation in the moisture content and energy density of bark. The energy density varied 3 from 0.5 to 0.7 MWh/m loose, whereas the corresponding values of forest chips are typically from 0.7 to 0.9. Share of ash. The ash content of bark is high compared to bark-free wood. The proportion of pure ash is 24 % and that of crude ash, inorganic impurities of bark included, occasionally more than 5 %.

Basic density, kg/m3 600 500

Wood

Bark

Birch 540 510

Pine 430 390 310

Spruce 380 340 380

470

480

400
300 200

360 270

100

First thinning

Final harvest

First thinning

Final harvest

First thinning

Final harvest

Figure 63. The basic density of wood and bark.

Energy density MWh / m3 loose 1.1 1.0 Moisture content 50 40 30 Energy density 20 10 0.6 0.5 0.4 10 July 30 20 Consecutive number of load measured October November 40 March April 50 0.9 0.8 0.7

Moisture content, % 70 60

September

Figure 64. Seasonal variation of the moisture content and energy density of bark at a sawmill (32).

8.2 Improving the fuel properties of bark

Each handling phase of timber procurement chain causes a loss of bark, especially during the sap season in the spring when the bond between wood and bark is weak. The peeling of bark is affected by harvester head geometry, the sharpness of blades,

feeding speed and, above all, by the pressure directed to the feeding rolls and delimbing blades. Good maintenance of equipment and careful handling of logs reduce bark losses (55). An excessive moisture content of bark results in handling and boiler problems: bridging and freezing, incomplete combustion, increase in emissions
67

and the need to blend bark to dryer and more expensive fuels. Seasoning in piles is often thought to reduce the moisture content of bark. Chemical and biochemical reactions release energy from the biomass during storage and the temperature inside the pile may rise in a few days to 6070 C. Water vapour moves upwards but condenses in the cooler surface layers, creating zones of dry and wet bark with abrupt boundaries. Moldy bark appears at the boundries of the zones (Figure 65). The effect of seasoning on the average moisture content of a pile is not very significant, and the possible increase in the effective heating value of bark may be lost later. Furthermore, the reactions cause loss of dry matter, formation of fines, an increase in ash content, and a decrease of volatile materials. It was concluded that long-term storage of bark should be avoided. A sawmill survey indicated that 17 % of sawmills have bark inventories older than 1 month and 10 % have inventories older than 2 months (47). The pulp industry removes water from wet bark by compressing. If the moisture content is initially very high, it can be decreased to 5560 % in softwood bark and 4555 % in birch bark. For compression the temperature must be above 15 degrees, long bark strips should be avoided, and the water removed must be treated. For these reasons, and because of the high investment costs, compression techniques are not applied in the sawmill industry (32).

Thermal drying, or the use of heat for vaporizing water from bark, is another but seldom used alternative to reduce the moisture content of bark. Heat energy is taken from flue gas, steam or waste heat. With this method it may be feasible to lower the moisture content of bark by 10 percent units. Thermal drying is used to some extent in Sweden. In Finland, where the price of wood fuels is lower, thermal drying is not profitable (12, 32). Multistage drying was developed at the Helsinki University of Technology to utilize secondary heat from integrated pulp and paper mills (2, 88). VTTs studies indicate that woody materials can be dried artificially without excessive harmful emissions if the temperature is below 200 C, drying takes place in a bed, and the released vapour is not condensed. In these conditions pyrolysis, i.e. the thermal decomposition of the biomass, is prevented. The released organic compounds are then not different from those initially present in biomass. The amount of the releasing organic constituents is 0.20.3 % of dry matter in logging residue chips, and 0.20.8 % in pine and spruce bark. Thus, they remain at a level that is commonly accepted in natural drying (11).

Height 4 m

51 56 56 50 51 29 49 32

57 75 56 59 50 58 31

Moist zone Dry zone Moldy zone 59 58 54 20 60 26 56 33 Initial MC Final MC

Figure 65. Moisture zones at a cross section of a bark pile. The upper numbers refer to the initial and the lower numbers to the final moisture content (47).

68

The impacts of forest chip production

The fundamental rationale for the promotion of forest energy is the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Forest biomass is an almost carbonneutral fuel, as the carbon circulates in a closed system, and the input energy is only 3 % of the output energy (85). The official production target for forest chips, 5 million m3 in 2010, corresponds to 10 TWh energy. If oil is replaced with forest chips, the reduction of CO2 emissions will be 2.7 Mt. If coal is replaced, the reduction will be 3.3 Mt. The former is 3.5 % and the latter is 4.3 % of the national level of greenhouse gas emissions in 1990. Forest chips may therefore play a significant role in Finlands efforts to meet its international obligation to return its emissions to the 1990 level. The primary driver of forest energy development is the protection of the environment. The production of forest fuels must therefore be in agreement with good forest management practice and sustainable forestry; both the environmental and socio-economic aspects of sustainability included.

inevitable that intensive extraction of biomass will result in an increase in nutrient loss from the forest; more in fact than the increase in biomass yield would suggest (59). In comparison with conventional stem-only harvesting, each percentage increase in biomass recovery from crown mass with foliage incurs an increased nutrient loss amounting to 23 % for pine, 34 % for spruce, and 1.5 % for leafless hardwoods. Yet, particularly in managed forests, crown mass represents such a large proportion of the fuel potential that large-scale bioenergy production would not be feasible without it. Yield studies on the effect of crown mass removal on the forest growth are meagre. In a joint Nordic study, 8 young pine stands and 4 spruce stands in Sweden and Finland were monitored. Whole-tree harvesting caused a 7 % growth reduction in pine stands and 12 % in spruce stands during the next 10 years after the thinning (64). However, these scientific experiments do not exactly correspond to every-day management practice in the following respects: removal of stemwood was above the average; crown mass was completely removed from the experimental stands, which would never be achieved operationally; the growth loss caused by 4 m wide strip roads in thinnings was not taken into consideration; and in the control plots representing stem-only logging, residual biomass was distributed manually and evenly across the site in an ideal way, which is not the real case in mechanized cutting operations. Removals from the softwood plantations of the experiment were composed of the needle-rich dominant species, but in practice the majority of removals may actually be composed of leafless hardwoods. The results published from these scientific experiments include no allowances for the differences between experimental treatments and actual harvesting practices, and this has caused confusion among forest owners.

9.1 Impacts on forest increment

Proving the effects of intensive biomass removal on forest increment requires long-term biological experiments and permanent sample plots in the forests. This is beyond the scope of short-term technological projects. However, credibility of the system development presupposes that its impacts are taken into account and evaluated. The goal must be prevention of, or at least the minimization of, possible harmful effects. The greatest concentration of plant nutrient elements occurs in the parts of the tree, such as foliage, where essential life processes take place. It is

69

Proportion, % 100 100 100

90 80 70 60 50 40 30

Pine stands 98.2 97.6 97.7 89.2 100 100

Spruce stands 97.1 96.4 96.1 88.2 Yield of industsrial wood Earnings

20
10

Fiber only

Fiber and fuel

No tending

Fiber only

Fiber and fuel

No tending

Figure 66. Relative revenues from pine at a dry site and spruce at a fresh site during the entire rotation period of a stand. Three alternative thinning schedules, interest rate 3 % (29).

The results of yield studies should be proportioned to the removal of crown mass or foliage. The MOTTI stand simulator of the Finnish Forest Research Institute can be used to estimate the effect of different treatments of young stands on the total increment and net incomes during the entire rotation period. The simulation model shows that when the current technologies are applied, the loss caused by whole-tree harvesting is considerably less than that reported earlier. When stem-only harvesting is replaced by whole-tree harvesting, future stumpage incomes are reduced by less than 3 % in pine stands and less than 4 % in spruce stands. On the other hand, if this early thinning is neglected, the loss of incomes is 1112 % (Figure 66). Thus, if energywood thinning can promote the tending of young forests, in many cases it will actually increase the forest owners future incomes. Nutrient losses affect differently in regeneration areas. There are no trees to benefit from released nutrients. Further, before the ground vegetation recovers, some of the nutrients may be lost through
70

leaching. Salvaging the crown mass slows down leaching. Very few research results are available on the effect of crown mass removal on the growth of the new tree generation. No significant growth reduction has been found in the regeneration areas of pine, but young spruce trees seem to be less tolerant. A loss corresponding to the increment of more than two years during a 30-year period has been reported after the complete removal of residues (53). In reality, the decline is considerably smaller, as 30 % of the crown mass is left typically at the site. If transpiration drying takes place in the residues, crown mass is partially defoliated before extraction, and no significant growth reduction occurs. An abundant bed of logging residues can delay the establishment of a new stand by one year. This time can be saved if the residues are removed. As shown in Section 9.2, the removal of logging residues also produces direct cost savings in site preparation and planting (77). These advantages more than com-

pensate for the growth loss that can be expected in the regeneration areas of spruce. Even though the risk of growth reduction may have been exaggerated, the problem nevertheless is real. The control of nutrient loss remains an important aspect of the development of harvesting techniques. For example, the following possibilities are presented: No technology is able or intended to remove all crown mass from the site. For example, the salvage of logging residues from the final harvest, irrespective of the system applied, accounts for only some 70 % of the crown mass. Summertime transpiration drying is an effective way of achieving the simultaneous reduction in moisture content and partial defoliation in small whole trees and logging residue heaps on the site. However, the flow of fuel from the logging site to the energy plants is sloved, and the recovery of biomass is reduced. In small-tree operations, especially in young pine stands, topping the trees means compromising the principle of whole-tree logging, but it effectively reduces the loss of nutrients. If a 3 m top from a pine tree is left on the site in an early thinning, needle recovery is reduced by 52 % but the overall recovery of whole-tree chips is reduced by only 8 %.

9.2 Impacts on the management of forests

As some 86 % of Finlands land area is under forests, forestry has a social obligation to participate in the production of renewable energy. Forest energy brings a new dimension to forestry. One of the tasks of the Wood Energy Programme was the integration of the concept of forest energy in the every-day forest management with timber harvesting practices. A necessary precondition for this is that the timber procurement organizations of the forest industries add forest chips to their produce, together with sawlogs and pulpwood. During the programme period, this condition was fulfilled and a valuable synergy was created through the use of existing personel and machine resources. The production of forest chips in the future will require large amounts of forest machines and transport vehicles. The majority of the equipment will be destined for off-road and on-road transportation of biomass, comminuted or uncomminuted. In Table 5 an estimation is given of the equipment that will be in use in 2010 given the assumption that the production is as follows: 2.5 mill. m3 logging residue chips, 1.5 mill. m3 stump chips, and 1 mill. m3 whole-tree chips. Compared to the vehicle fleet used for transporting industrial wood, the produc-

Table 5. An estimate of the equipment needed for the production of forest chips in 2010 (4).

Machine Feller-buncher Stump harvester Baler Mobile chipper Stationary chrusher Forwarder Biomass truck Chip truck Timber truck Carriage truck to move machines

Productivity, m 10 000 17 000 25 000 30 000 120 000 30 000 25 000 25 000 25 000

Number 90 114 50 67 25 167 70 80 50 141

71

tion of forest chips will increase the number of forwarders by 10 % and the number of trucks by 14 %. The ratio of mobile chippers and balers is totally subject to technical development of alternative systems. By 2010, the annual turnover of forest chip production will be 110 M if the present cost structure prevails. As the turnover of industrial roundwood production is 600 M per annum, forest chips will bring a 20 % increase in business. This is of importance from the contractors viewpoint, because possibilities to increase the production of industrial wood are slight. The operating environment of stand establishment is also changing. Salvaging logging residues and stump and root wood is no longer a mere harvesting operation. It is also the first phase of regeneration work, i.e. the starting shot of site preparation and planting. For example, a combi-machine has been developed for simultaneous site preparation and the

collection of residues (23, 52). Site preparation is also combined with stump extraction. Moreover, the removal of logging residues paves the way for the mechanization of planting (76), which is an urgent issue in Finnish forestry as the availability of manual labor is decreasing (Figures 6769). The production of forest chips also promotes the tending of young stands. Currently, the stands under consideration are a product of neglected silviculture. Several hundred thousand hectares of ill-managed young forests urgently require thinning, and the production of forest chips will help to cover the costs, partly or totally. However, in the long term this does not provide a sustainable basis for the production of large amounts of small-tree chips for fuel. Consequently, new forest management models for young forests are being examined. Energywood harvesting prior to the traditional first commercial thinning could perhaps become a target-oriented stage of good forest management practice. Currently, energywood harvesting is only an emergency measure to correct earlier failures (83).

Figure 67. A forwarder equipped with a mounter between the front and rear bogies on both sides, and with an enlargening load space, for simultaneous site preparation and residue collection (Metla).

72

Figure 68. Tenkanens stump harvesting head on an excavator for simultaneous uprooting, splitting and site preparation (Metla).

Figure 69. Brcke planting machine mounted on a harvester in a regeneration area. Logging residues have been salvaged (Metla).

73

The recovery of forest chips from regeneration areas and young thinning stands gives, in addition to direct cost savings, qualitative benefits such as more even spacing of seedlings, and benefits in forest protection. Especially important is the possibility to annihilate through stump extraction the root rot fungus that has infested large areas of second-generation spruce stands in southern Finland. Estimating the total economic value of the advantages and disadvantages is a difficult task as they are not commensurable. An orienting calculation of the direct and indirect effects of forest chip production on the profitability of forestry has never-

theless been attempted, because this knowledge is needed in systems analyses (Table 6). Forest chip production affects the profitability of private forestry in two ways: cost savings and additional incomes in the future. A part of the incomes are absorbed by the increment reduction caused by the accelerated loss of nutrients and the possible cost of compensating fertilization, but the total effect remains positive. The sum of cost savings and incomes in 2010 is estimated at 11 M. On average, the forest owners gain 2 /m3 biomass, most of which is derived from the energywood thinning of young stands.

Table 6. Forest owners direct cost savings and future additional incomes resulting from the production of forest chips in 2010. Production of chips 5 mill. m3, rate of interest 3 % (21, 22).

Cost or income factor

Logging residue chips

Stump chips

Whole-tree chips

Forest chips total

Benefit M/annum Direct cost savings Clearing the area Site preparation Planting Supplement planting Weeding Tending of young stands Total Additional incomes Improved regeneration result Faster regeneration Reduced risk of damage Nutrient loss and fertilization Tending of young stands Total Grand total -1.0 0.9 0.6 0.6 -2.2 1.6 -0.4 1.2 2.3 -0.9 2.4 1.5 8.0 0.6 0.6 1.6 -3.5 2.4 1.7 11.2 1.0 1.2 0.1 -0.4 1.9 0.8 0.4 -0.1 1.1 0.5 6.0 6.5 0.5 1.8 1.6 0.1 -0.5 6.0 9.5

74

Table 6 does not include the stumpage price which possibly is paid to the forest owner. Presently it is quite low, and often no stumpage price is paid at all. For most forest owners the cost savings and increase in future incomes are a sufficient incentive, but some are not ready to surrender the right of biomass extraction without stumpage. Achieving the production target of 5 mill. m3 requires the participation of all forest owners, and this puts pressure on the stumpage price development (57).

Unemployment is a serious problem in rural communities. Production of forest fuels creates new jobs, but it is not immune from the general trend of job-losses, as competitiveness of forest fuels requires an increase in productivity. The employment effect of forest chip production will therefore not be as high as was expected earlier. Nevertheless, the production of forest fuels in rural areas may have a stimulating effect on local employment. In large-scale operations, energywood is no longer handled manually. The only exception is cutting and bunching of small trees in early thinnings, but even this last manual phase of forest chip production is being mechanized. In 2003, more than 30 feller-bunchers were employed in fuelwood harvesting. The employment effect depends on many factors: source of biomass, technical logging conditions, quality requirements of fuel, and the scale of production. The latter largely determines the system and equipment selected. Although the production of forest chips is a round-the-year process, single jobs are typically seasonal. The diversity, seasonal nature of jobs, and the integration of the procure-

9.3 Socio-economic impacts

In Finland, the productivity of timber procurement has increased tenfold in a few decades. Epochal changes took place in the operating environment due to mechanization, the delegation of work to independent contractors, building up a dense network of all-year forest roads, and moving work phases such as debarking from forest to mill. As in the other areas of primary production, the number of jobs has decreased. In 2001, the total performance in forestry corresponded to 23 000 work years, including 4 000 forest workers, 5 000 harvester and forwarder operators, and 3 000 timber truck drivers (56).

Employment work years / 1000 m3 1.4 1.2 1 0.8 Logging residue chips 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.5 0.3 0.6 Indirect, other Finland Indirect, local Direct

Whole-tree chips 1.4

0.8

Pietarsaari Residue logs

Oulu Chipping at landing

Ruukki Chipping at landing

Pietarsaari Mechanized cutting

Ruukki Manual cutting

Perho Heat entrepreneurs

Figure 70. Employment effect of alternative chip production systems (1).

75

ment of industrial wood and fuelwood make it difficult to estimate the number of new jobs at the national level. The Thule Institute of the University of Oulu evaluated the socio-economic impacts of forest chip production. A case study was carried out at four plants (Figure 70): In Perho, a co-operative organization of forest owners is responsible for the fuel supply and operating the heating plant. The annual use of forest chips is about 2 900 m3. The source of chips is small trees that are cut manually. In Ruukki, the local forest management associa3 tion supplies the chips, 4 800 m per annum, but it does not participate in the maintenance of the plant. Here, too, chips are produced from small trees that are felled manually. In Oulu, the Toppila power plants use annually 3 28 000 m forest chips that are supplied by three major producers. Logging residues are the primary source of chips. In Pietarsaari, Alholmens Krafts power plant aims to use at least 200 000 m3 of forest chips annually. The primary source is logging residues

that arrive at the plant in the form of residue logs. Small-tree chips are produced using fully mechanized technology, i.e. cutting is carried out with accumulating feller-bunchers. The relative employment effect was highest in Perho, 1.4 man-years per 1 000 m3 chips, due to the source of biomass, small scale of operations, and manual cutting. In Pietarsaari the productivity was high because of advanced technology: 0.3 manyears per 1 000 m3 if the source was of logging residues, and 0.6 man-years per 1 000 m3 if the source was small trees from thinnings. The case studies give a firm basis for estimating the direct employment effect of forest chip production in 2010. In the following estimate, it is assumed that logging residues and stump and root wood are recovered using present days most advanced technology, whereas the production of small-tree biomass from early thinnings is based only partly on mechanized cutting. On average, the production of forest chips requires 0.45 man-years per 1 000 m3 chips. Accordingly, the total effect is estimated at 2 275 man-years in 2010 (Table 7).

Table 7. An estimate of the employment effect of forest chip production in 2010.

Product Small-tree chips Whole-tree chips, mechanized cutting Whole-tree chips, manual cutting Stemwood chips, self-employed forest owners Logging residue chips Stump chips Forest chips, total

Production 3 1000 m 600 200 200 2 500 1 500 5 000

Man-years/ 3 1000 m 0.6 1.2 2.0 0.30 0.35 0.45

Man-years/ annum 360 240 400 750 525 2 275

76

Net income, / m3
40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 -5 -10 -15

Income earner Foreign countries Local communities Other parts of Finland State, income State, subsidies 29 24

Whole-tree chips 38 35

Logging residue chips

18

18

-0.4 Pietarsaari Residue logs

-0.2 Oulu Chipping at landing

Ruukki Chipping at landing -11 Pietarsaari Mechanized cutting -11 Ruukki Manual cutting -11 Perho Heat entrepreneurs

Figure 71. Net incomes from the production of forest chips and their areal distribution. Explanations in Figure 74 (1).

The Thule Institute also estimated the disposable incomes from forest chip production, and the areal allocation of incomes to the local communities, other regions in Finland, government and foreign countries. In large-scale operations, a quarter and, in small-scale operations, up to a half of the disposable incomes will remain in the local economy to benefit households, firms and municapilities. Figure 71 is interpreted as follows: The net incomes to the government are composed of savings, fees and taxes, excluding added value tax. Below the x-axis are the negative effects of investment aid and the subsidies paid for the production of small-tree chips.

The net incomes that remain in the local econ-

omy are divided into two parts. The upper section refers to stumpages, wages and subsidies to forest owners. The lower part refers to the other incomes that remain in the local economy, including the wages paid to forest workers, machine operators and entrepreneurs. The part of the incomes allocated to foreign countries is composed mainly of fuel and lubricants, trucks, machines and spare parts.

77

10 State of the art

Finnish society strongly supports the use of residual forest biomass as a source of renewable energy. All major actors are in agreement concerning both the climate and energy policy implications. However, the common good as such is not necessarily a sufficient incentive for all actors. They must also achieve personal benefits. The problem of forest fuels is that their use is beneficial to the national economy, but it has not necessarily been a profitable business. To improve the competitiveness of forest fuels, the costs of other fuels have been increased through carbon-based energy taxes, and the cost of forest chips has been reduced through incentives and the development of technology. Only few years ago, forest fuels were given a subordinate position in forest management and integrated harvesting operations. This may still be true in many cases, but a change is taking place. The forest sector is gradually learning to appreciate forest fuels as a natural and relevant product of sustainable forestry. The status of renewable energy has risen, and the production and use of forest chips are today acceptable and valued activities (90, 92). There are now a number of signs that suggest that forest energy is already established as an element of Finnish forestry: The use of bark, sawdust, recycled wood, pellets and forest chips for energy is monitored regularly. Reliable statistical data are published annually concerning the use of forest chips, sources of biomass, and the prices. This information is useful for various actors and decision makers because it helps to monitor the fuelsdevelopments. Such comprehensive and up-to-date information is not available in other countries. The Forestry Development Center Tapio, the organization responsible for the development of private forestry in Finland, now considers the production of forest fuels as a daily routine of

forestry. It has published two guides for good management practice in conjunction with the recovery of biomass (13, 14). It is also extending the monitoring of the quality of logging work in private forests to fuelwood operations (15). Forest management planning. Most forest owners have a management plan for their forest holdings. The plans promote good silviculture and the utilization of forest resources. However, they currently fail to include forest energy. Possibilities to include the fuel concept in the plan are being studied in order to promote the use of forest fuels (91). Young stands as a source of fuel. Currently, the recovery of small-tree biomass from early thinnings takes place in stands where fuel is only available due to earlier failures to carry on good management practices. However, if poor tending practices continue to be a precondition for the availability of forest fuel, the supply of fuel is not sustainable. Therefore, management models in which the recovery of fuel is a purposeful target of an early energywood thinning are being examined. The readiness of forest machine contractors. The Trade Association of Finnish Forestry and Earth Moving Contractors is developing the readiness of its members to participate in the forest fuel business. The association has published guidelines for cutting and forwarding energywood (100), a guide book for quality standards for forest machine contractors (50), and a guide book for quality standards for chip contractors (49). It is also promoting the networking of contractors in order to form local chip production organizations (38). Approval of environmentalists. Although environmentalists generally adopt a sceptical attitude towards intensive forestry, they have accepted the targets and technology development for the production of fuel from forest biomass in Finland.

79

Despite the low market value, forest chips are now recognized as one of the natural and conventional products of Finnish forestry. Production of renewable energy helps to justify the present forest management practice, it improves the green image of forest procurement organizations, and it is becoming a profitable and attractive business. Many barriers have disappeared. However, all problems have not been solved: Cost of production. A considerable cost reduction took place during the 1990s as a result of changes in the operating environment: the mechanization of cutting, the deployment of more efficient chippers, the possibility to employ equipment to its full capacity, the replacement of costly small-tree chips with cheaper logging residue chips, and the development of procurement logistics. In 2000, the prices of forest chips began to increase as growing demand forced the producers to extend their operations to increasingly difficult and remote stands. Although the technology has developed rapidly and the biomass base has broadened, high costs continue to constrain chip production.

Loss of nutrients. Studies of the effect of inten-

sive biomass recovery on the increment of forests are few and largely theoretical. They do not connect the effects of forest chip production with real-world conditions. Comprehensive and long-lasting experiments are needed, while results from the theoretical experiments must be related to actual harvesting practices, and technology must be developed to reduce the loss of nutrients. Recycling of ash. Nutrient loss caused by intensive biomass recovery can be offset by the recycling of ash, the loss of nitrogen excluded. A precondition for feasible ash recycling is proper ash management at the plant. Cofiring of biomass with fossil fuels, municipal waste or peat results in a dilution of the nutrient content, or even the contamination of the ash, and consequently a part of the ash becomes inuseable. On the other hand, large quantities of bark ash are available. Technology and logistics of ash recycling should be developed (Figure 72).

Figure 72. Ash recycling technology needs to be further developed (Metla).

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 Stumpage price. In 2004, only about 15 % of the

technically harvestable logging residues were recovered. The 2010 goal implies that about one third of the technically harvestable potential is to be recovered. If forest owners do not realize the indirect cost saving and silvicultural benefits of residue extraction by then, the availability of forest chips may be at risk. If the average stumpage price of forest biomass increases from the present zero level to, say, 2 /m3 solid, it will mean a 10 % increase in the price of forest chips but less than a 1 % increase in the total stumpage sum paid by the forest industries from pulpwood and sawlogs. The stumpage price of forest biomass is therefore more a matter of principle. Forest management associations. The promotion of private forestry in Finland rests primarily with forest management associations. They are the prime movers in the management of forests and timber trade at the local level. They also play an important role in forest fuel production. In particular, their role is essential in the production of fuel from young thinning stands, an area where the wood procurement organizations normally do not operate. Although there are exceptions, the participation of forest management associations in the production of forest fuels has been disappointing. Their primary goal has been the tending of young stands rather than the extraction of low-value biomass. The simple thinning operation becomes much more demanding if small trees are recovered for energy. There is an obvious risk that the forest management associations may loose their leading position in stand establishment and tending work in private forests unless they become actively involved in the forest fuel business. Scaling of energywood. Fuelwood, forest chips included, is not covered by the Law Concerning Timber Measurement. This is partly because the trade of fuelwood has not been common, partly because of the wide variation in scaling properties, and partly because of the relatively low value. Undeveloped scaling methods and lack of reliable conversion factors constrain the trade and weaken confidence. Only residue logs are an exception, as the baler produces accurate

real-time information about the number of logs produced. The Wood Energy Programme included two projects aimed at solving problems of measurement (41, 75), but many problems remain. During the programme period, the general atmosphere was favourable for forest fuels. Due to three strong producer organizations, forest chips became a credible option for large CHP plants. The forest industry adopted a pioneer role in the development of technology and in the production and use of forest chips. In 2003, Biowatti and UPM both produced 1 TWh of forest chips, 50 % of the Finnish total. The Wood Energy Programme focused on the development of large-scale procurement systems for forest chips. New advanced technology was developed and transferred into practice: Residue log technology promoted the integration of fuel production in the industrial timber procurement systems. The control of the procurement chain was raised to an industrial level. Due to its flexible logistics, reliability and cleanliness, the residue log system is preferred by forest owners, contractors and supervisors. However, at the moment this technology is only feasible in large-scale operations. The capacity of the 24 balers operating in Finland in early 2004 is sufficient for processing a half of the logging residue recovery. Stationary crushers made it possible to receive solid biomass fuels in almost any form, i.e. residue logs, uncomminuted loose residues, undelimbed tree-sections, stump and root wood, and recycled wood. It became possible to broaden the raw material base, streamline the procurement logistics, and move work from the forest end to easier conditions at the plant. In early 2004, six Finnish CHP plants had a stationary crusher. Stump and root wood was not considered to be a realistic option for fuel production when the programme was launched. However, it rapidly became a preferred fuel at the CHP plants that possess a stationary crusher. The technology is new, and it has considerable development potential (Figure 73).

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Figure 73. Stump and root wood has become a realistic and abundant fuel source (VTT).

Figure 74. Harvesting fuel from early thinnings is becoming a fully mechanized operation.

82

 Comminution at landing is still the prevailing

system for the production of chips from logging residues and whole trees. No totally new technical solutions were introduced during the programme period. Nevertheless, truck-mounted chippers and chipper-truck technology progressed, the techniques of biomass storage at the road side were improved to allow faster chipper operation and better control of moisture content, and the procurement logistics was refined. Cutting has been a prohibitive cost factor for the production of small-tree chips in early thinnings, but new technology is being developed (30). The use of accumulating feller-heads has improved the productivity of work and has paved the way for cost reductions (Figure 74). This technology seems to offer a cost-competitive solution for energywood harvesting from young stands where the tree size is not too small. A precondition is that the production support for small-tree chips is maintained at the present level. The atmosphere of growth has created favourable conditions for the development and introduction of new technology. Demonstration projects and investment aid from the Ministry of Trade and Industry have speeded up the process. Broadening the raw material base has required refining and upgrading the receiving and handling systems at the plant.

In accordance with the initial plan, the programme focused on the development of system know-how. The holistic approach and participation of several globally known machine manufacturers has strengthened Finlands position among the technology leaders in the field of wood energy. During 19992003, the average growth rate in the production of forest chips was 320 000 m3 per annum; a fast enough rate to allow the introduction of new technology, but not fast enough to permit the mass-production of equipment. Without mass-production the technology is doomed to remain expensive. The official goal of forest chip production, 5 mill. m3 in 2010, requires an increased growth rate. From 2004 on, the annual increase should be 400 000 m3 each year of this decade. Attaining the goal is possible, but it is also necessary to continue development work in the future.

83

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Appendix 1 The Executive Board of the Programme

Biowatti Oy Pekka Laurila, Chairman pekka.laurila@biowatti.fi Ministry of Trade and Industry Mika Anttonen mika.anttonen@ktm.fi Fortum Power and Heat Oy Dan Blomster 5.3.2002 Kysti Rannila 5.3.2002 kyosti.rannila@fortum.com Forestry Development Centre Tapio Kari Mielikinen 3.5.2000 Tage Fredriksson 3.5.2000 tage.fredriksson@tapio.fi Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry Matti Heikurainen matti.heikurainen@mmm.fi Trade Association of Finnish Forestry and Earth Moving Contractors Risto Kilkki 19.1.2000 Simo Jaakkola 19.1.2000 simo.jaakkola@koneyrittajat.fi Tekes Tarja-Liisa Perttala 3.5.2000 Heikki Kotila 3.5.2000 18.9.2002 Marjatta Aarniala 18.9.2002 marjatta.aarniala@tekes.fi Tekes Mauri Marjaniemi 6.9.2001 mauri.marjaniemi@tekes.fi BMH Wood Technology Oy Antti Nurmi antti.nurmi@bmh.fi

Vapo Oy Tero Vesisenaho 6.2.2001 Timo Nyrnen 6.2.2001timo.nyronen@vapo.fi UPM Forest Seppo Paananen, Vice Chairman seppo.paananen@upm-kymmene.com Pohjolan Voima Oy Juha Poikola 12.10.2000 juha.poikola@pvo.fi Kvaerner Power Matti Rautanen matti.rautanen@akerkvaerner.com Plustech Oy/Timberjack Arto Timperi arto.timperi@fi.timberjack.com VTT Processes, Programme Leader Pentti Hakkila pentti.hakkila@vtt.fi VTT Processes, Coordinator Satu Helynen 30.6.1999 Ismo Nousiainen 30.6.1999 30.6.2000 Satu Helynen 30.6.2000 6.2.2001 Kati Veijonen 6.2.2001 kati.veijonen@vtt.fi Stora Enso Oyj Arto Huurinainen 28.8.2000 arto.huurinainen@storaenso.com

89

The Advisory Board of the Sub-programme for Small-scale Production and Use of Wood Fuels 20022004

Joensuu Regional Development Company Josek Ltd Keijo Mutanen, pj keijo.mutanen@josek.fi Farmer Oy Ari Koskivaara ari.koskivaara@farmer.fi Finpro Veli-Matti Kajova veli-matti.kajova@finpro.fi HT Engineering Hannu Teiskonen hannu.teiskonen@htlaser.fi Junkkari Oy Marko Sipola marko.sipola@mako-junkkari.fi Jyvskyl Science Park Ltd/Central Finland Energy Agency Mikko Ahonen mikko.ahonen@jsp.fi Maaseln Kone Oy Jari Lfroos jari.lofroos@maaselankone.fi

Motiva Oy Osmo Nojonen osmo.nojonen@motiva.fi Rakennustempo Oy Ari Kaikkonen ari.kaikkonen@rakennustempo.fi Tekes Marjatta Aarniala marjatta.aarniala@tekes.fi Tekes Mauri Marjaniemi mauri.marjaniemi@tekes.fi Veljekset Ala-Talkkari Antti Ala-Talkkari antti.ala-talkkari@ala-talkkari.fi VTT Processes Kati Veijonen kati.veijonen@vtt.fi VTT Processes Pentti Hakkila pentti.hakkila@vtt.fi

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Appendix 2 The Projects of the Programme

1 Planning and organisation PUUT01 Cost factors and large-scale procurement of logging residues (F) Antti Asikainen University of Joensuu Joensuu Research Station E-mail: antti.asikainen@metla.fi PUUT02 Energy wood procurement in connection with conventional wood procurement (F) Pekka Mkinen Finnish Forest Research Institute Vantaa Research Station E-mail: pekka.makinen@ metla.fi PUUT03 Estimation of the amount of logging residues in a harvesters data system (F) Pertti Harstela University of Joensuu E-mail: pertti.harstela@joensuu.fi PUUT04 Wood energy harvesting conditions in first thinnings, and possibilities for their improvement (F) Matti Sirn Finnish Forest Research Institute Vantaa Research Station E-mail: matti.siren@metla.fi PUUT28 Development of chip production from young forests Kari Hillebrand VTT Processes E-mail: kari.hillebrand@vtt.fi PUUY11 Distinction-making between merchantable wood and energy wood (F) Hannu Kivel JP Management Consulting (Europe) Oy E-mail: hannu.kivela@poyry.fi

PUUY15 Networked contractors in chip production (F) Tomi Salo/Simo Jaakkola Trade Association of Finnish Forestry and Earth Moving Contractors E-mail: tomi.salo@koneyrittajat.fi PUUY22 Determining the output and performance in forest haulage of logging residues (F) Kaarlo Rieppo Metsteho Oy E-mail: kaarlo.rieppo@metsateho.fi PUUY23 Pre-feasibility study of e-business application for the energy wood market (F) Petri Vasara JP Management Consulting (Europe) Oy E-mail: petri.vasara@poyry.fi 2 Production systems and techniques PUUT05 Production of mixed fuels at the terminal an integrity of projects (F) Arvo Leinonen VTT Processes E-mail: arvo.leinonen@vtt.fi PUUT12 Developing a two-stage crusher for comminution of forest biomass (F) Arvo Leinonen VTT Processes E-mail: arvo.leinonen@vtt.fi PUUT13 Development of chip procurement, short-distance haulage and storage of wood chips (F) Teuvo Rasimus Occupational Adult Education Centre of Savonlinna E-mail: teuvo.rasimus@akk.savonlinna.fi
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PUUT18 Improving the quality and production efficiency of wood fuels by developing chipping and crushing techniques (F) Veli Seppnen VTT Processes E-mail: veli.seppanen@vtt.fi PUUT20 Development of transportation economy and logistics of forest chips (F) Ismo Tiihonen VTT Processes E-mail: ismo.tiihonen@vtt.fi PUUT40 Development of the quality and production efficiency of wood fuels by developing a compacting load space system Ismo Tiihonen VTT Processes E-mail: ismo.tiihonen@vtt.fi PUUY01 Method for thinning young stands (F) Jarmo Hmlinen Metsteho Oy E-mail: jarmo.hamalainen@metsateho.fi PUUY02 Wood fuel production based on chipping at plant (F) Antti Korpilahti Metsteho Oy E-mail: antti.korpilahti@metsateho.fi PUUY03 Development of a special chipper for industrial use of forest residues (F) Tommi Lahti LHM-Hakkuri Oy E-mail: tommi.lahti@energiat.inet.fi PUUY04 Crushing of logging residues at the use site of fuel (F) Seppo Paananen UPM Oyj E-mail: seppo.paananen@ upm-kymmene.com PUUY05 Tractor-operated drum-chipper for logging residues (F) Ari Melkko Heinolan Sahakoneet Oyj E-mail: ari.melkko@heinolasm.fi
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PUUY06 Technology for producing forest chips at the terminal (F) Jaakko Silpola Vapo Oy E-mail: jaakko.silpola@vapo.fi PUUY07 Clinic for wood fuel technologies (F) Dan Asplund Jyvskyl Science Park E-mail: dan.asplund@jsp.fi PUUY12 Forest biomass as a real choice of renewable energy (F) Arto Timperi Timberjack Oy E-mail: arto.timperi@fi.timberjack.com PUUY13 Development of a new all-terrain chip harvester (F) Sakari Pinomki Sakari Pinomki Ky E-mail: sakari.pinomaki@spinomaki.fi PUUY14 Trailer combination for transporting logging residues (F) Jaakko Silpola Vapo Oy Energia E-mail: jaakko.silpola@vapo.fi PUUY16 Development of a bundler for logging residues (F) Fredrik Pressler Biowatti Oy E-mail: fredrik.pressler@metsaliitto.fi PUUY18 Design and manufacture of chipping equipment (F) Jorma Issakainen Kesla Oyj E-mail: jorma.issakainen@kesla.inet.fi PUUY19 Bundling system for large-scale utilisation of forest energy (F) Juha Poikola Pohjolan Voima Oy E-mail: juha.poikola@pvo.fi PUUY21 Combining forest residue transports and soil preparation (F) Timo Hartikainen Joensuu Science Park E-mail: timo.hartikainen@carelian.fi

PUUY31 Development of a two-stage crusher for comminution of forest biomass (F) Heikki Paalanen/Juha Korpi Joutsan Konepalvelu Oy E-mail: heikkipa@joutsankp.fi PUUY36 Harvesting of stumps and processing of forest fuels (F) Seppo Paananen UPM Oyj, Mets Email: seppo.paananen@upm-kymmene.com PUUY37 Automatic equipment for stump pulling Reijo Saario Hykomet Oy E-mail: hykomet@hykomet.fi 3 Quality control, handling and use PUUT06 Utilisation of first-thinning wood (F) Raimo Aln University of Jyvskyl E-mail: raimo.alen@jyu.fi PUUT07 Processing of debarking residues to fuels (F) Risto Impola VTT Processes E-mail: risto.impola@vtt.fi PUUT08 Fluidised-bed combustion of forest chips in big power plants (F) Markku Orjala VTT Processes E-mail: markku.orjala@vtt.fi PUUT09 Quality management of wood fuels, effect of storage techniques on drying of wood fuels and on quality control from stump to combustion (F) Kari Hillebrand VTT Processes E-mail: kari.hillebrand@vtt.fi PUUT15 Upgrading of combustion-technical properties of by-products from woodprocessing industries (F) Raija Rautiainen VTT Processes E-mail: raija.rautiainen@vtt.fi

PUUT17 Enhancement of back-pressure power production in pulp and paper mills (F) Pekka Ahtila Helsinki University of Technology E-mail: pekka.ahtila@hut.fi PUUT19 Receiving and handling systems for wood fuels (F) Risto Impola VTT Processes E-mail: risto.impola@vtt.fi PUUT24 Effect of wood fuels on power plant availability (F) Markku Orjala VTT Processes E-mail: markku.orjala@vtt.fi PUUT25 Flue gas emissions from co-firing of by-products of plywood and particle board industries (F) Raili Vesterinen VTT Processes E-mail: raili.vesterinen@vtt.fi PUUT29 Chemical changes in wood fuels during storage and drying (F) Leena Fagerns VTT Processes E-mail: leena.fagernas@vtt.fi PUUT35 Reduction of bark loss in harvester logging Antti Asikainen Finnish Forest Research Institute Joensuu Research Station E-mail: antti.asikainen@metla.fi PUUT37 Chemical effects of the pretreatment of wood fuels Paterson McKeough VTT Processes E-mail: paterson.mckeough@vtt.fi PUUT38 Increasing the availability of wood-fired power plants by improving wood fuel control Markku Orjala VTT Processes E-mail: markku.orjala@vtt.fi
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PUUT39 Improving the availability of fuel handling equipment at heating power plants Martti Flyktman VTT Processes E-mail: martti.flyktman@vtt.fi PUUY08 Development of storage, material flow equalising, quality control and boiler feeding systems for solid biofuels (F) Antti Nurmi BMH Wood Technology Oy E-mail: antti.nurmi@bmh.fi PUUY09 Further development of atmospheric CFB gasification technology to improve its suitability for straw and other agrobiofuels (F) Matti Hiltunen Foster Wheeler Energia Oy E-mail: matti_hiltunen@fwfin.fwc.com PUUY10 Delivery, handling, mixing and feed of multi-fuels - MF2 (F) Timo Jrvinen VTT Processes E-mail: timo.jarvinen@vtt.fi PUUY20 Oy Alholmens Kraft Ab:s development programme for procurement, receiving and storage of solid biofuels and for an advanced adjustment system for the boiler (F) Juha Poikola Pohjolan Voima Oy E-mail: juha.poikola@pvo.fi PUUY24 Development of hopper discharging control (F) Esko Saarela Raumaster Oy E-mail: esko.saarela@raumaster.fi PUUY28 Effect of co-combustion of wood and sludges on boiler corrosion Ari Frantsi Stora Enso Publication Papers Oy Ltd E-mail: ari.frantsi@storaenso.com PUUY29 On-line measuring of moisture content and quality of wood fuels Sauli Jntti Oy Merinova Ab E-mail: sauli.jantti@merinova.fi
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PUUY32 Development of receiving and handling system for loose and bundled forest residues Antti Nurmi BMH Wood Technology Oy E-mail: antti.nurmi@bmh.fi PUUY40 Intelligent feeding system for inhomogeneous biofuels Jari Erkkil Tuotekehitys Oy Tamlink E-mail: jari.erkkila@tamlink.fi 4 Impacts on forestry PUUT10 Effects of slash removal on forest regeneration (F) Timo Saksa Finnish Forest Research Institute Suonenjoki Research Station E-mail: timo.saksa@metla.fi PUUT11 Environmental aspects of wood energy chains (F) Helena Mlkki VTT Processes E-mail: helena.malkki@vtt.fi PUUT14 Effects of intensified recovery of biomass in forests (F) Juha Nurmi Finnish Forest Research Institute E-mail: juha.nurmi@metla.fi PUUT22 Wood energy and greenhouse gases (F) Sampo Soimakallio VTT Processes E-mail: sampo.soimakallio@vtt.fi PUUT23 Radioactivity of wood fuels and ash, and implications for the use of ashes (F) Virve Vetikko Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority of Finland E-mail: virve.vetikko@stuk.fi PUUT32 Effect of slash and stump removal on soil preparation and planting Pertti Harstela University of Joensuu E-mail: pertti.harstela@joensuu.fi

PUUT36 Development of quality control for mechanical harvesting of energy wood Tage Fredriksson Forestry Development Centre Tapio E-mail: tage.fredriksson@tapio.fi PUUY17 Environmentally sound afforestation of cut-away peatlands by fixing it up as a new carbon sink and controlling the impacts (F) Pirkko Selin Vapo Oy Energy E-mail: pirkko.selin@vapo.fi 5 International projects PUUT16 Competitiveness of new bioenergy technologies - IEA/Bioenergy (F) Yrj Solantausta VTT Processes E-mail: yrjo.solantausta@vtt.fi PUUT21 Co-combustion of solid biofuel and coal (F) Veli-Pekka Heiskanen VTT Processes E-mail: veli-pekka.heiskanen@vtt.fi PUUT27 Technology transfer on biofuels between USA and Finland (F) Arvo Leinonen VTT Processes E-mail: arvo.leinonen@vtt.fi PUUT31 Maximum biomass use and efficiency in large-scale co-firing Anne Suomalainen VTT Processes E-mail: anne.suomalainen@vtt.fi PUUT33 Preparation of new bioenergy projects for the 6th Framework Programme of European Commission (F) Kai Sipil VTT Processes E-mail: kai.sipila@vtt.fi PUUY25 Quality determination of wood fuels used in the Far East (F) Dan Asplund Jyvskyl Science Park E-mail: dan.asplund@jsp.fi

6 Small-scale production and use PUUT30 Distribution, handling and quality improvement of wood fuels for small-scale use Ari Erkkil VTT Processes E-mail: ari.erkkila@vtt.fi PUUT34 Customer-oriented network trade and logistics of firewood Lauri Sikanen Finnish Forest Research Institute Joensuu Research Centre E-mail: lauri.sikanen@metla.fi PUUT41 Drying of wood chips as a part of heat entrepreneurship Jukka Yrjl Satakunta Polytecnic, Research and Development OSata E-mail: jukka.yrjola@samk.fi PUUT42 Drying and quality control of firewood Kari Hillebrand VTT Processes E-mail: kari.hillebrand@vtt.fi PUUT43 Masonry fireplaces 2001 Reijo Karvinen Tampere University of Technology E-mail: reijo.karvinen@tut.fi PUUT44 Harvesting alternatives and cost factors of delimbed energy wood Antti Asikainen Finnish Forest Research Institute Joensuu Research Station E-mail: antti.asikainen@metla.fi PUUY26 Palax 450 firewood processor (F) Jaakko Viitamki Ylistaron Terstakomo Oy E-mail: jaakko.viitamaki@terastakomo.com PUUY27 Quality control of wood pellets in small-scale distribution and handling Seppo Tuomi Work Efficiency Institute E-mail: seppo.tuomi@tts.fi
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PUUY30 Quality control and development of chopped firewood Aki Jouhiaho TTS-Institute E-mail: aki.jouhiaho@tts.fi PUUY33 New generation sauna stove Pertti Harvia Harvia Oy E-mail: pertti.harvia@harvia.fi PUUY35 Development of small-scale fluidised boiler Kari Hmlinen New Fire Oy E-mail: asiakaspalvelu@newfire.info PUUY38 Development of bioenergy logistics Sampo Humalainen JST-Kone E-mail: jst-kone@dlc.fi PUUY41 Chipping station Vilho Widing Lava ja Huolto Heinonen Oy E-mail: lava@jahuoltoky.inet.fi PUUY42 Development of a combustion bracket for briquettes Esko Hukka PTI-Metalli Oy E-mail: esko.hukka@pti-metalli.fi PUUY43 A new furnace type Ilkka Paatero Kerman Savi Oy E-mail: ilkka.paatero@kermansavi.fi PUUY44 Clean combustion of wood fuels in a small fireplace Jari Valtonen Narvi Oy E-mail: jari.valtonen@narvi.fi PUUT45 Reduction of emissions from small-scale wood burning Heikki Oravainen VTT Processes E-mail: heikki.oravainen@vtt.fi PUUY45 Development of a small-scale pelletisation line Anssi Kokkonen JPK-Tuote Oy E-mail: anssi.kokkonen@jpk-tuote.fi
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PUUY46 Palax Power 100 wood chopper Anssi Koski Ylistaron Terstakomo Oy E-mail: anssi.koski@terastakomo.com PUUY47 Drying and quality control of firewood Jyrki Kouki TTS-Institute E-mail: jyrki.kouki@tts.fi 7 Surveys financed by the executive board PUUJ01 Guidebook for harvesting logging residue chips (F) Tage Fredriksson Wood Energy Association E-mail: tage.fredriksson@tapio.fi PUUJ02 Survey of the use of forest chips (F) Pentti Hakkila VTT Processes E-mail: pentti.hakkila@vtt.fi PUUJ03 Survey of research, development and use of wood energy in EU (F) Pirkko Vesterinen VTT Processes E-mail: pirkko.vesterinen@vtt.fi PUUJ04 A pre-study of using stumps and roots as fuel (F) Ari Erkkil VTT Processes E-mail: ari.erkkila@vtt.fi PUUJ05 Effect of wood fuels on the operational economy of power plants (F) Jouni Hmlinen VTT Processes E-mail: jouni.hamalainen@vtt.fi PUUJ06 Production costs of pellets for different plant integrates (F) Martti Flyktman VTT Processes E-mail: martti.flyktman@vtt.fi PUUJ07 Guidebook for harvesting chips from young forests Tage Fredriksson The Forestry Development Centre Tapio E-mail: tage.fredriksson@tapio.fi

PUUJ08 Quality survey of forest chips (F) Risto Impola VTT Processes E-mail: risto.impola@vtt.fi PUUJ09 Buffer stockpiling of wood fuels (F) Arvo Leinonen VTT Processes E-mail: arvo.leinonen@vtt.fi PUUJ10 Feasibility of fuel drying at heating and power plants (F) Martti Flyktman VTT Processes E-mail: martti.flyktman@vtt.fi PUUJ11 Forest chips and forestry (F) Pertti Harstela Finnish Forest Research Institute Suonenjoki Research Station E-mail: pertti.harstela@metla.fi PUUJ12 Bottlenecks in receiving, handling and feeding systems of wood fuels (F) Timo Jrvinen VTT Processes E-mail: timo.jarvinen@vtt.fi PUUJ13 Changes in the competitiveness of bioenergy in Europe (F) Pirkko Vesterinen VTT Processes E-mail: pirkko.vesterinen@vtt.fi 8 Demonstration projects PUUD1 Short-distance hauling of logging residues, and storage container Savonlinna Vocational Institute PUUD2 Truck for loose logging residues Haulage Contractors Hakonen ja Pojat PUUD3 Biomass baler Ris-Esset Ab Oy PUUD4 Production of forest chips at terminals Vapo Oy Energy PUUD5 Giant chipper Kotimaiset Energiat Ky

PUUD6 drum chipper TT-1310RML Tmi Hake-Energia Kari Vainikka PUUD7 Long-distance transport of logging residues Vapo Oy Energy PUUD8 Chipper-trucks Biowatti Oy PUUD9 Biomass baler Machine Service Hlrin Oy PUUD10 Drum chipper TT-1310 RML Chipping Group Kankaanmki PUUD11 Pika terrain chipper Biowatti Oy PUUD12 Stationary biomass crusher Oy Alholmens Kraft Ab PUUD13 Biomass baler Tmi Matti Sadeharju PUUD14 Biomass baler H & H Ala-Korpi PUUD15 Giant chipper Kotimaiset Energiat Ky PUUD16 Compaction device for logging residue truck Biowatti Oy PUUD17 Biomass baler Haulage Company J. Kakko Ky PUUD18 Biomass baler Machine Contractors Viitanen Oy PUUD19 Harvester for small-dimensioned wood Machine Contractors Autio Oy PUUD20 Biomass baler Mika Ruokola Ky PUUD21 Biomass baler Mika Ruokola Ky PUUD22 Biomass baler Forest Vihavainen Ky

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PUUD23 Mobile two-stage crusher Fore Energia Oy PUUD24 Biomass baler Tenho Pulkkinen PUUD25 Biomass baler Earthworks Jouko Laakso Oy PUUD26 Biomass baler Mika Ruokola Ky

PUUD27 Biomass baler Forest Vihavainen Ky PUUD28 Chipper-trucks Biowatti Oy PUUD29 Biomass baler Otava Pauli

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Tekes Technology Programme Reports

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Developing Technology for Large-Scale Production of Forest Chips Wood Energy Technology Programme 19992003. Final Report. 98 p. Pentti Hakkila Puuenergian teknologiaohjelma 19992003 Metshakkeen tuotantoteknologia. Loppuraportti. 134 s. Pentti Hakkila Diagnostiikka-teknologiaohjelma 20002003. Metallurgian mahdollisuudet 19992003. Loppuraportti. Moottoritekniikan teknologiaohjelma ProMOTOR 19992003. Loppuraportti. 110 s. Polymeerit tulevaisuuden rakentajina, Potra 20002003. Prosessiteollisuuden online-mittaustekniikat -teknologiaohjelman 19992002 arviointi. Arviointiraportti. 15 s. Kalle Laine Presto future products. Added Value with Micro and Precision Technology 19992002. Final Report. 110 p. Evaluation of the EXSITE Programme. Evaluation Report. 72 p. Risto Louhenper, Olle Nilsson Climtech-ohjelman toimintamallin arviointi ja kansallisen ilmasto- ja teknologiastrategian ennakoiva arviointi. Arviointiraportti. USIX Uusi kyttjkeskeinen tietotekniikka 19992003. Loppuraportti. 71 s. Toimialoja kehittvien ohjelmien KIVI, Divan, SPIN arvionti. Arviointiraportti. Divan Huonekalualan teknologia- ja kehittmisohjelma 19992002. Loppuraportti. 20 s. Leila-Mari Ryynnen Kiviteollisuuden teknologia- ja kehittmisohjelma 19992002. Loppuraportti. 67 s. Ohjelmistotuotteet SPIN 20002003 -teknologiaohjelma. Loppuraportti. 174 s. Jtteiden energiakytt -teknologiaohjelma. Loppuraportti. 148 s. Targeted Technology Programmes: A Conceptual Evaluation Evaluation of Kenno, Plastic processing and Pigments technology programmes. Evaluation Report. 104 p. Erkko Autio, Sami Kanninen, Bill Wicksteed Muuttuva insinrity- ja ajattelutapa. Polttoprosessien mallinnus CODE -teknologiaohjelman vaikuttavuuden arviointi. Arviointiraportti. 32 s. Lasse Kivikko Osaamisen ja tiedonsiirron merkitys teknologiaohjelmissa STAHA-, PRESTO- ja VRE-teknologiaohjelmien arviointi. Arviointiraportti. VRE Control of Vibration and Sound Technology Programme 19992002. Final Report. Terve talo -teknologiaohjelma 19982002. Loppuraportti. 121 s. www.tekes.fi/publications

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