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Finnish forest companies aim to produce biodiesel based on the Fischer-Tropsch process from forest residues. This study presents method to evaluate biomass availability and supply costs to the selected biorefinery site. Forest-owners’ willingness to sell, buyers’ market share, and regional competition were taken into account when biomass availability was evaluated. Supply logistics was based either on direct truck transportation deliveries from forest or on railway/waterway transportation via regional terminals. The large biomass need of a biorefinery demanded both of these supply structures, since the procurement area was larger than the traditional supply area used for CHP plants in Finland. The average supply cost was 17 €/MWh for an annual supply of 2 TWh of forest biomass. Truck transportation of chips made from logging residues covered 70% of the total volume, since direct forest chip deliveries from forest were the most competitive supply solution in terms of direct supply costs. The better supply security and lower vehicle capacity needs are issues that would favour also terminal logistics with other raw-material sources in practical operations. One finding was that the larger the biomass need, the less the variation in biomass availability and supply costs, since almost the whole country will serve as a potential supply area. Biomass import possibilities were not considered in this study

Commercial-scale liquid-biofuel production utilizing forest-based biomass would require feedstock supply from a large geographical area. Feedstock composition, supply chains' arrangements, and the resulting greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are location dependent, and case-specific assessments are needed if one is to guarantee the fulfillment of GHG reduction requirements by a specific biofuel product. This work assessed GHG emissions derived from the feedstock supply and transportation chain to three possible commercial-scale biodiesel plant locations in Finland (Rauma, Porvoo, and Kemi) at site-specific level. The supply of 7.2 PJ yr À1 (approximately 1 million m 3 solid ) of forest biomass (harvesting residues, stumps, and small-diameter energy wood) was assessed for each location, including four distinct scenarios for truck and railway transportation and two scenarios for biomass availability. Biomass availability and transportation-network assessments were conducted through utilization of geographical information system methods, and the GHG emissions were assessed by means of lifecycle assessment. The results showed that the GHG emissions of the supply chains can be effectively reduced through use of railway transportation from distant supply areas. Furthermore, even though the supply-chain GHG emissions differed by up to 30% between the case-study locations, the GHG emissions of the feedstock supply chain, from roadside stores of uncomminuted biomass to comminuted biomass delivered to the plants, were relatively low (2-4%) when compared with the GHG emissions of fossil diesel.

• Pre-grinding and integrated screening is a way of guaranteeing fuel quality, but, when the stumps' ash content is six per cent or below, the procurement costs are higher than with grinding of stumps at the plant. Because of high transportation costs, stump harvesting is the most profitable in Southern Finland, where there is greater availability of stumps than in Northern Finland. AbstractThe aim of this study was to evaluate cost competitiveness, at regional level, of various systems for stump transportation and grinding, and to compare the results to the procurement costs of delimbed stems from early thinnings at the stand and regional level. The accumulation and procurement costs of stumps and delimbed stems were estimated within a 100-kilometer radius from two power plants located in Kouvola and in Kajaani. The analyses were performed as simulated treatments in clear cuts and thinnings of young stands, using existing productivity and cost functions, alternative ash percentages for stump wood, and yield calculations based on the forest industry regeneration felling stand data and the sample plots data of the National Forest Inventory of Finland. The results were expressed as Euros per solid cubic meter (€ m -3 ) and Euros per megawatt hour (€ MWh -1 ).The results highlight the need to improve stump fuel quality and increase the heating value. The procurement cost of stumps was about 1 € MWh -1 lower in Kouvola compared to Kajaani, when using conceivable ash content of 6% for stumps ground at the plant, and ash content of 1.5% for stumps pre-ground at the roadside landing. The procurement costs of stumps were, on average, 0.55 € MWh -1 lower compared to delimbed stems in Kouvola, and on average 0.6 € MWh -1 higher in Kajaani. Pre-grinding and integrated screening is a feasible way to guarantee the fuel quality expressed as ash content already at roadside landings, but the procurement costs are higher compared to grinding stumps at the plant, when the ash content of ground stumps is 6% or less.

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