Parameters of Trucks and Loads in the Transport of Scots Pine Wood Biomass Depending on the Season and Moisture Content of the Load

Abstract

Transport of wood biomass is one of the key operations in forestry and in the wood industry. An important part is the transport of shredded wood, where the most common forms are chips and sawdust. The aim of the research was to present the variability of the total weight of trucks (gross vehicle weight, GVW), the weight of the empty trucks (tare), and loads of chips and sawdust in different periods of the year. Changes in specific parameters were analyzed: GVW; tare weight; trailer capacity; use of the trailer load capacity; bulk volume and bulk density of wood biomass loads; solid cubic meter (m3) and weight of 1m3 of the load; and load weight depending on the season, with simultaneous measurements of wood chips and sawdust moisture. More than 250 transports from four seasons of the year were analyzed in the research. It was found that the total weight of trucks (GVW) was at a comparable level, on average from 39.42 to 39.64 Mg with slight differences (with SD 0.29 and 0.39). The weight of empty trucks was 16.15 Mg for chip-bearing trucks and 15.93 Mg for sawdust-bearing trucks (with SD 0.604 and 0.526). The type of wood material has an influence on the transported volume. The average quantity of load in the bulk cubic meter was 64.783 m3 for wood chips (SD 3.127) and 70.465 m3 (SD 2.516) for sawdust. Over 30% differences in the volume of transported wood chips and approximately 18% for sawdust were observed. The use of the loading capacity of the trailer was on average 72.58% (SD 5.567) for the transport of wood chips and 77.42% (SD 3.019) for the transport of sawdust. The sawdust bulk density was from 0.3050 to 0.4265 Mg×m−3 for wood chips and 0.3200 to 0.3556 Mg×m−3 for sawdust. This parameter is significantly dependent on moisture content, and the determined correlation functions can be used for estimating and predicting bulk density. The abovementioned absolute moisture content of chips and sawdust also depends on the season, which also affects the selected parameters of wood biomass loads.

Weight loss of logwood piles stored under winter conditions in Poland

“…Long-term data analysed by Hultnäs et al ( 2013) indicate strong seasonal fluctuations in the density of fresh wood, which may suggest that the initial humidity varies throughout the season and can affect the natural drying process. Similar relationships between wood mass and moisture content depending on the season of the year are presented by Trzciński et al (2021).…”

Local Variations in Carbohydrates and Matrix Lignin in Mechanically Graded Bamboo Culms

“…This is probably because bamboo has a special cell wall structure with alternating broad and narrow layers, smaller microfibril angle and higher density than wood [ 35 , 41 , 42 ]. Earlier work has investigated anatomical, physical and mechanical properties of different wood and bamboo material, and implies that most properties were mainly governed by the fibers [ 4 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 ]. Moreover, this micromechanics data in individual fiber agreed well with the previous research that the longitudinal tensile modulus of elasticity of bamboo for the outermost layer was 3–4 times as high as that for the innermost layer [ 6 ], probably due to the density variations in the fiber sheath, which acts like a plant muscle within the bamboo culm.…”

Conversion of waste to sustainable aviation fuel via Fischer–Tropsch synthesis: Front‐end design decisions

“…These include the residues from logging, wood processing, and agricultural crops, as well as manure, sewage sludge, and municipal sorted waste (MSW). Properties relevant for thermochemical conversion of such feedstocks to oils are summarized in Table 1 24–48 …”