Fuel, Hydraulic Oil and Lubricant Consumption in Swedish Mechanized Harvesting Operations, 1996

When subjecting forest products to certification the total environmental load of wood harvesting machinery should also be assessed. In this study fuel, hydraulic oil and lubricant consumption in harvesting operations in Sweden has been examined by using machine data acquired through a questionnaire. The objectives of the study were to assess the contractor and forest company owned harvesters' and forwarders' average oil consumption in practical harvesting operations in Sweden, ascertain if the ownership and size of the machines give different consumption figures and estimate the use of environmentally acceptable hydraulic oils as well as the amount of oil spilled outdoors. Diesel consumption was found to be 935 l/1000 m3ub for forwarders and 1 167 l/1000 m3ub for single-grip harvesters. Hydraulic, transmission and chainsaw oil consumption was significantly higher in forest company owned harvesters while no significant differences were observed among forwarders. Hydraulic oil spillage was estimated for both harvesters and forwarders at 20 l/1000 m3ub. For felling and crosscutting trees a further 35 l/1000 m3ub of chainsaw oil is spilled. Ninety percent of the utilized hydraulic oil was environmentally compatible

Fuel Consumption In Forwarders

Forwarder fuel consumption was studied by examining a total of 27 forwarders under field conditions. Three datasets, representing different data acquisition methods, were used. In a field study, time and fuel consumption by work-element of two 20-21 tonne forwarders in final felling were recorded. In a questionnaire survey, daily data concerning fuel consumption, productivity and average extraction distance was provided on 18 forwarders, divided between final felling and thinning. Finally, accounting data on fuel consumption for 11 forwarders were obtained. In the field study, the fuel consumption varied between 8.3 to 15.7 l/PMH (productive machine hour) for different work elements. The total fuel consumption was 0.28-0.36 l/m3sub (solid under bark) at average extraction distances on 360-412 m for loads of sawlogs and 0.43-0.66 l/m3sub (458-514 m) for loads of pulpwood. 61-62% of that fuel was consumed during loading and driving during loading. The forwarders consumed 0.23-0.38 l/100 m driving and the difference was only 10% with and without load. In the questionnaire survey, the fuel consumption averaged 0.62 l/m3sub (sawlogs and pulpwood, 318 m average extraction distance) for final felling (16-20 tonne forwarders) and 0.92 l/m3sub (644 m) for thinning (11-14 tonnes). An exception was 2.5 tonne forwarders that consumed only 0.35-0.37 l/m3sub (120-180 m). 89% of the extracted volume in the accounting data was from thinnings and the fuel consumption was in average 0.67 l/m3sub (100-200 m) for 9 to11 tonne forwarders. More difficult terrain conditions, the use of tracks and wheel-chains and one more assortment in the questionnaire survey are the most probable reasons for higher fuel consumption than in the field study. At long extraction distances it is especially important to utilize the maximum load capacity to benefit low fuel consumption on m3 basis

Distribution, characteristics and potential of biomass-dense thinning forests in Sweden

Understanding the characteristics of unutilized biomass resources, such as small-diameter trees from biomass-dense thinning forests (BDTF) (non-commercially-thinned forests), can provide important information for developing a bio-based economy. The aim of this study was to describe the areal distribution, characteristics (biomass of growing stock, tree height, etc.) and harvesting potential of BDTF in Sweden. A national forest inventory plot dataset was imported into a geographical information system and plots containing BDTF were selected by applying increasingly stringent constraints. Results show that, depending on the constraints applied, BDTF covers 9-44% (2.1-9.8 M ha) of the productive forest land area, and contains 7-34% of the total growing stock (119-564 M OD t), with an average biomass density of 57 OD t ha^-1. Of the total BDTF area, 65% is located in northern Sweden and 2% corresponds to set-aside farmlands. Comparisons with a study from 2008 indicate that BDTF area has increased by at least 4% (about 102 000 ha), in line with general trends for Sweden and Europe. Analyses revealed that the technical harvesting potential of delimbed stemwood (over bark, including tops) from BDTF ranges from 3.0 to 6.1 M OD t yr^-1 (7.5 to 15.1 M m^3 yr^-1), while the potential of whole-tree harvesting ranges from 4.3 to 8.7 M OD t yr^-1 (10.2 to 20.6 M m3 yr^-1) depending on the scenario considered. However, further technological developments of the harvest and supply systems are needed to utilize the full potential of BDTF

Integrated supply of stemwood and residual biomass to forest-based biorefineries

The demand for forest biomass as raw material for a wide range of products in the developing bioeconomy is expected to increase. Along with a constant pressure on forestry to increase its productivity, this development has led to the search for new procurement methods and new assortments. The present study assessed innovative supply chain practices, with a particular focus on the integrated supply of stemwood and residual tree parts. The assortments considered included tree sections, long tops, saw logs with stump cores and small whole trees from thinnings. The assessment included geographically explicit modelling of the supply chain operations and estimation of supply cost and energy use for three industrial locations in Northern Sweden. The innovative supply chains were compared to conventional, separate, harvest of stemwood and logging residues. We conclude that integrated harvest of tops and branches with stemwood assortments, as well as whole-tree harvest in early thinnings, has a significant potential to reduce the supply cost for the non-stemwood assortments. Stump wood generally remains the most expensive assortment. The energy use analysis confirms earlier research showing that the energy input is relatively small compared to the energy content of the harvested feedstock