Evaluation of a Single-Pass, Cut and Chip Harvest System on Commercial-Scale, Short-Rotation Shrub Willow Biomass Crops

Harvesting is the single largest cost in the production of short rotation woody crops (SRWC) like shrub 8 willow and previous systems tested in North America have not been effective for the size of material grown. The 9 objective of this study was to evaluate the performance of a single-pass, cut and chip harvester in conjunction with 10 two locally-sourced chip collection systems on 54 ha of coppiced willow harvests in New York State. Harvesting 11 and collection equipment was tracked for 153 loads over 10 days of harvesting using GPS dataloggers. Effective 12 material capacities (Cm) increased linearly with standing biomass up to 40 to 45 Mgwet ha-1 because ground speed 13 was limited by ground conditions. This relationship changed dramatically with standing biomass in the 40 – 90 14 Mgwet ha-1 range, where Cm plateaued between 70 and 90 Mgwet hr-1 and was limited by crop conditions and 15 harvester capacity. The relationship between standing biomass and the harvester’s Cm will probably change under 16 different crop and ground conditions. The size of the harvester and the experience of the operator are other factors. 17 This nonlinear relationship will impact cost and optimization modeling SRWC systems. Improperly sized headland 18 and long haul distances impeded the performance of locally sourced collection systems resulting in a 33% decrease 19 in Cm from the field to the headlands, and 66% from the field to short-term storage as biomass moves through the 20 system

International Financial Integration and Its Distinctions in Transition Economies

financial market, integration, liberalization, macroeconomic stability, currency, capital, F36, G15, G32,

Development and Deployment of a Short Rotation Woody Crops Harvesting System Based on a Case New Holland Forage Harvester and SRC Woody Crop Header

Biomass for bioproducts and bioenergy can be sourced from forests, agricultural crops, various residue streams, and dedicated woody or herbaceous crops (USDOE 2011). Woody biomass feedstocks have advantages in the northeastern US where forests occupy 67.4% of the land area (Smith et al. 2007), agricultural production has been in a 20-year decline, and agricultural crop residues are in limited supply because of the high demand for herbaceous forage by the dairy industry. Woody biomass is available year-round from multiple sources, so end users are not dependent on a single source of material or a narrow harvest window; this ensures a year-round feedstock supply, reduces the risk of dramatic price fluctuations, and eliminates the need for complicated and expensive long-term storage of material, which has the added benefit of preserving the quality attributes of the feedstock. As perennial cropping systems, both natural forests and short rotation woody crops (SRWC), like willow (Salix spp.) and hybrid poplar (Populus spp.), produce environmental and rural economic development benefits beyond a renewable source of biomass