Feasibility of a Harvesting System for Logging Residues as Unutilized Forest Biomass

概要

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The concept of a "harvesting system for unutilized forest biomass by a processor and a forwarder" is examined for the purpose of constructing a system to harvest logging residues (or slashes) as a new resource for energy. The rate of slash harvesting, α, and the energy input rate of hauling slashes, p (%), are defined as indices of the possibility of harvesting slashes and the utilization of slashes for energy, respectively. From an analysis of the field experiment, both the volume of logs hauled by the forwarder per day, E_F (m^3/day), and p are expressed as functions of the hauling distance, L (m). The productivity of the processor, E_P (m^3/day), and L were used to calculate α. Results showed that α was approximately 0.95 for the experiment site, indicating that almost all the slashes could be hauled. It was recognized that the energy utilization of slashes was feasible for this site because p was less than 1 %. The hauling cost per unit weight of slashes was calculated as 15.4 yen/kg on an oven-dry weight basis. This high cost clarified that the cost must be reduced by taking measures such as enhancing the hauling efficiency of the forwarder.
日本森林学会の論文
2000-05-16