Transport Cost Estimation Model of the Agroforestry Biomass in a Small-Scale Energy Chain

The delivery of biomass products from the production place to the point of final transformation is of fundamental importance within the constitution of energy chains based on biomass use as a renewable energy source. Transport can be one of the most economically expensive operations of the entire biomass energy production process, which limits choices in this sector, often inhibiting any expansive trends. A geographic identification, through remote sensing and photo-interpretation, of the different biomass sources was used to estimate the potential available biomass for energy in a small-scale supply chain. This study reports on the sustainability of transport costs calculated for different types of biomass sources available close a biomass power plant of a small-scale energy supply chain, located in central Italy. To calculate the transport cost referred to the identified areas we used the maximum travel time parameter. The proposed analysis allows us to highlight and visualize on the map the areas of the territory characterized by greater economic sustainability in terms of lower transport costs of residual agroforestry biomass from the collection point to the final point identified with the biomass power plant. The higher transport cost was around €40 mg−1, compared to the lowest of €12 mg−1.