气候变化领域集成服务门户

This study investigates the environmental burdens of three logistics system scenarios for residue processing and transportation under different road type distributions using life cycle assessment (LCA). The three scenarios are as follows: bin truck with stationary grinder at centralized landing (base case); bundler with electric grinder; and mobile chipper at slash piles. The total distance between the forest site and the bioenergy facility is set at 50 miles one way. The functional unit is 1 bone-dry ton (BDT) of residues transported from the forest site to the bioenergy facility. Results indicate that the mobile chipper system posts the lowest global warming impact under all types of road distributions (38.2-41.4 kg CO2 eq [84.2-91.3 lb CO2 eq]), whereas the base case shows the most rapid reduction in global warming impact as highway distance increases (43.8-56.9 kg CO2 eq [96.6-125.4 lb CO2 eq]). Potential impacts from acidification, eutrophication, and smog indicate reduction as highway distance increases. Along these LCA metrics, road conditions play an important role in determining the most efficient residue collection system. As the residue piles are located further from paved highway, the bundler and the mobile chipper systems present greater environmental advantages.