Research On Supply Chain Logistics Cost Of Straw For Biomass Power Generation

With the improvement of living standards of peasants, the use of straw has been decreasing in rural areas. As a result, a lot of straw resources are wasted in the field and are even burnt. Able to take advantage of straw resources on a large scale with higher degree of industrialization, biomass power generation is the most effective way to make use of straw. China has been promoting the development of biomass energy industry by implementation of a series of supporting policies and regulations. However, biomass power generation enterprises have difficulties in fuel collection, and fuel cost has been high. Logistics cost is an important part of fuel cost. So, the study on supply chain logistics cost of straw can help to control and reduce fuel cost of biomass power generation.In this paper, the logistics cost of power generation straw is studied from the perspective of supply chain. Firstly, the composition of supply chain logistics cost of power generation straw is expounded, and each link and its logistics cost status quo are analyzed. Questionnaire survey and factor analysis were carried out for cost influence factors of each functional link. Straw mechanized harvesting cost under different packing methods, transport cost under different collection modes, storage cost under different storage approach. are also studied on the basis of the questionnaire survey and factor analysis and by reference to empirical data.The main conclusions of the study include:(1) Straw logistics cost is influenced by several key factors.(2) During the straw mechanized harvesting process, although the operational cost of large packing system is higher than that of small packing system, large packing is more advantageous than small packing in terms of total straw harvesting cost.(3) The transport cost calculation method for simple collection mode is different from that for complex collection mode. During the transport from resource island to power plant (outside the island), straw compression treatment shall be considered. Compression before transport can improve the loading capacity of transport vehicles, thus significantly reducing transport cost, but this doesn’t necessarily effectively reduce the total logistics cost. In the case of fixed transport volume,50km is a critical transport distance for the selection of compression.(4) Considering the poor accessibility and different grades of rural roads, a mixed integer programming model for straw storage site selection is established.(5) The influence of type quantity and storage methods of biomass fuel used by power plant on the total logistics cost: the adoption of simple storage methods with small investment can reduce the cost of storage and treatment links of the supply chain, thus significantly saving the whole biomass logistics cost, and such saving is far more than the increase of material loss and treatment cost caused by the use of simple storage solutions.(6) For areas lacking fuel, simple storage solutions shall be prudently adopted because they tend to reduce straw calorific value and have health and fire risks.(7) In the case of storage solutions, inexpensive biomass fuel can be used as much as possible. On the other hand, multi-biomass approaches can reduce the required storage space, and are applicable to expensive storage methods with limited storage space and less storage loss.This study builds for the first time a relatively comprehensive and systematic system of key influence factor indicators for supply chain logistics cost of biomass power generation straw, and identifies key influence factors via factor analysis, thus enriching the theoretical basis for the analysis of biomass power generation fuel cost. It incorporates straw harvesting cost into the supply chain logistics cost of biomass power generation straw, and estimates the cost composition in detail, thus providing a basis for the setting of actual straw purchase prices. It also analyzes straw transport cost by comprehensively considering two factors: collection modes and transport methods, thus making the optimized analysis of transport cost better reflect the actual situation. Optimized analysis of storage cost is conducted in view of different storage forms and multiple types of straw, providing theoretical basis and guiding direction for the improvement of construction and storage cost of storage facilities. The study of logistics cost of straw supply chain functional links provides theoretical basis for the establishment of a reasonable straw supply chain logistics system, thus helping to solve problems such as over-high fuel cost and imbalance between supply and demand of fuel existing in the biomass power generation process in China, to make biomass power enterprises better optimize and control cost, and to improve their profitability and competitive advantages. The conclusions can also provide reference for related government departments to formulate related policies and regulations on supporting the biomass power generation industry.