Michigan Economic Development Corporation Forestry Biofuel Statewide Collaboration Center Task B1 Evaluation of Michigan Biomass Transportation Systems Final Report Authors: Pasi Lautala, Ph.D., P.E. Richard Stewart, Ph.D, CTL Robert Handler, Ph.D Hamed Pouryousef Final Report January, 2012 Table of Contents Disclaimer and Acknowledgements .................................................................................................. 7 Executive Summary .......................................................................................................................... 8 Transportation Definitions and Terminology .................................................................................. 20 1. Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 23 1-1. Statewide Evaluation of Michigan Biomass Transportation Systems ................................. 23 1-2. Limitations of the Study ...................................................................................................... 25 1-3. Outline and Structure of Report ........................................................................................... 26 1-4. Literature Review ................................................................................................................ 27 1-4-1- Transportation .............................................................................................................. 27 1-4-2- Multimodal (Intermodal) Transportation ..................................................................... 28 1-4-3-Biomass Transportation ................................................................................................ 28 1-4-4- Freight and Forest Product Transportation in State of Michigan ................................. 32 1-5. Case Studies ......................................................................................................................... 34 1-5-1- Finland ......................................................................................................................... 34 1-5-2- State of New York ........................................................................................................ 35 2. Transportation Infrastructure ...................................................................................................... 38 2-1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 38 2-2. Road Infrastructure .............................................................................................................. 38 2-2-1- Road Classifications ..................................................................................................... 39 2-2-2- Truck Axle Load and Seasonal Weight Restrictions ................................................... 40 2-2-3- Mackinac Bridge .......................................................................................................... 43 2-2-4- Other Bridge Restrictions ............................................................................................. 43 2-3. Rail Infrastructure ................................................................................................................ 44 2-3-1- Michigan Rail Lines (Current and Past) ....................................................................... 44 2-3-2- Sidings and Terminals .................................................................................................. 46 2-3-3- Michigan Shortline Railroad Data ............................................................................... 49 2-4. Marine Infrastructure ........................................................................................................... 50 2-4-1- Potential Ports and Docks ............................................................................................ 50 2-4-2- Preliminary Port and Dock Infrastructure Analysis ..................................................... 50 3. Transportation Equipment ........................................................................................................... 55 3-1. Road Equipment for Woody Biomass Transportation ......................................................... 55 3-1-1- Pulp/Logs/Biomass Bundles ........................................................................................ 56 3-1-2- Chips and Biomass Residue ......................................................................................... 58 3-1-3- New Technologies for Biomass Road Transportation ................................................. 61 3-1-4- Road Transportation Equipment Available in the State of Michigan .......................... 62 3-1-5-Equipment Manufacturer Interviews ............................................................................. 63 3-1-6-Logger Surveys ............................................................................................................. 64 3-2. Railroad Equipment ............................................................................................................. 65 3-2-1- Pulp, Log, and Biomass Bundles ................................................................................. 66 3-2-2- Chips and Forestry Residue Cars ................................................................................. 67 3-2-3- Estimated Costs of Rail Cars ........................................................................................ 68 3-3. Marine Equipment ............................................................................................................... 69 3-3-1-Legal requirements ........................................................................................................ 69 3-3-2- Physical requirements .................................................................................................. 69 3-3-3- Barge Inventory ............................................................................................................ 70 4. Modal and Multimodal Transportation Operations ..................................................................... 72 4-1. Alternative Supply Chains for Biomass Transportation ...................................................... 72 4-2. Biomass Transportation Distances ....................................................................................... 74 4-3. Road (Highway) Transportation .......................................................................................... 76 4-3-1- Truck Transportation of Log/Wood Products in Michigan .......................................... 76 4-3-2- Truck Performance and its Operations Requirements .................................................. 77 4-3-3- Operational Challenges for Truck Biomass Transportation ......................................... 79 4-4. Railroad Operations ............................................................................................................. 81 4-4-1-Freight Rail Transportation in Michigan ....................................................................... 81 4-4-2- Rail Performance and Operations Requirements ......................................................... 81 4-4-3- Key Operational Challenges for Rail Biomass Transportation .................................... 83 4-5. Marine Operations ............................................................................................................... 86 4-5-1- Marine Transportation Records and History in the Study Area ................................... 86 4-5-2- Marine Operations Features and Requirements ........................................................... 87 4-5-3 Barging Case Study on Lake Michigan ......................................................................... 90 4-5-4- Key Operational Challenges for Marine Biomass Transportation ............................... 90 4-6. Transportation Service Capacity for Proposed Biomass Plants ........................................... 92 4-7. Biomass Transportation Costs ............................................................................................. 97 4-7-1- Lowest Landed Cost Estimation .................................................................................. 98 4-7-2- General Equation for Transportation Cost Estimation ................................................. 99 4-7-3- Cost Estimation for Truck Transportation ................................................................. 100 4-7-4- Cost Estimation for Bimodal (Rail/Truck) Transportation ........................................ 100 4-7-5- Marine Transportation Cost Estimation ..................................................................... 108 5. Bibliography.............................................................................................................................. 110 6. Appendix ................................................................................................................................... 112 Page 3 List of Figures Figure 1. Snapshot of all potential transportation infrastructures that may be used for biomass transportation through the state of Michigan ....................................................................................................................................... 10 Figure 2. A type of chip truck tipper at woody biomass facility .................................................................................... 12 Figure 3. Alternative