transportation The availability of alternatives depends on the type of process being used to produce biofuels. Thermochemical processes such as gasification have more latitude in feedstocks than processes based on enzymatic hydrolysis.
Moving On A supply chain is only as good as the roads and rails it moves on. Carmical says it is important to bring local officials on board early in the planning process to address any upgrades needed to keep the trucks moving safely and efficiently. If needed improvements are not in place before the trucks begin to roll, it may be harder to get them done down the road. “Normally, most of the biomass is in rural areas,” he says. “Most rural areas are struggling so they will be very happy to see you, so those issues can usually be dealt with up front. But they do need to know it up front.” With dozens of deliveries being made daily, liability is a huge concern when moving woody biomass. Carmical says any business needs to make safety a top priority regarding both personnel and equipment. “We’ve been in business long enough to know that if we aren’t safety conscious, we won’t be in business long,” he says. “We have to be safe both for the public and our own people. That’s just a fundamental part of our business.” Price Biostock drivers attend mandatory safety meetings and receive safety bonuses. “They hear about safety until they are tired of it,” he adds. “It always surprised me as a young manager that you had to work to keep a man safe. They don’t recognize there are things
40 BIOMASS MAGAZINE 4|2008
they have to do for their own good.” All Price Biostock trucks also carry a toll-free number so drivers can report any unsafe activity. “I’m proud to say we get about as many people calling to compliment us on how our drivers work, as complain.” Wood burns and it contains energy that can be converted into biofuels or electricity, which makes it valuable. It also makes it a potential hazard when thousands of tons of woody biomass are gathered in one area. There are solid fire codes already in place that will make biomass processing facilities as safe as possible, as long as those codes are followed, Carmical says. Some of the steps include keeping only enough biomass on-site as is necessary for current production, implementing and following safety plans, and cooperating with safety regulators when they do inspections. “We call those the checker guys who make sure we are applying proper procedure to everything we do,” he adds.
Supply and Demand Because of the complexity of handling and transporting biomass, Carmical thinks a good percentage of cellulosic ethanol companies will eventually opt to contract with a company such as Price Biostock to develop their supply systems rather than create a supply chain from scratch. “I think there will be some that do both,” he says. “There is some misinformation out there that makes people think biomass is like a chemical or something that will show up on order. Biomass is unique with the headaches due to weather and seasonality. Just like the pulp and paper industry