Small and Smaller: New challenges and solutions for moving smallwood
Bob Rummer
US Forest Service
Auburn, AL

Outline
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Anticipating smallwood challenges
Merchandizing
Smallwood harvesting
Smallest wood (biomass) harvesting

Smallwood

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Reduction in available supply of larger trees
Fuel reduction
Adaptation
Idaho City, ID

Significant Trends
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Fire
I&D

Significant Trends
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Security
Economic impacts
Environmental

Its all about the green …
Photo: Barry Wynsma

Costs define …
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What trees are cut (the perceived value of the treatment)
What biomass has value in the market
What product sorting, processing, merchandizing occurs

Example
Stand Component Prescription Products
<3”
3-6”
6-12” topwood
Cut & leave
Cut & remove
Selection
Remove
None
Energywood
Small sawlog
Energywood

Assume: GreenGas $1.75/gal
Renewable Oil Int’l Bio-oil

Example
Stand Component Prescription Products
<3”
3-6”
6-9”
9-12” topwood
Cut & leave
Cut & remove
Selection
Selection
Remove
Energywood
Energywood
Energywood
Small sawlog
Energywood

Expensive to work with smallwood
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Driven by volume/piece
Underutilization of equipment

Solutions
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Match equipment to task
Accumulate/pre-bunch

Felling, Processing, Piling Cost
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
0
Mechanized
Manual
2 4 dbh (in)
6 8 10

Payload is key
15
10
5
0
30
25
20
50
45
40
35
0 200 400
Dist (ft)
600 800
Manual
Animal
Tractor
Skidder
Forw arder

Add the money
$35.00
$30.00
$25.00
$20.00
$15.00
$10.00
$5.00
$0.00
0 200 400
Distance (ft)
600 800
Manual
Animal
Tractor
Skidder
Forwarder

More efficient alternatives
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Mulching
Piling
Photo: Don Peterson
Photo: Barry Wynsma

Integrated product recovery
“The cheapest way to get the 4” stick is when it is attached to an
8” stick.” Steve Aulerich

Integrated recovery

Recovery of energy wood
Conventional
One-pass energywood
Two-pass energywood
Rec. Vol
50%
Harvest Cost
$10/gt
85% $7.50/gt
84% $9/gt

What about something new?

Improve efficiency: Harwarders
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Several designs
Reduced handling
Low-impact
Valmet 801 Combi

Performance
Min/m 3
20
18
16
14
12
10
8
6
4
2
0
1 st Thin
CTL Dual Combi
2nd Thin
Final harvest
CTL Dual Combi CTL Dual Combi
Site Move
Forward
Harvest

System Productivity
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Removed ~9 CCF/acre, 3.8 PMH/acre
Elemental times ~16 min/CCF
Gross time ~25 min/CCF
Misc. elements nearly half of all operating time
Production rates similar to the
Scandinavian studies

TimberPro TF 820-E
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250 to 300 hp
23’ reach w/6’
10.5’ wide, 33’ long
52000 lbs
$460K
Dual technology

Improve efficiency: cycle time
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What if your skidder was never empty?
Photo: MTDC

Increasing recovery of residues

Low density
Forwarding residues, Flagstaff, AZ

Improve payload

Improve payload
Continental Biomass Industries
BTS-1
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14 ton forwarder
9 ton payload
~$90,000

Improve payload
Photo: Dan Len

Photo: BLM, Alturas

Swath harvesters
Nicholson-Koch Mobile Chipharvester, 1980

Merchandizing energy
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Product is btu’s
Unique spec’s

Energy value includes …
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Energy inputs
Emissions

Summary
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Changing world for smallwood recovery
The smallest fraction will likely be merchandized for energywood
New technology to address barriers
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Improved handling efficiency
Improved payload
Processing for value
Its an exciting time to be working in the woods

The Future