Economic Analysis Models for Woody Biomass to Biofuels

Concerns about volatile crude oil prices, energy security, and environmental issues are driving the production and use of renewable energy in the United States. Woody biomass can be used as feedstock for solid or liquid fuels or electricity generation. This book, therefore, provides economic analysis models for woody biomass to biofuels to minimize the delivered cost and maximize the net present value. At first, an economic analysis model to estimate the delivered cost of woody biomass using different woody biomass handling systems was developed in the book. The model was designed to minimize the total annual delivered cost of woody biomass and applied to the central Appalachian region. Secondly, the economic feasibility of a woody biomass-based ethanol facility was analyzed using a mixed integer programming model. The model is designed to maximize the net present value (NPV) of a facility over its economic life. At last, a multi-equation model was developed to assess the economics of a coal/biomass-to-liquids (CBTL) fuel plant in West Virginia. This book will be of interest to forest landowners, sawmill managers, and students and researchers in woody biomass processing.