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National Activities - UK
UK Review of MAFF Supported Biomass R and D Activities - Part 2 |
The background to the review meeting is presented in Part 1
Background to the workshops
The workshops were based on the report, "Review of Research on Biomass Crops", which was produced by Keith Brent for the review meeting. The report sought to collate and summarise current knowledge on UK biomass crops and their production and, in addition, identify and prioritise future research needs.
Copies of the report were provided to all the attendees in advance of the review meeting and the outcomes of various sections of the report were discussed within the workshops. The discussions and conclusions of the workshops as well as subsequent inputs are summarised in terms of topics (e.g. establishment, pest and disease control, etc) rather than as workshops because there was a degree of overlap between the various sessions.
General establishment issues
The reduction of establishment costs was seen as one of the key issues for SRC production. Farmers' commitment to grow SRC will be determined largely by the levels of financial return/support on the crop.
The main barriers to uptake of SRC by farmers were identified as being:
It was suggested that a readily available supply of high yielding planting material at a reasonable cost is required to encourage uptake. It was also proposed that there should be an open market value for the material, high standards of quality control, and a recommended list of varieties with material provided by registered producers. Plant Breeders Rights would also need clarification. The high cost of undertaking research was identified as making the scaling-up of trial work to field/commercial scale difficult. It was acknowledged that there are inherent ongoing needs such as for a commercially driven growers' handbook which would be regularly updated. However it appeared that growers are reluctant to put any more of their own money into developing SRC until larger scale production is evident. In addition, it was noted that any information must be freely disseminated.
It was agreed that there is a need to apply a whole system approach to biomass production. Life cycle analysis was proposed as a useful way of combining all the factors involved into one environmental assessment. In addition, it was noted that although there have been in the order of 50 studies on carbon sequestration they tend to contain many assumptions and are often heavily dependent on each other. It was proposed that carbon/energy/ greenhouse gas balances should be addressed by modelling. There was broad acceptance that both large and small scale markets should be considered when designing research projects, rather than channelling all the resources into the development of one system. It was stressed that 'read- across' of experience gained with SRC to other biomass crops, e.g. Miscanthus, should take place in order to speed up crop development.
Crops siting and establishment
There was agreement that the short- term financing required to meet the initial start-up costs needs further investigation. In addition, further information is required on a number of fronts. Larger-scale trials of mixed varieties should be carried out to provide a full analysis of the effects of mixed plantings. Varieties with improved yield and disease resistance should be selected for planting on an ongoing basis. Further research is also required on SRC planting systems, with investigation of the different planting methods and spacings of cuttings being a priority. Optimum planting densities (i.e. the minimum amount of material which gives high plant yield at lower overall costs) were seen as a key factor in maximising financial return and hence densities for a range of varieties and conditions need to be identified.
Early planting rates were identified as ranging from 10,000 cuttings/ha (UK) to 40 to 111,000 cuttings/ha (US). (The Forestry Commission site/yield study is monitoring an older spacing arrangement.) It was felt by one of the workshops, that the current UK planting system is satisfactory and predictions were made that the planting costs will fall as activity increases. It was suggested that it could be useful to study real farm constraints on yield, not just theoretical ones. It was proposed that the on-going research into the development of low cost establishment systems (including reducing the cost of planting material) should be continued. Work on non-cutting based establishment approaches was also identified as worthy of investigation, as was the assessment of whether cut back, at the end of the first year, is essential to commercial yield. The issue of non-cutting based establishment was contentious, with diverging views being expressed by those leading in the field. It was suggested that growing trees for landscape or habitat purposes could, in some cases, depress the yield. However, the relative importance of water availability was rated more highly than agricultural land classification when siting coppice.
Drying and storage
A need for storage trials was identified. Economic modelling has indicated that drying and storage, which are essential to the production of biomass crops in the UK, have a major influence on the delivered cost. In particular, on-site storage will require further investigation. It was suggested that additional analysis of the existing data should take place before further trials are established. In the meantime suggestions for future research areas were made. It was proposed that future research should investigate a number of systems so as to identify the best options for a range of potential fuel crops. This work should include an assessment of the level of spoilage within the different systems. Commercial ways of reducing costs should be identified, including research into passive (non-energy demanding) storage and drying systems, which should be a priority. Further investigations of the feasibility of combining drying facilities with power plants should also be undertaken (including inherent storage issues). In addition, drying studies should be extended to include Miscanthus and should be based on the work already undertaken on SRC.
Harvesting and transport
It was felt that a comprehensive analysis of existing knowledge and development of blueprints should be undertaken. In
particular, harvesting systems which are sympathetic to the whole supply chain need to be identified/designed. One example
of where further development, through R&D, is required is the equipment for baling and handling, especially for square
bale machinery. Overall there was felt to be a need for the development of systems for both large and small scale harvesting. It
was suggested that baling of whole stems could be an attractive option. The ease of harvesting and handling of chips was felt
to be gained at the expense of drying and deterioration problems. However, it was proposed that if large pieces (so called
chunks or billets) were produced instead, there might be a double advantage of both natural drying and of bulk handling.
Harvest timings were also felt to need further investigation, e.g. the yield implications of omitting the cut back at the end of
the first year and harvesting in either the 2nd or 3rd years of growth. (Workshop 3 noted that longer cycles can improve yield.
For example a 4 yr coppice rotation was reported as giving a 70% higher yield than a 2 x 2 yr rotation carried out under the
same climatic conditions. Increased yield has, however, to be offset against cash-flow demands.) With respect to transport,
methods for increasing the density of the fuel being transported were seen as being essential for reducing the number of lorry
loads required. A study of harvesting and transport options is required in order to identify those best suited to the current
range of potential fuel crops.
Contacts
Contact
© Copyright 2006 Policy Statements
Updated
by CPL Press:
03/07/2007
- biomatnet@biomatnet.org
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