Optimal planning of the operation of a complex of wood chippers for the production of fuel chips

The article deals with the problem of using logging residues of the logging industry for the production of fuel chips. Fuel chips are a more environmentally friendly type of fuel compared to coal and fuel oil. When it is burned, a small amount of carbon dioxide is released. Switching to fuel chips is preferable for regions where timber is harvested and there is a lot of logging waste that needs to be rationally used, for example, for heating forest villages, timber processing enterprises and nearby settlements. To do this, it is necessary to solve the problem of timely preparation of fuel chips at those points where it will be used for heating in the future. The article presents a mathematical model of the transport task of compiling an agreed schedule for the movement of several mobile chipping plants between boiler stations, taking into account the performance of the plants and the needs of the serviced points. The mathematical model is intended for long-term planning of the operation of mobile units for the entire heating season from September to May and the period of preparation for the heating season (August) – the time during which the chippers will visit all boiler stations as many times as necessary according to the needs of boiler stations. The model takes into account the productivity of installations, fuel reserves in boiler points and the distance between points. An example of the operation of two mobile units for servicing four boiler stations is given. The implementation of the obtained mathematical models in practice will allow the regions to switch to local fuels, and thereby reduce the cost of thermal energy and at the same time solve the problem of processing wood waste.

1. Bulatov A.F. et al. Optimization in planning and management of enterprises of the regional timber industry. Petrozavodsk: PetrSU, 2001. 217 р. (In Russ.)

2. Gerasimov Yu., Karjalainen T. Availability of energy wood resources and delivery costs in the North-West of Russia. Scandinavian Journal of Forestry Research, 2013, vol. 28, no. 7, рр. 689–700.

3. Gerasimov Yu., Karjalainen T. Energy resources of wood in the North-West of Russia. Biomass and Bioenergy, 2011, no. 35, pp. 1655–1662.

4. Gerasimov Yu.Yu., Sokolov A.P., Syunyov V.S. Optimization of the supply chain of business and fuel wood for cut-to-length harvesting. Systems. Methods. Technologies, 2011, no. 3(11), pp. 118–124. (In Russ.)

5. Laitila J., Väätäinen K. Freight transport and chipping performance of whole trees and delimbed fuelwood in Finland. Croatian Journal of Forest Engineering, 2012, no. 33(2), pp. 199–210.

6. Shchegoleva L.V. Methodology for the formation of technological chains, including the production of wood chips for energy purposes. Resources and Technology, 2010, vol. 8, pp. 169–171. (In Russ.)

7. Shchegoleva L.V. The method of alternative technological scheme of timber industry with the use of secondary resources. Resources and Technology, 2005, no. 5, pp. 150–152. (In Russ.)

8. Shchegoleva L.V. The task of constructing a schedule for the operation of several mobile units. Uchenye zapiski Petrozavodskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta. Biological Sciences, 2010, no. 8 (113), pp. 93–98. (In Russ.)

9. Shegelman I.R., Schukin P.O., Morozov M.N. The place of bioenergy in the fuel and energy balance of the timber industry region. Science and business: ways of development, 2011, no. 6, pp. 151–154. (In Russ.)

10. Shukin P.O., Shegelman I.R., Morozov M.A. Resource challenges in the field of bioenergetics and ways to solve them. Inzhenerny Bulletin of the Don, 2012, vol. 20, no. 2. (In Russ.)

11. Sukhanov Yu.V. The system for assessing logging taking into account bioenergy. Bulletin of the Moscow University of Forests «Forest Bulletin», 2013, no. 1, pp. 152–157. (In Russ.)

12. Sukhanov Yu.V., Gerasimov Yu.Yu., Seliverstov A.A., Sokolov A.P. Technological chains and systems of machines for the collection and processing of wood biomass into fuel chips during clear-cutting harvesting in assortments. Systems. Methods. Technologies, 2011, no. 4, pp. 101–107. (In Russ.)

13. Vasiliev S.B. Equipment and technology for the production of wood chips in the timber industry. Petrozavodsk: PetrSU, 2001. 97 р. (In Russ.)

14. Voronova A., Kunitskaya O., Burmistrova D., Storodubtseva T., Zhang S., Nikiforova V., Shvetsova V., Kalita E. Planning a mobile chipper in the production of fuel chips. Mathematical modeling of engineering problems, 2022. vol. 9, no. 2, pp. 425–430.