Fuel Use Reduction and Economic Savings from Optimization of Road Transportation of Coniferous Roundwood

One of the 10 priorities of the Green New Deal is sustainable transportation. It should be considered in the perspective of long-term ecological and economic sustainability, according to the trend of opportunities for sustainable development. The economic and environmental aspects of transportation...

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Main Authors: Zygmunt Stanula, Marek Wieruszewski, Katarzyna Mydlarz, Krzysztof Adamowicz
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-07-01
Series:Energies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/14/5334
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author Zygmunt Stanula
Marek Wieruszewski
Katarzyna Mydlarz
Krzysztof Adamowicz
author_facet Zygmunt Stanula
Marek Wieruszewski
Katarzyna Mydlarz
Krzysztof Adamowicz
author_sort Zygmunt Stanula
collection DOAJ
description One of the 10 priorities of the Green New Deal is sustainable transportation. It should be considered in the perspective of long-term ecological and economic sustainability, according to the trend of opportunities for sustainable development. The economic and environmental aspects of transportation related to the harvesting and movement of timber play a special role in the energy cost and their environmental impact per distance of raw material supply. The principles of rational and energy-efficient use of transportation equipment play a key role in the movement of raw timber. These are influenced by the availability of timber resources, limitation of vehicle payloads, reduction of energy consumption expressed in terms of reduction of fuel combustion, or current legal and road regulations for timber transportation. The paper evaluates economic and environmental factors in relation to the demand for fuels necessary for the implementation of road transportation of softwood timber. The aim of this paper was to present the current situation of the use of transportation means in the movement of bulky timber, as well as opportunities to optimize fuel consumption and CO<sub>2</sub> emissions, affecting the economic and environmental effects. Previous studies on fuel consumption in the transportation of roundwood indicate irrational use of vehicles. This indicates unused payload capacity increasing energy inputs expressed in fuel consumption. It has been empirically investigated that this is the result of improperly approved transport sets adapted to the material being transported. In addition, it was shown that there is a clear correlation between the vehicle payload utilization rate and economic and environmental factors. The results of this study point to the potential to increase the use of transportation vehicles for timber transportation and reduce fuel combustion and CO<sub>2</sub> emissions by 7–20%.
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spelling doaj.art-fe7525a02df0493e9baccb1b1884cbd22023-11-18T19:08:49ZengMDPI AGEnergies1996-10732023-07-011614533410.3390/en16145334Fuel Use Reduction and Economic Savings from Optimization of Road Transportation of Coniferous RoundwoodZygmunt Stanula0Marek Wieruszewski1Katarzyna Mydlarz2Krzysztof Adamowicz3Department of Forestry Economics and Technology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 28, 60-637 Poznan, PolandDepartment Mechanical Wood Technology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 28, 60-637 Poznan, PolandDepartment of Law and Organization of Agribusiness Enterprises, Faculty of Economics, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 28, 60-637 Poznan, PolandDepartment of Forestry Economics and Technology, Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology, Poznan University of Life Sciences, Wojska Polskiego 28, 60-637 Poznan, PolandOne of the 10 priorities of the Green New Deal is sustainable transportation. It should be considered in the perspective of long-term ecological and economic sustainability, according to the trend of opportunities for sustainable development. The economic and environmental aspects of transportation related to the harvesting and movement of timber play a special role in the energy cost and their environmental impact per distance of raw material supply. The principles of rational and energy-efficient use of transportation equipment play a key role in the movement of raw timber. These are influenced by the availability of timber resources, limitation of vehicle payloads, reduction of energy consumption expressed in terms of reduction of fuel combustion, or current legal and road regulations for timber transportation. The paper evaluates economic and environmental factors in relation to the demand for fuels necessary for the implementation of road transportation of softwood timber. The aim of this paper was to present the current situation of the use of transportation means in the movement of bulky timber, as well as opportunities to optimize fuel consumption and CO<sub>2</sub> emissions, affecting the economic and environmental effects. Previous studies on fuel consumption in the transportation of roundwood indicate irrational use of vehicles. This indicates unused payload capacity increasing energy inputs expressed in fuel consumption. It has been empirically investigated that this is the result of improperly approved transport sets adapted to the material being transported. In addition, it was shown that there is a clear correlation between the vehicle payload utilization rate and economic and environmental factors. The results of this study point to the potential to increase the use of transportation vehicles for timber transportation and reduce fuel combustion and CO<sub>2</sub> emissions by 7–20%.https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/14/5334softwoodstimber transportationtransportation meanseconomicsenvironment
spellingShingle Zygmunt Stanula
Marek Wieruszewski
Katarzyna Mydlarz
Krzysztof Adamowicz
Fuel Use Reduction and Economic Savings from Optimization of Road Transportation of Coniferous Roundwood
Energies
softwoods
timber transportation
transportation means
economics
environment
title Fuel Use Reduction and Economic Savings from Optimization of Road Transportation of Coniferous Roundwood
title_full Fuel Use Reduction and Economic Savings from Optimization of Road Transportation of Coniferous Roundwood
title_fullStr Fuel Use Reduction and Economic Savings from Optimization of Road Transportation of Coniferous Roundwood
title_full_unstemmed Fuel Use Reduction and Economic Savings from Optimization of Road Transportation of Coniferous Roundwood
title_short Fuel Use Reduction and Economic Savings from Optimization of Road Transportation of Coniferous Roundwood
title_sort fuel use reduction and economic savings from optimization of road transportation of coniferous roundwood
topic softwoods
timber transportation
transportation means
economics
environment
url https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/16/14/5334
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AT katarzynamydlarz fuelusereductionandeconomicsavingsfromoptimizationofroadtransportationofconiferousroundwood
AT krzysztofadamowicz fuelusereductionandeconomicsavingsfromoptimizationofroadtransportationofconiferousroundwood