Logistics in the biomass supply chain of bio-energy plants in Southern Italy

In order to enhance the competitiveness of the bio-energy sector, the costs of the supply chain of agricultural residues feeding the energy plants must be properly estimated and possibly minimised. This study proposes simple models to estimate the storage and transportation costs of the substrates for bio-energy plants in small agricultural districts. The models were verified in a case study of Calabria (Italy), representative of the agricultural contexts of the Mediterranean basin. The analysis revealed that the use of poultry manure and maize straw/stover appears to be the most convenient choice to feed the bio-energy plants (total cost between 12.77 and 15.58 € ton-1 of dry matter, DM). The agro-industrial wastewater has the highest storage and transport costs (up to 132.42 € tonDM -1). A sustainable choice is feeding the plants on swine and bovine manure (total cost of 25.80 and 31.22 € tonDM -1, respectively) or on citrus peel and grape marc (17,27 and 18,59 € tonDM -1). These estimation methods provided a database of unit logistic costs and are a useful tool for decision makers to improve the biomass supply chains in agricultural districts of the Mediterranean basin. Copyright © 2018, AIDIC Servizi S.r.l.