Thesis Chapters by Robert Radics
Linear programming was used to optimize the economic, environmental, and social impacts of forest... more Linear programming was used to optimize the economic, environmental, and social impacts of forest biomass used for bioenergy production. Sixteen scenarios (combinations of feedstocks, products, markets, and end use) were studied. Two feedstocks (roundwood and wood residues), two densified bioenergy products (white pellet, torrefied pellet), two markets (domestic, international), and two end uses (power generation, district heating) were evaluated. The social, environmental, and economic sustainability attributes were quantified and monetized using peer-reviewed literature to analyze the trade-offs. Using the economic criteria alone, the model showed that the best solution was use of 70% roundwood and 30% forest residue feedstock to produce torrefied pellets (TP) sold for district heating in the EU. The model predicts $5.4 million annual profit which is driven by the use of lower cost forest residue feedstocks, and relatively higher prices for the heating market in the EU. Inclusion of all three sustainability attributes led to a different optimized solution. TP produced from roundwood and sold to the EU market for heating was the optimum, due to the social benefits derived from increased local income to landowners and reduced shipping costs. It also had added benefits of reductions in emissions across the transportation system on an energy basis. TP consistently had higher social benefits than WP due to the need for more biomass per unit of final product, and providing more local jobs and income from feedstock production. The increasing costs of carbon emissions increased the environmental benefits of TP compared to WP or coal. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
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The goal of this paper is to examine sustainability impacts of forest bioenergy by determining so... more The goal of this paper is to examine sustainability impacts of forest bioenergy by determining social perspectives, and combining that with the economic and environmental impacts to evaluate tools that optimize these impacts. Public perceptions about bioenergy is used in this paper to understand how society perceives bioenergy impacts and a qualitative and a quantitative tool have been compared to optimize bioenergy sustainability.
A systematic literature review on stakeholders’ perception of bioenergy resulted in 44 published articles between 2000 and 2013. Among stakeholder groups, the majority of studies (79%) focused on the general public’s opinion about bioenergy. Overall findings show that the stakeholder groups show low to moderate support for the bioenergy industry. The results of the systematic review introduced in Chapter 1.
Based on the systematic review, an extensive survey of the general public was conducted in NC and TN in Fall 2013 and Spring 2014. The results from this study are presented in Chapter 2. Approximately, 586 consumers completed the electronic survey (376 NC, 210 TN). Solar and wind energy sources were mostly recognized as renewable compared to all other energy sources. The findings from this study highlight not only educational needs and outreach efforts but also reflect the need for trustworthy channels of communication, helpful policy, market, and institutional support for bioenergy success.
Chapter 3 includes an assessment of a qualitative tool to examine the social, economic and environmental impacts of bioenergy for a wood-to-pellet production case. A Multi-Attribute Decision Support System (MADSS) was used to analyze woody feedstock alternatives – naturally regenerated hardwood, plantation pine, and plantation poplar - for pellet production. Plantation pine were found the most sustainable, closely followed by natural hardwood. When analyzing economic criteria alone plantation pine and plantation poplar were found to have advantages over natural hardwood, due in large part to their higher growth rates. On both environmental and social indicators, natural hardwood was found to have a better footprint compared to the other two feedstocks.
A quantitative tool – linear programming - was used to optimize of forest biomass supply chain for bioenergy production. Two feedstocks (roundwood and wood residues), two products (white pellet, torrefied pellet), two markets (domestic, international), and two kinds of end use (power generating, heating) were optimized. The objective of this case study was to optimize the monetized social, environmental, and economic impacts of different alternatives, and analyze the trade-offs. The economic optimization resulted that the best solution was to use 1104 GBtu Roundwood and 474 GBtu forest residue feedstock for producing black pellet to the EU, for heating. The higher bioenergy prices in the EU and using the maximum capacity of the pellet mill resulted in $5.4 million profit/year. The economic and social impacts optimization differs from the economic in the achievable profit and rank of the scenarios. Although, roundwood costed more than forest residue, this payment was a social benefit for the local community, so the higher feedstock cost resulted in higher benefits together. Also, the higher feedstock demand for black pellet production made it more advantageous from socio-economic perspective. The economic and social optimization resulted in $19.8 million a year, what was almost four times higher than the economic benefit alone. Both socio-economic and the tri-objective (economic, social, and environmental) optimization found that black pellet production from roundwood to the EU market for heating is the most beneficial. Black pellet became even more advantageous because the higher energy density decreased ocean transportation costs, but also reduced the emission by transportation of energy.
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Papers by Robert Radics
The problem A number of tree species in the genus Eucalyptus L'Her are grown in New Zealand o... more The problem A number of tree species in the genus Eucalyptus L'Her are grown in New Zealand on a small scale. However, the economic value of this resource is not known. The economic impact of damage caused by a pest, the eucalyptus tortoise beetle (Paropsis charybdis), to Eucalyptus species in grown in New Zealand is also not defined. The current approach The standing Eucalyptus crop in New Zealand was valued in terms of projected yield and other ecosystem services. Also, the cost of Paropsis charybdis damage to Eucalyptus forests was estimated along with the costs and benefits of chemical and biological control of this pest. Key results The total planted area of Eucalyptus species in New Zealand was estimated to be 27,598 ha with a standing volume of 8.1 million m3 , with a conservative asset value of $671 million. This could be increased in the future if higher value products (e.g. wood flooring or ground-durable poles) are produced from the existing Eucalyptus estate and futu...
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Int. J. Sociotechnology Knowl. Dev., 2021
Globalisation increases the numbers of involved business partners and distances between origin an... more Globalisation increases the numbers of involved business partners and distances between origin and destination. It complicates and stretches supply chains. Consequently, supply chains are exposed to higher risks, especially in rural societies where there is limited access to technology and the society is isolated. The research literature of supply chain resilience identified factors contributing to risks, factors counterbalancing risks, and mechanisms to assess the resilience of supply chains. However, there remains a gap in the use of the existing risk and resilience factors to the specific context of the rural supply chain. This research contributes by providing a state-of-the-art review and identifies which factors should be used for the rural supply chains.
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The goal of this paper is to examine sustainability impacts of forest bioenergy by determining so... more The goal of this paper is to examine sustainability impacts of forest bioenergy by determining social perspectives, and combining that with the economic and environmental impacts to evaluate tools that optimize these impacts. Public perceptions about bioenergy is used in this paper to understand how society perceives bioenergy impacts and a qualitative and a quantitative tool have been compared to optimize bioenergy sustainability. A systematic literature review on stakeholders’ perception of bioenergy resulted in 44 published articles between 2000 and 2013. Among stakeholder groups, the majority of studies (79%) focused on the general public’s opinion about bioenergy. Overall findings show that the stakeholder groups show low to moderate support for the bioenergy industry. The results of the systematic review introduced in Chapter 1. Based on the systematic review, an extensive survey of the general public was conducted in NC and TN in Fall 2013 and Spring 2014. The results from this study are presented in Chapter 2. Approximately, 586 consumers completed the electronic survey (376 NC, 210 TN). Solar and wind energy sources were mostly recognized as renewable compared to all other energy sources. The findings from this study highlight not only educational needs and outreach efforts but also reflect the need for trustworthy channels of communication, helpful policy, market, and institutional support for bioenergy success. Chapter 3 includes an assessment of a qualitative tool to examine the social, economic and environmental impacts of bioenergy for a wood-to-pellet production case. A Multi-Attribute Decision Support System (MADSS) was used to analyze woody feedstock alternatives – naturally regenerated hardwood, plantation pine, and plantation poplar - for pellet production. Plantation pine were found the most sustainable, closely followed by natural hardwood. When analyzing economic criteria alone plantation pine and plantation poplar were found to have advantages over natural hardwood, due in large part to their higher growth rates. On both environmental and social indicators, natural hardwood was found to have a better footprint compared to the other two feedstocks. A quantitative tool – linear programming - was used to optimize of forest biomass supply chain for bioenergy production. Two feedstocks (roundwood and wood residues), two products (white pellet, torrefied pellet), two markets (domestic, international), and two kinds of end use (power generating, heating) were optimized. The objective of this case study was to optimize the monetized social, environmental, and economic impacts of different alternatives, and analyze the trade-offs. The economic optimization resulted that the best solution was to use 1104 GBtu Roundwood and 474 GBtu forest residue feedstock for producing black pellet to the EU, for heating. The higher bioenergy prices in the EU and using the maximum capacity of the pellet mill resulted in $5.4 million profit/year. The economic and social impacts optimization differs from the economic in the achievable profit and rank of the scenarios. Although, roundwood costed more than forest residue, this payment was a social benefit for the local community, so the higher feedstock cost resulted in higher benefits together. Also, the higher feedstock demand for black pellet production made it more advantageous from socio-economic perspective. The economic and social optimization resulted in $19.8 million a year, what was almost four times higher than the economic benefit alone. Both socio-economic and the tri-objective (economic, social, and environmental) optimization found that black pellet production from roundwood to the EU market for heating is the most beneficial. Black pellet became even more advantageous because the higher energy density decreased ocean transportation costs, but also reduced the emission by transportation of energy.
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BioResources, 2017
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Energy, Sustainability and Society, 2016
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Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining, 2016
Linear programming was used to optimize the economic, environmental, and social impacts of forest... more Linear programming was used to optimize the economic, environmental, and social impacts of forest biomass used for bioenergy production. Sixteen scenarios (combinations of feedstocks, products, markets, and end use) were studied. Two feedstocks (roundwood and wood residues), two densified bioenergy products (white pellet, torrefied pellet), two markets (domestic, international), and two end uses (power generation, district heating) were evaluated. The social, environmental, and economic sustainability attributes were quantified and monetized using peer‐reviewed literature to analyze the trade‐offs. Using the economic criteria alone, the model showed that the best solution was use of 70% roundwood and 30% forest residue feedstock to produce torrefied pellets (TP) sold for district heating in the EU. The model predicts $5.4 million annual profit which is driven by the use of lower cost forest residue feedstocks, and relatively higher prices for the heating market in the EU. Inclusion of all three sustainability attributes led to a different optimized solution. TP produced from roundwood and sold to the EU market for heating was the optimum, due to the social benefits derived from increased local income to landowners and reduced shipping costs. It also had added benefits of reductions in emissions across the transportation system on an energy basis. TP consistently had higher social benefits than WP due to the need for more biomass per unit of final product, and providing more local jobs and income from feedstock production. The increasing costs of carbon emissions increased the environmental benefits of TP compared to WP or coal. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd
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BioResources, 2015
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Background: The goal of the study is to examine the general public's understanding and perception... more Background: The goal of the study is to examine the general public's understanding and perceptions of bioenergy and biofuels in North Carolina (NC) and Tennessee (TN). The study focuses on the public concerns, support and risk evaluations of alternative bioenergy feedstocks and biofuels, and includes an assessment of the economic, environmental, social, and policy impacts of bioenergy production and use. Methods: A sample of consumers in NC and TN were surveyed in the fall of 2013 and spring of 2014 for their perceptions about bioenergy and specifically, biofuels for transportation. Five hundred eighty-six consumers completed the questionnaire electronically (376 in NC and 210 in TN). Results: Respondents reported that the price and vehicle compatibility with biomass-based transportation fuels were the most important factors in their choice of biofuels over gasoline at a pump. Results show that the acceptance of bioenergy depends on the extent of knowledge and available information to consumers about the energy source. A principal component analysis (PCA) indicated seven distinct dimensions of consumer's perception about bioenergy. The key dimensions are the following: how bioenergy benefits the society, risks of bioenergy use, government support for bioenergy, increase in food cost, conditional use of trees, support for low-cost biofuel alternative to current energy, and market attributes of bioenergy purchase.
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To explore stakeholders' perception of biofuels for transportation and bioenergy Expected Out... more To explore stakeholders' perception of biofuels for transportation and bioenergy Expected Outcomes: -Identify gaps in knowledge and perception of bioenergy; -Develop education and communication tools based on the gaps for all stakeholders; -Manage risks; -Understand social impacts (social LCA). I would purchase biofuels even if it is a little more expensive than gasoline I will not be concerned if higher blends (more than 10% ethanol) was used with gasoline at gas stations I think biofuels made from grasses will cause groceries to be more expensive I trust the government to give me credible information about biofuels I believe that the government will provide me more credible information about biofuels than the biofuel industry 1=Strongly Disagree; 2=Disagree; 3=Neutral; 4=Agree; 5=Strongly Agree
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A sample of consumers in North Carolina and Tennessee were surveyed in the Fall of 2013 and Sprin... more A sample of consumers in North Carolina and Tennessee were surveyed in the Fall of 2013 and Spring of 2014 to examine their perceptions and concerns about bioenergy. Approximately, 376 consumers in NC and 210 consumers in TN submitted the completed survey electronically (2% response rate) responding about their concerns about energy and the environment in general, and bioenergy (biofuel) use and impacts on the environment and society, in particular. Data was weighted to represent the population of NC and TN over 18 years of age and the important results of the analysis is presented in this paper.
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Data collected from consumer samples in the IBSS project was adjusted (weighted) to make inferenc... more Data collected from consumer samples in the IBSS project was adjusted (weighted) to make inferences to the population in the states of NC and TN. This paper presents information from the lessons learned during the process of weighting of the data when using multiple variables to account for differences between a selected sample and the population. • Survey instrument • Sampling: Randomly selected consumer email addresses from third party consumer database • Data collection: Fall 2013 in NC and TN • Pilot test: 34 consumers • Cover Letter • Completed Surveys: • 586 in total • 376 in NC and 210 in TN • Response rate=2%
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Thesis Chapters by Robert Radics
A systematic literature review on stakeholders’ perception of bioenergy resulted in 44 published articles between 2000 and 2013. Among stakeholder groups, the majority of studies (79%) focused on the general public’s opinion about bioenergy. Overall findings show that the stakeholder groups show low to moderate support for the bioenergy industry. The results of the systematic review introduced in Chapter 1.
Based on the systematic review, an extensive survey of the general public was conducted in NC and TN in Fall 2013 and Spring 2014. The results from this study are presented in Chapter 2. Approximately, 586 consumers completed the electronic survey (376 NC, 210 TN). Solar and wind energy sources were mostly recognized as renewable compared to all other energy sources. The findings from this study highlight not only educational needs and outreach efforts but also reflect the need for trustworthy channels of communication, helpful policy, market, and institutional support for bioenergy success.
Chapter 3 includes an assessment of a qualitative tool to examine the social, economic and environmental impacts of bioenergy for a wood-to-pellet production case. A Multi-Attribute Decision Support System (MADSS) was used to analyze woody feedstock alternatives – naturally regenerated hardwood, plantation pine, and plantation poplar - for pellet production. Plantation pine were found the most sustainable, closely followed by natural hardwood. When analyzing economic criteria alone plantation pine and plantation poplar were found to have advantages over natural hardwood, due in large part to their higher growth rates. On both environmental and social indicators, natural hardwood was found to have a better footprint compared to the other two feedstocks.
A quantitative tool – linear programming - was used to optimize of forest biomass supply chain for bioenergy production. Two feedstocks (roundwood and wood residues), two products (white pellet, torrefied pellet), two markets (domestic, international), and two kinds of end use (power generating, heating) were optimized. The objective of this case study was to optimize the monetized social, environmental, and economic impacts of different alternatives, and analyze the trade-offs. The economic optimization resulted that the best solution was to use 1104 GBtu Roundwood and 474 GBtu forest residue feedstock for producing black pellet to the EU, for heating. The higher bioenergy prices in the EU and using the maximum capacity of the pellet mill resulted in $5.4 million profit/year. The economic and social impacts optimization differs from the economic in the achievable profit and rank of the scenarios. Although, roundwood costed more than forest residue, this payment was a social benefit for the local community, so the higher feedstock cost resulted in higher benefits together. Also, the higher feedstock demand for black pellet production made it more advantageous from socio-economic perspective. The economic and social optimization resulted in $19.8 million a year, what was almost four times higher than the economic benefit alone. Both socio-economic and the tri-objective (economic, social, and environmental) optimization found that black pellet production from roundwood to the EU market for heating is the most beneficial. Black pellet became even more advantageous because the higher energy density decreased ocean transportation costs, but also reduced the emission by transportation of energy.
Papers by Robert Radics
A systematic literature review on stakeholders’ perception of bioenergy resulted in 44 published articles between 2000 and 2013. Among stakeholder groups, the majority of studies (79%) focused on the general public’s opinion about bioenergy. Overall findings show that the stakeholder groups show low to moderate support for the bioenergy industry. The results of the systematic review introduced in Chapter 1.
Based on the systematic review, an extensive survey of the general public was conducted in NC and TN in Fall 2013 and Spring 2014. The results from this study are presented in Chapter 2. Approximately, 586 consumers completed the electronic survey (376 NC, 210 TN). Solar and wind energy sources were mostly recognized as renewable compared to all other energy sources. The findings from this study highlight not only educational needs and outreach efforts but also reflect the need for trustworthy channels of communication, helpful policy, market, and institutional support for bioenergy success.
Chapter 3 includes an assessment of a qualitative tool to examine the social, economic and environmental impacts of bioenergy for a wood-to-pellet production case. A Multi-Attribute Decision Support System (MADSS) was used to analyze woody feedstock alternatives – naturally regenerated hardwood, plantation pine, and plantation poplar - for pellet production. Plantation pine were found the most sustainable, closely followed by natural hardwood. When analyzing economic criteria alone plantation pine and plantation poplar were found to have advantages over natural hardwood, due in large part to their higher growth rates. On both environmental and social indicators, natural hardwood was found to have a better footprint compared to the other two feedstocks.
A quantitative tool – linear programming - was used to optimize of forest biomass supply chain for bioenergy production. Two feedstocks (roundwood and wood residues), two products (white pellet, torrefied pellet), two markets (domestic, international), and two kinds of end use (power generating, heating) were optimized. The objective of this case study was to optimize the monetized social, environmental, and economic impacts of different alternatives, and analyze the trade-offs. The economic optimization resulted that the best solution was to use 1104 GBtu Roundwood and 474 GBtu forest residue feedstock for producing black pellet to the EU, for heating. The higher bioenergy prices in the EU and using the maximum capacity of the pellet mill resulted in $5.4 million profit/year. The economic and social impacts optimization differs from the economic in the achievable profit and rank of the scenarios. Although, roundwood costed more than forest residue, this payment was a social benefit for the local community, so the higher feedstock cost resulted in higher benefits together. Also, the higher feedstock demand for black pellet production made it more advantageous from socio-economic perspective. The economic and social optimization resulted in $19.8 million a year, what was almost four times higher than the economic benefit alone. Both socio-economic and the tri-objective (economic, social, and environmental) optimization found that black pellet production from roundwood to the EU market for heating is the most beneficial. Black pellet became even more advantageous because the higher energy density decreased ocean transportation costs, but also reduced the emission by transportation of energy.