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Devlin, Ger
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Devlin, Ger
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Devlin, Ger
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- PublicationPerformance accuracy of real-time GPS asset tracking systems for timber haulage trucks travelling on both internal forest road and public road networksThe GPSTRACK project has arisen as a result of a recommendation in the Forest Industry Transport Group (FITG) Code of Practice for Timber Haulage, which was to 'Encourage closer co-operation between consignors and hauliers to plan routes in a manner which optimizes the economic returns within a legal framework'. The project involved the installation of Bluetree global positioning systems (GPS) asset tracking systems onto two timber haulage trucks: an articulated Iveco Stralis 530 6⋆2 tractor unit with tri-axle road friendly air suspension flatbed trailer with a design gross vehicle weight (dgvw) equal to 44 t and a Scania 124 (400) with a rigid (3 axle) + trailer (3 axle) + crane combination with an equivalent dgvw of 441. This paper discusses the background and use of real-time asset tracking devices in the context of timber haulage in Ireland. Real-time location information is a relatively new concept for Irish applications (less than 5 years), but there is an increasing deployment of the technology into the truck transport sector in Ireland. The goal of this study was to test the accuracy of the recorded GPS locations relative to the underlying travelled route network based on the criteria of: 1) a fixed GPS receiver location, 2) a truck travelling on public routes, and 3) comparing accuracy of public routes to the accuracy of the truck travelling in a more demanding environment such as the internal forest road network. The results analysis calculated the horizontal root mean square (HRMS) 63 percent GPS accuracy of both trucks tracklog on both the public road network and the internal forest road network over a period of 4 weeks which totalled approximately 15,000 GPS data points. The HRMS accuracy values ranged from 2.55 to 2.47 m for the public roads, while the forest road accuracy were approximately 27 m and 41 m for Iveco and Scania, respectively.
603 - PublicationEconomic Analysis of Manufacturing Costs of Pellet Production in the Republic of Ireland Using Non-Woody BiomassAn economic analysis of a non-woody biomass pelleting process was performed for conditions in the Republic of Ireland. The analysis considered the establishment, harvest, storage and drying costs of the feedstock’s on-farm, together with transportation costs to the processing plant and the costs associated with the pelleting process. Capital and operating costs of the pelleting process were estimated at several plant capacities – 6t / h, 8t / h and 10t / h. The pellet production cost for the base case scenario of 8t / h was 102 / t of pellets produced. By decreasing production capacity to 6t / h an increase in the production cost of 10 / t was experienced while increasing capacity to 10t / h resulted in a decrease of 6 / t in the production cost of pellets. The cost of the raw material is the largest cost component (66%) of the total pellet production cost. Other major cost factors include pelleting and cooling plant (11%), straw grinding plant (10%) and personnel costs (9%). Considering current energy prices the equivalent energy cost of 7 / GJ (excluding profit margins) the potential production of non-woody biomass pellets competes favourably with oil and gas and was found to be economically viable.
1336 - PublicationDecision Support Systems for Truck Route Modelling (D-TRM)Since the 1970‟s Decision Support Systems (DSS) have become popular following the development in computer technology. A DSS aims to support in the solving of specific problems with both human and computer techniques. The purpose of this research was to design and develop a DSS for application involved with the cost calculations and revenue calculations of contracted timber haulage in Ireland.
305 - PublicationMiscanthus production and processing in Ireland: An analysis of energy requirements and environmental impactsThe environmental impact of bioenergy supply systems can be determined using life cycle assessment methodologies. This study focuses on the impact of production of Miscanthus pellets and briquettes, potentially used to satisfy renewable energy requirements in Ireland. The impact categories considered are particularly important when assessing bioenergy systems; global warming potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, and energy demand. The scope of the study incorporates Miscanthus cultivation, harvest, processing and transport to a biomass distributor. The aim of the research is to evaluate the effects of changes in keys variables on the overall environmental impacts of the system. The scenarios examined include replacement of synthetic fertilisers with biosolids, Miscanthus processing by pelleting and briquetting, and transport distances of 50 and 100 km. Results indicate that maintenance and processing of the Miscanthus crop have the most environmental impacts with transport having less of an effect. Replacing synthetic fertiliser with biosolids results in a reduction in global warming potential of 23–33% and energy demand of 12–18%, but raises both acidification and eutrophication potential by 290–400% and 258–300%, respectively. Pelleting of Miscanthus requires more energy than briquetting, hence has higher impacts in each category assessed. Increasing the transport distance from 50 to 100 km, results in a small increase in each impact category. Miscanthus briquette production compares favourably with wood pellet, kerosene, and coal production, with Miscanthus pelleting proving more environmentally damaging.
903Scopus© Citations 46 - PublicationDynamic Non-DGPS positional accuracy performance between recreational and professional GPS receiversThe purpose of this study was to measure and evaluate the dynamic non-differential positional accuracy of two global positioning systems (GPS) receivers. The two receivers used were the Trimble GeoXT handheld and the Garmin GPSMAP 76. Both units are single-frequency, twelve-channel GPS receivers. The units were tested for horizontal root mean square (HRMS) positional accuracy without real–time differential correction in the dynamic mode by recording the movements of an articulated truck across the Irish road network. The units were operated with their external magnetic-mounted antenna. The two antennas were fitted side by side to the cab of the truck. The articulated truck was a DAF XF95 model, 4 × 2 tractor unit with a tri-axle road-friendly air suspension Fruehauf curtain side trailer measuring 13.6 metres (m) in length and 4.2 m in height from the ground. Routes were travelled from the east of Ireland to the south and south–west of the country on six separate occasions during August 2005 giving a total of six consecutive routes. Over 50 hours of data, totalling approximately 6000 data points, sampled at 30 second intervals, were recorded for each of the GPS units. Of these 50 hours, over 30 hours were recorded as dynamic points, totalling approximately 4000 sampling points. The HRMS accuracy was measured at a confidence level of 63%. The HRMS results for the Trimble GeoXT ranged from about 6.9 m for the Cork 1 route to 3.2 m for the Cork 2 route (Table 1). Results for the Garmin GPSMAP76 varied from a much higher value of about 43.0 m for the Limerick 3 route to 56.9 m for the Cork 2 route (Table 1). With this highly variable level of positional accuracy between the two GPS units, it is clear which receiver unit can best be used for professional GPS data collection (Trimble GeoXT) and which is suitable for use as a recreational device (Garmin GPSMAP 76). The option to collect field data using inexpensive recreational GPS units may be sufficient for outdoor enthusiasts who simply require an occasional location fix of moderate (even uncertain) accuracy, but it is unlikely to be sufficient for the Geographical Information Systems (GIS) professional who requires consistently accurate locations of objects, lines and polygons so that data layers can be overlayed within a GIS. A position fix that is tens of metres in error can lead to distorted spatial data and hence incorrect decision making. In fact, for some applications, a very inaccurate position could be worse than no position fix at all.
436Scopus© Citations 2 - PublicationFluidised bed pyrolysis of lignocellulosic biomasses and comparison of bio-oil and micropyrolyser pyrolysate by GC/M-FIDThe fast pyrolysis of spruce (Picea abies), short rotation willow coppice (Salix alba), Miscanthus (Miscanthus x giganteus), and wheat straw (Triticum aestivum) was compared on a laboratory scale bubbling fluidized bed reactor at 460–475 °C. The presence of ash, ranging from 0.26 wt.% for spruce to 3.76 wt.% for wheat straw (moisture free basis) favoured decomposition of cell-wall constituents to char (spruce [11.4 wt.%] < Salix [16.2 wt.%] < Miscanthus [21.8 wt.%] < wheat straw [21.5 wt.%]) with a reduction of liquid organic product (spruce [53.8 wt.%] > Salix [45.4 wt.%] > Miscanthus [37.3 wt.%] > wheat straw [37.2 wt.%]). Bio-oils from Miscanthus and wheat straw were inhomogeneous. Differences between absolute masses of compounds determined by GC/MS-FID of the bio-oils compared with Py-GC/MS-FID suggested a greater role of secondary reactions at the fluidised bed scale, with reduced concentrations of certain lignin-derived, furan and pyran compounds.
390Scopus© Citations 30 - PublicationPerformance Accuracy Of Low‐Cost Dynamic Non‐Differential GPS on Articulated Trucks(American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers, 2007)
; ; The purpose of this study was to evaluate the positional accuracy of dynamic non‐differential global positioning system (Non DGPS) for tracking articulated trucks across the Irish road network. The study was carried out using a Trimble GeoXT handheld GPS unit in the non‐differential mode. The data was logged through Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) ArcPad software. The GPS unit was operated in conjunction with an external magnetic antenna that was fitted to the cab of the articulated truck. The articulated truck was a DAF 95XF model, 4×2 tractor unit with a Fruehauf manufactured tri‐axle curtain side trailer measuring 13.6 m in length and 4.2 m from the ground. Routes were traveled from the east of Ireland to the south and southwest of the country on three separate occasions during August 2005 giving a total of six consecutive routes. Over 50 h of data, totaling approximately 6,000 data points, sampled at 30‐s intervals were recorded. Of these 50 h, over 30 h were recorded as dynamic points totaling approximately 4,000 sampling points. The Horizontal Root Mean Square (HRMS) accuracy was measured at a confidence of 63%. Results ranged from 6.9 m for the Cork 1 route to 3.2 m for the Cork 2 route. With this high level of positional accuracy available, it will be more than adequate to use low‐cost non‐differential GPS to track position and movement of timber trucks across the Irish public road network.477 - PublicationMiscanthus production and processing in Ireland: An analysis of energy requirements and environmental impactsThe environmental impact of bioenergy supply systems can be determined using life cycle assessment methodologies. This study focuses on the impact of production of Miscanthus pellets and briquettes, potentially used to satisfy renewable energy requirements in Ireland. The impact categories considered are particularly important when assessing bioenergy systems; global warming potential, acidification potential, eutrophication potential, and energy demand. The scope of the study incorporates Miscanthus cultivation, harvest, processing and transport to a biomass distributor. The aim of the research is to evaluate the effects of changes in keys variables on the overall environmental impacts of the system. The scenarios examined include replacement of synthetic fertilisers with biosolids, Miscanthus processing by pelleting and briquetting, and transport distances of 50 and 100 km. Results indicate that maintenance and processing of the Miscanthus crop have the most environmental impacts with transport having less of an effect. Replacing synthetic fertiliser with biosolids results in a reduction in global warming potential of 23–33% and energy demand of 12–18%, but raises both acidification and eutrophication potential by 290–400% and 258–300%, respectively. Pelleting of Miscanthus requires more energy than briquetting, hence has higher impacts in each category assessed. Increasing the transport distance from 50 to 100 km, results in a small increase in each impact category. Miscanthus briquette production compares favourably with wood pellet, kerosene, and coal production, with Miscanthus pelleting proving more environmentally damaging.
648Scopus© Citations 46 - PublicationThe Impact of Field Size on the Environment and Energy Crop Production Efficiency for a Sustainable Indigenous Bioenergy Supply Chain in the Republic of IrelandThis paper investigates, using the GIS platform, the potential impacts of meeting national bioenergy targets using only indigenous sources of feedstock on the habitats and carbon stores that exist within Ireland’s field boundaries. A survey of the Republic of Irelands field was conducted in order to estimate and map the size and geographic distribution of the Republic of Ireland’s field boundaries. The planting and harvesting costs associated with possible bioenergy crop production systems were determined using the relationship between the seasonal operating efficiency and the average field size. The results indicate that Ireland will need a large proportion of its current agricultural area (at least 16.5%) in order to its meet national bioenergy targets by 2020. The demand cannot be met by the current area that both has suitable soil type for growing the bioenergy crops and is large enough for the required operating efficiency. The results of this study indicate that implementing and meeting national bioenergy targets using only indigenous feedstock will likely impact the country’s field boundary resources negatively, as crop producers seek to improve production efficiency through field consolidation and field boundary removal. It was found that such boundary removal results in a loss of up to 6 tC/km2 and 0.7 ha/km of previously permanent habitat where average field size is small. The impact of field consolidation on these resources reduces substantially as larger fields become consolidated.
367Scopus© Citations 11 - PublicationCharacterisation of spruce, salix, miscanthus and wheat straw for pyrolysis applicationsThis research details the characterisation of four Irish-grown lignocellulosic biomasses for pyrolysis by biomass composition analysis, TGA, and Py-GC/MS-FID. Ash content (mf) increased in the order spruce (0.26 wt.%) < salix (1.16 wt.%) < miscanthus (3.43 wt.%) < wheat straw (3.76 wt.%). Analysis of hydrolysis-derived sugar monomers showed that xylose concentrations (4.69–26.76 wt.%) ranged significantly compared to glucose concentrations (40.98–49.82 wt.%). Higher hemicellulose and ash contents probably increased non-volatile matter, and decreased the temperature of maximum degradation by TGA as well as yields of GC-detectable compounds by Py-GC/MS-FID. Differences in composition and degradation were reflected in the pyrolysate composition by lower quantities of sugars (principally levoglucosan), pyrans, and furans for salix, miscanthus, and wheat straw compared to spruce, and increased concentrations of cyclopentenones and acids.
586Scopus© Citations 51