Development of tortuosity factor for assessment of lignocellulosic biomass delivery cost to a biorefinery

The tortuosity factor of road infrastructure is an important parameter for assessing and designing biofuel facilities. This study focuses on the assessment of tortuosity factor considering real road network and dispersedly lignocellulosic biomass resources. A methodology is developed and applied under this study to estimate the tortuosity factor (τ) using GIS software. It is shown that τ varies considerably with plant capacity and in different plant locations. The estimated values of τ in the case study (Alberta) are in the range of 1–3.16 and average values are 2–8% larger than the theoretical value (1.27). The unit cost of transportation is more sensitive to tortuosity factor at larger plant capacities. This methodology can be applied for other jurisdictions to assess the accurate lignocellulosic biomass delivery cost using the actual road network.