The aim of the From Forest to Energy (MENER) project is to optimise the combustion process of wood-based fuels burned in power plants. The problem is approached through data, statistical methods, and artificial intelligence. Power plants and their partners accumulate various load and process data that has not been fully utilised. In addition, data can be collected on the original forest locations as well as harvesting times of the forest energy loads and supplemented with local storage time weather information.
The project is carried out as a collaborative effort involving Kajaani University of Applied Sciences (KAMK) and the Natural Resources Institute Finland (Luke). The work is divided so that Luke focuses on the journey of the fuel from the forest to the power plant gate, and KAMK focuses on the journey of the fuel from the gate to the boiler.
Luke’s task is to study the impact of quality changes related to the moisture in logging residue chips on procurement costs and logistics emissions based on spatial data. In addition, Luke aims to develop moisture forecast models for forest energy and define conversion factors between units of measurement for forest energy, which can be used, for example, as a basis for timber trade.
KAMK’s task is to create a mathematical model that describes the flow of fuel from unloading to combustion. The key objective of the model is to predict the moisture percentage of the fuel entering the boiler so that the information can be utilised in process control and boiler adjustments. A more optimal combustion process means greater energy efficiency – ideally, both emissions and costs will be reduced.
