Development of a Sustainable Community Management System
Applying Conversion Technology of Forest Resources to Energy
Seigo NASU*, Masanobu NAGANO*, Yasushi MABUCHI*, Masao NAGANO*
Kochi University of Technology*
Abstract: Today, Japan’s food self-sufficiency ratio on a calorie basis has stood at lower than 40 percent. Interms of self-sufficiency, Japanese forestry is under a similar circumstance. This situation in which Japanrelies too much on imports from abroad is a big problem that will shake a foundation of the nation. Bothindustries have been confronted with not only a decline in working population but also the labors’ aging
problem. Authors aim to develop a sustainable community management system for achieving areinforcement of domestic agriculture and forestry, local production of energy for local consumption, andenvironmental management. In order to realize a conversion technology of forest resources to energy, there
are three hurdles to overcome: 1. Quality control and cost reduction of energy, 2. Development of thewood-burner, and 3. Development of the promotion system. Regarding to these issues, Kyoto protocol andits attendant CO2 emission trading system can be the powerful driving force for accomplishing these threetasks which are the goals for a sustainable community management. Therefore, it is said that the firstcommitment period of 2008 to 2012 in Kyoto protocol is a unique opportunity for the dawn of the new socialsystem and lifestyle.
Keywords: a sustainable community management system, Kyoto protocol, CO2 emission trading system
1.

BACKGROUND

It is considered that these situations are not only

Japan’s food self-sufficiency ration on calorie

the matter of a local economy or industry, but also

basis has stood at lower than 40 percent. This fact

the matter of a national security.

describes the decline of the domestic agriculture. In

Also, it is an unavoidable matter for human beings

recent years, the continuous rise in the price ofto reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which

petroleum has been damaging the business ofis

greenhouse farming, and farmers are compelled toConvention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) andstand at the crossroad of existence.

Kyoto protocol. At present, an annual crude oil

Meanwhile, the number of domestic lumbers

consumption derived from greenhouse farming inaccounting for the local market has fallen away

Kochi prefecture has reached 120 thousand

until 20 percent as the number of inexpensive

kiloliters. In return, there are annually 300 thousand

import lumbers increases. The price of wood has

tones of carbon dioxide discharged from this

dropped until one fifth of the peak price. In

activity.

consequence, the profit in forestry can not be

We consider that resolving these concerns will

expected even though the subsidies are injected. In

promise not only a sustainable development ofaddition, due to an advancement of aging problem

regions but also the resolution of common concerns

in rural regions, domestic forestry has declined andin human society.

forests have been abandoned.

agoalforUnited

Nations

Framework

2.

projects were not really focusing on energy demand,

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of this project is to develop a

but they were to deal with industrial wastes fromsustainablefactories and mountain forests.

community

management

systemapplying local forest to a local energy resource by

In this project, forestry and agriculture, bothachieving

environmental

industries have been taking roots especially inmanagement, reinforcement of local agriculture andprovincial areas, are closely connected in supply andforestry, and improvement of energy independency.

demand. Therefore, we are convinced that this is a

It is expected that an energy use within the growth

feasible projectof local forest resources will bring a new value to thecommunity management system.

following

criteria;

fordeveloping a sustainable

forestry management. As a result, it will enableregions to improve the energy independency as well

3.1 Calorific value of pellet fuelas the conditions of the local forests.

The most considerable factor in the energyThere are 3 stages to proceed in this project.

conversion of wood resources is the price per unit

In the first stage, the primary goal is to achieve thecalorific value against existing energy in the market.

development of the energy conversion technology ofIn this research, the target customer uses type A

forest resources in terms of cost and combustion

heavy oil for heating greenhouse. Therefore, it isperformance.

necessary to develop a production system that has a

In the second stage, implementation of thecompetitive cost structure against the fossil fueldeveloped technology in the management and theprice. For that purpose, we have conducted andevelopment

examination on energy contents for each type ofofa

sustainablecommunitymanagement system are the objectives.

trees. Under a certain condition, each type of pellets

For the third stage, implementation of thewas burned and calorific value was measured.

sustainable community management system in local

Table 1 shows the result of this examination.

society and development of the new social systemare expected to proceed.

Table 1In this paper, the first stage of the project regarding

Tree

Type ofHigher calorific

the energy conversion of forest resources and theTypespellet

value (0wt%)

development of the wood energy heating system isConiferous

white*(φ6mm)

4,876 kcal/kg

reported. Also, it reports a management function

Coniferous

white*(φ7mm)

4,848 kcal/kg

regarding the prevalence of the new technology.

Coniferous

white*(φ8mm)

4,913 kcal/kg

Broadleaf

white*

4,641 kcal/kg

Broadleaf

whole wood

4,646 kcal/kg

Bamboowhole bamboo

4,769 kcal/kg

3.

ENERGYCONVERSION

OF

WOOD

RESOURCES
Currently, there is an annual production ofCalorific value for each type of pellet*White pellet does not contain bark part of wood.

approximately 25,000 tones of wood pellet in Japan.
The biomassenergy plants

were constructed

For the result of this examination, it is confirmed

nationwide as there has been an increase in thethat there is not much energy difference between

public concerns toward environmental issues as well

types of wood popularly seen in Japan.

as the price of fossil fuel increases sharply.
However, it is considered that most of these3.2 Productivity of lumbering broadleaf trees

broadleaf trees is not as high as it is in dealing withIn order to indicate the fuel production cost for

coniferous trees according to this experiment. It iseach type of trees, we conducted a verificationconsidered that the causes of this result are following

experiment on work productivity for felling, hauling,reasons. Broadleaf tree has a complex configurationand conveying processes. The experiment took placewith its trunk and branches. Therefore, large forestry

in two different terms. First experiment proceededmachines such as harvester and processer arefor 9 days between July and September, and second

normally not able to be used for dealing withwas carried out for 12 days between October andbroadleaf trees. Also, the operations in thisNovember. Both experiments targeted on a broadleaf

experiment were not executed by skilled labors.

forest in a local village, and clear cutting method

For a subject of future research, it is necessary to

was adopted for both terms.

investigate the work efficiency for dealing with

Table 2 shows work productivity per person - day

coniferous trees, and find the way to improve workfor each operation.

efficiency in each operation process.

Table 2 Work productivity (broadleaf forest)4.

TermsDEVELOPMENT OF WOOD ENERGYHEATING SYSTEM

12Operations

Jul.-Sep.

Oct.-Nov.

There are three critical factors for the development

Felling/hauling

1.45m3

1.81m3of wood energy heating system: performance, price,/person-day/person-day

and facility. Based on these three criteria, we focused

0.69m3

1.05m3

on establishing the structure of the system as simple/person-day/person-day

as possible. By simplifying the system structure/bucking
Loading/forwarding/discharging

while having a certain level of performance, it isPicture 1 Hauling operation by a grapple machineable to deal with system troubles easily. At the sametime, it enables to lower the production cost.
Therefore, it is able to meet diversified needs ofsmall scale farmers.
4.1 Output power of the system
It is required that the wood energy heating system
has to have an equal or higher output power, energy
efficiency, and stability compared to the existing
crude oil heating system. It seems that these qualities
are getting closer to the farmers needs as theverification tests have been conducted.

In this experiment, the work efficiency in term 2

About the necessary output power of the heating

was relatively higher than term 1. It is consideredsystem, we conducted a market research in Geiseithat this was caused by the improvement of workers

and Aki region. According to this research, it isskill and the deterioration of their work efficiency

confirmed that in these regions more than half of thedue to the heat of summer. In either case, it iscrudeconfirmed that the work productivity for handlingapproximately 120 thousand kilocalories (figure 1).

oilboilerhas

anoutput

powerofFigure 1 Market share of crude oil boiler based on

greenhouses.

the energy output in Geisei and Aki region
Picture 2 Wood-pellet burner attached to the heater

The wood energy heating system currently used forthis examination was designed to have a maximum

4.3 Facilities of the system

output power of 60 thousand kilocalories. In order to

Any wood resources contain ash for the ingredients.

meet the farmers’ needs, it is considered that

Needless to say, ash is produced when wood isdevelopment of the larger scale system will beburned. Therefore, when using the wood energy

needed.

heating system, users must deal with ash.

4.2 Price of the system

Picture 3 Ash in the dust box

Price is another criterion to measure the system byusers. Ideally, the price of the wood energy heatingsystem is equal or cheaper than the crude oil ones.
However, utilization technology for wood energy is
not as advanced as it is for fossil fuel energy.
Therefore, it is not easy to fill in the price gap
between the wood energy heating system and thefossil fuel energy heating system. In fact, the price ofa wood energy heating system commonly seen in themarket is several times higher than the price of crude
oil ones. This has been a big obstacle that farmers
cannot decide to introduce the wood energy heating

In our research, it is confirmed that 5 to 10 minutes

system in their greenhouses.

per day is needed to deal with ash produced in theWe focused on the burner section of the heatingwood energy heating system. The crude oil heating

system (Picture 2) and developed a wood energy

system does not require users to clean it so often,

heating system which allows farmers to use theirand people get used to it. Actually, we have heard

own heaters, chimneys, and other accessories.

negative opinions regarding this daily cleaning task.

Consequently, farmers do not have to make a huge

Reasonably, it is necessary to simplify this cleaning

investment for introducing this system into theirtask for the further development of the system inorder to familiarize the wood energy to users.

According to this experiment, the average output

However, as a result of pursuing facility, it seems

power of the pellet heating system was 51,898 kcal

that the distance between users and natural resources

per hour, and the maximum output of 59,237 kcal

becomes larger and larger. Consequently, people doper hour was observed. For this result, it is

not see the real value in the natural resources but

speculated that the system has a designed maximum

price.

output power of 60,000 kcal per hour. Also, it isToday, the limitation of natural resources is started

observed that the highest increase in average insidelooking over again, and renewable resources such astemperaturewas

15.5°C(averageoutside

wood energy resources are getting public attention.

temperature 3.2°C, average inside temperature

We believe that this is an excellent opportunity for18.7°C) higher than the average outside temperature.

people to realize what really resources are again. For(Figure 2)

that mean, it is said that whether or not the woodenergy heating system is accepted by farmers is aFigure 2 Average inside and outside temperature
25.0

5.

VERIFICATION EXPERIMENT

Since November 21st, 2007, we have conducted averification experiment for the wood pellet heatingsystem at a greenhouse in Geisei village.
One of the objectives of this experiment is toTemperature (℃)

challenge by the natural resources against users.

18.7

20.0
15.0

15.5℃
10.0
5.0

3.20.02007/12/5

measure the heating power of the system. The otherInside temperature (ave.)Outside temperature (ave.)

objective is to compare the energy efficiency
between wood and crude oil heating system under

For the future, it is considered that the development

thehaveof the system which has higher heating power will

investigated the amount of ash produced by thebe needed to deal with larger scale greenhouse or acombustion.

product which requires higher temperature.

identical

circumstance.

Also,weTable 3 shows the conditions of this experiment.
Secondary, a comparison of the energy efficiency
Table 3 Conditions of the experiment

between pellet heating system and crude oil heating

Sitesystem

Geisei village

wasconducted

underthepreceding

Facility

7.3a (Floor space: 734.4m2,conditions. Figure 3 shows the energy efficiencies ofScale

Surface area: 1,185.34m2)

pellet and crude oil heating system. According to thisDate

Dec 4th, 2007 – Feb 6th, 2008

experiment, the pellet heating system has relatively

Runtime17:00 – 8:00 (15 hours)

higher energy efficiency than the crude oil heating

Temp. Set

20 °C

system although there are some variances seen onPlants

Green pepper

the data of the pellet heating system.

BurnerPellet burner

Oil burner

For the future, it is necessary to stabilize the energy

Heater

KT-300 (Showa Auto Heater)

efficiency at any conditions. Also, the endurance ofFuelWhite pellet

Type A heavy oil

the system has to be investigated.

(4,300kcal/kg)(8,600kcal/l)Figure 3 A comparison of energy efficiency
Energy consumption (kcal)

1000000effort putting into the process until legislation andsubsidiary systems became practical uses in theCrude oil
y = -63066x + 1003531

900000800000administrations. Therefore, there have to be some

700000powerful dynamics in technology, cost, facility, or

600000500000legislation when the present conditions which have

400000strongly rooted in the society are changed.

300000200000Pellet100000y = -61190x + 972403

In this case, for example, it is considered that there

0
0.0

2.0

4.0

6.0

8.0

10.0

12.0

Average temperature b/w 17:00-8:00 (℃)

14.0are technological hurdles before the practical use of
the system, such as quality, performance, and cost.
Similarly, there are market hurdles, such as cost,Finally, it is observed that the amount of ash

facility, and competitors, and there are hurdles in

produced in this experiment was 24.14 kg againstsocial system as well. (Figure 4)

total pellet fuel consumption of 4,278 kg. Thus, anaverage ash production ratio in this experiment wasFigure 4 An image of the development process

0.56 %. Based on this result, it is expected that there
will be about 180 kg of ash produced in one year per

External Preassure(Opportunity)

is needed to grow green peppers in 10a greenhouse.
Ideally, the ash should be used for fertilizing soil.
For the safety use of ash, periodic tests of ash

Degrees of barrier

10a greenhouse, suppose 16,000 kiloliter of crude oil

ingredients, such as chromium (VI), will be needed.
6.

PREVALENCE OF THE NEW SYSTEM

In Japan, greenhouse farming has gradually spread

Seeds
Needs

Technological
Hurdles

SocialMarket System
Hurdlesout since 1960s. Then, the dawn of vinyl plastic
made from petroleum enables farmers to easily grow

It is necessary to have an elaborate plan based onearly vegetables. Consequently, it is rapidly adopted

the strategic point of view in order to jump overas a winter agricultural technology in the regions

these hurdles efficiently, and sometimes applying an

where the temperature is relatively warm. In 1970s,

external pressure is needed.

crude oil heating system was developed andPresently, the market of the greenhouse farming

agricultural products are able to be produced noneeds an energy supply at low cost as well as thematter what weather or seasons.

dawn of the wood energy utilization system.

Except for an argument about negative aspects ofSimilarly, forestry needs a value creation in wood.

heating, it is regarded that the heating method is an

Finally, there is a social need for the reduction ofeffective

greenhouse gas.

wayto

increase

theagricultural

productivity under the very limited plain area like

Therefore, we consider that the construction ofJapan. There were many difficulties to overcome instrategic management model which is able to meet

terms of technological and social aspects until thethese needs at once is the most critical point in thegreenhouse farming has established today’s position.

prevalence of the new system.

Especially, there was a great amount of time and7.

KYOTO

PROTOCOL

ANDtiming.
The society in rural regions has a highly rigid

ENVIRONMENT
Today, the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions

lifestyle which has been formed in the long history.

has become one of the most fundamental needs for

In order to accomplish our objective, development

human society. It is necessary for using this globalof a sustainable community management system, it

need as an external opportunity to encourage the use

is necessary to change lifestyle and social system atof wood energy.

once. Otherwise, a great amount of time and effort

There are many arguments for the rules orwill be needed.

effectiveness of Kyoto protocol. At least, it is certain

It is expected that the impact of Kyoto protocol,that Japan will be penalized if it is not able towhich has been in effect from 2008, will be clearer

achieve the reduction goal until the end of the firstas the time goes by. We consider that it is ancommitment period. Even though the reduction goal

effective way to use Kyoto protocol as an externalis achieved by applying Kyoto mechanism such aspressure for achieving the goal as well as it is an

Clean Development Mechanism or Emission Trading, important task to solve the technological problems inpractically the volume of national GHG emission is
not reduced. Either way, it is anticipated to be thetarget of criticism as far as the objective is notachieved by itself.
Meanwhile, the word “Environment” has become
one of the most important themes in 21st century. Forexample, the concept of environmental management
has been born in corporate management. Although
this situation is still thread and thrum, it is certainthat the phenomenon has been strongly spreading out
as a global movement. In this project, it is necessary
to use this movement for its driving force.
In Japan, there has been a movement to establish anemission trading market where GHG is tradedamong domestic corporations. As far as the systemguarantees that the effort for the reduction pays off,
it is expected to be the big motive for this project.
8.

CONCLUSION

It is considered that the solution of the problems
regardingtechnologicalaspects

isrelatively

foreseeable in short term, though changing social
system or lifestyle is extremely difficult and takes a
lot of time. However, we can learn from history thatthe social system or lifestyle is easily changed whena global or national pressure appears in a good

conversion of forest resources to energy.