Effect of terrain relief on the transport cost on road of biomass raw materials: Energy conservation study of 9 cities and counties in China

Transport cost on road is an important limiting factor in the development of biomass energy. At present, transport cost on road is typically calculated using the average slope derived from the elevational difference between two points on a 2D road network, but this method ignores terrain relief, which is an important factor that influences road slope and vehicle fuel consumption. This study explores the effect of terrain relief on transport cost on road to provide data support for the optimization of transportation routes for biomass raw materials. By setting sample points at different intervals along a transportation route to accommodate different reliefs, the results showed that terrain relief was positively correlated with the unit distance transport cost on road by truck of biomass raw materials. When the sample interval was less than 500 m, the unit distance transport cost on road decreased rapidly with an increase in sample interval, and the rate of decline in hilly areas was greater than that in plains areas. When the sample interval was greater than 500 m, the unit distance transport cost on road decreased slowly and approached a stable level as the sample interval increased. In hilly areas, the transport cost on road of biomass raw materials and the relief effect were greater than those in plains areas. Therefore, when calculating the transport cost on road of biomass raw materials, we recommend using sample intervals less than 500 m to achieve a more accurate calculation and maintain a relatively small calculation load.