Efficiency of small-scale firewood processing operations in Southern Europe

• The study tested 5 firewood processors for small-scale rural companies.
• Productivity ranged from 1 to 2 t per hour, and cost from 20 to 39 € t− 1.
• There were significant differences between machines.
• Sorting logs before processing increased production and reduced cost.
• Differences with Nordic studies are likely due to different wood species.

The study determined the performance of small-scale commercial firewood processing operations under the typical work conditions of Southern Europe. In particular, five units were tested, fed with the same 2.1-m long beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) logs. All machines were tested with sorted and unsorted logs. Productivity varied between 1.1 and 2.1 t h− 1, and cost between 20 and 39 € t− 1. There were significant differences between machines, which may partly be attributed to operator effect. Feeding the machines with sorted logs had a significant effect on the productivity of all machines on test, increasing productivity by 40% and reducing cost by 34%. Fuel use varied between 1.3 and 2.8 l t− 1. The energy balance was always very favorable. The ration between output and input was never smaller than 59 to 1 and peaked at 130 to 1. In other words, processing required about 1% of the energy contained in the firewood — or 1.7% in the worst case. The productivity figures reported in this experiment were much lower than reported for Northern Europe, which seems to confirm the significant effect of regional work conditions – especially different wood species – on firewood processing performance.