Modeling And Optimization Of Biomass Supply Chains

Modeling and Optimization of Biomass Supply Chains

Modeling and Optimization of Biomass Supply Chains: Top Down and Bottom Up Assessment for Agricultural, Forest and Waste Feedstock provides scientific evidence for assessing biomass supply and logistics, placing emphasis on methods, modeling capacities, large data collection, processing and storage. The information presented builds on recent relevant research work from the Biomass Futures, Biomass Policies and S2Biom projects. In addition to technical issues, the book covers the economic, social and environmental aspects with direct implications on biomass availability. Its chapters offer an overview of methodologies for assessing and modeling supply, biomass quality and requirements for different conversion processes, logistics and demand for biobased sectors. Case studies from the projects that inspire the book present practical examples of the implementation of these methodologies. The authors also compare methodologies for different regions, including Europe and the U.S. Biomass feedstock-specific chapters address the relevant elements for forest, agriculture, biowastes, post-consumer wood and non-food crops. Engineers in the bioenergy sector, as well as researchers and graduate students will find this book to be a very useful resource when working on optimization and modeling of biomass supply chains. For energy policymakers, analysts and consultants, the book provides consistent and technically sound projections for policy and market development decisions. - Provides consistent ratios and indicators for assessing biomass supply and its logistical component - Explores assumptions behind the assessment of different types of biomass, including key technical and non-technical factors - Presents the existing modeling platforms, their input requirements and possible output projections

Modeling and Optimization of Biomass Supply Chain for Energy, Chemicals and Materials Productions

In the growing concerns towards global environmental qualities and sustainable feedstocks supplies, scientific and technological efforts were intensified to utilize alternative renewable resources. In this regard, biomass appeared to be one of the potential feedstocks because it is generally carbon neutral and essentially renewable. Furthermore, biomass is virtually found in every part of the world in abundance and could provide socio-economic benefits. However, if it is not managed properly, biomass will be less competitive due to several issues that are associated with its supply chain. Typical biomass supply chain has a series of activities such as growing, harvesting, transporting, aggregating, and conversion which systematic and efficient flows of materials from the fields to the users are highly important. Biomass has competing uses, different kinds and origins which are potentially exploitable, poor geographic distributions for retrieving and transporting, and variations in physical and chemical properties. It is difficult to make informed decision for any biomass utilization project without having an optimal supply chain. This research intended to solve those issues by modeling and optimizing biomass supply chains for manufacturing energy, chemicals, and materials based on their respective processing routes. The aim was not only to focus on energy production from biomass but also to include chemicals and materials because of several factors such as an emerging cost competitive energy resource such as shale gas, highly volatile energy prices, and customer's preparedness and acceptances. Furthermore, it also could leverage biomass plantations on the producers' sides. The biomass supply chain model has considered annual profitability of producing products as the performance indicator. It was derived from revenues of selling the products subtracted all the associated costs such as biomass cost, transportation cost, production cost, and emission treatment costs from transportation and production activities. It summed up simultaneously all the profitable processing options that have existed in the superstructure to yield the optimal value, while a single ownership was assumed for the whole supply chain's facilities. Three optimization models have been developed and implemented in GAMS (General Algebraic Modeling System).

Modeling and Optimization of Biomass Supply Chains for Several Bio-refineries