A multi-objective mathematical model to redesign of global sustainable bioenergy supply network

Advanced SQL-Database for bioenergy technologies - A catalogue for bio-resources, conversion technologies, energy carriers, and supply applications

Bioenergy is a crucial element of the future energy system with wide range of applications in electricity, heat and transport. A major challenge for the analysis and optimisation of the bioenergy system is the degree of diversity and complexity compared to wind or solar energy. A coherent database for studying the role of bioenergy in the energy system needs to cover the different entities such as bio-resources, conversion procedures and process chains. Since there is no comprehensive data collection for bioenergy so far, we develop a SQLite database by merging several existing datasets and additional information. The resulting Bio-Energy Technology Database (BET.db) provides a consistent set of 141 feedstocks as well as energy carriers, 259 conversion technologies, and 134 energy supply concepts. The proof of concept within a bioenergy system modelling a wide range of technologies for the electricity, heat and transport sectors using the BENOPT model has been successful. By providing a one-stop-shop solution for techno-economic information about on the bioenergy nexus, this blind spot can be avoided for further investigations. The current stage of development is an intermediate prototype that will be developed into a more versatile and interactive web application later on.

Optimizing the Design of a Biomass-to-Biofuel Supply Chain Network Using a Decentralized Processing Approach

When designing biomass-to-biofuel supply chains, the biomass uncertainty, seasonality and geographical dispersion that affect economic viability need to be considered. This work presents a novel methodology that can optimize the design of biofuel supply chains by adopting a decentralized network structure consisting of a mix of fixed and mobile processing facilities. The model considers a variable biomass yield profile and the mobile fast pyrolysis technology. The mixed-integer linear programming model developed identifies the optimal biofuel production and biomass harvesting schedule schemes under the objective of profit maximization. It was applied in the case study of marginal lands in Scotland, which are assumed to be planted with Miscanthus. The trade-offs observed between economies of scale against the transportation costs, the effect of the relocation costs and the contribution of storage capacity were investigated. The results showed that, in most cases, harvesting is most concentrated during the month of the highest biomass yield, provided that storage facilities are available. Storage capacity plays an important role to widen the operational time window of processing facilities since scenarios with restricted or costly storage resulted in facilities of higher capacity operating within a narrower time window, leading to higher investment costs. Relocation costs proved to have a minor share in the total transportation costs.

The incorporated environmental policies and regulations into bioenergy supply chain management: A literature review

Bioenergy, a means to reach a sustainable economy, is being driven by governments by devising incremental regulations and more instrumental policies in parallel. These constant-changing regulations bring uncertainty to bioenergy supply chain optimization problems. An increasing number of recent studies on bioenergy supply chain optimization addressing environmental concerns have highlighted the need for an overview indispensable. The purpose of this paper is to present a review of the incorporated policies and regulations and to examine whether constraints or targets set by governments are fully met in optimizing of bioenergy supply chains. To this end, first, bioenergy policies and regulations enacted in the EU, the global leader in the energy transition, as a benchmark are reviewed based on the bioenergy supply chain steps. Then, the optimization problems employing policies and regulations are classified and discussed. The review reveals visible gaps between what policies demand and what is proposed in the literature, and underpin the regulations which need to be considered in future work. Examination of the literature also suggests that a globally drawn standard may lead to better bioenergy supply chain development considering other green energy developments. Our key finds are.

Redesigning a fast-moving consumer goods supply chain considering social responsibility and logistical restrictions: case study in an Iranian food company

Redesigning a supply chain network is an important strategic problem which affects network productivity, especially in varying environments. We propose a novel mathematical model for redesigning the network of a real company considering economic and social aspects. Strategic decisions of the model consist of opening new centers, selecting capacities from a set of discrete sizes, and closing or expanding capacities of existing centers during a planning horizon. Tactical decisions are involved with determination of product flows, facilities allocation, selection of fleet modes in terms of product types (i.e., frozen, chilled, dry, and ready meal) and fleet ownership types (i.e., self-owned or leased). The correlations and restrictions involved with multi-product supply chains, such as substitutability of products, the impossibility of transportation of some products together because of chemical effects or legal restrictions, and necessity of allocation of special fleets to some products because of specific holding conditions, are considered. Noting social responsibility aspect, an objective of this model is to minimize the maximum unsatisfied demand of added food banks to the network whose roles are feeding needy people. An interactive fuzzy programming approach is applied to solve the given bi-objective problem. Finally, useful managerial insights are derived from the results which show that more geographical diversity of facilities, using a new distribution strategy, and adding food banks as a new echelon can increase the productivity of the given network and makes it more responsible in terms of social responsibility.

Multi-objective optimization of CCUS supply chains for European countries with higher carbon dioxide emissions

This research work wants to overcome the gap present in the literature, reformulating our single optimization problems of a CCUS supply chain for Germany, Italy and the UK (European countries with higher carbon dioxide emissions) as bi-objective problems. The amount of captured carbon dioxide is maximized while total costs are minimized at the same time. Results show that, for solving this problem, the augmented ε-constraint method is more efficient than the traditional ε-constraint method, and the respective Pareto fronts with environmentally and economically efficient solutions are obtained. These plots are utilized to suggest scenarios for a decision maker, considering only the total costs objective function (the scenario with the minimum value of net total cost is selected) or both objective functions (the scenario with the shortest distance from the Utopia point is chosen). In the second option, the CCUS supply chain of Germany is that closest to the ideal conditions, even if the system has the highest costs.

Complex Valuation of Energy from Agricultural Crops including Local Conditions

This paper provides values of economic, energy and environmental assessments of 20 crops and assesses the relationships of soil-climatic conditions in the example of the Czech Republic. The comparison of main soil quality indicators according to the configuration of land and climate regions is performed on the basis of energy and economic efficiency as well as a comparison of the level of environmental impacts. The environmental impacts are identified based on the assessment of emissions from production and also in the form of soil compaction as an indicator of the relationship to soil quality. As concerns soil properties, of major importance is soil skeleton, slope of land and the depth of soil, which cause an increase in emissions from the energy produced. Substantially better emission parameters per 1 MJ through energy crops, the cultivation of perennial crops and silage maize has been supported. Among energy crops, a positive relationship with the quality of soil is seen in alfalfa, with a significant reduction in soil penetrometric resistance; energy crops are also politically justifiable in competition with other crops intended for nutrition of population. The main advantage of energy crops for the low-carbon economy is their CO2 production to MJ, which is almost half, especially in marginal areas with lower soil depths, slopes and stoniness, which can be included in the new agricultural policy.

Operational Management Implemented in Biofuel Upstream Supply Chain and Downstream International Trading: Current Issues in Southeast Asia

Bioenergy is one of the alternatives to secure energy demand, despite increasing debate on the sustainability of using bioenergy as a renewable source. As the source is disseminated over a large area and affected by seasonality, the potential benefit is highly dependent on other cost and benefit trade-offs along the supply chain. This review paper aims to assess operational management research methods used in biofuel supply chain planning, including both upstream production and international downstream trading. There have been considerable operational management studies done on upstream processes in biofuel production based on different strategic and tactical decision making of a single or multiple feedstocks, considering economic and environmental factor. However, the environmental consideration is often limited to carbon emission where the other environmental impact such as land-use change, biodiversity loss, irrigation and fertilisation are often being overlooked. Biofuel supply chain and trading at international level remain as an apparent research potential where only limited numbers of global energy models explicitly simulate international bioenergy trade. The leading biofuel producing countries in Southeast Asia: Malaysia, Indonesia and Thailand, are selected as a case study to investigate further on how the supply chain management model could be applied considering the existing biofuel support policies. This study is expected to contribute to the selection of operational management research methods used for decision making under robust policy context, followed by several recommendations.

Substantiating the Logistics Chain Structure While Servicing the Flow of Requests for Road Transport Deliveries

The selection of the delivery scheme is one of the most complicated problems and the results of its solution condition the sustainable development of the whole market of transportation services. Freight forwarders should consider numerous random parameters characterizing demand and technological processes to choose the proper structure of the logistics chain. The paper aims to propose a method for choosing the logistics chain structure, based on the analysis of the total expenses as a function from the demand parameters characterizing stochastic variables of the consignment weight, the delivery distance, and the time interval between the requests in the flow of queries for cargo delivery. Four basic logistics chain structures, widely used on road transport, are described to demonstrate the selection process. The areas of the most efficient use of the logistics chain structures can be defined for the flow of requests for cargo deliveries. The paper shows such areas on the example of goods delivery by automobile transport. Determining the areas of the most efficient use of the specific logistics chain structures contributes to the effective choice of correct delivery variants by freight forwarders.

A sustainable mathematical model for design of net zero energy buildings

Energy is vital recourse for economic development of today's business. The services demanded of residential and commercial buildings require substantial energy use. Energy consumption in this sector has been growing in total, gradually. As a result the high emission of greenhouse gases is released and, hence, the saving energy with better building management have made a major priority of the energy and environment sectors throughout the world. In this direction, to reduce energy consumption and mitigate environmental impacts in buildings, net-zero energy buildings (NZEB) is a very effective solution. As a result, a multi-objective model is developed to identify the best combination of materials and construction options considering their related costs, energy efficiency, and environmental impacts of buildings, simultaneously. This sustainable model is presented to construct a building considering the construction costs and energy consumption of the design options. To design the NZEB, while minimizing costs and carbon emissions, use has been made of a combination of different types of active/heating and cooling systems and renewable equipment through such high-efficiency, effective, and updated technologies as the solar panel. Finally, the case study of a residential building with two scenarios is used to demonstrate the proposed framework. The results show that, for scenarios1 and 2 respectively using insulation thickness such as (wall, roof, and windows) and renewable equipment have the highest sustainable impact in NEBZ's performance.