Bowling, Ian Michael (2010-12). Optimization of Supply Chain Management and Facility Location Selection for a Biorefinery. Master's Thesis. Thesis uri icon

abstract

  • If renewable energy and biofuels are to attain success in the market place, each

    step of their production and the system as a whole must be optimized to increase

    material and energy efficiency, reduce production cost and create a competitive

    alternative to fossil fuels. Systems optimization techniques may be applied to product

    selection, process design and integration, feedstock procurement and supply chain

    management to improve performance. This work addresses two problems facing a

    biorefinery: technology selection and feedstock scheduling in the face of varying

    feedstock supply and cost. Also addressed is the optimization of a biorefinery supply

    chain with respect to distributed processing of biomass to bio-products via preprocessing

    hubs versus centralized processing and facility location selection. Two formulations are

    proposed that present a systematic approach to address each problem. Case studies are

    included to demonstrate model capabilities for both formulations. The scheduling model

    results display model sensitivity to feedstock price and transport distance penalized

    through carbon dioxide emissions. The distributed model shows that hubs may be used

    to extend the operating radius of a biorefinery and thereby increase profits.

publication date

  • December 2010