Integrated decision making for the optimal bioethanol supply chain

CORSANO, GABRIELA; FUMERO, YANINA; MONTAGNA, JORGE M.

ENERGY CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2014 vol. 88 p. 1127 - 1142

0196-8904

Bioethanol production poses different challenges that require an integrated approach. Usually previous works used to deal with detailed formulations corresponding to specific perspectives of the global problem. On the contrary, bioethanol, in particular, and biofuels, in general, require an integrated decision making that take into account the needs of all the units involved in the supply chain as well as their different interests.  In this work, a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model for the optimal allocation, design and production planning of integrated ethanol/yeast plants is considered. Most of the published works are focused on a specific decision level avoiding the interactions between different decisions. The proposed formulation addresses the relations between different aspects of the bioethanol supply chain and provides an efficient tool to assess the global operation of the supply chain taking into account different points of view. The model proposed in this work simultaneously determines the structure of a three-echelon supply chain (raw material sites, production facilities and customer zones), the design of each installed plant and operational considerations through production campaigns. Several cases are presented in order to assess the approach capabilities and to evaluate the tradeoffs among all the decisions.