Optimizing Resource Utilization in Biomass Supply Chains by Creating Integrated Biomass Logistics Centers

• Main Authors: Xuezhen Guo, Juliën Voogt, Bert Annevelink, Joost Snels, Argyris Kanellopoulos
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-11-01
• Series: Energies
• Subjects: bio-based supply chains; integrated biomass logistical center; mixed integer programming model
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/13/22/6153

Bio-based supply chains are by nature complex to optimize. The new logistic concept of integrated biomass logistical center (IBLC) provides us the opportunity to make full use of the idle capacity for a food/feed plant to produce biobased products so that the entire chain efficiency can be improved. Although research has been conducted to analyze the IBLC concept, is yet to be an optimization model that can optimally arrange the activities in the supply chain where an IBLC stands in the middle. To fill the knowledge gap in the literature, this paper makes the first step to develop a MILP model that enables biobased supply chain optimization with the IBLC concept, which supports logistic and processing decisions in the chain. The model is applied in a case study for a feed and fodder plant in Spain where managerial insights have been derived for transferring the plant to a profitable IBLC.