Journal Name:
- Journal of Industrial Engineering and Management
| Author Name | University of Author |
|---|---|
Abstract (2. Language):
Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose a simulation-based robust biofuel facility
location model for solving an integrated bio-energy logistics network (IBLN) problem, where
biomass yield is often uncertain or difficult to determine.
Design/methodology/approach: The IBLN considered in this paper consists of four
different facilities: farm or harvest site (HS), collection facility (CF), biorefinery (BR), and
blending station (BS). Authors propose a mixed integer quadratic modeling approach to
simultaneously determine the optimal CF and BR locations and corresponding biomass and
bio-energy transportation plans. The authors randomly generate biomass yield of each HS and
find the optimal locations of CFs and BRs for each generated biomass yield, and select the
robust locations of CFs and BRs to show the effects of biomass yield uncertainty on the
optimality of CF and BR locations. Case studies using data from the State of South Carolina in
the United State are conducted to demonstrate the developed model’s capability to better
handle the impact of uncertainty of biomass yield.
Findings: The results illustrate that the robust location model for BRs and CFs works very well
in terms of the total logistics costs. The proposed model would help decision-makers find the
most robust locations for biorefineries and collection facilities, which usually require huge investments, and would assist potential investors in identifying the least cost or important
facilities to invest in the biomass and bio-energy industry.
Originality/value: An optimal biofuel facility location model is formulated for the case of
deterministic biomass yield. To improve the robustness of the model for cases with
probabilistic biomass yield, the model is evaluated by a simulation approach using case studies.
The proposed model and robustness concept would be a very useful tool that helps potential
biofuel investors minimize their investment risk.
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FULL TEXT (PDF):
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