Strategic redesign of the forest-based biomass supply chain through optimization and sensitivity analysis

Frank Piedra-Jimenez; Juan M. Novas; María Analía Rodriguez

Frank Piedra-Jimenez Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ingeniería de Procesos y Química Aplicada (IPQA) Universidad Nacional de Córdoba-CONICET
Juan M. Novas Centro de Investigación y Estudios de Matemática (CIEM) Universidad Nacional de Córdoba-CONICET - Centro de Investigación, Desarrollo y Transferencia de Sistemas de Información (CIDS) Universidad Tecnológica Nacional- Facultad Córdoba
María Analía Rodriguez Instituto de Investigación y Desarrollo en Ingeniería de Procesos y Química Aplicada (IPQA) Universidad Nacional de Córdoba-CONICET

Palabras clave: Supply Chain Redesign, Forest Biorefinery, Sensitivity Analyses

Resumen

The Forest Biorefinery Supply Chain (FBSC) redesign problem is addressed. A Generalized Disjunctive Programming (GDP) model is constructed and it is reformulated as Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP). The proposed superstructure of FBSC scope (i) the strategic location of forest biomassbased biofuel facilities, and its integration with installed traditional forest industries.
In addition, the model determine (ii) feedstock harvesting amount at each forest area; and (iii) transportation flows along all FBSC arcs over a multi-period horizon planning. The applicability of the proposed model is demonstrated through a case study considering different uncertainty settings. A series of sensitivity analyses is performed to determine the impact of variations on the proposed
FBSC. The variations in the selling price of products, biomass availability, and demand of products are addressed in the sensitivity analysis.