A conceptual framework for siting biorefineries in the Canadian Prairies

Abstract

AbstractEthanol is increasingly used as a means to reduce gasoline consumption. As a result, it has also attracted analysis of its economic, social, and environmental merit. In order for the ethanol production industry to continue to expand, these issues must be confronted in future development. Although technological development is often relied upon, carefully considered ethanol refinery siting also mitigates some of these concerns. Five alternative siting locations were selected in the western Canadian Prairies. These were evaluated using 12 criteria which represent regional resources, economic conditions, government support, or social indicators. The criteria were weighted to represent the perspectives of two stakeholders. The Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment and Evaluations (PROMETHEE) method was applied to this data, ranking the alternative sites. Several future scenarios were created to analyze the sensitivity of the results to both statistical data and subjective inputs. The rankings proved to be robust, and varied little in the different scenarios. Southern Alberta had an advantage with a high ethanol byproduct demand, education level, and ethanol demand. Southern Manitoba benefitted from the lowest labor and miscellaneous costs, due to higher unemployment. Saskatchewan suffers from low byproduct demand and a decrease in water availability while having a heated economy which increases costs. In addition, Saskatchewan as a whole is currently the leader in ethanol production, resulting in less net demand, reduced access to government incentives, and more local competition. Southern Alberta and Southern Manitoba are the optimal regions for future ethanol biorefinery, where as the Saskatchewan locations are the least attractive. © 2010 Society of Chemical Industry and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd