Economic paper blending optimization model with competing materials

Abstract

PurposeDemanding customers, legislation and raw materials shortages in the modern world have forced companies to minimize the system's environmental impact. The paper seeks to analyze the economic impact of blending in sustainable paper industries in countries such as India.Design/methodology/approachA linear programming model for a paper supply chain is proposed to minimize paper manufacturing cost by optimally blending wood pulp and after‐use paper under various conventional supply chain constraints. The issues of quality, environmental concern and reusability in the paper industry have also been taken into account.FindingsImproving quality of after‐use paper by proper recovery network reduces the manufacturing cost. Increasing proportion of wood fiber in the finished paper decreases the cost, even at the cost of degradation in the environment. Thus, it is up to the manufacturer to reflect its degree of environmental concern to the government and society by assigning appropriate environmental and quality opportunity costs in the model.Research limitations/implicationsDifficulty in obtaining the estimates of the environmental and quality cost is a major limitation of the study.Practical implicationsThis research provides manufacturers with a simple mathematical model to compare the economic feasibility of blending wood pulp and after‐use paper depending on the market situation.Originality/valueThe major contribution of the model is its capability to study the economic impact of blending by considering some of the important sustainable development issues like environment, quality, shortage, and reusability under one objective function.