Environmentally conscious capacity planning and technology selection for bioethanol supply chains

Abstract

Abstract Concerns about energy supply security and climate change have been pushing world countries towards the promotion of renewable sources of energy and more sustainable liquid fuels. Initially indicated as the most viable solution within the transport sector, corn bioethanol is now incurring increasing discredits relating to its profitability and to its effective sustainability. Lignocellulosic ethanol is commonly viewed as a better solution over the long term due to its potential to overcome first generation limitations. This paper addresses the design of bioethanol supply chains where both corn grain and stover are considered as suitable biomass. A Mixed Integer Linear Program is proposed to simultaneously optimise the environmental and financial performances by taking into account a wide number of technological options. Results show the effect of different strategic objectives on the main design feature and it is demonstrated how environmental objectives may strongly affect technological choices as well as the supply chain design in terms of both system profitability and sustainability.