Monday, April 30, 2012: 3:00 PM
Waterbury Ballroom, 2nd fl (Sheraton New Orleans)
In this study, a novel simulation-optimization analysis tool is developed to model and analyse the agricultural biomass logistics system. The purpose of the developed model is to improve the performance of the logistics system in terms of feedstock demand fulfillment, logistics costs and resource utilization. The optimization model finds the optimal solution for decisions at the tactical planning level. These decisions include the determination of the required number of farms to contract to secure the supply of biomass, the optimal feedstock supply radius, and the optimal number and location of satellite storage locations (SSLs) within the supply region. Given the outputs of the optimization model, the simulation model analyses the performance of the logistics system at an operational level considering the dynamics of the logistics system and also all the uncertainties such as yield, harvest schedule, operational time and weather data. The outputs of simulation model are comprised of logistics costs, resource utilization, capacity of SSLs and at-plant storage. The proposed model is applied to a proposed cellulosic ethanol plant located in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. This plant would produce 70 million litres (Ml) of ethanol per year from approximately 750 t of locally grown feedstock, primarily wheat straw, per day. Several logistics system scenarios are developed and compared in terms of demand fulfillment, logistic costs and resource utilization. The main finding of the proposed model would be the optimal design of the agricultural biomass logistics system, given the location and capacity of the cellulosic ethanol plant.