Energy from Lignocellulosic Biomass: Supply Chain Modeling to Maximize Net Energy Production

摘要

Renewable energy systems are complex systems where the high energy expenditure in all supply chain stages strongly affects the overall system performance. In this paper supply chain design is explored in order to maximize the global net energy of the system emphasising the increased energy efficiency required to attain viable economic and environmental solutions in renewable energy production. A mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model is developed for the optimal design with the objective of minimizing supply chain total energy input. The model is applied to a real world case study in Portugal. The results show that to satisfy a global demand of 2.95 PJ of electricity and 1.55 PJ of bioethanol for fuel purposes, 2.68 PJ are required as energy input to perform all supply chain operations.