Strategic Biorefining Supply Chain Design for Novel Products in Immature Markets

摘要

Castor oil is a key intermediate in the chemical and pharmaceutical industry,but its use as energy vector is hindered by high feedstock costs.However,it become a competitive fuel if a full market is also created for the by-products.Mixed Integer Linear Programs are effective tools to drive investment decisions in bio-based supply chains.This paper proposes a Mixed Integer Linear Fractional Programming(MILFP)with the objective to minimise the levelised cost of the examined supply chain.Results produce the most economical supply chain solution which maximises the unit value of the supply chain feedstock rather than just proposing a solution where the system fulfills the demand at the minimum size possible.