Modeling Woody Biomass Procurement for Bioenergy Production at the Atikokan Generating Station in Northwestern Ontario, Canada
Efficient procurement and utilization of woody biomass for bioenergy production requires a good understanding of biomass supply chains. In this paper, a dynamic optimization model has been developed and applied to estimate monthly supply and procurement costs of woody biomass required for the Atikokan Generating Station (AGS) in northwestern Ontario, based on its monthly electricity production schedule. The decision variables in the model are monthly harvest levels of two types of woody biomass, forest harvest residues and unutilized biomass, from 19,315 forest depletion cells (each 1 km<sup>2</sup>) for a one year planning horizon. Sixteen scenarios are tested to examine the sensitivity of the cost minimization model to changing economic and technological parameters. Reduction in moisture content and improvement of conversion efficiency showed relatively higher reductions in monthly and total costs of woody biomass feedstock for the AGS. The results of this study help in understanding and designing decision support systems for optimal biomass supply chains under dynamic operational frameworks.
Year of publication: |
2012
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Authors: | Alam, Md. Bedarul ; Pulkki, Reino ; Shahi, Chander ; Upadhyay, Thakur |
Published in: |
Energies. - MDPI, Open Access Journal, ISSN 1996-1073. - Vol. 5.2012, 12, p. 5065-5085
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Publisher: |
MDPI, Open Access Journal |
Subject: | forest cells | logistics cost | optimization | road network | supply chain management |
Saved in:
freely available
Extent: | application/pdf text/html |
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Type of publication: | Article |
Classification: | Q - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics ; Q0 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics. General ; Q4 - Energy ; Q40 - Energy. General ; Q41 - Demand and Supply ; Q42 - Alternative Energy Sources ; Q43 - Energy and the Macroeconomy ; q47 ; Q48 - Government Policy ; Q49 - Energy. Other |
Source: |
Persistent link: https://www.econbiz.de/10011031073