Lignocellulosic supply chain MILP model: a Hungarian case study

The optimal design of lignocellulosic-based products (i.e. biofuels and platform chemicals) production systems represent a key components in the development of biobased economies. A crucial part of such complex problems is the use of efficient decision-making tools, enabling a proper evaluation of the potential investment options. The study of the economical sustainability of advanced biorefineries requires a holistic optimisation approach along the entire biorefining supply chain (i.e. biomass cultivation, storage, transportation, processing as well as products storage and delivery) over the long-term in order to simultaneously achieve a full exploitation of lignocellulosic biomass (and its macrocomponents) as well as to identify the optimal logistics and configurations of the biorefining network. In this paper, a maximum profit-based mixed integer linear programming modelling framework is developed to assess the systematic design and planning of a spatially explicit, multi-feedstock, multi-period and multi-echelon lignocellulosic biomass-to-biobased products supply chain. A Hungarian real case study is proposed to demonstrate the feasibility of the model. Results show the effectiveness of the model as a decision-making tool for the biorefinery design, highlighting the major cost drivers.