Volume 5: Innovative Solutions for Energy Transitions: Part IV

Optimizing the Macroalgae-based Biofuel Supply Chain Under Multiple Uncertainties – Korean Case Study Mohammad Amin Zarei, Jay Liu

Abstract

The growing global population and the resulting excess use of fossil fuels have brought the urgency for climate change mitigation leading to focus on renewable energy resources. Biomass is one of the earliest natural sources of energy, which has the potential to substitute for primary energy resource. However, commercial production of biofuel is still constrained by uncertainties such as biofuel demand. In this study, a two-stage stochastic mixed integer linear programing is formulated for biofuel supply chain based on macroalgae resource under uncertainties. The objective function in this formulation is total annual cost to be minimized. The approach is illustrated through a bioethanol supply chain case study in Korea, where macroalgae are among the dominant biomass resources.

Keywords biofuel supply chain, uncertainty, two stage stochastic programing, sustainability, macroalgae