Modeling Woody Biomass Procurement for Bioenergy Production at the Atikokan Generating Station in Northwestern Ontario, Canada

Md. Bedarul Alam, Reino Pulkki, Chander Shahi and Thakur Upadhyay
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Md. Bedarul Alam: Faculty of Natural Resources Management, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, Ontario P7B 5E1, Canada
Reino Pulkki: Faculty of Natural Resources Management, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, Ontario P7B 5E1, Canada
Chander Shahi: Faculty of Natural Resources Management, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, Ontario P7B 5E1, Canada
Thakur Upadhyay: Faculty of Natural Resources Management, Lakehead University, 955 Oliver Road, Thunder Bay, Ontario P7B 5E1, Canada

Energies, 2012, vol. 5, issue 12, 1-21

Abstract: 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 2 ) 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.

Keywords: forest cells; logistics cost; optimization; road network; supply chain management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2012
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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