Optimal procurement and operational planning for risk management of an integrated biorefinery process

Abstract

The profit of a biorefinery is highly affected by the supply of its raw materials and margin from the product. Taking responsive actions to the fluctuating market conditions are of major concern for the efficient management of biorefineries. In this study, an integrated biorefinery process is investigated to tackle this issue by diversifying products as well as raw materials. The optimal operational planning of the integrated process is calculated based on their price scenarios and the product demands. Moreover, the risk involved in the purchase of raw materials due to their varying prices is proposed to be minimized by futures contracts. The proposed planning models will contribute to decreasing the profit variability and escalating the operational flexibility of a biorefinery. (C) 2009 The Institution of Chemical Engineers. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.