Optimization of biofuel supply chain integrated with petroleum refineries under carbon trade policy

Abstract

The use of fossil fuels results in significant carbon dioxide emissions. Biofuels have been increasingly adopted as sustainable alternatives to fossil fuel to address this environmental issue. Integrating petroleum refineries into biofuel supply chains is an effective approach to mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and improving environmental sustainability. In this study, an integrated supply chain optimization framework was established, considering the carbon trade policy. In addition, a mixed-integer nonlinear programming model was developed to optimize the selection of biomass suppliers, construction of pretreatment plants and biorefineries, integration of petroleum refineries, and selection of transportation routes with the objective of minimizing the total annual cost. An example is presented to illustrate the applicability of the model. The optimization results show that integrating petroleum refineries into biofuel supply chains effectively mitigates carbon emissions. Carbon trade policies can have a direct impact on the total annual cost and carbon emissions of the supply chain.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

renewable energy / biofuel supply chain / carbon trade policy

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Competing interests

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 22378304) and the Key Funding of State Key Laboratory of Chemical Engineering (Project No. SKL-ChE-23Z02)

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11705-024-2397-1 and is accessible for authorized users.

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