title: Opportunities and Challenges in the Design and Analysis of Biomass Supply Chains.
abstract: The biomass supply chain is one of the most critical elements of large-scale bioenergy production and in many cases a key barrier for procuring initial funding for new developments on specific energy crops. Most productions rely on complex transforming chains linked to feed and food markets. The term 'supply chain' covers various aspects from cultivation and harvesting of the biomass, to treatment, transportation, and storage. After energy conversion, the product must be delivered to final consumption, whether it is in the form of electricity, heat, or more tangible products, such as pellets and biofuels. Effective supply chains are of utmost importance for bioenergy production, as biomass tends to possess challenging seasonal production cycles and low mass, energy and bulk densities. Additionally, the demand for final products is often also dispersed, further complicating the supply chain. The goal of this paper is to introduce key components of biomass supply chains, examples of related modeling applications, and if/how they address aspects related to environmental metrics and management. The paper will introduce a concept of integrated supply systems for sustainable biomass trade and the factors influencing the bioenergy supply chain landscape, including models that can be used to investigate the factors. The paper will also cover various aspects of transportation logistics, ranging from alternative modal and multi-modal alternatives to introduction of support tools for transportation analysis. Finally gaps and challenges in supply chain research are identified and used to outline research recommendations for the future direction in this area of study.
authors.affiliation: Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Michigan Technological University, Houghton, MI, 49931-1295, USA. ptlautal@mtu.edu.
authors.forename: Pasi T
authors.initials: PT
authors.lastname: Lautala
authors.affiliation: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Michael R
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Hilliard
authors.affiliation: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Erin
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Webb
authors.affiliation: Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Ingrid
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Busch
authors.affiliation: Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID, USA.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Richard Hess
authors.affiliation: Idaho National Laboratory, Idaho Falls, ID, USA.
authors.forename: Mohammad S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Roni
authors.affiliation: Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hilbert
authors.affiliation: Sustainable Futures Institute, Michigan Technology University, Houghton, MI, USA.
authors.forename: Robert M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Handler
authors.affiliation: LabTrans, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil.
authors.forename: Roger
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bittencourt
authors.affiliation: LabTrans, Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina, Florianópolis, Brazil.
authors.forename: Amir
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Valente
authors.affiliation: LUT Savo Sustainable Technologies, Lappeenranta University of Technology, Mikkeli, Finland.
authors.forename: Tuuli
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Laitinen
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods* / Q000639:trends; D056804:Biofuels / Q000600:supply & distribution*; D018533:Biomass; D003246:Conservation of Energy Resources; D018556:Crops, Agricultural; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D014186:Transportation
chemical_list: D056804:Biofuels
keywords: Bioenergy; Logistics; Pan American; Supply chain; Sustainability; Transportation