MILP MODELS FOR BIOMASS SUPPLY CHAINS OPTIMIZATION: APPLICATIONS TO DISTRICT HEATING AND CHP IN URBAN AREAS

The paper presents a MILP approach to optimize multi-biomass supply chain strategic design including biomass supplier allocation as well as feedstocks storage, processing, transport and energy conversion ( heat and CHP ) for residential end users. The main focus lies on the representation of the relationships between the biomass processing and biofuel energy conversion steps, and on the trade-offs between large centralized district heating plants and several distributed generation systems. For this purpose, the influence of coupling biomass processing and energy conversion systems on drying and storage costs is considered. Moreover, the influence of energy demand typologies ( energy density, heat consumption patterns) and transport logistics constraints of urban areas on both the investment and operational costs of district heating systems and on the biomass road transport constraints within the urban areas are assessed.