Systemic approach for the design of renewable energy supply chain generated from biomass

Abstract

The world’s demand for energy increases as population keeps growing and industrialization intensifies. Renewable power generation (RPG) has become one of the most researched and developed areas in the last years, since traditional energy generation methods produce large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) and have an adverse effect on the environment. Renewable energy alternatives—e.g. solar energy, wind power, geothermal power, hydroelectric energy, and especially biomass (i.e. organic waste material)—are more environmentally friendly. Moreover, if used appropriately, biomass can ensure a stable and uninterrupted power supply, unlike solar energy—which depends on solar radiation—or wind power—which depends on wind speed. Also, waste materials derived from products such as sugar, coffee, juice, cosmetics, and alcoholic beverages can be used as sources of energy thanks to the amount of organic mass that they contain. In this work, we propose the design of a biomass-based logistics structure or supply chain for power generation. To this end, we follow the System Dynamics (SD) method and consider the key echelons of procurement, production, and distribution. Similarly, we create a causal diagram to identify the variables that are the key to supply chain development, as well as those that generate disruption in the supply chain.