Assessment of Bioenergy/Biofuels Sustainable Supply Chain Management: A Multi-Scale and Multi-Objective Approach

Deploying sustainable bioenergy/biofuels supply chains can provide major opportunities in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing the security of domestic energy, improving local environmental conditions, and in some circumstances advancing rural economies. Certain social, economic, institutional and technical obstacles must be surmounted in order for bioenergy/biofuels to achieve market penetration and reach wide scale adoption. The lack of sustainable, cost-effective, and efficient supply chain systems is considered a significant barrier in the promotion of bioenergy/biofuels use. In this study, sustainable biomass supply chains and resources will be assessed. A life cycle assessment (LCA) that analyzes the potential impacts of bioenergy/biofuels, their environmental aspects, and their process will be introduced. Furthermore, an optimization framework developed through a multi-scale and multi-objective approach along with a strategic decision-making methodology for bioenergy/biofuels sustainable supply chain management will be presented.