A three-stage stochastic optimization model for the Brazilian biodiesel supply chain

• Autor(a) principal: Senna,Pedro
• Data de Publicação: 2016
• Outros Autores: Pinha,Denis, Ahluwalia,Rashpal, Guimarães,Julio Cesar, Severo,Eliana, Reis,Augusto
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Production
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0103-65132016000300501
• topic: Biodiesel; Mixed Integer Linear programming; Stochastic optimization; Multistage program

Abstract The Brazilian program for biodiesel use highlights the production of biodiesel from castor seeds. Biodiesel is a non-polluting energy source that has the potential to promote prosperity by creating jobs in poor regions of Brazil. However, the infrastructure, logistics, and proper facilities are lacking. A variety of approaches to optimizing the biodiesel supply chain have been proposed. The goal is to minimize the grain storage and transportation costs. This paper presents a comparison between a two-stage model and a multistage (three-stage) stochastic model to optimize the biodiesel supply chain. The comparison between these formulations shows that the flexibility gain provided by the multistage model results in a lower total logistic cost. The optimum for the three-stage model was 7,700,019 (BRL), compared to 8,628,002 (BRL) for the two-stage model, representing a savings of 927,983 (BRL). We highlight that this model offers a real solution for castor supply chain design (considering uncertainty) in the Brazilian semiarid region, which is a poorer region of the country, thus making cost reduction mandatory.