A Decision Support System to Design the In-Bound Supply Chain for Biomass Co-Fire in Power Plants

Author

William David Bowen

Issuing Body

Mississippi State University

Advisor

Eksioglu, Sandra D.

Committee Member

Bullington, Stanley F.

Committee Member

Eksioglu, Burak

Date of Degree

12-14-2013

Document Type

Graduate Thesis - Open Access

Major

Industrial Engineering

Degree Name

Master of Science

College

James Worth Bagley College of Engineering

Department

Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering

Abstract

This work is focused on designing a hub-and-spoke in-bound supply chain networks for coal plants. Biomass and coal are coired to produce electricity. One of the main reasons for focusing this study on biomass supply to coal plants is that biomass, in the form of forest and agricultural waste, is cleaner to burn as compared to coal. The user, most likely a supply chain manager or production control engineer, would input their supplier locations, costs and biomass availability. The mathematical model which supports this DSS is a mixed-integer program. The model uses this input to identify optimal order quantities which optimize costs. This DSS helps address the logistical issues of determining the in-bound supply chain network to transport biomass to coal plants.

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11668/19628

Recommended Citation

Bowen, William David, "A Decision Support System to Design the In-Bound Supply Chain for Biomass Co-Fire in Power Plants" (2013). Theses and Dissertations. 100.
https://scholarsjunction.msstate.edu/td/100