Wood biomass supply model for bioenergy production in northwestern Ontario

Wood biomass procurement for bioenergy production in an economic and sustainable way is a complex problem as it involves conflicting objectives of minimizing cost and distance of procurement, and maximizing quality of biomass, which is measured in terms of its moisture content. The multi-objective optimization problem is solved through pre-emptive goal programming approach using LINGO 11 software, where the cost of procurement is given the first priority, distance of procurement the second priority, and quality of biomass the third priority. The use of the model is demonstrated using a realistic example for bioenergy production for the recently established Abitibi-Bowater Inc. power plant at Fort Frances in northwestern Ontario, Canada, which has a weekly demand of 13,000 green tonnes for 50 Megawatt power production. The model selects quantity of biomass to be procured from each of the three zones ranging from 0–50 km, 50–70 km, and 70–100 km to meet the weekly demand.