Behrang Mansoornejad

Integrating product portfolio design and supply chain design for the forest biorefinery

Abstract Supply chain (SC) design involves making strategic long-term decisions for a company, e.g. number, location and capacity of facilities, production rates, flow of material between SC nodes, as well as choosing suppliers and markets. The forest biorefinery is emerging as a promising opportunity for improving the business model of forest product companies; however it introduces significant challenges in terms of mitigating technology, economic and financial risks—each of which must be systematically addressed in the SC design. In this regard, product portfolio definition and technology selection are two important decisions that have rarely been considered in a systematic SC evaluation. This paper presents a methodology, in which product/process portfolio design and SC design are linked in order to build a design decision making framework. According to this methodology, design of “manufacturing flexibility” links product/process portfolio design to SC design, through a margins-based SC operating policy. Techno-economic studies along with scenario generation for price and demand changes representing market volatility are employed in the methodology.

Framework for margins-based planning: Forest biorefinery case study

Abstract The biorefinery concept offers a promising solution to transform the struggling forestry industry. Not only will the implementation of new products and processes help to diversify revenues, it will also offer an opportunity to change the manufacturing culture by better managing the flexibility of assets to react to volatile market conditions. In this paper, an integrated supply-chain planning framework is presented. It is based on optimizing a superstructure to help decision makers identify different supply-chain policies to adapt to different market conditions. It integrates revenue management concepts, activity-based cost accounting principles, manufacturing flexibility and supply-chain flexibility in a tactical model to maximize profit in a price-volatile environment. A case study of a newsprint mill implementing a parallel biomass fractionation line producing several biochemicals is used to illustrate this approach. Results and benefits are presented for the traditional pulp and paper business and for the transformed biorefinery in different market scenarios.

Metrics for evaluating the forest biorefinery supply chain performance

Abstract For sustainable decision-making regarding biorefinery strategies, different criteria, i.e. economic, environmental, social, should be considered. However, the economic criteria typically do not consider market volatility, whereas todays market involves price and demand volatilities. Biorefinery strategies must be flexible to be robust to market volatility. Therefore, relevant metrics must be developed to quantify the systems performance against volatility. This paper presents metrics of flexibility and robustness which analyze the performance of the supply chain in a dynamic environment, providing additional information along with economic metrics. In this paper, the link between the two metrics, and how profitability and robustness change with flexibility are discussed. The results reveal that, although profitability does not always increase with more flexibility and there is an optimum level of flexibility, the systems robustness is improved by increasing flexibility. Moreover, a “conditional value-at-risk” parameter is introduced to show what patterns of sale lead to highest profit and robustnestness.

Integrated Lignin-Kraft Pulp Biorefinery for the Production of Lignin and Its Derivatives: Economic Assessment and LCA-Based Environmental Footprint

Recovery of lignin from Kraft black liquor is already at the commercial scale, and the conversion of lignin into high-value products is considered as one of the means for transforming pulp and paper mills into multiproduct biorefineries. However, this has not led to the widespread production of lignin derivatives because the actual techno-economic and environmental impacts of integrating new processes into existing mills are not well known, and have to be determined on a mill-by-mill basis. Furthermore, the technological readiness levels for some production pathways of lignin derivatives still range between 4 and 6, while they should range between 8 and 9, in practical environments. Therefore, to address such technical, economic, and environmental challenges, multi-criteria analysis is introduced in this chapter to provide the reader with a comprehensive assessment of integrated lignin-based biorefinery processes. The applicability of the approach is demonstrated by means of an industrial case study, involving a lignin recovery rate of up to 100 t/day from a softwood Kraft pulping mill that produces about 1000 air-dry-tonnes per day of bleached pulp. The subsequent conversion of recovered lignin into polyurethane foam and carbon fiber is analyzed, and the importance of the phased transformation of the Kraft pulp mill as well as the impact of subsidies on profitability are demonstrated.

Application of Process Systems Engineering (PSE) Tools in Designing the Biorefinery

Abstract Biorefinery is emerging as a possibility for improving the business model of forest products companies, however introduces significant market, technological and financial challenges which must be systematically addressed. For sustainable design decision making, economic, environmental and social criteria should be addressed. Different tools are required to analyze the performance of potential biorefinery strategies from each of these perspectives. Such tools provide relevant criteria to be used by a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) framework. This paper presents a systematic methodology for designing the biorefinery which uses PSE tools, including market analysis, techno-economic study, cost accounting, pinch analysis, life cycle assessment (LCA), supply chain (SC) analysis, and ends with an MCDM framework for identifying promising strategies for a given company. Such methodology aggregates the impacts into sustainability scores and helps evaluate strategies based on an overall performance.

The Role of Supply Chain Analysis in Market-Driven Product Portfolio Selection for the Forest Biorefinery

Abstract The implementation of the forest biorefinery in retrofit to an existing forestry company requires a strategic shift in the core business from a commodity-driven manufacturing-centric culture, to a margins-driven supply chain culture. In order to diversify the set of traditional forest products to include biorefinery products it is critical to define the associated market and competitive strategies as well as new business models. The penetration of existing mature value chains by replacement and/or substitution biorefinery products requires that supply chain strategies be implemented that create and retain value over the longer term, and secure a unique competitive position. As part of the new product portfolio definition, key supply chain criteria must be identified and considered in the value chain assessment. The role of the supply chain in defining the product portfolio definition and in mitigating risks against price volatility is examined in this paper.

Designing Integrated Biorefineries Using Process Systems Engineering Tools

Biorefinery concept is now well established as an attractive production system for effectively converting lignocellulosic biomass. Sustainable design of biorefinery processes requires considering multiple criteria to analyze the performance of biorefinery from different perspectives. The focus of this chapter is on introducing a systematic methodology for designing integrated biorefineries using process systems engineering tools, which include market analysis, techno-economic assessment, cost accounting, energy integration analysis, life-cycle assessment, supply chain analysis, as well as a multi-criteria decision-making framework to put forward the most effective biorefinery strategies that fulfill the needs of the forest industry. The proposed methodology, aggregating the impacts into sustainability scores, is illustrated through a case study consisting of evaluating the potential of implementing black liquor lignin recovery process or fast pyrolysis within a Canadian softwood Kraft pulp mill with an annual pulp production capacity of approximately 330,000 air-dry-tons. These options are focusing on producing one to two types of Phenol Formaldehyde resins based on functional group and/or molecular structure modifications of recovered lignin.

Scenario-Based Strategic Supply Chain Design and Analysis for the Forest Biorefinery

Abstract Supply chain (SC) design involves decisions for the long term, e.g. number, location and capacity of different SC nodes, production rates, flow of material between SC nodes, as well as determining suppliers, markets and partners. The forest biorefinery (FBR) is emerging as a new possibility for improving forestry company business models, however introduces significant technological, economic and financial challenges - which can be systematically addressed in strategic SC design. This paper presents a scenario-based approach to strategic SC design for the FBR, designing the SC based on the impacts of the design on tactical-operational SC activities. Two kinds of scenarios are used; market scenarios representing market volatility and SC network scenarios (alternatives) representing different biorefinery options/strategies. The SC analysis evaluates SC alternatives for the case of different market scenario.