The undersupplies of feedstock and high costs have hindered the development of China’s biomass power generation. In this paper, the noncooperative game, farmer−broker cooperative game, and broker−biomass power plant cooperative game, under government incentives, are constructed and analyzed. The optimal decision strategies and profits for these three cases are obtained, while numerical examples and sensitivity analysis are conducted, aiming at illustrating some specific features of the games. It is shown that the government plays a critical role in the development of utilizing agribiomass for power generation and can work better in cooperative games. In addition, both agribiomass supply quantity and profits of supply chain members are higher in cooperative than in noncooperative game. Meanwhile, farmers can get the maximum profit in the broker−biomass power plant cooperative game, while biomass power plant makes the maximum profit in the farmer−broker cooperative game. To guide the hea... [more]

Cold-chain products are time-sensitive and perishable and pose the risk of failure if they are transported to a distant location. Thus, there is a need to analyze their quality during distribution so that the customers may receive optimal-quality products. To address this issue, this study integrates inspection strategies with the sustainable distribution system of multi-quality multiple-cold-chain products. A bi-objective model of cost and emission is proposed under the constraints of heterogeneous vehicle and time window. Furthermore, this study intends to address the following questions: which inspection strategy helps to ensure the potency of delivered products, and what is the impact of quality differentiation on the value of objective functions? A set of meta-heuristics is used for implementing the model using a rich panel of experiments. The results reveal that the quality conditions of different products impact the solutions of cost and emissions. Moreover, the conformity strat... [more]

The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of inventory turnover on the profitability level of Saudi manufacturers. The data comprises 78 manufacturers listed on the Saudi Stock Exchange and was used to test the research hypothesis. The related data over the 2017−2021 period were collected from annual reports and the Datastream database. After running a multiple regression analysis with a fixed effects model, findings showed that the higher the inventory turnover ratio, the higher the cost which could be suppressed, and the greater the profitability of a company. The outcomes of this study have significant implications for managerial accounting issues in the setting of Saudi Arabia. Further, they provide policy recommendations to decision makers and assist managers in enhancing sustainability in the manufacturing sector. This research is the first to investigate this relationship including the impact of COVID-19 among Saudi companies in several industries, thus filling a gap in... [more]

The biomass industry is growing due to the current search for greener and more sustainable alternatives to fossil energy sources. However, this industry, due to its singularity, presents several challenges and disadvantages related to the transportation of raw materials, with the large volumes that are usually involved. This project aimed to address this internal logistics situation in torrefied biomass pellets production with two different biomass storage parks, located in Portugal. The main park receives raw material coming directly from the source and stores it in large amounts as a backup and strategic storage park. The second park, with smaller dimensions, precedes the production unit and must be stocked daily. Therefore, a fleet of transport units with self-unloading cranes is required to help to unload the biomass at the main park and transport the raw material from this park to the one preceding the production unit. Thus, the main goal was to determine the dimensions of the fle... [more]

Sweden has committed to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to net-zero by 2045. Around 20% of Sweden’s annual CO2 emissions arise from manufacturing, transporting, and processing of construction materials for construction and refurbishment of buildings and infrastructure. In this study, material and energy flows for building and transport infrastructure construction is outlined, together with a roadmap detailing how the flows change depending on different technical and strategical choices. By matching short-term and long-term goals with specific technology solutions, these pathways make it possible to identify key decision points and potential synergies, competing goals, and lock-in effects. The results show that it is possible to reduce CO2 emissions associated with construction of buildings and transport infrastructure by 50% to 2030 applying already available measures, and reach close to zero emissions by 2045, while indicating that strategic choices with respect to process tec... [more]

The study presented in the paper is an innovative research approach. It is the result of linking the concept of supply chain management and global changes, which at present are clearly visible on a global scale, with research methodology based on the systematic literature review, knowledge visualization and an expert method that makes use of knowledge, experience and opinions of experts in a given field. This research is about a Delphi study that was conducted in the context of the development of trends of supply chain and global changes, based on the findings of a systematic literature review. The qualitative study was conducted with 30 Delphi experts in the field of the supply chain. This progressive approach to the research topic allowed us to discover key global trends and modern supply chain development directions in the context of global changes, as well as their assessment and projection of the developmental potential of these trends.

Recently, the interest around the Blockchain concept has grown faster and, as a consequence, several studies about the possibility of exploiting such technology in different application domains have been conducted. Most of these studies highlighted the benefits that the use of the blockchain could bring in those contexts where integrity and authenticity of the data are important, e.g., for reasons linked to regulations about consumers’ healthcare. In such cases, it would be important to collect data, coming in real-time through sensors, and then store them in the blockchain, so that they can become immutable and tamper-proof. In this paper, the design and development of a software framework that allows Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices to interact directly with an Ethereum-based blockchain are reported. The proposed solution represents an alternative way for integrating a wide category of IoT devices without relying on a centralized intermediary and third-party services. The main applic... [more]

EU is moving towards a climate neutrality goal in 2050 with heating of buildings posing a major challenge. This paper provides a deep understanding of the historical development, path dependency and current status of the EU-28 residential heat sectors to inform strategy and policy makers and to open up this black box. Data is combined for buildings, installed technologies, fuel consumption and energy supply for Member States from 1990 to 2015, to analyse the importance of large-scale infrastructures and supply chains. Primary energy supply for residential heating is mainly based on fossil fuels; 70% in 2015 with 69% imported. The building level technologies are dominated by non-condensing boilers and stoves. Primary and final energy consumption decreased in spite of an increase in the total occupied living area in most countries. Path-dependency effects are found in the residential heat supply in EU. The analysis show path-dependent trajectories are present in most Member States, espec... [more]

Bioenergy is one of the alternatives to secure energy demand, despite increasing debate on the sustainability of using bioenergy as a renewable source. As the source is disseminated over a large area and affected by seasonality, the potential benefit is highly dependent on other cost and benefit trade-offs along the supply chain. This review paper aims to assess operational management research methods used in biofuel supply chain planning, including both upstream production and international downstream trading. There have been considerable operational management studies done on upstream processes in biofuel production based on different strategic and tactical decision making of a single or multiple feedstocks, considering economic and environmental factor. However, the environmental consideration is often limited to carbon emission where the other environmental impact such as land-use change, biodiversity loss, irrigation and fertilisation are often being overlooked. Biofuel supply cha... [more]

Future European strategies to reduce dependence on foreign markets for energy supply and energy production will rely on the further exploitation of the primary sector. Lignocellulosic feedstock for bioenergy production is a valuable candidate, and dedicated crops such as giant reed (Arundo donax L.), miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus), reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea L.), and switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) have been proven to be suitable for extensive cultivation on marginal lands. The present review aimed at providing a comprehensive picture of the mechanical strategies available for harvesting giant reed, miscanthus, reed canary grass, and switchgrass that are suitable for the possible upscaling of their supply chain. Since harvesting is the most impactful phase of a lignocellulosic supply chain in dedicated crops, the associated performance and costs were taken into account in order to provide concrete observations and suggestions for future implementation. The findings... [more]

Global interest in LNG products and supply chains is growing, and demand continues to rise. As a clean energy source, LNG can nevertheless emit air pollutants, albeit at a lower level than transitional energy sources. An LNG plant capable of producing up to 126 MMTA was successfully developed and simulated in this study. A hybrid life cycle assessment model was developed to examine the social and human health impacts of the LNG supply chain’s environmental air emission formation. The Multiregional Input−Output (MRIO) database, the Aspen HYSYS model, and the LNG Maritime Transportation Emission Quantification Tool are the key sources of information for this extensive novel study. We began our research by grouping environmental emissions sources according to the participation of each stage in the supply chain. The MDEA Sweetening plant, LNG loading (export terminal), and LNG transportation stages were discovered to have the maximum air emissions. The midpoint air emissions data estimated... [more]

Much research has already been dedicated to the impact of the supply chain, but less attention has been paid to the potential of supplier development (SD) processes in strengthening enterprises’ sustainability performance. This study aimed to indicate how the approach to socially responsible supplier development has changed over the years (2010−2019) in the automotive sector considering the types of practices and the applied areas of social responsibility. The study was based on original and empirical content analysis research of sustainability reports of car producers. To identify changes in the approach to socially responsible supplier development (SRSD) practices, 17 criteria were identified within direct as well as indirect types of supplier development practices. Considering areas of social responsibility, we applied the core subjects of social responsibility based on the ISO 26000 standard. The findings revealed that during the analyzed period, there has been a recursive use of b... [more]

In modern systems, there is a tendency to model issues more accurately with low computational cost and considering multiscale decision-making which increases the complexity of the optimization. Therefore, it is necessary to develop tools to cope with these new challenges. Supply chain management of enterprise-wide operations usually involves three decision levels: strategic, tactical, and operational. These decision levels depend on each other involving different time scales. Accordingly, their integration usually leads to multiscale models that are computationally intractable. In this work, the aim is to develop novel clustering methods with multiple attributes to tackle the integrated problem. As a result, a clustering structure is proposed in the form of a mixed integer non-linear program (MINLP) later converted into a mixed integer linear program (MILP) for clustering shape-based time series data with multiple attributes through a multi-objective optimization approach (since differ... [more]

Hydrogen and its energy carriers, such as liquid hydrogen (LH2), methylcyclohexane (MCH), and ammonia (NH3), are essential components of low-carbon energy systems. To utilize hydrogen energy, the complete environmental merits of its supply chain should be evaluated. To understand the expected environmental benefit under the uncertainty of hydrogen technology development, we conducted life-cycle inventory analysis and calculated CO2 emissions and their uncertainties attributed to the entire supply chain of hydrogen and NH3 power generation (co-firing and mono-firing) in Japan. Hydrogen was assumed to be produced from overseas renewable energy sources with LH2/MCH as the carrier, and NH3 from natural gas or renewable energy sources. The Japanese life-cycle inventory database was used to calculate emissions. Monte Carlo simulations were performed to evaluate emission uncertainty and mitigation factors using hydrogen energy. For LH2, CO2 emission uncertainty during hydrogen liquefaction ca... [more]

This article aims to describe the current state of research on plastic waste management as a circular economy practice at the end of the supply chain. The methodological strategy chosen was a systematic literature review. The articles selected from the Web of Science and Scopus databases were screened, and the research corpus consisted of 201 articles published in journals between 2014 and 2021. The results present 13 study categories, showing topics such as pyrolysis, business models, Industry 4.0, and energy generation. The insertion of Industry 4.0 technologies is still in its initial stages, comprising mainly the generation of inputs to reuse waste for 3D printers’ materials. Regarding energy generation, the insertion of processes such as pyrolysis for fuel generation stands out. The proposed discussion in this article suggests a circular ecosystem in which wastes follow a reuse flow according to their properties; incineration can be an option depending on the stage and benefits ge... [more]

The International Maritime Organisation (IMO) calls for the maritime industry to restrict its CO2 emissions by −40% (IMO2030) and −70% (IMO2050). This paper answered the following research question: “Which technical, economic and emissions-related conditions predominantly determine the feasibility of a conceptual supply chain of liquid CO2 that is captured from the exhaust gases of LNG powered offshore vessels?” The captured CO2 is transported to land where it is utilized by a final customer. The study followed a systems engineering approach. Problem definition was followed by a requirements analysis (technology, emissions, economy and operations), design with scenarios and a case study with realistic vessel deployment, modeling and evaluation. All designs have technical uncertainties and financial risks, but the sale of captured CO2 could be a crucial advantage of the proposed concept over other concepts. The main conclusion is that emission and financial targets (payback time) can be... [more]

The need to accelerate the innovation and application of the supply chain has been suggested by the State Council of China. To solve the problem of data isolation caused by privacy protection in the power material supply chain, a data traceability and sharing mechanism based on blockchain is designed in this paper. Firstly, the existing problems of the power material supply chain are introduced, and the applicability of blockchain in the power material supply chain in view of these problems is analyzed. Secondly, blockchain-based power material supply deployment and application structures are proposed. Then, considering the problem of data isolation in the material inspection and distribution links between suppliers and the material company, a data traceability mechanism based on blockchain is designed to provide evidence for the data authenticity and a proxy re-encryption method is used to ensure security and privacy in data sharing. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed data tra... [more]

Over the years, the innovation and development of electrical and electronic equipment have been on a steep rise. Millions of electronics are being sold or discarded every year in the form of waste. Sustainable IT (Green IT or Circular Computing) is one of the most environment-friendly methods of reusing discarded or waste user electronics. The remanufacturing of a computer refers to the disassembly, repair, and upgrade of the original computer to give it a new life, along with a warranty that is as good as a new product. The goal of this work includes studying and assessing the total environmental impact of refurbishing a computer using life cycle assessment (LCA) integrated with discrete event simulation (DES), to compare two business models: (1) a case of centralized remanufacturing where the plants are in the Middle East, which is the hub for receiving waste electronics and distributing remanufactured goods; (2) a case of decentralized remanufacturing where the plants are situated i... [more]

Castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) is a promising industrial crop suitable for cultivation in marginal conditions in the Mediterranean area, but the mechanical harvesting of the seeds is still usually performed manually. In this manuscript, the authors present a preliminary test to assess the effectiveness of equipping a combine harvester with a sunflower header to mechanically harvest castor beans. Machinery performance, seed loss from impact (ISL) and cleaning systems (CSL), and seed cleaning were evaluated and compared with the results obtained from the same combine harvester equipped with a cereal header. According to the results, no statistically significant difference in CSL was found. Values ranged from 162. 41 kg dry matter (DM) ha−1 in the cereal header to 145.56 kg DM ha−1 in the sunflower header, corresponding, respectively, to 8% w/w and 7% w/w of the potential seed yield (PSY). Using the sunflower header significantly lowered ISL (158.16 kg DM ha−1, i.e., 8% w/w of PSY) in... [more]

When designing biomass-to-biofuel supply chains, the biomass uncertainty, seasonality and geographical dispersion that affect economic viability need to be considered. This work presents a novel methodology that can optimize the design of biofuel supply chains by adopting a decentralized network structure consisting of a mix of fixed and mobile processing facilities. The model considers a variable biomass yield profile and the mobile fast pyrolysis technology. The mixed-integer linear programming model developed identifies the optimal biofuel production and biomass harvesting schedule schemes under the objective of profit maximization. It was applied in the case study of marginal lands in Scotland, which are assumed to be planted with Miscanthus. The trade-offs observed between economies of scale against the transportation costs, the effect of the relocation costs and the contribution of storage capacity were investigated. The results showed that, in most cases, harvesting is most conc... [more]

Indonesia is currently undergoing the energy transition from heavily fossil fuel-dependent energy to cleaner sources of energy in order to achieve its net-zero emissions by 2060. In addition to reducing fossil fuel dependency, as one of the countries with the most geothermal reserves, the optimization of geothermal energy in Indonesia could be key to facilitating the energy transition. The objective of this paper is to elaborate on the transition process, which incorporates the destabilization of fossil fuel and the growth of geothermal energy, by analyzing the impact of both exogenous and endogenous factors on the supply chain structures of both sectors. This study employs workshop involving geothermal stakeholders in Indonesia, combined with the application of the Multi-Level Perspective (MLP) framework as the theoretical lens. The study found that energy demand, environmental awareness, energy regulations, energy supply chain, and geothermal potential breakthroughs are important asp... [more]

The supply chain strategy has a significant impact on energy consumption. This strategy determines the location of individual links in the chain (suppliers, producers, distributors), which affects the costs of logistics processes, including, in particular, transport processes. Currently, due to the rapid increase in fuel prices, the issue of energy consumption in the supply chains is becoming increasingly important. The aim of the article is to present the impact of the increase in fuel and energy costs on the costs of logistics processes and, as a result, on the profitability of different supply chain strategies. The profitability of changing from global to local sources of supply as a result of rising energy prices was especially taken into account. The article presents the results of interviews from enterprises carried out by the authors and the results of simulations carried out using a model developed by the authors. The need to conduct such research resulted from the existing res... [more]

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) has an ambitious plan to install 40 GW of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity via large scale projects (majority of which are >100 MW) across the country by 2030. These projects are required to achieve a threshold percentage of the overall project cost as in country expenditure, termed “local content”. This threshold will rise to 40−45% by 2028, ensuring solar projects do not simply become investment opportunities for overseas companies but deliver jobs and skills development within the Kingdom. Local content is assessed across all aspects of a PV system—module, inverter, structure, etc. Typically, the PV module cost can range between ~34% to ~44% of the overall system cost. However, 56% of this module cost represents the manufacture of the solar cells. To maximise local content, the opportunity for KSA lies in module fabrication of imported solar cells. This study assesses the capacity readiness of the KSA to meet this opportunity in relation to its 2030... [more]

The growing environmental problems associated with the dumping of large amounts of textile waste and the demand for circular products are prompting textile waste recycling enterprises to develop circular business models (CBMs). This implies a radical change in the way some enterprises operate to obtain growth. Considering the importance of the drivers of and barriers for the adoption and implementation of CBMs in the textile recycling sector, it is claimed that the comprehension of these factors to CBMs is limited and deserves more attention in empirical research. Therefore, our research investigates the antecedents of circular business models in the textile recycling sector by highlighting influencing factors. The aim of the article is to explore the main enhancing and inhibiting factors in the development of circular business models on the example of a large enterprise operating for 30 years in the textile recycling sector. In this study, a case study design of mixed methods, includi... [more]

Due to the impact of globalization, the competition between enterprises has become fierce and led the supply chains of many industries to be reorganized. One of the consequences is that the operation of many small and medium enterprises (SMs) had become very difficult. Hence, many of SMEs in Taiwan have gone bankrupt and some of them have moved to other places where they have lower production costs, in order to survive; this not only hollowed out the industries but also disconnected the supply chains in their mother countries. Because Taiwan’s SMEs are generally poor in innovation, this study explored the implementation of the theory of inventive problem-solving (TRIZ) with alignment of new product development (NPD) and supply chain management (SCM) to strengthen the innovation and productivity of new products, so that SMEs can refer to its use to aid sustainable business operation. We considered an SME in Taiwan as a case to study and investigate the strategies that it employed to ach... [more]