This version is available at https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/44932/ Strathprints is designed to allow users to access the research output of the University of Strathclyde. Unless otherwise explicitly stated on the manuscript, Copyright © and Moral Rights for the papers on this site are retained by the individual authors and/or other copyright owners. Please check the manuscript for details of any other licences that may have been applied. You may not engage in further distribution of the material for any profitmaking activities or any commercial gain. You may freely distribute both the url (https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk/) and the content of this paper for research or private study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge. Any correspondence concerning this service should be sent to the Strathprints administrator: strathprints@strath.ac.uk The Strathprints institutional repository (https://strathprints.strath.ac.uk) is a digital archive of University of Strathclyde research outputs. It has been developed to disseminate open access research outputs, expose data about those outputs, and enable the management and persistent access to Strathclyde's intellectual output. In this paper, a decision support system (DSS) for multi-biomass energy conversion applications is presented. The system in question aims at supporting an investor by thoroughly assessing an investment in locally existing multi-biomass exploitation for tri-generation applications (electricity, heating and cooling), in a given area. The approach followed combines use of holistic modelling of the system, including the multi-biomass supply chain, the energy conversion facility and the district heating and cooling network, with optimization of the major investment-related variables to maximize the financial yield of the investment. The consideration of multi-biomass supply chain presents significant potential for cost reduction, by allowing spreading of capital costs and reducing warehousing requirements, especially when seasonal biomass types are concerned. The investment variables concern the location of the bioenergy exploitation facility and its sizing, as well as the types of biomass to be procured, the respective quantities and the maximum collection distance for each type. A hybrid optimization method is employed to overcome the inherent limitations of every single method. The system is demanddriven, meaning that its primary aim is to fully satisfy the energy demand of the customers. Therefore, the model is a practical tool in the hands of an investor to assess and optimize in financial terms an investment aiming at covering real energy demand. Optimization is performed taking into account various technical, regulatory, social and logical constraints. The model characteristics and advantages are highlighted through a case study applied to a municipality of Thessaly, Greece.
Reference REF proposed an optimization method for multi-biomass energy conversion applications dealing with various technical, regulatory, social and logical constraints.
An optimization model for multi-biomass tri-generation energy supply
Biomass & Bioenergy
Chemistry