Uncertainty Analysis in Raw Material and Utility Cost of Biorefinery Synthesis and Design

Abstract This study presents the impact of uncertain data on the solution obtained by using a superstructure-based optimization approach in synthesis and design of biorefinery processing networks. In the early stages of biorefinery design, many of the data required for the formulation of the design problem are characterized by considerable uncertainty. These uncertainties might have significant impact on the results of the design problem, and therefore need to be carefully evaluated and managed, in order to generate candidates for robust design. In this contribution, we study the effect of data uncertainty (raw material price and utility cost) on the design of a biorefinery process network.