Optimization of energy cycle under a sustainable supply chain management

Abstract

The energy supply chain research is very much essential as the amount of non-renewable or traditional energy is fixed and finite. In contrast, the energy demand is high and continuously increasing. An energy supply chain model is studied with a waste-supplier and an energy-supplier. The waste-supplier collects wastes and transfers them to the energy-supplier for energy conversion. This energy chain is managed among players and studied how the energy can be distributed to consumers such that no shortage of energy occurs. The model is formulated on the different waste and energy cycles. The supply chain’s minimum total cost is acquired using the optimum cycle length of the energy cycle. The model is solved with a classical optimization method. The closed-form solution is obtained with the global minimum cost. The numerical assessment is investigated to prove the validity of the proposed study. Through the numerical findings and sensitivity exploration, several managerial insights are provided. The numerical investigation obtains that the recommended strategy can provide a non-shortage benefit of energy allotment. The total cost can be saved up to 93.82% for the renewable energy conversion with the same energy and waste cycle with no discarded wastes. For different energy and waste cycle with no discarded wastes, the total cost can be reduced by 21.83%.