Solving a multi-stage multi-objective location problem (MMLP): a case study in a bagasse ethanol plant in northeastern Thailand (Thai)

Abstract

The aim of this study was to find out locations for ethanol plants which utilize bagasse from the sugar industries in northeastern Thailand as raw material. Three objectives were determined in this study including economic, environmental and social objectives. This study was delineated as a multi-stage location problem. Firstly, bagasse was delivered from a sugar mill to the ethanol plant, then ethanol was transported to a blending centre and mixed to be gasohol (E10) for vehicles. From the computational results, the weighting factor in each objective function significantly affects both the number of opened ethanol plants and objective value. Moreover, the study results show that Kumpawapee sugar mill at Udonthani was a potential ethanol plant due to its 93.33% opening rate, while changing weight factors in 15 cases.