A Nation-wide Planning of Agro-residue Utility for Bioethanol Production and Power Generation in Ecuador

In order to diminish carbon-rich based energy, biomass is known to be an abundant and potentially carbon-neutral renewable resource for energy production, furthermore it is more technically feasible than many other alternatives. This paper presents a nation-wide planning of agro-residue utility for bioethanol production and power generation in Ecuador. The study is based on a previous work of optimization of plant allocation for bioethanol production from lignocellulosic feedstock. This time, the aim is to conduct a CO2 and energy assessment, and two scenarios were set to produce the necessary supply of E15 and bio-electricity to be replaced in the country by optimizing feedstock selection and energy provision from plants to provinces. The first experiment is performed under no-restriction and is to maximize total CO2 reduction. The second experiment is described as to enlarge CO2 reduction as one of the restrictions but also to maximize energy supply according to energy sufficiency levels. Results conclude that selecting high efficiency and easy to derive feedstock and matching demand and supply distribution are the key measures in planning nation-wide biomass energy utility.