Optimal production scheduling for energy efficiency improvement in biofuel feedstock preprocessing considering work-in-process particle separation

•A novel method to schedule production in biofuel feedstock preprocessing process.•Systems modeling approach is used.•Capable of optimize preprocessing to reduce energy waste and improve energy efficiency.•A numerical case is used to illustrate the effectiveness of the method.•Energy consumption per unit production can be significantly reduced.

Biofuel is considered a promising alternative to traditional liquid transportation fuels. The large-scale substitution of biofuel can greatly enhance global energy security and mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. One major concern of the broad adoption of biofuel is the intensive energy consumption in biofuel manufacturing. This paper focuses on the energy efficiency improvement of biofuel feedstock preprocessing, a major process of cellulosic biofuel manufacturing. An improved scheme of the feedstock preprocessing considering work-in-process particle separation is introduced to reduce energy waste and improve energy efficiency. A scheduling model based on the improved scheme is also developed to identify an optimal production schedule that can minimize the energy consumption of the feedstock preprocessing under production target constraint. A numerical case study is used to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed method. The research outcome is expected to improve the energy efficiency and enhance the environmental sustainability of biomass feedstock preprocessing.