Abstract
Producing methane from biomass feedstock by using anaerobic digestion method is a way of providing a renewable source of energy. When a seasonal crop is used as a feedstock in a batch digestion method, storing of the biomass is necessary. The goal of this research is to develop an analytical framework for scheduling a single feedstock when considering the storage decay rate, random cycle lengths between harvest, and random arrival quantities at harvest times. The objective is to maximize average production per unit time over an infinite planning horizon. The solution procedure is to use Markov renewal processes and dynamic programming. This method is extended to the two-feedstock scheduling problem where the primary feedstock arrives according to a renewal process and the secondary feedstock is continuously available.
Chung, Shu-Hsing (1986). The analysis of scheduling biomass for methane conversion with stochastic considerations. Texas A&M University. Texas A&M University. Libraries. Available electronically from
https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /DISSERTATIONS -21931.