TECHNO-ECONOMIC OPTIMISATION TO ENHANCE THE SUSTAINABILITY OF AGRO-INDUSTRIAL CLUSTERS: A FOCUS ON LIVESTOCK SYSTEMS

Abstract

The increasing global population and the climatic changes challenged food production systems and risks food security. The increased food requirements and resource depletion force to increase production systems' resource efficiency. This study focuses on the techno-economic analysis of an agro-industrial cluster involving multiple entities with beef production at its core. The analysis is based on improving the utilisation of resources, availability of resources, costs of end products and their demands. Resource efficiency in a production network can be enhanced by optimising single entities or analysing a holistic response after considering cooperation among entities for increased use of low-value materials. Considering resource efficiency in single entities case, a sliding time-window-based multiperiod beef production approach is proposed. The approach employs mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) with frame scores and variable growth periods. The findings over a 7-month time horizon with a herd size of 2000 animals indicate a reduction in forage needs by approximately 126.90 kips, emissions by approximately 2560 kg, and a significant increase in live animal weight gain by approximately 10,276 lbs. The optimised results are later used to evaluate the holistic response regarding materials status and cost variations for valuable insights to operators and environmental organisations. The resource efficiency in multiple entities case is considered in terms of the utilization of various by-products to reduce environmental impact by adopting industrial clusters integrated with the Circular Economy (CE) concept. However, the increased use of by-products in the cooperative network can compromise profitability for some entities, resulting in economic challenges in the interlinked system. To address this, an agent-based approach that determines sustainable and flexible utilization options for low-value materials is proposed to demonstrate the potential cost variations. It enables to highlight potential beneficiaries or losers in financial terms due to symbiotic relationships, which can help evaluate the required external financial assistance level as compensation in a specific cluster design to achieve sustainability objectives. The findings can also help in financial and governance aspects, such as incentivizing investors, managing targeted subsidies, and imposing taxes to control and target the utilisation of specific materials/methods for sustainable development in the agricultural sector. Furthermore, the approach can be applied to different industrial contexts and help design more efficient, effective, and sustainable industrial clusters. Additionally, the study reveals that optimising a single entity can impact the costs and fill rate of other products and material utilization/generation.

Date of Award	2023
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	HBKU College of Science and Engineering