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Optimizing sustainable multimodal distribution networks in the context of carbonpricing, with a case study in the Thai sugar industry

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Pupong Pongcharoen, Professor Christian Hicks

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).


Abstract

Transportation is a major cause of energy consumption and emissions which can bereduced by optimizing routings and using alternative modes of transport. This paperrelates to the strategic design of multimodal transportation networks. It presents ageneral model of green vehicle routing problems that supports strategic decisionmakingby identifying optimal solutions and provides data on costs and emissions.Three general linear programming models were developed that optimize multimodaldistribution networks that could be applied in many industries. Model I evaluatescarbon emissions; model II assesses carbon emissions and capacity constraints; andmodel III establishes total costs including transportation, handling, storage, fuel andcarbon costs.Thailand is the third largest world sugar exporter in the world and is piloting carbonpricing, which will affect energy intensive industries, including the sugar industry. Themodels are applied using data obtained from a collaborating company. The researchcontributed to practice by informing managerial decisions relating to the export of sugarfrom the factory. This included evaluating the possible use of a dry port with railconnections, which could reduce transportation and carbon costs by 54.3% andfacilitate the building of another factory to increase exports.


Publication metadata

Author(s): Pongcharoen P, Thanatporn S, Hicks C

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Energy

Year: 2024

Volume: 298

Print publication date: 01/07/2024

Online publication date: 12/04/2024

Acceptance date: 09/04/2024

Date deposited: 09/04/2024

ISSN (print): 0360-5442

ISSN (electronic): 1873-6785

Publisher: Elsevier

URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.energy.2024.131273

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2024.131273

ePrints DOI: 10.57711/gbht-nw34

Data Access Statement: The data is available within the manuscript


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