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Key issues of the upstream segment of biofuels supply chain: a qualitative analysis

  • Original Paper
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Logistics Research

Abstract

The role that liquid biofuels will play in future energy systems will depend on biomass-to-energy supply chain to overcome the barriers that may hinder the development and international trade, as well as a sustainable and efficient production of biomass resources. This research paper is based on an extensive literature review, and its purpose is to identify and to investigate the variables that, throughout the agricultural biomass-to-energy supply chain, give rise to the barriers that are common to most varieties of biomass. For achieving it and to assess the effects of referred barriers were used techniques of the Soft Systems methodology. Although biomass-to-energy supply chains are diverse in terms of pattern and operations, the characteristic of the barriers involved in the research provides a broad insight into the issues and challenges to define consistent strategies and interventions for overcoming them. So, this review might be useful for further research related to agricultural biomass-to-energy supply chain optimization that is needed.

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Acknowledgments

This project was conducted with funding from Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia, (FCT), Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Ensino Superior, Portugal, and supported by Logistics Systems Dynamics Group, Cardiff University, United Kingdom.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Administração e Políticas Públicas, Instituto Superior de Ciências Sociais e Políticas, Universidade Técnica de Lisboa, Rua Plácido de Abreu, 6, 2º Esq, Miraflores, Algés, 1495-152, Lisbon, Portugal

    Maria de Lourdes Bravo

  2. Logistics Systems Dynamics Group, Cardiff University, Cardiff, UK

    Mohamed M. Naim & Andrew Potter

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  1. Maria de Lourdes Bravo
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  2. Mohamed M. Naim
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Correspondence to Maria de Lourdes Bravo.

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Bravo, M.L., Naim, M.M. & Potter, A. Key issues of the upstream segment of biofuels supply chain: a qualitative analysis. Logist. Res. 5, 21–31 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12159-012-0077-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12159-012-0077-x

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