Optimal planning for the supply chain of biofuels for aviation in Mexico

There are great challenges to replace fossil fuels by biofuels, including the development of efficient technologies and adequate strategic planning. For the manufacture of biofuels at the industrial scale, there is a need to optimize the overall associated supply chain. Among biofuels, the global market for the aviation biofuel has increased drastically, mainly due to the forecasted growth of the aviation sector. Nevertheless, the supply chain for the aviation biofuel has specific characteristics, which are different from the case of bioethanol and biodiesel. Therefore, this paper presents a general optimization approach for optimizing the supply chain of aviation biofuels. A case study is presented accounting for the projection of the Mexican government for implementing the use of aviation biofuel in the airport network. The application of the proposed approach generates very interesting solutions, which are grouped in a Pareto front; from these results, it can be highlighted that the demand for aviation biofuel in the Mexican market can be satisfied with a gross economic benefit of M US$ 1681 per year, and savings of 93% of carbon dioxide emissions. The generated information can contribute to the establishment of the sustainable supply chain for aviation biofuels in Mexico.