Contact Name: Prof. Enrico Malaguti
Abstract
We consider the problem of gathering biomass residues after forest harvesting. Forest residues, like branches, tree stumps, and others, are burned to generate electrical power. After harvesting, the residues are scattered all over the field and different machines are used to pile them up before crushing and transportation to the power generation plants. Decisions to be taken include where to pile up the residues, with which equipment, and also how to route the crushing machine in order to visit each pile. We propose a mixed integer programming model in order to decide the assignment of the equipment, which pile are opened and the route of the crushing machine at minimum cost. Results on a real case are presented.