A systemic approach for agile biorefineries

Abstract

Biorefineries is one of the main pathways towards energy transition. However, they are challenged by demand and supply variability. Moreover, the standalone and highly specialized biomass processing system has to face several internal and external constraints. To tackle this unstable ecosystem, it is necessary to provide agility in terms of both physical structure and organization. In this context, the ARBRE project proposes to redesign the biorefinery, at local scale, by introducing a collaborative network of stakeholders and the servitization of the biomass processing steps, and by integrating digital concepts from Industry 4.0. This paper proposes a framework to design agile biorefinery with a systemic approach by modelling the knowledge about the system and its environmental characteristics through a metamodel