Design of a system to support policy formulation for sustainable biofuel production

<p>The increased demand for biofuels is expected to put additional strain on the available agricultural resources while at the same time causing environmental degradation. Hence, new energy policies need to be formulated and implemented in order to meet global energy needs while reducing the i...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Singh, M
Other Authors: Darton, R
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: 2010
Subjects:
_version_ 1797098424844156928
author Singh, M
author2 Darton, R
author_facet Darton, R
Singh, M
author_sort Singh, M
collection OXFORD
description <p>The increased demand for biofuels is expected to put additional strain on the available agricultural resources while at the same time causing environmental degradation. Hence, new energy policies need to be formulated and implemented in order to meet global energy needs while reducing the impact of biofuels farming and production.</p><p>This research focuses on proving a decision support system which can aid the formulation of policies for the sustainable biofuel production. The system seeks to address policy formulation that requires reconciliation of the qualitative aspects of decision making (such as stakeholder’s viewpoints) with quantitative data, which often may be imprecise. To allow this, based on: Fuzzy logic and Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) in the form of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Using these concepts, three software functionalities, “Options vs. Fuzzy Criteria Matrix”, “Analytical Hierarchy Process” and “Fuzzy AHP” were developed. These were added within the framework of pre-existing base software, Compendium (developed by the Open University, UK).</p><p>A number of case study based models have been investigated using the software. These models made use of data from the Philippines and India in order to pinpoint suitable land and crop options for these countries. The models based on AHP and Fuzzy AHP were very successful in identifying suitable crop options for India by capturing both the stakeholder viewpoints and quantitative data. The software functionalities are very effective in scenario planning and selection of policies that would be beneficial in achieving a desired future scenario. The models further revealed that the newly developed software correctly identified many of the important issues in a consistent manner.</p>
first_indexed 2024-03-07T05:09:21Z
format Thesis
id oxford-uuid:db054d43-6359-45cd-af82-a71abd2b288b
institution University of Oxford
language English
last_indexed 2024-03-07T05:09:21Z
publishDate 2010
record_format dspace
spelling oxford-uuid:db054d43-6359-45cd-af82-a71abd2b288b2022-03-27T09:07:28ZDesign of a system to support policy formulation for sustainable biofuel productionThesishttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_bdccuuid:db054d43-6359-45cd-af82-a71abd2b288bMathematical modeling (engineering)Engineering & allied sciencesEnglishOxford University Research Archive - Valet2010Singh, MDarton, R<p>The increased demand for biofuels is expected to put additional strain on the available agricultural resources while at the same time causing environmental degradation. Hence, new energy policies need to be formulated and implemented in order to meet global energy needs while reducing the impact of biofuels farming and production.</p><p>This research focuses on proving a decision support system which can aid the formulation of policies for the sustainable biofuel production. The system seeks to address policy formulation that requires reconciliation of the qualitative aspects of decision making (such as stakeholder’s viewpoints) with quantitative data, which often may be imprecise. To allow this, based on: Fuzzy logic and Multi Criteria Decision Making (MCDM) in the form of Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). Using these concepts, three software functionalities, “Options vs. Fuzzy Criteria Matrix”, “Analytical Hierarchy Process” and “Fuzzy AHP” were developed. These were added within the framework of pre-existing base software, Compendium (developed by the Open University, UK).</p><p>A number of case study based models have been investigated using the software. These models made use of data from the Philippines and India in order to pinpoint suitable land and crop options for these countries. The models based on AHP and Fuzzy AHP were very successful in identifying suitable crop options for India by capturing both the stakeholder viewpoints and quantitative data. The software functionalities are very effective in scenario planning and selection of policies that would be beneficial in achieving a desired future scenario. The models further revealed that the newly developed software correctly identified many of the important issues in a consistent manner.</p>
spellingShingle Mathematical modeling (engineering)
Engineering & allied sciences
Singh, M
Design of a system to support policy formulation for sustainable biofuel production
title Design of a system to support policy formulation for sustainable biofuel production
title_full Design of a system to support policy formulation for sustainable biofuel production
title_fullStr Design of a system to support policy formulation for sustainable biofuel production
title_full_unstemmed Design of a system to support policy formulation for sustainable biofuel production
title_short Design of a system to support policy formulation for sustainable biofuel production
title_sort design of a system to support policy formulation for sustainable biofuel production
topic Mathematical modeling (engineering)
Engineering & allied sciences
work_keys_str_mv AT singhm designofasystemtosupportpolicyformulationforsustainablebiofuelproduction