Biofuels continue to gain attention around the world as alternative energy sources. We’ll look at the use of Lean and Six Sigma applications in their production and applications from Germany, Brazil, and USA: Arizona. We’ll finish with a video of how biodiesel is made.
Lean Six Sigma and Biogas Production: Germany
In a paper titled “Analysis Phase of Lean Six Sigma Methodology with Scaled-Down Laboratory Experiments for an Industrial-Scale Biogas Plant” authors Samet Cinar and others discuss the feasibility of applying Lean Six Sigma in biogas technology through experiments in a scaled-down laboratory.
The LSS analysis phase was conducted in a scaled-down environment through detailed laboratory experiments. Results showed not only the feasibility of LSS application in biogas technology, but also some useful findings such as possible root causes for low production, such as impurities, waiting time, and existing pre-treatment methods for the defined problem.
You can access the paper here.
Having established feasibility in the first paper, the authors now apply Lean Six Sigma in a full scale biogas plant.
In a paper titled “Operational Excellence in a Biogas Plant through Integration of Lean Six Sigma Methodology” authors Samet Cinar and other discuss the use of Lean Six Sigma to achieve process optimization in an industrial scale biogas plant.
You can read the paper here.
Using Six Sigma to Control the Variability in Biofuel Packaging: Brazil
In a case study titled “Control of the variability of the biofuel packaging process through the Six Sigma methodology: a case study” authors Walther Azzolini, Rafael Francisco Campos Pianno, and Jorge Alberto Achcar discuss their work on the control of variability in biodiesel packaging through the application of Six Sigma DMAIC methodology.
Copy and paste the following link into your browser to read the case study.
[Required citation information: October 2020, Independent Journal of Management & Production 11(6):2020, DOI:10.14807/ijmp.v11i6.1153, License CC BY-NC-SA 4.0]
Six Sigma and Ethanol Production: Arizona
In an article titled “Six Sigma Provides Analytical Tool for Ethanol Producers” authors James Frugé and Raul Gamboa discuss the application of Six Sigma DMAIC to ethanol production.
“Yield was improved by 6 percent while the standard deviation was reduced by 52 percent. For a 50 MMgy plant, this yield improvement would result in over $7.5 million savings at a corn cost of $7 per bushel.”
You can read the article here.
See How Biodiesel is Produced
Take a biodiesel plant tour in this video from the Renewal Energy Group.
You can watch the video here.
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