(569u) Optimal Planning for Ambrox® Production Based on Ageratina Jocotepecana

All industry throughout its development has different types of problems to hold on in the market, most of these problems are tackled by creating new alternatives for carrying out the process making it more efficient, less costly and environmentally friendly. In this context, the perfume industry is dedicated to sell fragrances, and the main problem is how make that this fragrance remains the longest possible time; for many years this problem has been solved using the ambergris as fixative, which is obtained from the cachalot. However, during the last years, the social pressure associated to the killing of this cetaceous has promoted the development of new fixatives in the perfume industry.

Until today, the chemical compounds developed to replace the ambergris represent complex chemical synthesis with high costs. Recently, in the Chemical and Biochemical Institute from the Universidad Michoacana has been synthesized a fixative named Ambrox® from the endemic plant Ageratina Jocotepeca; this new chemical route is very simple and may represent an attractive solution to replace the ambergris. However, there are several challenges for the industrial application of this plant, this is because this grows just in specific areas due to the ambient conditions. Therefore, there is required an optimization study for the entire supply chain associated to the new process.

Therefore, this paper proposes an optimization formulation for the entire supply chain networks associated to the production and distribution of Ambrox® from Ageratina Jocotepeca. The proposed optimization model accounts for the cultivation, harvesting, processing and distribution of products and raw materials. This supply chain network has special characteristics such as the high value of products and the low volume of products required, as well as the long distance for distribution due to the markets are located mainly in Europe, whereas the cultivation areas are in Mexico. In the optimization model were considered simultaneously economic, environmental and social objectives. This way, the economic objective function accounts for the maximization for the total profit, whereas the environmental impact was measured through the Life Cycle Assessment for the entire supply chain, and social aspects like the generated jobs and land conversion were also considered. Results show that there is possible to replace the current processes for the Ambrox® production with the one proposed and simultaneously can be obtained economic, environmental and social benefits.