In this study, waste/by product flows in an exchange network (i.e. network flows containing firms and facilities such as collection center, disposal center, etc.) is modeled.
The objective of the research is to design a material network flow and a mathematical model to minimize the costs associated with transporting waste/by product materials through the network from an origin (firm) to a destination (firm or disposal center).
However, the value added process (e.g. disassembly, recycling, or remanufacturing) is considered as a significant and crucial part of this network. Therefore, in addition to firms and disposal centers, the network includes other facilities such as collection and value added process centers.
The location of these facilities and the flow of material among them are optimized in the network. The problem to be tackled in this research is summarized as follows:
“Determine the number and the location of facilities (including collection and value added process centers), and the flow of material in a Business-to-Business recovery network to minimize the environmental and operational costs”