Optimal scheduling of the sugar cane harvest aiming to maximize the cogeneration by using the dynamic programming

Deciding how to allocate the crop share in the combined alcohol-sugar industries using dynamic programming is discussed. This planning is based on production and storage restrictions and on market price and demand. The authors present a model for scheduling the sugar cane crop so as to increase the energy surplus from the plant, which is measured by the bagasse excess. This excess can be transformed into electrical power to the public utilities, with high economic return. The main tools used in this study were the simulation of the sugar cane plants and the dynamic programming model. A case study for a southeastern Brazil combined alcohol-sugar plant is given