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Economic feasibility analysis of a medical mask closed-loop supply chain: A case study in the Montreal region

  • Erika Villalobos Cortés

Student thesis: Master's thesisMaster in Engineering: Automated Manufacturing Engineering

Abstract

The world was exposed to a global health crisis due to covid-19. This situation generated an unprecedented increase in the use of single-use medical materials, notably medical face masks. This study focuses on the design and planning of a closed-loop supply chain (SC) for dealing with end-of-life medical face masks. An optimization model to efficiently collect and recycle used medical face masks is proposed. The main benefits are the correct disposal of contaminated products and component recycling. The considered SC network includes suppliers of virgin raw materials, medical face mask manufacturing centers, warehouses, distribution centers, business clients, collection and recycling centers, and finally, clients for the recycled components. Decisions to be made include material flows in the network, supplier (collection and recycling centers) selection in order to maximize the profit of the SC. A realistic case study is created based on real data gathered from different industrial partners in the Montreal region and surrounding areas. Various scenarios are analyzed to identify the conditions under which the SC is profitable.
Date9 Jan 2024
Original languageAmerican English
Awarding Institution
  • École de technologie supérieure
SupervisorTasseda Boukherroub (Supervisor) & Lucas Hof (Co-supervisor)

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