GIS-Based Optimal Site Selection of Agricultural By-Product Resource Recovery Facilities for Smart Agricultural and Livestock Systems: A Case Study of Naju-si and Goheung-gun, Jeollanam-do, South Korea

The importance of producing bioenergy using agricultural by-products is increasing in response to energy depletion and climate change caused by dependence on fossil fuels. In particular, rice straw is one of the most abundant agricultural by-products generated in Korea and has high potential for utilization in various bioenergy resource recovery applications. The objective of this study was to estimate rice straw production and select optimal locations for agricultural by-product resource recovery facilities based on resource availability, facility processing capacity, and collection and transportation costs. Field measurements of soil properties were conducted to analyze their relationships with rice straw production, while rice cultivation and production statistics were obtained from the Korean Statistical Information Service (KOSIS), and digital map data were obtained from the National Geographic Information Institute (NGII). The soil-property data were statistically analyzed to evaluate their relationships with rice straw production, while the digital map data were processed using ArcGIS Pro to delineate paddy field areas, apply correction factors based on statistical rice cultivation areas, generate representative centroid locations, identify candidate sites using spatial exclusion criteria, and calculate road-network-based transportation distances and costs. However, since the economic feasibility of resource recovery facilities is greatly affected by the stable supply of raw materials and the efficiency of collection costs, optimal site selection considering resource generation and transportation characteristics is necessary. The suitability of rice cultivation was evaluated by investigating the soil moisture content, electrical conductivity (EC), penetration resistance, and soil texture of the study area, and the resource supply was estimated based on the rice cultivation area and rice straw generation in 2024. In addition, ArcGIS Pro 3.6.4 (Esri, Redlands, CA, USA) was used to derive candidate sites by considering conditions such as roads, slope, streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands, and the optimal locations by facility scale were evaluated by analyzing the total logistics costs, including collection and transportation costs. The results showed that both study areas exhibited soil properties suitable for rice cultivation and were capable of providing a stable supply of rice straw. For the 30,000 ton processing facility, two optimal locations were selected in each of Naju-si and Goheung-gun, while one optimal location was selected in each region for the 60,000 ton processing facility. The GIS-based site selection method proposed in this study is expected to be applicable not only to rice straw resource recovery facilities but also to the planning and supply chain development of various agricultural biomass resource recovery facilities. It is also expected to contribute to the development of efficient systems for achieving sustainable agriculture and carbon neutrality.