Bibliometric and systemic analysis of production scheduling and mathematical modeling in the pulp and paper industry

Abstract

Production planning and scheduling in the pulp and paper industry constitute problems of high combinatorial complexity, involving multiple conflicting criteria and strong interdependence between production stages. Given this scenario, this study aims to conduct a bibliometric and systemic analysis of the scientific production related to production scheduling and mathematical modeling applied to this industrial sector from 2016 to 2026. To this end, a structured search was initially carried out in the Scopus and Web of Science databases, resulting in 610 unique publications, which were submitted to bibliometric analysis using the Bibliometrix package. Subsequently, the ProKnow-C method was applied to refine the portfolio, with objective criteria of thematic alignment and scientific recognition, culminating in the selection of 7 articles for detailed systemic analysis. The results indicate consistent growth in publications over the last decade, with prominence of countries such as China, Canada and India, and highlight the centrality of the themes "scheduling", "optimization", and "Mixed-Integer Linear Programming" in the literature. The systemic analysis revealed that the selected studies address different decision-making levels of the chain (production, maintenance, harvesting, transportation, and reception) in a complementary manner, but also point to the need for more integrated models capable of simultaneously connecting factory planning and forest logistics within a single decision framework. It is concluded that the combination of bibliometric and systemic approaches allowed mapping the state of the art and identifying opportunities for the development of new optimization models that consider the value chain in an integrated manner.