Fuel Gas Network Synthesis Using Block Superstructure

Abstract

Fuel gas network (FGN) synthesis is a systematic method for reducing fresh fuel consumption in a chemical plant. In this work, we address FGN synthesis problems using a block superstructure representation that was originally proposed for process design and intensification. The blocks interact with each other through direct flows that connect a block with its adjacent blocks and through jump flows that connect a block with all nonadjacent blocks. The blocks with external feed streams are viewed as fuel sources and the blocks with product streams are regarded as fuel sinks. An additional layer of blocks are added as pools when there exists intermediate operations among source and sink blocks. These blocks can be arranged in a I×J two-dimensional grid with I = 1 for problems without pools, or I = 2 for problems with pools. J is determined by the maximum number of pools/sinks. With this representation, we formulate FGN synthesis problem as a mixed-integer nonlinear (MINLP) formulation to optimally design a fuel gas network with minimal total annual cost. We revisit a literature case study on LNG plants to demonstrate the capability of the proposed approach.

SPICE_MARS: A Process Synthesis Framework for Membrane-Assisted Reactive Separations

“…Rather, it can be used to generate and screen numerous intensified and nonintensified designs in an automated fashion. Because of this, this method has recently been applied to a variety of design and synthesis problems. , In the building block representation, each block is considered as a finite volume that accommodates the fundamental constituents of a chemical operation. Each block has two characteristic features, namely, the block interior and the block boundaries (Figure a).…”

Special Issue on Feature Papers for Celebrating the Fifth Anniversary of the Founding of Processes

“…The first paper describes the development and simulation of a model prediction controller for achieving the desired viscosity curve in the continuous production of a non-Newtonian fluid [1]. The second paper addresses the problem of minimizing fuel consumption in fuel gas networks through a superstructure-based method and mixed-integer nonlinear programming [2]. The interesting possibility of extending the favorable characteristics of cuboid packed-bed devices originally designed for chromatographic separations to packed-bed chemical reactors is explored in the third paper [3].…”

Sustainable Process Intensification Using Building Blocks

“…This is a unique approach for sustainable PI in which the effects of intensification can be observed at the phenomena, equipment, and flowsheets levels. Previously, we demonstrated the benefits of this approach for systematic PI with automated generation of optimal intensified solutions when single objectives are considered. , We also extended this approach for process synthesis and integration, and as a general framework for simultaneous process synthesis, integration, and intensification. ,,− In this work, we use the building block representation for sustainable PI involving multiple objectives.…”