Optimal synthesis of a heat‐integrated petroleum refinery configuration

Abstract

The conceptual design of a petroleum refinery that satisfies multiple economics and operating constraints is a highly complex task. Coupled with the ever rising cost in designing and constructing a new refinery and the increasing demand for energy and fuels, there is incentive in optimizing the energy recovery and energy efficiency of such a facility. This work addresses the flowsheet optimization of the synthesis of a petroleum refinery to attain an optimal heat-integrated configuration or topology. A sequential two-step strategy is employed that first performs simultaneous flowsheet optimization and heat integration to obtain an optimal refinery topology with minimum utility cost. Subsequently, the fixed optimal topology with minimum utility loads is optimized to arrive at a configuration with the fewest heat exchanger units. A mixed-integer linear program (MILP) is formulated based on a superstructure representation that considers many alternative feasible refinery topologies. The computational results show meaningful reduction in the total annualized capital and operating costs as compared to a non-heat-integrated configuration. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Propylene Yield Assessment utilizing Response Surface Methodology for Naphtha Pyrolysis Cracking

“…The majority of the research was completed in the lab, with some verification performed at the small pilot plant. The subject of analyses include the study on profit enhancement 20,21) , operational expenditure (OPEX) saving 17,[22][23][24] , production rate improvement 25) , key product yield maximization 19) , power consumption optimization 26,27) , utility saving 25) , exergy destruction minimization 28,29) , ethylene leakage reduction 27) , hydrogen recovery improvement 27) , CO2 emissions minimization 26) , Coil Outlet Temperature (COT) enhancement 18,30,31) , and multiple optimization initiatives 19,25,26,28,29,32,33) .…”