Sustainability indicators for decision-making and optimisation in the process industry: The case of the petrochemical industry

This paper brings into focus simple sustainable development indicators to be used in the planning of the petrochemical industry. The indicators cover the three aspects of sustainability—environmental, economic and safety. The indicators serve as tools that can guide companies in assessing their performance in decision-making and planning for the future. These simple indicators of sustainable development are especially helpful in planning large projects or during the earliest stages of planning when most detailed process information is still lacking. These sustainability indicators were used as objectives for a mixed-integer optimisation model to plan the development of a typical petrochemical industry, and were found to be very useful in identifying a balanced petrochemical network. A simple Monte Carlo simulation showed that the model is able to accommodate variations in prices and demand.     

OPTIMAL DESIGN OF WELL-MLXED FLUIDIZED BED DRYERS

ABSTRACT

In a recent article, Baker described a novel technique for estimating the energy consumption of well-mixed fluidized bed dryers based on the use of experimental drying curves. An integrated approach to performing sizing and energy consumption calculations for such dryers using this technique is described in the present paper. A computer program, which includes not only the dryer simulator but also a heat recovery module and an exhaust air recycle option, is used to evaluate the viability of different energy-conservation strategies. The effects of operating parameters such as bed temperature, solids loading and air velocity on energy consumption and bed area are also explored. The observed drying kinetics are shown to have a major effect on the optimal design and operation of the dryer.     

OPTIMAL DESIGN OF WELL-MLXED FLUIDIZED BED DRYERS

In a recent article, Baker described a novel technique for estimating the energy consumption of well-mixed fluidized bed dryers based on the use of experimental drying curves. An integrated approach to performing sizing and energy consumption calculations for such dryers using this technique is described in the present paper. A computer program, which includes not only the dryer simulator but also a heat recovery module and an exhaust air recycle option, is used to evaluate the viability of different energy-conservation strategies. The effects of operating parameters such as bed temperature, solids loading and air velocity on energy consumption and bed area are also explored. The observed drying kinetics are shown to have a major effect on the optimal design and operation of the dryer.     

Grassroots petroleum refinery configuration for heavy oil processing

This paper presents a model-based optimization approach to design a grassroots petroleum refinery for heavy oil processing including residue treating and upgrading. The focus is to determine an optimal refinery configuration to produce light products from an atmospheric residue stream. The proposed linear model can consider a large number of heavy oil processing technologies (more than 70) including multiple operating modes to arrive at a configuration that meets an objective of maximizing profit or a certain fuel type production. Computational results show trends in agreement with real-world practice for residuum refining applications, thus contributing to substantiating practicality of the approach.