scholarly journals Optimization of an Inter-Plant Hydrogen Network: A Simultaneous Approach to Solving Multi-Period Optimization Problems

Processes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (12) ◽  
pp. 1548
Author(s):  
Rusong Han ◽  
Lixia Kang ◽  
Yinghua Jiang ◽  
Jing Wang ◽  
Yongzhong Liu

Inter-plant hydrogen integration can reduce the consumption of hydrogen utility in petrochemical parks. However, the fluctuation of operating conditions will lead to complex multi-period problems of hydrogen network integration. This work develops a simultaneous optimization approach to solving multi-period optimization problems for the inter-plant hydrogen network. To do this, we consider the inter-plant hydrogen integration and the fluctuation of operating conditions in each plant at the same time, and aim to minimize the total annualized cost of the entire hydrogen system of all plants involved. An industrial case study of a three-plant hydrogen network with seven subperiods was adopted to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. Results show that the optimal structure and the corresponding scheduling scheme can be obtained when the lowest cost of the system is targeted. Compared with the stepwise methods, the proposed approach features taking the characteristics of all subperiods into account simultaneously and making the structure of the hydrogen network much more effective and economical. For the scheduling schemes, the utilization efficiency of the internal hydrogen sources is increased by hydrogen exchange among the plants.

Author(s):  
Sasadhar Bera ◽  
Indrajit Mukherjee

A common problem generally encountered during manufacturing process improvement involves simultaneous optimization of multiple ‘quality characteristics’ or so-called ‘responses’ and determining the best process operating conditions. Such a problem is also referred to as ‘multiple response optimization (MRO) problem’. The presence of interaction between the responses calls for trade-off solution. The term ‘trade-off’ is an explicit compromised solution considering the bias and variability of the responses around the specified targets. The global exact solution in such types of nonlinear optimization problems is usually unknown, and various trade-off solution approaches (based on process response surface (RS) models or without using process RS models) had been proposed by researchers over the years. Considering the prevalent and preferred solution approaches, the scope of this paper is limited to RS-based solution approaches and similar closely related solution framework for MRO problems. This paper contributes by providing a detailed step-by-step RS-based MRO solution framework. The applicability and steps of the solution framework are also illustrated using a real life in-house pin-on-disc design of experiment study. A critical review on solution approaches with details on inherent characteristic features, assumptions, limitations, application potential in manufacturing and selection norms (indicative of the application potential) of suggested techniques/methods to be adopted for implementation of framework is also provided. To instigate research in this field, scopes for future work are also highlighted at the end.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 2741
Author(s):  
Sergio García García ◽  
Vicente Rodríguez Montequín ◽  
Marina Díaz Piloñeta ◽  
Susana Torno Lougedo

Increasingly demanding environmental regulations are forcing companies to reduce their impacts caused by their activity while defending the economic viability of their manufacturing processes, especially energy and carbon-intensive ones. Therefore, these challenges must be addressed by posing optimization problems that involve several objectives simultaneously, corresponding to different conditions, and often conflicting between. In this study, the residual gases of an integral steel factory were evaluated and modeled with the goal of developing an optimization problem considering two opposing objectives: CO2 emissions and profit. The problem was first approached in a mono-objective manner, optimizing profit through Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP), and then was extended to a bi-objective problem solved by means of the ε-constraint method, to find the Pareto front relating profit and CO2 emissions. The results show that multiobjective optimization is a very valuable resource for plant managers’ decision-making processes. The model makes it possible to identify inflection points from which the level of emissions would increase disproportionately. It gives priority to the consumption of less polluting fuels. The model also makes it possible to make the most of temporary buffers such as the gas holders, adapting to the hourly price of the electricity market. By applying this method, CO2 emissions decrease by more than 3%, and profit amounts up to 14.8% compared to a regular case under normal operating conditions. The sensitivity analysis of the CO2 price and CO2 constraints is also performed.


Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (7) ◽  
pp. 1203
Author(s):  
Maria Marcos ◽  
José Luis Pitarch ◽  
Cesar de Prada

This work discusses what should be the desirable path and correct tools for the optimal re-design and operation of processes in the Industry 4.0 framework, as illustrated in a challenging case study corresponding to a complex network of evaporation plants in a viscose-fiber factory. The goal is to integrate optimal design, to improve the existing cooling systems, together with the optimal operation of the whole network, balancing the initial investment with the potentially achievable savings. A rigorous mathematical model for such optimization purpose has been built. The model explicitly considers different structural alternatives as a superstructure for the incorporation of new equipment into the network. The uncertainty associated to future operating conditions is also considered by using a two-stage stochastic formulation. Furthermore, the model is also the base from which a deterministic real-time optimization (RTO) builds upon to support the daily management of the future network operation. The RTO tool suggests the allocation of different products to evaporation plants, the distribution of the cooling water and the suitable number of heat pumps to switch on for optimal economic operation. Design and operation problems are formulated and solved via mixed-integer non-linear programming and the results have been tested with historical plant data.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Jinding Gao

In order to solve some function optimization problems, Population Dynamics Optimization Algorithm under Microbial Control in Contaminated Environment (PDO-MCCE) is proposed by adopting a population dynamics model with microbial treatment in a polluted environment. In this algorithm, individuals are automatically divided into normal populations and mutant populations. The number of individuals in each category is automatically calculated and adjusted according to the population dynamics model, it solves the problem of artificially determining the number of individuals. There are 7 operators in the algorithm, they realize the information exchange between individuals the information exchange within and between populations, the information diffusion of strong individuals and the transmission of environmental information are realized to individuals, the number of individuals are increased or decreased to ensure that the algorithm has global convergence. The periodic increase of the number of individuals in the mutant population can greatly increase the probability of the search jumping out of the local optimal solution trap. In the iterative calculation, the algorithm only deals with 3/500∼1/10 of the number of individual features at a time, the time complexity is reduced greatly. In order to assess the scalability, efficiency and robustness of the proposed algorithm, the experiments have been carried out on realistic, synthetic and random benchmarks with different dimensions. The test case shows that the PDO-MCCE algorithm has better performance and is suitable for solving some optimization problems with higher dimensions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alvaro Veizaga ◽  
Mauricio Alferez ◽  
Damiano Torre ◽  
Mehrdad Sabetzadeh ◽  
Lionel Briand

AbstractNatural language (NL) is pervasive in software requirements specifications (SRSs). However, despite its popularity and widespread use, NL is highly prone to quality issues such as vagueness, ambiguity, and incompleteness. Controlled natural languages (CNLs) have been proposed as a way to prevent quality problems in requirements documents, while maintaining the flexibility to write and communicate requirements in an intuitive and universally understood manner. In collaboration with an industrial partner from the financial domain, we systematically develop and evaluate a CNL, named Rimay, intended at helping analysts write functional requirements. We rely on Grounded Theory for building Rimay and follow well-known guidelines for conducting and reporting industrial case study research. Our main contributions are: (1) a qualitative methodology to systematically define a CNL for functional requirements; this methodology is intended to be general for use across information-system domains, (2) a CNL grammar to represent functional requirements; this grammar is derived from our experience in the financial domain, but should be applicable, possibly with adaptations, to other information-system domains, and (3) an empirical evaluation of our CNL (Rimay) through an industrial case study. Our contributions draw on 15 representative SRSs, collectively containing 3215 NL requirements statements from the financial domain. Our evaluation shows that Rimay is expressive enough to capture, on average, 88% (405 out of 460) of the NL requirements statements in four previously unseen SRSs from the financial domain.


Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (14) ◽  
pp. 1886
Author(s):  
Arezoo Zahediasl ◽  
Amin E. Bakhshipour ◽  
Ulrich Dittmer ◽  
Ali Haghighi

In recent years, the concept of a centralized drainage system that connect an entire city to one single treatment plant is increasingly being questioned in terms of the costs, reliability, and environmental impacts. This study introduces an optimization approach based on decentralization in order to develop a cost-effective and sustainable sewage collection system. For this purpose, a new algorithm based on the growing spanning tree algorithm is developed for decentralized layout generation and treatment plant allocation. The trade-off between construction and operation costs, resilience, and the degree of centralization is a multiobjective problem that consists of two subproblems: the layout of the networks and the hydraulic design. The innovative characteristics of the proposed framework are that layout and hydraulic designs are solved simultaneously, three objectives are optimized together, and the entire problem solving process is self-adaptive. The model is then applied to a real case study. The results show that finding an optimum degree of centralization could reduce not only the network’s costs by 17.3%, but could also increase its structural resilience significantly compared to fully centralized networks.


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