Continuous-Time Approach for Scheduling Bidirectional Pipeline Operations

CAFARO, VANINA G.; CAFARO, DIEGO C.; CERDA, JAIME

Computer Aided Chemical Engineering

Elsevier B.V.

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2012; p. 1080 - 1084

Scheduling pumping operations in multiproduct pipelines is a complex logistic task that requires efficient supporting tools. Several approaches have been proposed for solving the pipeline scheduling problem for different pipeline configurations, but up to now the problem of sizing and sequencing oil product batches moving through bidirectional pipelines could not be tackled by continuous-time representations. This work introduces a mixed integer linear programming formulation standing for the first rigorous approach effectively solving the short-term operational planning of bidirectional pipelines.