Optimal management of hydrogen supply and consumption networks of refinery operations

C.A. MÉNDEZ; E. GOMEZ; D. SARABIA; J. CERDÁ; C. DE PRADA; J. SOLA; E. UNZUETA

Computer-Aided Chemical Engineering, 25

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Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2008; p. 100 - 106

This paper presents an MINLP-based optimization framework to manage complex hydrogen supply and consumption networks of refinery operations. Aiming at improving the day-to-day operation of the whole hydrogen supply network, streams of different hydrogen purity levels and flows need to be combined in a cost-effective manner in order to meet flow restrictions and hydrogen partial pressure requirements in desulphurization reactors. Additional constraints to be considered are the minimum and maximum hydrogen purity of recycled off-gas streams and compressor operational limitations, respectively. This work is carried out within an industrial project in close collaboration with Petronor, an oil refining company belonging to the Repsol-YPF Group, and it is focused on a Petronor refinery located near Bilbao, Spain. The major aim of the project is to develop an effective and user-friendly decision support system for on-line, open-loop optimization and data reconciliation.