Automatic synthesis of optimum heat exchanger network configurations

This paper addresses the problem of automatically generating heat exchanger network configurations that feature minimum investment cost subject to minimum utility cost and fewest number of units. Based on the linear programming and the mixed-integer linear programming (MILP) transshipment models for heat integration, a superstructure that has embedded many alternative configurations is proposed. This superstructure, which has as units the matches predicted by the MILP transshipment model, includes options for series and parallel matching, as well as stream splitting, mixing, and bypassing. Many of the implied stream connections in the superstructure are reduced to zero flow with a nonlinear programming formulation that leads to realistic and practical designs. Theoretical properties as well as the implementation aspects of the proposed procedure for the automatic generation of networks are presented. The method is illustrated with three example problems.

[1]  Leon Lapidus,et al.  Topics in computer‐aided design: Part II. Synthesis of optimal heat exchanger networks by tree searching algorithms , 1973 .

[2]  A. Hama.  COMPUTER-AIDED SYNTHESIS OF HEAT EXCHANGER NETWORKS; AN ITERATIVE APPROACH TO GLOBAL OPTIMUM NETWORKS , 1984 .

[3]  Ignacio E. Grossmann,et al.  Optimum design of heat exchanger networks , 1978 .

[4]  R. L. Motard,et al.  Evolutionary synthesis of heat-exchanger networks , 1984 .

[5]  Ignacio E. Grossmann,et al.  A note on the minimum number of units for heat exchanger network synthesis , 1985 .

[6]  J. W. Ponton,et al.  A fast method for the synthesis of optimal heat exchanger networks , 1974 .

[7]  John R. Flower,et al.  A thermodynamic‐combinatorial approach to the design of optimum heat exchanger networks , 1980 .

[8]  Arthur W. Westerberg,et al.  THE SYNTHESIS AND EVOLUTION OF NETWORKS OF HEAT EXCHANGE THAT FEATURE THE MINIMUM NUMBER OF UNITS , 1982 .

[9]  Ignacio E. Grossmann,et al.  A structural optimization approach in process synthesis. II: Heat recovery networks , 1983 .

[10]  Ignacio E. Grossmann,et al.  Simultaneous optimization and heat integration of chemical processes , 1986 .

[11]  Y. A. Liu,et al.  Studies in chemical process design and synthesis: III. A Simple and practical approach to the optimal synthesis of heat exchanger networks , 1977 .

[12]  William R. Paterson,et al.  A replacement for the logarithmic mean , 1984 .

[13]  John R. Flower,et al.  Synthesis of heat exchanger networks: I. Systematic generation of energy optimal networks , 1978 .

[14]  A. H. Masso,et al.  Branch and Bound Synthesis of Integrated Process Designs , 1970 .