Hybrid petri net based modeling and simulation of hybrid process industries

Many process industries have hybrid production structures, where both batch and continuous processes are involved. Although much research has been conducted on either continuous or batch process industries, there is a distinct absence of research in hybrid process industries. This study addresses the modeling and simulation of such process industries by proposing a Timed Hybrid Petri net as a suitable method. The applicability and potential benefit of the proposed technique is shown through a typical hybrid sugar mill case study. A number of receivers are considered between batch and continuous operations in this sugar mill plant which results in a schedule with no idle time for batch processing units. Using the proposed method, the minimum size for each of these receivers is estimated.