Uncovering relationships between environmental metrics in the multi-objective optimization of energy systems: A case study of a thermal solar Rankine reverse osmosis desalination plant

Multi-objective optimization (MOO) is increasingly being used in a wide variety of applications to identify alternatives that balance several criteria. The energy sector is not an exception to this trend. Unfortunately, the complexity of MOO grows with the number of environmental objectives. This limitation is critical in energy systems, in which several environmental criteria are typically used to assess the merits of a given technology. In this paper, we investigate the use of a rigorous dimensionality reduction method for reducing the complexity of MOO as applied to an energy system (i.e., a solar Rankine cycle coupled with reverse osmosis and thermal storage). Instead of using an aggregated environmental metric, a common approach for reducing the number of environmental objectives in MOO, we propose to optimize the system in a reduced search space of objectives that fully describe its performance and which results from eliminating redundant criteria from the analysis. Numerical results show that it is possible to reduce the problem complexity by omitting redundant environmental indicators from the optimization.

[1]  M. Goedkoop,et al.  The Eco-indicator 99, A damage oriented method for Life Cycle Impact Assessment , 1999 .

[2]  Mikhail Sorin,et al.  Thermodynamic study of multi-effect thermal vapour-compression desalination systems , 2014 .

[3]  Gonzalo Guillén-Gosálbez,et al.  Optimal design and planning of sustainable chemical supply chains under uncertainty , 2009 .

[4]  Gonzalo Guillén-Gosálbez,et al.  Multi-objective design of reverse osmosis plants integrated with solar Rankine cycles and thermal energy storage , 2013 .

[5]  M.A. El-Sharkawi,et al.  Pareto Multi Objective Optimization , 2005, Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on, Intelligent Systems Application to Power Systems.

[6]  Alfred Inselberg,et al.  The plane with parallel coordinates , 1985, The Visual Computer.

[7]  Daniel Favrat,et al.  Environomic multi-objective optimisation of a district heating network considering centralized and decentralized heat pumps , 2010 .

[8]  Frauke Küsgen,et al.  Fresnel CSP: a startling technology for solar generation , 2009 .

[9]  Poul Alberg Østergaard,et al.  Reviewing optimisation criteria for energy systems analyses of renewable energy integration , 2009 .

[10]  Graham Ault,et al.  Multi-objective planning of distributed energy resources: A review of the state-of-the-art , 2010 .

[11]  Jasbir S. Arora,et al.  Survey of multi-objective optimization methods for engineering , 2004 .

[12]  Gonzalo Guillén-Gosálbez,et al.  Identifying key life cycle assessment metrics in the multiobjective design of bioethanol supply chains using a rigorous mixed-integer linear programming approach , 2012 .

[13]  Volker H. Hoffmann,et al.  Multiobjective Screening and Evaluation of Chemical Process Technologies , 2001 .

[14]  Hortensia Amaris,et al.  A multiobjective approach for reactive power planning in networks with wind power generation , 2012 .

[15]  W. Stadler.  Multicriteria Optimization in Engineering and in the Sciences , 1988 .

[16]  John J. Burkhardt,et al.  Life Cycle Assessment of Thermal Energy Storage: Two-Tank Indirect and Thermocline , 2009 .

[17]  Berhane H. Gebreslassie,et al.  A systematic tool for the minimization of the life cycle impact of solar assisted absorption cooling systems , 2010 .

[18]  Norberto Fueyo,et al.  Spanish energy roadmap to 2020: Socioeconomic implications of renewable targets. , 2011 .

[19]  Efstratios N. Pistikopoulos,et al.  Minimizing the environmental impact of process Plants: A process systems methodology , 1995 .

[20]  Nguyen V. Thoai,et al.  Criteria and dimension reduction of linear multiple criteria optimization problems , 2011, Journal of Global Optimization.

[21]  Matthias Ehrgott,et al.  Multicriteria Optimization , 2005 .

[22]  Réjean Samson,et al.  Multi-objective design optimization of a natural gas-combined cycle with carbon dioxide capture in a life cycle perspective , 2010 .

[23]  Gonzalo Guillén-Gosálbez,et al.  A novel MILP-based objective reduction method for multi-objective optimization: Application to environmental problems , 2011, Comput. Chem. Eng..

[24]  Anibal T. de Almeida,et al.  Multi-objective optimization of a mixed renewable system with demand-side management , 2010 .

[25]  John K. Kaldellis,et al.  Optimum energy storage techniques for the improvement of renewable energy sources-based electricity generation economic efficiency , 2007 .

[26]  François Maréchal,et al.  Multi-objective optimization of RO desalination plants , 2008 .

[27]  Efstratios N. Pistikopoulos,et al.  Environmentally conscious long-range planning and design of supply chain networks , 2005 .

[28]  Yi Zhang,et al.  Accounting for ecosystem services in life cycle assessment, Part I: a critical review. , 2010, Environmental science & technology.

[29]  Carlos A. Coello Coello,et al.  Objective reduction using a feature selection technique , 2008, GECCO '08.

[30]  E. Wegman.  Hyperdimensional Data Analysis Using Parallel Coordinates , 1990 .

[31]  John S. Anagnostopoulos,et al.  Design study of a stand-alone desalination system powered by renewable energy sources and a pumped storage unit , 2010 .

[32]  Adisa Azapagic,et al.  The application of life cycle assessment to process optimisation , 1999 .

[33]  Mohammad Ali Abido,et al.  Multiobjective evolutionary algorithms for electric power dispatch problem , 2006, IEEE Transactions on Evolutionary Computation.

[34]  François Maréchal,et al.  Methods for multi-objective investment and operating optimization of complex energy systems , 2012 .

[35]  Efstratios N. Pistikopoulos,et al.  A methodology for environmental impact minimization: Solvent design and reaction path synthesis issues , 1996 .

[36]  Gonzalo Guillén-Gosálbez,et al.  Application of life cycle assessment to the structural optimization of process flowsheets , 2007 .

[37]  Jim Petrie,et al.  Process synthesis and optimisation tools for environmental design: methodology and structure , 2000 .

[38]  Grace T. R. Lin,et al.  The portfolio of renewable energy sources for achieving the three E policy goals , 2011 .

[39]  Gonzalo Guillén-Gosálbez,et al.  Multi-objective optimization of solar Rankine cycles coupled with reverse osmosis desalination considering economic and life cycle environmental concerns , 2012 .

[40]  Herbert F. Lewis,et al.  Energy technology allocation for distributed energy resources: A strategic technology-policy framework , 2014 .

[41]  Gonzalo Guillén-Gosálbez,et al.  A global optimization strategy for the environmentally conscious design of chemical supply chains under uncertainty in the damage assessment model , 2010, Comput. Chem. Eng..

[42]  Gonzalo Guillén-Gosálbez,et al.  Holistic minimization of the life cycle environmental impact of hydrogen infrastructures using multi-objective optimization and principal component analysis , 2012 .

[43]  Gonzalo Guillén-Gosálbez,et al.  On the use of Principal Component Analysis for reducing the number of environmental objectives in multi-objective optimization: Application to the design of chemical supply chains , 2012 .