A methodology for the flexibility assessment of side wide heat integration scenarios
Résumé
Energy collaboration in eco-industrial parks between different processes that are nearby aims reducing the
use of external energy sources. Many methodologies and approaches have been developed to identify the
optimal heat exchanges and transport networks for the energy integration at this scale. Such site wide
energy integration reduces the overall costs and further increases energy efficiency beyond what may be
achieved by the process scale energy integration. However, integrated processes will become
interdependent and the major interactions between these processes constitute a risk for designers,
especially in the case of fluctuations in operating conditions. This work presents a mixed integer nonlinear
programming (MINLP) model that tests the flexibility of a heat transfer network design between multiple
processes subject to multiple scenarios of capacity and operating temperatures and flow rates variation. The
model assesses the capability of the heat integration structure to satisfy the heat exchange target and its
ability to operate and to cope with varying operating conditions. A virtual case study in the petrochemical
industry is used to demonstrate this methodology and its applicability.