scholarly journals Insight into the Sustainable Integration of Bio- and Petroleum Refineries for the Production of Fuels and Chemicals

Polymers ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (5) ◽  
pp. 1091 ◽  
Author(s):  
Wegik Dwi Prasetyo ◽  
Zulfan Adi Putra ◽  
Muhammad Roil Bilad ◽  
Teuku Meurah Indra Mahlia ◽  
Yusuf Wibisono ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Process Optimization ◽  
Optimization Problems ◽  
Petroleum Refinery ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Uncertain Parameters ◽  
Generation Process ◽  
Exhaust Gas Emission ◽  
Fuels And Chemicals ◽  
Petroleum Refineries

A petroleum refinery heavily depends on crude oil as its main feedstock to produce liquid fuels and chemicals. In the long term, this unyielding dependency is threatened by the depletion of the crude oil reserve. However, in the short term, its price highly fluctuates due to various factors, such as regional and global security instability causing additional complexity on refinery production planning. The petroleum refining industries are also drawing criticism and pressure due to their direct and indirect impacts on the environment. The exhaust gas emission of automobiles apart from the industrial and power plant emission has been viewed as the cause of global warming. In this sense, there is a need for a feasible, sustainable, and environmentally friendly generation process of fuels and chemicals. The attention turns to the utilization of biomass as a potential feedstock to produce substitutes for petroleum-derived fuels and building blocks for biochemicals. Biomass is abundant and currently is still low in utilization. The biorefinery, a facility to convert biomass into biofuels and biochemicals, is still lacking in competitiveness to a petroleum refinery. An attractive solution that addresses both is by the integration of bio- and petroleum refineries. In this context, the right decision making in the process selection and technologies can lower the investment and operational costs and assure optimum yield. Process optimization based on mathematical programming has been extensively used to conduct techno-economic and sustainability analysis for bio-, petroleum, and the integration of both refineries. This paper provides insights into the context of crude oil and biomass as potential refinery feedstocks. The current optimization status of either bio- or petroleum refineries and their integration is reviewed with the focus on the methods to solve the multi-objective optimization problems. Internal and external uncertain parameters are important aspects in process optimization. The nature of these uncertain parameters and their representation methods in process optimization are also discussed.

Study on Dent Resistance with Whole Process Optimization Method for Body's Cover Based on the Variable Conditions

2013 ◽  
Vol 700 ◽  
pp. 164-169
Author(s):  
Kai Song ◽  
Chao Wang ◽  
Tao Chen ◽  
Ze Zhou
Keyword(s):  
Process Optimization ◽  
Optimization Problems ◽  
Simulation Method ◽  
Optimization Method ◽  
Fast Simulation ◽  
Whole Process ◽  
Element Simulation ◽  
Contact Nonlinearity ◽  
Abaqus Software ◽  
Process Method

This paper aims at cover body dent resistance optimization problems, developed a whole process method using the finite element simulation method and the corresponding engineering experience to solve the dent resistance problem. Use of Tcl/Tk language to develop the script for fast simulation model consider material nonlinearity and contact nonlinearity, Use Abaqus software to calculate the results, and then customized to optimize use of simplified script parameters on changes in the working conditions of the structure will be optimized. The results show that this set of process optimization method to solve the variable conditions dent resistance is quickly, efficiently and accurately.

scholarly journals A Need for Investment in Nigerian Crude Oil Refining and Infrastructures: A Panacea to Refined Petroleum Shortages and Economic Growth

2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (4) ◽  
pp. 31-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucky Itsekor
Keyword(s):  
Economic Development ◽  
Supply Chain ◽  
Crude Oil ◽  
Poverty Reduction ◽  
Petroleum Products ◽  
Oil Refining ◽  
Investment Strategies ◽  
Product Availability ◽  
Strategic Role ◽  
Petroleum Refineries

Despite the abundance of occurring natural crude oil resources, Nigeria continually suffers shortages of refined petroleum products, which undermines economic development of the country. The purpose of this multicase study was to explore the strategic role of how investment in petroleum refineries and infrastructures can improve supply and hence mitigate shortages or scarcity of refined petroleum products in the petroleum supply chain and enhance economic development in Nigeria. The research participants comprise of ten senior leaders from two private-sector Nigerian downstream petroleum supply companies located in the Niger Delta region, who had effectively implemented strategies for petroleum supply. The conceptual framework for the study was the resource based view theory. Data were collected through semistructured face-to-face interviews and review of operational and policy documents from the supply or marketing petroleum companies. Data were transcribed, analyzed, and validated through member checking and triangulation. The discoveries indicate the need to establish more refineries, privatize the existing moribund refineries, and build more infrastructures in Nigeria. Findings may be used by petroleum leaders and investors to optimize available crude oil natural resources, and to create investment strategies in the petroleum supply chain, leading to product availability, sustainability, poverty reduction, and economic development in Nigeria.  

Feasibility Robust Optimization via Scenario Generation and Reduction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eliot Rudnick-Cohen ◽  
Jeffrey W. Herrmann ◽  
Shapour Azarm
Keyword(s):  
Robust Optimization ◽  
Optimization Problems ◽  
Computational Cost ◽  
Optimization Techniques ◽  
Scenario Generation ◽  
Test Problems ◽  
Optimization Approach ◽  
Uncertain Parameters ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Robust Solution

Feasibility robust optimization techniques solve optimization problems with uncertain parameters that appear only in their constraint functions. Solving such problems requires finding an optimal solution that is feasible for all realizations of the uncertain parameters. This paper presents a new feasibility robust optimization approach involving uncertain parameters defined on continuous domains without any known probability distributions. The proposed approach integrates a new sampling-based scenario generation scheme with a new scenario reduction approach in order to solve feasibility robust optimization problems. An analysis of the computational cost of the proposed approach was performed to provide worst case bounds on its computational cost. The new proposed approach was applied to three test problems and compared against other scenario-based robust optimization approaches. A test was conducted on one of the test problems to demonstrate that the computational cost of the proposed approach does not significantly increase as additional uncertain parameters are introduced. The results show that the proposed approach converges to a robust solution faster than conventional robust optimization approaches that discretize the uncertain parameters.

Underoil superhydrophilic surfaces: water adsorption in metal–organic frameworks

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 1692-1699 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingming Liu ◽  
Lu Tie ◽  
Jing Li ◽  
Yuanyuan Hou ◽  
Zhiguang Guo
Keyword(s):  
Crude Oil ◽  
Water Adsorption ◽  
Metal Organic Frameworks ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Water Filtration ◽  
On Demand ◽  
Emulsion Separation ◽  
Metal Organic ◽  
Self Cleaning ◽  
Superhydrophilic Surfaces

Inspired by sarcocarps, metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) that can capture moisture spontaneously are presented as building blocks for the construction of underoil superhydrophilic surfaces. The MOF coating showed excellent self-cleaning properties to crude oil under water, and achieved on-demand emulsion separation through selective water filtration and adsorption.

scholarly journals Robust Optimization Model with Shared Uncertain Parameters in Multi-Stage Logistics Production and Inventory Process

Mathematics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 211
Author(s):  
Lijun Xu ◽  
Yijia Zhou ◽  
Bo Yu
Keyword(s):  
Robust Optimization ◽  
Optimization Model ◽  
Optimization Problems ◽  
Optimal Solution ◽  
Uncertain Parameters ◽  
Worst Case ◽  
Robust Model ◽  
Multi Stage ◽  
Proposed Model ◽  
Dual Forms

In this paper, we focus on a class of robust optimization problems whose objectives and constraints share the same uncertain parameters. The existing approaches separately address the worst cases of each objective and each constraint, and then reformulate the model by their respective dual forms in their worst cases. These approaches may result in that the value of uncertain parameters in the optimal solution may not be the same one as in the worst case of each constraint, since it is highly improbable to reach their worst cases simultaneously. In terms of being too conservative for this kind of robust model, we propose a new robust optimization model with shared uncertain parameters involving only the worst case of objectives. The proposed model is evaluated for the multi-stage logistics production and inventory process problem. The numerical experiment shows that the proposed robust optimization model can give a valid and reasonable decision in practice.

scholarly journals Advancements in Catalytic Conversion of Biomass into Biofuels and Chemicals

Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (20) ◽  
pp. 5438
Author(s):  
Chang Geun Yoo ◽  
Tae Hyun Kim
Keyword(s):  
Renewable Resources ◽  
Energy Efficient ◽  
Alternative Fuels ◽  
Value Added ◽  
Catalytic Conversion ◽  
Building Blocks ◽  
Effective Utilization ◽  
Earth Abundant ◽  
Fuels And Chemicals ◽  
Value Added Products

The shortage of resources and increasing climate changes have brought the need for sustainable and renewable resources to people’s attention. Biomass is an earth-abundant material and has great potential as a feedstock for alternative fuels and chemicals. For the effective utilization of biomass, this biopolymer has to be depolymerized and transformed into key building blocks and/or the targeted products, and biological or chemical catalysts are commonly used for the rapid and energy-efficient reactions. This Special Issue introduces recent advances in the catalytic conversion of biomass into biofuels and value-added products.

scholarly journals Toward a Comprehensive and Efficient Robust Optimization Framework for (Bio)chemical Processes

Processes ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (10) ◽  
pp. 183 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiangzhong Xie ◽  
René Schenkendorf ◽  
Ulrike Krewer
Keyword(s):  
Robust Optimization ◽  
Process Design ◽  
Optimization Problems ◽  
Equality Constraints ◽  
Uncertain Parameters ◽  
Approximation Accuracy ◽  
Model Based ◽  
Computational Expense ◽  
Robust Process ◽  
Point Estimation Method

Model-based design principles have received considerable attention in biotechnology and the chemical industry over the last two decades. However, parameter uncertainties of first-principle models are critical in model-based design and have led to the development of robustification concepts. Various strategies have been introduced to solve the robust optimization problem. Most approaches suffer from either unreasonable computational expense or low approximation accuracy. Moreover, they are not rigorous and do not consider robust optimization problems where parameter correlation and equality constraints exist. In this work, we propose a highly efficient framework for solving robust optimization problems with the so-called point estimation method (PEM). The PEM has a fair trade-off between computational expense and approximation accuracy and can be easily extended to problems of parameter correlations. From a statistical point of view, moment-based methods are used to approximate robust inequality and equality constraints for a robust process design. We also apply a global sensitivity analysis to further simplify robust optimization problems with a large number of uncertain parameters. We demonstrate the performance of the proposed framework with two case studies: (1) designing a heating/cooling profile for the essential part of a continuous production process; and (2) optimizing the feeding profile for a fed-batch reactor of the penicillin fermentation process. According to the derived results, the proposed framework of robust process design addresses uncertainties adequately and scales well with the number of uncertain parameters. Thus, the described robustification concept should be an ideal candidate for more complex (bio)chemical problems in model-based design.

scholarly journals Results of Three Years of Ambient Air Monitoring Near a Petroleum Refinery in Richmond, California, USA

Atmosphere ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (7) ◽  
pp. 385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy P. Sanchez ◽  
Arian Saffari ◽  
Stephanie Barczyk ◽  
Beverly K. Coleman ◽  
Ziad Naufal ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Particulate Matter ◽  
Air Quality ◽  
Petroleum Refinery ◽  
Fine Particulate Matter ◽  
Ultra Violet ◽  
Ambient Air ◽  
Quality Monitoring ◽  
Air Quality Monitoring ◽  
Criteria Air Pollutants ◽  
Petroleum Refineries

Recent regulatory and legislative developments in the state of California (e.g., Assembly Bill (AB) 1647 and AB 617) will increase the extent of air quality monitoring in communities near petroleum refineries and at facility fencelines. This work reports results over a three-year period for currently-installed community and fenceline air quality monitoring for the Chevron refinery in Richmond, California, USA. This paper presents the most comprehensive air quality dataset that has been published to date for a community near a petroleum refinery, including concentration of different air toxics (e.g., benzene, toluene, xylenes, etc.) and criteria air pollutants (e.g., ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), and particulate matter (PM)). Instrumental techniques such as ultra-violet differential absorption spectroscopy (UV-DOAS), laser-based spectroscopy and real-time gas chromatography (GC) were used in the community and fenceline monitors. From 2015 to 2017, measured concentrations at community monitors near the Richmond refinery were generally below California thresholds for acute and chronic health (only two exceedances were observed for 8-h average benzene concentrations during the three-year monitoring period). Although more detailed speciation for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) would be needed to confirm certain source profile identities, preliminary application of source apportionment methods indicates the prevalence of typical urban emission profiles, such as from traffic, in the measured community data.

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