An integrated optimization and simulation model for refinery planning including external loads and product evaluation

Abstract

Because of its potential benefits, petroleum refineries are increasingly concerned about their planning operations. Although some refinery models for production planning were proposed, they are quite limited in their usefulness. This study describes an integrated approach involving nonlinear optimization and simulation of refinery units in order to obtain a production planning for a given refinery that maximizes profit. The problem is modeled through the LINGO 16.0 software interface and it is solved using LINGO’s Global Solver on an Intel i5-2410M processor (8 GB RAM). A case study pertaining to the Refinaria de Paulínia (REPLAN) is proposed, and external loads, product adding, and product pricing is studied, achieving a global optimum solution for the blending in less than a second in every case. The small computational time assures the model usefulness in refinery planning, being important for sensitivity analyses and the determination of break-even points of external loads and of new products. The results indicate that this new approach has a considerable potential for achieving significant gains in terms of planning and profit increase. Therefore, the model can be used by planners, with significant advantages over other models. The flexibility of the model allied with its quick generation of optimum solutions is highlighted.