Site utility system optimization with operation adjustment under uncertainty

Utility systems must satisfy process energy and power demands under varying conditions. The system performance is decided by the system configuration and individual equipment operating load for boilers, gas turbines, steam turbines, condensers, and let down valves. Steam mains conditions in terms of steam pressures and steam superheating also play important roles on steam distribution in the system and power generation by steam expansion in steam turbines, and should be included in the system optimization. Uncertainties such as process steam power demand changes and electricity price fluctuations should be included in the system optimization to eliminate as much as possible the production loss caused by steam power deficits due to uncertainties. In this paper, uncertain factors are classified into time-based and probability-based uncertain factors, and operation scheduling containing multi-period equipment load sharing, redundant equipment start up, and electricity import to compensate for power deficits, have been presented to deal with the happens of uncertainties, and are formulated as a multi-period item and a recourse item in the optimization model. There are two case studies in this paper. One case illustrates the system design to determine system configuration, equipment selection, and system operation scheduling at the design stage to deal with uncertainties. The other case provides operational optimization scenarios for an existing system, especially when the steam superheating varies. The proposed method can provide practical guidance to system energy efficiency improvement.