A pinch-based automated targeting technique for heating medium system

Heating medium systems uses non-isothermal fluid to transfer heat indirectly to its users. In conventional design, heating medium is distributed to its users (i.e. heat exchangers) in parallel configuration to provide the required heating duties. This design however contributes to the overdesign of heating medium system. In this paper, a recently established Process Integration technique is extended to set performance targets for a heating medium system. The newly extended technique makes use of the capital cost targeting approach based on Pinch Analysis technique, but implemented on an optimisation framework known as Automated Targeting Model (ATM). The model treats heating medium inlet and outlet temperatures as variables in order to determine an optimum solution. The ATM overcomes the tedious manual exercises performed in the conventional pinch analysis technique where calculations are repeated for each different minimum approach temperature before an optimum solution can be determined. The ATM caters for capital and operating costs trade-off for the heating medium system. Hypothetical examples and industrial case study are used to elucidate the newly extended technique.