A hierarchical approach for the synthesis of batch water network Academic Article uri icon

abstract

  • This work addresses the problem of synthesising cost-effective batch water networks where a number of process sources along with fresh water are mixed, stored, and assigned to process sinks. In order to address the complexity of the problem, a three-stage hierarchical approach is proposed. In the first stage, global targets are identified by formulating and solving a linear transportation problem for minimum water usage, maximum water recycle, and minimum wastewater discharge. These targets are determined a priori and without commitment to the network configuration. Next, a network with minimum number of tanks is synthesised by solving a mixed-integer non-linear program. The bilinear constraints are relaxed to transform the program into a mixed-integer linear program that is globally solvable. The third stage is aimed at simplifying the network configuration by minimising the number of network inter-connections. Insights gained from the water pinch analysis are also incorporated into the approach to further reduce the water flows via the placement of water regeneration unit. A case study is solved to illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed procedure. 2007 Elsevier Ltd.

published proceedings

  • COMPUTERS & CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

author list (cited authors)

  • Shoaib, A. M., Aly, S. M., Awad, M. E., Foo, D., & El-Halwagi, M. M.

citation count

  • 45

complete list of authors

  • Shoaib, Abeer M||Aly, Said M||Awad, Moustafa E||Foo, Dominic CY||El-Halwagi, Mahmoud M

publication date

  • March 2008