A mathematical model for refinery hydrogen network synthesis integrating multi-stage compressors

Abstract

The synthesis of refinery hydrogen network (HN) is generally performed under the assumption that compressors are single-stage ones. This assumption might overestimate the compression power, leading to deviation from the optimum designs. To tackle this problem, we integrate multi-stage compressors into hydrogen networks synthesis in the present work. The number of compression stages inside each compressor is defined as a variable which is simultaneously optimized with the network configurations. Taking advantage of the discrete nature of the defined stage variable, we linearize the constraint of compression power without losing generality. The proposed mathematical model for HN synthesis is formulated as a mixed-integer nonlinear programming problem. Three instances are conducted and the solution results show that the proposed model could be solved to global optimality. The total annualized costs of globally optimal solutions are 1.4–5.1% lower than those of the base solutions.