Energy efficiency optimization in scheduling crude oil operations of refinery based on linear programming

Abstract For sustainable development, a refinery is required to save energy as much as possible so as to reduce the emission of greenhouse gas. In crude oil operations, oil transportation from storage tanks to charging tanks via a pipeline consumes a large portion of energy. It is vitally important to minimize energy consumption for this process. Since the oil flow resistance is proportional to the square of oil flow rate, the relation between energy efficiency and flow rate is nonlinear, which makes the problem complicated. This work addresses this important issue by formulating a linear programming model for the considered problem such that it can be efficiently solved. A real-world industrial case study is used to demonstrate the applications and significance of the proposed method.