Towards process, energy and safety based criteria for multi-objective optimization of industrial acid gas removal process

Abstract

Acid gas removal processes find significance in industries because of the need to meet government regulations regarding the concentration of sweet gas. Also, the fact that the removed H2S can be converted to sulfur by the Claus process and the rising importance of carbon capture increases its importance. Optimization of the process with regards to energy consumption and damage index is among the many cases carried out in this study using evolutionary algorithm, NSGA-II. The process is simulated using ProMax 4.0 which was linked to Excel to conduct the multi-objective optimization cases (EMOO). Hydrocarbon recovery and sulfur removal have also been optimized. Detailed analysis of the two-objective optimization cases is carried out in the study followed by a three-objective case which is then compared with the two-objective cases and the results are reported. With industries operating under more than two objectives, the three-objective case would provide more practical results. A four-objective case optimization study, which combines all the studied objectives, is also carried out for more industrial practical solutions. The decision makers will be able to analyze the Pareto-optimal solutions to determine the preferred operating point.