Abstract:
Fractionation of crude oil in crude distillation unit (CDU) is an energy intensive
process. It is carried out on the basis of cutpoint temperatures, i.e., the tray
temperature of the CDU at which a product stream is separated. Rigorous
optimization of cutpoint temperature is required for the unceasing scheduling of
the feed where a substantial amount of energy in utilities is wasted. In this study,
a novel optimization approach is proposed for the cutpoint temperatures
optimization by hybridization of Taguchi and Genetic Algorithm. An Aspen
HYSYS flowsheet is develop for CDU for three Pakistani crudes, i.e. Bobi,
Kunnar and Zamzama. Optimization is carried out on lowering the energy
consumption per unit production product, diesel. The proposed mechanism
comprises of two phases; at first phase, Taguchi method is applied to optimize
the cutpoint temperature followed by application of Genetic Algorithm for
further optimization.
