The energy and economic target optimization of a naphtha production unit by implementing energy pinch technology

Abstract

In this paper, energy pinch analysis is implemented on the Naphtha Production Unit as an operating process plant. It endeavors to approach the current system to the maximum energy recovery (MER) design by providing several scenarios in the heat exchangers network. Furthermore, the economic analysis considering the initial investment and operating costs of the system was conducted in each scenarios to achieve a cost-effective system. The results obtained just from the pinch analysis optimization technique, indicate that reducing the heating and cooling loads do not reduce the total costs. Therefore, two objective optimization of minimization of the levelized cost of product (LCOP) as well as maximization of the overall energy performance of the system are concerned to find out the optimal scenario of the energy network layout. Here, retrofit of the maximum energy recovery design is performed to represent the energetical and economical optimal layout. Keywords: Pinch analysis, Maximum energy recovery, Levelized cost of energy, Energy optimization