Enrique Rotstein

Multiobjective analysis in modeling the petrochemical industry

Abstract The structuring of the petrochemical industry has been considered both as a single objective and as a multiobjective problem. Three objective functions have been considered: The maximization of the thermodynamic availability change, the minimization of the lost work and the minimization of the feedstock consumption. The first two objectives aim at structuring the industry for “optimum” energy utilization, while the third aims at the optimum utilization of raw materials. The single objective analysis provided three optimum structures that constitute bounds of the actual performance of the petrochemical industry. The multiobjective analysis on the other hand provides the process designer a set of alternative solutions and subjective criteria have to be used in order to select the “best”.

Thermodynamic bounds and selection of technologies in the petrochemical industry

Abstract Thermodynamic availability is briefly reviewed, emphasizing its application to steady state flow systems undergoing physical or chemical changes. While thermodynamic availability provides an upper fixed bound for the energy performance of an industry, the creation of entropy provides a lower evolutionary one. These concepts are applied to the petrochemical industry, a representative large interactive system. The objectives: maximization of availability change, minimization of entropy creation, are formulated as large linear programming problems, whose solutions provide two bounding structures for the sector.

Exergy change of reaction: Reference states and calculation from datum materials

Abstract Two reference states are discussed for calculating exergy change of reaction. One is the pure elements at specified temperature and pressure. The other