CC-96-130 DESIGN AND INTEGRATION ISSUES FOR DYNAMIC BLEND OP’l’IMIZATION

Description:

The strategic issues associated with the design and implementation of product blending optimization systems for the Sunoco Samia Reftnery are described. The overall objective of these systems is to change the external material flow and/or the internal production requirements for the Refinery to ensure true economic benefits are realized. Such benefits for the Samia Refinery are estimated at $0:50/M3 (or $O.O8/BBL) for completed blending optimization work (gasoline property control and single blend optimization). Achieving these and additional savings requires a strategic synergism of refinery-wide planning, blend and product scheduling, and single blend optimization. Additionally, information management, operator procedures and training, property estimation, instrumentation qualification, and APC application support are key issues associated with successfully achieving these benefits. A key technical accomplishment of this work is the deployment of a real-time blend optimizer using [DMCITM multivariable, model predictive control technology, including incorporation of variable property model gains into the blend manipulation calculations.