ENERGY NETWORK MANAGEMENT AND OPTIMIZATION SYSTEM Technical Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a system used for managing and optimizing an energy network, especially in petroleum refineries. Background Art

Energy requirements of petroleum refineries are usually provided by electricity and steam energy. A great number of the units in a petroleum refinery are operated by electricity and/or steam. Fuel is used to generate said electricity and steam. The fuel used for generating electricity and steam constitutes a large portion (about 35%) of the fuel cost of the refinery. Therefore, it is of great importance to accurately determine energy requirement of the refinery and its associated steam and electricity production regime, in terms of both economical aspect and energy efficiency. In conventional applications, steam and electricity production regime is determined manually by competent persons. However, manual determination of steam and electricity production regime is quite cumbersome, since said production regime varies according to the energy requirements of different units in the refinery at different times, comparison of electric and fuel cost, and environmental factors. In addition, manual determination of said production regime causes the refinery not to be able work efficiently enough.

In prior art, there are provided systems for optimizing the output of steam and electricity in the refineries, in order to eliminate drawbacks of manual adjustment. Optimal Synthesis of Power Plants and Modeling of Operations with Mixed Integer Non-Linear Programming" (March, 1998) (J. C. Bruno, F.Fernandez, f. Castells, I. E. Grossmann) utilizes a nonlinear programming in the study and discloses a system with instantaneous optimization. However, in the said system, since a non-linear programming is used, it takes a long time to solve the problem, which prevents real-time operation of the system. Brief Description of the Invention

With the present invention, there is provided an energy network management and optimization system for controlling operation of all the equipment that produces/consumes fuel, electricity, water and steam in a petroleum refinery. Said energy network management and optimization system comprises at least one flow diagram designer by means of which the user will install the system, enter model parameters and determine constraints; at least one data reconciliation unit which analyses the data received from at least one data source so as to filter and verify inconsistent data; at least one dynamic equipment input unit which makes a live efficiency calculation using the reconciled and verified field data of the units in the refinery and utilizing thermodynamic properties, and updates model parameters of the said units using the calculated efficiency information; at least one model creation unit which creates an optimum model for operation of refinery equipment using the data received from the at least one data source and said dynamic equipment input unit as well as the information received from the flow diagram designer; at least one intermediate unit which resolves the model created by the model creation unit so as to convert it into a format understandable by the users; and at least one reporting unit which provides the data generated by the intermediate unit to the users. In the energy network management and optimization system according to the present invention, a model is generated by the dynamic equipment input unit using the updated data of the refinery. Thus, real-time control of the energy network of the refinery is ensured. Additionally, the data received from the data source is controlled by means of the said data reconciliation unit so that erroneous data is eliminated. In this manner, it is ensured that the refinery equipments are operated in an optimum manner by preventing any erroneous model creation due to erroneous data.

Object of the Invention An object of the present invention is to provide a system for management and optimization of an energy network especially in petroleum refineries.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system that can work in real time. Another object of the present invention is to provide a system wherein all the equipment in petroleum refineries that produces/consumes fuel, electricity, water and steam is included.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system that performs a live data analysis so as to filter inconsistent data and to make a data reconciliation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system which provides for fuel and water savings as a result of planned optimizations and thus provides a reduction in flue gas emissions.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a system for preparing an offer to be submitted to day-ahead or intra-day markets for electricity purchase-sale, and for creating an optimum scenario based on the acceptance status of the offer. Description of the Drawings

Illustrative embodiments of the energy network management and optimization system according to the present invention are depicted in the annexed drawing, wherein; Figure 1 is a flow diagram of the system.

All the parts illustrated in the drawing are individually assigned a reference numeral and the corresponding terms of these numbers are listed as follows:

Defined flow diagrams (1)

Flow diagram designer (2)

Diagram addition unit (2a)

Parameter defining unit (2b)

Model creation unit (3)

Data source adapter (4)

Intermediate unit (5)

Reporting unit (6)

Data sources (7)

Dynamic equipment input unit (8) Data reconciliation unit

Offer preparation unit

Description of the Invention

In order to meet energy requirements of the petroleum refineries, fuel is used to generate electrical energy and steam. Based on electric and steam requirements of the different units in a petroleum refinery, the amount of electric energy and steam required to be generated varies. Therefore, with the present invention, there is provided an energy network management and optimization system for controlling operation of the equipment in a petroleum refinery that produces/consumes fuel, electricity, water and steam.

The energy network management and optimization system according to the present invention, exemplified as a flow diagram in figure 1 , comprises at least one flow diagram designer (2) by means of which the user will install the system, enter model parameters and determine constraints; at least one data reconciliation unit (9) which analyses the data received from at least one data source (7) in order to filter and verify inconsistent data; at least one dynamic equipment input unit (8) which makes a live efficiency calculation using the reconciled and verified field data of the units in the refinery and utilizing thermodynamic properties, and updates model parameters of the said units using the calculated efficiency information; at least one model creation unit (3) which creates an optimum model for operation of refinery equipment using the data received from the said data source (7) and said dynamic equipment input unit (8) as well as the information received from the flow diagram designer (2); at least one intermediate unit (5) which resolves the model created by the model creation unit (3) so as to convert it into a format understandable by the users; and at least one reporting unit (6) which provides the data generated by the intermediate unit (5) to the users.

In an illustrative embodiment of the invention, the users can select at least one flow diagram of the refinery that has been already installed by using the flow diagram designer (2), or they can add at least one diagram. In order for the users to add a diagram, said flow diagram designer (2) preferably comprises at least one diagram addition unit (2a). The users can also enter operation constraints and model parameters of the refinery equipment by means of at least one parameter defining unit (2b) in the flow diagram designer (2). With the said dynamic equipment input unit (8), updated status information of the refinery equipment can be entered. This information may either be entered manually by the users or may be automatically retrieved using the system field data. The data reconciliation unit (9) analyses the data received from the data source (7) and filters inconsistent data. The field data is filtered live by means of mass and energy equations. Said filtering and verification work examines consistency of the records in the data source (7). For inconsistent data, further data reconciliation is performed using mass and energy equations. This is periodically repeated (e.g. on an hourly basis). The model creation unit (3) creates a model for optimum operation of the refinery equipment using the filtered data received from the data reconciliation unit (9) and data received from the flow diagram designer (2). The created model is converted into data understandable by the users by means of the intermediate unit (5) and is provided to the users by means of the reporting unit (6) (e.g. a screen).

The efficiencies of the equipment in the refinery vary based on the maintenance time, capacity utilization rate, pollution and weather conditions. Therefore, in the said dynamic equipment input unit (8), the system makes a live efficiency calculation using the reconciled and verified field data and utilizing thermodynamic properties such as mass/energy equations, and updates the model parameters by itself. To this end, an infrastructure of thermodynamic properties is integrated into the system for water, steam and fuel headers. For the headers associated with the equipment, such features as composition, combustion heat, density, enthalpy, entropy, heat capacity are dynamically modeled and calculated based on the mode of the equipment, capacity usage etc. Since the efficiencies of the equipment vary based on the features of the headers with which the equipment is associated, the most realistic and the most optimum planning is achieved. By integrating equipment efficiencies into the optimization system, inconsistencies between the models used and the field data are eliminated. In relation with the energy losses, the efficiencies of the equipment are used which are obtained at that time when the last reliable data is generated by the equipment.

Any equipment that produces/consumes fuel, electricity, water and steam is included in the system. In this respect, such equipment as boiler, gas turbine, steam turbine, furnace, heat exchanger, condenser, pressure vessel (drum), pressure reducing station, deaerator, electrical pump/compressor/fan, turbine pump/compressor/fan, distillation column, reactor, vent station, waste heat boiler, flare are modeled and incorporated into the energy network management and optimization system. Environmental constraints of the refinery are entered into the said parameter defining unit (2b) and it is ensured that said constraints are also used in the model creation unit (3). One of the said environmental constraints is minimization of water consumption. In minimization of water consumption, the rate of recondensation and recovery of the water used during steam generation in the refinery varies based on the equipment. The system can envisage the amount of water that cannot be re-used in the refinery due to losses and contamination, and prepare the relevant action plan. Another environmental constraint is minimization of greenhouse gas emissions, wherein flue gas emissions to be generated from energy production planning performed as part of the system are envisaged and the necessary infrastructure is established so as to be used in the carbon market in which Turkey may also take part in the future. The amount of cost and greenhouse gas emissions can be minimized separately or together (at the desired weight). Another environmental constraint is restriction of gasses that have an impact on the environment. Here, other gasses (SOx) that have an impact on the environment can be envisaged in the designed models, thereby imparting the system the ability to make planning within the emission limits specified by the Ministry of Environment and Urbanization.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the energy network management and optimization system can retrieve data from a plurality of data sources (7). In this embodiment, the energy network management and optimization system comprises at least one data source adapter (4) for determining which data is to be retrieved from which data source (7). Said data source adapter (4) ensures that correct data is obtained from correct data source (7).

In another preferred embodiment of the invention, the energy network management and optimization system according to the present invention comprises at least one offer preparation unit (10) which operates in parallel to the said model creation unit (3) and/or iteratively, and prepares electricity purchase/sale offers with different prices and amounts on an hourly basis (to the desired extent) according to the balance of electricity and steam in the refinery for the planned period of time. Based on the acceptance status in the Market Financial Settlement Center (PMUM), the offers obtained in the offer preparation unit (10) provide decision support, on an hourly basis, with respect to the energy production. After agreeing with the PMUM on different electricity price and purchase/sale amount on an hourly basis throughout the day, the least- cost electricity generation plan is formed on an hourly basis.

In the energy network management and optimization system according to the present invention, a model is generated by the dynamic equipment input unit (8) using the updated data of the refinery. Thus, real-time control of energy network of the refinery is ensured. Additionally, the data retrieved from the data source (7) is controlled by means of the said data reconciliation unit (9) so that erroneous data is eliminated. In this manner, it is ensured that the refinery equipments are operated in an optimum manner by preventing any erroneous model creation due to erroneous data.