Use spreadsheets for better refinery operation
The advent within the last several years of sophisticated, user-oriented, computer techniques of spreadsheet programming has opened the door to consideration of an alternative to linear programming. It has become possible to represent all of the unit operations and stream flows of a major petroleum refinery on a single spreadsheet and have that spreadsheet establish a continuous overall refinery balance that responds to every change the engineer wishes to explore. The response time for a new balance can vary from about 5 to 15 seconds using widely available present-day microcomputers. With faster microprocessors becoming available, it is expected to be less than 1 second within just a few years. The spreadsheet, in effect, carries out the same balancing that required many laborious hours of work 30 years ago. It does this balancing without optimization; the refinery engineer interacts with the spreadsheet program to make optimizing adjustments.
- Research Organization:
- Mobil Research and Development Corp., Princeton, NJ
- OSTI ID:
- 7004865
- Journal Information:
- Hydrocarbon Process.; (United States), Journal Name: Hydrocarbon Process.; (United States) Vol. 65:10; ISSN HYPRA
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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Related Subjects
020400* -- Petroleum-- Processing
COMPUTER CODES
COMPUTERS
DIAGRAMS
ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS
ENGINEERS
FLOWSHEETS
INDUSTRIAL PLANTS
LINEAR PROGRAMMING
MATERIAL BALANCE
MICROELECTRONIC CIRCUITS
MICROPROCESSORS
OPERATION
OPTIMIZATION
PERSONNEL
PETROLEUM REFINERIES
PROFESSIONAL PERSONNEL
PROGRAMMING
TIME DEPENDENCE