Chen X., Chang C., Wang Y., Feng X., 2016, An Energy Hub Approach for Multiple-plants Heat Integration, Chemical Engineering Transactions, 52, 571-576.
Multi-plants heat integration can be carried out either directly using process streams or indirectly using intermediate fluids. Due to the corresponding characteristics of the heat transfer, direct heat integration can accomplish more energy targets with less number of heat exchangers. While many design methodologies have been developed, most current studies mainly consider energy aspect and the distance factor are always ignored. Since the piping cost for long distance is a major proportion of the total capital cost, this article proposed a mathematical programming methodology for multi-plants heat integration with a centralized energy hub. In this way, streams from different plants can exchange heat in the hub and the piping cost can be largely reduced. Also, the capital governance can be simplified significantly and the networks are often easier to be operated and maintained. A literature example is illustrated to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed methodology. Compared with the results of the conventional design, the energy hub approach is a more attractive choice for multi-plants heat integration.
