Abstract: Plant layout design affects both investment and performance of a factory. To maximize the economic benefits of a petrochemical factory, a large number of factors must be considered simultaneously, such as material flow, heat flow and safety. However, conventional principles for plant layout design and optimization do not involve the heat flow, resulting in higher construction investment. To solve this problem, a new heuristic approach is proposed in this paper based on the current layout design principles. Both material flow (pipelines for process streams) and heat flow (pipelines for steam) are considered. Three optimization methods with different objective functions are used to optimize the layout. The application of proposed approach is illustrated with a case study. The optimal scheme and pipeline networks can be obtained, and the pipeline length is reduced significantly.

Key words: Petrochemical plant layout, Heuristic, Steam system, Pipeline length, Optimization

摘要： Plant layout design affects both investment and performance of a factory. To maximize the economic benefits of a petrochemical factory, a large number of factors must be considered simultaneously, such as material flow, heat flow and safety. However, conventional principles for plant layout design and optimization do not involve the heat flow, resulting in higher construction investment. To solve this problem, a new heuristic approach is proposed in this paper based on the current layout design principles. Both material flow (pipelines for process streams) and heat flow (pipelines for steam) are considered. Three optimization methods with different objective functions are used to optimize the layout. The application of proposed approach is illustrated with a case study. The optimal scheme and pipeline networks can be obtained, and the pipeline length is reduced significantly.

关键词: Petrochemical plant layout, Heuristic, Steam system, Pipeline length, Optimization