STRUCTURED APPROACH TO STORAGE-ALLOCATION FOR IMPROVED PROCESS CONTROLLABILITY

An optimization-based approach is presented that determines how plant feedstocks should be allocated to storage when there are fewer storage vessels than feedstocks. It is assumed here that material from the st orage vessels will be subsequently blended for processing in downstrea m processes. The objective of the feedstock allocation strategy is cho sen to ensure maximum flexibility for downstream process operation. Gi ven the stated objective for feedstock allocation and the physical con straints, the feedstock storage allocation problem is posed in optimiz ation form. The solution of the resulting singular-value optimization problem is discussed in terms of semidefinite programming techniques. The ideas presented are illustrated using a crude-oil storage case stu dy. Finally, a number of observations regarding useful extensions to t he proposed methods are presented.