MINIMUM UTILITY COST FOR A MULTICOMPONENT MASS-EXCHANGE OPERATION

The minimum utility cost problem is investigated for a single mass exc hanger which is required to meet composition targets in multiple compo nents. The problem is formulated as a nonlinear program. Properties fo r this nonlinear program are then established. These lead to a combina torial global solution methodology whose complexity grows as the squar e of the number of components considered. The minimum utility cost is shown to not necessarily be the maximum of the single component minimu m utility costs. The solution procedure is illustrated with two exampl e applications. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.