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Process synthesis for cascade refrigeration system based on exergy analysis
Author(s) -
Dinh Ha,
Zhang Jian,
Xu Qiang
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
aiche journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.958
H-Index - 167
eISSN - 1547-5905
pISSN - 0001-1541
DOI - 10.1002/aic.14843
Subject(s) - refrigeration , exergy , refrigerant , heat exchanger , cascade , process engineering , consistency (knowledge bases) , engineering , gas compressor , process (computing) , work (physics) , petrochemical , control engineering , computer science , mechanical engineering , waste management , chemical engineering , artificial intelligence , operating system
Refrigeration system holds an important role in chemical/petrochemical processes. The traditional cascade refrigeration system (CRS) used in ethylene plants contains multiple refrigerants working at multiple temperature/pressure levels. In this study, a general methodology is developed for the optimal process synthesis of a CRS based on exergy analysis. This procedure involves four stages: (1) refrigeration system exergetic analysis; (2) optimization model development for simultaneous synthesis of refrigeration system and heat exchanger network (HEN); (3) HEN configuration; and (4) final solution validation. The exergy–temperature chart is used to comprehensively analyze a CRS. A mathematical model is presented to minimize total compressor shaft work of the HEN‐considered CRS, where multiple recycling loops satisfying all cooling/heating demands are simultaneously addressed. The optimal solution is examined by rigorous simulations to verify its feasibility and consistency. The efficacy of the developed methodology is demonstrated by a case study of a propylene CRS in an ethylene plant. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J , 61: 2471–2488, 2015