Increase Profitability with Global Optimization

There is never enough tankage to create the perfect blended product with no quality giveaway. Likewise, there is never enough certainty in any refinery to produce the perfect amount of components to satisfy the customer demand. Keeping plenty of inventory can help deal with the uncertainties in a refinery, but any tank inventory represents cost. Many other industries have successfully reduced both inventories and uncertainties in manufacturing with control technologies (e.g., SPC), however there is still much opportunity in refining due to its unique complexity. Traditional approaches and new technology will be compared, with a special focus on new methods of optimization to control production and intermediate product quality from gate to gate. The ultimate goal is to produce a precise volume, at a precise quality, at a precise time to deliver a specific product to market – requiring less inventory and less production time/energy within the facility. However, as the optimization scope grows, the number of limits and constraints grows exponentially; therefore, any new technology applied to this problem should simplify as well as optimize. Traditional RTO cannot meet this challenge. Gate to gate optimization requires refiners bring the planning and control layers closer together, creating a new platform of production control for satisfying customer demand at the lowest cost.