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A SYNOPSIS ON

Fuel cost minimization in a modal gas pipeline

SUBMITTED TO: Dr. Adarsh Arya


BY:-

Nishshesh Singh (R900211021)
Vivek Saini (R900211031)
Pranshu Gupta(R900211052)



B.Tech (Chemical Engineering With Specialization In Refining &
Petrochemicals)
Semester-VII

28
th
August, 2013

University Of Petroleum and Energy Studies,
Dehradun.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS


1) Introduction

2) Work to be done

3) Problem Domain

4) Objective

5) Time line diagram

6) References













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INTRODUCTION

Natural gas, driven by pressure, is transported through a pipeline network system. As the gas
Flows through the network, pressure (and energy) is lost due to both friction between the gas
and
The pipe inner wall and heat transfer between the gas and its environment. To overcome this
Loss of energy and keep the gas moving, compressor stations are installed in the network,
which
Consume part of the transported gas resulting in a fuel consumption cost. Principal concerns
With both designing and operating a gas pipeline network are maximizing throughput and
Minimizing fuel cost.

Numerical simulations based on either steady-state or transient models of the networks have
been used to attempt to provide solutions to these problems. The problem we address in this
paper is minimizing fuel cost for steady-state gas pipeline networks. As the gas industry has
developed, gas pipeline networks have evolved over decades into very large and complex
systems. A typical network today might consist of thousands of pipes, dozens of stations, and
many other devices, such as valves and regulators. Inside each station, there can be several
groups of compressor units of various vintages that were installed as the capacity of the system
expanded. Such a network may transport thousands of MMCFD (1 MMCFD = 106 cubic feet per
day) of gas, of which 3{5% is used by the compressor stations to move the gas.

It is estimated [6] that the global optimization of operations can save at least
20% of the fuel consumed by the stations. Hence, the problem of minimizing fuel cost is of
Tremendous importance. With the aid of today's powerful digital computers, numerical
simulation of gas pipeline networks can be very accurate. This opens the door to the
development of optimization algorithms. Over the years many researchers have attempted this
with varying degrees of success. The difficulties of such optimization problems come from
several aspects. First, compressor stations are very sophisticated entities themselves. They
might consist of a few dozen com- pressure units with different characteristics. Each unit could
be turned on or off, and its behavior is nonlinear. Second, the set of constraints that defined
feasible operating conditions in the compressors along with the constraints in the pipes
constitute a very complex system of nonlinear constraints. Surfing on such a manifold to
attempt to find global optimal solutions demands an in-depth understanding of its structure.
Finally, operations of the valves and regulators may introduce certain discontinuities to the
problems as well. The purpose of this paper is to provide an in-depth study of the underlying
mathematical structure of the compressor stations. Then, based on this study, we present a
mathematical model of the fuel cost minimization problem, and derive a lower bounding
scheme based on two model relaxations:
(i) relaxation of the fuel cost objective function and
(ii) (ii) Relaxation of then on-convex nonlinear compressor domain.
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(iii) Finally, we present empirical evidence that shows the quality of the proposed
relaxations.
WORK TO BE DONE

A mathematical model has to developed for maximizing the flow of natural
Gas in pipeline transmission networks. Unlike previously suggested models, the
Model admits variations in gas specific gravity and compressibility.


We have to develop an iterative procedure, which in each iteration keeps the specific gravity
constant while optimizing other decisions. As a preparation for the next round, the specific
gravity is updated consistently with the flow values observed, and the procedure is repeated
until convergence.

Computational experiments demonstrate that this procedure yields optimal or near-optimal
solutions in most of the instances.














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PROBLEM DOMAIN

Gas transportation networks consist of pipes, compressor stations and many other devices,
such as valves and regulators. The network transports gas coming from gasifier plants and
natural sources. Gasifier plants collect Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from different wells using a
fleet of ships. The gas is delivered to customers with a pressure within a specified interval. Fig. 1
gives a schematic view of the network considered in this project.

Pipes

A pipe is the most important component of the network. They have lengths that range from a
few tens of kilometers to more than 100 km, with diameters ranging from 300 to 12,000 mm.
Although unidirectional flow is usually assumed when modeling the flow of gas through a pipe,
in the context of a scheduling scheme it is necessary to model the bidirectionality. The steady
state pipe flow equation takes the following form:


Compressor stations

These elements give the flow the required energy to reach the delivery nodes with the required
pressure and the demanded quantity. A compressor station consists of several compressor
units in parallel. Each unit could be turned on or off, and its behavior is nonlinear. For the same
reason that pipes, some compressors must be modeled as bidirectional elements.

The power consumption, assuming that the compressors work adiabatically, when compressing
a gas from the suction pressure p
s
, to the discharge pressure p
d
at a volumetric flow rate q is:
HP=C*q*H,

Where C1 depends on the gas pumped and H is the adiabatic head, that is given by



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OBJECTIVES:-

From our Project we will analyze:


1) Constraint model of the system.
2) Constraint Modelling of Pipes
3) Constraint Modelling of Compressor Stations
4) We have developed a modular constraint based model for a gas transmission network.
This model can be used in planning and scheduling optimization systems. The model
approximates the whole complexity of the nonlinear relationship for pipes and
compressor stations. The model can be easily adjusted to get the required precision to
be used in the planning system.















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TIMELINE DIAGRAM








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REFERENCES

[1] P. B. Percell and M. J. Ryan. Steady-state optimization of gas pipeline network operation.
In Proceedings of the 19th PSIG Annual Meeting, Tulsa, October 1987.

[2] R. Z. Ross-Mercado. Lagrangian relaxations for minimum cost gas transmission networks.
Manuscript, Department of Industrial Engineering, Texas A&M University, May 1998

[3 P. J. Wong and R. E. Larson. Optimization of natural-gas pipeline systems via dynamic
Programming. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, AC-13(5):475-481, 1968.
[4] J. D. Seader and E. J. Henley, Separation Process Principles, 2
nd
Ed., Wiley, New York, 2006.

[5] S. Wu. Steady-State Simulation and Fuel Cost Minimization of Gas Pipeline Networks.
PhD thesis, University of Houston, Houston, August 1998.

[6] S. Wu, E. A. Boyd, and L. R. Scott. Minimizing fuel consumption at gas compressor
Stations. In J. J.-W. Chen and A. Mital, editors, Advances in Industrial Engineering
Applications and Practice I, pages 972-977, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1996. International Journal
of Industrial Engineering.