Heat Integration Across Plants Considering Distance Factor

Total site integration can provide an opportunity for energy saving across different individual plants and processes. Some design methods including direct integration using process streams and indirect integration using intermediate-fluid circuits have been proposed. Normally, from the view of control and security, indirect integration using intermediate-fluid circuits is preferred. The distance between plants is a very important factor which normally is not considered in conventional total site heat integration methodologies. The distance has a great impact on pressure drop and heat loss during transportation of intermediate-fluid. The investment of pipe can be high when the distance is long. This paper presents a novel total site design methodology allows the impact of distance related factors to be involved. In the case study, both direct and indirect Heat Integrations are studied considering the distance related problems. The application of our methodology is very practical and can bring a significant energy saving across plants.