A Discrete-time Scheduling Model for Continuous Power-intensive Processes Considering Fatigue of Equipment

Abstract

In the light of the growing renewable energy generation, matching of electricity supply and demand has become increasingly challenging. By participating in demand side management programs, industry can contribute to counter this challenge. However, the frequent adjustment of operation conditions according to volatile electricity prices leads to additional dynamic loads for the equipment. In this work, a mixed-integer linear programming based discrete-time model is proposed for scheduling of a single air separation unit, explicitly considering fatigue of equipment occurring during transient operation. Besides constraints for describing the feasible region and the process dynamics, this model includes constraints for considering mechanical fatigue of some key equipment. The resulting model is applied to investigate the impact of mechanical constraints on the potentials of demand side management.