Decision system based on neural networks to optimize the energy efficiency of a petrochemical plant

The energy efficiency of industrial plants is an important issue in any type of business but particularly in the chemical industry. Not only is it important in order to reduce costs, but also it is necessary even more as a means of reducing the amount of fuel that gets wasted, thereby improving productivity, ensuring better product quality, and generally increasing profits. This article describes a decision system developed for optimizing the energy efficiency of a petrochemical plant. The system has been developed after a data mining process of the parameters registered in the past. The designed system carries out an optimization process of the energy efficiency of the plant based on a combined algorithm that uses the following for obtaining a solution: On the one hand, the energy efficiency of the operation points occurred in the past and, on the other hand, a module of two neural networks to obtain new interpolated operation points. Besides, the work includes a previous discriminant analysis of the variables of the plant in order to select the parameters most important in the plant and to study the behavior of the energy efficiency index. This study also helped ensure an optimal training of the neural networks. The robustness of the system as well as its satisfactory results in the testing process (an average rise in the energy efficiency of around 7%, reaching, in some cases, up to 45%) have encouraged a consulting company (ALIATIS) to implement and to integrate the decision system as a pilot software in an SCADA. 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.