Int. J. Process Systems Engineering, Vol. 1, Nos. 3/4, 2011 237
Copyright © 2011 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
Integration and coordination of multisite refinery and
petrochemical networks under uncertainty
A. Elkamel* and K. Al-Qahtani
Department of Chemical Engineering,
University of Waterloo,
Ontario, N2L 3G1, Canada
E-mail: aelkamel@uwaterloo.ca
E-mail: kalqahta@uwaterloo.ca
*Corresponding author
Abstract: In this paper we extend upon our previous work on the deterministic
design of an optimal network for the integration of multisite refinery and
petrochemical systems to incorporate uncertainty. A two-stage stochastic
mixed-integer program with the objective of minimising the refining cost over
a given time horizon and maximising the added value by the petrochemical
network is proposed in this paper. Uncertainties considered in this study are in
terms of imported crude oil price, refinery product price, petrochemical product
price, refinery market demand, and petrochemical lower level product demand.
The proposed method adopts the sample average approximation (SAA) method
for scenario generation and optimal gab statistical bounding. The model
performance is tested on an industrial case study of multiple refineries and a
polyvinyl chloride (PVC) complex.
Keywords: planning under uncertainty; coordination; petrochemical planning;
multirefinery optimisation.
Reference to this paper should be made as follows: Elkamel, A. and
Al-Qahtani, K. (2011) ‘Integration and coordination of multisite refinery and
petrochemical networks under uncertainty’, Int. J. Process Systems
Engineering, Vol. 1, Nos. 3/4, pp.237–265.
Biographical notes: Ali Elkamel is currently a Professor of Chemical
Engineering at the University of Waterloo. He holds a BS in Chemical and
Petroleum Refining Engineering and a BS in Mathematics from Colorado
School of Mines, an MS and a PhD in Chemical Engineering from the
University of Colorado-Boulder and Purdue University, respectively. He
teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on optimisation techniques,
mathematical methods for chemical engineers, applied statistics, numerical
methods, systems engineering, and engineering economy. He is a member of
different scientific societies and published in many refereed international
journals and conferences.
Khalid Al-Qahtani is currently a PhD candidate at the Chemical Engineering
Department, University of Waterloo. He obtained his BSc in Chemical
Engineering from KFUPM, Saudi Arabia in 1999. He has served for more than
six years in the petroleum industry as a Process and Project Engineer spanning
the area of oil treatment, gas processing and refining operations. His research
interests include planning under uncertainty of single and multisite facilities in
the petroleum refining and petrochemical industry.