IMPACT OF SO2 EMISSION LIMITS ON PETROLEUM REFINERY OPERATIONS II: MINIMIZING EMISSIONS

AMIT DUTTA
A. K. DIKSHIT
S. RAY
M. BANDYOPADHYAY


DOI: 10.2190/8KPC-JTAG-TMJG-C89X

Abstract

The first part of this article presented a general-purpose linear programming model and applied it to an existing petroleum refinery in India to evaluate the impact of imposed maximum SO2 emission limits on operations and profitability. The present study presents two-step solution methodology designed to minimize SO2 emission rates while preserving refinery profit. The proposed two-step procedure identifies an alternate solution of the LP model leading to an operating plan with maximized profit and minimized SO2 emission rates. The study also shows that the alternative of increasing low-sulfur crude processing for lowering the total SO2 emission rate may be effective only up to a certain proportion of the low-sulfur crude.

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