SOLUTION TO A PIPELINE SCHEDULING PROBLEM BY USING A MIXED INTEGER LINEAR PROGRAMMING MODEL

Pipelines are efficient ways of conveying huge amounts of refined petroluem products to distant points. Different products are pumped successively, in the pipelines without a need of a separator between them. Pipelines should be chosen very carefully based on the pumping sequences, volumes to be conveyed, covering the constraints involved by cutting operational costs and focusing on market demands. The real life problem considered in this study consists of a unidirectional pipe distribution system used for pumping petroleum products between the sources and distribution centers.  . Problem was stated as a Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP) model and solved by using GAMS software thorough actual data. As a result of the study, an optimal pumping schedule for pipeline operations at a certain period of time was achieved

Global search metaheuristics for planning transportation of multiple petroleum products in a multi-pipeline system

The objective of this work is to develop several metaheuristic algorithms to improve the efficiency of the MILP algorithm used for planning transportation of multiple petroleum products in a multi-pipeline system. The problem involves planning the optimal sequence of products assigned to each new package pumped through each polyduct of the network in order to meet product demands at each destination node before the end of the planning horizon. All the proposed metaheuristics are combinations of improvement methods applied to solutions resulting from different construction heuristics. These improvements are performed by searching the neighborhoods generated around the current solution by different Global Search Metaheuristics: Multi-Start Search, Variable Neighborhood Search, Taboo Search and Simulated Annealing. Numerical examples are solved in order to show the performance of these metaheuristics against a standard commercial solver using MILP. Results demonstrate how these metaheuristics are able to reach better solutions in much lower computational time. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

A MULTI-COMMODITY NETWORK FLOW APPROACH FOR SEQUENCING REFINED PRODUCTS IN PIPELINE SYSTEMS

In the oil industry, there is a special class of pipelines used for the transportation of refined products. The problem of sequencing the inputs to be pumped through this type of pipeline seeks to generate the optimal sequence of batches of products and their destination as well as the amount of product to be pumped such that the total operational cost of the system, or another operational objective, is optimized while satisfying the product demands according to the requirements set by the customers. This dissertation introduces a new modeling approach and proposes a solution methodology for this problem capable of dealing with the topology of all the scenarios reported in the literature so far. The system representation is based on a 1-0 multi commodity network flow formulation that models the dynamics of the system, including aspects such as conservation of product flow constraints at the depots, travel time of products from the refinery to their depot destination and what happens upstream and downstream the line whenever a product is being received at a given depot while another one is being injected into the line at the refinery. It is assumed that the products are already available at the refinery and their demand at each depot is deterministic and known beforehand. The model provides the sequence, the amounts, the destination and the trazability of the shipped batches of different products from their sources to their destinations during the entire horizon planning period while seeking the optimization of pumping and inventory holding costs satisfying the time window constraints. A survey for the available literature is presented. Given the problem structure, a decomposition based solution procedure is explored with the intention of exploiting the network structure using the network simplex method. A branch and bound algorithm that exploits the dynamics of the system assigning priorities for branching to a selected set of variables is proposed and its computational results for the solution, obtained via GAMS/CPLEX, of the formulation for random instances of the problem of different sizes are presented. Future research directions on this field are proposed

Otimização do scheduling de movimentações de um duto com uma origem e vários destinos

This thesis presents a model to support decision making of scheduling activities in a sequential pipeline system, composed by one refinery source and multiple destinations. This model is inserted into a system and used to develop a case study in the real world pipeline system called OSBRA that links the largest refinery in Brazil, REPLAN, to five terminals located in four different states. The proposed system relies its method in the iterative execution of a model of mixed integer linear programming, with the time horizon being moved in order to achieve a schedule for a period of at least one month. The main operational features and restrictions of OSBRA are considered in this model, as the flow variation due to the entry or exit of bleeding receiving, always within the limits of both the flow sections of pipelines as of bleeding. Others features of the real system contemplated in the model are the receiving by the intermediate bases exclusively by bleeding, meaning that only part of the batch is received thus, avoiding downstream stretches from the pipeline to stop, daily variance in the demand and the use of stamp batches to prevent contamination between adjacent derivatives. Eighteen scenarios of OSBRA’s system were submitted to the model and high quality solutions were obtained, reaching a satisfactory level of service in most scenarios.O presente trabalho desenvolve um modelo de apoio à tomada de decisão de atividades de scheduling em um sistema de dutos sequenciais, com uma origem e vários destinos. Esse modelo foi inserido em uma ferramenta computacional que possibilita a realização de estudos de caso em um duto real denominado OSBRA, que a partir da maior refinaria brasileira, a REPLAN, abastece cinco órgãos localizados em quatro unidades da federação diferentes. O sistema proposto baseia seu método na execução iterativa de um modelo de programação linear inteira mista, com o horizonte de tempo sendo deslocado com o intuito de se atingir uma programação para um período de no mínimo um mês. São consideradas no modelo as principais características operacionais do OSBRA, como variação da vazão em função da entrada ou saída de sangrias de recebimento, sempre respeitando os limites de vazão tanto dos trechos de dutos quanto das sangrias. Outras características do sistema real contempladas no modelo são o recebimento por parte das bases intermediárias exclusivamente por sangria, ou seja, apenas uma parte da batelada é recebida evitando, desta forma, a parada dos trechos de duto a jusante; variação diária de demanda e utilização de bateladas selo para evitar a contaminação entre produtos adjacentes. Dezoito cenários do sistema OSBRA, com diferentes características sazonais, foram submetidos ao modelo, que obteve soluções de grande qualidade, atingindo-se um nível de serviço satisfatório na grande maioria dos cenários