Design of Bitumen Upgrading and Utility Plant through Integrated Optimization

Abstract

This paper proposes a new integrated model for simultaneous design optimization of upgrading plants in the oil sands industry and the associating utility plants. In the past, work has been mainly focused on the energy infrastructure of upgrading plants, and predesigned power and hydrogen plants were considered as utility plants. The novelty of this work is the incorporation of a detailed polygeneration energy system model with the bitumen upgrading plant model. In this way, optimal configurations can be found to meet the various energy requirements of upgrading plants in the oil sands industry. On the basis of the proposed optimization model, optimal configurations under different scenarios are discussed. Effects of upgrading plant capacity, being able to export power to the public grid, natural gas and electricity prices, and the margin between diluted bitumen and synthetic crude oil prices are studied. According to the results, the presented model is a practical tool to design the optimal upgrading plant and its utility plant for the oil sands industry.

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