Synthesis and scheduling of optimal batch water-recycle networks

This work develops an optimization-based methodology for the design and scheduling of batch water recycle networks. This task requires the identification of network configuration, fresh-water usage, recycle assignments from sources to sinks, wastewater discharge, and a scheduling scheme. A new source-tank-sink representation is developed to allow for storage and dispatch tanks. The problem is solved in stages by first eliminating scheduling constraints and determining minimum usage of fresh water and wastewater discharge. An iterative procedure is formulated to minimize the total annual cost of the system by trading off capital versus operating costs. The work overcomes limitations in previous literature work including restricted recycle within the same cycle, lumped balances that may not lead to feasible solutions, and unrealistic objective functions. A case study is solved to illustrate the usefulness of the devised procedure.