OPTIMIZATION

INTRODUCTION

• Optimization is the act of obtaining the best result under given circumstances.
In design, construction, and maintenance of any engineering system, engineers
have to take many technological and managerial decisions at several stages.
• The ultimate goal of all such decisions is either to minimize the effort required
or to maximize the desired benefit.
• Since the effort required or the benefit desired in any practical situation can be
expressed as a function of certain decision variables, optimization can be
defined as the process of finding the conditions that give the maximum or
minimum value of a function.
INTRODUCTION

• The use of specific methods to determine the most cost-effective and efficient solution to a
problem or design for a process.
• This technique is one of the major quantitative tools in industrial decision making.
• A wide variety of problems in the design, construction, operation, and analysis of chemical
plants (as well as many other industrial processes) can be resolved by optimization.
WHY OPTIMIZE

• Why are engineers interested in optimization?

• What benefits result from using this method rather than making decisions intuitively?
• Engineers work to improve the initial design of equipment and strive to enhance the operation
of that equipment once it is installed so as to realize the largest production, the greatest profit,
the minimum cost, the least energy usage, and so on.
• In plant operations, benefits arise from improved plant performance, such as improved yields of
valuable products (or reduced yields of contaminants), reduced energy consumption , etc.
• Optimization can also lead to reduced maintenance costs, less equipment wear, and better staff
utilization.
CONTINUED….
• Predicting benefits must be done with care. Design and operating variables in most plants are
always coupled in some way.
• If the fuel bill for a distillation column is $3000 per day, a 5-percent savings may justify an
energy conservation project.
• In a unit operation such as distillation, however, it is incorrect to simply sum the heat
exchanger duties and claim a percentage reduction in total heat required.
• A reduction in the reboiler heat duty may influence both the product purity, which can
translate to a change in profits, and the condenser cooling requirements. Hence, it may be
misleading to ignore the indirect and coupled effects that process variables have on costs.
OBJECTIVE FUNCTION

• Optimization problems in process design are usually concerned with maximizing or minimizing
an objective function. The objective function might typically be to maximize economic potential
or minimize cost.
• A criterion has to be chosen for comparing the different alternative acceptable designs and for
selecting the best one.
• The criterion with respect to which the design is optimized , when expressed as a function of
design variables is known as objective function.
EXAMPLE

• For example, consider the recovery of heat from a hot waste stream. A heat exchanger could
be installed to recover the waste heat.
• There is heat available in the hot stream to be recovered to preheat the cold stream. But how
much heat should be recovered. Expressions can be written for the recovered heat as:
• Given a mathematical model for the objective function in Figure, finding the minimum point
should be
A CONSTRAINT IS A CONDITION OF AN OPTIMIZ ATION PROBLEM THAT THE
SOLUTION MUST SATISF Y
• Given a mathematical model for the objective function in Figure 3.1b, finding the minimum
point should be straightforward and various strategies could be adopted for this purpose. The
objective function is continuous.
• Also, there is only one extreme point. Functions with only one extreme point (maximum or
minimum) are termed unimodal.
• By contrast, consider the objective functions in Figure 3.2.
• Figure 3.2a shows an objective function to be minimized that is discontinuous. If the search for
the minimum is started at point x1, it could be easily concluded that the optimum point is at
x2, whereas the true optimum is at x3. Discontinuities can present problems to optimization
algorithms searching for the optimum.
• Figure 3.2b shows an objective function that has a number of points where the gradient is zero.
These points where the gradient is zero are known as stationary points. Functions that exhibit a
number of stationary points are known as multimodal.
• If the function in Figure 3.2b is to be minimized, it has a local optimum at x2. If the search is
started at x1, it could be concluded that the global optimum is at x2. However, the global
optimum is at x3. The gradient is zero at x4, which is a saddle point.
• By considering the gradient only, this could be confused with a maximum or minimum.
• Thus, there is potentially another local optimum at x4. Like discontinuities, multimodality
presents problems to optimization algorithms. It is clear that it is not sufficient to find a point
of zero gradient in the objective function in order to ensure that the optimum has been
reached. Reaching a point of zero gradient is a necessary condition for optimality but not a
sufficient condition.
• To establish whether an optimal point is a local or a global optimum, the concepts of convexity
and concavity must be introduced.
• Figure 3.3a shows a function to be minimized. In Figure 3.3a, if a straight line is drawn between
any two points on the function, then the function is convex if all the values of this line lie above
the curve.
• Similarly, if an objective function is to be maximized, as shown in Figure 3.3b, and a straight line
drawn between any two points on the function, then if all values on this line lie below the
curve, the function is concave. A convex or concave function provides a single optimum. Thus, if
a minimum is found for a function that is to be minimized and is known to be convex, then it is
the global optimum.
• Similarly, if a maximum is found for a function that is to be maximized and known to be
concave, then it is the global optimum.
• On the other hand, a nonconvex or nonconcave function may have multiple local optima.
• Steps 1, 2, and 3 deal with the mathematical definition of the problem, that is, identification of
variables, specification of the objective function, and statement of the constraints.
• Step 4 suggests that the mathematical statement of the problem be simplified as much as
possible without losing the essence of the problem. First, you might decide to ignore those
variables that have an insignificant effect on the objective function.
• A variable that appears in a simple form within an equation can be eliminated; that is, it can be
solved for explicitly and then eliminated from other equations, the inequalities, and the
objective function.
• Finally, analysis of the objective function may permit some simplification of the problem. For example, if one
product (A) from a plant is worth $30 per pound and all other products from the plant are worth $5 or less
per pound, then we might initially decide to maximize the production of A only.
• Step 5 in Table 1.1 involves the computation of the optimum point. Quite a few techniques exist to obtain the
optimal solution for a problem
• In general, the solution of most optimization problems involves the use of a computer to obtain numerical
answers.
• The last entry in Table 1.1 involves checking the candidate solution to determine that it is indeed optimal. All
you can do is show by repetitive numerical calculations that the value of the objective function is superior to all
known alternatives.
• A second consideration is the sensitivity of the optimum to changes in parameters in the problem statement.