Multiobjective synthesis of heat exchanger networks minimizing the total annual cost and the environmental impact

This paper presents a mathematical programming formulation for the synthesis of heat exchanger networks minimizing simultaneously the total annual cost and the environmental impact. The proposed model consists of a Multiobjective Mixed Integer Non-Linear programming problem that considers the optimal location and use of different types of hot and cold utilities available through disjunctive formulations. The total annual cost objective function considers the minimization of the cost for the utilities and capital for the heat exchanger units, whereas the environmental impact objective function is calculated through the eco-indicator 99 for the different types of utilities using the life cycle analysis methodology. Three example problems are presented to show the applicability of the proposed methodology without numerical complications.

Research highlights
► Heat exchanger networks.
► Mathematical programming.
► Multiobjective optimization.
► Environmental impact.
► Multiple utilities.