Analytic Hierarchy Process, Sensitivity Analysis, and Selectivity of Alphabutol Operation in 1-Butene Production

Abstract

In this study, different operating parameters which contributed to the fouling formation were identified, while taking into consideration the heat and mass and balance. The effects of three operational parameters viz: reactor temperature, reactor pressure, andcatalyst ratio, feed to and out of reactor and heat exchanger cleaning time on the optimal yield were succinctly investigated using an empirical mathematical model. The optimum per pass conversion (PPC) that maximizes yield and extends pump around loop (PAL) days in service was obtained using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP). The result obtained under the optimum operational condition shows an increased yield from 84 to 85.5% and a 1% improvement in the 1-butene selectivity. Moreover, due to the decrease in maintenance activities, production increased by 1000 tons per annum. In addition to this, the cleaning cycle of the pump around the loop was extended by 9 days and the man-hour cleaning requirement was reduced by 91 days. The operating time of the pump around the loop increased by 30 days per loop with a corresponding reduction in the cleaning time of 50 h which resulted in maximum yield. This study, therefore, presented a design from the sensitivity analysis conducted with the potential benefit of informed decision-making in the process of making a trade-off between optimizing variable cost with the cost of maintaining the Alphabutol technology.