An Optimal Operational Advisory System for a Brewery’s Energy Supply Plant

Abstract

An optimal operational advisory system is proposed to operate rationally a brewery’s energy supply plant from the economical viewpoint. A mixed-integer linear programming problem is formulated so as to minimize the daily operational cost subject to constraints such as equipment performance characteristics, energy supply-demand relations, and some practical operational restrictions. This problem includes lots of unknown variables and a hierarchical approach is adopted to derive numerical solutions. The optimal solution obtained by this method is indicated to the plant operators so as to support their decision making. Through the numerical study for a real brewery plant, the possibility of saving operational cost is ascertained.