An improved series-parallel optimization approach for cooling water system

Abstract Conventional cooling networks are usually operated in a parallel configuration. Although this configuration is easy operated, it results in inefficient use of water. A series configuration can effectively reduce water flow rate, while its arrangement is relatively complex, incurring more operating and capital cost. This paper proposes a water and energy conservation strategy to save energy cost and to simplify the network structure. Heat exchangers are arranged in series-parallel configuration to reduce the water flow rate for water conservation, and two kinds of installation conditions with or without static pressure drop are taken into account for energy conservation. A main-auxiliary pump structure is applied to reduce the operating consumption. The number of reuse branch for the economic performance is analyzed. Mixed-integer nonlinear programming based on a superstructure description is formulated by considering the configuration of pumps and heat exchanger networks simultaneously. Two case studies are employed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach. The results show that the improved series-parallel configuration approach can save 10.9% of the total cost compared with the two-step sequential optimization and 4.7% compared with the simultaneous optimization method.