Modeling and discrete event simulation in industrial systems considering consumption and electrical energy generation

Abstract This paper presents the application of the Discrete Event Simulation (DES) in an industrial plant to analyze the behavior of the consumption and generation of electrical energy in conjunction with other variables of the process. In other words, the process modeling was conducted considering the energy consumption in equipment as well as the local photovoltaic (PV) energy generation. A medium-sized plant was the reference base used herein, and the main variables considered were the time of supply of tanks and processing of raw material, active power of equipment and energy tariffs. A simulation model with resolution in seconds was designed, enabling the simulation of consumption curves of each equipment of a given part of the production process. The equipment of variable active demand was modeled by a mathematical regression method, and the others were assumed with constant power. The same model was altered to unit in minutes for simulating the monthly electricity consumption, so as to obtain financial results. The contractual rules for electricity supply were included, and the use of a diesel-powered generator was taken into account. The application of a freeware was employed as a low cost alternative for small and medium-sized companies, even though the lack of graphic resources has increased the complexity of the system modeling process. The model with resolution in seconds proved to be efficient to simulate the consumption profile of a specific equipment that alters the power in a short-time period, such as the pumps. The model, on the other hand, in minutes allowed a more effective analysis in terms of finance, enabling the verification of alternative scenarios throughout a month. The monthly cost reduction perceived by considering self-generation in this model was about 36%.