Optimizing crude oil operations scheduling considering blending in tanks

This paper focuses on the optimization of crude oil operations scheduling in a refinery that is supplied with crude oil by ship. One of the main challenges associated with the crude oil operations scheduling problem is the management of crude storage in tanks. Since storage capacity is limited and there are several types of crude oil depending on their composition, it is necessary to store mixtures of crude oil in tanks. This feature makes necessary the inclusion of nonlinear, non-convex constraints, which complicates the resolution of mathematical programming models. To address this problem, we have developed a mathematical programming model based on a continuous-time formulation using time slots, along with a strategy based on piecewise McCormick relaxation that allows us to efficiently handle the nonlinear constraints generated by blending crude oils in tanks. Copyright (C)2024 The Authors. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (htips://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)