Osaka Gas Company Limited

Nobuaki Hashimoto

Toshihiro Nitta

Kaoru Kawamoto

Atsushi Nitanda

Tomokazu Ueda

Kouhei Harada

Hiromasa Tani

Keisuke Kawata

Kenji Tsuzaki

Tomohito Okamura

Takahito Tanabe

To derive a feasible solution for an operation plan problem for storage tanks for storing liquefied natural gas, which is a complicated mixed-integer non-linear problem, given tank initial state information, reception plan information, and feed plan information, two solving processes are executed alternately two or more times, respectively: a first solving process that replaces a mixed-integer non-linear programming problem with a mixed-integer linear programming problem by linear approximation of a non-linear expression in non-linear constraints containing the non-linear expression, and solves the problem to derive provisional solutions or final solutions for a reception pattern that prescribes a storage tank that is to receive liquefied natural gas, and a discharge pattern that prescribes a storage tank that is to discharge liquefied natural gas, and a second solving process that replaces a mixed-integer non-linear programming problem with a continuous non-linear programming problem by provisionally fixing a discrete variable in discrete form constraints containing the discrete variable, and solves the problem to derive provisional solutions or final solutions for transitions of storage quantity and storage heat quantity of liquefied natural gas in each storage tank.

System and method for deriving storage tank operation plan

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Osaka, Japan

Nobuaki Hashimoto