Economic Incentive For Intermittent Operation of Air Separation Plants With Variable Power Cost
Economic Incentive For Intermittent Operation of Air Separation Plants With Variable Power Cost
Economic Incentive For Intermittent Operation of Air Separation Plants With Variable Power Cost
Stephane Blouin
AdVanced Control and Operations Research, Process and Systems R&D, Praxair Inc.,
Tonawanda, New York 14151
This article presents a simplified economic analysis of the effect of hourly variations in power costs on
energy and capital costs of cryogenic air separation plants. The objective is to see what ratio of peak-to-
minimum energy costs is required to make intermittently operated air separation plants economically attractive.
The study focuses on super-staged argon-column air separation plants producing both gaseous and liquid
oxygen and nitrogen, along with high-purity liquid argon. Preliminary results indicate that power price ratios
between about 2 and 7 are required, depending on the process and economic assumptions. The analysis uses
thermodynamic ideal-work calculations to predict energy requirements for plants that produce varying amounts
of liquid and gaseous products. These products must be provided to customers even when the plant is not
running, so excess liquid oxygen and nitrogen must be produced and stored during the period when the plant
is running. The actual power consumption of the base 24-hour plant is used to calculate a thermodynamic
efficiency (about 33%), which is then used for the modified plants. Capital costs for the conventional
continuously operated 24-hour plant are assumed to be some multiple of the energy costs for the 24-hour
plant evaluated at the minimum power price (Pmin). Capital costs for the 12-hour plant and the 8-hour plant
are scaled up from the capital cost of the 24-hour plant. The analysis assumes a three 8-hour power-price-
window cost structure. The economics are evaluated over a range of power price ratios. In the most optimistic
case, when the annual capital cost for the 24-hour plant is assumed to be 30% of the total annual cost, the
equipment cost is scaled using the conventional 0.6 power factor and instantaneous start-up is assumed, the
8-hour plant becomes economically viable at a power-price ratio of 2.13. When the instantaneous start-up
assumption is removed and one assumes that only the minimum power price is observed on weekends, the
8-hour plant becomes economically viable at a power price ratio of 4.15.
The lower column (high-pressure column) operates at ap- provided by a liquid nitrogen-add stream, which is combined
proximately 85 psia (0.586 MPa) and separates the air into a with the shelf transfer. The liquid nitrogen-add stream is
high-purity nitrogen stream (top) and oxygen-enriched liquid provided by drawing from the liquid nitrogen storage tank or
stream (bottom). The nitrogen stream is referred to as the shelf by recycling liquid from a nitrogen liquefier. A nitrogen liquefier
transfer and the enriched oxygen stream is called the kettle includes a series of compression, expansion, and heat exchange
transfer. The upper (low-pressure) column operates at ap- equipment.1 Nitrogen vapor at the top of the lower column is
proximately 20 psia (0.138 MPa) and produces high-purity condensed against boiling liquid oxygen in the bottom of the
nitrogen (top) and oxygen (bottom) product streams. The oxygen upper column by heat exchange in a reboiler-condenser.
product from the bottom of the upper column typically contains Argon boils between oxygen and nitrogen, which results
99.9% oxygen with the remainder being argon. The nitrogen in a peak argon composition in the lower portion of the
product from the upper column typically contains ppm-level upper column. A vapor side stream is drawn from the upper
impurities of oxygen. The oxygen liquid-product stream is column near the argon peak and is fed to the argon
pumped to a higher pressure. A portion is vaporized in the column. The argon column produces a liquid argon product
primary heat exchanger and provides high-pressure gaseous that is drawn a few stages from the top of the column. This
oxygen product, and the remainder goes to the product oxygen argon product stream contains ppm-level impurities of oxygen
liquid-storage tank. Reflux for both columns is generated at the and nitrogen. The product stream is drawn several stages
top of the lower column (i.e., shelf transfer acts as reflux for from the top of the column to prevent too much nitrogen from
the upper column). Additional reflux for the upper column is entering the product argon stream. Reflux for the argon column
1134 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 47, No. 4, 2008
with
Wideal ) ∆H - T0∆S )
(∑ PnHn - FairHair -
)
T0
(∑ )
PnSn - FairSair (2)
∑ xj ln xj
plants.
Widealmix ) -FairRT0 (1)
j)1
2. The capacity and size of the 12-hour plant is twice that of
the base-case 24-hour plant. The capacity and size of the 8-hour
where Fair ) air feed rate (mol/s) plant is three times that of the base-case 24-hour plant.
R ) 8.314 J/mol‚K 3. Enough liquid oxygen and nitrogen are produced and stored
xj ) mole fraction of component j in the air feed during the period when the plant is running to provide both
j ) 1 (nitrogen), j ) 2 (oxygen), and j ) 3 (argon) oxygen and nitrogen products (gas and liquid) when the plant
T0 ) 295.37 K is not running.
In a more general sense, the ideal work is computed on the 4. The nitrogen liquefier is running whenever the plant is
basis of changes in conditions between the feed and the products running.
Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 47, No. 4, 2008 1135
5. Enthalpy and entropy data for feed and product streams TACn ) total annual cost for plant n ($/year), n ) 24, 12, or
are obtained from Aspen Plus process modeling software using 8
the Peng-Robinson physical property package.2 R ) ratio of ACC24/AEC24 evaluated at Pmin
6. Component mole balances perfectly close, with the β ) ratio of ACC12/ACC24
composition of air assumed to be 78.11 mol % nitrogen, 0.93 κ ) ratio of ACC8/ACC24
mol % argon and 20.96 mol % oxygen. By manipulating the above equations, one can obtain a general
7. Product streams are assumed to be pure. relationship for the critical power price ratio (Pmax/Pmin) at which
8. Plants are assumed to start up instantaneously. This TAC12 becomes lower than TAC24, TAC8 becomes lower than
assumption will be relaxed in a later section of this article. TAC24, and TAC8 becomes lower than TAC12. The critical
B. Sizing and Economic Assumptions. power price ratios are functions of R, β, κ, W12, W24, and W8
1. There are three 8-hour power-price windows during each and are given in eqs 12-14. Note that if the plants have the
24 h day. The base-case 24-hour plant encounters the minimum same efficiency, which has been assumed, the critical powerprice
power price for 8 h, the average of the maximum and minimum ratio is not a function of the efficiency, and therefore the ideal
power price for 8 h, and the maximum power price for 8 h. work can be used instead of the real work in eqs 12-14.
The 12-hour plant encounters the minimum power price for 8 However, the efficiency does impact the magnitude of the TAC
h and the average of the maximum and minimum power price of each plant.
( )
for 4 h. The 8-hour plant encounters only the minimum power
price when it is operating for 8 h. 5 W12 1
( )
2. The peak power price is some multiple of the minimum R(β - 1) + -
Pmax 6 W24 2
( )
power price. The third power price is the average of the ) (12)
Pmin 12-24 1 1 W12
maximum and minimum power prices. The economics are -
evaluated over a range of Pmax/Pmin ratios. 2 6 W24
( ) [ ( ) ]
3. The annual capital cost (capital investment divided by
Pmax W8 1
payback period) for the 24-hour plant is assumed to be some ) 2 R(κ - 1) + - (13)
multiple (R) of the annual energy cost of the 24-hour plant Pmin 8-24 W24 2
( ) [( ) ( ) ]
evaluated at Pmin. The annual capital cost for the 12-hour plant
Pmax W24 W8 5
is assumed to be some multiple (β) of the annual capital cost )6 R (κ - β) + - (14)
for the 24-hour plant. The annual capital cost for the 8-hour Pmin 8-12 W12 W12 6
plant is assumed to be some multiple (κ) of the annual capital
cost for the 24-hour plant. 4.3. Results. A comparison of the TAC for the three plants
4. Total annual costs (annual capital cost plus annual energy as a function of the economic parameters R, β, and κ is given
cost) for the three plants are calculated for different peak-to- in Figure 5. The parameter values used in part a of Figure 5 are
minimum power prices to assess at what ratio the intermittent R ) 1 (i.e., ACC24 and AEC24 (at Pmin) are equal), β ) 2 (i.e.,
plants become economically attractive. ACC12 ) 2ACC24), and κ ) 3 (i.e., ACC8 ) 3ACC24). A value
4.2. Calculations. On the basis of the assumptions listed of R ) 1, which corresponds to the annual capital cost equaling
above, the following relationships can be developed to determine the annual energy cost, has been derived from an article by
the annual costs for the 24-hour, 12-hour, and 8-hour plants: Castle.3 However, it is unclear if the author uses the exact
definition for R described in this article and under what power
ACC24 ) RW24Pmin (3) price structure the value was determined. Nevertheless, a 50/
50 split between annual capital and energy costs seems like a
AEC24 ) (1/3)W24[Pmax + Pmin + 0.5(Pmax + Pmin)] (4) logical starting point. Other values of R are explored below.
Likewise, direct scaling of the annual capital cost to the plant
TAC24 ) AEC24 + ACC24 ) capacity (i.e., β ) 2 and κ ) 3), which would be the case if
(1/3)W24[Pmax + Pmin + 0.5(Pmax + Pmin)] + RW24Pmin (5) parallel units were used, seems to be a reasonable starting point.
Other scale-up relationships are explored below. With these
ACC12 ) βACC24 ) βRW24Pmin (6) economic parameters, the 8-hour plant begins to yield the lowest
TAC at a power price ratio of about 6.78. All of the TAC plots
AEC12 ) W12[(2/3)Pmin + (1/6)(Pmax + Pmin)] (7) assume a minimum power price of $0.03/kwh.
A second value for R (0.43) has been derived from a article
TAC12 ) AEC12 + ACC12 ) W12[(2/3)Pmin +
by Scharle and Wilson.4 With this value, 70% of the TAC would
(1/6)(Pmax + Pmin)] + βRW24Pmin (8) be attributed to energy. Again, it is unclear if the authors use
the exact definition for R described in this article and under
ACC8 ) κACC24 ) κRW24Pmin (9) what power price structure the value was determined. Also, the
AEC8 ) W8Pmin (10) plants described by Scharle and Wilson did not include argon
production. However, it seems quite possible that an energy-
TAC8 ) AEC8 + ACC8 ) W8Pmin + κRW24Pmin (11) intensive process such a cryogenic air separation could have
an annual energy cost that is higher than the annual capital cost.
where Pmin ) minimum power price ($/kwh) From part b of Figure 5, one can observe that changing R from
Pmax ) maximum power price ($/kwh) 1 to 0.43 reduces the critical power price ratio at which the
Wn ) yearly energy requirements for plant n (kwh/year), TAC curves for the 8-hour and 12-hour plants intersect to a
n ) 24, 12, or 8 value of 3.55.
ACCn ) annual capital cost for plant n ($/year), The economics are also improved (part c of Figure 5) if one
n ) 24, 12, or 8 assumes that capital costs scale up by the ratio of the capacities
AECn ) annual energy cost for plant n ($/year), to the power of 0.6 (i.e., β ) 20.6 and κ ) 30.6), as is
n ) 24, 12, or 8 conventionally used (see Peters, Timmerhaus, and West).5 In
1136 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 47, No. 4, 2008
this case, the critical power price ratio is about 3.48. Thus, a instantaneous start-up was assumed, the TAC for the 8-hour
similar change in the critical power price ratio is observed by plant becomes a function of the power price ratio (part b of
adjusting β and κ, as was observed by adjusting R. Figure 6). Using the most optimistic economic parameters (R
Under the most favorable conditions (part d of Figure 5), ) 0.43, β ) 20.6, and κ ) 30.6) and assuming a 2 h start-up
when the annual capital cost for the 24-hour plant is assumed time, the critical power ratio is about 3.25 compared to 2.13
to be 30% of the total annual cost and the equipment cost is for instantaneous start-up.
scaled using the 0.6 power factor, the critical power price ratio Alternatively, the capacities of the 8-hour and 12-hour plants
is about 2.13. A breakdown of the annual capital and energy could be increased so that the required products could be
costs for the most optimistic case is shown in Table 2. produced in 6 and 10 h of operation, respectively, during which
4.3.1. Effect of Startup Time. Thus far, we have assumed products are produced from the columns. With this mode of
that the plants start up instantaneously. However, it typically operation, the critical power price ratio is about 3.02 (part c of
takes about 2 h for the oxygen and nitrogen product streams to Figure 6). Because the 24-hour plant runs continuously with
reach the desired product purities. Thus, there is a period of no daily start up, the TAC does not change when the start-up
time for the 8- and 12-hour plants when no product is being time is included in the analysis (compare parts a, b, and c of
drawn. To meet the product demands, the 8- and 12-hour Figure 6). One should also keep in mind that it takes about 10
plants would have to have higher throughputs than those h for the product argon to reach the desired purity given the
described in Figures 3 and 4 or run for 10 and 14 h per day, current plant design. In this analysis, it has been assumed that
respectively. it takes only 2 h. In a recent paper,7 we will discuss some design
If one assumes that the plants run for 10 and 14 h, the extra and control changes that can be implemented to reduce the time
2 h of operation for both the 8-hour and 12-hour plants fall in required to achieve argon product purity to about the time
the Pavg power price period. Thus, in contrast to Figure 5 where required for that of oxygen and nitrogen.
Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 47, No. 4, 2008 1137
( )
observed in Figure 7.
The average power price for the entire year, which determines TAC24 - TACN
incROI ) 100 (15)
the annual energy cost for the 24-hour plant, was $0.0574/kWh. t (ACCN - ACC24)
*
The least expensive 12 h block of time, which is when one
would operate the 12-hour plant, occurred between 10:00 p.m. where: incROI ) incremental return on investment (%)
and 10:00 a.m. During this time the average power price was TAC24 ) total annual cost of base 24-hour plant ($/yr)
$0.0448/kWh. The least expensive 8-hour block of time, which TACN ) total annual cost of modified plant with N ) 8 or
is when one would operate the 8-hour plant, occurred between 12 ($/yr)
10:00 pm and 6:00 a.m., with an average power price of ACC24 ) annual capital cost of base 24-hour plant ($/yr)
$0.0381/kWh. Thus, the annual capital cost for the 24-hour plant, ACCN ) annual capital cost of modified plant with N ) 8 or
which is based on the minimum power price (section 4.2), will 12 ($/yr)
use $0.0381/kWh for Pmin. t* ) payback period (years)
1138 Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 47, No. 4, 2008
4.3.4. Effect of Higher Fraction of Liquid Products. The phase, the critical power price ratio rises to 3.2 (Figure 8).
product distribution given in Table 1 shows that 70% of As above, we have assumed that all of the plants have the
the product oxygen and 89% of the product nitrogen are same thermodynamic efficiency. As one would expect, plants
sold in the liquid phase. However, depending on demand, that supply larger fractions of liquid products are more amenable
the plant may be designed to produce higher or lower frac- to intermittent operation. The results shown in Figure 8 assume
tions of liquid products. If one assumes that all of the pro- instantaneous start-up and the most favorable economic param-
duct oxygen and nitrogen is sold in the liquid phase, the cri- eters. Here, we define the critical power price ratio as the
tical power price ratio is about 2.08 (Figure 8). If one as smallest power price ratio at which the lowest TAC is that of
sumes that all of the oxygen and nitrogen is sold in the vapor the 8-hour plant.
Ind. Eng. Chem. Res., Vol. 47, No. 4, 2008 1139