GOALI: Design and Operations of Supply Chain for Cleaner Fuels: Models, Algorithms and Implementation for Coal-fired Power Plants

该奖项的研究目标是建立发电厂燃料供应链系统的全面特征，并开发分析模型和高效算法，以支持他们设计和运营使用更清洁燃料的供应链。燃料混合在燃煤电厂中已被广泛采用，以产生满足热量和排放标准的混合燃料，这要求发电厂管理其复杂的燃料链，以确保在正确的时间获得正确的燃料。当非传统生物质被纳入共烧时，这种情况就更加复杂。为了解决这一紧迫的问题，这项研究将：(I)收集和分析真实数据，以确定关键和随机因素；(Ii)使用随机规划和/或稳健优化方法建立全面的燃料供应链模型；(Iii)开发高效算法，计算实际实例的最优/接近最优解；(Iv)展示这些模型和算法在实现减排、经济效率和发电可靠性之间最佳平衡方面的有效性。如果成功，本研究将提供一套实质性的工具，将显著改善燃煤电厂及其燃料供应链的设计和运营。据估计，全国每年节省的资金可能会达到数十亿美元。更广泛地说，这些工具可用于生物质整合、改造技术的经济分析和合同谈判。它们也适用于其他行业，如化工和食品行业。我们的研究成果将通过会议、期刊出版物和包含相关工具、模型、案例研究和教程/手册的专门互联网页面及时传播。本科生和研究生也将通过新的课程材料和参与研究而受益于这一奖项。这一变革的影响将通过与行业合作伙伴和学生实习生的密切合作来产生。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

The research objective of this award is to establish a comprehensive characterization of fuel supply chain systems in power plants, and to develop analytical models and efficient algorithms to support them to design and operate those chains with cleaner fuels. Fuel blending has been widely adopted among coal-fired plants to produce a blend satisfying heat and emission standards, which requires power plants to manage their complex fuel chains to ensure that the right fuel is available at the right time. Such a situation is more complicated when non-traditional biomass is included for co-firing. To resolve this pressing issue, this research will: (i) collect and analyze real data to identify critical and random factors; (ii) build comprehensive fuel supply chain models using stochastic programming and/or robust optimization methods; (iii) develop efficient algorithms to compute optimal/near-optimal solutions for practical instances; (iv) demonstrate the effectiveness of those models and algorithms on achieving an optimal balance among emission reduction, economic efficiency and reliability in power generation.If successful, this research will provide a set of substantial tools that will significantly improve the design and operation of coal-fired power plants and their fuel supply chains. The estimated savings nationwide could be multi-billion dollars annually. More broadly, these tools can be utilized in biomass integration, economic analysis of retrofit technologies, and contract negotiations. They are also applicable to other industries, such as chemical and food industries. Our research findings will be disseminated timely via conferences, journal publications and a dedicated internet page containing relevant tools, models, case studies, and tutorials/manuals. Undergraduate and graduate students will also benefit from this award through new course material and research involvement. The transformative impact will be generated through the close collaboration with industrial partners and student interns.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.