Chemical Engineering Communications, Vol.201, No.7, 926-938, 2014
APPLICATION OF GENETIC ALGORITHM FOR OPTIMIZATION OF SEPARATOR PRESSURES IN MULTISTAGE PRODUCTION UNITS
In this article, a genetic algorithm is used to optimize the separator pressures in a multistage crude oil and multistage gas condensate production unit with four and three separators respectively. This leads to the generation of more accurate results for the quality and quantity of oil remaining in the stock tank for both crude oil and gas condensate production units. Genetic-based optimized pressures for crude oil separators resulted in 1.8% and 2% enhancement in oil remaining in the stock tank for summer and winter respectively. API gravity of the stock tank oil was improved 2.4% in summer and 2.2% in winter. For the gas condensate production unit, optimized pressures can enhance by 8.6% and 8.1% the oil remaining in the stock tank for summer and winter respectively. The API gravity of stock tank liquid also increased by 2.6% for both summer and winter.