US 6,611,735 B1Granted

Method of predicting and optimizing production

AssigneeEthyl Corporation

InventorsTimothy J. Henly, Thomas Patrick Stocky

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

A process for the prediction and the optimization of the output of a plant producing products form incoming materials. The incoming materials are classified according to various physical characteristics and costs. The desired or ordered products are also classified according to price and physical requirements. The incoming materials information and the product information is entered into a database which is accessible by a computing device. The computing device then calculates the optimal production process by calculating a plurality of production cycles and selecting the cycle with the optimum profitability. The computing device is programmed with non-linear equations derived from a regressive analysis of data collected from samples of incoming materials and products.

Claims24

Dependent claims

A method of accurately predicting a characteristic of a product to be prepared by a processing plant, comprising

identifying an incoming material, said material having at least one measured property,
selecting at least one product to be prepared from said incoming material by said processing plant, said product having at least one desired characteristic,
selecting a process to be used by the processing plant to produce the product, said process having an effect upon the characteristic of the product,
calculating a predicted value of the characteristic of the product utilizing a predictive equation, wherein the predictive equation is generated by regressive analysis of an accumulation of data relating the measured property of the incoming material, the process, and the characteristic of the product;
wherein the incoming material is a petroleum feedstock, the product is diesel fuel, the process is admixing cetane improver, and the characteristic of the product is cetane number, and
wherein the measured property includes at least API gravity, T50 and at least two additional properties selected from the group consisting of T10, T90, aniline point, viscosity, cloud point, and aromatics content.

3 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.