Online Superstructure Optimization for Energy Saving of an Industrial Gas Distribution System

Mixed-integer optimization is a common approach to handle decision-making problems. Nevertheless, such an approach still presents certain operational limitations, especially for online superstructures. One of these limitations is given by Jacobian singularity, which arises for certain combinations of the set of Boolean variables and which easily leads to possible infeasible numerical solutions. This paper proposes a novel approach to overcome this problem, ensuring the use of mixed-integer optimization also to solve online issues. The case of nitrogen supply for the Thyssen-Krupp steel mill placed in Terni (Italy) is considered as validation case.