Combined Risk and Exergy Analysis of an Oil Platform

AbstractOil platforms are complex systems where different processes occur and energy production is required to sustain all the activities. The number of risks for human health related to processes is therefore significant. The evaluation and quantification of risks is the fundamental step for the final design of the platform.Exergy analysis and Thermoeconomics are tools for optimizing thermodynamic and economic efficiency of the system. Authors propose a model to possibly reduce risks starting from the design phase of an energy system. The model, named Combined Risk and Exergy Analysis, uses the approach of Thermoeconomics to perform simultaneously the risk assessment and exergy analysis of the system and identify major sources of risk related to inefficiency and eventually reduce them. This work presents the analysis of a crude oil separation unit using commercial Aspen Plus. the combined application of the Risk analysis and the Thermoeconomic analysis of the system can be useful to find the best trade-off between thermodynamic inefficiencies and risk on human health.