Sunoco Inc. signed an agreement with Aspen Technology Inc. under which Sunoco will implement AspenTech's Plantelligence refinery-wide optimization (RWO) tool at Sunoco's Sarnia, Ont., refinery. AspenTech says the project will improve refinery profitability and reliability by integrating accurate plant models with planning and scheduling functions. The expected benefits include improved production optimization and enhanced long-term production planning and feedstock performance, says AspenTech. "During the first phase of implementing our RWO project, we have demonstrated that benefits will be achieved which will meet or exceed our project expectations," said Ken Ball, vice-president of refining for Sunoco. "As we begin the second phase...we are excited about the incremental benefits anticipated...."
BASF AG awarded Foxboro Co. a contract for a proprietary type of online optimization system to be used at a BASF steam cracker in Antwerp. It also awarded a letter of intent for a similar system for a BASF plant in Ludwigshafen, Germany. The system is based on Simulation Science's Rigorous Online Modeling and Equation-based Optimization software.
