MICRO-PRICE OPTIMIZATION OF SULFUR-CONSTRAINED PLANTS WITH APPLICATIONS TO ILLINOIS BASIN COALS

摘要

The depressed coal market resulting from the combined effects of fuel switching and a slow global economy has placed increased pressure on coal producers to reduce costs and improve efficiency. Since economic models indicate that coal preparation and blending facilities play a key role in determining mine profitability, it is more important than ever for plant operators to critically evaluate their operations and to take the corrective steps necessary to fully optimize their cleaning facilities. One of the most important methods for optimizing plant performance is to utilize the concept of constant incremental ash to identify optimal density cutpoints for cleaning operations. Unfortunately, this historic approach to plant optimization often fails to recognize other constraints, such as sulfur limits, that may influence the identification of optimal density cutpoints. To avoid this issue, an alternative optimization method called micro-pricing can be used to ensure that cleaning and blending operations are optimized from a value-based perspective. This publication reviews the micro-pricing concept and provides an optimization case study for a production facility in the Illinois coal basin that is constrained by customer sulfur limits.