Energy Saving for a Chinese Crude Oil Pipeline

The Dongying-Linyi Crude Oil Pipeline, transporting the crude oil from Shengli Oilfield to the outside, is one of the most important pipelines in East China. It is of great significance for saving energy, reducing emissions and improving the economy by optimizing pipeline operation. By analyzing the daily operation reports and monthly energy consumption reports, the energy consumption situation of the pipeline is revealed. Then the crude oil from Shengli Oilfield is collected, and its physical property is tested and researched. Based on the topological structure, the technological process and the operation philosophy of the pipeline, the mathematical models for the optimal operation and the energy consumption are built and the corresponding algorithm is introduced. With the models and the algorithms mentioned above, a computer software is developed for the operation simulation and optimization of the pipeline. Combining with practice, three energy-saving measures for the pipeline are analyzed, including reduction of oil heating temperature, operation matching with peak-valley electricity price and operation matching with the combination of flow rates in a planned operation period. In addition, these energy-saving measures are evaluated by the software with several examples. It turns out that: the first measure can considerably reduce the energy consumption and the energy consumption cost of the pipeline; the second could reduce the energy consumption cost of the pipeline a lot, while may make the energy consumption go higher a little; the third could slightly lower the equivalent energy consumption and the energy cost at the same time, but the effect of it is not obvious.