Technical and economic modelling and evaluation of a water distribution system equipped with an autoclave for industrial production applications

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to investigate the autoclave-pump pressured water distribution system. Pressured water is used in many manufacturing processes, as a raw material or as a service fluid for different applications. Design/methodology/approach: The performances and the total installation costs of such systems are strongly related to its design and to its decision variables definition. The authors first identify the independent variables (i.e. the decision variables) and the dependent variables of the system and, second, propose a techno-economic mathematical method able to determine its minimum installation cost with an integrated approach. Findings: The trade-off between the autoclave installation costs versus the pump installation costs is demonstrated. A sensitive analysis of the cost of the system as function of its decision variables has been performed to propose a practical graphical analysis tools to proper design the integrated pump-autoclave pressured water distribution system. Originality/value: Many previous researches focus only on the pump system optimization or in the tank system optimization without an integrated approach. The wide utilization in industry of the autoclave-pump pressured water distribution system together with the lack of similar contributions in this area enforces the value of this research.