Details

Background

The evaluation and analysis of sustainable value chains requires the application of interdisciplinary research approaches. These approaches combine economic, ecological, technical and scientific, legal and social aspects. As a result, value chains can be analyzed in their breadth and depth on a system-wide and process-specific basis.

Contents of the work

Power-to-liquid technologies play a central role in the sustainable transformation of the German energy landscape. This thesis aims to develop a comprehensive optimisation model for a ‘green refinery’ based on a superstructure of all possible process conversion steps. The aim is to first carry out a single-criterion optimisation (e.g. cost minimisation or efficiency maximisation) and then a multi-criterion optimisation (e.g. taking into account economic, ecological and technical criteria). Preliminary work has already been done on superstructure modelling, but the focus of this thesis is on the further development and implementation of the optimisation model.

Tasks:

•Familiarisation with and critical review of existing preliminary work on the superstructure

•Further development and refinement of the superstructure to fully cover relevant process steps

•Implementation of the mathematical optimisation model using Python (Pyomo), optionally GAMS

•Execution of single-criterion and subsequent multi-criterial optimisations Sensitivity analyses to identify critical influencing factors

•Documentation and interpretation of the results with regard to technical, economic and ecological implications

Requirements

This work is aimed at students of economics, environmental and chemical engineering, mechanical engineering and similar courses. An interest in process optimisation, sustainable energy technologies and operations research methods is required. The thesis is particularly suitable for determined and systematic students with prior programming knowledge. Please enclose a current transcript and CV with your application.