Homework Problem Set #1

OPIM 621: Decision Models & Uncertainty Page 2 Fall 2007

2. Power Plant Problem
Topics: Linear programming formulation, converting fractional constraints tolinear constraints.
Difficulty: Medium
The management of One Mile Island Power Company (OMIPC) wants to make better
short and long run decisions regarding the operation of its Keyport electric generation plant.
Management's goal is to be able to run the plant to achieve maximum power generation during
peak load hours. Power output is limited both by engineering capacity of the equipment and by
environmental considerations. In particular, the plant must comply with the following emission
standards:
•Maximum SO2emissions are 3,300 parts per million (PPM) in the stack gas at all times.
• Maximum particulate emissions are 12 kg per hour.
Coal is brought to the Keyport plant by railroad and dumped into stockpiles in the coal yard.
From there it is carried by conveyor belt to a pulverizer and fed directly into the
combustion chamber at the desired rate. The heat produced by the combustion produces
steam, which drives the generation turbines.
Two types of coal are used by the plant: hard coal which is expensive but has low sulfur
content and softer chunky coal which, while cheaper, is smoky and has higher sulfur content.
Technical specs on the coals are:
SO2Gas Output
(PPM)
Particulate Output
(kg/ton)
Heat Rating
(BTU/ton)
Hard Coal 1,800 0.65 24,000
Soft Coal 3,800 1.05 20,000
When mixing the hard and soft coals, the sulfur content in the output is a weighted average of
the two outputs. For example, a mixture consisting of equal parts of the coals would
emit 2,800 PPM of sulfur gas. Similarly, a mixture consisting of three times as much hard coal
as soft coal would emit 2,300 PPM of SO2.
If the pulverizer were fed with hard coal only, it could handle 16 tons per hour. Similarly, if it
were fed with soft coal only, it could handle 24 tons per hour. Thus, an input of 8 tons/hour
of hard coal would require 50% of the entire pulverizer capacity. An input of 18 tons/hour of soft
coal would require 75% of the entire pulverizer capacity. The pulverizer can be fed with any
combination of hard and soft coal that does not exceed its capacity.
Homework Problem Set #1
OPIM 621: Decision Models & Uncertainty Page 3 Fall 2007
The conveyor can handle up to 20 tons per hour of either coal. The conveyor can be fed with
anycombination of hard and soft coal that does not exceed its capacity.

a) The management of OMIPC wants to determine the mix of coals that will maximize the
amount of power (in BTU) produced per hour. This will be its summer-time peak hour
operating plan. Algebraically formulate an LP to find the optimal plan, but do not solve
the LP. Define the decision variables and their units of measurement and label each
constraint in terms of the requirements of the problem.
(Hint: This is a nontrivial formulation. Define your decision variables in terms of tonsof coal
used per hour. The constraints on PPM of SO2and the pulverizer capacity might be the
most difficult to formulate. For the former, it may help to express the SO2content of a coal
mix as the weighted averageof the individual SO2contents. Note that a nonlinear
expression of the form x / y ≤1 can be converted into the equivalent linearform: x– y ≤0.
For the pulverizer capacity constraint, it may help first to represent the constraint graphically,
and then to deduce the algebraic version. The statement that the pulverizer can handle up
to 16 tons per hour when fed onlywith hard coal and up to 24 tons per hour when fed only
with soft coal gives you two points on the graph; and the line connecting them represents
the constraint’s boundary.
Do not be discouraged if you fail to make much headway with this problem! Once you see
the formulation, however, you should be able to see how it works.)

b) OMIPC needs to produce 390,000 BTU per hour in off-peak conditions. If hard coal costs
15% more than soft coal, what will be the least cost way for OMIPC to meet this
requirement? Reformulate your LP model above to solve this problem? Report only the
algebraic formulation of the model.