Planning device

Abstract

To provide an operational management system that can efficiently deliver a raw material from a raw material manufacturing base to a plurality of dehydrogenation bases.SOLUTION: In an operational management system 100, an information acquisition unit 121 acquires hydrogen station information related to a dehydrogenation situation in a plurality of hydrogen stations 10. This hydrogen station information is information by which a dehydrogenation situation in each of the hydrogen stations 10 can be recognized, which is information that enables a user to recognize to which hydrogen station 10 and at which timing MCH should be delivered. In contrast, a delivery plan generation unit 123 generates a delivery plan for delivering MCH to the plurality of hydrogen stations 10 at least based on the hydrogen station information. Therefore, the delivery plan generation unit 123 can generate an appropriate delivery plan through comprehensive determination of the dehydrogenation situation of each of the hydrogen stations 10.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an operation management system. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, as a system using a raw material containing a hydride that can obtain a hydrogen-containing gas by a dehydrogenation reaction, for example, the system described in Patent Document 1 is known. The hydrogen supply system of Patent Document 1 includes a tank for storing a hydride of an aromatic hydrocarbon raw material, a dehydrogenation reaction section for obtaining hydrogen by a dehydrogenation reaction of the raw material supplied from the tank, a gas-liquid separation section for separating the hydrogen obtained in the dehydrogenation reaction section into gas and liquid, and a hydrogen purification section for purifying the hydrogen separated from the gas and liquid. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2006-232607 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In a dehydrogenation base equipped with the above-mentioned system, raw materials delivered by tank trucks or the like are used. Moreover, such raw materials are delivered from raw material production bases where the raw materials are produced. Here, raw materials produced at one raw material production base may be delivered to multiple dehydrogenation bases. For example, when multiple dehydrogenation bases are located over a wide area, the raw materials must be delivered efficiently to each dehydrogenation base, otherwise the delivery frequency of mobile vehicles such as tank trucks will increase, resulting in an increase in delivery costs and ultimately in an increase in the cost of hydrogen.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and aims to provide an operations management system that can efficiently deliver raw materials from a raw material production site to multiple dehydrogenation sites. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The operations management system of the present invention is an operations management system that manages the delivery of raw materials from a raw material production site that produces raw materials containing hydrides to multiple dehydrogenation sites that obtain hydrogen-containing gas by dehydrogenating the raw materials, and is equipped with an information acquisition unit that acquires first information regarding the dehydrogenation status at the multiple dehydrogenation sites, and a delivery plan creation unit that creates a delivery plan for delivering raw materials to the multiple dehydrogenation sites based on at least the first information.

[0007] In the operation management system according to the present invention, the information acquisition unit acquires first information relating to the dehydrogenation status at a plurality of dehydrogenation bases. This first information is information that makes it possible to grasp the dehydrogenation status at each dehydrogenation base, and therefore makes it possible to grasp to which dehydrogenation base and at what timing the raw materials should be delivered. In response to this, the delivery plan creation unit creates a delivery plan for delivering the raw materials to the plurality of dehydrogenation bases based at least on the first information. Therefore, the delivery plan creation unit can create an appropriate delivery plan after comprehensively judging the dehydrogenation status at each dehydrogenation base. As a result, it becomes possible to efficiently deliver raw materials from the raw material production base to the plurality of dehydrogenation bases.

[0008] The information acquisition unit may acquire second information on the production status of the raw materials at the raw materials production base, and the delivery plan creation unit may create a delivery plan based on the first information and the second information. In this case, the delivery plan creation unit can create a delivery plan while also taking into account the production status of the raw materials at the raw materials production base.

[0009] The first information may include raw material information related to the amount of raw material used at the dehydrogenation base and dehydrogenation product information related to the amount of dehydrogenation product generated by the dehydrogenation reaction. In this case, the delivery plan creation unit can create a delivery plan taking into account the amount of dehydrogenation product generated at each dehydrogenation base.

[0010] The operation management system may further include a prediction unit that predicts a timing when the dehydrogenation base will need to be supplied with raw materials based on at least the first information, and the delivery plan creation unit may create a delivery plan based on a result of the prediction by the prediction unit. In this case, the delivery plan creation unit can create a delivery plan in advance at an earlier stage than the timing when the dehydrogenation base will actually need to be supplied with raw materials based on the result of the prediction by the prediction unit.

[0011] The prediction unit may predict the timing when the dehydrogenation site will need to be supplied with raw materials based on the demand for hydrogen at the dehydrogenation site. In this case, the prediction unit can perform long-term predictions based on the trend in the demand for hydrogen.

[0012] The prediction unit may predict the timing when the raw material will need to be supplied to the dehydrogenation site based on the remaining amount of raw material at the dehydrogenation site. In this case, the prediction unit can make a prediction that is in line with the actual situation based on the actual remaining amount of raw material at the dehydrogenation site. Effect of the Invention

[0013] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide an operation management system that can efficiently deliver raw materials from a raw material production site to a plurality of dehydrogenation sites. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0014] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram of a hydrogen supply chain including an operation management system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the block configuration of a hydrogen station. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the block configuration of an MCH manufacturing base. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a block configuration of an operation management system. [Diagram 5] 4 is a flowchart showing the processing contents of an operation management device of the operation management system. [Figure 6] 1 is a graph showing the change in the remaining amount of hydrogen in an MCH tank at a hydrogen station. [Figure 7] 1 is a graph showing the progress of the remaining amount of toluene in a hydrogen station. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0015] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Preferred embodiments of an operation management system according to the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following description, the same or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicated description will be omitted.

[0016] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a hydrogen supply chain 1 including an operation management system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The hydrogen supply chain 1 is a supply chain for delivering raw materials from a raw material production base that produces raw materials containing hydrides to a plurality of dehydrogenation bases that obtain hydrogen-containing gas by dehydrogenating the raw materials, and the delivery and operation of the raw materials are managed by the operation management system 100. The hydrogen supply chain 1 includes a plurality of hydrogen stations 10 (dehydrogenation bases), an MCH production base 30 (raw material production base), and an operation management system 100. The plurality of hydrogen stations 10, the MCH production base 30, and the operation management system 100 are connected to a network NW. In the hydrogen supply chain 1, a mobile object TR such as a tank truck delivers raw materials and collects dehydrogenated products. In this embodiment, since a dehydrogenation device is installed in the hydrogen station, the hydrogen station is exemplified as the dehydrogenation base. However, there are also cases where the dehydrogenation device is installed adjacent to the hydrogen station (i.e., installed separately from the hydrogen station).

[0017] The hydrogen station 10 uses an organic compound (liquid at room temperature) as a raw material. In the process of hydrogen refining, the raw organic compound (liquid at room temperature) is dehydrogenated, and a dehydrogenation product (organic compound (liquid at room temperature)) is removed. An example of the organic compound as the raw material is organic hydride. A suitable example of the organic hydride is a hydrogenated product obtained by reacting hydrogen, which is produced in large quantities at oil refineries, with aromatic hydrocarbons. In addition, the organic hydride is not limited to aromatic hydrogenated compounds, and may be 2-propanol (which produces hydrogen and acetone). The organic hydride can be transported to the hydrogen station 10 as a liquid fuel by a mobile vehicle TR such as a tank truck, similar to gasoline. In this embodiment, methylcyclohexane (hereinafter referred to as MCH) is used as the organic hydride. In addition, hydrogenated aromatic hydrocarbons such as cyclohexane, dimethylcyclohexane, ethylcyclohexane, decalin, methyldecalin, dimethyldecalin, and ethyldecalin can be used as the organic hydride (aromatic compounds are particularly suitable examples with a high hydrogen content). The hydrogen station 10 can supply hydrogen to fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) and hydrogen engine vehicles. It can also be used to produce hydrogen from liquid hydrocarbon feedstocks such as natural gas, which is mainly composed of methane, LPG, which is mainly composed of propane, or gasoline, naphtha, kerosene, and diesel.

[0018] In this embodiment, as described above, MCH is used as the raw material, and the dehydrogenation product removed in the process of hydrogen purification is toluene. In reality, not only toluene but also unreacted MCH and small amounts of by-products and impurities are present, but in this embodiment, they are mixed with toluene and behave in the same way as toluene. Therefore, in the following description, "toluene" includes unreacted MCH and by-products.

[0019] The configuration of the hydrogen station 10 will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the block configuration of the hydrogen station 10. As shown in Fig. 2, the hydrogen station 10 includes a dehydrogenation device 11, an MCH tank 12, a toluene tank 13, a compressor 14, a high-pressure accumulator 16, an intermediate accumulator 17, a precooler 18, a hydrogen filling device 19, an integrated control unit 20, and a hydrogen station client terminal 21. Note that the intermediate accumulator 17 may be omitted.

[0020] The dehydrogenation device 11 is a device that obtains hydrogen by dehydrogenating the MCH supplied from the MCH tank 12. The dehydrogenation device 11 is a device that extracts hydrogen from the MCH by a dehydrogenation reaction using a dehydrogenation catalyst. The dehydrogenation catalyst is not particularly limited, and is selected from, for example, a platinum catalyst, a palladium catalyst, and a nickel catalyst. These catalysts may be supported on a carrier such as alumina, silica, or titania. The reaction of organic hydrides is a reversible reaction, and the direction of the reaction changes depending on the reaction conditions (temperature, pressure) (subject to the constraints of chemical equilibrium). On the other hand, the dehydrogenation reaction is an endothermic reaction that always increases the number of molecules. Therefore, high temperature and low pressure conditions are advantageous. Since the dehydrogenation reaction is an endothermic reaction, the dehydrogenation device 11 is heated by heat obtained by burning the fuel stored in the fuel tank 25.

[0021] The dehydrogenation device 11 obtains highly pure hydrogen gas by subjecting the hydrogen-containing gas obtained by the dehydrogenation reaction to gas-liquid separation and purification. Toluene separated from the hydrogen gas is recovered and stored in a toluene tank 13. The hydrogen gas produced in the dehydrogenation device 11 is pumped by a compressor 14 and stored in a high-pressure accumulator 16 and an intermediate accumulator 17. The hydrogen gas stored in the intermediate accumulator 17 is returned to the compressor 14. The MCH tank 12 is replenished with MCH from a mobile body TR. The toluene tank 13 recovers toluene by the mobile body TR.

[0022] The hydrogen filling device 19 is a device that fills hydrogen into fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) and hydrogen engine vehicles. The hydrogen filling device 19 cools the hydrogen gas stored in the high-pressure accumulator 16 in the precooler 18, and then fills the hydrogen gas into the vehicle.

[0023] The integrated control unit 20 is a device that controls the entire hydrogen station 10 and acquires and integrates information indicating various states within the hydrogen station 10. The hydrogen station client terminal 21 is a terminal that is connected to the network NW (see FIG. 1) and communicates with the outside world to send and receive information.

[0024] The integrated control unit 20 acquires the amount of MCH in the MCH tank 12 via the liquid level gauge 22. The integrated control unit 20 acquires the amount of toluene in the toluene tank 13 via the liquid level gauge 23. The integrated control unit 20 acquires the equipment operating load (%) of the dehydrogenation device 11 via the equipment operating load acquisition unit 24. The integrated control unit 20 acquires the amount of hydrogen in the line between the dehydrogenation device 11 and the compressor 14, i.e., the hydrogen production amount of the dehydrogenation device 11, via the hydrogen production amount acquisition unit 26. The integrated control unit 20 acquires the pressure accumulation amounts of the high-pressure accumulator 16 and the intermediate accumulator 17 via the pressure gauges 27, 28. The integrated control unit 20 acquires the hydrogen filling amount of the hydrogen filling device 19 via the hydrogen filling amount acquisition unit 29.

[0025] The integrated control unit 20 edits hydrogen station information (first information) relating to the dehydrogenation status at the hydrogen station 10 from the acquired information, and transmits the hydrogen station information onto the network NW (see FIG. 1) via the hydrogen station client terminal 21. The hydrogen station information edited by the integrated control unit 20 includes data on the remaining amount of MCH in the MCH tank 12, and data on the amount of MCH consumed in the dehydrogenation device 11. In this way, the hydrogen station information includes MCH information (raw material information) relating to the amount of MCH used at the hydrogen station 10. The hydrogen station information also includes data on the remaining amount of toluene in the toluene tank 13, and data on the amount of toluene recovered from the dehydrogenation device 11. In this way, the hydrogen station information includes at least toluene information (dehydrogenation product information) relating to the amount of toluene generated in the dehydrogenation reaction. In addition, the hydrogen station information also includes data on the amount of hydrogen supplied by the hydrogen filling device 19, and location information of the hydrogen station 10.

[0026] Next, the configuration of the MCH production base 30 will be described in detail with reference to Fig. 3. Fig. 3 is a block diagram showing the block configuration of the MCH production base 30. As shown in Fig. 3, the MCH production base 30 includes an MCH production apparatus 31, a by-product hydrogen supply unit 32, a toluene tank 33, an MCH tank 34, shipping equipment 36, an integrated control unit 40, and an MCH production base client terminal 41.

[0027] The MCH production equipment 31 is an equipment that produces MCH by catalytically reacting toluene supplied from a toluene tank 33 with hydrogen supplied from a by-product hydrogen supply unit 32. The by-product hydrogen supply unit 32 supplies by-product hydrogen produced in a factory or the like. The MCH production equipment 31 supplies the produced MCH to an MCH tank 34 for storage. Shipping equipment 36 ships the MCH stored in the MCH tank 34 to each hydrogen station 10 via each mobile vehicle TR. The MCH production equipment 31 may produce MCH not only using by-product hydrogen, but also using hydrogen generated by a water electrolysis device using electricity from renewable energy.

[0028] The integrated control unit 40 is a device that performs overall control of the MCH manufacturing base 30, and acquires and integrates information indicating various states within the MCH manufacturing base 30. The MCH manufacturing base client terminal 41 is a terminal that transmits and receives information by communicating with the outside through being connected to the network NW (see FIG. 1).

[0029] The integrated control unit 40 acquires the amount of toluene in the toluene tank 33 via the liquid level gauge 42. The integrated control unit 40 acquires the amount of MCH in the MCH tank 34 via the liquid level gauge 43. The integrated control unit 40 acquires the equipment operation load (%) of the MCH manufacturing equipment 31 via the equipment operation load acquisition unit 44. The integrated control unit 40 acquires the amount of MCH in the line between the MCH manufacturing equipment 31 and the MCH tank 34, i.e., the MCH production amount of the MCH manufacturing equipment 31, via the MCH production amount acquisition unit 46. The integrated control unit 40 acquires the MCH shipment amount by the shipping facility 36 via the MCH shipment amount acquisition unit 47.

[0030] The integrated control unit 40 edits MCH manufacturing base information (second information) regarding the manufacturing status of MCH at the MCH manufacturing base 30 from the acquired information, and transmits the MCH manufacturing base information onto the network NW (see FIG. 1) via the MCH manufacturing base client terminal 41. The MCH manufacturing base information edited by the integrated control unit 40 includes data on the remaining amount of MCH in the MCH tank 34, data on the remaining amount of toluene in the toluene tank 33, MCH shipping data by the shipping facility 36, data on the amount of toluene supplied from the toluene tank 33, data on the amount of toluene recovered from each hydrogen station 10, and location information of the MCH manufacturing base 30.

[0031] Furthermore, the integrated control unit 40 receives a delivery plan and an MCH manufacturing plan from the operation management system 100 via the network NW and the MCH manufacturing site client terminal 41 (see FIG. 1). Then, the integrated control unit 40 controls the MCH manufacturing equipment 31 based on the MCH manufacturing equipment operation plan, and controls the shipping facility 36 based on the delivery plan. The integrated control unit 40 also issues instructions to workers by displaying the delivery plan and the MCH manufacturing plan on a monitor or the like within the MCH manufacturing site 30.

[0032] Next, a detailed configuration of the operation management system 100 will be described with reference to Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the block configuration of the operation management system 100. As shown in Fig. 4, the operation management system 100 includes an operation management device 101 and a data server 102. The data server 102 is a server that acquires and stores various information on the hydrogen supply chain 1 via a network NW (see Fig. 1). The data server 102 stores hydrogen station information from a plurality of hydrogen stations 10, and stores MCH manufacturing base information from an MCH manufacturing base 30. In addition, the data server 102 sends information to the operation management device 101 via the network NW (see Fig. 1).

[0033] The operation management device 101 is a device that manages the delivery of MCH from the MCH production site 30 to multiple hydrogen stations 10, and also manages the operation of MCH throughout the entire hydrogen supply chain 1. The operation management device 101 includes an information acquisition unit 121, a prediction unit 122, a delivery plan creation unit 123, an MCH production plan creation unit 124, and a correction unit 126.

[0034] The information acquisition unit 121 acquires hydrogen station information relating to the dehydrogenation status at multiple hydrogen stations 10. The information acquisition unit 121 also acquires MCH manufacturing base information relating to the MCH manufacturing status at the MCH manufacturing base 30. The information acquisition unit 121 acquires the hydrogen station information of the multiple hydrogen stations 10 and the MCH manufacturing base information of the MCH manufacturing base 30 from the data server 102 via the network NW.

[0035] The prediction unit 122 predicts the timing when MCH will be required to be supplied to the hydrogen station 10, based on the hydrogen station information and the MCH production base information. The prediction unit 122 also predicts the timing when toluene will be collected from the hydrogen station 10, based on the hydrogen station information and the MCH production base information. The prediction unit 122 may predict the timing when MCH will be required to be supplied to the hydrogen station 10 and the timing when toluene will be required to be collected, based on the demand for hydrogen at the hydrogen station 10. The prediction unit 122 may also predict the timing when MCH will be required to be supplied to the hydrogen station 10, based on the remaining amount of MCH at the hydrogen station 10. The prediction unit 122 may also predict the timing when toluene will be required to be collected from the hydrogen station 10, based on the remaining amount of toluene at the hydrogen station 10 (the amount of toluene stored in the tank). The prediction method used by the prediction unit 122 will be described in detail later.

[0036] The delivery plan creation unit 123 creates a delivery plan for delivering MCH to a plurality of hydrogen stations 10 based on the hydrogen station information and the MCH production base information. The delivery plan also includes a plan for recovering toluene from a plurality of hydrogen stations 10. The delivery plan creation unit 123 creates a delivery plan based on the prediction result by the prediction unit 122 based on the hydrogen station information and the MCH production base information. The delivery plan includes information such as the timing to which hydrogen station 10 MCH is to be delivered and the timing from which hydrogen station 10 toluene is to be recovered. The delivery plan creation unit 123 creates a delivery plan taking into consideration the number of mobile objects TR used for delivery, the distance to each hydrogen station 10 (i.e., the time required for delivery), and the like. The delivery plan creation unit 123 transmits the created delivery plan to the MCH production base 30 via the network NW. As a result, at the MCH production base 30, MCH is distributed by the mobile objects TR based on the delivery plan.

[0037] The MCH manufacturing plan creation unit 124 creates an MCH manufacturing plan for the MCH manufacturing base 30. The MCH manufacturing plan creation unit 124 creates an MCH manufacturing plan based on hydrogen station information, MCH manufacturing base information, and a delivery plan. The MCH manufacturing plan creation unit 124 creates an MCH manufacturing plan taking into consideration the timing and amount of MCH to be delivered. The MCH manufacturing plan creation unit 124 transmits the created MCH manufacturing plan to the MCH manufacturing base 30 via the network NW. As a result, MCH is manufactured at the MCH manufacturing base 30 based on the MCH manufacturing plan.

[0038] The correction unit 126 corrects the delivery plan and the MCH production plan in consideration of the actual operation conditions at multiple hydrogen stations 10. For example, the correction unit 126 corrects the delivery plan and the MCH production plan when the actual remaining amount of MCH in the MCH tank 12 or the actual remaining amount of toluene in the toluene tank 13 at a certain hydrogen station 10 differs from a prediction. The correction unit 126 transmits the corrected delivery plan and MCH production plan to the MCH production site 30 via the network NW.

[0039] Next, a management method by the operation management system 100 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the processing contents by the operation management device 101 of the operation management system 100. First, as an example of the operation management method, a method of creating a delivery plan from a hydrogen demand forecast will be described.

[0040] First, the information acquisition unit 121 of the operation management device 101 acquires the MCH production site information of the MCH production site 30 and the hydrogen station information of the multiple hydrogen stations 10 from the data server 102 (step S10). Next, the prediction unit 122 predicts the timing when MCH will be required to be supplied to the hydrogen station 10 and the timing when toluene will be recovered from the hydrogen station 10, based on the hydrogen station information and the MCH production site information (step S20).

[0041] Specifically, the prediction unit 122 creates a hydrogen demand prediction for each hydrogen station 10 based on the change in the amount of hydrogen filled at the hydrogen station 10 over a predetermined time range. The predetermined time range is preferably long enough to include an amount of information that allows a prediction to be created. The predetermined time range is preferably not too long, so long as it can ensure real-time performance. The predetermined time range may be set to, for example, the most recent week. Alternatively, the predetermined time range may be set to a range of several days to several weeks. The prediction unit 122 is not limited to using the most recent time range as data for predicting hydrogen demand, and may also take into account, for example, the hydrogen demand during the same season in the past, in cases where hydrogen demand varies depending on the season.

[0042] The prediction unit 122 also obtains the dehydrogenation conversion rate and hydrogen recovery rate from the hydrogen production volume data, MCH supply volume, and toluene recovery volume for each hydrogen station 10, and calculates the factors of the MCH supply volume and hydrogen production volume. Since the factors change due to catalyst deterioration and the like, the prediction unit 122 updates the factors each time taking into account such changes. The prediction unit 122 creates one week's worth of predicted data of MCH consumption volume and toluene recovery volume (if another time range is set, predicted data of a length corresponding to that time range) based on the predicted hydrogen demand for each hydrogen station 10 and the above factors. The one week's predicted data of MCH consumption volume and toluene recovery volume is predicted data that makes it possible to ascertain the timing in one week when MCH supply is required and the timing when toluene will be recovered.

[0043] The prediction unit 122 integrates the prediction data created for each hydrogen station 10 in step S20 (step S30). For example, there may be days in a week when many hydrogen stations 10 require a supply of MCH, and there may be days when few. Therefore, by integrating the prediction data, the prediction unit 122 can create prediction data that comprehensively considers the status of multiple hydrogen stations 10 in the hydrogen supply chain 1 and can determine the timing in a week when a supply of MCH will be required and the timing for recovering toluene.

[0044] The delivery plan creation unit 123 creates a delivery plan for delivering MCH to multiple hydrogen stations 10 based on the prediction data integrated in step S30 (step S40). The delivery plan creation unit 123 creates an efficient delivery plan by comprehensively considering the timing when MCH is required to be supplied at each hydrogen station 10 and the location information of the hydrogen station 10. For example, since MCH cannot be delivered immediately to a hydrogen station 10 located far away, the mobile body TR is made to depart ahead of the timing when MCH is in short supply. In addition, since frequent travel by the mobile body TR to a hydrogen station 10 located far away incurs transportation costs, the mobile body TR is planned to visit the hydrogen station 10 as infrequently as possible. On the other hand, since a hydrogen station 10 located close by can deliver MCH immediately even if there is a shortage, MCH may be supplied, for example, on the way to a hydrogen station 10 located far away. In addition, when the tank of the mobile body TR is empty after supplying MCH to the hydrogen station 10, the mobile body TR stores toluene in the empty tank and transports the toluene to the MCH production base 30. Therefore, the delivery plan creation unit 123 creates a delivery plan that allows the mobile unit TR to efficiently recover toluene by, for example, recovering the toluene at the specified hydrogen station 10 after delivering MCH to the mobile unit TR, or by stopping at another hydrogen station 10 on the way home and recovering the toluene at the same time. In this way, the delivery plan creation unit 123 creates an efficient delivery plan that also takes into account the recovery of toluene.

[0045] The MCH manufacturing plan creation unit 124 creates an MCH manufacturing plan for the MCH manufacturing base 30 (step S50). The MCH manufacturing plan creation unit 124 creates an MCH manufacturing plan based on the forecast data integrated in step S30 and the delivery plan created in step S40. Next, the operation management device 101 transmits the created delivery plan and MCH manufacturing plan to the MCH manufacturing base 30, and executes operations based on these plans (step S60).

[0046] After the operation is started, the operation management device 101 monitors each hydrogen station 10 in the hydrogen supply chain 1, and corrects the delivery plan and the MCH production plan by the correction unit 126 as necessary. For example, a threshold value may be set for the remaining amount of MCH in the MCH tank 12 and the toluene tank 13 of the hydrogen station 10, and an alarm may be issued when the threshold value is reached. For example, the hydrogen station 10 determines that MCH replenishment is necessary when the remaining amount of MCH in the MCH tank 12 decreases to a replenishment threshold value (e.g., 30%), and issues an alarm when the remaining amount of MCH decreases to an alarm threshold value (e.g., 50%). The hydrogen station 10 determines that toluene recovery is necessary when the remaining amount of toluene in the toluene tank 13 increases to a recovery threshold value (e.g., 70%), and issues an alarm when the remaining amount of toluene increases to the alarm threshold value (e.g., 50%). The operation management device 101 receives alarms from each hydrogen station 10, and corrects the delivery plan and the MCH production plan by the correction unit 126 when the rate of decrease in MCH or the rate of increase in toluene is faster than predicted.

[0047] Next, as another example of the operation management method, a method of creating a delivery plan based on the remaining amount in each of the MCH tank 12 and the toluene tank 13 will be described. Note that a description of the same content as the above-mentioned method of creating a delivery plan from a hydrogen demand forecast will be omitted.

[0048] First, in step S10, the information acquisition unit 121 of the operation management device 101 constantly acquires remaining amount data of the MCH tank 12 and the toluene tank 13 of each hydrogen station 10 in the hydrogen supply chain 1 via the data server 102. Note that "constantly acquiring remaining amount data" here means a state in which the remaining amount data can be grasped substantially in real time from the viewpoint of MCH operation. Therefore, not only a state in which the operation management device 101 acquires remaining amount data at time intervals such as once every few seconds or minutes, but also a state in which the operation management device 101 acquires remaining amount data at time intervals that allow for a time lag within a range that does not substantially affect the operation, such as once a day or once every few hours, is considered to be "constantly acquiring". Of course, the operation management device 101 may acquire remaining amount data as frequently as possible within the range allowed by the communication speed of the network NW.

[0049] In step S20, the prediction unit 122 creates a transition prediction of the remaining amount of the MCH tank 12 and the toluene tank 13 of each hydrogen station 10 based on the remaining amount data collected in step S10 (see, for example, the measured line RL1 in FIG. 6 and the measured line RL2 in FIG. 7). Here, the prediction unit 122 sets a threshold value for the remaining amount of the MCH tank 12 and the toluene tank 13. For example, the prediction unit 122 assumes that it is necessary to accept MCH before the remaining amount of the MCH tank 12 falls below the threshold value (for example, 10%). The prediction unit 122 assumes that it is necessary to collect toluene before the remaining amount of the toluene tank 13 exceeds the threshold value (for example, 90%). Then, the prediction unit 122 predicts, for all hydrogen stations 10 in the hydrogen supply chain 1, the schedule on which the remaining amount of the MCH tank 12 decreases until it reaches the threshold value (10%) and the schedule on which the remaining amount of the toluene tank 13 increases until it reaches the threshold value (90%).

[0050] In step S30, the prediction unit 122 integrates the prediction data of all hydrogen stations 10. In step S30, the delivery plan creation unit 123 creates a delivery plan based on the integrated prediction data, so that delivery can be made efficiently while taking into account the location information of the hydrogen stations 10. In addition, in step S40, the MCH production plan creation unit 124 creates an MCH production plan based on the integrated prediction data. Note that the delivery plan creation unit 123 and the MCH production plan creation unit 124 may create the delivery plan and the MCH production plan using AI.

[0051] Fig. 6 is a graph showing the change in remaining amount of hydrogen in the MCH tank 12 of a certain hydrogen station 10. Fig. 7 is a graph showing the change in remaining amount of hydrogen in the toluene tank 13 of a certain hydrogen station 10. Here, the MCH tank 12 and the toluene tank 13 are both 50 ml 3 The mobile object TR is a tank truck with a capacity of 30 tons. The daily MCH consumption of the hydrogen station 10 is about 18 m 3 The daily production of toluene is about 16 m 3 and is assumed to be operating at 100% load.

[0052] As shown in FIG. 6, the prediction unit 122 acquires remaining amount data of the MCH tank 12 on the first day. The prediction unit 122 then grasps that the remaining amount changes in a manner such that the actual measured line RL1 changes from "0th day" to "1st day". The prediction unit 122 sets a predicted line EL1 based on the remaining amount change of the actual measured line RL1. As a result, the prediction unit 122 predicts the remaining amount change after "1st day". The prediction unit 122 recognizes the date when the predicted line EL1 reaches the tank lower limit line DL (10%) as the "receiving date". Here, the "receiving date" is set between "2nd day" and "3rd day". Therefore, the delivery plan creation unit 123 creates a delivery plan so that MCH is replenished to the MCH tank 12 at any time between "2nd day" and "3rd day". As a result, on "3rd day", the remaining amount of the MCH tank 12 is "100%". Thereafter, the operation management device 101 repeats the same process. As a result, as shown by the measured line RL1, the remaining amount in the MCH tank 12 repeats a transition in which it recovers to 100% just before it reaches the tank lower limit line DL.

[0053] As shown in FIG. 7, the prediction unit 122 acquires remaining amount data of the toluene tank 13 on the first day. Then, the prediction unit 122 understands that the remaining amount changes in such a way that the actual measurement line RL2 changes from "0th day" to "1st day". The prediction unit 122 sets a prediction line EL2 based on the remaining amount change of the actual measurement line RL2. As a result, the prediction unit 122 predicts the remaining amount change after "1st day". The prediction unit 122 recognizes the date when the prediction line EL2 reaches the tank upper limit line UL (90%) as the "collection date". Here, the "collection date" is set between "2nd day" and "3rd day". Therefore, the delivery plan creation unit 123 creates a delivery plan so that toluene is collected from the toluene tank 13 at any time between "2nd day" and "3rd day". As a result, on "3rd day", the remaining amount of the toluene tank 13 is "0%". Thereafter, the operation management device 101 repeats the same process. As a result, as shown by the measured line RL2, the remaining amount in the toluene tank 13 repeats a transition in which it returns to 0% before reaching the tank upper limit line UL.

[0054] Next, the actions and effects of the operation management system 100 according to this embodiment will be described.

[0055] In the operation management system 100, the information acquisition unit 121 acquires hydrogen station information relating to the dehydrogenation status at multiple hydrogen stations 10. This hydrogen station information is information that makes it possible to grasp the dehydrogenation status at each hydrogen station 10, and therefore makes it possible to grasp which hydrogen station 10 and at what timing MCH should be delivered. In response to this, the delivery plan creation unit 123 creates a delivery plan for delivering MCH to multiple hydrogen stations 10 based on at least the hydrogen station information. Therefore, the delivery plan creation unit 123 can create an appropriate delivery plan after comprehensively judging the dehydrogenation status at each hydrogen station 10. As a result, it becomes possible to efficiently deliver MCH from the MCH production base 30 to multiple hydrogen stations 10.

[0056] The information acquisition unit 121 may acquire MCH manufacturing base information related to the manufacturing status of MCH at the MCH manufacturing base 30, and the delivery plan creation unit 123 may create a delivery plan based on the hydrogen station information and the MCH manufacturing base information. In this case, the delivery plan creation unit 123 can create a delivery plan while also taking into consideration the manufacturing status of MCH at the MCH manufacturing base 30. For example, in cases where simultaneous shipment of multiple mobile objects TR would cause production at the MCH manufacturing base 30 to be unable to keep up, the delivery plan creation unit 123 can create a delivery plan in which the mobile objects TR are shipped at different times.

[0057] The hydrogen station information may include raw material information regarding the amount of MCH used at the hydrogen station 10, and dehydrogenation product information regarding the amount of toluene produced by the dehydrogenation reaction. In this case, the delivery plan creation unit 123 can create a delivery plan taking into account the amount of toluene produced at each hydrogen station 10.

[0058] The operation management system 100 further includes a prediction unit 122 that predicts the timing when MCH is required to be supplied to the hydrogen station 10 based on at least the hydrogen station information. The delivery plan creation unit 123 may create a delivery plan based on the prediction result by the prediction unit 122. In this case, the delivery plan creation unit 123 can create a delivery plan in advance at an earlier stage than the timing when MCH is actually required to be supplied at the hydrogen station 10 based on the prediction result by the prediction unit 122. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 6, it is assumed that the mobile object TR starts shipping at the timing when the actual measurement line RL1 approaches the tank lower limit line DL. In this case, at a hydrogen station 10 in a remote location, the supply of MCH to the MCH tank 12 may be too slow due to a time lag until arrival, and the actual measurement line RL1 may fall below the tank lower limit line DL. In response to this, the prediction unit 122 makes a prediction using the prediction line EL1, so that MCH can be replenished before the actual measurement line RL1 falls below the tank lower limit line DL.

[0059] The prediction unit 122 may predict the timing when MCH will be required to be supplied to the hydrogen station 10, based on the demand for hydrogen at the hydrogen station 10. In this case, the prediction unit 122 can make a long-term prediction (e.g., one week) based on the trend in the demand for hydrogen.

[0060] The prediction unit 122 may predict the timing when MCH will be required to be supplied to the hydrogen station 10, based on the remaining amount of MCH at the hydrogen station 10. In this case, the prediction unit 122 can make a prediction suited to the actual situation, based on the actual remaining amount of MCH at the hydrogen station.

[0061] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments.

[0062] For example, in the above embodiment, the operation management system 100 includes the prediction unit 122, but the prediction unit 122 may be omitted. In this case, the delivery plan creation unit 123 may create a delivery plan based only on actual measurement data. For example, alarm thresholds may be set for the MCH tank 12 and the toluene tank 13 of each hydrogen station 10, and the delivery plan creation unit 123 may identify the hydrogen station 10 for which an alarm has sounded and create a delivery plan taking into account the location information of the hydrogen station 10.

[0063] In the above embodiment, the operations management system 100 creates a delivery plan taking into account both the MCH remaining amount data and the toluene remaining amount data, but it may also take into account only the MCH remaining amount data. For example, the operations management system 100 may create an efficient delivery plan for the delivery of MCH, and may collect toluene in accordance with certain rules.

[0064] Furthermore, although the delivery plan creation unit 123 of the operation management system 100 created the delivery plan taking into consideration the MCH manufacturing base information in addition to the hydrogen station information, it is not necessary to take the MCH manufacturing base information into consideration. For example, if the production volume of the MCH manufacturing base 30 is large compared to the number of mobile bodies TR that can be used for delivery to a certain area and the remaining amount of MCH at the MCH manufacturing base does not substantially need to be taken into consideration, the delivery plan creation unit 123 does not need to take into consideration the MCH manufacturing base information. [Explanation of symbols]

[0065] 10...hydrogen station (dehydrogenation base), 30...MCH production base (raw material production base), 100...operation management system, 121...information acquisition unit, 122...prediction unit, 123...delivery plan creation unit.

Claims

1. An operation management system for managing delivery of a raw material from a raw material production site that produces a raw material containing a hydride to a plurality of dehydrogenation sites that obtain a hydrogen-containing gas by dehydrogenating the raw material, An information acquisition unit that acquires first information regarding dehydrogenation states at the plurality of dehydrogenation sites; a delivery plan creation unit that creates a delivery plan for delivering the raw material to the multiple dehydrogenation bases based on at least the first information.

2. The information acquisition unit acquires second information regarding a production status of the raw material at the raw material production base, The operation management system according to claim 1 , wherein the delivery plan creation unit creates the delivery plan based on the first information and the second information.

3. 3. The operation management system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the first information includes raw material information regarding the amount of the raw material used at the dehydrogenation site, and dehydrogenation product information regarding the amount of a dehydrogenation product generated in association with the dehydrogenation reaction.

4. A prediction unit predicts a timing when the raw material will be required to be supplied to the dehydrogenation base based on at least the first information, 4. The operation management system according to claim 1, wherein the delivery plan creation unit creates the delivery plan based on a prediction result by the prediction unit.

5. The operation management system according to claim 4 , wherein the prediction unit predicts a timing at which the supply of the raw material to the dehydrogenation site will be required based on an amount of hydrogen demanded at the dehydrogenation site.

6. The operation management system according to claim 4 , wherein the prediction unit predicts a timing when the raw material will need to be supplied to the dehydrogenation site based on a remaining amount of the raw material at the dehydrogenation site.

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