Fuel selection device, fuel selection method, and program

Abstract

The present invention assists in selecting a fuel and a neutralization credit in a heating drying system.　This fuel selection device for selecting a fuel to be used in a combustion device for heating drying: determines an input energy amount required for operating the combustion device under a prescribed drying condition; determines one or more candidates for a fuel condition which is composed of one or more combinations of a fuel and the amount, and under which the input energy amount can be generated, the carbon dioxide emission amount after being reduced by using a neutralization credit is less than or equal to a prescribed value, and the total cost including a fuel cost and a neutralization credit cost is less than or equal to a prescribed value; and outputs the one or more candidates for the fuel condition and the total cost under the fuel condition.

Description

Fuel selection device, fuel selection method, and program

[0001] The present invention relates to a fuel selection device, a fuel selection method, and a program. This invention claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2024-098774, filed on June 19, 2024, and the contents of that application are incorporated by reference into this application in designated states where incorporation by reference of documents is permitted.

[0002] Painting is widely applied to transportation infrastructure facilities such as railways and machine parts to improve their appearance and prevent deterioration due to corrosion, etc. In the painting drying process, forced drying is sometimes performed using gas burners, which is a cause of carbon dioxide emissions in the manufacturing process.

[0003] Carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced by switching to carbon-free fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia. Another method is to purchase carbon credits to neutralize carbon emissions. However, there are countless combinations of fuels and neutralization credits, and it is difficult to select the appropriate combination considering daily fluctuations in fuel prices and neutralization credit prices.

[0004] For example, in Patent Document 1, regarding thermal power plants, it is stated that "the price of fuel for a thermal power plant and carbon credit information are read, and actual CO ２ Emissions and actual CO ２ CO from the carbon credits ２ Net CO minus offset amount ２ a calculation step of calculating an actual power generation cost taking into account the emissions and the price of the fuel, and a net power generation cost obtained by adding the price of the carbon credit to the actual power generation cost; ２ and an optimization step of selecting an optimal condition consisting of a combination of fuel, operating conditions, and carbon credits that satisfies predetermined conditions for emissions and the net power generation cost.

[0005] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-125756

[0006] From the perspective of reducing the impact on the global environment, carbon dioxide emissions in the painting process are important. For example, when drying a painted product using gas burner heating to dry and harden the paint film, carbon dioxide emissions can be reduced by reducing the heating temperature and heating time. On the other hand, if the paint ingredients are adjusted to harden at low temperatures, the paint will harden around room temperature, shortening its usable time (pot life) and making it difficult to handle. Another method for reducing carbon dioxide emissions is to switch to carbon-free fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia.

[0007] Compared to LPG gas, which is generally used as a combustion gas, hydrogen and ammonia are expensive. On the other hand, if neutralization credits (also called carbon credits) are purchased based on the carbon dioxide emissions of LPG, the cost of the neutralization credits will be borne in addition to the cost of the LPG. Based on the cost of the raw materials alone, it is not possible to compare which fuel is cheaper.

[0008] For example, in Japan, J-Credit offers several methods for purchasing neutralization credits: the conventional method, in which buyers submit bids, and the total volume allocation method, in which neutralization credits are transferred according to the number of applications. There is also the designated unit price method, in which the seller specifies the purchase price. Under the conventional method, when considering the desired purchase price, buyers who use LPG gas must consider the unit price of LPG fuel, the amount of carbon dioxide emitted from LPG, and the unit price of carbon-free fuel, and bid within a range in which the sum of the unit costs of LPG fuel and neutralization credits does not exceed the unit price of carbon-free fuel. Even with the total volume allocation method and designated unit price method, buyers must daily consider and purchase neutralization credits, which are lower in cost than carbon-free fuel. Furthermore, situations may arise in which buyers are unable to procure neutralization credits at the desired price, making it impossible to neutralize carbon dioxide emissions.

[0009] Another method of reducing carbon dioxide emissions is to purchase certified fuel and electricity. In this case, there is no cost for neutralization credits, but certified fuel and electricity are more expensive than regular fuel and electricity, so it is desirable to choose a cheaper method compared to purchasing regular fuel and neutralization credits.

[0010] For example, when using a co-firing burner that mixes LPG and hydrogen gas, it is necessary to consider the unit prices of the two gases and the total amount of neutralization credits that can be procured, determine the most economical gas mixing ratio, and then consider the carbon dioxide emissions and neutralization credit costs according to the mixing ratio.

[0011] As described above, reducing carbon dioxide emissions involves many factors, such as the method of procuring fuel and neutralization credits, and the type of neutralization credits, and the costs of each change daily, making it difficult to calculate the optimal combination on a daily basis.

[0012] The present invention is intended to solve at least one of the above problems, and aims to support the selection of fuel and neutralization credits in a heating and drying system.

[0013] The present application includes a number of means for solving at least part of the above problems, examples of which are as follows.

[0014] One aspect of the present invention is a fuel selection device that includes at least one processor and selects a fuel to be used in a combustion device for heating and drying, wherein the processor determines the amount of input energy required to operate the combustion device under specified drying conditions, determines one or more candidate fuel conditions consisting of one or more combinations of fuels and quantities that can generate the amount of input energy, and whose carbon dioxide emissions after reduction through the use of neutralization credits are below a specified value, and whose total cost including fuel cost and neutralization credit cost is below a specified value, and outputs the one or more candidate fuel conditions and the total cost for the fuel conditions.

[0015] The present invention can assist in the selection of fuel and neutralization credits in a heating and drying system.

[0016] Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following description of the embodiments.

[0017] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a fuel selection system according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a fuel selection device; FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a fuel selection process by the fuel selection device; FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a drying condition input screen; FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an energy information input screen; and FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an output screen.

[0018] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In all drawings used to describe the embodiment, the same components are generally designated by the same reference numerals, and repeated description thereof will be omitted where appropriate. It goes without saying that, in the following embodiments, the components (including element steps, etc.) are not necessarily essential unless otherwise specified or considered to be fundamentally essential. It goes without saying that, except when specifically specified to include only a particular element, other elements are not excluded. Similarly, in the following embodiments, when referring to the shape, positional relationship, etc. of a component, etc., it includes those that are substantially similar or similar to that shape, etc., unless otherwise specified or considered to be fundamentally essential.

[0019] 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of a fuel selection system according to one embodiment of the present invention. The fuel selection system includes a fuel selection device 100. The fuel selection device 100 may be connected via a communication network to a terminal device (not shown) such as a personal computer (PC) and a combustion control device 200 that controls a combustion device 300. The combustion control device 200 and the combustion device 300 constitute a heating and drying system.

[0020] The heating and drying system is used, for example, in processes for drying paint on transportation infrastructure facilities such as railways and machine parts. The combustion device 300 is, for example, a gas burner capable of burning a mixture of multiple types of fuel. The combustion control device 200 controls the combustion device 300 to operate under set drying conditions, such as drying temperature and drying time. The fuel used in the combustion device 300 can be prepared according to the fuel conditions selected by the fuel selection device 100.

[0021] The fuel selection device 100 assists in the selection of fuels and neutralization credits by determining the combination of one or more fuels and amounts to be used in a heating and drying system, taking into consideration the total cost, including the purchase cost of the neutralization credits.

[0022] The fuel selection device 100 includes a processing unit 110, a memory unit 120, an input unit 130, an output unit 140, and a communication unit 150. The processing unit 110 controls the entire fuel selection device 100. The memory unit 120 stores information and data used by the processing unit 110. The input unit 130 accepts information and data through user operations and inputs the information and data to the processing unit 110. The output unit 140 outputs information and data to the user. The communication unit 150 may be connected to a terminal device (not shown) such as a PC and the combustion control device 200 via a network such as the Internet.

[0023] The processing unit 110 includes a UI (User Interface) control unit 111 , a data acquisition unit 112 , an input energy determination unit 113 , an analysis unit 114 , and a purchase processing unit 115 .

[0024] The UI control unit 111 displays a UI screen for accepting user operations on the output unit 140 or on the terminal device via the communication unit 150. The UI control unit 111 also accepts user operations on the UI screen from the input unit 130 or from the terminal device via the communication unit 150. The UI control unit 111 accepts data and information from the user, such as drying conditions including a target drying temperature and a target drying time in the drying process by the combustion device 300. The UI control unit 111 may also accept a target carbon dioxide emission amount, which will be described later.

[0025] The UI control unit 111 may also display, on the UI screen, one or more candidate fuel conditions and the costs of the candidate fuel conditions determined by the analysis unit 114 (described later). The UI control unit 111 may also receive from the user a fuel condition to be adopted from the displayed candidates.

[0026] The data acquisition unit 112 acquires data and information related to energy that can be used in the combustion device 300 from the storage unit 120 or from other computers on the network via the communication unit 150. The data and information related to energy include, for example, current unit price data for each type of fuel, current unit price data for each type of neutralization credit, and current emission coefficients for each type of fuel. Fuels can include, for example, conventional fuels such as LPG, city gas, and rice husks, as well as carbon-free fuels such as hydrogen and ammonia. The UI control unit 111 may accept this information from the user via the UI screen.

[0027] The input energy determination unit 113 determines the amount of input energy required to operate the combustion device 300 under the acquired drying conditions. That is, the input energy amount required for the drying process by the combustion device 300 is determined based on the acquired drying conditions. The input energy amount can be calculated using, for example, the following formula: [Formula 1] Input energy amount = (heating time x heat capacity required for heating) + (drying time x heat capacity required for maintaining temperature)

[0028] The temperature rise time and the heat capacity required for the temperature rise can be determined, for example, by defining the relationship between the start temperature and end temperature of the gas burner and the time and heat capacity per unit time required to raise the temperature from the start temperature to the end temperature as a table or function, and inputting the target drying temperature as the end temperature. The start temperature may be received from the user by the UI control unit 111, or acquired and input by the data acquisition unit 112 from a temperature sensor attached to the gas burner. Note that the above table or function may take into account the waste heat energy recovered when the gas burner is burned and used to preheat the fuel. This subtracts the waste heat energy from the input energy amount, thereby reducing at least one of the temperature rise time and the heat capacity required for the temperature rise.

[0029] The heat capacity required to maintain the temperature can be determined, for example, by defining the relationship between the gas burner's maintenance temperature and the heat capacity per unit time required to maintain the maintenance temperature as a table or function, and then inputting the target drying temperature as the maintenance temperature. The drying time can be determined by setting the target drying time. The above table or function may also take into account the waste heat energy recovered when the gas burner is fired and used to preheat the fuel. This subtracts the waste heat energy from the input energy amount, thereby reducing the heat capacity required to maintain the temperature.

[0030] Of course, the method for determining the amount of input energy is not limited to the above. For example, a table or function that outputs the amount of input energy when the drying conditions are input may be used. Also, for example, a machine learning model that has been trained to output the amount of input energy when the drying conditions are input may be used.

[0031] The analysis unit 114 determines one or more candidate fuel conditions, each of which is composed of one or more combinations of fuel and amount, that can generate the determined input energy amount, that have a carbon dioxide emission reduction amount after using neutralization credits that is equal to or less than a predetermined value, and that have a total cost including the fuel cost and the neutralization credit cost that is equal to or less than a predetermined value. For example, the analysis unit 114 first sets a cost calculation formula, and then uses the cost calculation formula to analyze the fuel conditions and the costs under those fuel conditions.

[0032] As an example, the cost calculation formula can be defined as follows: [Formula 2] Total cost = fuel cost + neutralization credit cost Fuel cost = F １ Unit price x F １ Usage amount +...+F ｎ Unit price x F ｎ Amount of carbon dioxide emissions = (F １ Emission coefficient x F １ Usage amount +...+F ｎ Emission coefficient x F ｎ Usage) - Offset Emissions

[0033] In the above formula, a maximum of n types of fuel can be used, and a value greater than 0 is set for the amount of fuel used, and 0 is set for the amount of fuel not used. ｉ (i = integer from 1 to n) indicates the type of fuel. ｉ Unit price, F ｉ Amount used, and F ｉ The emission factors are F ｉ The table shows the unit price (unit energy price), amount used, and emission coefficient (unit emission amount) of the corresponding fuel.

[0034] The unit price of fuel is the price per unit amount. The emission coefficient of fuel is the amount of carbon dioxide emitted per unit amount. Values ​​acquired by the data acquisition unit 112 or the UI control unit 111 can be set as the unit price and emission coefficient of each fuel.

[0035] The offset emissions are the amount of carbon dioxide reduced (offset) by using neutralization credits. The neutralization credit unit price is the price per unit offset amount, and the neutralization credit cost can be calculated by multiplying the offset emissions by the neutralization credit unit price. In the above formula, one type of neutralization credit is used, but two or more types of neutralization credits may be used. The unit prices of various neutralization credits can be set to values ​​acquired by the data acquisition unit 112 or the UI control unit 111.

[0036] The carbon dioxide emission amount is a target carbon dioxide emission amount in the heating and drying system, and is a value obtained by subtracting the offset emission amount from the total carbon dioxide emission amount generated by the combustion of one or more fuels. The target carbon dioxide emission amount can be set to a value received from the user via the UI control unit 111.

[0037] The analysis unit 114 can determine one or more candidate fuel conditions by, for example, solving a mathematical optimization problem with the above total cost as an objective function (minimizing the total cost or keeping it below a predetermined value). Furthermore, for each candidate fuel condition, the analysis unit 114 can determine the combination of fuel type and usage amount and fuel cost, neutralization credit unit price (type of neutralization credit to be used) and neutralization credit cost, carbon dioxide emissions generated by combustion, offset emissions, and the carbon dioxide emissions that are the difference between these.

[0038] Here, a constraint can be set that the combination of fuel type and usage amount can generate the input energy amount. The energy generated per unit amount of each fuel (unit energy amount) can be a preset value or a value acquired by the data acquisition unit 112 or the UI control unit 111. The amount of generated energy can be calculated by multiplying the usage amount of fuel by the energy generated per unit amount of the fuel, and the sum of the amounts of generated energy of each fuel is the input energy amount. Note that equipment efficiency may also be taken into consideration.

[0039] Furthermore, a constraint can be set such that the carbon dioxide emission amount is equal to or less than a predetermined value. This constraint can be received from the user via the UI control unit 111.

[0040] Constraints may also be set such as the type of fuel that can be used, the range of fuel usage, the type of neutralization credits that can be purchased, the quantity of neutralization credits that can be purchased, the range of fuel costs, the range of neutralization credit costs, the range of carbon dioxide emissions generated by fuel combustion, the range of offset emissions, etc. These constraints may be received from the user via the UI control unit 111.

[0041] Of course, the method for determining the fuel conditions and costs is not limited to the above. For example, a machine learning model may be used that is trained to output fuel conditions and costs that result in a total cost, including a neutralization credit cost, that is equal to or less than a predetermined value when the drying conditions or the input energy amount are input. Alternatively, a table or function may be used that outputs fuel conditions and costs that result in a total cost, including a neutralization credit cost, that is equal to or less than a predetermined value when the drying conditions or the input energy amount are input.

[0042] The analysis unit 114 may display one or more candidate fuel conditions determined as described above and the total costs of the fuel conditions on a UI screen via the UI control unit 111. The analysis unit 114 may also accept selection of fuel conditions from the displayed candidates from the user via the UI control unit 111. The analysis unit 114 may transmit the drying conditions and the selected fuel conditions to the combustion control device 200 via the communication unit 150. The combustion control device 200 can control the combustion device 300 to execute the drying process based on the received drying conditions and fuel conditions.

[0043] The purchase processing unit 115 executes a purchase process to purchase neutralization credits for the adopted fuel conditions in an amount corresponding to the amount of offset emissions to be reduced under the fuel conditions. The purchase processing unit 115 purchases neutralization credits, for example, by accessing a neutralization credit trading site (trading system) and transmitting the type and purchase quantity of neutralization credits. This allows the user to quickly purchase neutralization credits for the fuel conditions adopted by the user.

[0044] 2 is a block diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the fuel selection device 100. The fuel selection device 100 can be realized by a computer such as a PC or a server.

[0045] For example, the computer includes one or more processors 101, one or more UI (User Interface) devices 102, one or more NI (Network Interface) devices 103, and one or more memory resources 104. Of course, the computer may include components other than these. The processors 101, the UI devices 102, the NI devices 103, and the memory resources 104 are connected to one another via a bus 106.

[0046] The processor 101 is an arithmetic device that reads various programs 105 stored in the memory resource 104 and executes processing corresponding to each program 105. The processor 101 is, for example, a microprocessor, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a quantum processor, or any other semiconductor device capable of performing calculations.

[0047] The memory resource 104 is a storage device, and may be a non-volatile memory and / or a volatile memory. Volatile memory may be, for example, a random access memory (RAM) or a read-only memory (ROM). Non-volatile memory may be, for example, a rewritable storage medium such as a flash memory, a hard disk, or a solid state drive (SSD), or may be a universal serial bus (USB) memory, a memory card, or a hard disk. RAMs such as magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM), phase change RAM (PRAM), and resistive RAM (ReRAM) may also be considered non-volatile memory.

[0048] The UI device 102 is an input device that inputs user instructions to the computer and an output device that outputs information generated by the computer. Examples of input devices include a keyboard, a touch panel, a pointing device such as a mouse, and a voice input device such as a microphone. Examples of output devices include a display, a printer, and a voice synthesizer.

[0049] The NI device 103 is a communication device that communicates information with external devices via a predetermined communication network such as the Internet or a LAN.

[0050] The processor 101 executes the program 105 to realize the functions of the processing unit 110, such as a UI control unit 111, a data acquisition unit 112, an input energy determination unit 113, an analysis unit 114, and a purchase processing unit 115. The input unit 130 and the output unit 140 are realized by the UI device 102 or a terminal device connected via the NI device 103. The storage unit 120 is realized by an external device connected via the NI device 103 or the memory resource 104. The communication unit 150 is realized by the NI device 103.

[0051] Of course, the fuel selection device 100 may be implemented by one physical or logical computer, or by two or more physical or logical computers, which may be distributed over a network.

[0052] Next, an example of the process of the fuel selection device will be described.

[0053] 3 is a flowchart showing an example of a fuel selection process performed by the fuel selection device. The process of this flowchart is started, for example, when the UI control unit 111 receives a start instruction from a user on a UI screen (not shown) displayed by the UI control unit 111.

[0054] The UI control unit 111 acquires drying conditions, including the target drying temperature and target drying time, for the drying process using the combustion device 300 from the user via the UI screen, and the data acquisition unit 112 acquires unit price data for each type of fuel and unit price data for each type of neutralization credit (step S01).

[0055] 4 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a drying condition input screen 510. The drying condition input screen 510 includes fields for inputting data items such as a target drying temperature and a target drying time.

[0056] 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an energy information input screen. The energy information input screen 520 includes fields for inputting data items such as the energy unit price, unit energy amount, unit emission amount, and equipment efficiency for each fuel associated with a heating method.

[0057] Returning to Fig. 3, the input energy determination unit 113 determines the amount of input energy required to operate the combustion device 300 under the drying conditions acquired in step S01 (step S02). An example of the determination method is as described above.

[0058] The analysis unit 114 sets a cost calculation formula (step S03). Examples of the cost calculation formula are as described above. The analysis unit 114 sets values ​​acquired by the data acquisition unit 112 or the UI control unit 111 for known variables (unit prices and emission coefficients of various fuels, unit prices of various neutralization credits, various constraints, etc.) in the cost calculation formula.

[0059] The analysis unit 114 performs an analysis of the fuel conditions and their costs using the cost calculation formula set in step S03 (step S04). The analysis unit 114 determines one or more candidate fuel conditions by, for example, solving a mathematical optimization problem in which the total cost of the cost calculation formula is used as an objective function (minimizing the total cost or keeping the total cost below a predetermined value). For each candidate fuel condition, the analysis unit 114 can determine the combination of fuel type and usage amount and fuel cost, neutralization credit unit price (type of neutralization credit to be used) and neutralization credit cost, carbon dioxide emissions generated by combustion, offset emissions, and carbon dioxide emissions, which are the difference between these.

[0060] The analysis unit 114 displays the one or more candidate fuel conditions determined in step S04 and the costs of the fuel conditions on the UI screen via the UI control unit 111 (step S05), and ends the processing of this flowchart.

[0061] 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of an output screen. For each fuel condition candidate (pattern), the output screen 530 displays the pattern identifier, one or more combinations of fuel and quantity, and the total cost. In the example of FIG. 6, the quantity of each fuel is expressed as a ratio.

[0062] The present invention has been described above with reference to an embodiment thereof, which can assist in the selection of fuel and neutralization credits in a heat drying system.

[0063] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible. For example, the above-described embodiments have been described in detail to clearly explain the present invention, and the present invention is not necessarily limited to those including all of the described configurations. Furthermore, it is possible to replace part of the configuration of one embodiment with or add to the configuration of another embodiment.

[0064] 100 Fuel selection device, 101 Processor, 102 UI device, 103 NI device, 104 Memory resource, 105 Program, 106 Bus, 110 Processing unit, 111 UI control unit, 112 Data acquisition unit, 113 Input energy determination unit, 114 Analysis unit, 115 Purchase processing unit, 120 Memory unit, 130 Input unit, 140 Output unit, 150 Communication unit, 200 Combustion control device, 300 Combustion device, 510 Drying condition input screen, 520 Energy information input screen, 530 Output screen

Claims

1. A fuel selection device comprising at least one processor that selects a fuel to be used in a combustion device for thermal drying, wherein the processor: determines the amount of input energy required to operate the combustion device under specified drying conditions; determines one or more candidate fuel conditions consisting of one or more combinations of fuels and amounts that can generate the amount of input energy, that have carbon dioxide emissions reduced by the use of neutralization credits that are not more than a specified value, and that have a total cost including fuel cost and neutralization credit cost that is not more than a specified value; and outputs one or more candidate fuel conditions and the total cost for the fuel conditions.

2. A fuel selection device according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined drying conditions include a target drying temperature and a target drying time, and the processor determines, as the input energy amount, the sum of the energy required to raise the temperature to the target drying temperature and the energy required to maintain the target drying temperature for the target drying time.

3. A fuel selection device according to claim 1, wherein the processor determines the amount of input energy minus the waste heat energy recovered and utilized in the combustion device.

4. A fuel selection device according to claim 1, wherein the processor receives the unit price data of the fuel and the unit price data of the neutralization credit from a user or acquires the data via a network.

5. A fuel selection device according to claim 1, wherein the processor executes a purchase process of neutralization credits to be used in the fuel condition selected from one or more candidate fuel conditions.

6. A fuel selection method using a fuel selection device having at least one processor that selects a fuel to be used in a combustion device for thermal drying, wherein the processor: determines the amount of input energy required to operate the combustion device under specified drying conditions; determines one or more candidate fuel conditions consisting of one or more combinations of fuels and amounts that can generate the amount of input energy, and which reduce carbon dioxide emissions through the use of neutralization credits by a specified value or less, and which have a total cost including fuel cost and neutralization credit cost that is a specified value or less; and outputs one or more candidate fuel conditions and the total cost of the fuel conditions.

7. A program for a fuel selection device having at least one processor that selects a fuel to be used in a combustion device for thermal drying, the program causing the processor to execute the following processes: determine the amount of input energy required to operate the combustion device under specified drying conditions; determine one or more candidate fuel conditions consisting of one or more combinations of fuel and amount that can generate the amount of input energy, and in which the carbon dioxide emissions reduced by the use of neutralization credits are not more than a specified value, and the total cost including the fuel cost and neutralization credit cost is not more than a specified value; and output one or more candidate fuel conditions and the total cost for the fuel condition.

Images