PRODUCTION PLANNING FOR MULTIPRODUCT DEHYDRATION PLANTS

A nonlinear programming (NLP) approach to short- and long-term production planning for a multiproduct dehydration plant involving continuous conveyor belt dryers, utilized for the dehydration of agricultural products over a finite time horizon, is presented in this paper. Limitations imposed by storage capacity and customer orders, as well as constraints dictated by supply and demand patterns of raw materials and final products, respectively, are considered. The two problems dealt with are expressed in NLP formulations, which include in their objective function an operational cost component, inferred by deducing the mathematical model for all units participating in the plant. Characteristic examples are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach.