Blending modelling in a process manufacturing: A case study

This paper describes the application of mixed integer programming to a blending problem in a process industry. The application is designed for the personal computer and is in use in France by a producer of chemical fertilizers. The paper first describes the literature on blending problems. It covers then the formulation of the blending problem of the plant, its solution and the successful implementation. Special consideration is given to the problem of handling the nonlinearity introduced by constraints of the process manufacturing system. Further consideration is given to the use of opportunity cost in the model.