PLANNER is a program developed for the long-term planning of chemical processes. The problem consists of selecting processes and capacity expansions for a chemical complex consisting of continuous processes. It is formulated as a multiperiod MILP model according to N. Sahinidis and I.E. Grossmann (1991).

PLANNER is assumed that a network is given and consists of (NP) chemical processes interconnected by (NC) chemicals. These chemicals include raw materials, intermediates and products which may be purchased from and/or sold to (NM) different markets. This is accomplished in (NT) time periods of a long - term horizon during which prices and demands of chemicals, investment and operating costs can vary. The material balances are expressed as linear functions of the operating level of the plant. PLANNER finds the maximum net present value (NPV) of the project.

This interface is written in language C and it is implemented on Windows NT, IBM RS6000, HP and SUN (SunOS and Solaris) workstations. The way this interface works is through the use of different menus; it is flexible and easy to use. Given the data of the problem, PLANNER creates a new GAMS file containing the model equations and optimizes the problem using the subroutine SCICONIC or OSL.

PLANNER has been developed by Beatriz Bolio under the supervision of Ignacio E. Grossmann .

References for PLANNER:

• Sahinidis, N. V. and I. E. Grossmann, Reformulation of Multiperiod MILP models for planning and scheduling of chemical processes , Computers chem. Engng. Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 255-272, 1991.
• Bolio, Beatriz, Guidelines for PLANNER Interface , Carnegie Mellon University, Engineering Design Research Center, Pittsburgh, PA.