ABSTRACT
Despite its proven effectiveness, mathematical optimization is rarely used by chemical engineers in practice, which can be partially attributed to the relatively large effort (or cost) required to implement user-friendly optimization applications. In this chapter, we introduce SolverStudio, a free add-on for Microsoft Excel that allows the user to embed and solve optimization problems in Excel. Using a production scheduling example, we demonstrate how SolverStudio can be used for the fast deployment of small- to medium-scale optimization applications and thus help lower the threshold for initiating optimization projects in practical settings. We further present a real-world industrial optimization application developed in SolverStudio at BASF and provide insights on how the tool is used, and could be used more broadly, in the chemical industry.
