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•A survey of the state-of-the-art process systems engineering (PSE) approaches for process intensification.•An overview of the development of various process intensification ...technologies.•Survey of recent advances in modeling, design, and synthesis of intensified systems.•Assessment methods for the controllability/operability/safety performance of intensified process systems.
Process intensification offers the potential to drastically reduce the energy consumption and cost of producing chemicals from both bulk and distributed feedstocks. This review article aims to offer an extensive survey on state-of-the-art process systems engineering (PSE) approaches for process intensification. From both academic and industrial perspectives, this paper provides an overview of the development of various process intensification technologies, specifically those under the categories of separation, reaction, hybrid reaction/separation, and alternative energy sources. A current status analysis in the areas of modeling and simulation is then provided. An indicative list of PSE publications specialized on process intensification is presented to illustrate the progresses made so far towards the deployment of novel process intensification technologies. We also highlight some recent advances for the modeling, design, and synthesis of intensified systems, as well as for the assessment of their controllability/operability/safety performance. Key open questions in these areas include: (i) how to systematically derive intensified designs, and (ii) how to ensure the operability and optimality of the derived intensified structures while delivering their expected functionality.
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•Novel method for systematic process design and intensification.•New representation of process units, flowsheets and superstructures using fundamental building blocks.•Systematic ...identification of intensification pathways using a general block-based superstructure.•A MINLP model for systematic process intensification.
We present a novel method for systematic process design and intensification. We depart from the classical unit operation-based representation of process units, flowsheets and superstructures and propose a new representation using fundamental building blocks. These building blocks can be associated with different process phenomena, tasks and unit operations. An assembly of blocks of the same type obtains a classical unit, while an assembly of blocks with different types results in an intensified unit. This allows to systematically identify and incorporate many intensification pathways using a general block-based superstructure. We design an intensified process by optimizing a performance metric for given raw materials and product specifications, material properties and bounds on flow rates. The overall problem is formulated using a single mixed-integer nonlinear optimization (MINLP) model that can be solved using commercial solvers. We show the applicability of our approach using several design and intensification case studies.
Systematic process intensification Demirel, Salih Emre; Li, Jianping; Hasan, MM Faruque
Current opinion in chemical engineering,
09/2019, Letnik:
25, Številka:
C
Journal Article
Odprti dostop
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•An overview of the elements of systematic process intensification.•Synopsis of building block representation for systematic process intensification.•Synopsis of existing research ...challenges and future opportunities.
Process intensification often requires innovative equipment and flowsheets to achieve significant improvement compared to traditional unit operations. Systematic methods are needed for automatic generation, screening, and discovery of promising intensification pathways at the conceptual design stage. In this contribution, we present a synopsis of the key elements of systematic process intensification (SPI), which include specification, representation, assessment, screening, and analysis. We conclude with a brief overview of future challenges and research opportunities in each of these areas.
An alternative method for chemical process synthesis using a block–based superstructure representation is proposed. The block–based superstructure is a collection of blocks arranged in a ...two–dimensional grid. The assignment of different equipment on blocks and the determination of their connectivity are performed using a mixed–integer nonlinear formulation for automated flowsheet generation and optimization–based process synthesis. Based on the special structure of the block representation, an efficient strategy is proposed to generate and successively refine feasible and optimized process flowsheets. Our approach is demonstrated using two process synthesis case studies adapted from the literature and one new process synthesis problem for methanol production from biogas.
We provide a new method to represent all potential flowsheet configurations for the superstructure-based simultaneous synthesis of work and heat exchanger networks (WHENS). The new representation is ...based on only two fundamental elements of abstract building blocks. The first design element is the block interior that is used to represent splitting, mixing, utility cooling, and utility heating of individual streams. The second design element is the shared boundaries between adjacent blocks that permit inter-stream heat and work transfer and integration. A semi-restricted boundary represents expansion/compression of streams connected to either common (integrated) or dedicated (utility) shafts. A completely restricted boundary with a temperature gradient across it represents inter-stream heat integration. The blocks interact with each other via mass and energy flows through the boundaries when assembled in a two-dimensional grid-like superstructure. Through observation and examples from literature, we illustrate that our building block-based WHENS superstructure contains numerous candidate flowsheet configurations for simultaneous heat and work integration. This approach does not require the specification of work and heat integration stages. Intensified designs, such as multi-stream heat exchangers with varying pressures, are also included. We formulate a mixed-integer non-linear (MINLP) optimization model for WHENS with minimum total annual cost and demonstrate the capability of the proposed synthesis approach through a case study on liquefied energy chain. The concept of building blocks is found to be general enough to be used in possible discovery of non-intuitive process flowsheets involving heat and work exchangers.
Fuel gas network (FGN) synthesis is a systematic method for reducing fresh fuel consumption in a chemical plant. In this work, we address FGN synthesis problems using a block superstructure ...representation that was originally proposed for process design and intensification. The blocks interact with each other through direct flows that connect a block with its adjacent blocks and through jump flows that connect a block with all nonadjacent blocks. The blocks with external feed streams are viewed as fuel sources and the blocks with product streams are regarded as fuel sinks. An additional layer of blocks are added as pools when there exists intermediate operations among source and sink blocks. These blocks can be arranged in a I × J two-dimensional grid with I = 1 for problems without pools, or I = 2 for problems with pools. J is determined by the maximum number of pools/sinks. With this representation, we formulate FGN synthesis problem as a mixed-integer nonlinear (MINLP) formulation to optimally design a fuel gas network with minimal total annual cost. We revisit a literature case study on LNG plants to demonstrate the capability of the proposed approach.
We present a novel superstructure based on building blocks for simultaneous process synthesis and intensification. We use the combination of building blocks to represent different equipment and ...flowsheets. Blocks and interaction of blocks with each other via mass and energy balances serve to represent different phenomena, tasks and unit operations for process intensification. A collection of blocks with different types generates an intensified unit. The overall problem is proposed as a large-scale, nonconvex mixed-integer nonlinear optimization problem. The applicability of our approach is demonstrated through a case study on methanol production from biogas.
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