Industrial Applications of Chemical Process Synthesis

Systematic approaches for the invention of conceptual chemical process designs have been proposed and discussed for more than twenty-five years. During that same time, the importance of front-end engineering, especially conceptual design, to product quality, health and safety, environmental impact, energy consumption, operability, capital and operating costs, and overall competitiveness has become ever more apparent. A number of process synthesis frameworks, approaches, methods, and tools have now been developed to the point of industrial application. This chapter describes a framework for the industrial chemical plant innovation process, showing how process synthesis fits into that structure and how that framework has in turn influenced the development of systematic process synthesis methods. It also describes a number of industrial case studies in which process synthesis techniques have been successfully applied to the conceptual design of total process flowsheets, as well as to specific design subproblems including heat-integrated distillation trains, multiple-effect distillation, and the separation of azeotropic systems. Typical energy savings of 50% and net present cost reductions of 35% have been achieved in industrial practice using systematic process synthesis methodologies. Even greater benefits are expected to be realized as the next generation of approaches currently being developed is transferred to industry.