Heat Integration: Targets and Heat Exchanger Network Design

Abstract: This chapter describes the basic steps of Pinch Analysis for heat recovery that made Process Integration a methodology employed by numerous designers and engineers worldwide and made industrial leaders in the 1980s claim these concepts to be the results of academic research that had the largest impact on industrial thinking in relation to design and operation in the process industries. Key elements of the chapter are the Heat Recovery Pinch, Performance Targets ahead of design, and a step-wise and systematic procedure for Heat Exchanger Network Design. One of the main characteristics of Pinch Analysis is the extensive use of graphical diagrams and representations, which give the designer a good overview of even the most complex processes. These tools provide insight and ease the communication between designers and engineers.