A novel superstructure and optimisation scheme for the synthesis of reaction-separation processes

A design tool is presented that allows simultaneous consideration of reaction and separation in isothermal and non-isothermal multiphase systems. The approach incorporates previous achievements in the area of multiphase reactor network synthesis, with the representation being described in form of a superstructure of genetic reactor/mass exchanger units and multi-purpose separators. The functionalities provided by the synthesis scheme are exploited by stochastic optimisation techniques. In constrast to past methods, the synthesis tool is applicable to general systems involving reaction and separation and is guided by the basic phenomena of reaction mass transfer, and phase equilibria. Implementation of the methodology enables the development of targets and screening procedures that help the engineer to assess the system performance and review promising design options. The steps to generate the superstructure along with its modelling components are explained and two examples illustrate the efficiency of the approach.