Fundamentals of process intensification: A process systems engineering view

This chapter gives an overview of the fundamentals of process intensification from a process systems engineering point of view. The concept of process intensification, including process integration, is explained together with the drivers for applying process intensification, which can be achieved at different scales of size, that is, the unit operation scale, the task scale, and the phenomena scale. The roles of process intensification with respect to process improvements and the generation of more sustainable process designs are discussed and questions related to when to apply process intensification and how to apply process intensification are answered through illustrative examples. The main issues and needs for generation of more sustainable process alternatives through process intensification are discussed in terms of the need for a systematic computer-aided framework and the methods and tools that should be employed through it. The process for the production of methyl-acetate is used as an example to highlight the generation of more sustainable process alternatives through this framework. Perspectives, conclusions, and future work are proposed in order to further develop the field of process intensification using a systems approach.

[1]  Ignacio E. Grossmann,et al.  A structural optimization approach in process synthesis. II: Heat recovery networks , 1983 .

[2]  Rafiqul Gani,et al.  A process synthesis-intensification framework for the development of sustainable membrane-based operations , 2014 .

[3]  U. V. Shenoy,et al.  Pinch analysis for aggregate production planning in supply chains , 2004, Comput. Chem. Eng..

[4]  A. I. Stankiewicz,et al.  Process Intensification: Transforming Chemical Engineering , 2000 .

[5]  Rafiqul Gani,et al.  SustainPro - A tool for systematic process analysis, generation and evaluation of sustainable design alternatives , 2013, Comput. Chem. Eng..

[6]  G. Powers,et al.  Synthesis of system designs: III. Toward a process concept generator , 1971 .

[7]  Á. Domínguez,et al.  Esterification of acetic acid with ethanol: Reaction kinetics and operation in a packed bed reactive distillation column , 2007 .

[8]  Mahmoud M. El-Halwagi,et al.  Targeting material reuse via property integration , 2005 .

[9]  Vinay Amte,et al.  Optimization of Hybrid Reactive Distillation-Pervaporation System , 2011 .

[10]  V. Agreda,et al.  High-purity methyl acetate via reactive distillation , 1990 .

[11]  M. El‐Halwagi.  Pollution prevention through process integration : systematic design tools , 1997 .

[12]  Rafiqul Gani,et al.  A systematic synthesis and design methodology to achieve process intensification in (bio) chemical processes , 2012, Comput. Chem. Eng..

[13]  William Johns,et al.  Computer‐Aided Chemical Engineering , 2011 .

[14]  Ignacio E. Grossmann,et al.  Design of distillation sequences: from conventional to fully thermally coupled distillation systems , 2004, Comput. Chem. Eng..

[15]  Savvas A. Tassou,et al.  Thermal analysis on metal-foam filled heat exchangers. Part II: Tube heat exchangers , 2006 .

[16]  R. Gani,et al.  Group contribution based process flowsheet synthesis, design and modelling , 2005 .

[17]  Philip Lutze,et al.  Reactive and membrane-assisted distillation: Recent developments and perspective , 2013 .

[18]  Rafiqul Gani,et al.  Integration of life cycle assessment software with tools for economic and sustainability analyses and process simulation for sustainable process design , 2014 .

[19]  Colin Ramshaw,et al.  Evaluation of Spinning Disk Reactor Technology for the Manufacture of Pharmaceuticals , 2000 .

[20]  Jeffrey J. Siirola,et al.  Strategic process synthesis : Advances in the hierarchical approach , 1996 .

[21]  Rafiqul Gani,et al.  Sustainable process synthesis-intensification , 2015, Comput. Chem. Eng..

[22]  Ignacio E. Grossmann,et al.  Advances in mathematical programming models for enterprise-wide optimization , 2012, Comput. Chem. Eng..

[23]  Jiří Jaromír Klemeš,et al.  Recent developments in Process Integration , 2013 .

[24]  Rafiqul Gani,et al.  Systematic computer aided framework for process synthesis, design and intensification , 2014 .

[25]  Efstratios N. Pistikopoulos,et al.  A multiperiod MINLP model for the synthesis of flexible heat and mass exchange networks , 1994 .

[26]  Anton A. Kiss,et al.  A systematic investigation of microwave-assisted reactive distillation: Influence of microwaves on separation and reaction , 2015 .

[27]  K. Sundmacher,et al.  Towards a Methodology for the Systematic Analysis and Design of Efficient Chemical Processes - Part 1: From Unit Operations to Elementary Process Function- , 2008 .

[28]  Tom Van Gerven,et al.  Determination of the effect of the ultrasonic frequency on the cooling crystallization of paracetamol , 2014 .

[29]  Klaus D. Timmerhaus,et al.  Plant design and economics for chemical engineers , 1958 .

[30]  Krist V. Gernaey,et al.  A model-based systems approach to pharmaceutical product-process design and analysis , 2010 .

[31]  Johan Grievink,et al.  Process intensification and process systems engineering: A friendly symbiosis , 2008, Comput. Chem. Eng..

[32]  Rafiqul Gani,et al.  An integrated computer aided system for integrated design of chemical processes , 1997 .

[33]  Ignacio E. Grossmann,et al.  Integration of thermodynamic insights and MINLP optimization for the synthesis, design and analysis of process flowsheets , 1999 .

[34]  J. Martín-Pascual,et al.  Kinetic study of the combined processes of a membrane bioreactor and a hybrid moving bed biofilm reactor-membrane bioreactor with advanced oxidation processes as a post-treatment stage for wastewater treatment , 2015 .

[35]  Ignacio E. Grossmann,et al.  A structural optimization approach in process synthesis—I: Utility systems , 1983 .

[36]  Mahmoud M. El-Halwagi,et al.  Process intensification: New understanding and systematic approach , 2012 .

[37]  Kai Sundmacher,et al.  Model-based development of optimal reaction concepts for plant wide process intensification , 2012 .

[38]  G. Kaibel,et al.  Dividing wall columns: Fundamentals and recent advances , 2010 .

[39]  K. Osakada,et al.  Flexible manufacturing of metallic products by selective laser melting of powder , 2006 .

[40]  Ignacio E. Grossmann,et al.  A structural optimization approach in process synthesis. III: Total processing systems , 1983 .

[41]  Hassan Gomaa,et al.  Using in-line static mixers to intensify gas-liquid mass transfer processes , 2005 .

[42]  Jorge A. Marrero,et al.  Group-contribution based estimation of pure component properties , 2001 .

[43]  Sebastian Engell,et al.  Optimization-based design of reactive distillation columns using a memetic algorithm , 2011, Comput. Chem. Eng..

[44]  Mohit Tawarmalani,et al.  Thermal coupling links to liquid‐only transfer streams: A path for new dividing wall columns , 2014 .

[45]  Anton A. Kiss,et al.  Overcoming equilibrium limitations in reactive dividing-wall columns , 2007 .

[46]  John R. Flower,et al.  Synthesis of heat exchanger networks: I. Systematic generation of energy optimal networks , 1978 .

[47]  Bodo Linnhoff,et al.  A User guide on process integration for the efficient use of energy , 1994 .

[48]  Mahmoud M. El-Halwagi,et al.  Synthesis of mass exchange networks , 1989 .

[49]  Wang Wei,et al.  PDMS/ceramic composite membrane for pervaporation separation of acetone–butanol–ethanol (ABE) aqueous solutions and its application in intensification of ABE fermentation process , 2014 .

[50]  Michael F. Malone,et al.  Reactive distillation for methyl acetate production , 2003, Comput. Chem. Eng..

[51]  Rafiqul Gani,et al.  Phenomena Based Methodology for Process Synthesis Incorporating Process Intensification , 2013 .

[52]  Colin Ramshaw,et al.  The opportunities for exploiting centrifugal fields , 1993 .

[53]  James M. Douglas,et al.  A hierarchical decision procedure for process synthesis , 1985 .

[54]  B. Bessling,et al.  Design of Processes with Reactive Distillation Line Diagrams , 1997 .

[55]  David A. Reay,et al.  Re-Engineering the Chemical Processing Plant: Process Intensification, Andrzej Stankiewicz, Jacob A. Moulijn (Eds.). Marcel Dekker, Inc (2003), 529, $165, ISBN: 0 8247 4302 4 , 2005 .

[56]  Jan Harmsen,et al.  Process intensification in the petrochemicals industry: Drivers and hurdles for commercial implementation , 2010 .

[57]  Robin Smith,et al.  Chemical Process: Design and Integration , 2005 .

[58]  Rafiqul Gani,et al.  Hybrid Distillation Schemes: Design, Analysis & Application , 2014 .

[59]  Rafiqul Gani,et al.  SEPARATION PROCESS DESIGN AND SYNTHESIS BASED ON THERMODYNAMIC INSIGHTS , 1995 .

[60]  Rafiqul Gani,et al.  A multi-step and multi-level approach for computer aided molecular design , 2000 .

[61]  Stefan Nordhoff,et al.  Improvement of Conventional Unit Operations by Hybrid Separation Technologies — A Review of Industrial Applications , 2001 .

[62]  K. Sundmacher,et al.  Analysis and optimal design of an ethylene oxide reactor , 2011 .

[63]  Gerhard Schembecker,et al.  Small scale, modular and continuous: A new approach in plant design , 2012 .

[64]  Wolfgang Marquardt,et al.  Integration of data models for process design — first steps and experiences , 2000 .