E.3 Integrated Algorithms

Integration of process synthesis, design and control
In design of continuous process flowsheets, it is desirable to limit the variety of possible flowsheets as early as possible. If screening of flowsheets is done entirely on the basis of steady state economics, it will often lead to solutions where dynamic behaviour causes the final plant to be difficult to control (or even impossible to control). It is therefore desirable to have an integrated set of tools through which design and control engineers can find feasible flowsheets from steady state information alone, at an early stage of the project.
The plan for this project is to develop an integrated approach to design, synthesis and control of chemical processes on the basis of thermodynamic insights. The goal is to present a methodology which leads to a flowsheet of a process where aspects of design (condition of operation), synthesis (choice of unit operations) and operability (energy requirements, controllability, environmental impact, etc.) are addressed in an integrated manner. This methodology will be applicable to design of new processes or for determining appropriate alternatives for existing processes (retrofit problems).
Inclusion of all sub problems into the objective of the design (for the optimal solution) will provide a multi parametric function. The trade off between the various terms will be analyzed through "trade off curves". Thermodynamic insights will help to understand these curves and to apply them in the integrated approach.