Computer-aided approach for design of tailor-made blended products

A computer-aided methodology has been developed for the design of blended (mixture) products. Through this methodology, it is possible to identify the most suitable chemicals for blending, and “tailor” the blend according to specified product needs (usually product attributes, e.g. performance as well as regulatory). The product design methodology has four tasks. First, the design problem is defined: the product needs are identified, translated into target properties and the constraints for each target property are defined. Secondly, target property models are retrieved from a property model library developed specifically for this methodology. Thirdly, a mixture/blend design algorithm is applied to obtain the mixtures/blends (gasoline blend in this case) that match the set of constraints (design targets). The result is a set of blends that match the
constraints, the composition of the chemicals present in the blend, values of the target properties and information about their miscibility. Finally, the mixture target property values are verified by means of rigorous models for the properties and mixtures. The application of this systematic methodology is highlighted through case studies related to the design of blended gasoline with different types of blending agents. The objective of this study is to identify blended gasoline products that match the traditional gasoline attributes and identify suitable blending agents for gasoline.