Simplification of Process Integration Studies in Intermediate Size Industries

Henrik Dalsgård, P. M. Petersen, Einar Bjørn Qvale

    Research output: Contribution to journalConference articleResearchpeer-review

    Abstract

    It can be argued that the largest potential for energy savings based on process integration is in the intermediate size industry. But this is also the industrial scale in which it is most difficult to make the introduction of energy saving measures economically interesting.

    The reasons are that the required engineering effort is too great and therefore too expensive, and that the resulting systems designs often become inordinately complex and therefore not attractive in operation.

    The present study describes steps that aim at reducing the magnitude of the theoretical work and engineering effort associated with a given process integration study in an intermediate size industry. This is based on the observation that the systems that eventually result from a process integration project and that are economically and operationally most interesting are also quite simple.

    Four steps that may be used separately or in series ahead of or simultaneously with the conventional process integration procedures (for example, the pinch point method) are described and are applied to an industrial case study.

    It might be feared that the use of preselections and groupings would limit the "freedom of movement' and therefore lead to non-optimal economic solutions, which may be right. But the objective of the optimisation is not to reach the best economic solution, but to relatively quickly develop the design of a simple and operationally friendly network without losing too much energy saving potential. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
    Original languageEnglish
    JournalEnergy Conversion and Management
    Volume43
    Issue number9-12
    Pages (from-to)1393-1405
    ISSN0196-8904
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2002
    EventEfficiency, Costs, Optimization, Simulation and Environmental Aspects of Energy Systems - Tokyo, Japan
    Duration: 8 Jun 199910 Jun 1999

    Conference

    ConferenceEfficiency, Costs, Optimization, Simulation and Environmental Aspects of Energy Systems
    Country/TerritoryJapan
    CityTokyo
    Period08/06/199910/06/1999

    Keywords

    • Process integration
    • Industry
    • Simplification
    • Hot water production
    • Time consumption
    • Textile

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