Finite intermediate storage operational

The other operational philosophies that are generally encountered are the mixed intermediate storage (MIS), zero-wait (ZW), finite wait (FW) as well as the unlimited wait (UW) operational philosophies. The MIS philosophy is encountered in a situation where at least 2 of the aforementioned operating philosophies coexist in one process. It is indeed very seldom in most practical applications to have only one philosophy throughout the operation. A combination of different philosophies in often the case. 

Let us consider a non-continuous processing system with n upstream and m downstream units (usually n m) with an intermediate storage. We assume that the processing units are operated periodically, and stochastic failures of the units under general conditions may occur. Furthermore, we suppose that the filling and removal rates may vary in time arbitrarily, i.e. they are described by general functions exhibiting at most finite number of jump discontinuities. 

The ZW, FW, and UW are in most instances a consequence of product stability. In a situation where the intermediates are unstable, it is always advisable to proceed with the subsequent step(s) in the recipe as soon as the intermediates are formed, hence the ZW operational philosophy. Due to its nature, ZW does not require any dedicated storage for the intermediates and could be depicted by a flowsheet similar to that shown in Fig. 1.3. On the other hand, the intermediate could be partially stable and only commence decomposition after a certain period. In this case storage time has to be finite in order to prevent formation of unwanted material, hence the FW operational philosophy. The UW operational philosophy is applicable whenever the intermediates are stable over a significantly longer time than the time horizon of interest. In both FW and UW operational philosophies, storage of intermediates can either be within the processing equipment or dedicated storage unit. 

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