Process design goals

A future goal for the integration of graphics and process design simulators is to be able to use an interactive graphics program to prepare the input to the process simulator. This capabiHty would allow tme on-line process modification, flow-sheet optimization, and process optimization, and is likely to be one of the key developments in this field in the 1990s (99). 

In order to illustrate an example of process design for the manufacture of enantiopure drug substances on an industrial SMB system, consider manufacturing 10 ton/ year of an enantiopure drug. The racemic drug by definition is a 50 50 mixture of each enantiomer (products A and B). The goal is to process enantiopure drug substances in order to obtain 99 % purity for both the extract and the raffinate. 

The first consideration in any design and optimization problem is to decide the boundaries of the system. A reactor can rarely be optimized without considering the upstream and downstream processes connected to it. Chapter 6 attempts to integrate the reactor design concepts of Chapters 1-5 with process economics. The goal is an optimized process design that includes the costs of product recovery, in-process recycling, and by-product disposition. The reactions are... 

At the end of Chapters 2 through 11 an application of the material presented in the chapter to a specific exemplary task will be presented. This will be the design of a 150,000,000 lb/yr polystyrene plant, which will use the suspension process. The goal of this example will be to provide just enough information so the board of directors can decide whether the plant should be constructed. 

We will highlight this system by first giving a brief overview of the architecture, followed by some practical examples that cover several common tasks in the drug discovery process. The goal is not to give a detailed account of the methods employed, but rather to illustrate how the system functions in practice. We will present as examples some of the most widely used chemoinformatics applications customized database access, similarity and substructure searching, reactant selection, and library design. 

Process Hazard Analysis (PHA) can be defined as the application of a systematic method to a process design in order to identify potential hazards and operating problems. It determines the causes and consequences of abnormal process conditions that arise from equipment failure, human error or other events. The goal is to determine whether opportunities exist to reduce the risks of the toll s hazards and then to implement warranted action items. The AJChE CCPS guideline Guidelines for Hazard Evaluation Procedures, Second Edition with Worked Examples is a good resource for fully detailed approaches to process hazard analysis. It provides an introduction to hazard evaluation as well as guidance on ... 

The DfE Program aims to turn pollution prevention into both a corporate and an environmental asset, by helping businesses incorporate environmental considerations into the product or process design and decision-making process. The program has three goals ... 

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