Process intensification Business

Arthur de Little, SenterNovem (2006) Full study presented to platform for chain efficiency (PKE). Building a business case on process intensification Belloni A (2006) Process 13 64-65... 

The philosophy of process intensification has been traditionally characterized by four words smaller, cheaper, safer, slicker. And indeed, equipment size, land use costs, and process safety are among the most important PI incentives. But process intensification can (and should) also be placed in a broader context—the context of sustainable technological development. Several years ago DSM published a picture symbolizing its own vision of process intensification (32), in which skyscraping distillation towers of the naphtha-cracking unit are replaced by a compact, clean, and tidy indoor plant (see Figure 3). The importance of PI for sustainable development and its role in the company s responsible business has been further stressed in a recent publication by the company s CEO, Peter Elverding (33). Here,... 

More and more chemical companies do recognize the fact that their image, their reputation, plays a very important role in successful business. A proper image of the company is necessary to ensure public support for its activities. A study done in the United States showed that only the tobacco industry and the nuclear energy sector had a worse reputation than the chemical industry. The situation in Europe is probably not very much different. On the other hand, process intensification, deeply anchored in the philosophy of sustainable development, in safe and environmentally friendly processing, presents perhaps the simplest, the most obvious key to the improved image of the chemical industry. 

Process intensification can bring many benefits regarding business, legislative, and environmental aspects and is therefore very worthwhile to be implemented. 

By introducing step-by-step improvements in a process, process intensification offers a strong possibility to fulfill the current business, legislative, and environmental requirements. These aspects are becoming more and more important in contemporary chemical industry. 

The intensification of chemical processes can help reduce the risks of chemical processing and lower the energy demand and waste production. These positive possibilities, which are evidently also linked to the business aspects, have contributed to the growing use of process intensification. This is also expressed in the paper of Elverding (2) at the Defacto conference on Profit, Planet, and People in combination with process intensification, reflecting the benefits for business and environment. 

Many different aspects relating to business, legislation, and environment can be defined. These are given in Table 1. In this important table one can find many of the benefits of process intensification summed up. All of these aspects in the end have to do with business, legislation, or the environment and show how process intensification can have a strong positive influence on these three main drivers and answers the question of why one would one choose to intensify a process. 

The overview in Table 1 holds, in principle, for any type of chemical industry. Additionally, different types of chemical industries may have different focuses, depending on their starting position and on their business requirements. Knowledge of the perspectives helps in determining the main cost drivers from the fist given in Table 1 and helps therefore in finding the starting points for process intensification studies. Table 2 presents an overview of some of the main types of chemical industries and the specific demands they posed on process intensification when applied in these industries. A distinction can thus be made between ... 

This method has been applied within DSM for 13 of its existing processes from its three main business clusters (polymers and industrial chemicals, life science products, and performance materials). See Figure 4 for the scheme used within DSM that follows this route. The results showed possibilities for reducing the cost of the present processes to 60-90% of the current costs. (This was shown earlier, in Figure 5 of Chapter 1.) This shows that the way of performing process intensification studies described in this chapter can result in very economical results for various types of businesses (from life sciences to bulk chemicals). Two concrete examples are presented in the next section to give a feeling of process intensification. 

Anon, (2005c). Carbon Trust research landscape study, www.thecarbontrust.co.uk CTC511. Anon (2006). Building a business case on Process Intensification. Unpublished report, Arthur D. Little and SenterNovem, July. 

At the first meeting of the UK Process Intensification Network (PIN), Brian Oswald of BP gave an overview of some of the potential opportunities for PI at various stages in the hydrocarbon business chain, from reservoir to marketplace. It highlighted some specific instances where the attributes of PI might be harnessed, but stressed that these ideas were, at the time, still in their early stages of development (see Chapter 9 for references). 

What was lacking a decade ago in terms of process principles and examples has now been supplied by David Reay, Colin Ramshaw, and Adam Harvey in this book on Process Intensification (PI). The authors chronicle the history of PI with emphasis on heat and mass transfer. For the business manager and project manager the PI Overview presents the value proposition for PI including capital reduction (smaller, cheaper), safety (reduced volume), environmental impact, and energy reduction. In addition, PI offers the promise of improved raw material yields. The authors deal with the obstacles to implanenting PI, chief of which is risk management. 

To gain an appreciation of the contribution process intensification can make to improving energy use and the environment, safety, and, most importantly, the realisation of business opportunities. 

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