Process synthesis energy integration

Patel, B., Hildebrandt, D., Glasser, D., and Hausberger, B. 2007b. The synthesis and integration of chemical processes from amass, energy and entropy perspective. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 46 8756-66. 

Formally, the hierarchical design procedure can be divided in two steps process synthesis and process integration. The first deals with the synthesis of the process flowsheet and basic material balance. The second step handles the problem of efficient use of energy and helping material resources (water, solvents, hydrogen). Clearly, the two steps are interrelated. 

The project deals with a VAM plant capacity of lOOkton per year for an effective operation time of8400 h. The process will be based on the acetoxylation of ethylene conducted in gas phase in the presence of a palladium-based solid catalyst. The case study will tackle the problem of process synthesis and energy integration, as well as the dynamics and control for ensuring flexibility in production rate of 10%, while preserving safety and environment protection. 

The previous sections mainly considered the individual process steps involved in the production of ammonia and the progress made in recent years. The way in which these process components are combined with respect to mass and energy flow has a major influence on efficiency and reliability. Apart from the feedstock, many of the differences between various commercial ammonia processes lie in the way in which the process elements are integrated. Formerly the term ammonia technology referred mostly to ammonia synthesis technology (catalyst, converters, and synthesis loop), whereas today it is interpreted as the complete series of industrial operations leading from the primary feedstock to the final product ammonia. 

In this section, we reconsider the van de Vusse process to illustrate our synthesis approach. This example also shows the application of the unified reaction-separation-energy integration model. Comparisons are made between sequential and simultaneous modes of synthesis, and the applicability of the simplified model is verified. 

The first chapter, by Siirola, reviews the impact of process synthesis in industry and shows how process synthesis fits into the innovation process within industrial manufacturing and research. It also highlights a number of industrial successes leading to substantial energy savings and overall cost reductions. Most of these savings are in the areas of distillation sequences, and examples include heat-integrated separation sequences and separation of azeotropic systems. 

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