Revamp feasibility assessment

The previous chapters explained the methods that can help identify and evaluate improvement ideas in terms of cost and benefit as well as the effect on the utility system. If an option survived from the evaluation, there is one more step to go for identifying critical constraints and determining ways of overcoming them before being implemented in design. This step is called feasibility assessment, which is the focus of this chapter. 

During feasibility assessment, improvement options will be evaluated in greater detail with more accurate estimates of costs and benefits based on rigorous process and equipment simulations. The traditional approach for feasibility assessment is to investigate modification options without extensively exploiting interactions between modifications, process conditions, process redesign, heat integration, and equipment 

Energy and Process Optimization for the Process Industries, First Edition. Frank (Xin X.) Zhu. 

In contrast, this chapter will present a feasibility assessment methodology that takes a more proactive view of the feasibility with focus on searching for innovative ways to overcome critical constraints. It is not the intension of this chapter to provide a manual of feasibility assessment, but instead to introduce the methodology and share key lessons. These lessons are gained from experience of conducting numerous feasibility assessment studies. 

The essence of a feasibility project is to investigate the effects of modifications toward existing processes and key equipment and identify critical constraints in existing equipment. Prior to feasibility assessment, the improvement options are usually identified in the idea discovery stage by using the methods discussed in the previous chapters. The million dollar question requiring an answer from the feasibility assessment is Is it feasible to implement the options from the economic, technical, and operational points of view  

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