A Systems Approach For Process Intensification For Process Simplification
A Systems Approach For Process Intensification For Process Simplification
A Systems Approach For Process Intensification For Process Simplification
– 2 Problem Statement
Correspondence: Dr. M. El-Halwagi ([email protected]), Depart-
ment of Chemical Engineering, Texas A&M University, College Station, The problem for process simplification can be summarized as
Texas 77843, USA. follows (see Fig. 1). Given a specific product and candidate raw
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2 M. El-Halwagi et al.
Product/
Process By-products
Raw
Materials
Reactor 1
Terminal gas and
liquid waste streams
Reactor 2
materials, develop a cost-effective process flow sheet that has concept of a bounding zone called the maximum extendable
the least number of processing steps needed to convert the feed zone (MEZ) is introduced for each processing step. Once the
to the desired product and by-product(s), while meeting tech- MEZs are developed, the process simplification task is trans-
nical, environmental and safety requirements. formed into a mapping problem where the objective is to
intersect these bounding zones (see Fig. 2). This mapping
allows for the identification of the necessary conditions for the
3 Design Challenges and Complexity intersection of the bounding zones. These conditions are then
transformed into unit performance and configuration infor-
In synthesizing and simplifying the process flow sheet the fol- mation. The mapping also provides a conceptual flow sheet
lowing questions need to be answered: that has the least number of processing stages, and explicit cost
– What are the reaction schemes and units? assessments have to be used to link process simplification with
– Which streams need separation? process design. For grassroots design, the simplest process can
– What species must be removed? To what extent? be identified easily once the MEZ is constructed for the pro-
– Which separation step should be utilized? Where? cessing units. For retrofit design, path simplification rules can
– What are the characteristics of each unit? be used to identify the number of processing steps. Path sim-
– Which streams need to be mixed? Recycled? plification rules and MEZ are discussed in the following sec-
– What are the operating conditions? tions.
To answer these questions, a systematic approach must be
developed to address all of the design challenges and provide Raw Materials
an optimal solution.
Process
4 Proposed Design Approach Stage I
Flowrate
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Process integration 3
Fl
ow
all the components simultaneously, a triangular
ra
diagram is developed (see Fig. 3). In addition to
te
the zone in the flow rate/composition space, there Sepn II
also exists a corresponding zone in the composi- Product
tion domain. Starting with a certain feedstock, the B C
MEZ processing the feedstock defines the largest
attainable boundaries which are then intersected Figure 3. MEZ for a conceptual process (multicomponent process).
with the MEZs of various processing steps until
the product is reached. The development of the MEZ models Rule I: Extending the operating zones
for some of the typical processes is discussed in the Appendix
Consider the process shown in Fig. 4 and its corresponding
A of this paper. Once the MEZs are developed, the process
multicomponent path diagram. Design and operating condi-
simplification task is transforming into a mapping problem
tions of U1 and U4 can be altered until MEZs of U1 and U4
where the objective is to intersect these bounding zones. This
intersect each other eliminating U2 and U3.
mapping allows for the identification of the conditions neces-
sary for the intersection of the bounding zones. These condi-
Rule II: Eliminating/simplifying species cycling
tions are then transformed into unit performance and config-
uration information. The mapping also provides a conceptual Consider the path diagram shown in Fig. 5 where the species
flow sheet that has the least number of processing stages. form a cycle by going through the steps (a), (b), (c), and (d). If
this process can be replaced by step s, then the species cycling
is eliminated and the processing steps are minimized.
4.1.2 Path Simplification Rules The graphical approach can be used to quickly generate alter-
nate solutions and insights. For a more rigorous approach and
For retrofit design, path simplification rules can be used to for systems with more than three key components, an algorith-
identify the minimum number of processing steps. The first mic approach is presented next.
step in applying path simplification rules is to develop a multi-
component path diagram. In principle, the multicomponent
path diagram is similar to the single component path diagram 4.2 Algorithmic Approach
[19]. The multicomponent path can be constructed on a trian-
gular diagram as shown in Fig. 3. The following are the path In the algorithmic approach, a two-stage targeting approach is
simplification rules: adopted. In the first stage (Target I), the minimum number of
A U1 U2 U3 U4
S4
S0 S1 S2 S3 S0
S3 U4
S2
Fl
ow
ra S0 S1
te U1
B C
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4 M. El-Halwagi et al.
A
Sa
Sb a
S d
Sc
Fl
Sd
ow
b
ra
te
U1 c
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Process integration 5
ESA/MSA IN
Gas Processes
Vj Y jk
Products/
yik Byproducts
Gas Sources vij
'
i=1 vi' yik
Rxn
''
. li'' xi
.
.
H/C
i=NV
Back to
C/D process
Sepn
Liquid Processes
Lj X jk
Products/
xik Byproducts
Liquid Sources lij
i=NV+1
Rxn
.
.
.
H/C
i=NV+NL Back to
C/D process
Sepn
H/C= Heating/Cooling
C/D= Compression/Decompression
SPIN
Figure 6. Process representation.
To represent the MEZs, the following relationship is applied Similarly, the following equation applies to units that pro-
for units that process gas streams: cess liquid streams:
vi ; yik ; li ; xik fj Lj ; Xjk ; Uj ; j MV 1; :::; MV ML
vi ; yik ; li ; xik fj Vj ; Yjk ; Hj ; j 1; 2; :::; MV (14) (15)
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6 M. El-Halwagi et al.
In addition to minimizing the number of processing units, the then distilled to recover the solvent. The top product from
developed formulation can also be used to minimize cost. Tar- solvent distillation is again distilled to separate alcohol and
get II formulation includes the same set of constraints as Tar- MEK. The separated alcohol is recycled to the reactor. The
get I formulation but involves a different objective function current process has six units and the TAC for this option is
which is aimed at minimizing the total annualized cost (TAC): $64.4 MM/year. The objective of this case study is to identify
a cost-effective flow sheet with the minimum number of pro-
Min TAC (18) cessing steps.
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Process integration 7
A A
ln
Rxn
Rxn
t C
Pd
tln
is
D
d
Con d
Co Con Co
nd nd
A A
Rxn
ln
Rxn
tC
ln
Pd
st
Di
d
Con
d Con
Co
Co
nd
nd
Loop 2
Abs. Extrc. Distln
ln
Abs
ln
tC
st
Di
Pd
K H2 K Eliminating Loop 2 H2
Actual Path Diagram
TAC=52,100,000/year
The new flow sheet is shown in Fig. 10. Applying rule I again
Condenser
to extend the operating zone of the absorber, the condenser
Reactor U=2 Ammonia
can be eliminated (see Fig. 11). This process alternative is
Butyl Alcohol U=1 H2
shown in Fig. 12.
Targets I and II formulations are solved using the initial so-
lution generated from the graphical technique. The simplest
process has three units and the TAC is $52.1 MM/year (see
Fig. 10). In this option, the coolant in the condenser is changed
to ammonia and three process units (i.e., absorber, extraction
and solvent distillation) are eliminated from the current pro-
cess. The next alternative process has five units and the asso-
ciated TAC is $83.7 MM/year (see Fig. 12). In this option, one
unit is eliminated from the current process. The current pro-
cess has six units and the TAC is $64.4 MM/year. It is interest- Product
ing to note that although process alternative 2 (see Fig. 12) has Column
U=3
fewer units than the current process (see Fig. 7), the TAC is
higher for process alternative 2.
(MEK) Product
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8 M. El-Halwagi et al.
A A
Rxn
n
Rxn
Cl
t
Pd
n
Cl
t
Pd
d
Con
istln
Co
rc, D Ab
Ext s
Abs,
nd
Abs. Extrc. Distln
n
Abs
ln
Cl
st
Di
t
Pd
Developing conceptual flow sheet alternatives with the least DxD + BxB = FxF (A2)
number of processing steps is an important objective during
research and development and can be used for process intensi- Eq. (A2) can be rewritten as follows:
fication and cost reduction. In this paper, a systematic method
has been developed to address the problem process simplifica- FxF BxB
D (A3)
tion. A shortcut graphical approach is proposed to identify ini- xD xD
tial solutions. Then, the problem is formulated as an optimiza-
tion problem to identify cost-effective flow sheets with the For a given F and xF, maximum distillated flow D occurs
least number of processing units. Cost can also be added as an when BxB = 0. Therefore, Eq. (A3) becomes:
alternate target. Results from the case study show that the
minimum number of processing steps may not correspond to FxF
D (A4)
the solution with the minimum cost; and the proposed meth- xD
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Process integration 9
Distillate
D xD
Feed Distillation
Column
F xF
D xD
Bottom
B xB
F xF
Separation
D Product Product B
xD xB
B xB
Regeneration
Primary
Feed F
xF
Eq. (A3) provides the MEZ for a separation process and it is Distillation
shown in Fig. A2.
Eq. (A3) provides the MEZ for one component. However, any
The possible range for distillate composition xD is between
typical process has multiple components. To develop the MEZ
xF and 1. When xD = 1, then Eq. (A4) becomes:
in the composition space, the Fenske equation can be used for
D = FxF (A5) distillation:
When xD = xF, Eq. (A4) becomes: aN min
1 FR1 dist
1i
FRi bot ; i 2; 3; :::; NS
D=F (A6) FR1 dist a1i 1 FR1 dist
(A8)
Heat Induced Separations
Typical heat induced separations are condensation and crystal- Fxiin 1
FRi bot
lization. Eq. (A3) provides the MEZ for one component. How- xit ; i 2; 3; :::; NS (A9)
D
ever, any typical process has multiple components. To develop
the MEZ in the composition space, the following relationships
Fxiin 1
can be used for heat induced separation processes: FRi dist
xib ; i 2; 3; :::; NS (A10)
p T B
yit i (A7)
P
NS
X
where, p6 i T is the partial pressure of component i as a func- B Fx1in 1 xiin FR1 bot
FR1 dist F (A11)
tion of temperature, and P is the total pressure of the system. i2
For a given refrigerant, the lowest temperature that can be
attained is known. Then, the lowest attainable composition NS
X
(yit ) can be calculated, which gives the MEZ for heat induced D Fx1in FR1 dist F xiin 1
FR1 bot (A12)
separations. i2
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10 M. El-Halwagi et al.
Flowrate
D
F Maximum
Recovery
FxF Line
D=
xD
FxF
Maximum
Extendible
Zone
xF 1 Composition of Product
Figure A2. MEZ for a separation pro-
xD cess.
where, FR1 dist is the relative volatility of component i with Nmin [–] minimum number of theoretical
respect to component 1, FRi bot is the fractional recovery of plates
component i in the bottoms, FR1 dist is the fractional recovery NS [–] number of species
of component i in distillation, Nmin is the minimum number NV [–] number of vapor sources
of theoretical plates, F is the feed flow rate, D is the distillated pi T) [N m–2] partial pressure of component i as a
flow rate, B is the bottoms flow rate, xiin is the inlet composi- function of temperature T
tion of component i, NS is the total number of components. P [N m–2] total pressure of the system
FR1 dist tends to 1 for the most volatile species, whereas Nmin tV [–] number of terminal streams
can be fixed to a very large number. Then, the outlet composi- T [K] temperature
tion xit and xib can be calculated to provide the MEZ for distil- ui [J] enthalpy for liquid stream i
lation. Uj [J] enthalpy for liquid stream to sink j
vi [kg s–1] gaseous flow for source i
vij [kg s–1] gaseous flow from source i to sink j
Symbols used vi′ [kg s–1] outlet gaseous flow from sink
Vj [kg s–1] total gaseous flow to sink j
a1i [–] relative volatility of component i Vjterminal [kg s–1] flow of terminal liquid stream j
with respect to component 1 xB [–] composition in bottoms stream
B [kg s–1] bottoms flow rate xD [–] composition in distillate stream
D [kg s–1] distillate flow rate xik [–] composition of species k in liquid
Ej [–] binary integer variable indicating the stream i
presence of the unit in final solution xik′ [–] composition of species k in outlet
–1
F [kg s ] feed flow rate liquid flow from sink
FRi bot [–] fractional recovery of component i xF [–] composition in stream inlet to
in bottoms separator
FRi dist
[–] fractional recovery of component i xiin [–] inlet composition of component i
in distillate terminal
xjk [–] composition of species k in terminal
hi [J] enthalpy for gaseous stream i liquid stream j
Hj [J] enthalpy for gaseous stream to sink j Xjk [–] composition of species k in total
li [kg s–1] liquid flow for source i liquid flow to sink j
li
2
[kg s–1] outlet liquid flow from sink yik [–] composition of species k in gaseous
lij [kg s–1] liquid flow from source i to sink j stream i
Lj [kg s–1] total liquid flow to sink j yik′ [–] composition of species k in outlet
Ljterminal [kg s–1] flow of terminal liquid stream j gaseous flow from sink
ML [–] number of units accepting liquids yit [–] lowest attainable composition
only terminal
yjk [–] composition of species k in terminal
MV [–] number of units accepting vapors gaseous stream j
only Yjk [–] composition of species k in total
NL [–] number of liquid sources gaseous flow to sink j
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Process integration 11
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12 M. El-Halwagi et al.
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