Network-wide campaign planning for multi-stage processes in the chemical industry

Cost analysis and optimization of Blockchain-based solid waste management traceability system

Distillation is an essential process in the chemical industry. To cope with small production quantities of specialized chemicals, modular production plants have gained increasing attention in the past years. Zero-gravity distillation is a small-scale distillation process, which offers high separation efficiencies and can be used as a part of modular production plants. Instead of gravity, capillary forces are utilized to sustain the fluid circulation. In order to apply the process in industry, the influence of the operating parameters and the capillary structure on the process variables has to be understood. In this thesis, the results of experiments and simulations of zero-gravity distillation are presented and discussed. The experimental setup, which is similar to a flat heat pipe, allows measuring the wall and vapor temperatures, the fluid composition at the condenser, the pressure, and the liquid-vapor interface shape. Two different capillary structures were investigated at infinite reflux with mixtures of water and ethanol. For the extensively studied triangular groove structure, the overall average ethanol fraction, the heat flux, and the inclination of the system were varied. Negative inclination angles indicate that the condenser lay higher than the evaporator. The separation efficiency defined as the difference between the ethanol mole fraction at the condenser and the system average ethanol mole fraction increased with decreasing overall average ethanol fraction, decreasing heat flux, and decreasing inclination angle. For the advanced rectangular groove structure, three fluid compositions were tested. By comparing the two groove structures, no clear conclusion could be drawn on which capillary structure promotes separation. In the theoretical model, heat transfer, mass transfer, and hydrodynamics are coupled for zero-gravity distillation in channel-shaped capillary structures. In contrast to existing models for porous media as capillary structures, the influence of the variation of the area occupied by the liquid along the flow direction is accounted for. Additionally, heat conduction in the channel wall is included. The theoretical model of zero-gravity distillation was applied to a re-entrant channel structure at different values of the heat flux, the inclination, and the radius of the circular part of the cross section. As in the experiments, the separation improved with decreasing heat flux, which means the difference between the ethanol mole fractions between evaporator and condenser increased. Changing the inclination of the system did not lead to changes in the distribution of the component mole fractions in the system. With decreasing the radius of the circular part of the capillary structure cross section, an improved separation was observed. Thus, an influence of the capillary structure design on the separation was shown.

From the positions of system analysis and the theory of optimal design the approach to the development of hardware design of industrial production of carbon nanotubes and by-ptoducts on the basis of their functionalized forms is proposed. Functionalization is carried out by oxidation of nanotubes with concentrated nitric acid and their subsequent modification by titanium stearate. Functionalized by this method, carbon nanotubes have increased hydrophobic properties and are semi-products for use in composites based on non-polar matrices. Material flows of production of nanotubes and semi-products on their basis are analyzed. Interrelations between them are established. The cost of the product is used as a global economic criterion of optimality. A three-level decomposition of the technological scheme of nanotubes and their functionalized forms production on the principle of "production – stage of production – hardware design stage" is made. At the second level of decomposition, the following stages are identified: catalyst preparation; preparation of carbonaceous raw materials; synthesis of nanotubes; utilization of gaseous pyrolysis products; treatment of material after synthesis; oxidation of nanotubes; modification of oxidized nanotubes with titanium stearate. Economic optimality criteria are determined for them, taking into account the return of by-products from the stages of purification of carbon nanotubes and neutralization of gaseous pyrolysis products at the stage of catalyst production and preparation of the initial carbon-containing raw materials, respectively. The interrelation of information and coordinating signals of the first and second level of the task of designing a new production is established. The correlation of initial design data (qualitative composition of carbon-containing raw materials, production capacity, complex quality index of carbon nanotubes and their morphological characteristics) and the main design and operating parameters of the hardware design of industrial production of carbon nanotubes and semi-products based on them is shown. The task of designing a new production taking into account the combined production of catalyst-free and functionalized carbon nanotubes with the use of the same hardware design is formulated.

Under the double pressures of global competition and increasing environmental awareness, the importance of high‐performance simulation tools in the process industries (food, chemicals, oil, …) is rapidly growing. However, traditional simulation environments are closed monolithic systems which are extensible only by a small group of market‐leading vendors. The resulting bottlenecks in interoperability, reuse and innovationled to the CAPE‐OPEN project, in which the chemical and oil industries are defining standards for a component‐based approach to process simulation, in order to open up the market to smaller vendors and to facilitate rapid industrial uptake of academic research prototypes. For general systems engineering, the CAPE‐OPEN standardising process has at least two interesting features: (a) it has experimented on a large scale with a distributed use case approach, following a variant of the UML (Unified Modelling Language) approach for modelling, but also linking down to programming standards based on CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) and COM (Common Object Model); (b) the management of this world‐wide distributed effort has been facilitated by the use of an Internet‐based workspace co‐operation environment, augmented by advanced structuring and analysis methods from software engineering and computational intelligence.

The Society of Chemical Industry, headquartered in London, is 100 years old this week. The event is being marked by a major scientific conference in Cambridge and by dinner at the prestigious Great Hall of London's Guildhall that will be attended by many luminaries of the international chemical industry. SCI had its official beginning on April 4, 1881, advance applied chemistry in all its branches. It serves all concerned with the chemical and process industries . . . and encourages the application of science, engineering, and management practices for the benefit of the whole community. From the outset, SCI members and its officers have adhered to three broad principles. They have maintained it as a learned society. They have fostered multidisciplinary interests. (Membership is not restricted to those with a degree in chemistry or an allied discipline.) And they have promoted activities on the international level. The emergence of SCI coincided with development of ...

This paper focuses on the waste minimization programs in the USA chemical process industries and the role of biotechnology in these programs. The role of biotechnology in waste minimization is reviewed from an R&D perspective. To obtain a good perspective on the waste minimization activities of the chemical industry in the last 5 years, one needs to answer the following two questions: How has the processing industry responded to the increased environmental regulations and social consciousness on waste generation? What waste minimization programs were implemented during this period and what are planned for the future?

Under the background of "missing carbon sink" mystery and carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology development, this paper summarized the lime material flow process carbon sink from the lime carbonation principles, impact factors, and lime utilization categories in chemical industry, metallurgy industry, construction industry, and lime kiln ash treatment. The results showed that the lime carbonation rate coefficients were mainly impacted by materials and ambient conditions; the lime carbon sink was mainly in chemical, metallurgy, and construction industries; and current researches focused on the mechanisms and impact factors for carbonation, but their carbon sequestration calculation methods had not been proposed. Therefore, future research should focus on following aspects: to establish a complete system of lime carbon sequestration accounting method in view of material flow; to calculate lime carbon sequestration in both China and the world and explain their offset proportion of CO2emission from lime industrial process; to analyze the contribution of lime carbon sequestration to missing carbon sink for clarifying part of missing carbon sinks; to promote the development of carbon capture and storage technology and provide some scientific bases for China's international negotiations on climate change.

Greenhouse gas emissions from the chemical manufacturing industry are enormous, by some estimates they amount to 5% percent of the global total.1,2 Moreover, chemical manufacturing is widely considered as a “difficult-to-decarbonize” sector due to the deeply entrenched reliance on crude-based hydrocarbons as fuels and feedstocks.3 The ultimate goal of eliminating anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, clearly demands a wholesale reconsideration of energy and material flows in chemical manufacturing.One area of research that has gained momentum in the past decade is the use of electrochemistry to perform organic redox reactions. These types of electrosynthetic transformations provide a straightforward means to electrify chemical manufacturing, thereby decreasing the global warming impact as the carbon intensity of grid electricity diminishes with continued adoption of low-carbon power sources. Further improvements are achievable through decarbonization of material inputs, e.g., by replacing problematic redox reagents like methane-derived hydrogen or fuming nitric acid with reactive hydrogen and oxygen intermediates generated at electrodes via water electrolysis.Despite these promising advances, interest in organic electrosynthesis to date has mainly focused on the production of commodity chemicals (e.g., CO2 reuse, ammonia electrosynthesis) at the expense of specialty chemical synthesis. This focus is well justified based on the possible impact of major breakthroughs on global emissions, but it constitutes missed opportunities to drive broad adoption of electrosynthesis across the chemical industry. To address this knowledge gap, our lab has undertaken a collaborative research effort with a global specialty chemical manufacturer to explore opportunities to decarbonize through electrification strategies involving electrosynthetic reaction schemes.This presentation will detail our recent work on a holistic “scoping study” to estimate the potential for reducing the global warming emissions profiles for a representative set of specialty chemicals through the adoption of electrosynthetic methods. First, we mapped the supply chain for 12 specific chemicals (chosen for their relevance to the specialty industry and significant global warming potential from current production methods) in terms of all reactive processes required to generate these compounds from petrochemical feedstocks. Next, we searched for literature reports detailing electrosynthetic pathways to generate each intermediate species along the manufacturing supply chain. The relevant electrochemical reactions were broadly classifiable as (a) generating alternatives to petrochemical feedstocks; (b) direct replacement of an existing chemical redox reaction with an electrochemical reaction; or (c) intensified approaches that use electrochemistry to reduce the total number of reactive process steps required. Finally, we benchmarked the potential for reduced greenhouse gas emissions for electrosynthetic schemes compared to the incumbent technologies based on a set of simplifying assumptions that involve calculating baseline emissions intensities as a function of the thermodynamic minimum energy input and the carbon intensity of the electric power supply, and further applying generic “efficiency factors” to account for all emissions in excess of this thermodynamic minimum. The results of this analysis suggest remarkable opportunities to develop electrosynthetic schemes for a handful of reactions for which global warming emissions could be reduced even in the most conservative scenarios of low process efficiency and high carbon intensity of the input power.This presentation will also cover the hurdles we have identified in the development of modular and continuously operated electrosynthetic reactors, as well as what we have learned in addressing these challenges.References(1) Saygin, D.; Gielen, D. Zero-Emission Pathway for the Global Chemical and Petrochemical Sector. Energies 2021, 14 (13), 3772. https://doi.org/10.3390/en14133772.(2) Gabrielli, P.; Rosa, L.; Gazzani, M.; Meys, R.; Bardow, A.; Mazzotti, M.; Sansavini, G. Net-Zero Emissions Chemical Industry in a World of Limited Resources. One Earth 2023, 6 (6), 682–704. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2023.05.006.(3) Gross, S. The Challenge of Decarbonizing Heavy Industry, 2021. https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/FP_20210623_industrial_gross_v2.pdf.

The objective of this paper is the development and solution of nonlinear and mixed-integer (MIP) optimization models for real-world planning and scheduling problems in petroleum refineries. Firstly, we present a nonlinear planning model that represents a general refinery topology and allows implementation of nonlinear process models as well as blending relations. The optimization model is able to define new operating points, thus increasing the production of the more valuable products and simultaneously satisfying all specification constraints. The second part addresses scheduling problems in oil refineries, which are formulated as MIP optimization models and rely on both continuous and discrete time representations. Three practical applications closely related to the current refinery scenario are presented. The first one addresses the problem of crude oil inventory management of a refinery that receives several types of crude oil delivered exclusively by a single oil pipeline. Subsequently, two optimization models intended to define the optimal production policy, inventory control and distribution are proposed and solved for the fuel oil and asphalt plant. Finally, the planning model of Moro et al. (1998) is extended in order to sequence decisions at the scheduling level in the liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) area for maximization of the production of petrochemical-grade propane and product delivery.

Purpose – In micro cold forming, the high degree of technological dependencies between manufacturing, quality inspection and handling technologies leads to an extremely complex planning of process chains. In addition, the lack of standardised processes and interfaces further complicates the planning. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – In order to provide consistent and comprehensive planning of micro manufacturing processes, this paper discusses a method, which integrates the planning of process flows, the planning of technological dependencies and capabilities, as well as of the corresponding material flow. Findings – The paper presents the micro-process chain planning and analysis (μ-ProPlAn) framework. It consists of a specific modelling method, a simultaneous engineering procedure model for the model creation, as well as of methods for the analysis of technological dependencies and logistic key values along the modelled process chains. Research limitations/implications – As the results presented in this paper originate from an on-going research project, the paper focuses on a detailed presentation of the modelling methodology and the procedure model. Practical implications – In practice, the μ-ProPlAn framework provides process designers in the field of micro manufacturing with tools and methods to clearly depict the interdependencies between and within a product's different manufacturing stages. Originality/value – By following a simultaneous engineering approach, μ-ProPlAn aims to reduce the efforts in process design by supporting the design of manufacturing processes in the early stages of the product design and by providing suitable methods for the analysis of these process chains.

Hierarchical Modelling of Complex Material and Energy Flow in Manufacturing Systems

Methane gas hydrates are non-stoichiometric crystalline solids generated by the fusion of methane gas molecules with water molecules at low temperature and high pressure. MGH formation has been an issue for many years in the oil, gas, chemical, and other industries because hydrates can block pipelines or valves.  A blowout in drilling operations could be caused by hydrate development in a pipeline. Gas hydrate equilibrium conditions must be understood in order to plan operations in the oil, gas, and chemical industries where hydrate nucleation/formation has occurred.It becomes critical to monitor the early stages of hydrate production in systems comprising various inhibitors, promoters, salts, and porous materials. The simple addition of salts, electrolytes in the host sediments, or MGH water can disrupt the stability conditions of MGHs. This chapter studied the physical properties of natural hydrate reservoirs all over the world. This chapter also deals with the phase equilibrium data of hydrate formation and their comparison in the presence of salt, inhibitors, and promoters.

Research Notes “THE INDUSTRIAL INSTRUMENT—MASTER OF INDUSTRY, SERVANT OF MANAGEMENT”: AUTOMATIC CONTROL IN THE PROCESS INDUSTRIES, 1900-1940 STUART BENNETT Herbert H. Dow, founder of the Dow Chemical Company, opined in 1930 that industrial development rested on three basic technical ad­ vances: “firstly the steam engine inaugurating power production,” then interchangeable parts “making possible mass production,” and third, an “advance still in its infancy, automatic operation by automatic con­ trol ofcontinuous processes.” He thought the latter occupied a position in the process industries akin to that of interchangeable parts in the assembly industries.1 From the 1890s onward, Dow sought to reduce the number of people employed in the production process. His strat­ egy was to increase plant size, use automatic analysis and automatic operation of the equipment governed by automatic analysis, and de­ velop automatically controlled and operated continuous processes. By automatic control Dow meant closed-loop feedback control, and the Dow Chemical Company developed its own electrically operated controllers during the 1920s.2 During this same period, specialist Dr. Bennett, a lecturer in the Department of Control Engineering, University of Sheffield, completed the work for this article during his tenure as a senior postdoctoral fellow at the National Museum of American History (NMAH), the Smithsonian Institution. He is grateful for financial support from the Smithsonian Institution fellowships and grants program and from the University of Sheffield, and to the NMAH Division of Engineering and Industry for providing a base from which to work. He thanks Carlene Stephens and Barney Finn, his fellowship advisers, for their support and encouragement; Carlene Stephens, Jeffrey Stine, Steven Lubar, Maureen Whitebrook , and Peter Liebhold for reading the manuscript and suggesting improvements; and Jim Roan of the museum library and the division staff for research assistance. ‘Herbert H. Dow, “Economic Trend in the Chemical Industry,” Industrial and Engineering Chemistry 22 (1930): 113-16. Dow’s views were summarized in the January 1933 issue of the Industrial Bulletin of Arthur D. Little, Inc., and an extract from this summary was quoted in an editorial entitled “Industry’s Third Horizon?” Instruments 6 (February 1933): A5. ’The Dow Chemical Company first attempted to introduce automatic control in 1894; see Dow, p. 115. It continued to develop its own controllers until the early 1930s;© 1991 by the Society for the History of Technology. All rights reserved. 0040-165X/91/3201-0005$01.00 69 70 Stuart Bennett instrument companies extended their product range from indicators and recorders to include electrically and pneumatically operated feedback controllers. These instruments were the forerunners of the pneumatic and electronic controllers that were to play a major role in automating a whole range of industries during the 1950s.3 The process industries to which Dow’s techniques for reducing labor could be applied include metals, power generation, petroleum, chemicals, food, textiles, paper and pulp, glass, ceramics, brewery and distillery, sugar, lumber, and paint and varnish. The Works Progress Administration (WPA) surveyed these industries for the period 1909—35 for a project that culminated in a report, Reemployment Opportunities and Recent Changes in Industrial Techniques. Published in 1938, this WPA report found that there was a very rapid growth, in both absolute terms and relative to other forms of machinery, in the sales of industrial instruments between 1919 and 1929.4 And although the absolute value of sales of instruments fell sharply during the Depression, instrument sales relative to sales for all machinery continued to increase, moving from approximately 0.4 percent of machinery sales in 1919 to 1.4 percent in 1935, with a peak of almost 1.6 percent in 1933. The instruments included in the survey were indicators, recorders, and automatic feedback controllers, and, by 1935, the sales were roughly one-third indicators, one-third record­ ers, and one-third controllers. There was a rapid increase in the see John J. Grebe, Ray H. Boundy, and Robert W. Cermak, “The Control of Chemical Processes,” Transactions of the American Institution of Chemical Engineers 29 (1933): 211-55. This was one of the first technical papers on industrial process control. ’To introduce automatic feedback control, three components are needed: a measur­ ing instrument to convert some physical quantity to an electrical or...

Solvents define a major part of the environmental performance of processes in chemical industry and also impact on cost, safety and health issues. The idea of “green” solvents expresses the goal to minimize the environmental impact resulting from the use of solvents in chemical production. Here the question is raised of how to measure how “green” a solvent is. We propose a comprehensive framework for the environmental assessment of solvents that covers major aspects of the environmental performance of solvents in chemical production, as well as important health and safety issues. The framework combines the assessment of substance-specific hazards with the quantification of emissions and resource use over the full life-cycle of a solvent. The proposed framework is demonstrated on 26 organic solvents. Results show that simple alcohols (methanol, ethanol) or alkanes (heptane, hexane) are environmentally preferable solvents, whereas the use of dioxane, acetonitrile, acids, formaldehyde, and tetrahydrofuran is not recommendable from an environmental perspective. Additionally, a case study is presented in which the framework is applied for the assessment of various alcohol–water or pure alcohol mixtures used for solvolysis of p-methoxybenzoyl chloride. The results of this case study indicate that methanol–water or ethanol–water mixtures are environmentally favourable compared to pure alcohol or propanol–water mixtures. The two applications demonstrate that the presented framework is a useful instrument to select green solvents or environmentally sound solvent mixtures for processes in chemical industry. The same framework can also be used for a comprehensive assessment of new solvent technologies as soon as the present lack of data can be overcome.

The popularity of visual management in the lean concept is caused by the possibility to apply it in solving different kind of issues related to reduce waste or process planning. The adaptations of VSM is focused on stream flow, identifying waiting and productive times in accordance to material and information flow. In this paper five basic areas of value stream flow management have been presented and characterized. Discussion under the 5 areas on the VSM process included identifying the dominant stream in the area and the range of factors affecting the flow of the stream. Based on an observation of processes in the manufacturing industry and a literature review, the graphic model of mutual cooperation between value stream areas (1-5) has been presented.