Systematic And Optimization-Based Design Of Integrated Reaction-Separation Processes

The conceptual design of chemical processes is a challenging task. Although systematic methods for process design have been developed in the last 25 years, only a few contributions address the simultaneous design and optimization of integrated reaction and separation processes. In this paper, we present a systematic and optimization-based approach to the design of such processes. Shortcut methods are utilized to screen alternative flowsheet structures. For the most promising alternatives a rigorous optimization of the entire flowsheet is consequently executed to determine the best alternative. The whole process design framework constitutes a procedure of incremental refinement and successive initialization and thus allows for the systematic generation and evaluation of reaction-separation processes. Consequently, it helps to shorten the time for developing new and innovative processes. In this work the methodology is illustrated by means of the case study of ethyl tert-butyl ether production.