Towards a Software Prototype for Synthesis of Operable Process Intensification Systems

In this work, we present a software prototype for the generation of Process Intensification (PI) systems integrated with safety, flexibility, and control analysis. The prototype comprises three major suites: (i) Synthesis Suite - which systematically generates promising PI configurations based on a phenomenological process synthesis approach (i.e. Generalized Modular Representative Framework), (ii) Simulation Suite -which is integrated with a PI model library to translate the PI synthesis results into corresponding equipment-based process alternatives, and (iii) Operability Suite - which performs model-based safety, flexibility, and controllability analysis to ensure the actual operational performance of the resulting PI systems under varying conditions. A user interface has been built to coordinate the functionalities of the suites, allowing them to work in tandem to create an environment that generates safe and operable PI flowsheets without pre-postulation of potential process schemes. A case study on the metathesis reaction of pentene is presented to demonstrate the potential of the prototype in deriving safe and operable PI systems.