EAGER: Optimal Modular Process Synthesis

1650574瓦西里奥斯·马努西乌塔基斯 作为石油和天然气来源的页岩地层的出现已经促使人们对利用较轻的可压缩烃气体（所谓的天然气液体）作为生产化学品的原料产生了前所未有的商业兴趣。然而，对于偏远的页岩地层，气体轻馏分（主要是甲烷）不能容易地运输，这导致了气体燃烧，伴随着高氢资源的损失，更重要的是，二氧化碳的大气负担更大，其温室气体影响。因此，非常需要适合于将“搁浅”甲烷直接转化为较大的液态或可压缩烃的技术。商业化学工艺传统上是利用“单位规模经济”的放大工艺来部署的。这需要大量的、高风险的资本投资。另一种模式是部署模块化化工厂，通过利用“大规模生产经济”的并行模块使用，可以从小规模发展到大规模。 拟议的研究重点是开发一种系统的方法，用于自动合成全局最优的，模块化的，强化的工艺流程，采用各种工艺单元，包括反应器，分离器，泵，压缩机，涡轮机，阀门，热交换器等。所提出的方法将是基于使用无限维的程序与线性约束定义的可行区域，和目标函数，捕捉“大规模生产的经济”。他们的解决方案将通过不断增加规模的有限维程序的解决方案来追求，这些程序始终保持可行性并具有显著的发明能力。所提出的案例研究涉及从天然气生产乙酸和甲酸的反应。出于这个原因，替代方法建议创建子系统，包括蒸汽甲烷重整提出了沿着与新的方法分离异丙托品。 这个高风险研究项目的成功完成将对过程优化方法、过程强化、模块化制造、化学过程制造、发电和可再生能源开发产生广泛的积极影响，并将导致创造变革性和革命性的模块化、强化、工艺流程，该奖项由ENG新兴前沿和多学科活动办公室共同资助。

1650574Manousiouthakis, Vasilios I. The emergence of shale formations as a source of oil and natural gas has prompted unprecedented commercial interest in utilizing the lighter compressible hydrocarbon gases (so-called natural gas liquids) as feedstocks for the production of chemicals. For remote shale formations, however, where the gaseous light-ends (predominantly methane) cannot be readily transported, this has led to gas flaring with associated loss of a high-hydrogen resource, and more significantly, a greater atmospheric burden of carbon dioxide with its greenhouse gas impact. Thus, technologies suitable for converting "stranded" methane directly to larger, liquid or compressible hydrocarbons are highly desired. Commercial chemical processes have traditionally been deployed using a scale-up process that takes advantage of "economies of unit scale". This requires large, high risk, capital investments. An alternative paradigm involves the deployment of modular chemical plants that can evolve from small to large scale through parallel module use that takes advantage of "economies of mass production". The proposed research focuses on the development of a systematic methodology for the automatic synthesis of globally optimal, modular, intensified, process flowsheets, that employ a variety of process units, including reactors, separators, pumps, compressors, turbines, valves, heat exchangers, and many others. The proposed methodology will be based on the use of infinite dimensional programs with feasible regions defined by linear constraints, and objective functions which capture "economies of mass production". Their solution will be pursued through solution of finite dimensional programs of ever-increasing size, which always remain feasible and possess significant invention capabilities. The presented case study involves reactions producing acetic acid and formic acid from natural gas. For this reason, alternative methods suggesting the creation of subsystems including the steam methane reforming are presented along with novel ways of separating azeotropes. Successful conclusion of this high-risk research project will have a broad positive impact on process optimization methods, process intensification, modular manufacturing, chemical process manufacturing, power generation, and renewable energy resource development, and will result in the creation of transformative and revolutionary modular, intensified, process flowsheets, and in advances in the optimization of linearly constrained programs.The award is co-funded by the ENG Office of Emerging Frontiers and Multidisciplinary Activities.