Pollution Prevention Through Precision Process Modelling, Design and Operation

为了在化学加工工业(CPI)的源头上对污染防治产生广泛影响，需要对根本的根本问题采取多方面的方法。开发全新的工艺涉及到巨额的新资本投资，以便影响目前CPI产生的一小部分污染物。随着数万亿美元投资于美国现有的化工和炼油工厂，针对全新工艺的研究将在减少污染方面产生广泛影响，还需要很多年的时间。为了在未来10-20年内在减少污染物产生方面发挥重要作用，需要进行需要适度资本投资并最大限度地发挥减少污染影响的重点流程改造。这些方法虽然补充了对全新过程的重要研究，但在未来20年可能会产生更大的影响，因为它们需要的投资最少，产生的效益最大。成功的必要条件是为流程建模、设计和操作确定合适的候选者，以实现所需的减少污染目标。这项研究的目的是开发新的基本工程工具来分析和设计过程，以便对污染防治进行修改，然后从CPI中展示这些工具和解决实际问题的基本原理。这项研究包括对新的精密加工技术基础工程工具的基础研究，旨在改进工艺设计和工艺操作，从源头上消除污染。该项目将分为四个部分：(1)应用详细的工艺模型和动态稳定性理论的新兴成果，以便在工艺设计和操作空间中创建同时满足产品要求的参数图规格、生产目标和过程动态，避免过程失控事件或出于安全原因的大规模泄漏。(2)为因过程敏感性和有限的控制器功率(例如有限的热传递能力)而容易失控的非线性过程开发基本控制策略。(3)为大批量工艺制定产品等级转换的一般原则和战略，在这些工艺中，不合格产品必须作为废物处理。(4)开发新的聚合工艺，避免在生产和最终应用中使用溶剂。这项研究将与威斯康星大学聚合反应工程实验室(UWPREL)的12个工业赞助商中的一些人合作进行。

To have a broad impact on pollution prevention at the source in the chemical process industries (CPI), a multifaceted approach to the underlying fundamental problems is needed. Developing totally new processes involves huge new capital investments in order to affect a fraction of the pollutants produced by the CPI today. With many trillions of dollars invested in existing chemical and oil refining plants in the U.S., it will be many years before research directed at totally new processes will have widespread impact on pollution reduction. In order to have an important effect in reducing the production of pollutants in the next 10-20 years, focusses process revamps which require modest capital investments and maximize the impact of pollution reduction are desirable. These approaches, while complementing important research on totally new processes, can have greater impact in the next two decades because they require the least investment and produce the greatest benefits. A requirement for success is identifying good candidates for process modeling, design, and operation in order to achieve the desired pollution reduction goals. This research is directed towards developing new basic engineering tools for analyzing and designing processes so as to make modifications for pollution prevention, and then demonstrating the tools and the underlying principles on real problems form the CPI. This research consists of fundamental studies of new basic engineering tools for precision process technology directed towards improvements in process design and process operation so as to eliminate pollution at its source. The project will be broken into four components: (1) The application of detailed process models and the emerging results in dynamic stability theory in order to create parameter maps in process design and operation space which simultaneously satisfy product specifications, production goals, and process dynamics which avoid process runaway episodes or large scale venting for safety reasons. (2) The development of fundamental control strategies for nonlinear processes subject to runaway because of process sensitivity and limited controller power (e.g. limited heat transfer capabilities). (3) The development of general principles and strategies for product grade transitions for high volume processes in which off-spec product must be disposed of as waste. (4) The development of new polymerization processes which avoid the use of solvents in production and ultimate application. The research will be carried out in collaboration with some of the twelve industrial sponsors of the University of Wisconsin Polymerization Reaction Engineering Laboratory (UWPREL).