Modular Manufacturing Workshop; Arlington, VA; January 17-18, 2017

该项目将支持将于2017年1月17日和18日在美国国家科学基金会附近举行的化学品模块化制造研讨会。 该研讨会将汇集技术领导者，为基础研究制定路线图，以支持小型，模块化，化学制造设施的发展，作为传统大型化工厂的替代品。 模块化替代方案为利用位置偏远且无法经济地运输到集中处理设施的化学原料提供了潜在优势。 模块化生产设施的成功开发和实施将确保美国化学工业的持续竞争力，同时还能应对环境挑战并促进清洁能源技术的发展。页岩油压裂作业产生的大量天然气储量的迅速出现给天然气的利用带来了挑战。 许多在偏远地区生产的所谓滞留气体被燃烧，因为将其运输到发电厂或化工厂的经济性很差。 可安装在井口的模块化、可扩展的处理装置提供了将这些烃类气体转化为可运输的液体燃料和化学品的手段。 只有实现迄今为止尚未实现的流程强化和集成水平，模块化单元才能成功部署。 反过来，这将需要工程师和科学家之间前所未有的合作，涉及催化，反应器工程，分离，能源利用和系统工程等学科。 讲习班将探讨实现这种合作的最有效机制。 该技术的好处将包括改进的工艺技术，用于所有制造规模的实施，以及社会效益，包括减少二氧化碳排放，更安全的化学加工，劳动力培训和美国化学工业的持续全球竞争力。

The project will support a workshop on Modular Manufacturing of Chemicals that will be held near the National Science Foundation on January 17 and 18, 2017. The workshop will bring together technology leaders to develop a roadmap for basic research supporting development of small-scale, modular, chemical manufacturing facilities as an alternative to conventional huge-scale chemical plants. The modular alternative offers potential advantages for the utilization of chemical feedstocks that are remotely located and cannot be economically transported to centralized processing facilities. Successful development and implementation of modular manufacturing facilities will ensure sustained competitiveness of the U.S. chemical industry while also addressing environmental challenges and promoting clean energy technology.The rapid emergence of large reserves of natural gas derived from shale oil fracturing operations has created a challenge in utilizing the gas. Much of the so-called stranded gas produced in remote locations is burned because of poor economics for transporting it to power-plants or chemical plants. Modular, scalable, processing units that can be installed at the well-head, offer a means of converting these hydrocarbon gases to transportable liquid fuels and chemicals. The modular units can only be successfully deployed if heretofore unrealized levels of process intensification and integration can be achieved. This, in turn, will require unprecedented collaboration among engineers and scientists across disciplines involving catalysis, reactor engineering, separations, energy utilization, and systems engineering. The workshop will explore the most efficient mechanisms for achieving such collaboration. Benefits of the technology will include improved process technologies for implementation across all manufacturing scales, and societal benefits including reduced carbon dioxide emissions, safer chemical processing, workforce training, and continued world-wide competitiveness of the U.S. chemical industry.