Process Engineering

Overview of problems and methods of process synthesis.

Simplified problem of heat exchange network synthesis. Combinatorial difficulty. Convential approach and methods, fast algorithm, heat content diagram, assignment methods. Minimum approach temperature. Relation of economic and energetic optima.

Heat curves, composite heat curves, CC diagram, pinch, energy targeting, pinch pair, shifting, GCC diagram. Heat cascading and its relation to GCC.

General pinch rules. Pich design, grid diagram, pinch design rules. Rules far from the pinch, hidden pinch.

Area targeting, vertical design, spagetti network. Design if a single general heat transfet coefficient is unacceptable as approximation. Supertageting with grass-root design and retrofitting. GCC and utility distribution.

Separation sequenceing of continuous rectification of near ideal multicomponent mixtures. Heuristic, load factors, application and applicability of dynamic programming. Underwood's equations for multicomponent mixtures, determination of minimum vapout flow rate.

Energetics of rectification. Entropic efficiency. Net separation work, reversible distillation.

Energy saving versions of retification. Variants of feeds and removals, stepwise heat turnover. Thermally coupled systems, Petlyuk system, Kaibel column, partially coupled columns and their application. Energy integrated columns (double effect distillation), its conditions, variants and relations to direct and indirect sequences.

Variants of heat pump distillation. Why is a compressor needed? Application of heat pump related to column internals.

Allocation of thermal operations (thermal separation processes, heat engines and heat pumps) along heat cascade. GCC and power stations. Energy integration, coupling, and heat pump distillation related to the general pinch rules.

Overview of distillative separation of azeotropes and near identical boiling points: pressure-swing distillation, extractive, electrolitic and reactive distillation, and azeotropic distillation. Residue curves, separatrix, RCM, simple distillation regions. Feasibility with recycling. Step over separatrices. Principles and feasibility of batch extractive distillation variants.

Water use and re-use networks. Water lines, composite water line, and structure synthesis at a single or lumped contaminator. Regeneration and re-use. Regeneration and recycling.

Optional parts depending on progress in the actual semester:

Pinch and mathematical programming. Structure synthesis with mixed integer programming.

Metaheuristic methods. Simulated annealing, genetic algorithms, ant colony simulation. Statistic interpretaion of metaheuristics.

Computer practices:

Series 1: Basic phase equilibria and flash calculations for those students who have not accomplished the computer practices of BMEVEVMA605 Process Engineering (BSc curse)

Optional parts depending on progress in the semester:

Design and detailed calculation of rectification of near ideal multicomponent homogeneous mixtures, energy integrated or heat pump distillation systems, or a process separating azeotropic mixture, with recycling entrainer.