This portal on engineering software for the process industry presents information on ICT process tools for design, control and optimization of processes and relevant techniques like process integration and exergy analysis.
The basic idea of process integration is to optimize the production process as a whole system without taking into concern the optimization of individual unit operations. Process integration can be defined as: All forms of connecting unit operations aimed at improving the quality of a process and reducing the environmental impact (emissions, waste products). Connections of unit operations may refer to the energy and/or material flows between unit operations. Another technology to optimize production processes is called process intensification. It involves making fundamental changes and can create processes in much smaller equipment. For more information see the Novem portal on Process Intensification.
There are several ways to carry out process integration, e.g. pinch analysis and exergy analysis. Pinch analysis aims at optimal heat exchange between hot and cold process streams. Exergy is a yardstick for the volume of work that can be provided by energy. For example, energy at elevated temperature (high pressure steam) has a higher exergy value than the same amount of energy at lower temperature (low pressure steam). By analysis of exergy and exergy losses of process streams in industrial processes, it becomes apparent where improvement potential is located. For a clear explanation (in Dutch) of exergy visit: http://www.interduct.tudelft.nl/exergie.
HistoryThis portal started as the Internet site 'Users' experience with software tools for process integration'. This well visited site presented the results of a study initiated by Novem, and carried out by Interduct, to examine to what extent software tools for process integration are known and used by companies, and for what purposes these tools are being used.
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