In this work, we present an integrated
approach to synthesize process
intensification systems with guaranteed flexibility and safety performances.
The synthesis of intensified equipment/flowsheets is addressed through
the Generalized Modular Representation Framework (GMF), which utilizes
an aggregation of multifunctional mass/heat exchange modules to represent
chemical processes. Thus, the optimal design options are investigated
as mass- and heat-transfer opportunities using superstructure-based
optimization techniques without a prepostulation of plausible configurations.
To ensure that the designs can be operated under a specified range
of uncertain parameters, a multiperiod GMF representation is developed
based on the critical operating conditions identified by flexibility
test. Risk assessment, accounting for equipment failure frequency
and consequence severity, is incorporated as a constraint into this
synthesis model to derive inherently safer designs. The resulting
safely operable intensified systems, which are represented via phenomenological
modules, are then identified as corresponding equipment-based flowsheets
and validated with steady-state simulation. We demonstrate the proposed
approach through a case study for the production of methyl tert-butyl ether. The results indicate that safety and operability
considerations can result in significant changes in the structural
and operating parameters of the optimal intensified design configuration.
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