Data quality and assessment, validation methods and error propagation through the simulation software: Report from the Round-Table Discussion at the 10th World Congress of Chemical Engineering in Barcelona (October 1–5, 2017)

Abstract

The issues of data quality and propagation of data uncertainties into process design and plant specifications are of great current interest. Hence, two Working Parties of the European Federation of Chemical Engineers (EFCE) organized a Round Table Discussion on the topic, as part of the World Congress of Chemical Engineering (WCCE10) in Barcelona, in October 2017. The discussion was guided by industrial and academic experts, with the audience as a key part of the discussion, trying to find some answers in three areas: Data acquisition and evaluation of experimental uncertainties, tools for data reconciliation to improve their quality, and impact of data uncertainties on the process at the end. Several concrete stories are presented that demonstrate the importance of considering data quality and all possible contributions to the uncertainty of chemical process design. Difficulties associated with data quality are discussed at various levels: (1) the experimentalists (measurement issues, evaluation of uncertainties, use of consistency analysis tools); (2) model developers (capture of adequate physics, parameter regression strategies, uncertainty propagation), (3) vendors of process simulation software, and (4) process engineers (who are responsible at the end). Paths for improvements were proposed through better and more efficient communication among different participants, as well as through education.

A View on the Future of Applied Thermodynamics

“…As an example of successful workshops within chemical engineering conferences, special mention should be given to the ‘Industrial Use of Thermodynamics’ (IUT), symposia, − initiated by the EFCE TTP WP, and mainly organized within the framework of the other, larger, conferences. During each IUT Symposium, a round table discussion was organized to give the opportunity to both industrial and academic professionals to present their view on various topics of interest.…”

“…The present paper fulfills this request by first summarizing the main items raised in the review and by proposing a concise vision of the state of the art and of the main directions that we believe the applied thermodynamics community should adopt in the coming decade. In the analysis, we have relied not only on the survey results, but also on various documents, including the five symposium reports − on the Industrial Use of Thermodynamics, which are results of the Working Party industrial task group.…”