(89b) Dynamic Process Intensification

Process intensification (PI) aims to create smaller, safer and more efficient chemical plants. This objective is often met by combining multiple conventional unit operations in a single physical device. The vast majority of the developments made in the PI field consider primarily the steady state design and operation of such devices. It was noted repeatedly that the dynamics and control of intensified systems are complicated by interactions between the underlying unit operations. In this project, we take the converse perspective of focusing on the dynamics of intensified processes, with the goal of improving productivity. Specifically, we define periodic operating patterns that exploit the interplay between multiple phenomena occurring within intensified devices; on the average, this operating paradigm can lead to improved (time average) performance compared to steady-state operation for the same hardware. We refer to this result as “dynamic process intensification.” In this talk, formal tools for characterizing the potential for dynamic intensification are briefly described, and a case studyis presented.