AIChE Workshop on Smart Grid for the Chemical Process Industry

September 25-26, 2013
Chicago, Illinois

This workshop will explore the opportunities and challenges associated with demand response participation with a specific focus on the chemical process industry.

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Technical Program

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Organized by the Computing and Systems Technology Division (CAST) of AIChE in collaboration with the Wanger Institute for Sustainable Energy Research (WISER). Hosted by the Illinois Insitute of Technology (IIT) and collocated with the Great Lakes Symposium on Smart Grid and the New Energy Economy.

Background

Widespread adoption of renewable power sources is expected to place substantial burden on electric power distribution systems (the grid). The smart grid is defined as a multifaceted approach to maintaining equality between generated and consumed power. The Demand Response (DR) approach incentivizes consumers to track supply through time-of-use market based pricing of electric energy. Under such a scenario, those with sufficient operational flexibility will be able to exploit low price periods while avoiding price spikes and ultimately reduce average energy costs.

Program Description

This workshop will focus on the Chemical Process Industry and explore its role within the DR community. In general, the process related questions of operational flexibility and methods to evaluate and utilize this flexibility within DR will be addressed.

The workshop seeks to answer the following questions:

  • Do existing chemical plants possess sufficient flexibility for DR?
  • How does one implement DR to exploit process flexibility?
  • What are the cost saving one can expect from DR?
  • Are there well developed assessment methods?
  • Are there opportunities to create additional flexibility?
  • Can one convert steam driven chemical processes to electric driven?
  • What are the economics of creating new flexibility? What is the payback period?
  • What is the role of a steam/electric co-generation plant?
  • Will cyclic operation impact equipment and maintenance costs?
  • What are the methods/experiences of others in the demand response community?

The workshop will conclude with a breakout session and panel discussion to identify specific challenges and potential opportunities for collaboration.

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