Process Integration for Low‐Cost Design

Implementing process and equipment innovations often result in combined benefits in process yields, throughput, energy efficiency, and reduced capital costs at the same time. Many of these areas include optimizing process flowsheet and condition as well as use of advanced equipment. The powerful methodology for connecting these innovations, to achieve high energy efficiency and simpler designs with low capital is the process integration. The process integration methodology for process design takes a different approach in that process design aspects in the inner part of the onion diagram are allowed to change, which may enhance the possibility of heat recovery and enable more energy savings in the utility system in the outer part of the onion. The discussions in this chapter focus on effects of process changes on energy usage. The pinch analysis tool that can be used for assessing process changes is called the grand composite curve (GCC).