This thesis discusses topics in the field of process engineering that have received
much attention over the past twenty years, process integration and optimization of
energy and environmental systems. It enlphasizes the applications of three
commercial software tools for process integration, ADVENT, HEXTRAN and
SlTPERTARGET, that are readily available to academic users at low costs.
Specifically, Chapter 1 presents an overview of the basic concepts used in
process integration of energy systems. Chapter 2 compares the use of single and dual
temperature-of-approach methods to synthesize energy-optimum and minimum-cost,
heat-exchanger networks (HENs), and shows how to implement them using three
software tools. Chapters 3 and 4 demonstrate how to optimize the energy recovery in
petroleum refinery distillation systems via process integration. Chapter 3 presents an
extension to a case study of heat integration of a vacuum distillation system. Chapter
4 describes the detailed synthesis, retrofit and optimization of HENs for a system of
atmospheric and vacuum distillation towers, and it represents the first process
integration and optimization study of a complex process in petroleum refineries using
all three commercial software tools.
Chapter 5 presents, through four progressive tutorial examples, a recent
conceptual method developed in the field of process integration of environmental
systems applied to wastewater minimization and to the design of distributed effluent
treatment systems.
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