A rapid screening methodology for chemical processes

Abstract

Techno-economic analysis is an important part of evaluating potential chemical manufacturing ventures. A proposed conceptual process design gives the design engineer most of the information required to conduct these analyses. However, developing conceptual designs can be time consuming and expensive, especially given that most conceptual designs never see commercialization. In this work, we present a rapid screening methodology to generate screening-level economic metrics (NPV and NPV%) without dedicating significant time or resources to conventional chemical process design. This methodology uses ultimate bounds on reaction selectivity combined with the minimum work of separations to bypass the design procedure altogether. The methodology presented here provides a means to rapidly screen chemistries for their economic merit, compare a proposed process design to the best-case economic scenario, and compare potential projects competing for the same funding sources. In this article, we present the necessary theory and demonstrate the methodology.