SePTA—A new numerical tool for simultaneous targeting and design of heat exchanger networks

Abstract

Pinch Analysis is an established insight-based methodology for design of energy-efficient processes. The Composite Curves (CCs) is a popular Pinch Analysis tool to target the minimum energy requirements. An alternative to the CCs is a numerical technique known as the Problem Table Algorithm (PTA). The PTA however, does not show individual hot and cold streams heat cascades and cannot be used for design of heat exchanger networks (HEN). This paper introduces the Segregated Problem Table Algorithm (SePTA) as a new numerical tool for simultaneous targeting and design of a HEN. SePTA shows profiles of heat cascade across temperature intervals for individual hot and cold streams, and can be used to simultaneously locate pinch points, calculate utility targets and perform SePTA Heat Allocation (SHA). The SHA can be represented on a new SePTA Network Diagram (SND) that graphically shows a heat exchanger network together with the amount of heat exchange on a temperature interval scale. This paper also shows that SePTA and SND can be a vital combination of numerical and graphical visualisation tools for targeting and design of complex HENs involving stream splitting, threshold problems and multiple pinches.