Developed Process Model Research Articles

Techno‐economic comparison of amine regeneration process with heat‐stable amine salt reclaiming units

AbstractMost factories employ an amine gas sweetening process to remove sulfur compounds. During this process, heat‐stable amine salt (HSAS) is generated, which reduces process efficiency. Ion exchange resin and electrodialysis reclamation methods are employed for HSAS removal. However, the equipment cost, electricity, water, and raw material consumption of each unit vary according to the amount of HSAS reclaimed; thus, it is necessary to consider the cost. In this study, we compared the techno‐economic aspects of the amine regeneration process for individual HSAS reclaiming units, developed process models to predict operation costs, and verified our simulation results by comparing actual operation and design data. The proposed mathematical models can be employed to calculate various costs incurred during amine regeneration with HSAS reclaiming units. The economic crossover point is derived at 36.6111 kg‐mol/d by utilizing the models. This enables economically feasible units to be identified based on the amount of HSAS reclaimed.

Process Simulation and Life Cycle Assessment of Ceramic Pigment Production: A Case Study of Green Cr2O3

This study presents a combined process modeling—Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) approach for the evaluation of green Cr2O3 ceramic pigments production. Pigment production is associated with high calcination temperatures, achieved through the combustion of fossil fuels. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate its environmental impact with regards to energy requirements and CO2 emissions. Initially, a process model is developed to simulate the final calcination stage of the traditional pigments production process. It is validated against titanium dioxide (TiO2) white production industrial data and adjusted for Cr2O3 production. Three alternative processes are examined: two for pigment grade (PIGM1, PIGM2) and one for metallurgical (MET) Cr2O3. Heat demand and CO2 emissions computed by the developed process models are used as input in the LCA along with upstream data from the literature using a cradle-to-gate approach. The implementation of the LCA has resulted in calculated Global Warming Potential (GWP100) ranging from 7.9 to 12.8 CO2-eq and fossil Primary Energy Demand (PED) between 91.4–159.6 MJ-eq (all referring to 1 kg of pigment production). It is depicted that the biggest part of the emissions originates from the upstream production and transportation of raw materials (contributing up to 96% of total CO2 emissions) and other sources (electricity, production plant, etc.), rather than the examined calcination stage (contributing from 1.3 to 3.5% of GWP).

Co-Production of Hydrogen and Methanol Using Fuel Mix Systems: Technical and Economic Assessment

With the increase in global energy requirements, the utilization of fossil fuels has also increased, which has caused global warming. In this study, a process integration framework based on an energy mix system is proposed to simultaneously produce two cleaner fuels (methanol and H2). Aspen Plus is used to develop process models followed by their techno-economic assessment. Case 1 is considered the base case process, where the coal–biomass gasification process is used to produce the synthesis gas, which is further converted into H2 and methanol. Conversely, the case 2 design represents the novel process configuration framework, where the coal–biomass gasification technology in case 1 is sequentially integrated with the methane reforming technology to minimize the energy penalties while increasing the net fuel production. To perform the technical analysis, the fuel production rates, carbon conversion efficiencies and specific energy requirements are compared for both models. It is analyzed from the results that the case 2 design offers higher methanol and H2 production rates with lower energy requirements. Additionally, the specific energy requirement for case 2 is 29% lower compared to the case 1 design, leading to an increase in the process efficiency of case 2 by 3.5%.

A Tool to Automate Student UML diagram Evaluation

Unified modelling language (UML) is the accepted standard and modelling language for modeling in software development process. UML is widely used by most course tutors in teaching modules of software engineering and system analysis and design. Students taking such courses do submit assignments with UML diagrams such as use case, class, sequence, activity and so on. Different versions of such diagrams produced by the students for a given problem have to be assessed by the course tutor which is a challenging and time-consuming task. This paper presents a java-based tool which is developed based on a simple yet effective algorithm developed by the authors that will read student and tutors solution diagrams as inputs and evaluate and grade the diagrams automatically. The output of the tool is the score of the student diagram in respect of lecturer’s final solution. The output is presented in two feedback files, one containing students’ score for the lecturers and the other to be send to the student to note the areas that were incorrect. The tool has been tested and evaluated using a simple and assumed UML class diagram. The result shows that the tool functions effectively and can produce detail feedbacks for both students and tutors. The outcome of this paper contributes towards automating UML diagram evaluations.

Kinematic analysis and process stability of ultrasonic-assisted drilling

Regarding drilling, ultrasonic-assistance enables various potentials such as less tool wear, enhanced chip breaking and burr reduction. Although there are many technological studies verifying these advantages, no theory for process behaviour, design and parameter evaluation is available. Thus, this paper presents a kinematic analysis of the interaction between tool and workpiece to contribute to overall process understanding. Specific process scenarios are classified and characteristic parameters for the evaluation and design of ultrasonic-assisted drilling are determined. In addition, experimental investigations based on the developed process model are carried out analysing chip shape, bore surface and process stability acquired by acoustic measurements. The kinematic analysis shows the classification of ultrasonic-assisted drilling according to continuous and intermitted cutting conditions. In addition, the superposition of ultrasonic vibrations causes a modulation of uncut chip thickness related to the ratio of ultrasonic frequency and spindle speed. In general, experimental results show that ultrasonic-assisted drilling is leading to shorter chips. While using parameters for intermitted cutting conditions needle chips occur. At the same time, intermitted cutting conditions induce process instabilities identified using the acoustic measurement approach.

An experimentally validated computational model to predict the performance of a single-channel laboratory-scale electrostatic precipitator equipped with spiked and wire discharge electrodes

The validation of a computational model for predicting the performance of a laboratory-scale, single channel, multi-electrode electrostatic precipitator (ESP) was undertaken. This consisted of comparison of experimental and modelling results obtained for different geometrical and operating parameters, such as the plate spacing, the inter-electrode spacing, the number of electrodes, the electrode design, the applied voltage, particle size and gas flow rate. Wire discharge electrodes and a spiked shaped discharge electrode were used to study the efficiency of fly ash removal from a gas stream. The validation included the comparison of the applied voltage versus discharge current (V-I) relationships, and a study of the particle collection efficiencies obtained from experimental measurements and modelling results. The presence of shielding, which was predicted to occur with specific plate-to-plate and wire-to-wire spacings for the multi wire-electrode cases that were studied, was also validated using the measurement data. Experimental results obtained with a spike electrode also correlated well with the model predictions in terms of ESP collection efficiency under varying geometric and operating parameters. Such a fundamentally based, validated computational model of ESP processes would be useful in developing process models that have an improved accuracy compared to current semi-empirical models. This, in turn, will be invaluable in maximizing particulate matter removal from industrial flue gas streams in a cost-efficient manner.

A parametric study through the modelling of hydrothermal gasification for hydrogen production from algal biomass

AbstractHydrothermal gasification (HTG) is applicable to high moisture content biomass feedstock such as wet microalgae. The key interests of this thermochemical processing are its ability to use whole algae instead of simply lipid extracts and to use a wide range of algal feedstocks. It employs water in the form of a reaction medium to disintegrate biomass into hydrogen gas. The products' composition and yields are a function of process parameters, namely feed concentration, pressure, and temperature. There is very limited literature available on model development to understand the impacts of various input parameters on the products of HTG. This study presents development of a detailed process model for HTG and the illustration of process parameters on the gas product yields. The approach includes developing the system model, identifying the key process parameters in the reactor setup that affect syngas yield, and understanding the overall process in terms of final product yield. A simulation of hydrothermal gasification based on thermodynamic equilibrium is studied. Based on the developed process model about 52.1 t/day of hydrogen can be produced from 500 t/day of wet algal biomass. This shows the potential of large‐scale hydrogen production through this process for hydrogen economy. The results from this study could be used by the gas processing industry and policymakers to determine the most feasible means of converting biomass‐based resources into gaseous fuels.

Techno-economic analysis for co-processing fast pyrolysis liquid with vacuum gasoil in FCC units for second-generation biofuel production

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Petrobras have worked closely to develop process models and analysis approaches to assess the economic feasibility of co-processing bio-oils (pyrolysis oils) with fossil feedstocks in petroleum refinery unit operations. Petrobras conducted co-processing experiments with pine-derived bio-oils and Brazilian vacuum gasoil (VGO) at typical operating conditions on their 200 kg/h demonstration-scale fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit. NREL evaluated the experimental yield data and developed novel modeling approaches to simulate and optimize co-processing scenarios. Within the uncertainties of measurements and the simplified refinery models used, the process modeling and techno-economic analysis (TEA) results identify conditions in which co-processing bio-oils could be economically feasible for the case of refiners purchasing VGO, expanding prior work demonstrating technical feasibility.TEA scenarios show a high potential for bio-oil co-processing to be economically attractive for petroleum refiners for benchmark crude oil prices at $70 (U.S. dollars) per barrel using up to 5 wt% bio-oil produced with typical fast pyrolysis technology (≤400 t/d) fed with dried pine chips. For oil prices per barrel of $55–$60, up to 10 wt% bio-oil could be co-processed profitably if produced in pyrolysis plants performing at an “nth-plant” level, feeding 2,000 t/d with dried pine chip feedstocks producing bio-oil at $48–$56 per barrel from feedstock ranging from $99-$132 per t ($90–$120 per ton). Alternatively, low-price biomass feedstocks could make bio-oil co-processing viable at lower oil prices in both cases.

Hybrid Discrete Event/Agent Based Model of Career Development.

This is Part 2 of article dedicated to modeling and simulation of career development processes. The simulation algorithm presented here is built on a combined platform of Discrete Events and Agent Based modeling. Main components of the model are employees/agents, the career history of each of which is reproduced in the model. The model takes into account individual characteristics of the agent, the structure and characteristics of the organization personnel policy and many other random factors inherent in career development processes. The hybrid model consists two main sub-models – the sub-model of the agent flow and the submodel of agents’ interaction, which provides simulation of career development processes. The Part 1 of the article presents the sub-model of the agent flow, which is based on the results of a survey of respondents and on a series of theoretical assumptions that made it possible to construct a Discrete Event model of the agent flow. In this part of the article, we present a detailed algorithm related to the Agent Based submodel of the career development processes. The article addresses the production and career components of the agent activity; two types of career mechanisms – a push and a pull movement; the emergence, development and influence of agent coalitions on career development process; the dynamic processes of the agent activity variation, and a number of other factors affecting the career development process. The algorithms were implemented in the form of Java code. The program code of the model allows you to track and store the career history of each agent, its interaction with other agents, the effect of the model parameters, and evaluate the contribution of each agent and group of agents to the organization's production achievements.

Combined mechanistic and genetic programming approach to modeling pilot NBR production: influence of feed compositions on rubber Mooney viscosity.

Mooney viscosity is an essential parameter in quality control during the production of nitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) by emulsion polymerization. A process model that could help understand the influence of feed compositions on the Mooney viscosity of NBR products is of vital importance for its intelligent manufacture. In this work, a process model comprised of a mechanistic model based on emulsion polymerization kinetics and a data-driven model derived from genetic programming (GP) for Mooney viscosity is developed to correlate the feed compositions (including impurities) and process conditions to Mooney viscosity of NBR products. The feed compositions are inputs of the mechanistic model to generate the number-, weight-averaged molecular weights (Mn, Mw) and branching degree (BRD) of NBR polymers. With these generated data, the GP model is used to output the optimal correlation for the Mooney viscosity of NBR. In a pilot NBR production, Mooney viscosity data of NBR predicted by the process model agree quite well with experimental values. Furthermore, the process model enables the analyses of the univariate and multivariate influence of feed compositions on NBR Mooney viscosity, and the variables include the contents of vinyl acetylene and dimer in 1,3-butadiene, as well as the mass flow rate of the chain transfer agent (CTA) in the process. Based on the results, it is recommended to control the content of vinyl acetylene in the 1,3-butadiene feed below 14 ppm and the content of dimer below 1100 ppm. This developed process model would help stabilize NBR viscosity for a better control of the product quality.

Adaptation of the best European practices in administering local health care institutions

This study aimed to justify the mechanisms for improving the administration system of local health care facilities based on the best European experience. This study determined the state of health care facilities in Ukraine based on assessing the quality of medical services, rational resources usage, personnel management, and technical and technological improvement. Systematization of scientific sources and approaches to solving investigated issues showed methodological underdevelopment and methodological lack of administration systems of Ukrainian health care facilities at the local level, considering the specifics of medical services. Thus, healthcare institutions need to adapt, develop, and implement the best international practices in administrative technologies. For gaining the research goal, the study was carried out in the following logical sequence: 1) analyzing the current models of health care development processes in the world; 2) determining the features of administration system od the health care institutions; 3) developing recommendations for improving the administration system of local health care facilities in Ukraine. The methodological tool of this research is the systematization of information based on the content analysis of official websites. The research object is the administration system of health care facilities in Ukraine. In the study, the authors present several approaches to organize state administration of health care at the national and regional levels. The authors determined the effective tools for administering health care institutions. The study substantiated the strategic format of developing health care facilities in modern conditions by providing high-quality services, rational resources usage, personnel management, and technical and technological improvement.

Retracted] Process Development for Edible Film Preparation Using Avocado Seed Starch: Response Surface Modeling and Analysis for Water‐Vapor Permeability

Starch‐based edible films are gaining huge interest in food packaging industries. In the present work, avocado seed starch (ASS) was extracted and used to develop an edible film. The influence of four important process factors, starch, agar, sorbitol, and Tween‐20, was studied on one of the important barrier properties, water‐vapor permeability (WP), of developed edible film. The three‐level RSM design with Box–Behnken approach was carried out to investigate the film property, WP. ASS‐based edible films were prepared by the casting method. The results revealed that the increment in the contents of Tween‐20 and sorbitol reduces the WP of the film. Using the response surface analysis, the effect of the aforementioned factors was analyzed; they showed significant impact on WP. To predict the influence of the selected process parameters, a second‐order polynomial equation was constructed. Additionally, Pareto analysis of variance was employed over the obtained results to investigate the significance of the developed process model.

WITHDRAWN: Critical review on software reliability models: Importance and application of reliability analysis in software development

Abstract Initially the term reliability was used in the development of critical systems (controller of the nuclear plant, navigational system of the spacecraft, customer accounting system in a bank and stock-trading system… etc…). Later, it had been used in the small scale system and application development, due to the impact of it in the quality measurement and enhancement the of software system. In the software development, the word reliability means the failure free operation of the software system in a pre-specified time and environment. Reliability is the important metric which reflect the degree of correctness of the program. Reliability prediction in the early phase of the development process offers many advances like quality enhancement, resource allocation for development and testing and confidence about the software quality. Many programming languages (C++, Java, .NET… etc…) had developed based on this feature. Nowadays the complexity of software design and its size is augmented as the need of the societies increased. For this reason, software development process also moved towards the component based development and other advanced process for the development, which enable the superior reuse and easy maintenance and quick development of the software system. There is a need for the new models which would be developed based on the new development process. Because, all the existing models having assumptions and limitation which can only be suitable for the specific project or process. The main objective of this paper is to give the idea and knowledge to the young researchers, about the software reliability models of different development processes and its importance to produce the failure free software product. And also stimulate them to develop the novel models which can be used in the new software development process and projects.

Development of an Integrated Framework for Multiscale, Multiphase Modeling of Industrial Slurry‐Phase Reactors for Polyethylene Production

AbstractA framework based on the Monte Carlo/random‐pore polymeric flow model is proposed to simulate both single‐particle and continuous slurry reactor industrial polymerizations. The Sanchez–Lacombe equation of state describes the distributions of components in the different phases of these systems. The developed process model is applied to describe heterogeneously catalyzed polymerizations of ethylene in n‐hexane diluent with or without 1‐hexene as a comonomer, but the proposed methodology is applicable to any ethylene/1‐olefin copolymerization in slurry reactors. In addition to the effects of catalyst particle size and reactor residence time distributions, the proposed hybrid model is used to investigate the impact of several catalyst characteristics under different process conditions on polymer yield and microstructure. Particular attention is paid to the catalyst fragmentation process and active center distribution through the particle. These simulations demonstrate the versatility and thoroughness of combining Monte Carlo simulation with single‐particle models to analyze and predict the behavior of commercial polyolefin reactors.

Modeling, simulation and optimization of the rotating packed bed (RPB) absorber and stripper for MEA-based carbon capture

Despite rising concern with climate change, carbon capture is yet to be implemented widely in the industry due to its size and cost. The rotating packed bed (RPB), a high gravity technology process, has been suggested to intensify the conventional packed bed. In this study, rigorous models of the RPB absorber and stripper for carbon capture are developed and implemented in the commercial simulator of gPROMS. The developed process models are validated with published steady-state experimental data and the entire carbon capture process comprising the RPB absorber, the RPB stripper, and other process units with solvent recycle is simulated. Initial designs of the rotating packed beds are suggested considering the flooding limit and capture rate. Then the steady-state optimal operation conditions minimizing the total energy of the MEA process with the intensified absorber and stripper are found and their behaviors are analyzed.

On the temperature evolution during continuous laser-assisted tape winding of multiple C/PEEK layers: The effect of roller deformation

Laser-assisted tape winding (LATW) is a highly automated process for manufacturing tubular-like fiber-reinforced thermoplastic composites such as flywheels and pipes. One of the crucial parameters in the LATW process is the temperature of the nip point at which the incoming prepreg tape is bonded with the substrate by a compaction roller. Therefore, the temperature evolution of the nip point plays a significant role to have a proper consolidation at the tape-substrate interface. The nip point temperature is highly affected by the time-dependent geometry of the substrate and roller during continuous LATW of thick composite rings. In this paper, a critical assessment of the substrate and tape surface temperature evolution is investigated experimentally by means of a thermal camera during the LATW process of a 26-layers thick carbon/PEEK composites. A three-dimensional (3D) optical model is coupled with a thermal model in which the substrate computational domain is updated with respect to the deposited tapes. A good agreement is found between the measured and predicted tape and substrate temperatures. The total absorbed heat and heated length of the substrate and tape are described based on the roller deformation. An increase in tape and substrate nip point temperatures is found with an increase in roller deformation during consecutive winding. It is also found that the consolidation pressure and contact length at the roller-substrate interface increases during the winding process. Accordingly, the heat transfer coefficient at the roller-substrate interface is studied using the developed process model.

Digital Business Environment: Prospects and Challenges for the Development of Economic Systems

The presented study examines the digital transformation of society in the current context. It is established that the digital business environment affects all economic sectors, the character of production, distribution, exchange, and consumption of goods, changes the structure of social production and employment. It radically transforms the way business structures adapt to the challenges of the modern age and the prospects of their development and competitiveness. The tools and mechanisms for the functioning of the digital environment should be determined based on the demand of entrepreneurs for digital resources. With the explosive growth of digital technology and the mass spread of the Internet, traditional management systems are being used less. This makes it obvious that business activities should be digitalized through the implementation of information systems along with changes in management. The government should facilitate investment in the development of the information business and support innovative enterprises oriented towards international markets. This would help the Russian Federation to remain competitive at the onset of the sixth wave of innovation. Aim . The study aims to show the genesis and role of state regulation in the development of the infrastructure-based digital business environment, to analyze the major areas of the digital environment, and to propose modern tools that should exist in the system of business support during the sixth wave of innovation. Tasks . The authors analyze the development of the digital environment in Russia and worldwide with allowance for changes in management; examine the tools and mechanism for the digital adaptation of the business; identify problems and opportunities for the successful implementation of digital technologies to improve business competitiveness in Russia. Methods . This study uses comparative, static, and dynamic analysis and systematization of scientific literature in conjunction with historical development, elements of a systems approach, and modeling of socio-economic development processes. Results . The authors prove that implementation of projects in the field of information business will increase the investment attractiveness of both national and regional socio-economic systems, leading to a growth in innovative entrepreneurship and ensuring the inflow of investment in research and development, including in the field of digitalization. This, in turn, will create conditions for sustainable economic development. Conclusions . The necessity of implementing a project approach to the development of business digitalization in Russia in state regulation and infrastructure support for business activities is substantiated. The major directions of digital business support in Russia are identified.

Multi-scale membrane process optimization with high-fidelity ion transport models through machine learning

Innovative membrane technologies optimally integrated into large separation process plants are essential for economical water treatment and disposal. However, the mass transport through membranes is commonly described by nonlinear differential-algebraic mechanistic models at the nano-scale, while the process and its economics range up to large-scale. Thus, the optimal design of membranes in process plants requires decision making across multiple scales, which is not possible using standard tools. In this work, we embed artificial neural networks (ANNs) as surrogate models in the deterministic global optimization to bridge the gap of scales. This methodology allows for deterministic global optimization of membrane processes with accurate transport models – avoiding the utilization of inaccurate approximations through heuristics or short-cut models. The ANNs are trained based on data generated by a one-dimensional extended Nernst-Planck ion transport model and extended to a more accurate two-dimensional distribution of the membrane module, that captures the filtration-related decreasing retention of salt. We simultaneously design the membrane and plant layout yielding optimal membrane module synthesis properties along with the optimal plant design for multiple objectives, feed concentrations, filtration stages, and salt mixtures. The developed process models and the optimization solver are available open-source, enabling computational resource-efficient multi-scale optimization in membrane science.

Raman spectroscopic based chemometric models to support a dynamic capacitance based cell culture feeding strategy.

Multiple process analytical technology (PAT) tools are now being applied in tandem for cell culture. Research presented used two in-line probes, capacitance for a dynamic feeding strategy and Raman spectroscopy for real-time monitoring. Data collected from eight batches at the 15,000 L scale were used to develop process models. Raman spectroscopic data were modelled using Partial Least Squares (PLS) by two methods-(1) use of the full dataset and (2) split the dataset based on the capacitance feeding strategy. Root mean square error of prediction (RMSEP) for the first model method of capacitance was 1.54 pf/cm and the second modelling method was 1.40 pf/cm. The second Raman method demonstrated results within expected process limits for capacitance and a 0.01% difference in total nutrient feed compared to the capacitance probe. Additional variables modelled using Raman spectroscopy were viable cell density (VCD), viability, average cell diameter, and viable cell volume (VCV).

The learning and teaching area of AACSB standards: a process model framework

PurposeThe paper aims to develop a process model for implementation in a business school setting, by doing a thorough analysis of the requirement of the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) standards relating to the learning and teaching area.Design/methodology/approachThe process model is developed by adopting a three-step approach. The authors have presented an articulated procedure for the development of the process model.FindingsThe process model presented in this paper offers a systemic approach to process design and implementation in a business school environment. The process model was developed and applied over the course of systematic reviews in a business school setting by aligning with the requirements of AACSB accreditation standards belonging to the learning and teaching area.Research limitations/implicationsThe limitation of the present study is that the scope of the process model presented here is limited to the requirements of the AACSB standards belonging to the learning and teaching area only. The authors plan to develop process models for the other areas of AACSB standards in the near future.Practical implicationsIt is hoped that this paper can bring a contribution to professionals as well as academics, in regards to development of process framework complying with the requirements of the AACSB standards. The process model presented in this paper comprises macro-level processes and the related activities. It will serve as a guide to develop processes in a business school setting.Originality/valueThe present study has attempted to present a process model complying with requirements of the AACSB standards belong to the learning and teaching area. The authors feel that developed process model can be used by the business schools that are planning to implement AACSB standards for accreditation or are interested in modifying their current processes following the requirements of the AACSB standards.