Essentials Of Optimization For Chemical Engineering

Multiple levels of optimization include optimal scheduling corporate headquarters to distribute raw materials among the company's plants to maximize profits in producing, transporting, and marketing products to consumers worldwide. Optimal scheduling of individual plants to set operating conditions to produce required products from allocated raw materials for a maximum net profit or minimum cost of operations. The best schedule is determined for steady-state daily or weekly average flow rates for the plant. Finally, there is on-line optimization of process operations to determine the set-points for the distributed control system of the individual process units in the plant which give the best operating conditions while producing the specified quality and quantity of products. On-line optimization maintains the plant control system operating the plant under optimal conditions.

Optimization is used to determine the most appropriate value of variables under given conditions. The primary focus of using optimisation techniques is to measure the maximum or minimum value of a function depending on the circumstances. This book discusses problem formulation and problem solving with the help of algorithms such as secant method, quasi-Newton method, linear programming and dynamic programming. It also explains important chemical processes such as fluid flow systems, heat exchangers, chemical reactors and distillation systems using solved examples. The book begins by explaining the fundamental concepts followed by an elucidation of various modern techniques including trust-region methods, Levenberg–Marquardt algorithms, stochastic optimization, simulated annealing and statistical optimization. It studies the multi-objective optimization technique and its applications in chemical engineering and also discusses the theory and applications of various optimization software tools including LINGO, MATLAB, MINITAB and GAMS.

This text provides the undergraduate chemical engineering student with the necessary tools for problem solving in chemical or bio-engineering processes. In a friendly, simple, and unified framework, the exposition aptly balances theory and practice. It uses minimal mathematical concepts, terms, algorithms, and describes the main aspects of chemical process optimization using MATLAB and GAMS. Numerous examples and case studies are designed for students to understand basic principles of each optimization method and elicit the immediate discovery of practical applications. Problem sets are directly tied to real-world situations most commonly encountered in chemical engineering applications. Chapters are structured with handy learning summaries, terms and concepts, and problem sets, and individually reinforce the basics of particular optimization methods. Additionally, the wide breadth of topics that may be encountered in courses such as Chemical Process Optimization, Chemical Process Engineering, Optimization of Chemical Processes, are covered in this accessible text. The book provides formal introductions to MATLAB, GAMS, and a revisit to pertinent aspects of undergraduate calculus. While created for coursework, this text is also suitable for independent study. A full solutions manual is available to instructors who adopt the text for their course.

Optimization is now essential in the design, planning and operation of chemical and related processes. Although process optimization for multiple objectives was studied in the 1970s and 1980s, it has attracted active research in the last 15 years, spurred by the new and effective techniques for multi-objective optimization (MOO). To capture this renewed interest, this monograph presents recent research in MOO techniques and applications in chemical engineering. Following a brief introduction and review of MOO applications in chemical engineering since 2000, the book presents selected MOO techniques and many chemical engineering applications in detail. In this second edition, several chapters from the first edition have been updated, one chapter is completely revised and three new chapters have been added. One of the new chapters describes three MS Excel programs useful for MOO of application problems. All the chapters will be of interest to researchers in MOO and/or chemical engineering. Several exercises are included at the end of many chapters, for use by both practicing engineers and students.

"The authors—a chemical engineer and a civil engineer—have complimented each other in delivering an introductory text on optimization for engineers of all disciplines. It covers a host of topics not normally addressed by other texts. Although introductory in nature, it is a book that will prove invaluable to me and my staff, and belongs on the shelves of practicing environmental and chemical engineers. The illustrative examples are outstanding and make this a unique and special book." —John D. McKenna, Ph.D., Principal, ETS, Inc., Roanoke, Virginia "The authors have adeptly argued that basic science courses—particularly those concerned with mathematics—should be taught to engineers by engineers. Also, books adopted for use in such courses should also be written by engineers. The readers of this book will acquire an understanding and appreciation of the numerous mathematical methods that are routinely employed by practicing engineers. Furthermore, this introductory text on optimization attempts to address a void that exists in college engineering curricula. I recommend this book without reservation; it is a library ‘must’ for engineers of all disciplines." —Kenneth J. Skipka, RTP Environmental Associates, Inc., Westbury, NY, USA Introduction to Optimization for Chemical and Environmental Engineers presents the introductory fundamentals of several optimization methods with accompanying practical engineering applications. It examines mathematical optimization calculations common to both environmental and chemical engineering professionals, with a primary focus on perturbation techniques, search methods, graphical analysis, analytical methods, linear programming, and more. The book presents numerous illustrative examples laid out in such a way as to develop the reader’s technical understanding of optimization, with progressively difficult examples located at the end of each chapter. This book serves as a training tool for students and industry professionals alike. FEATURES Examines optimization concepts and methods used by environmental and chemical engineering practitioners. Presents solutions to real-world scenarios/problems at the end of each chapter. Offers a pragmatic approach to the application of mathematical tools to assist the reader in grasping the role of optimization in engineering problem-solving situations. Provides numerous illustrative examples. Serves as a text for introductory courses, or as a training tool forindustry professionals.

There are things that chemical engineers need to know and things that they need to know about. They need to know the time value of money, and they need to know about using Solver in Excel for process optimization problems. They need to know how to describe a process or plant in a flowsheeting program, and they need to know about the options for the thermodynamic packages in the flowsheeting program. They need to know how to do material and energy balances on chemical processes, and they need to know about how to incorporate rate equations and equilibrium relations in the material and energy balance equations. The topics in economic decision analysis given here have details to ensure the depth for need to know and the breadth for the topics that are in the need to know about category. The topics follow in order of developing the information needed for economic decision analysis. Beginning with market analysis, this leads to the decision to evaluate a new process or plant. Then several levels of analysis are used to determine cost of manufacturing a new product to compare with the sales estimated from the market analysis. Profitability analysis uses the net present value, rate of return and the economic price for decisions. Total cost assessment used the triple bottom line to incorporate economic, environmental and sustainability costs and sustainability credits in the decision analysis. The optimal configuration of plants in a chemical production complex was evaluated using global optimization to the determination the best value of triple bottom line. Results included using multiobjective optimization to determine Pareto optimal solutions. Monte Carlo simulation was used to determine the sensitive of the optimal solution to the parameters in the constraint equations. Three appendices are included. In Appendix A, typical estimating charts are given for individual equipment cost and plant cost for use with quick estimation of total plant costs to be used with total product costs for preliminary estimates of profitability. In Appendix B supply and demand elasticity are described with evaluations for corn as a feed and a fuel, illustrating the difficulty in finding data to do the evaluation of these frequently used concepts. In Appendix C the latest status on global optimization is summarized with the currently more successful algorithms available in GAMS.

Optimization has been playing a key role in the design, planning and operation of chemical and related processes for nearly half a century. Although process optimization for multiple objectives was studied by several researchers back in the 1970s and 1980s, it has attracted active research in the last 10 years, spurred by the new and effective techniques for multi-objective optimization. In order to capture this renewed interest, this monograph presents the recent and ongoing research in multi-optimization techniques and their applications in chemical engineering. Following a brief introduction and general review on the development of multi-objective optimization applications in chemical engineering since 2000, the book gives a description of selected multi-objective techniques and then goes on to discuss chemical engineering applications. These applications are from diverse areas within chemical engineering, and are presented in detail. All chapters will be of interest to researchers in multi-objective optimization and/or chemical engineering; they can be read individually and used in one''s learning and research. Several exercises are included at the end of many chapters, for use by both practicing engineers and students.