Many of the overarching issues dictating process/product selection and performance are not component dependent, but are driven by properties and functionalities. The PI therefore seeks to enhance the fundamental understanding of integrated process and product design by developing a more general design framework to track, transform, and integrate properties. This framework should enable a natural decomposition of process and molecular design problems without loss of alternatives. This will be achieved through rearrangement of the model structure to interface the process and molecular design problems through a set of target properties. If successful, this work will lead to a general property integration methodology capable of handling an entire class of problems that conventional composition based methods fail to address adequately. Introduction of holistic and systematic process systems engineering (PSE) methods to emerging technological areas, such as biorefineries and other polygeneration facilities, will enhance the understanding of interactions between different parts of the system. As these new technologies evolve, a variety of possible process configurations and product portfolios will be identified. The PI seeks to obtain an in-depth understanding of the effects of changes in economic, social, political and environmental conditions on the structure and design of such facilities. The proposed framework will enable analysis of the profitability and environmental impact of different products and associated production routes, and thus guide further research towards the technologies showing the highest potential. If successful, this work will lead to a flexible general framework capable of identifying the most profitable set of products and processing routes in polygeneration facilities like biorefineries.
The major goals of this CAREER project are: 1. Advance research in property based process/product design and integration 2. Promote the awareness and use of PSE methods in emerging research and education areas 3. Promote national and international collaboration on PSE research and education.
Broader Impact These unique and novel approaches will result in advancing creativity and insightful understanding in the design, integration and optimization of processes and products. The envisioned frameworks are expected to garner further interest in the PSE community and related fields. Because of the generic nature and general applicability, the devised techniques will have societal, economic, and environmental benefits by aiding the process industries in devising novel technologies, that lead to enhanced profitability and sustainability through efficient resource utilization and material substitution. The collaboration established with key industries and leading research institutions will facilitate the realization of the broader impacts of the proposed work. The developed methods will be transferred to the classroom in senior design and graduate level courses at the three participating universities and beyond. To further insure broad dissemination of the project results, the PI will develop a textbook accompanied by online computer-aided educational modules on property integration to show how the methodology can be incorporated in education and industrial applications.
