Achenie CTS-9726135 The aim of this research is developing novel mathematical support and the associated software for doing simultaneous optimization, and flexibility analysis of chemical processes. Specifically, the following problems will be addressed: (I) estimation of chemical process flexibility, (ii) chemical process optimizaion under uncertainty at the design stage and (iii) optimization of existing chemical processes under uncertainty. The research effort and the resulting software will allow a process engineer to solve the following industrial problems: (1) an estimate of the ability of a chemical process to sustain an acceptable level of performance even when external internal factors change in an unpredictable fashion (for example, a change of catalyst activity in chemical reactors or a change in feed flow rate), (ii) calculation of optimal design margins for process equipment at the design stage, and (iii) calculation of optimal values of control variables (used for example to satisfy environmental and safety requirements) for existing chemical processes under uncertainty. The proposal is being funded under NSF's Cooperative Research Program for Cental and Eastern Europe and the Newly-Independent States. This work is a collaborative effort between the PI and two researchers at the Karpov Institute of Physical Chemistry in Russia.
