This paper provides a critical review of the literature on heat-exchanger network synthesis, the most commonly studied problem in process synthesis. After a review of solution methods, we present the chronological milestones in the development of the field and we discuss separately each of 461 related works leading up to the turn of the century. Then, we present several classification schemes of this body of work based on a number of modeling and algorithmic criteria. Finally, we offer a critical assessment of the current status of research in this area and provide suggestions for future research.

A Critical Review and Annotated Bibliography for Heat Exchanger Network Synthesis in the 20th Century

The synthesis of cost optimal heat exchanger networks. An industrial review of the state of the art

The emergence of Pinch Analysis from more than four decades ago opened a new area of intense research development that has even accelerated in recent years. Initially, Pinch Analysis (PA) provided a systematic thermodynamic-based approach to address the need for large energy savings around the 1970s oil crises. Since inception, the Pinch Methodology (PM) has flourished considerably, finding meaningful application to a wide range of industrial, regional, and global challenges well beyond heat – it’s most well-known and first application. This review represents an attempt to identify and substantiate future directions of research for the most significant implementations of Pinch Methodology. Reported applications in the literature range from Heat Integration, Total Site and Water Integration through to Emergy and even Financial Investment Planning; cutting across multiple engineering fields – Mechanical, Chemical, Process, Power, and Environmental Engineering – as well as entering the research domains of Management and Finance. Key findings of this review include: (1) the need for more awareness within the engineering and science research communities of the latest and continuing developments of the Pinch Methodology; (2) a need for complete tool sets covering targeting through to engineering design for many of the Pinch Methodology applications; and, (3) the full benefits of Pinch Methodology can only be achieved in developing design solutions with an appreciation for the most recent developments.

New directions in the implementation of Pinch Methodology (PM)

Review: Important contributions in development and improvement of the heat integration techniques

This paper combines mathematical optimization techniques with a better understanding of the retrofit problem, based on thermodynamic analysis and practical engineering, to produce a systematic procedure capable of efficiently solving industrial size retrofit problems. The major characteristic of the approach presented is that it offers a systematic and automatic method for the retrofit design of heat exchanger networks (HENs), combined with a facility for meaningful user interaction. The new procedure employs a two-stage approach for retrofit HEN design: The first stage is the diagnosis stage, during which a minimum number of promising HEN topology modi-fications is obtained which enables a desired heat recovery target to be achieved. In the second stage, the optimization stage, the HEN obtained after implementation of the modi-fications is optimized using non-linear optimization techniques to minimize the cost of additional surface area employed. It has been observed that heat recovery in a HEN is thermodynamically limited by certain exchanger matches unavoidably tending to a zero degree temperature approach as the heat recovery increases. These exchanger matches, which are termed as pinching matches, act as a bottleneck to heat recovery in the HEN. To increase the potential for heat recovery beyond the limits caused by the pinching matches, the network topology must be altered by repiping of exchangers, addition of new exchanger matches or creation of stream splits. Based on the above observation, the diagnosis stage is made up of two steps. In the first step the HEN bottleneck is identified, and in the second step a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) formulation is used to select a single modification which will best overcome the identified bottleneck. These two steps are repeated in a loop to yield the required set of promising topology modifications.

An Automated and Interactive Approach for Heat Exchanger Network Retrofit

Methode simple, pratique et rapide de readaptation d'une unite. Exemple d'application a une unite de distillation de petrole brut (on a considere douze scenarios possibles)

Using pinch technology for process retrofit

Experience of many industrial projects has shown that there is considerable scope for saving energy in existing processes. There are a number of reasons for this. The authors cite just two: (i) Most plants operating today were designed and built when energy prices were relatively low. Exchanger costs have also risen over the past twenty years. However, the increase in the cost of energy has been out of step with the increase in the cost of exchangers. The relative difference between these cost rises has resulted in process plants operating with a wrong trade-off between capital and operating costs. (ii) Over recent years process design technology has been significantly improved. Today it is possible to design a plant that would exhibit, at the original prices, both lower energy and lower capital costs. The authors introduced a retrofit targeting procedure. This procedure is based on recent developments in Pinch Technology. It has been found that heat recovery matches must be made using a certain ''discipline'' if the overall heat exchange area of a network is to be minimised. The matches must be vertically aligned on the composite curves. This is easily understood if the composite curves recognised as being pseudo-single streamsmore » representing the cumulative enthalpy demand and supply within the process.« less

T.N. Tjoe

Papers

Using pinch technology for process retrofit

Achieving the best energy saving retrofit