Pollution Prevention Through Process Integration

[...]... the pollution in the air and the ocean." Mahmoud M El-Halwagi This page intentionally left blank CHAPTER ONE Introduction This chapter provides an overview of pollution prevention and process integration First, the key strategies for reducing industrial waste are discussed Then process integration is presented as a viable tool for systematizing pollution- prevention decisions Three key elements of process. .. Three key elements of process integration are discussed: synthesis, analysis and optimization Next, process integration is categorized into mass integration and energy integration, with special emphasis on mass integration as it plays a key role in pollution prevention Finally, the scope and structure of the book are discussed 1.1 Hie Environmental Problem and Pollution Prevention Environmental impact... Mass integration is more general and more involved than energy integration Because of the overriding mass objectives of most processes, mass integration can potentially provide much stronger impact on the process than energy integration Both integration branches are compatible Mass integration coupled with energy integration provides a systematic framework for understanding the big picture of the process, ... technologies In this context, process integration can provide an excellent framework for addressing the foregoing objectives 1.2 What Is Process Integration? A chemical process is an integrated system of interconnected units and streams, and it should be treated as such Process integration is a holistic approach to process design, retrofitting, and operation which emphasizes the unity of the process In light of... via mass integration and energy integration 1.4 Branches of Process Integration: Mass Integration and Energy Integration As has been discussed earlier, a fundamental understanding of the global flow of mass and energy is instrumental in developing optimal design and operating strategies to meet process objectives including cost effectiveness, yield enhancement, energy efficiency, and pollution prevention. .. industrial interest in the more comprehensive concept of pollution prevention Several definitions of pollution prevention can be found in the literature (e.g., El-Halwagi and Petrides, 1995; Freeman, 1995; Theodore et a/., 1994; Noyes, 1993) These definitions vary in the scope of pollution prevention Throughout this book, the term pollution prevention will be used to describe any activity that is aimed... within a process Two key branches of process integration have been developed: mass integration and energy integration Energy integration is a systematic methodology that provides a fundamental understanding of energy utilization within the process and employs this understanding in identifying energy targets and optimizing heat-recovery and energy-utility systems Numerous articles on energy integration. .. for a process On the other hand, mass integration is a systematic methodology that provides a fundamental understanding of the global flow of mass within the process and employs this holistic understanding in identifying performance targets and optimizing the generation and routing of species throughout the process Mass-allocation objectives such as pollution prevention are at the heart of mass integration. .. should be used 1.2 What is process integration? As a result of the growing interest in pollution prevention, several industries have been actively developing and implementing various strategies for pollution prevention Most of these strategies have been tailored to solve specific problems for individual plants This case-based approach is inherently limited because the pollution- prevention technology and... optimization, thereby targeting a wide spectrum of practicing engineers and environmental professionals in the process industries and pollution prevention, upper-level undergraduate students and first-year graduate students, and researchers in the areas of process integration and pollution prevention Graphical tools are useful in providing a clear visual representation of a system, and can be used to .