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Optimal heat exchanger network synthesis with operability and safety considerations

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Abstract

Research on the optimal design of heat exchanger networks (HENs) has primarily revolved around trading off technical design requirements for aspects of economy, such as capital cost of heat exchangers and utilities. As a result, considerations for safety, operability, and flexibility have received much less attention. This study presents a Pinch Analysis-based methodology that considers the inherent safety and operability aspects of an optimal HEN design. The procedure begins with data extraction, followed by utility targeting that gives due consideration to how each process stream impacts the inherent safety of the HEN. This is made possible via the use of a hot and cold Stream Temperature versus Enthalpy Plot (STEP) that prioritises the inherent safety index (ISI) on top of the heat capacity flow rate (CPs) during simultaneous targeting and design of the HEN. The Pinch temperatures and minimum utilities were determined using STEP. At the same time, the hot and cold stream pairs with higher ISIs and those with lower ISIs were matched together so that safety considerations could be emphasised and precautions taken with a particular heat exchanger. The disturbance propagation path through the HEN and the affected streams were also analysed. Network modification was performed using the downstream path concept in order to reduce disturbance propagation downstream of the HEN. The ∆T min violations and energy penalties from network changes were assessed. Flexibility and structural controllability of each network option were compared. The highest percentage of change in every stream of the network indicates that network is the most flexible, while the index of structural controllability closest to 1 demonstrates that the network is most controllable. Application of this method within an illustrative case study showed that network 3 was the most flexible as it yielded the highest percentage of change at 22 %. It was also the most controllable as it had a controllability index closest to 1.0, i.e. at 0.917.

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Abbreviations

T c :

Cold stream temperature (°C)

T h :

Hot stream temperature (°C)

T′c :

Shifted cold temperature (°C)

T′h :

Shifted hot temperature (°C)

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia for providing the research funds for this project under Vote Nos. J130000.3009.00M77 and Q.J130000.2409.03G40. Support from the Faculty of Information Technology and Bionics, Pázmány Péter Catholic University in Budapest is also gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Process Systems Engineering Centre (PROSPECT), Research Institute for Sustainable Environment, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310, UTM Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

    Ainur Munirah Hafizan, Sharifah Rafidah Wan Alwi & Zainuddin Abd Manan

  2. Faculty of Chemical and Energy Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), 81310, UTM Johor Bahru, Johor, Malaysia

    Ainur Munirah Hafizan, Sharifah Rafidah Wan Alwi & Zainuddin Abd Manan

  3. Faculty of Information Technology and Bionics, Pázmány Péter Catholic University, Budapest, Práter utca 50/a, 1083, Hungary

    Jiří Jaromír Klemeš

Authors
  1. Ainur Munirah Hafizan
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  2. Sharifah Rafidah Wan Alwi
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  3. Zainuddin Abd Manan
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  4. Jiří Jaromír Klemeš
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Sharifah Rafidah Wan Alwi.

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Hafizan, A.M., Wan Alwi, S.R., Manan, Z.A. et al. Optimal heat exchanger network synthesis with operability and safety considerations. Clean Techn Environ Policy 18, 2381–2400 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-016-1222-z

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