| Abstract: | Use of mathematical simulation and miniplant techniques in process development . An integrated study of synthesis and workup or of entire processes is often required in the development of chemical processes. This leads to a large number of possible solutions, of which the most economic one must be selected. This variety can only be mastered at reasonable expense with the aid of present-day techniques. Examples are presented to show how just a few economic possibilities can be selected and optimized from the plethora of alternatives in simulation calculations based on just a few properties of the materials involved. Economics is the basis of all evaluation. Use of miniplants is considered in the second part of the article, and costs and time-expenditure are compared with those for industrial pilot plants. Planning and evaluation of experiments raise the effectiveness of this empirical work. Problems of scale-up are considered, and the advantages of physico-chemically sound scale-up models are demonstrated. |
