In this work, process intensification is identified as a process synthesis activity seeking significant improvements over traditional designs. The Infinite-DimEnsionAl State-space (IDEAS) conceptual framework is proposed as a systematic process intensification tool, which can identify intensified process designs, and assess fundamental performance limitations of networks of technologies under consideration. The synthesis of intensified flowsheets, in an energy efficiency sense, is pursued through the simultaneous synthesis of the flowsheet and its heat exchange network. The use, for the first time in process synthesis, of atomic balance, and Gibbs free energy minimization based equilibrium reactor models, enables a broad state-space search for process intensification opportunities, even by low dimensional, feasible, linear programming, IDEAS approximations. Application of the proposed method to natural gas reforming based hydrogen production, identifies intensified process designs featuring hot utility costs that can be lower by over an order of magnitude to those of traditional designs.

In this work, the novel concept of a combined membrane−adsorptive reactor sequence (MR-AR) is developed and implemented in an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) plant. This novel MR-AR IGCC plant is subsequently analyzed from an economic viewpoint through a techno-economic analysis (TEA) of the proposed plant. This novel design can achieve over 90% carbon capture without the use of a dual-stage Selexol unit. The resultant intensified design is more efficient from both an economic and power production perspective than the traditional IGCC plants with precombustion carbon capture and storage (CCS) technology. The COMSOL software package is utilized to simulate the MR-AR sequence proposed in this work, and UNISIM software (Honeywell) is used to create an intensified process flowsheet of the proposed MR-AR IGCC plant, which is subsequently heat-integrated. The TEA developed for the MR-AR IGCC power plant will be used to identify the extent of process intensification the proposed design has over the traditional IGCC plants with precombustion CCS. The results demonstrate a reduction in both the cost-of-electricity (COE) and in the capital cost of the proposed design over the baseline case.

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This work focuses on the implementation of membrane reactors (MRs) in the production of hydrogen through steam-methane reforming (SMR). A novel equilibrium MR model featuring Gibbs Free Energy Minimization is introduced and applied to the SMR-MR process. In addition, the concept of "energetically enhanced steam methane reforming (EER)," which allows for the use of a hybrid (methane combustion/renewable energy) energy supply in the production of hydrogen, is intensified. The UNISIM software (Honeywell™) is used to create a range of intensified flowsheets depicting the proposed IEER-MR process as well as two baseline flowsheets depicting "a standard SMR-MR process" and "a fully exothermic EER process." Heat integration studies are carried out on the developed flowsheets, and the baseline designs are compared to the IEER-MR designs to identify energetic intensification.

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