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Virginia Tech

Studies in process integration of energy and environmental systems

Abstract

dc:description.abstract

This thesis discusses topics in the field of process engineering that have received much attention over the past twenty years, process integration and optimization of energy and environmental systems. It emphasizes the applications of three commercial software tools for process integration, ADVENT, HEXTRAN and SlTPERTARGET, that are readily available to academic users at low costs. Specifically, Chapter 1 presents an overview of the basic concepts used in process integration of energy systems. Chapter 2 compares the use of single and dual temperature-of-approach methods to synthesize energy-optimum and minimum-cost, heat-exchanger networks (HENs), and shows how to implement them using three software tools. Chapters 3 and 4 demonstrate how to optimize the energy recovery in petroleum refinery distillation systems via process integration. Chapter 3 presents an extension to a case study of heat integration of a vacuum distillation system. Chapter 4 describes the detailed synthesis, retrofit and optimization of HENs for a system of atmospheric and vacuum distillation towers, and it represents the first process integration and optimization study of a complex process in petroleum refineries using all three commercial software tools. Chapter 5 presents, through four progressive tutorial examples, a recent conceptual method developed in the field of process integration of environmental systems applied to wastewater minimization and to the design of distributed effluent treatment systems.

Degree

thesis:*
Name thesis:degree_name
Master of Science
Level thesis:degree_level
masters
Discipline thesis:degree_discipline
Chemical Engineering
Department dc:contributor.department
Chemical Engineering
Grantor dc:publisher
Virginia Tech
Year dc:date.issued
1995

Author and committee

dc:creator, dc:contributor.*
Author dc:creator
  • Autret, Erwan
Chair dc:contributor.committeechair
  • Liu, Y. A.
Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember
  • Conger, William L.
  • McCrary, Jeffrey K.
  • Davis, Richey M.

Subjects

dc:subject × 3

Rights

dc:rights
Statement dc:rights
  • In Copyright
Language dc:language.iso
en

Identifiers

dc:identifier.*
Dc Identifier Other
etd-07102009-040404
OAI identifier oai:identifier
oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/33957

Chain of custody

source
Harvested from
Virginia Tech
Base URL
vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/oai/request
Last updated
2026-07-22
Source record
OAI-PMH GetRecord
citation

Autret, Erwan. Studies in process integration of energy and environmental systems. masters thesis, Virginia Tech, 1995. http://hdl.handle.net/10919/33957