EFFECT OF PROCESS INTEGRATION ON THE REDUCTION OF FUEL CONSUMPTION

From the process design, demand for utilities can be estimated. The ut ility system is then designed with respect to the process design. Ener gy-integrated process design can be introduced at this stage to seek t he design that requires the minimum energy, and the corresponding leve ls at which the utility should enter the process can also be determine d. The interaction between process design and the utility system is a further step of energy integration. This step is usually considered af ter the process design is energy-integrated and targets for minimum ho t and cold utilities identified. When hot and cold utilities are speci fied, it is possible to deal with these utilities as normal process st reams to be presented on a grid diagram with the rest of the process s treams. The objective of this simultaneous approach for the interactio n between utilities and process design is to assign the most efficient way for the utility to be introduced to the process. Consequently, th e synthesis of the heat-exchanger network design should become more ef fective, thereby resulting in a reduced demand for utility import. Cop yright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd