A new method, using parallel computers, for the synthesis of optimal s
tructures in chemical plant design is presented. Based on a parallel p
ost-order traversal of the superstructure, this method is an extension
of a previous method based on simple dynamic programming techniques.
The extension makes the method both more efficient and more general, e
ffective at solving large and small problems involving both separation
and reaction units. Timings on two different distributed memory multi
-computers are presented.