The use of automated tools can be of great benefit to an engineer invo
lved in a large, complex task such as the design of a chemical plant.
Such tools, however, must provide the engineer with more than just a s
olution to the problem. It is vital what the engineer be given an insi
ght into the reasons far the choice of a given solution. This is parti
cularly important in optimization of complex problems. In these cases,
the advantages of the solution (other than a better value of the obje
ctive function) are often not immediately obvious and the user is aske
d to take the results on faith. A process synthesis procedure which pr
ovides some indication of why a particular design alternative was chos
en can be invaluable, especially during the early stages of design whe
n many decisions are still to be made. This paper describes a novel im
plicit enumeration method, using dynamic programming, which enables an
d encourages an engineer to easily explore the solution space for new
problems. When completely feasible solutions are not available, the sy
nthesis tool provides information in the form of partial solutions whi
ch can lead to a better understanding of or a different perspective on
the problem. Using partial solutions, the method can itself generate
better solutions, dynamically increasing the search space for solution
s that include complex recycle structures.