SIMULTANEOUS SYNTHESIS OF MASS SEPARATING AGENTS AND INTERCEPTION NETWORKS

In this work, we introduce the new problem of simultaneously synthesiz ing interception networks and mass separating agents 'MSAs' (e.g. solv ents). The essence of this work is to synthesize solvents in tandem wi th synthesizing the separation system. An optimization-based procedure is developed with the objective of minimizing the total cost for the separation of the targeted species from a set of rich sources (gaseous or liquid) via a set of synthesized solvents. The program is formulat ed as a mixed integer nonlinear program which employs group contributi on methods to design solvents to accomplish the separation task while satisfying physical and structural property constraints. An illustrati ve case study on the separation of butane in an oil production plant i s presented.