A Novel Algorithm for Design of Mixed Energy-integrated Batch Process Networks*

This paper presents a novel algorithm for calculating minimum utility targets for mixed energy integration which combines direct and indirect strategies. Mixed integration offers enhanced heat recovery compared to direct or indirect strategy at the cost of challenging design. The proposed method is based on time-dependent heat cascade analysis and consists of an iterative application of direct and indirect targeting. The present approach overcomes some of the limitations exhibited by the existing methods. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithm is elucidated for a benchmark energy integration problem wherein the achieved external utility consumption is close to the theoretical minimum value.