Global energy targets and optimal operating conditions for waste energy recovery in Bisphenol-A plant

The worldwide increase in energy demands and the uncertainty of future energy costs make energy conservation a major element in controlling operating costs of any chemical process. This paper presents new opportunities for energy saving inside Bisphenol-A (BPA) plant through the optimal selection of process operating temperatures that enhance plant’s energy recovery system. These optimal operational modifications are systematically selected from a set of allowable process operating conditions without enumeration using novel interval constraint satisfaction model-based software called TEM_iconsTM. The paper shows that simple in-process modifications for the sake of energy utilities saving in an actual BPA industrial facility can result in more than 17% saving in hot utility consumption.