A graphical technique for the design of water-using networks in batch processes

This paper presents a graphical technique for the design of water-using networks in batch plants. Water integration is achieved by exploiting all possibilities of water reuse/recycle to minimize not only freshwater consumption, but also wastewater generation. Since time limitation for unmatched operating periods may be the primary barrier to the integration in batch processes, the installation of storage facilities is quite common to enhance the water recovery. For that reason, the cost in terms of storage facilities becomes another issue to be considered. This work is focused on network design, like the second stage of conventional pinch analyses. Some useful concepts and principles addressed in literatures are adopted to help the design of batch water network and to ensure the maximum recovery, thus the utility usage, the network structure and the storage policy can be obtained through the analysis. Once the freshwater expenditure is determined. workable ways are sought to cut the number of storage tanks and they also reduce the network complexity. In the context of this paper, a hybrid system that includes different type of water-using operations with distinct operating modes is taken into account to display the versatility of proposed approach. Furthermore, considering the fact that sometimes water reuse/recycle between certain operations is not allowed to prevent operational problems, the action of network design should be more deliberate owing to additional restraints. Therefore, the potential for water integration may be diminished, which means a less amount of water recovery. Finally, an illustrative example is provided to amplify the application of proposed approach. Like most graphical techniques, the presented work is restricted to a single key contaminant. (c) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.