PROCESS INTEGRATION AND INTENSIFICATION: SAVING ENERGY AND WATER

This thesis explores energy efficiency improvement and water treatment optimization through advanced process integration techniques. The first part focuses on heat integration within industrial systems using pinch analysis, grand composite curves, and the integration of systems such as heat pumps, steam and gas turbines, and distillation columns. These strategies significantly reduce hot and cold utility demands and enhance cost-effectiveness while lowering environmental impact. In addition to single-process integration, multiple industrial processes were studied together, enabling total site integration, where excess heat from one process was efficiently exchanged with another. This cross-process heat integration demonstrated the potential for greater energy recovery and overall system optimization. The second part applies water pinch analysis to minimize freshwater usage by identifying reuse opportunities through water surplus diagrams and cascade analysis. A cost-effective water network was designed, and potential for maximum water recovery was evaluated. The correlation between energy and water systems highlights the importance of holistic process optimization to achieve sustainable industrial performance.