Herman J.M. Kramer

The application of a task-based concept for the design of innovative industrial crystallizers

A new task-based design approach [Menon, A. R., Pande, A. A., Kramer, H. J. M., Grievink, J., & Jansens, P. J. (2007). A task-based synthesis approach toward the design of industrial crystallization process units. Industrial & Engineering Chemistry Research, 46, 3979] is applied to design a crystallization process unit. Task-based design involves the conceptual built-up of a process (unit) from functional building blocks called tasks, which represent fundamental physical events. The motivation for developing this approach is to get a better control over the physical events governing crystalline product quality. To deliver a proof of concept, two lines of research are followed. First of all, several small scale experiments are designed to demonstrate practical feasibility of the approach. The new equipment allows for isolation and manipulation of individual crystallization tasks. Second, a model based on the experimentally tested tasks is developed for a crystallizer design and used in dynamic optimization of three case studies. The results show that completely different and tight product specifications can be achieved with the same design simply by changing the operational policy of the crystallizer. This remarkable increase in flexibility to achieve a broad range of product qualities is the result of the ability to control the rate at which individual crystallization tasks are executed as well as the material flows between those tasks.

The Application Of A Task-Based Concept For The Design Of Innovative Industrial Crystallizers

There is a need for a more synthesis-focused design approach for industrial crystallizers. In this paper a new task based design approach is applied to design a crystallization process unit. The app roach aims to conceptually build-up the crystallization process from fundamental building blocks called physical tasks. Two lines of research are followed. First of all, the design and key results of several small scale experiments are discussed which demonstrate practical feasibility of the concept by isolating single tasks. Secondly, a model of a task based crystallizer consisting of two compartments has been developed. A dynamic optimization of the model shows that tight specifications on product quality can be achieved, because it is possible to control tasks independently from each other. This increase in flexibility for design and operation is of significant value for the development of future crystallizers.