Integration of process modeling with laboratory experiments in conceptual design: bio-based glycerol dehydration case study

During the conceptual stage of process design, the experimental work to determine the reaction parameters is often carried out independently from the simulation work used to develop the conceptual process. The result of this disconnect is that the optimal process may remain undiscovered, since the process design engineer is constrained by the reaction conditions originally studied in the laboratory. By utilizing a methodology for integrating the process development with the laboratory experiments at the earliest stages, the process designer can ensure that the laboratory data is gathered only for economically viable and technically feasible process conditions. The methodology is illustrated through a case study on dehydration of bio-based glycerol.