Synthesis of crystallizer downstream processing system

摘要

A systematic procedure is developed to synthesize the processing system upstream and downstream of a crystallizer. In a step-by-step manner, the procedure guides the user to generate altemative flow sheets for a given crystallization task. It consists of five steps. First, the required unit operations are determined by comparing the product specifications (production rate, product purity, and others) with the crystallizer effluent characteristics (occlusions, inclusions, crystal size, and others). Second, the destinations of the reaction solvent, mother liquor, wash liquid, recrystallization solvent, and drowning-out solvent are assigned. Third, the solvent recovery system is considered to recover the solvents and unconverted reactants, and to remove the impurity from the system. Fourth, alternatives for enhancing rpocess performance are identified. Finally, short-cut models are used to screen process alternatives. Rules and heuristics are provided for each step. Examples for illustrating this procedure are presented.