SkaMPi

A Multi-level Methodology For The Planning And Development Of Resource-Efficient Processes

The chemical industry belongs to the German industrial sectors with the highest energy demand, and there is still a large potential for energy savings. While high-volume production plants are constantly subjected to energy efficiency measures, energetic optimization is not yet standard for smaller production plants for economic reasons, mostly due to a growing differentiation of products.

Converting smaller production processes from batch mode to a continuous operation with flexible, modular plant components offers opportunities for enormous production time savings and energy efficiency gains. To realize these opportunities, some challenges still have to be solved, such as the development of modular production units and of novel concepts for modular automation and data processing, and the development of new design methods for modular plants. The new project SkaMPi – Skalenübergreifende Methodik zur Planung und Entwicklung ressourceneffizienter Prozesse (a multi-level methodology for the planning and development of resource-efficient processes), in which INOSIM is a partner, addresses the last item.

Systematic analysis and evaluation of modular plant alternatives

The major project objective is the development of a new methodology that provides decision support to determine optimal modular unit operations and a maximally resource-efficient process layout for new products / product portfolios already during the early design stages. To this end, the project partners will systematically analyze, evaluate, and compare production requirements and the potential of existing or new unit operations as modular production components. Based on this analysis, a simulation-based tool will be developed that supports early-stage, systematic assessment and comparisons of process alternatives using multi-criteria evaluation methodologies.

The following German industrial companies and academic institutions are partners in the SkaMPi project:

• Merck KGaA, Darmstadt
• Evonik Technology & Infrastructure GmbH, Marl
• Chair For Fluid Process Engineering, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum
• AixCape e.V., Aachen
• INOSIM Consulting GmbH, Dortmund

The project started in November 2017 and will finish in October 2020. SkaMPi is part of the joint initiative ENPRO and is funded through the initiative „Energy Efficiency In The Industry“ of the Federal Ministry For Economic Affairs And Energy.

Would you like to learn more about this project? Are you looking for an innovative SME as research partner? Please contact us.