| In the design of chemical/energy production systems, a major challenge is to identify their bottleneck issues and improve their sustainability effectively. Because of the multi-dimensional feature of sustainability, accounting for the impacts of various design factors and the cause-and-effect relationships can be very difficult. This study presents a sustainability root cause analysis method based on the combination of Pareto Analysis and Fish-Bone diagram. The sustainability of the process is assessed incorporating economic, environmental, societal, and efficiency concerns.;This methodology is able to help the designers focus attention on the most important fundamental causes, discover opportunities for sustainability improvement, and provide critical guidance to design for sustainability. The efficacy of this methodology will be demonstrated through a case study on a biodiesel production technology.;The second part of this study addresses the ever growing issue of finding an alternative fuel that can reduce dependency on crude oil. This study is aimed at developing a process simulation flow sheet of the Fischer-Tropsch synthesis process. The Fischer-Tropsch synthesis process produces a mixture of clean liquid hydrocarbon fuels from various sources, such as natural gas, coal, and biomass. A simulation flow sheet will be developed for cobalt-based catalyst using Aspen Plus software. |
