A full presentation schedule can be downloaded by clicking this link: FOCAPD Schedule
The conference will focus on innovative design approaches and technological pathways that impact energy and environmental issues of new and existing processes. Some of the key thrust areas of the conference will include:
| Design for Sustainability and Life Cycles | |
|---|---|
| Chair | Rafiqul Gani, Technical University of Denmark |
| Co-Chair | Bavik Bakshi, Ohio State University |
| Description | This session seeks contributions introducing new system techniques to evaluate processes such as life cycle analysis, systems wide environmental impact assessment, exergy and thermodynamics metrics of process efficiency. Papers demonstrating the successful implementation of sustainable process development methodologies or integration of process design and business approaches for sustainable development are welcome. |
| Emerging Technologies and Processes for the Environment | |
| Chair | Paul Stuart, École Polytechnique de Montréal |
| Co-Chair | Claire Adjiman, Imperial College London |
| Description | This session will focus on emerging technologies and processes being developed in response to evolving priorities related to the environment including system-wide and plant-wide energy and power integration, pollution prevention and waste treatment, or emerging bionanotechnology. The technologies and processes might be chemical, biochemical, or thermochemical, batch or continuous - and they might be pertinent to any industry sector including pharmaceutical, agricultural and specialty chemical manufacturing. |
| Design of Biofuels, Biological Processes and Biorefineries | |
| Chair | Patrick Linke, Texas A&M University-Qatar |
| Co-Chair | Bruce Vrana, DuPont |
| Description | The goal of large scale biofuels and biorefinery production poses new design challenges and opportunities. This session solicits relevant contributions in biofuels process and product design. In particular, we encourage contributions in the following and related areas: new process and product design challenges, experiences with applications of existing design tools to biofuels production process design problems, experiences from designing biofuels, limitations and development needs for design methods to cope with the specific challenges posed by biofuels related design problems, retrofitting existing process systems to co-process biofuels, biorefinery economics and design for maximum value extraction in biofuels processing systems. Other aspects of design unique to biological processes are also relevant. Submissions from industry are specifically encouraged. |
| Energy Systems Design and Alternative Energy Sources | |
| Chair | Luke Achenie, Virginia Tech University |
| Co-Chair | Gavin Towler , UOP |
| Description | Emerging technologies in new energy include power from the wind, small scale hydroelectric plants, photovoltaics, fuel cells, solar power, coal, biomass and geothermal energy. Some of the challenges of these fuel sources include increased reliability, safety and efficiency, all at reduced cost. Systems engineering approaches can help address some of these problems. For biomass fuel source, conversion efficiency to liquid or gas fuels is critical. There is anecdotal evidence that ethanol from corn can lead to reduced carbon emissions. However, due to the unfortunate impact on supply and demand, there is a current push away from consumer-crop-derived ethanol (such as corn) to cellulosic-derived ethanol. There have been efforts at using gasification and mild temperature pyrolysis to maximize the energy content of biomass. Process design principles that apply to such efforts are strongly encouraged. |
| Multi-scale and Complex Systems | |
| Chair | Yannis Kevrekidis, Princeton University |
| Co-Chair | Ipsita Banerjee, University of Pittsburgh |
| Description | Multiscale modeling approaches for design involve the solution of physical problems that have important features at multiple scales (particularly spatial and temporal scales) relevant to overall product or process design. This session seeks contributions that address current issues and challenges in the area of multiscale modeling for the design of processes and products. Approaches that address one or more of the following represent ideal submissions for this session: (1) developing systematic mathematical frameworks that make multiscale predictions more reliable with reduced error, (2) developing strategies to reduce the tremendous design space of fine-scale variables to a manageable size that are applicable at the systems (product or process) level, and (3) developing techniques to calibrate the design space at multiple scales to available experimental data. Papers that contain case studies and applications to products and processes in nanotechnology, biotechnology, electronics, energy, and other areas are particularly welcome. |
| Robust and Uncertain Systems | |
| Chair | Mark Stadtherr, Notre Dame University |
| Co-Chair | Chau-Chyun Chen, AspenTech |
| Description | Engineering analysis and design problems, either static or dynamic, frequently involve uncertain parameters and inputs. This session will address advances in quantifying the effects of these uncertainties, and in the development of robust designs that maintain a desired performance despite variabilities. |
| Future Process Design Education | |
| Chair | Andy Hrymak, McMaster University |
| Co-Chair | Warren Seider, University of Pennsylvania |
| Description | Several trends are impacting the evolution of the process design curriculum:
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| Additional Sessions | |
| Chair | Andreas Linninger, University of Illinois at Chicago |
| Chair | Mahmoud El-Halwaghi, Texas A&M University |
| Description | These sessions will tentatively be held as posters:
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| Preconference Workshop on Product Design Education | |
| Speakers | Warren Seider, University of Pennsylvania and Soemantri Widagdo, 3M Corporation |