Process Integration for Industry Decarbonization
Task
XXIV
Start date 2025-01-01
End date 2027-12-31
Recent Developments
The proposal for this new Task was approved by the IETS ExCo on 20 November 2024. The Task will start early 2025.
Task Members
To be confirmed.
Task Managers
François Maréchal, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Daniel Florez-Orrego, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
Description
Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from industrial processes is a key challenge of energy transition. Assessing the decarbonization options requires a systemic approach that includes process and energy system integration of the industrial processes. This dimension is often neglected in decarbonization studies resulting in misleading conclusions in terms of cost or impact mitigation. Thus, the new task proposed to the IETS TCP aims to leverage the role of process and systems integration techniques for mitigating the global warming impact of the industry.
Objectives and Scope
The goal of this task is to create a model-database sharing framework to leverage the role of process integration for decarbonizing the industrial sectors and assess its impact on the energy transition. This collaborative task is proposed to enable the generation, validation, documentation, and sharing of a database of ex-ante models of industrial processes and decarbonization technologies. The aim is to enable a systemic assessment of the role of process integration and to demonstrate its impact for a net-zero future economy. Critical aspects, such as housing, maintenance and curation of the database will be discussed in more detail during the development of the project.
Subtask 1
Enabling a shared database of ex-ante models of industrial processes, decarbonization technologies and energy systems featuring sustainability metrics
This Subtask defines the initial activities to achieve the general objective of the Main Task, i.e., to demonstrate the Role of the Process Integration in the Industry Decarbonization. Particularly, this Subtask enables both the procedures and the infrastructure needed to build a shared database of ex-ante models of industrial processes, decarbonization technologies and energy systems.
The main objectives of Subtask 1 are:
- Develop specifications and procedures for generating, validating, and sharing process and energy integration models.
- Share flexible ex-ante (blueprint) models of key industrial sectors.
- Share energy technology models to promote renewable energy use in industry.
- Share energy systems models, including distribution networks and seasonal demand data.
- Compare and document process integration methods used by the participants for assessing the decarbonization pathways in industry.
- Compare heat and mass integration results to outline roadmaps of industrial decarbonization and symbiosis.
- Share findings and experiences through workshops, scientific events, and educational programs.
Deliverables
- Ontologies and the procedures for sharing the ex-ante models developed by the Subtask participants based on previous and ongoing research projects.
- Reporting and documentation tool based on Markdown language that features referencing and visualization functionalities, and that can be readily deployed in a web-based format or shared as portable document formats.
- Repository with an open-source database of documented ex-ante models, as well as comparison of experiences with in-house process integration methods used in the previous and ongoing projects of the participants.
- Collaborative report defining the role of process integration in the industry decarbonization based on shared results of existing and ongoing case studies.
- Findings about opportunities and the challenges for housing and maintaining an open-source database of shared models, including issues of confidentiality and intellectual property.
- Identification of advantages and challenges of the computational frameworks already used by the participants in terms of maintainability, distribution and scalability.
- Dissemination of results in TCP reports, EFCE and ECOS conferences and other events.
- Knowledge transfer in Continuing Education Programs.