Bridging the Gap : Computer - Aided Engineering for Energy Security and Environmental Protection

Engineers use computational tools to address a variety of practical problems. Often, the role of computer aided engineering is to capture the opportunities for wealth creation, as well as societal and environmental impacts through integrating, otherwise disconnected, piece of knowledge and closing the gap between theoretical developments and corresponding applications. The present article reports some aspects of our research activities at Centre for Process Systems Engineering (CPSE), where Computer Aided Chemical Engineering is applied to address important problems, with energy and environmental implications. The discussed examples include (1) integrated design and control of industrial processes (2) biofuel production, (3) carbon capture from industrial processes. While the explored applications are by no mean exhaustive, they are illustrative examples of recent advancements in the field. Introduction The engineers’ endeavours for delivering economic values as well as protecting environment and enhancing the quality of life require bridging over a variety of gaps. Examples include the gap between “theory” and “application”, between “academy” and “industry”, or between “economy” and “environment”. Figure 1. The role of Computer-Aided Chemical Engineering is to bridge over various gaps Integrated Process Design and Control