Honors Theses
Date of Award
Spring 5-11-2024
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Chemical Engineering
First Advisor
Alexander Lopez
Second Advisor
John O'Haver
Third Advisor
Adam Smith
Relational Format
Dissertation/Thesis
Abstract
The following thesis consists of an investigation into the optimization of an ethylbenzene production facility. Aspen Plus software was used to model the production facility and Excel was used to price the facility using Aspen simulation data. This integrated technique was used to optimize the facility based on the Net Present Value (NPV) of the project. The NPV was improved from a base case value of -$23.5 million to a final value of $51.5 million. After this optimization based on NPV, the potential of operating the reactors as isothermal packed bed reactors was investigated. The reactor inlet feed pressure, inlet feed temperature, length-to-diameter ratio, and volume were investigated based on optimizing selectivity.
Recommended Citation
Cunitz, Veronica, "Process Optimization of an Ethylbenzene Production Facility through Integrated Process Simulation and Economic Analysis Methods" (2024). Honors Theses. 3081.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/3081
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