Editing Process engineering

{{Short description|Study of making products from raw materials}}
[[File:Planta de celulosa de UPM II 30.jpg|thumb|280x280px|[[UPM (company)|UPM]] pulp mill in [[Paso de los Toros]], [[Uruguay]], processes wood into [[Cellulose|cellulose paste]] for paper.]]
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2020}}

'''Process engineering''' is a field of study focused on the development and optimization of [[industrial processes]]. It consists of the understanding and application of the fundamental principles and [[Scientific law|laws of nature]] to allow humans to transform [[raw material]] and [[energy]] into [[Production (economics)|product]]s that are useful to society, at an [[Manufacturing|industrial level]].<ref name="PEaIM2012"/> By taking advantage of the driving forces of nature such as [[Pressure gradient|pressure]], [[Temperature gradient|temperature]] and [[concentration gradient]]s, as well as the [[law of conservation of mass]], process engineers can develop methods to synthesize and purify large quantities of desired chemical products.<ref name="PEaIM2012"/> Process engineering focuses on the design, operation, control, optimization and intensification of chemical, physical, and biological processes. Their work involves analyzing the chemical makeup of various ingredients and determining how they might react with one another. A process engineer can specialize in a number of areas, including the following:

* Agriculture processing
* Food and dairy production
* Beer and whiskey production
* Cosmetics production
* Pharmaceutical production
* Petrochemical manufacturing
* Mineral processing
* Printed circuit board production

==Overview==
Process engineering involves the utilization of multiple tools and methods. Depending on the exact nature of the system, processes need to be simulated and modeled using mathematics and computer science. Processes where phase change and phase equilibria are relevant require analysis using the principles and laws of thermodynamics to quantify changes in energy and efficiency. In contrast, processes that focus on the flow of material and energy as they approach equilibria are best analyzed using the disciplines of fluid mechanics and transport phenomena. Disciplines within the field of mechanics need to be applied in the presence of fluids or porous and dispersed media. Materials engineering principles also need to be applied, when relevant.<ref name="PEaIM2012"/>

Manufacturing in the field of process engineering involves an implementation of process synthesis steps.<ref>{{Cite journal|title=An Overview of Chemical Process Design Engineering|last=Mody|first=David|journal=Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association|year=2011|s2cid=109260579|doi=10.24908/pceea.v0i0.3824|doi-access=free}}</ref> Regardless of the exact tools required, process engineering is then formatted through the use of a [[process flow diagram]] (PFD) where [[material flow]] paths, storage equipment (such as tanks and silos), transformations (such as [[Fractionating column|distillation column]]s, receiver/head tanks, mixing, separations, pumping, etc.) and [[Flow measurement|flowrates]] are specified, as well as a list of all pipes and conveyors and their contents, material properties such as [[density]], [[viscosity]], [[particle-size distribution]], flowrates, pressures, temperatures, and materials of construction for the piping and [[unit operation]]s.<ref name="PEaIM2012"/>

The process flow diagram is then used to develop a [[piping and instrumentation diagram]] (P&ID) which graphically displays the actual process occurring.  P&ID are meant to be more complex and specific than a PFD.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://hardhatengineer.com/how-to-read-pid-pefs-drawings/|title=Learn How to Read P&ID Drawings - A Complete Guide|website=hardhatengineer.com|date=3 November 2017|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-09-11}}</ref> They represent a less muddled approach to the design. The P&ID is then used as a basis of design for developing the "system operation guide" or "[[Functional specification|functional design specification]]" which outlines the operation of the process.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://scottmanning.com/content/functional-design-specification/|title=Functional Design Specification|date=2 April 2006|work=Historian on the Warpath|access-date=2018-09-11|language=en-US}}</ref> It guides the process through operation of machinery, safety in design, programming and effective communication between engineers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aiche.org/sites/default/files/docs/webinars/BarkelB-PIDs.pdf|title=Piping and Instrument Diagrams|last=Barkel|first=Barry M|website=AICHE|access-date=11 September 2019|language=en}}</ref>

From the P&ID, a proposed layout (general arrangement) of the process can be shown from an overhead view ([[Site plan|plot plan]]) and a side view (elevation), and other engineering disciplines are involved such as [[civil engineer]]s for site work (earth moving), foundation design, concrete slab design work, structural steel to support the equipment, etc. All previous work is directed toward defining the scope of the project, then developing a cost estimate to get the design installed, and a schedule to communicate the timing needs for engineering, procurement, fabrication, installation, commissioning, startup, and ongoing production of the process.

Depending on needed accuracy of the cost estimate and schedule that is required, several iterations of designs are generally provided to customers or stakeholders who feed back their requirements. The process engineer incorporates these additional instructions (scope revisions) into the overall design and additional cost estimates, and schedules are developed for funding approval. Following funding approval, the project is executed via [[project management]].<ref>{{Cite book|title=Modelling and management of engineering processes|date=2010|publisher=Springer |editor=Heisig, Peter |editor2=Clarkson, John |editor3=Vajna, S. |isbn=978-1-84996-199-8|location=London|oclc=637120594}}</ref>

==Principal areas of focus in process engineering==
Process engineering activities can be divided into the following disciplines:<ref name="cmu">{{cite web |title=Research Challenges in Process Systems Engineering |last1=Grossmann |url=http://egon.cheme.cmu.edu/Papers/GrossmannWestChall.pdf |access-date=2023-11-17 |last2=Westerberg |website=Carnegie Mellon University |language=en}}</ref>

*[[Process design]]: synthesis of [[energy recovery]] networks, synthesis of [[distillation]] systems ([[Azeotrope|azeotropic]]), synthesis of reactor networks, hierarchical decomposition flowsheets, superstructure optimization, design multiproduct batch plants, design of the production reactors for the production of plutonium, design of nuclear submarines.
*[[Industrial process control|Process control]]: model predictive control, controllability measures, robust control, nonlinear control, statistical process control, process monitoring, [[thermodynamics]]-based control, denoted by three essential items, a collection of measurements, method of taking measurements, and a system of controlling the desired measurement.<ref>{{Cite book|chapter-url=http://www.thermopedia.com/content/1060/|chapter=Process Control|last=Kershenbaum|first=L.S.|title=A-to-Z Guide to Thermodynamics, Heat and Mass Transfer, and Fluids Engineering|publisher=Thermopedia|year=2006|doi=10.1615/AtoZ.p.process_control|isbn=0-8493-9356-6|access-date=15 September 2019}}</ref>
*[[Unit process|Process operations]]: scheduling process networks, multiperiod planning and optimization, data reconciliation, real-time optimization, flexibility measures, fault diagnosis.
*Supporting tools: sequential modular simulation, equation-based [[process simulation]], [[Artificial intelligence|AI]]/[[expert system]]s, large-scale nonlinear programming (NLP), optimization of differential algebraic equations (DAEs), mixed-integer nonlinear programming (MINLP),<ref>{{Cite journal|title=Mixed-integer nonlinear programming 2018|journal=Optimization and Engineering|volume=20|issue=2|pages=301–306|last=Sahinidis|first=N.V|doi=10.1007/s11081-019-09438-1|year=2019|doi-access=free}}</ref> global optimization, optimization under uncertainty,<ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.compchemeng.2003.09.017|title=Optimization under uncertainty: State-of-the-art and opportunities|year=2004|last1=Sahinidis|first1=Nikolaos V.|journal=Computers & Chemical Engineering|volume=28|issue=6–7|pages=971–983}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.compchemeng.2019.03.034|title=Optimization under uncertainty in the era of big data and deep learning: When machine learning meets mathematical programming|year=2019|last1=Ning|first1=Chao|last2=You|first2=Fengqi|author-link2=Fengqi You|journal=Computers & Chemical Engineering|volume=125|pages=434–448|arxiv=1904.01934|s2cid=96440317}}</ref> and quality function deployment (QFD).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK22835/|title=Building a Better Delivery System: A New Engineering/Health Care Partnership|website=National Center for Biotechnology Information|access-date=15 September 2019|language=en|year=2005}}</ref>
*Process Economics:<ref name="Couper2003">{{Cite book|title=Process engineering economics|last=Couper|first=James R.|date=2003|publisher=Marcel Dekker|isbn=0-8247-5637-1|location=New York|oclc=53905871}}</ref> This includes using simulation software such as ASPEN, Super-Pro to find out the break even point, net present value, marginal sales, marginal cost, return on investment of the industrial plant after the analysis of the heat and mass transfer of the plant.<ref name="Couper2003"/>
*Process Data Analytics: Applying [[Analytics|data analytics]] and [[machine learning]] methods for process manufacturing problems.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.mdpi.com/journal/processes/special_issues/data_analytics|title=Topical Collection: Process Data Analytics|access-date=2023-11-17|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|doi=10.1016/j.eng.2019.01.019|title=Data Analytics and Machine Learning for Smart Process Manufacturing: Recent Advances and Perspectives in the Big Data Era|year=2019|last1=Shang|first1=Chao|last2=You|first2=Fengqi|author-link2=Fengqi You|journal=Engineering|volume=5|issue=6|pages=1010–1016|doi-access=free|bibcode=2019Engin...5.1010S }}</ref>

==History of process engineering==
Various chemical techniques have been used in industrial processes since time immemorial. However, it wasn't until the advent of thermodynamics and the law of conservation of mass in the 1780s that process engineering was properly developed and implemented as its own discipline. The set of knowledge that is now known as process engineering was then forged out of trial and error throughout the industrial revolution.<ref name="PEaIM2012"/>

The term ''process'', as it relates to industry and production, dates back to the 18th century.  During this time period, demands for various products began to drastically increase, and process engineers were required to optimize the process in which these products were created.<ref name="PEaIM2012">{{Cite book|title=Process engineering and industrial management|date=2012|publisher=ISTE |editor=Dal Pont, Jean-Pierre |isbn=978-1-118-56213-0|location=London|oclc=830512387}}</ref>

By 1980, the concept of process engineering emerged from the fact that chemical engineering techniques and practices were being used in a variety of industries.  By this time, process engineering had been defined as "the set of knowledge necessary to design, analyze, develop, construct, and operate, in an optimal way, the processes in which the material changes".<ref name="PEaIM2012"/> By the end of the 20th century, process engineering had expanded from chemical engineering-based technologies to other applications, including [[metallurgical engineering]], agricultural engineering, and [[Manufacturing engineering|product engineering]].

==See also==
{{Div col}}
* [[Chemical process modeling]]
* [[Chemical technologist]]
* [[Industrial engineering]]
* [[Industrial process]]
* [[Low-gravity process engineering]]
* [[Materials science]]
* [[Modular process skid]]
* [[Process chemistry]]
* [[Process flowsheeting]]
* [[Process integration]]
* [[Process safety]]
* [[Systems engineering process]]
{{Div col end}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20200220083321/https://www.cranfield.ac.uk/courses/taught/advanced-process-engineering Advanced Process Engineering at Cranfield University (Cranfield, UK)]
* [https://www.imperial.ac.uk/process-systems-engineering/ Sargent Centre for Process Systems Engineering (Imperial)]
* [http://you.cbe.cornell.edu/ Process Systems Engineering at Cornell University (Ithaca, New York)]
* [http://processengineering.sun.ac.za/ Department of Process Engineering at Stellenbosch University]
* [http://apm.byu.edu/prism/ Process Research and Intelligent Systems Modeling (PRISM) group at BYU]
* [https://www.cmu.edu/cheme/research/process-systems-engineering/index.html Process Systems Engineering at CMU]
* [http://www.avt.rwth-aachen.de/cms/AVT/Forschung/Forschungsschwerpunkte-der-AVT/~ioaf/Systemverfahrenstechnik/lidx/1/ Process Systems Engineering Laboratory at RWTH Aachen]
* [http://yoric.mit.edu/ The Process Systems Engineering Laboratory (MIT)]
* [https://processengineeringconsulting.com/ Process Engineering Consulting] at Canada

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{{Engineering fields}}

[[Category:Process engineering|Process engineering]]
[[Category:Engineering disciplines]]
[[Category:Chemical processes]]