Are Intensified Processes Safer and More Reliable than Traditional Processes? An emblematic Case Study

TL;DRAbstract

One of the best ways of preventing accidents is to avoid hazards by inherently safer design. As many processes, particularly those in the chemicals, nuclear and oil industries, involve the production, handling and use of hazardous substances, process intensification (PI) apparently offers to the plant managers many benefits such as safer, cleaner, smaller, and cheaper equipments. Process Intensification could lead to a higher process flexibility, increased inherent safety and energy efficiency, distributed manufacturing capability, and ability to use reactants at higher concentrations. These goals are achieved by multifunctional reactors, e.g. reactive distillation or membrane reactors, and miniaturization that can be done by employing micro reactors and/or improving heat and mass transfer. Within the benefits of process intensification with reference to process safety the following can be considered: The use of process intensification can reduce the number of process operations, which

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