2. Process intensification: how?

Process intensification can be achieved by using multifunctional (or hybrid) equipment and reactors that couple or decouple elementary processes (transfer-reaction-separation) in the same equipment to increase productivity and/or selectivity in relation to the desired product, or to facilitate the separation of unwanted by-products (catalytic distillation, reactive extraction or absorption, membrane crystallization, chromatographic or membrane reactors, structured catalytic packings, reaction and heat transfer or power generation, etc.). The resulting reduction in the number of units of equipment leads to lower investment costs and more efficient use of energy. What's more, improved product selectivity leads to a reduction in raw material consumption and hence operating costs. However, the use of these hybrid technologies is still limited today by the control and simulation problems they...