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A special issue of Processes (ISSN 2227-9717). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainable Processes".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (5 September 2019) | Viewed by 52868

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Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Sujit S Jogwar

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Guest Editor

Department of Chemical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai 400076, India
Interests: process design; advanced process control; energy integration

Dr. Xiaonan Wang

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Guest Editor

Department of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering, National University of Singapore, 21 Lower Kent Ridge Rd, Singapore, Singapore
Interests: optimization; smart systems engineering; renewable energy; sustainability; machine learning; energy process modeling, control, and optimization; healthcare manufacturing and supply chain; life cycle sustainability assessment
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainability has been one of the key drivers for technological innovation in this century. With the fundamental motivation of ensuring the fulfilment of current needs without compromising the needs of future generations, sustainability targets goals in economic (such as improved process and energy efficiency), environmental (such as the minimization of carbon and waste footprints), and social (such as process safety) perspectives. These goals have given rise to a large number of sustainable process and energy systems such as reactive distillation, microreactors, CO₂ capture and sequestration, smart grids and microgrids, and smart manufacturing, and the quest for new designs continues at a rapid pace. At the same time, such systems pose unique operational challenges due to the presence of multiple length or time scales, multiple conflicting objectives, and the interconnection of multiple agents. These call for efficient control strategies to realize sustainable benefits. In this context, the integrated design and control of sustainable processes can allow one to balance the trade-off between process economics and operational flexibility.

This Special Issue on “Design and Control of Sustainable Systems” aims to incorporate recent developments in the area of the design and/or control of sustainable process and energy systems. Topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

Integrated or intensified processes;
Renewable chemical, materials, and energy production;
Process safety and/or risk management;
Smart grids, microgrids, and/or co-generation systems;
Carbon capture and sequestration, emission or effluent management;
Waste reduction and/or waste-to-energy/resources;
Smart manufacturing systems and technologies.

Prof. Dr. Sujit S Jogwar
Prof. Dr. Xiaonan Wang
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

process integration
energy integration
process intensification
CO₂ sequestration
smart grids
microgrids
safety
advanced control
integrated design and control
sustainability
renewable fuels
waste management

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Published Papers (12 papers)

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Editorial

Jump to: Research

3 pages, 161 KiB

Open AccessEditorial

Special Issue on “Design and Control of Sustainable Processes”

by Sujit S. Jogwar and Xiaonan Wang

Processes 2020, 8(9), 1046; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr8091046 - 26 Aug 2020

Viewed by 1667

Abstract

Sustainability has been one of the key drivers for technological innovation in this century [...] Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Control of Sustainable Systems)

Research

Jump to: Editorial

18 pages, 3158 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Carbon Storage in Response to Urbanization: A Case Study in the Su-Xi-Chang Region, China

by Qi Fu, Liangliang Xu, Hongyu Zheng and Jinhua Chen

Processes 2019, 7(11), 836; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr7110836 - 9 Nov 2019

Cited by 34 | Viewed by 4566

Abstract

Terrestrial ecosystem carbon storage plays an important role in mitigating global warming. Understanding the characteristics and drivers of changes in carbon storage can provide a scientific basis for urban planning and management. The objective of this study was to reveal the ways in which urbanization influences the spatial and temporal variations in carbon storage. In this study, we investigated the changes in carbon storage from 1990–2000, 2000–2010, and 2010–2018 in the Su-Xi-Chang region, which is a typical fast-growing urban agglomeration in China, based on the InVEST (Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs) model. Moreover, we analyzed the impacts of urbanization-induced land-use changes on carbon storage. The results showed that in terms of space and time, the greatest loss of carbon storage occurred in developing urban areas and during the rapidly urbanizing stage. Our study revealed that the reduction in cultivated land was the greatest contributor to carbon stock losses. In addition, we found that some types of land use conversion can enhance carbon storage. Based on the results, some suggestions are proposed aimed at promoting urban sustainable development. This study also provides insights into enhancing urban sustainability for other urban agglomerations throughout the world. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Control of Sustainable Systems)

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21 pages, 1256 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperArticle

Economic MPC of Wastewater Treatment Plants Based on Model Reduction

by An Zhang and Jinfeng Liu

Processes 2019, 7(10), 682; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr7100682 - 1 Oct 2019

Cited by 24 | Viewed by 3821

Abstract

In this paper, we consider the problem of economic model predictive control of wastewater treatment plants based on model reduction. We apply two model approximation methods to a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) described by a modified Benchmark Simulation Model No.1 to overcome the intensive computation associated with economic model predictive control (MPC). Two computationally efficient models are obtained based on trajectory piecewise linearization (TPWL) and reduced order TPWL. To obtain the reduced order TPWL model, a proper orthogonal decomposition (POD)-based method is utilized. Further, the reduced order model is linearized to obtain a TPWL-POD model. The objective is to design controllers which minimize the overall economic cost. Accordingly, we design economic MPC (EMPC) controllers based on each of the models. The economic control cost can be described as a weighted summation of effluent quality and overall operating cost. We compare the accuracy of the two proposed approximation models with different linearization point numbers. We evaluate the average evaluation time for the two proposed EMPC controllers and make comparisons with the EMPC based on the original nonlinear model. We also investigate how the number of linearization points involved in the TPWL model and TPWL-POD model affects the control performance in terms of average performance cost and the average evaluation time. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Control of Sustainable Systems)

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17 pages, 3829 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Improving the Performance of Entities in the Mining Industry by Optimizing Green Business Processes and Emission Inventories

by Ionica Oncioiu, Sorinel Căpuşneanu, Dana-Maria Oprea Constantin, Mirela Cătălina Türkeș, Dan Ioan Topor, Florentina Raluca Bîlcan and Anca Gabriela Petrescu

Processes 2019, 7(8), 543; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr7080543 - 16 Aug 2019

Cited by 4 | Viewed by 4422

Abstract

Due to environmental considerations, environmental sustainability has become the main target of contemporary organizations, which has a direct influence on increasing their performance. The purpose of this study was to present the efficiency of green business process optimization for the performances of mining entities. Quantitative research was carried out on a sample of 209 people in an economic entity in the mining industry. The results of the study indicated real possibilities to achieve the objectives set in the research undertaken. Using business process management, the authors examined how green business processes can be optimized in a Romanian mining entity. The main results determined the degree of pollution from suspended and sedimentary dust particles due to coal production from the mining entity that was studied. Moreover, the present research proved that certain key environmental indicators underlie the performance and optimization of green business processes. The practical implications of this study are to respect and continually improve the management of the processes of activities, to reduce the costs of depollution and increase the performances. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Control of Sustainable Systems)

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22 pages, 1206 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Fault Ride-Through Capability Enhancement of Type-4 WECS in Offshore Wind Farm via Nonlinear Adaptive Control of VSC-HVDC

by Yiyan Sang, Bo Yang, Hongchun Shu, Na An, Fang Zeng and Tao Yu

Processes 2019, 7(8), 540; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr7080540 - 15 Aug 2019

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3728

Abstract

This paper proposes a perturbation estimation-based nonlinear adaptive control (NAC) for a voltage-source converter-based high voltage direct current (VSC-HVDC) system which is applied to interconnect offshore large-scale wind farms to the onshore main grid in order to enhance the fault ride-through (FRT) capability of Type-4 wind energy conversion systems (WECS). The VSC-HVDC power transmission system is regraded as a favourable solution for interconnecting offshore wind farms. To improve the FRT capability of offshore power plants, a de-loading strategy is investigated with novel advanced control of the VSC-HVDC systems. The proposed NAC does not require an accurate and precise model and full state measurements since the combinatorial effects of nonlinearities, system parameter uncertainties, and external disturbances are aggregated into a perturbation term, which are estimated by a high-gain perturbation observer (HGPO) and fully compensated for. As the proposed NAC is adaptive to system model uncertainties (e.g., mismatched output impedance of the converters and the line impedance of transmission line), time-varying disturbance (e.g., AC grid voltage sags and line to ground faults), and unknown time-varying nonlinearities of the power-electronic system (e.g., unmodelled dynamics existed in valve and VSC phase-locked loop system), a significant robustness can be provided by the de-loading strategy to enhance the FRT capability. Simulation results illustrated that the proposed strategy can provide improved dynamic performance in the case of operation with a variety of reduced voltage levels and improved robustness against model uncertainties and mismatched system parameters comparing with conventional vector control. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Control of Sustainable Systems)

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29 pages, 4057 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Concept of Designing Thermal Condition Monitoring System with ZigBee/GSM Communication Link for Distributed Energy Resources Network in Rural and Remote Applications

by Emmanuel Kobina Payne, Shulin Lu, Qian Wang and Licheng Wu

Processes 2019, 7(6), 383; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr7060383 - 20 Jun 2019

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 6108

Abstract

Monitoring the thermal behavior of distributed energy resources (DERs) network explores the dualism between thermal effects and electrical power flow. This paper proposes a design concept that monitors thermal conditions of DER grids, using ZigBee/GSM wireless sensor networks (WSNs) for real-time monitoring in rural and remote areas. The concept seeks to improve upon existing designs by integrating composite functions. The functions comprise temperature conditions monitoring, data acquisition, and wireless data transmission including data storage and abnormal conditions alert/notification for control solutions. Thus, the concept determines the thermal impact on the DERs integrated network. WSNs with temperature sensors LM35 are utilized to complement ZigBee and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) technologies as a communication assisted link. Temperatures are measured from solar Photovoltaic PV modules, wind turbine, distribution cables, protection control units, and energy storage facilities. The ATMEGA328P microcontroller is assigned for signal and control processing. The circuit performance is coordinated and displayed on an LCD screen for normal conditions, whereas abnormal scenarios communicate through an alert/notification by GSM Short Message Service (SMS) protocol. The development analysis was performed through algorithm and circuit simulations. Proteus software was used for circuit design. Both the algorithm and circuit analysis passed the assigned simulation stages. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Control of Sustainable Systems)

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15 pages, 2577 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Study on Grid-Connected Strategy of Distribution Network with High Hydropower Penetration Rate in Isolated Operation

by Zifan Zhang, Zhidong Wang, Zhifeng Chen, Gan Wang, Na Shen and Changxing Guo

Processes 2019, 7(6), 328; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr7060328 - 1 Jun 2019

Cited by 11 | Viewed by 3323

Abstract

As the largest global renewable source, hydropower is a useful supplement to mountainous distribution networks with abundant water resources, and shoulders a large portion of the regulation duty in many power systems. In particular, in the form of decentralized energy sources located to their customers, small hydropower (SHP) improve grid stability by diversifying the electricity system and reducing power loss. The mountainous distribution networks supplied by small hydropower are closed-loop design but open-loop operation, which easily causes the tripping of tie line even further the off-grid operation of small hydropower system. Once the tie line trips, the current countermeasures—such as hydropower shutdown and load shedding—do not fully guarantee the reliability of power supply and the utilization efficiency of hydropower. This paper studies the amplitude-frequency characteristics of SHP off-grid, according to the typical integration of hydropower in South China, a SHP on-grid/off-grid model is established based on the Power Systems Computer Aided Design (PSCAD) platform. It is found that due to the inertia of SHP, the amplitude-frequency characteristics of SHP island system are relatively slow, and the process of non-synchronization with the main grid is gradually expanded. The characteristic of SHP has a certain degree of synchronization with the main grid in the initial island operates stage, which helps to find a novel grid connection method. This paper further proposes the strategy of using fast busbar automatic transfer switch (BATS), which quickly connect the trip-off SHP to the distribution network under the condition of permitting distributed energy grid-connected. The PSCAD simulation results show that proposed strategy has a limited impact on the power grid and prove the effectiveness of the method. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Control of Sustainable Systems)

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16 pages, 3642 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Parametric Methodology to Optimize the Sizing of Solar Collector Fields in Series-Parallel Arrays

by Eduardo Venegas-Reyes, Naghelli Ortega-Avila, Norma A. Rodríguez-Muñoz, Mario Nájera-Trejo, Ignacio R. Martín-Domínguez and Jonathan Ibarra-Bahena

Processes 2019, 7(5), 294; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr7050294 - 17 May 2019

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4170

Abstract

The analysis of solar thermal systems through numerical simulation is of great importance, since it allows predicting the performance of many configurations in any location and under different climatic conditions. Most of the simulation tools are commercial and require different degrees of training; therefore, it is important to develop simple and reliable methodologies to obtain similar results. This study presents a parametric methodology to size stationary solar collector fields, with operating temperatures up to 150 °C. The costs of the collector loop piping and the pumping power of different series–parallel arrays is considered. The proposed tool was validated with experimental data and through simulations using commercial software. The tool allows establishing series–parallel arrays and calculates the volume of the storage tank according to the thermal load. The calculation is based on the system energy balance, where the mass flow and the heat losses in the interconnections of the collectors are taken into account. The number of collectors and the optimal series–parallel array were determined. The results show deviations lower than 7% in the relative error of the temperature profiles and in the solar fraction, with respect to the results obtained by dynamic simulations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Control of Sustainable Systems)

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18 pages, 1179 KiB

Open AccessFeature PaperEditor’s ChoiceArticle

Scheduling of Energy-Integrated Batch Process Systems Using a Pattern-Based Framework

by Sujit Suresh Jogwar, Shrikant Mete and Channamallikarjun S. Mathpati

Processes 2019, 7(2), 103; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr7020103 - 15 Feb 2019

Cited by 3 | Viewed by 4523

Abstract

In this paper, a novel pattern-based method is developed for the generation of optimal schedules for energy-integrated batch process systems. The proposed methodology is based on the analysis of available schedules for the identification of repetitive patterns. It is shown that optimal schedules of energy-integrated batch processes are composed of several repeating sections (or building blocks), and their sizes and relative positions are dependent on the scheduling horizon and constraints. Based on such a decomposition, the proposed pattern-based algorithm generates an optimal schedule by computing the number and sequence of these blocks. The framework is then integrated with rigorous optimization-based approach wherein it is shown that the learning from the pattern-based solution significantly improves the performance of rigorous optimization. The main advantage of the pattern-based method is the significant reduction in computational time required to solve large scheduling problems, thus enabling the possibility of on-line rescheduling. Three literature examples were considered to demonstrate the presence of repeating patterns in optimal schedules of energy-integrated batch systems. The effectiveness of the proposed methodology was illustrated using an integrated reactor-separator system. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Control of Sustainable Systems)

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16 pages, 765 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Integration Multi-Model to Evaluate the Impact of Surface Water Quality on City Sustainability: A Case from Maanshan City in China

by Zhanbo Chen, Hui Zhang and Mingxia Liao

Processes 2019, 7(1), 25; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr7010025 - 8 Jan 2019

Cited by 13 | Viewed by 4197

Abstract

Water pollution is a worldwide problem that needs to be solved urgently and has a significant impact on the efficiency of sustainable cities. The evaluation of water pollution is a Multiple Criteria Decision-Making (MCDM) problem and using a MCDM model can help control water pollution and protect human health. However, different evaluation methods may obtain different results. How to effectively coordinate them to obtain a consensus result is the main aim of this work. The purpose of this article is to develop an ensemble learning evaluation method based on the concept of water quality to help policy-makers better evaluate surface water quality. A valid application is conducted to illustrate the use of the model for the surface water quality evaluation problem, thus demonstrating the effectiveness and feasibility of the proposed model. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Control of Sustainable Systems)

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35 pages, 6245 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dynamic Performance Assessment of Primary Frequency Modulation for a Power Control System Based on MATLAB

by Shizhe Li and Yinsong Wang

Processes 2019, 7(1), 11; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr7010011 - 30 Dec 2018

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4248

Abstract

The primary frequency modulation (PFM) performance of a power control system (PCS) is an important factor affecting the security and stability of a power grid. The traditional control method is proportional integral (PI) control. In order to improve its dynamic control performance, a control method based on the combination of internal model control (IMC) and PI is proposed. Using the method of theoretical assessment and system identification, a simple simulated model of the typical PCS is established. According to the principle of system identification and the least square estimation (LSE) algorithm, the mathematical models of a generator and a built-in model are established. According to the four dynamic performance indexes, the main and auxiliary assessment index of the PCS are defined, and the benchmark and the result of the performance assessment are given. According to three different structures, the PFM dynamic performance of the PCS is analyzed separately. According to the dynamic performance assessment index of PFM, the structure of the control system and the influence of different parameters on the performance of the PCS are analyzed under ideal conditions. The appropriate control structure and controller parameters are determined. Secondly, under the non-ideal condition, the influence of the actual valve flow coefficient on the performance of the control system is studied under two different valve control modes. The simulation results show that the internal model combined with PI has better dynamic control performance and stronger robustness than the traditional PI control, and it also has better application prospects for thermal power plants. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Control of Sustainable Systems)

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35 pages, 7173 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Performance Assessment of a Boiler Combustion Process Control System Based on a Data-Driven Approach

by Shizhe Li and Yinsong Wang

Processes 2018, 6(10), 200; https://doi.org/10.3390/pr6100200 - 19 Oct 2018

Cited by 7 | Viewed by 6787

Abstract

For the requirements of performance assessment of the thermal power plant control process, the combustion control system of a 330 MW generator unit in a power plant is studied. Firstly, the five variables that affect the process control performance are determined by the mechanism analysis method. Then, a data-driven performance assessment method based on the operational data collection from the supervisory information system was proposed. Using principal component analysis technique, we found that five different variables have different degrees of effect on the performance of the combustion process. By means of qualitative and quantitative analysis, five contribution rates of different variables affecting the performance index of the system were obtained. After that, the data is normalized to the non-dimensional variable, the performance assessment index of the boiler combustion process is defined, and the classification and assessment criterion of it are given. Through using the proposed method on the operation data of the 1# boiler and 2# boiler within 1 day, the performance indexes are calculated and achieved during different time periods. Analysis of the results shows that this method will not generate additional disturbance to the normal operation of the system, and it can achieve a simple, reliable, accurate and rapid qualitative and quantitative analysis of the performance of the boiler combustion control system, and also it can be extended and applied to other multivariable control systems. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Design and Control of Sustainable Systems)

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