Editorial pubs.acs.org/IECR
Preface to the Special Issue on Process Engineering of Energy Systems
O
For such a broad topic, even with the singular focus on process systems engineering applications, no single volume can be expected to provide comprehensive coverage. Our objective with this volume is therefore not to be exhaustive but rather to illustrate the breadth of the emerging energy systems engineering subdiscipline. It is in such a spirit that the authors and I offer this selection to the community.
ne of the most important challenges of the 21st centuryif not the most important oneis the secure, reliable, and sustainable supply of energy, ideally without destroying the environment. In much of the developed world (and even in some parts of the developing world), it is becoming increasingly clear that the twin objectives of “national security” and “economic security” cannot be met in a sustainable manner without what might rightly be referred to as “energy security”the meeting of global energy demand in a sustainable fashion. One of the predictable consequences of the ever-increasing worldwide demand for safe, reliable, economical, and environmentally responsible energy is an unprecedented surge in fundamental and applied research into various aspects of energy: energy production, conversion, storage, transmission, utilization, and conservation; fossil fuels, nuclear energy, and various forms of renewable energy; sustainable development, reduction of air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions; and much, much more. As the basic science and fundamental engineering components of the inevitably complex solutions to the “energy security” problem begin to emerge, it is also becoming clearer that the practical implementations of these solutions will require technological innovations that are informed by a deep appreciation of societal, regulatory, and public policy concerns. This is the context in which chemical engineering principles in general and process systems engineering concepts in particular have been applied with increasing success in developing innovative solutions to the energy problem. Beyond the specific solutions, important as they are in their own rights, there is now an emerging subspecialty, Energy Systems Engineeringthe process engineering of energy systems which focuses on developing the overarching principles and technical tools required for conceptualization, analysis, design, and, above all, integration and operation of complex energy systems. As with classical process systems engineering, mathematical modeling, optimization, and control feature prominently in the emerging framework. This special issue contains a collection of papers selected to highlight and consolidate under a single volume a sampling of some recent results of the application of process systems engineering in energy research. The papers17 in all and submitted by invitation onlycover a variety of topics, such as: biorefineries (sustainable synthesis, strategic location via supply chain optimization); fuel cells (modeling and analysis, energy conversion with solid-oxide systems, and operation using syngas from coal gasifiers); material manufacture for solar cells; hybrid inorganic−organic membranes; the performance of wind turbines airfoils; real-time optimization of building systems, and temperature control and optimal energy management; carbon dioxide (CO2) sequestration; even the design of liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants as well as the design, control, and economic operation of integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) power plants; and much more. © 2013 American Chemical Society
Babatunde A. Ogunnaike, Associate Editor
■
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware 19716, United States (
[email protected])
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Notes
Views expressed in this editorial are those of the author and not necessarily the views of the ACS. The authors declare no competing financial interest.
Special Issue: Process Engineering of Energy Systems Received: February 5, 2013 Accepted: February 5, 2013 Published: March 6, 2013 3043
dx.doi.org/10.1021/ie400427a | Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2013, 52, 3043−3043
