Günter Wozny

• Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Prof. h.c. Dr. h.c.
• Chair at Technische Universität Berlin

Developing an efficient sorbent and adopting an ethylene adsorption separation unit in downstream of an oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) process were the main focus of the present study. Since the mole fraction of the generated ethylene in the OCM reactor outlet is relatively low, the processing cost of the accompanying components and thereby th...

Performance of Oxidative Coupling of Methane (OCM) reactor using the research benchmark Mn-Na2WO4/SiO2 catalyst under various sets of operating conditions was experimentally investigated. In particular, the impacts of varying the operating parameters (630 combination-sets) namely; reactor set-temperature (in 6 levels in the range of 750–875 °C), fe...

This contribution presents a novel integrated engineering tool PlantDesign, which harmonizes multi-disciplinary engineering tasks during the plant life cycle in process industries. Hereby the focus is on heterogeneous software interoperability and the data handover between different software and disciplines to enable a consistent data management an...

A multi-aspect analysis of low-pressure catalytic hydrogenation of CO2 for methanol production is reported in the first part (part I) of this paper. This includes an extensive review of distinguished low-pressure catalytic CO2-hydrogenation systems. Specifically, the results of the conducted systematic experimental investigation on the impacts of s...

In the second part of this paper (Part II), the potentials and characteristics of an industrial-scale Oxidative Coupling of Methane (OCM) process integrated with CO2-hydrogenation, ethane dehydrogenation, and methane reforming processes are highlighted. This novel process concept comprises a direct conversion of methane to ethane and ethylene and f...

A multi-perspectives analysis of the potentials, challenges and characteristics of possible future industrial-scale ethylene production via Oxidative Coupling of Methane (OCM) process was performed in this research. In doing so, miniplant-scale experimental data were utilized to scale-up, predict and represent the performance of the unit operations...

This work explored the use of a zeolite molecular sieve as adsorbent material in the separation of effluent gases from an oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) process. The molecular sieve granules were synthesized, characterized , and evaluated as adsorbent material at the mini-plant scale. Dynamic adsorption experiments were performed at different...

The ideas and requirements for digitization in the process industry are manifold – the interoperability of the tools in use by engineers is an important prerequisite. The strong heterogeneity of existing data formats and standards as well as the variety of proprietary and company‐specific solutions confronts the process industry with huge challenge...

Model-driven software engineering is a well-known concept in computer science, but scarcely applied in chemical engineering. This contribution presents a first implementation of model-driven development of customized code for simulation and optimization based on equation-oriented models in process science. Transferring the model-driven approach to...

Some technical challenges for the oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) process, mainly related to the selective and stable performance of its catalyst, reactor, and downstream units, still need to be overcome prior a possible industrial implementation of the OCM process. Our intensive research activities, including laband miniplant-scale experimenta...

The present study evaluates the capability of ion exclusion chromatography (IEC) of short chain aliphatic carboxylic acids using a cation exchange column (8% sulfonated cross-linked styrene-divinylbenzene copolymer) in different experimental conditions. Since one of the prerequisites to the development of an efficient carboxylic acid separation pro...

Biogas is an important renewable energy source and potential raw material for the chemical industry. Its utilization frequently requires a treatment and/or upgrade step. The aim here is to maximize the exergy efficiency of a high-pressure water scrubbing process for upgrading biogas into biomethane by coupling a sequential modular simulation flowsh...

Addressing the need for comprehensive analysis of the potentials and characteristics of ethylene production via Oxidative Coupling of Methane (OCM) process was the main motivation of performing the current study. In this context, technical, environmental and economic characteristics of alternative OCM process design structures including the integra...

This contribution introduces the engineering tool PlantDesign of the environment MOSAICmodeling, which is a prototypical implementation of approaches to improve interoperability.

In this contribution, the automatic creation of 3D models for Modular Process Units (MPUs) of chemical plants is presented. A prototype is successfully implemented within the PlantDesign Feature of the modeling environment MOSAIC. It enables the automatic source code generation for detailed 3D models. The constructive design of the MPU models inclu...

Dedicated software exists for both process simulation and optimization. Given the advantages of simultaneous optimization schemes, engineers are frequently tasked with reimplementing their simulation models in optimization languages or environments. In this contribution, a workflow is introduced to model chemical engineering models in MathML and to...

This work presents a detailed description of the synthesis of a 5A zeolite and its further granulation into molecular sieve beads. The XRD spectrum of synthesized crystals showed the characteristic peaks of a type A sodium zeolite, and XRF results of the ion-exchanged material with a calcium chloride solution allowed us to verify the formation of a...

Investigations on the overall gas holdup and the oxygen mass transfer in the internal loop airlift reactor were implemented by numerical modeling and experimental validation . The population balance model (PBM) was introduced as the general model to characterize the bubble behaviors, i.e. bubble breakage and coalescence. Bubble coalescence, as a re...

In this contribution, the chance constrained optimization approach is applied for the dynamic real-time optimization under uncertainty of a hydroformylation mini-plant. For this purpose, a dynamic model of the plant is designed in MOSAIC consisting of 23 units, 12 components, and 25 streams. Three uncertain parameters were identified: the activatio...

In this contribution we present a novel approach for users of an equation-based modelling environment to create highly customized, reusable transformation models for automatic code generation. When such a model is applied on an equation system describing a unit operation, export-/implementation-ready simulation code can be generated for CAPE-OPEN-c...

In this contribution, a flexible and free of charge framework for the parallelized solution of general nonlinear equation systems on a wide range of parallel platforms is presented. The new framework consists of a MOSAIC-based source code generator and a coupling library between the numerical libraries PETSc and ADOL-C. The functionality of the cod...

Numerous types of software exist for simulation and optimization of processes in chemical engineering. This is a special challenge towards education in computer-aided chemical engineering, where the focus should rather be on understanding the features of different algorithms than on the code implementation of a model in a certain environment/langua...

The Oxidative Coupling of Methane (OCM) is a direct path for the conversion of methane into ethene. Carbon dioxide is generated as an undesired reaction by-product and must be removed in the downstream separation section. This is commonly achieved by amine scrubbing, which is an energy-intensive process. An alternative hybrid process employing gas...

In this contribution a framework for the solution of chance-constrained MINLP problems is described and tested to solve of process synthesis problems with strongly nonlinear and non-convex subsystems. The framework can handle the appearance of non-monotonic relationships between uncertain inputs and chance-constrained outputs, the appearance of mul...

Having considered the promising potentials of the oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) technology with regard to the costs, energy, and environmental emissions in the production of ethylene, this process has been intensively studied by several academic and industrial groups worldwide for the last thirty years. In this work, a techno-economic analysi...

This contribution deals with the integration of custom unit operations into flowsheeting software. By sketching the workflow of designing novel processes in a conventional simulation software and introducing a respective modeling scenario some challenges regarding collaboration and model-solution are named: the exchange of models, the definition of...

This contribution discusses and compares the implementation of moving-horizon (MHE) and advanced step moving-horizon state estimation (asMHE) for the hydroformylation mini-plant at Technische Universität Berlin as part of the Collaborative Research Center InPROMPT. Moreover, robust estimators are used to reduce the impact of gross error on the esti...

In this contribution, chance-constrained programming is applied for the real-time optimization (RTO) under uncertainty of a hydroformylation mini-plant. For this purpose, a dynamic model of the mini-plant consisting of 23 units, 12 components, and 25 streams. The model contains five uncertain parameters: the activation energy of the main reaction,...

Reaction monitoring in disperse systems, such as emulsions, is of significant technical importance in various disciplines like biotechnological engineering, chemical industry, food science, and a growing number other technical fields. These systems pose several challenges when it comes to process analytics, such as heterogeneity of mixtures, change...

A major industrial reaction based on homogeneous catalysis is hydroformylation for the production of aldehydes from alkenes and syngas. Hydroformylation in microemulsions, which is currently under investigation at Technische Universitat Berlin on a mini-plant scale, was identified as a cost efficient approach which also enhances product selectivity...

The implementation of the hydroformylation reaction for the conversion of long-chain alkenes into aldehydes still remains challenging on an industrial scale. One possible approach to overcoming this challenge is to apply tunable systems employing surfactants. Therefore, a novel process concept for the hydroformylation of long-chain alkenes to aldeh...

The oxidative coupling of methane is a direct path for converting methane into ethene (ethylene), which is one of the most important building blocks for the chemical industry. Carbon dioxide is generated as a byproduct in the reactor and must be separated in order to produce the pure olefin. This step is commonly achieved by amine scrubbing, in whi...

The lack of informative experimental data and the complexity of first-principles battery models make the recovery of kinetic, transport, and thermodynamic parameters complicated. We present a computational framework that combines sensitivity, singular value, and Monte Carlo analysis to explore how different sources of experimental data affect param...

The effect of operating conditions and feed characteristics on the performance of the oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) reactor was investigated numerically by analyzing the concentration of the reactants and products along the fluidized-bed reactor. Aimed at modeling such multiphase flow, a two-fluid model based on the kinetic theory of granular...

The oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) reaction-system was investigated in a packed-bed membrane reactor (PBMR) numerically via a comprehensive Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) study. In this context, the complete set of momentum, mass, and energy balances were solved through finite-volume method in cylindrical coordinate system. Fractional-Step...

Bubble Sauter Mean Diameter (SMD) in gas-liquid multiphase system is of particular interest and the quantification of gas characteristics is still a challenge today. In this contribution, multiphase Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) simulations are combined with Population Balance Model (PBM) to investigate the bubble SMD in baffled stirred tank re...

This paper focuses on the challenges in model development related to model reuse and compatibility and integration of different tools that are used in modelling. A link between two modelling tools, the computer-aided modelling framework of the ICAS system and the modelling environment, MOSAIC, has been established, in order to provide a wider range...

In process systems engineering models are used for many applications, e.g., process simulation, optimization or control. Various types of models such as shortcut or rigorous models exist. An exchange and reuse thereof is highly desirable, but seldom performed. This article focuses on current approaches for developing and solving process models in s...

In this contribution implications of using different rigorous thermodynamic models for the description of the liquid-liquid equilibrium (LLE) appearing in an hydroformylation process of 1-dodecene in a decane/N,N-dimethylformamide thermomorphic solvent system are discussed. Besides a fully predictive GE model (UNIFAC Dortmund), a representative of...

Oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) represents a process concept for conversion of methane as a major component of natural gas into chemical intermediates such as ethylene at high temperatures between 700 and 900 °C. The objective of this work is to study the performance of two miniplant-scale fluidized-bed reactors made of FeCr alloy and quartz gl...

Light olefins from the petrochemical industry have a steady and growing demand because they are starting blocks for the synthesis of higher added value chemicals such as polymers, rubbers, plasticizers, gasoline additives, and others products. Olefins (e. g. ethene, propene) are generally obtained by steam or thermal cracking of light oil fractions...

We investigate aqueous multiphase systems for catalytic gas/liquid reactions, namely, the rhodium-catalyzed hydroformylation of the long-chain olefin 1-dodecene. The multiphase system was formulated from 1-dodecene, water, and a nonionic surfactant, which increases the solubility between the two nonmiscible liquid phases. On the basis of these syst...

Recovering kinetic, transport, and thermodynamic parameters is a key task in the development of battery models. This task is complicated because of the lack of informative experimental data and because of the complexity of the associated partial differential equation models. We present a computational framework that combines a variety of techniques...

Recovering kinetic, transport, and thermodynamic parameters is a key task in the development of battery models. This task is complicated because of the lack of informative experimental data and because of the complexity of the associated partial differential equation models. We present a computational framework that combines a variety of techniques...

For absorption processes with fluctuating feed gas compositions it is vital to continuously adjust the operation point to achieve energy efficiency. In this contribution a Raman-based advanced process control (APC) is introduced for the absorption of carbon dioxide (CO2) using an aqueous solution of monoethanolamine (MEA). The APC is based on a Ram...

Uncertainty is a crucial topic for the decision making process in almost every scientific field. Therefore, the correct implementation into optimization problems is vital. Herein, the chance-constrained optimization approach is applied and compared with a standard Monte Carlo optimization on a CSTR model. The two approaches are expanded by limiting...

This contribution deals with the mutual integration of existing CAPE software products developed at different universities in Germany, Denmark, and Italy. After the motivation MOSAIC is presented as the bridge building the connection between the modelling tool ICAS-MoT and the numerical processing tool BzzMath. In the main part a case-study is pres...

The focus of this contribution is the separation of carbon dioxide from biogas and hydrocarbon containing gaseous reaction products using a high flux flat sheet membrane. The thin selective layer of the membranes is made from the commercial blockcopolymer Polyactive®. The membrane material is manufactured reproducibly on a technical scale and insta...

An efficient decomposition approach is applied to the optimization of a beer fermentation reactor modeled with a set of strongly nonlinear differential equations. The optimal cooling rate policy is developed to maximize the product concentration within a minimum batch time. A special property of the system is the existence of a state variable inequ...

The handling of multiphase systems applied in mixer-settler processes, in which phase separation characteristics are exploited, is to date still a challenge for the chemical industry. Approaches for analyzing the influencing parameters on these systems can be of use, especially regarding equipment design and technical applicability. In this contrib...

Discrete ill-posed problems are often encountered in engineering applications. Still, their sound analysis is not yet common practice and difficulties arising in the determination of uncertain parameters are typically not assigned properly. This contribution provides a tutorial review on methods for identifiability analysis, regularization techniqu...

The catalytic system Mn–Na2WO4/SiO2, known for its relatively stable performance for oxidative coupling of methane (OCM), has been thoroughly investigated in the past. In order to evaluate the catalyst performance, micro-fixed-bed reactors were used almost exclusively. This study aims to answer the question of whether this catalytic system would be...

In this paper, a general dynamic model of a pseudo-homogeneous catalytic plug flow reactor (PFR) is developed, which does not apply the traditional assumption of negligible difference between enthalpy and internal energy inside its energy balance. Such a model is then compared to a second dynamic PFR model, whose energy conservation equation identi...

Optimization is scarcely ever carried out during process synthesis. Nonetheless, this contribution shows that optimization at the design stage can be vital to make new process concepts economically feasible and open up new, cleaner production paths. Herein, a hybrid separation system for the carbon dioxide removal from product gas of the oxidative...

Models are prone to errors, often due to uncertain parameters. For optimization under uncertainty, the larger the amount of uncertain parameters, the higher the computational effort and the possibility of obtaining unrealistic results. In this contribution it is assumed that not all uncertain parameters need to be regarded and focus should be laid...

In this experimental study, a novel sol-gel method was developed to synthesize a 1.9%Mn-5%Na2WO4/SiO2 catalyst for oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) reactions. The performance of the synthesized catalyst was investigated in fixed-bed and porous packed-bed membrane reactors. Particularly, the effects of operating temperature, methane-to-oxygen rat...

Within the Collaborative Research Center InPROMPT / TRR 63 in Germany the process concept known as hydroformylation in microemulsions is investigated. The aim is to perform the hydroformylation of long-chain alkenes while utilizing water-soluble rhodium-based catalysts. The surfactant enables the mixing of two immiscible liquids and after the react...

In the Collaborative Research Center InPROMPT / TRR 63 hydroformylation in microemulsions is investigated. For this purpose, a mini-plant has been constructed at Technische Universität Berlin. This process concept has proven to be challenging from an operation point of view. Therefore, model-assisted process operating strategies are applied, to con...

In this contribution a Raman spectrometer based control structure for the heating of a desorption column is proposed. For this purpose calibration experiments for the absorption of carbon dioxide using monoethanolamine solutions are carried out and calibration models are developed to measure both carbon dioxide liquid loads and monoethanolamine mas...

The development of new processes or modifications of existing industrial processes often leads to acceptance issues, because not all real conditions can be reproduced in non industrial facilities. The investigations under ideal conditions are mostly indispensable for scientific tasks but lead to risks resulting from transferring university results...

As part of the Cluster of Excellence “Unifying Concepts in Catalysis” a mini-plant for the Oxidative Coupling of Methane has been built at Technische Universität Berlin (TU Berlin). For the subsequent product gas separation an absorption desorption process and two gas separation membranes for the removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) are installed. Initi...

Considering uncertainty is crucial for the decision making process in chemical engineering. However, when working in optimization under uncertainty a systematic selection of relevant uncertain parameters is required. In this contribution, an algorithm is presented in which uncertain parameters are selected based on their linear independence to one...

The oxidative coupling of methane presents an alternative for the production of ethene as opposed to the standard steam cracking of crude oil. A drawback of the reaction is the byproduct creation of CO2. Due to economic reasons, CO2 needs to be removed from the product gas efficiently, while keeping the ethene loss below 5%. Therefore, an overall a...

Optimization usually requires models, which are computationally speaking less expensive than models commonly used for simulations. At the same time, process optimization and model predictive control etc. require dependable accuracies in addition to the fastness. To demystify the art of preparing process models for optimization, a workflow is presen...

Partial differential algebraic equation systems (PDAE) frequently appear in chemical engineering and their discretization is most often an issue when preparing a simulation wherein they appear. In this contribution, an algorithm is presented and implemented facilitating the general analysis of PDAE systems appearing often in chemical engineering pr...

Die optimale Versuchsplanung ist ein methodischer Ansatz zur Kalibrierung und Validierung von Modellen mit experimentellen Daten. Sie besitzt ein großes Potenzial zur Reduktion des experimentellen Aufwands und zur Maximierung der Modellgenauigkeit. In dieser Arbeit werden jüngste Entwicklungen zur Verbesserung der Adaptivität der Methodik diskutier...

In this contribution an extension of the principle of modeling in the documentation level towards the model integration in process modeling tools is presented. The definition of documentation‐based, problem‐specific interfaces allows a highly specific code generation of customized user models, including physical property calls and port definitions,...

In this paper, the problem of the data and model management in the lifecycle of a process plant is addressed by presenting the database structure of the modeling and optimization platform MOSAIC. The first step of data integration is done by combining models and plant data into one central database. This has advantages for both plant design and pla...

This paper focuses on the detailed investigations of the (multi-) liquid flow behaviors on an inclined stainless steel plate in simulations and experiments. Simulations are carried out with FLUENT 6.3; a three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics model considering the gravity, surface tension, and local drag force is developed and presented. Ex...

A new method for adaptive control of simultaneous saccharification and fermentation of starch to ethanol by the recombinant strain Saccharomyces cerevisiae YPB—G is proposed. The process monitoring is enriched by new software sensors of glucose consumption and production rates. The difference between their values is defined as a control marker whic...

Oxidative coupling of methane is a promising reaction to convert raw materials like natural gas or biogas into useful products, instead of using them as fuel for combustion processes. One of the biggest challenges is avoiding the deep oxidation of methane to carbon oxides. Another one is the thermodynamic stability of the coupling products, which i...

The performance of the Oxidative Coupling of Methane (OCM) reactions in a porous ceramic packed bed membrane reactor was experimentally investigated using an Mn–Na2WO4/SiO2 catalyst. A novel practical method was applied to modify the available commercial α-alumina membrane and shape it to the form of an inert fine oxygen distributor in an OCM membr...

Performance of the oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) reactions in a porous packed bed membrane reactor (PBMR) was analyzed using a detailed two-dimensional model which considers the mass and heat transfer in both radial and axial directions. In order to investigate the relative effects of diffusion and catalyst activity on the predicted performan...

One of the main problems in process optimization lies in the non-linearity, non-convexity, and sheer size of existing process models. In this contribution, a systematic workflow for process systems engineers developing models suitable for optimization purposes is presented. Hereby, three fundamentally different cases are discussed: the availability...

In this experimental research, the performance of the oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) reactions in a porous packed bed membrane reactor was investigated. A commercially available porous alpha-alumina membrane was modified to obtain the characteristics needed for a stable and catalytically inert OCM membrane reactor. The silica-sol impregnation-...

A novel dual-membrane reactor concept was introduced for integrating the oxidative coupling of methane (OCM) and CO2 methane reforming (dry reforming) reactors. The OCM reactions occur in a conventional porous packed bed membrane reactor structure and a portion of the undesired produced CO2 and generated heat are transferred through a molten-carbon...

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In this work, an approach is proposed for the implementation of an optimal aeration control strategy for Waste Water Treatment in a SBR (Sequencing Batch Reactor) for dual nitrification-denitrification [1]. The optimal numbers of aeration-anoxic intervals as well as the duration of each interval are to be determined. Thus, two different objectives...

In the Collaborative Research Center SFB/TR 63 InPROMPT, novel process concepts for substitutable base chemicals in multiphase systems are being developed. Hereby, next generation liquid-liquid processes based on innovative solvent concepts are currently under research. One of these concepts is concerned with the hydroformylation of long-chained al...

The Oxidative Coupling of Methane (OCM) presents a possibility for catalytically turning methane into longer hydrocarbons, especially ethylene and ethane. Hence, it could be an opportunity for replacing oil with methane from natural or biogas for producing base chemicals such as polymers, ethylene oxide etc. As part of the Cluster of Excellence U...