Modular Design of Carbon-Hydrogen-Oxygen Symbiosis Networks over a Time Horizon with Limited Natural Resources

Industrial symbiosis through the synergistic integration of industrial facilities is an effective strategy for sustainable development. A particularly important class of industrial symbiosis deals with Carbon-Hydrogen-Oxygen SYmbiosis Networks (CHOSYNs) in which hydrocarbon streams from various plants are exchanged, chemically converted, separated, and allocated to enhance the overall productivity, profitability, and sustainability of the participating plants. Previous research contributions in the area of designing optimal CHOSYNs have addressed several important classes of the problem. These include the dismantling of chemical species and reassembling them in a stoichiometrically valid manner, the use of atomic information to identify multi-scale targets for mass utilization and intensification, the selection of anchors and tenants, and the design under uncertainty in stream characteristics. This paper addresses two novel categories of the CHOSYN design problem by addressing: modular design and implementation of CHOSYNs over a time horizon and incorporation of limitations on natural resources supplying the network. Decisions at critical points on the implementation timeline are made such that capital productivity is optimized and profitability is maximized. An optimization approach is introduced to provide the computing platform for implementing the conceptual framework.