New Appoaches in the Process Industries: The Manufacturing Plant of the Future

Competition from emerging and developing countries, challengesrelated to energy and water, the continuing increase in the globalpopulation and the obligation to be sustainable are all impactingdeveloped countries such as the United States, France, etc.Manufacturing has been almost totally neglected by these developedcountries and thus there is a strong need to review R&D and thedevelopment and industrialization processes.

This is a prerequisitefor maintaining and improving welfare and quality oflife.   The industrialization process can be defined asthe process of converting research or laboratory experiments into aphysical tool capable of producing a product of value for customersof specified markets.

Such a process implies knowledge of BAT (bestavailable techniques) in chemical engineering, plant design,production competitiveness, the proper utilization of tools(toolbox concept) such as value assessment, value engineering,eco–design, LCA (lifecycle analysis), process simulation, modeling,innovation and appropriate metrics usage.  These are mandatoryto ensure commercial success and covered by the authors of thisbook.