Loading...

Development Of An Ontologically Aware Agent Based System For Environmental Damage Assessment Of Chemical Plants

Soltani, Fatemeh | 2025

0 Viewed
  1. Type of Document: M.Sc. Thesis
  2. Language: Farsi
  3. Document No: 58650 (06)
  4. University: Sharif University of Technology
  5. Department: Chemical and Petroleum Engineering
  6. Advisor(s): Bozorgmehri Boozarjomehri, Ramin
  7. Abstract:
  8. The increasing complexity of process units, along with more stringent environmental regulations, has emphasized the need for advanced and intelligent tools to evaluate and improve the environmental impact of chemical industries. In this study, an ontologically aware agent-based system was developed for automation of process environmental impact assessment. Methanol production plant was chosen as the case study, and its dynamic simulation by Hysys was used to provide process data required for this assessment at various conditions. Input and output streams were automatically transferred to OpenLCA, where life cycle assessment (LCA) was carried out using the Ecoinvent 3.1 database and the CML 2001 method. Model validation against the reference study of Liu et al. (2024) showed high consistency, with deviations in the main indicators being below 5%. These results confirm the reliability and accuracy of the proposed framework. The contribution analysis revealed that the reforming and steam generation unit (Make & Add Steam on Site) accounted for the largest share of emissions, particularly for GWP and AP. Electricity from wind power reduced greenhouse gas emissions but contributed significantly to HTP and ADP due to the consumption of rare metals in wind turbine manufacturing. In contrast, the container glass unit had a negligible impact on all categories. Sensitivity analysis of key parameters showed that ±20% changes in natural gas as the main feed of the plant had minor effects on environmental indicators due to process stability, whereas variations in steam flow to the reforming unit had the most pronounced effects. An increase of 20% in steam flow significantly raised GWP, AP, EP, and HTP, while a decrease improved all these indicators. Variations in reactor operating temperature showed comparatively limited impacts. Overall, the developed framework not only demonstrated high accuracy in LCA modeling but also identified the critical hotspots and sensitive variables of the methanol production process. With its real-time update capability, adaptability to other processes, and potential integration with industrial monitoring systems, the proposed system can serve as a powerful tool for informed decision-making and sustainable optimization in the chemical industry
  9. Keywords:
  10. Life Cycle Assessment ; Agent Based Modeling ; Methanol ; Aspen HYSYS Software ; OpenLCA Software ; Ontological Analysis ; Environmental Assessment

 Digital Object List

 Bookmark

No TOC