關於我們 About Us

The Process Systems Engineering (PSE) laboratory is led by Prof. Cheng-Liang Chen, Prof. Jeff Ward, Prof. Bor-Yih Yu and Prof. I-Lung Chien of the Department of Chemical Engineering, National Taiwan University. Our group deals with the design, analysis, control, and optimization of complex systems that involve chemical and physical processes. Our research area is an interdisciplinary field that combines principles and methods from various fields including chemical engineering, environmental engineering, control engineering, computer science and mathematics.

We develop theoretical models that describe the performance of process systems and use those models to improve or optimize the design and operation of these processes, improving their performance in terms of efficiency, cost, safety, and environmental impact. Individual processes are analyzed at the unit operation level, and complete processes are synthesized from the constituent unit operations. Our research results have been widely implemented in the process industries such as chemical, petrochemical and plastics.

Researchers in our lab use software tools such as Aspen Packages (Aspen Plus, Aspen Dynamics, Aspen Batch, Aspen Adsorption, Aspen Energy Analyzer, Aspen Custom Modeler, Aspen Exchanger Design and Rating), Comsol Multiphysics, Ansys Fluent and etc. to build theoretical models and analyze and optimize process performance. These software tools are also used in the industry for steady-state and dynamic simulations of process systems. MATLAB and Python are also used for advanced control systems development, optimization, and data analysis.

The topics and applications on which our lab is focusing include:

Process Synthesis and Design: 

This involves the use of computer-aided techniques to design and optimize process systems, such as process flowsheeting, heat and mass integration, and process optimization. This includes the design of new processes as well as retrofitting and upgrading existing ones. Principles including unit operation, thermodynamics, reaction kinetics, and the heat and mass transfer are used to design and model the process systems.

Process Modeling and Optimization: 

This involves the use of mathematical techniques or models to predict the behavior of process systems in order to analyze and improve the efficiency and effectiveness of industrial processes. This can include analyzing data from a process to identify bottlenecks and inefficiencies, developing theoretical models to simulate and predict the behavior of a process, and using optimization techniques to identify the optimal design and the best operating conditions for a process.

Process Dynamics and Control: 

This involves the study of the dynamic behavior of process systems and the development of control systems or strategies. Control systems including PID feedback control are used to control the process systems. Engineering software and theoretical models are used to predict and control the transient behavior of these systems. This includes modeling and control of non-linear, systems and the development of advanced control strategies such as model predictive control, optimal control and real-time optimization.

Process Safety and Risk Management: 

PSE strategies can be used to predict the potential hazards associated with process systems and to design safety systems to mitigate these risks. This includes hazard identification, risk assessment, and the design of safety instrumentation systems.

Supply Chain Management: 

PSE techniques can be used to optimize the design and operation of supply chains, from the sourcing of raw materials to the delivery of final products. This includes optimization of logistics and transportation systems, inventory management, and the coordination of production and distribution.

Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD): 

PSE can include the use of CFD models to simulate and analyze the behavior of process systems involving fluids, such as flow in pipelines or heat transfer in heat exchangers. This includes the simulation of incompressible flow, compressible flow, multiphase flow, transport phenomena and turbulence modeling.

Overall, PSE research has played a significant role in making process systems more sustainable and efficient, leading to a wide range of benefits for society, including economic, environmental, and social benefits. 

Finally, please feel free to contact us to learn more about our laboratory.