Process as a battery: Robust dynamic optimal operation of zeolite crystallization in a COBR with respect to the carbon footprint of electric power

The process industries are increasingly electrifying their processes in order to reduce the carbon footprint by the use of “green” electric power. However, the supply of power from renewable sources and the prices of electric energy are volatile which creates an opportunity and a challenge. On the one hand, the volatility of the price creates an opportunity to reduce cost and at the same time reduce the CO2-footprint as the price and the availability of power from renewables are strongly correlated. On the other hand, the plants must be flexible enough to adapt to the price levels and the operational strategy must become more dynamic. This paper investigates the flexible operation of a continuous tubular reactor for the hydrothermal synthesis of zeolites with the goal to determine the economically optimal operating trajectory in the presence of parametric model-plant mismatch. The robust dynamic optimization strategy is presented and the benefits over the usage of the nominal model are evaluated.