Batch chemical processing has in the past decade enjoyed a return to respectability as a valuable, effective, and often preferred mode of process operation. This book provides the first comprehensive and authoritative coverage that reviews the state of the art development in the field of batch chemical systems engineering, applications in various chemical industries, current practice in different parts of the world, and future technical challenges. Developments in enabling computing technologies such as simulation, mathematical programming, knowledge based systems, and prognosis of how these developments would impact future progress in the batch domain are covered. Design issues for complex unit processes and batch plants as well as operational issues such as control and scheduling are also addressed.

Plenary Papers.- Current Status and Challenges of Batch Process Systems Engineering.- Future Directions for Research and Development in Batch Process Systems Engineering.- Status of Batch Processing Systems Engineering in the World.- Role of Batch Processing in the Chemical Process Industry.- Present Status of Batch Process Systems Engineering in Japan.- Batch Processing Systems Engineering in Hungary.- Design of Batch Processes.- Design of Batch Processes.- Predesigning a Multiproduct Batch Plant by Mathematical Programming.- The Influence of Resource Constraints on the Retrofit Design of Multipurpose Batch Chemical Plants.- Design of Operation Policies for Batch Distillation.- Sorption Processes.- Control of Batch Processes.- Monitoring Batch Processes.- Tendency Models for Estimation, Optimization and Control of Batch Processes.- Control Strategies for a Combined Batch Reactor / Batch Distillation Process.- A Perspective on Estimation and Prediction for Batch Reactors.- A Comparative Study of Neural Networks and Nonlinear Time Series Techniques for Dynamic Modeling of Chemical Processes.- Enabling Sciences: Simulation Techniques.- Systems of Differential-Algebraic Equations.- Features of Discrete Event Simulation.- Simulation Software for Batch Process Engineering.- The Role of Parallel and Distributed Computing Methods in Process Systems Engineering.- Enabling Sciences: Mathematical Programming.- Optimization.- Mixed-Integer Optimization Techniques for the Design and Scheduling of Batch Processes.- Recent Developments in the Evaluation and Optimization of Flexible Chemical Processes.- Enabling Sciences: Knowledge Based Systems.- Artificial Intelligence Techniques in Batch Process Systems Engineering.- Elements of Knowledge Based Systems - Representation andInference.- Selected Topics in Artificial Intelligence for Planning and Scheduling Problems, Knowledge Acquisition, and Machine Learning.- Integrating Unsupervised and Supervised Learning in Neural Networks for Fault Diagnosis.- Scheduling and Planning of Batch Processes.- Overview of Scheduling and Planning of Batch Process Operations.- GanttKit - An Interactive Scheduling Tool.- An Integrated System for Batch Processing.- An Interval-Based Mathematical Model for the Scheduling of Resource-Constrained Batch Chemical Processes.- Applications of Batch Processing in Various Chemical Processing Industries.- Batch Processing in Textile and Leather Industry.- Baker's Yeast Plant Scheduling for Wastewater Equalization.- Simple Model Predictive Control Studies on a Batch Polymerization Reactor.- Retrofit Design and Energy Integration of Brewery Operations.- List of Participants.