Dr.-Ing. Heiko Radatz

Increasing economic challenges as shorter product lifecycles and volatile market demands lead to the need for flexible production plants. A promising approach to face these challenges is a modularized production plant. In a modularized production plant, predefined apparatuses with fixed size and design, called equipment modules, are used. Up to now, apparatuses are designed towards minimum costs and highest efficiency for a specific design capacity. When using equipment modules, the focus is moving from the design to the selection of the most suitable equipment module. This leads to reduced time and costs for engineering efforts due to the reuse of engineering work.

Economic considerations proved the advantages of modular plant design. However, an overall approach for modular plant design of chemical and biochemical production plants does not exist yet.

Thus, the aim of my PhD work is the development of an overall approach for modular plant design – “From process simulation to a modular production plant”.

Consequently, my research covers the following topics:

   • Decision criteria for/against modularization of plants/apparatuses

   • Design of equipment regarding flexibility

   • Energy efficiency of equipment modules

   • Selection of equipment modules for modular plant setups

   • Comparison of plant expansion strategies

By covering all these parts, an overall approach for modular plant design – from process simulation to a modular production plant – will be developed and demonstrated on chemical and biochemical example processes.

Additionally, I am working in the TOP-REF project “Innovative tools, methods and indicators for optimizing the resource efficiency in process industry”. The work covers process modeling of a steam cracker and crude distillation plant, metamodeling approaches and sensitivity analysis for parameter identification. Further information can be found on the webpage of TOP-REF: www.toprefproject.eu

Dissertation

• H. Radatz
  Off-the-rack instead of Tailor-made Module-based Plant Design at Equipment Level
  TU Dortmund, 2021, Verlag Dr. Hut, München, ISBN 9789-3-8439-4958-3

Paper

• Radatz, H., Kragl, A., Kampwerth, J., Stark, C., Herden, N., Schembecker, G.
  Application and evaluation of preselection approaches to decide on the use of equipment modules
  Chemical Engineering Research and Design, 2021, 173, pp. 89–107, doi.org/10.1016/j.cherd.2021.06.021
   
• Radatz, H., Kühne, K., Bramsiepe, C., Schembecker, G.
  Comparison of capacity expansion strategies for chemical production plants
  Chemical Engineering Research and Design, 2019, 143, pp. 56–78, doi.org/10.1016/j.cherd.2018.12.018
   
• Radatz, H., Schröder, M., Becker, C., Bramsiepe, C., Schembecker, G.
  Selection of equipment modules for a flexible modular production plant by a multi-objective evolutionary algorithm
  Computers and Chemical Engineering, 2019, 123, pp. 196–221, doi.org/10.1016/j.compchemeng.2018.12.009
   
• Radatz, H., Schembecker, G., Raffray, G., Sellis, D., Boto, F., Echeverria, Z., Carrion, A., Herce, C., Oto, F., Gil, A., Arias, A., Borrego, R., Romero, J, Jacinto, J. T.
  Improving resource efficiency of industrial processes with the TOP-REF methodology – Part 2
  Hydrocarbon Processing / February 2019
   
• Radatz, H., Schembecker, G., Raffray, G., Sellis, D., Boto, F., Echeverria, Z., Carrion, A., Herce, C., Oto, F., Gil, A., Arias, A., Borrego, R., Romero, J., Jacinto, J. T.,
  Improving resource efficiency of industrial processes with TOP-REF methodology - Part 1
  Hydrocarbon Processing / January 2019
   
• Eilermann, M., Post, C., Radatz, H., Bramsiepe, C., Schembecker, G.
  A general approach to module-based plant design
  Chemical Engineering Research and Design, 2018, 137, pp. 125–140, doi.org/10.1016/j.cherd.2018.06.039
   
• Radatz, H., Elischewski, J.M., Heitmann, M., Schembecker, G., Bramsiepe, C.
  Design of equipment modules for flexibility
  Chemical Engineering Science, 2017, 168, pp. 271–288, doi.org/10.1016/j.ces.2017.04.021

Oral presentations

• H. Radatz, A. Kragl, G. Schembecker
  Müssen die Kosten bei der Verwendung von Equipment-Modulen immer steigen?
  Jahrestreffen der Fachgemeinschaft “Prozess-, Apparate- und Anlagentechnik“ (PAAT), Würzburg, DE (2017)

• H. Radatz
  TOP-REF Workshop – Methodologies & Tools for decision-making (Modeling and global sensitivity analysis)
  World Congress of Chemical Engineering, Barcelona, ES (2017)

• H. Radatz
  The TOP-REF Approach to Improve the Resource Efficiency of Energy Intensive Industrial Processes - Coupling of Models
  4. Treffen Arbeitskreis Prozesssimulation, Berlin, DE (2017)

• H. Radatz, T. Hellenkamp, G. Schembecker, C. Bramsiepe
  The Top-Ref Approach to Improve the Resource Efficiency of Energy Intensive Industrial Processes
  2016 AIChE Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, USA (2016)

• H. Radatz, K. Kühne, G. Schembecker, C. Bramsiepe
  Comparison of capacity expansion strategies for chemical production plants
  ProcessNet-Jahrestagung und 32. DECHEMA-Jahrestagung der Biotechnologen,
  Aachen, DE (2016)

• T. Hellenkamp, H. Radatz, C. Bramsiepe, G. Schembecker
  The TOP-REF approach for identification of critical process parameters for process monitoring and optimization
  ProcessNet-Jahrestagung und 32. DECHEMA-Jahrestagung der Biotechnologen, Aachen, DE (2016)
   
• H. Radatz, J.M. Elischewski, G. Schembecker, C. Bramsiepe
  Design of Flexible Equipment Modules
  Jahrestreffen der ProcessNet-Fachgemeinschaft "Prozess-, Apparate- und Anlagentechnik" (PAAT),Bruchsal, DE (2015)
   
• H. Radatz, T. Seifert, M. Heitmann, G. Schembecker, C. Bramsiepe
  Application of a multi-objective Evolutionary Algorithm for the Selection of Modular Plant Setups
  Jahrestreffen der ProcessNet-Fachgemeinschaft "Prozess-, Apparate- und Anlagentechnik" (PAAT), Lüneburg, DE (2014)
   
• H. Radatz, T. Seifert, G. Schembecker, C. Bramsiepe
  Einbindung von Flexibilitätsanalysen und Anlagenerweiterungsstrategien in die Anlagenplanung
  Jahrestreffen der ProcessNet-Fachgemeinschaft "Prozess-, Apparate- und Anlagentechnik" (PAAT), Bruchsal, DE (2013)

Poster presentations

• H. Radatz, N. Herden, C. Stark, G. Schembecker, C. Bramsiepe
  Module-based plant design meets biochemical production
  Himmelfahrtstagung: Models for Developing and Optimising Biotech Production, Neu-Ulm, DE (2017)

• H. Radatz, K. Kühne, G. Schembecker, C. Bramsiepe
  Comparison of Capacity Expansion Strategies for Chemical Production Plants and Consideration of Alternative Modular Reactors with a Larger Operating Window
  (incl. CAST Division Rapid Fire Presentation)
  2016 AIChE Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, USA (2016)

• N. Wolters, H. Radatz, L. Bolenz, G. Schembecker, C. Bramsiepe, J. Merz
  Optimization of feeding strategies for the fermentative production of Erinacine C and evaluation of industrial-scale production
  Himmelfahrtstagung: New Frontiers for Biotech-Processes, Koblenz, DE (2016)

• H. Radatz, C. Stark J. Kampwerth, C. Bramsiepe, G.Schembecker
  A Novel Approach to decide on Modularization: Application to a biochemical Production Process
  5th European Process Intensification Conference EPIC, Nice, FR (2015)

• H. Radatz, G. Schembecker, C. Bramsiepe
  Module-based Plant Design for Chemical and Biochemical Production Plants
  1st Industrial Bioprocess-Development Academy, Ludwigshafen, Germany (2015)

• H. Radatz, M. Heitmann, G. Schembecker, C. Bramsiepe
  Design of Equipment Modules regarding Flexibility
  ProcessNet-Jahrestagung und 31. DECHEMA-Jahrestagung der Biotechnologen, Aachen, DE (2014)

Others

• CEN Workshop Agreement CWA 17185:2017
  Methodology to measure and improve the resource efficiency of resource intensive processes
  Danish Standards Foundation / European Committee for Standardization
  Date of approval: 2017-09-11