Process intensification and digital twin – the potential for the energy transition in process industries

The work defines and discusses process intensification (PI) and digital twin (DT) as potential tools to accelerate the energy transition through their applications in the process industries. The PI technologies take advantage of innovative principles in equipment design and control to improve the physical process, while the DT offers the virtual model of the plant as an environment for production optimization. The effects of both tools on the energy transition are evaluated not only from the point of applications but also from the possibility of implementation and barriers in process industries. Although they are beneficial, the deployment of PI and DT requires not only infrastructure and capital investment but the knowledge and cooperation of different levels of plant personnel. Besides review of individual implementation, this work explores the concept of combining PI and DT which can make them the enabler of each other and bring a breakthrough in optimization of process design and control.