Membrane separation equipment design assistance system

Abstract

Provided is a membrane separation equipment design assistance system with which it is possible to determine the number of separation membrane modules in a group and an arrangement method for said separation membrane modules so as to satisfy requirement specifications for cost and gas concentration fluctuation margin with respect to membrane separation equipment having a plurality of separation membrane modules. A membrane separation equipment design assistance system (1) for assisting in design of membrane separation equipment having at least two or more separation membrane modules, said system (1) being characterized by comprising a function for receiving input of supply gas information (21) and consumer requirement specifications (22) and then outputting equipment configuration specifications (51) that are necessary for determining an equipment configuration.

Description

TITLE OF INVENTION MEMBRANE SEPARATION EQUIPMENT DESIGN ASSISTANCE SYSTEM TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to a design assistance system for membrane separation equipment which includes multiple separation membrane modules. BACKGROUND ART

[0002] As a method of separating a specific gas from a mixture of gasses, there is a method of utilizing a separation membrane that selectively allows a specific gas to permeate. Examples of the separation membrane include a molecular sieve membrane as typified by a ceramic membrane that performs separation depending on a difference in molecular diameter, a polymer membrane that utilizes a difference in gas solubility in the membrane, and the like. These separation membranes allow a certain amount of permeation of a gas other than the specific gas supposed to permeate. A side before permeation of the separation membrane is referred to as a non-permeate side while a side after the permeation thereof is referred to as a permeate side. A gas permeation amount of the separation membrane is proportional to a value obtained by multiplying a difference between a gas partial pressure on the non-permeate side and a gas partial pressure on the permeate side by a membrane area. A polymer material is relatively easy to process, and a separation membrane module prepared by forming this material into a hollow membrane shape or a sheet shape and enclosing the material into a container has been put to practice use. A method of controlling a specific gas to a required concentration by using a separation membrane module has been disclosed in Patent Literature 1. CITATION LIST Patent Literature

[0003] Patent Literature 1: JP5111829B2 SUMMARY OF INVENTION Technical Problem According to Patent Literature 1, adjustment valves and sensors are installed on the permeate side and on the non-permeate side of the separation membrane module, and a gas concentration is controlled by adjusting opening degrees of the adjustment values. Given a case where a specific gas is separated from a mixture of gases having a large flow volume, it is necessary to increase the membrane area by installing multiple separation membrane modules since the gas permeation amount is proportional to the membrane area. In the case of controlling the gas concentration while targeting at the multiple separation membrane modules, the gas at a required concentration can be retrieved by installing an adjustment valve and a sensor at each of the separation membrane modules, controlling a gas concentration for each membrane separation module, and merging the gases at the concentration thus adjusted. However, installation of the adjustment valve and the sensor at each of the separation membrane modules brings about a problem of a rise in cost for installation of the adjustment values and the sensors along with an increase in the number of the separation membrane modules.

[0005] On the other hand, there is a method of retrieving a gas at a required concentration by gathering multiple separation membrane modules into groups, controlling a gas concentration by installing an adjustment valve and a sensor for each group, and merging the gases with the concentration thus adjusted. According to this method, the adjustment valve and the sensor only need to be installed on a group basis. By increasing the number of separation membrane modules per group, it is possible to suppress a rise in cost even if the number of the separation membrane modules is increased.

[0006] However, when the number of the separation membrane modules per group is increased, a flow channel length of a piping system for supplying the mixture of gases to the separation membrane modules in the group and for collecting a separated gas therefrom increases. In a gas flow inside such membrane separation equipment, a change in concentration on an upstream side is propagated to a downstream side in a delayed manner in accordance with the flow channel length of the piping system. The increase in flow channel length increases time for propagation of the change in concentration which makes it difficult to control the gas concentration based on the opening degree of the adjustment valve installed at each group, thus bringing about a problem of an increase in fluctuation margin of the gas concentration.

[0007] Meanwhile, arrangement methods for separation membrane modules in a group include (1) parallel arrangement, (2) serial arrangement, and (3) a combination of parallel arrangement and serial arrangement. FIGs. 1A to 1C are diagrams showing arrangement examples in a group involving four separation membrane modules. FIG. 1A shows an example of the parallel arrangement, FIG. 1B shows an example of the serial arrangement, and FIG. 1C shows an example in which two separation membrane modules are arranged in parallel and two sets of this configuration are arranged in series. When the parallel arrangement is compared with the serial arrangement, the parallel arrangement causes a difference in flow channel length of the piping system to be connected to the separation membrane modules in the group whereas the serial arrangement has a single piping system to be connected to the separation membrane modules. Accordingly, the serial arrangement has an advantage that a fluctuation in delay of the change in concentration is reduced. On the other hand, in the serial arrangement, the concentration of the gas on the non-permeate side decreases as a consequence of separation of the gas with a certain separation membrane module, and this gas flows into another separation membrane module on the downstream side. Accordingly, the concentration of the gas flowing into the separation membrane module on the downstream side gradually decreases. Since the gas permeation amount of each separation membrane is proportional to the difference between the gas partial pressure on the non-permeate side and the gas partial pressure on the permeate side, the gas permeation amount decreases in the separation membrane module on the downstream side and separation efficiency is therefore deteriorated. In the parallel arrangement, the mixture of gases flowing into the group flows into the respective separation membrane modules through branches, whereby concentrations of the gas that flows in are therefore equal. Hence, the parallel arrangement has an advantage that the separation efficiency is not deteriorated. As mentioned above, the respective methods of arranging separation membrane modules in a group have advantages and disadvantages, and there is a problem that it is necessary to determine an appropriate arrangement method in accordance with conditions of the mixture of gases to be supplied to the membrane separation equipment.

[0008] As described above, in the case where the specific gas out of the mixture of gases having the large flow volume is controlled at the required concentration by using the separation membrane modules, it is necessary to determine the number of separation membrane modules in the group constituting an equipment configuration and an arrangement method therefor so as to satisfy requirement specifications for cost and gas concentration fluctuation margin with respect to the membrane separation equipment including the multiple separation membrane modules.

[0009] The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and its object is to provide a design assistance system for membrane separation equipment which makes it possible to determine the number of separation membrane modules in a group and an arrangement method therefor so as to satisfy requirement specifications for cost and gas concentration fluctuation margin with respect to membrane separation equipment including multiple separation membrane modules. Solution to Problem

[0010] For example, a configuration described in the appended claim is adopted in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. While the present application includes multiple solutions for solving the abovementioned problems, one example of such a solution according to the present invention provides a membrane separation equipment design assistance system for assisting in design of membrane separation equipment including at least two separation membrane modules, which includes a function to receive input of supply gas information and a consumer requirement specification and to output an equipment configuration specification necessary for determining an equipment configuration. Advantageous Effects of Invention

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to determine the number of separation membrane modules in a group and an arrangement method therefor so as to satisfy requirement specifications for cost and gas concentration fluctuation margin with respect to membrane separation equipment including multiple separation membrane modules. Problems, configurations, and effects other than those explained above will become clear from the following description of embodiments. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0012] FIG. 1A is a diagram showing an arrangement example in a group involving four separation membrane modules. FIG. 1B is a diagram showing another arrangement example in a group involving four separation membrane modules. FIG. 1C is a diagram showing another arrangement example in a group involving four separation membrane modules. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a membrane separation equipment design assistance system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing specific examples of equipment configuration candidates 35 in a case where a total number of separation membrane modules is 10. FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of a concentration propagation time / separation performance evaluation unit according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing specific examples of a flow channel length of a piping system and concentration propagation time 64 for each equipment configuration candidate of the equipment configuration candidates 35 shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing specific examples of a variation in propagation time and a separation performance 65 for each equipment configuration candidate of the equipment configuration candidates 35 shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing specific examples of a control performance and an economic performance calculated by an evaluation index calculation unit 34 for each equipment configuration candidate of the equipment configuration candidates 35 shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 8A shows examples of obtaining a Pareto solution for each equipment configuration candidate of the equipment configuration candidates 35 shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 8B shows examples of equipment configuration specifications 51 formed from the Pareto solutions shown in FIG. 8A. FIG. 9 shows an example of forming the equipment configuration specifications 51 of top four rankings of the equipment configuration candidates. FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of a membrane separation equipment design assistance system according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram of a membrane separation equipment design assistance system according to a third embodiment of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0013] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below by using the drawings. Note that configurations common to the respective drawings discussed below will be denoted by the same reference signs and overlapping explanations thereof will be omitted.

[0014] <First embodiment> FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a membrane separation equipment design assistance system according to a first embodiment. The present embodiment will describe a design assistance system for membrane separation equipment which targets at a mixed gas containing a mixture of hydrogen and a natural gas, and is configured to control hydrogen at a required concentration by using separation membrane modules in the membrane separation equipment.

[0015] As shown in FIG. 2, a membrane separation equipment design assistance system 1 includes an input unit 2, an equipment configuration evaluation unit 3, an equipment configuration determination assistance unit 4, and an output unit 5. The membrane separation equipment design assistance system 1 is a device which determines the number of separation membrane modules in a group and an arrangement method therefor while targeting at membrane separation equipment including multiple separation membrane modules. The membrane separation equipment design assistance system 1 is formed from a computer which includes an arithmetic device such as a CPU (central processing unit), a memory device such as a ROM (read only memory) and a RAM (random access memory), an external storage device such as a magnetic disk, an optical disk, and a nonvolatile memory, an input interface, an output interface, a transmission-reception function, and so forth. Part of functions of the membrane separation equipment design assistance system 1 may be executed by way of programs stored in a computer-readable storage medium or other hardware.

[0016] The input unit 2 receives supply gas information 21 and consumer requirement specifications 22 as input, and saves such input information in the external device such as the magnetic disk. The supply gas information 21 includes a flow volume, a temperature, a pressure, and a hydrogen concentration of the mixed gas supplied to the membrane separation equipment. The consumer requirement specifications 22 include a flow volume, a temperature, a pressure, and a hydrogen concentration required from a product gas obtained by separating hydrogen with the separation membrane modules in the separation equipment and provided to a consumer, allowable cost with respect to the membrane separation equipment, and an allowable concentration fluctuation margin with respect to the hydrogen concentration of the product gas.

[0017] The equipment configuration evaluation unit 3 includes a membrane module number determination unit 31, a device configuration candidate selection unit 32, a concentration propagation time / separation performance evaluation unit 33, an evaluation index calculation unit 34, and a cost database 36. Using the supply gas information 21 and the consumer requirement specifications 22 saved in the input unit 2 as input, the equipment configuration evaluation unit 3 selects equipment configuration candidates 35 to be described later, and calculates and outputs a control performance and an economic performance to be described later for each equipment configuration candidate.

[0018] Details of the equipment configuration evaluation unit 3 will be described below. Using the supply gas information 21 and the consumer requirement specifications 22 saved in the input unit 2 as input, the membrane module number determination unit 31 calculates and outputs a total number of separation membrane modules required by the membrane separation equipment. Using the total number of separation membrane modules outputted from the membrane module number determination unit 31 as input, the device configuration candidate selection unit 32 selects and saves at least one equipment configuration candidate 35 including the number of separation membrane modules per group, the number of groups, and an arrangement method for the separation membrane modules in the group.

[0019] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing specific examples of the equipment configuration candidates 35 in a case where the total number of separation membrane modules is 10. The equipment configuration candidates 35 in nine combinations are selected in the example shown in FIG. 3. In the equipment configuration candidate indicated as No. 2 in FIG. 3, the number of separation membrane modules per group is 10, the number of groups is 1, and the arrangement method for the separation membrane modules in the group is parallel 5 x serial 2. Here, the expression parallel 5 x serial 2 represents that five separation membrane modules are arranged in parallel and two sets of this configuration are arranged in series.

[0020] Using the equipment configuration candidates 35 as well as the supply gas information 21 and the consumer requirement specifications 22 saved in the input unit 2 as input, the concentration propagation time / separation performance evaluation unit 33 evaluates and outputs concentration propagation time 64 relative to a flow channel length and a separation performance 65 relative to a variation in propagation time to be described later.

[0021] Details of the concentration propagation time / separation performance evaluation unit 33 will be described below. FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of the concentration propagation time / separation performance evaluation unit 33 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the concentration propagation time / separation performance evaluation unit 33 includes a membrane separation equipment simulator 61, an evaluation result output unit 62, a simulator updating unit 63, and an actual measurement value database 66.

[0022] The membrane separation equipment simulator 61 is a mathematical model targeting at the separation membrane modules and the piping system constituting the membrane separation equipment, which is described based on a physical law in order to predict behaviors of a gas flow including the hydrogen concentration, the flow volume, the pressure, the temperature, and the like. Using the equipment configuration candidates 35 as well as the supply gas information 21 and the consumer requirement specifications 22 saved in the input unit 2 as input, the membrane separation equipment simulator 61 calculates a temporal change in hydrogen concentration in the membrane separation equipment, and calculates the concentration propagation time 64 relative to the flow channel length and the separation performance 65 relative to the variation in propagation time.

[0023] The concentration propagation time 64 represents time of propagation of a change in hydrogen concentration from a gas inflow point to a gas outflow point relative to the flow channel length of the piping system from the gas inflow point to the gas outflow point in the group. There is a relation that the concentration propagation time becomes longer as the flow channel length of the piping system is longer. The membrane separation equipment simulator 61 calculates the flow channel length of the piping system and the concentration propagation time 64 for each equipment configuration candidate of the equipment configuration candidates 35. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing specific examples of the flow channel length of the piping system and the concentration propagation time 64 for each equipment configuration candidate of the equipment configuration candidates 35 shown in FIG. 3.

[0024] The separation performance 65 is a difference between the hydrogen concentration on the permeate side and the hydrogen concentration on the non-permeate side in the separation membrane module in the group relative to the variation in concentration propagation time caused by the difference in flow channel length of the piping system connected to the separation membrane module. There is a relation that the separation performance 65 becomes higher as the difference between the hydrogen concentration on the permeate side and the hydrogen concentration on the non-permeate side is larger. The membrane separation equipment simulator 61 calculates the variation in propagation time and the separation performance 65 for each equipment configuration candidate of the equipment configuration candidates 35. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing specific examples of the variation in propagation time and the separation performance 65 for each equipment configuration candidate of the equipment configuration candidates 35 shown in FIG. 3. Here, the variation in propagation time shown in FIG. 6 is a difference between the longest time and the shortest time in each concentration propagation time from the gas inflow point to each separation membrane module in the group in a precise sense.

[0025] The evaluation result output unit 62 saves the concentration propagation time 64 and the separation performance 65 calculated by the membrane separation equipment simulator 61 in the external storage device such as the magnetic disk, and outputs the concentration propagation time 64 and the separation performance 65 to the evaluation index calculation unit 34. The actual measurement value database 66 calculates concentration propagation time relative to the flow channel length and a separation performance relative to the variation in propagation time by using an actual measurement value of the hydrogen concentration in the membrane separation equipment, and stores the concentration propagation time and the separation performance in the external storage device such as the magnetic disk.

[0026] The simulator updating unit 63 inputs the concentration propagation time 64 and the separation performance 65 saved in the evaluation result output unit 62, as well as the concentration propagation time and the separation performance calculated from the actual measurement value of the hydrogen concentration saved in the actual measurement value database 66, and updates the mathematical model describing the membrane separation equipment simulator 61 by using a publicly known optimization technique and the like such that the concentration propagation time 64 and the separation performance 65 coincide with the concentration propagation time and the separation performance calculated from the actual measurement value of the hydrogen concentration.

[0027] The details of the concentration propagation time / separation performance evaluation unit 33 have been described above. Next, the description will go back to explanations of details of the equipment configuration evaluation unit 3.

[0028] The cost database 36 holds cost information on the separation membrane modules, sensors, piping, valves, and the like concerning the configuration of the membrane separation equipment, and stores the information on these factors in the external storage device such as the magnetic disk.

[0029] Using the equipment configuration candidates 35, the concentration propagation time 64, the separation performance 65, and the cost database 36 as input, the evaluation index calculation unit 34 calculates a control performance representing a performance index of hydrogen concentration control using the membrane separation equipment, and an economic performance representing a cost index of the membrane separation equipment for each equipment configuration candidate of the equipment configuration candidates 35. Here, the control performance corresponds to a hydrogen concentration fluctuation margin of the product gas to be obtained by separating hydrogen with the separation membrane modules in the membrane separation equipment and provided to a consumer, and the control performance becomes higher as the hydrogen concentration fluctuation margin of the product gas is smaller. The control performance is calculated by using the concentration propagation time 64 and the separation performance 65, and there is a relation that the control performance becomes higher as the concentration propagation time and the variation in propagation time are smaller and as the separation performance is higher. Next, the economic performance is calculated by using the cost database 36. Since the membrane separation equipment is configured to control the hydrogen concentration by installing the adjustment valve and the sensor for each group, there is a relation that the numbers of the adjustment valves and the sensors to be installed decreases as the number of the groups is fewer, whereby the cost decreases and the economic performance becomes higher. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing specific examples of the control performance and the economic performance calculated by the evaluation index calculation unit 34 for each equipment configuration candidate of the equipment configuration candidates 35 shown in FIG. 3.

[0030] The details of the equipment configuration evaluation unit 3 have been described above. Next, the description will go back to explanations of the membrane separation equipment design assistance system 1. Using the control performance and the economic performance of each equipment configuration candidate calculated by the equipment configuration evaluation unit 3 as input, the equipment configuration determination assistance unit 4 forms equipment configuration specifications 51 necessary for determining the equipment configuration. The equipment configuration specifications 51 form a list of equipment configuration candidates having high control performances or high economic performances, and each item on the list includes the number of separation membrane modules per group, the number of groups, the arrangement method for the separation membrane modules in the group, the control performance, and the economic performance. The equipment configuration specifications 51 can be formed, for example, by seeking a Pareto solution by using a publicly known optimization technique while adopting the economic performance or the control performance of each equipment configuration candidate as an evaluation index. Alternatively, the equipment configuration specifications 51 may be formed by performing score accounting by inputting a weight that is assigned to the control performance or the economic performance while adopting the economic performance or the control performance of each equipment configuration candidate as the evaluation index, thus obtaining a ranking. FIG. 8A shows examples of obtaining the Pareto solution for each equipment configuration candidate of the equipment configuration candidates 35 shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 8B shows examples of equipment configuration specifications 51 formed from the Pareto solutions shown in FIG. 8A. A prefix "No." in FIG. 8A corresponds to each equipment configuration candidate prefixed with "No." and shown in FIG. 3. Each black circle represents a Pareto solution. Next, FIG. 9 shows an example of obtaining rankings by performing score accounting while assigning a weight of 1.0 to the control performance and assigning a weight of 0.5 to the economic performance, and then forming the equipment configuration specifications 51 from the equipment configuration candidates in top four rankings.

[0031] The output unit 5 receives the equipment configuration specifications 51 as input and saves the equipment configuration specifications 51 in the external storage device such as the magnetic disk, and further outputs the equipment configuration specifications 51 to an output device 52 such as a liquid crystal display. The membrane separation equipment design assistance system 1 has been described above. In the present embodiment, the equipment configuration evaluation unit 3 selects the equipment configuration candidates 35 by using the supply gas information 21 and the consumer requirement specifications 22 as input, and calculates and outputs the control performance and the economic performance for each equipment configuration candidate. In addition, the equipment configuration determination assistance unit 4 receives the control performance and the economic performance of each equipment configuration candidate as input, and forms the equipment configuration specifications 51 necessary for determining the equipment configuration. The control performance corresponds to the hydrogen concentration fluctuation margin of the product gas while the economic performance corresponds to the cost of the membrane separation equipment. The equipment configuration specifications 51 form the list of equipment configuration candidates having high control performances or high economic performances. According to the present embodiment, it is possible to determine the number of the separation membrane modules and the arrangement method therefor in the group so as to satisfy the requirement specifications in terms of the cost and the gas concentration fluctuation margin.

[0033] The present embodiment has described the design assistance system for the membrane separation equipment targeting at the mixed gas having the mixture of hydrogen and the natural gas and being configured to control the hydrogen at a required concentration by using the separation membrane modules in the membrane separation equipment. However, the present embodiment is applicable not only to the mixed gas having the mixture of hydrogen and the natural gas, but also to a mixed gas prepared by mixing another gas.

[0034] As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to determine the number of the separation membrane modules in the group and the arrangement method therefor so as to satisfy requirement specifications in terms of the cost and the gas concentration fluctuation margin with respect to the membrane separation equipment including the multiple separation membrane modules.

[0035] <Second embodiment> FIG. 10 is a schematic configuration diagram of a membrane separation equipment design assistance system according to a second embodiment. Portions in the drawing similar to those of the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference signs as those in the aforementioned drawings and explanations thereof will be omitted.

[0036] The present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that a membrane separation equipment design assistance system 101 includes an evaluation index calculation unit 134 and a concentration propagation time / separation performance database 137 instead of the evaluation index calculation unit 34. The concentration propagation time / separation performance database 137 forms a database by associating the concentration propagation time 64 and the separation performance 65 outputted from the concentration propagation time / separation performance evaluation unit 33 with the relevant equipment configuration candidate 35, and saves the database in the external storage device such as the magnetic disk.

[0037] In a case where the equipment configuration candidate 35 matches the concentration propagation time / separation performance database 137, the evaluation index calculation unit 134 calculates the control performance by inputting the concentration propagation time 64 and the separation performance 65 from the concentration propagation time / separation performance database 137.

[0038] According to the second embodiment, in the case where the equipment configuration candidate 35 matches the concentration propagation time / separation performance database 137, the control performance is calculated by using the concentration propagation time 64 and the separation performance 65 saved in the concentration propagation time / separation performance database 137 while skipping the processing to evaluate the concentration propagation time 64 and the separation performance 65 by the concentration propagation time / separation performance evaluation unit 33. In this way, it is possible to curtail processing time required for evaluating the concentration propagation time 64 and the separation performance 65.

[0039] As described above, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to curtail the processing time required for evaluating the concentration propagation time 64 and the separation performance 65 in addition to the respective effects available from the first embodiment.

[0040] <Third embodiment> FIG. 11 is a schematic configuration diagram of a membrane separation equipment design assistance system according to a third embodiment. Portions in the drawing similar to those of the second embodiment will be denoted by the same reference signs as those in the aforementioned drawings and explanations thereof will be omitted.

[0041] The present embodiment is different from the second embodiment in that a membrane separation equipment design assistance system 201 includes an evaluation index calculation unit 234, a cost database 236, an equipment configuration determination assistance unit 204, an output unit 205, equipment configuration specifications 251, and an output device 252 instead of the evaluation index calculation unit 134, the equipment configuration determination assistance unit 4, the output unit 5, the cost database 36, the equipment configuration specifications 51, and the output device 52.

[0042] The cost database 236 holds cost information concerning equipment operations such as separation membrane module replacement cost and compressor power in addition to the cost information held by the cost database 36. The cost database 236 stores these pieces of information in the external storage device such as the magnetic disk. In addition to the control performance and the economic performance, the evaluation index calculation unit 234 calculates an operation performance for each equipment configuration candidate of the equipment configuration candidates 35 by using the cost database 236.

[0043] Using the economic performance, the control performance, and the operation performance of each equipment configuration candidate calculated by the evaluation index calculation unit 234 as input, the equipment configuration determination assistance unit 204 forms the equipment configuration specifications 251 necessary for determining the equipment configuration. The equipment configuration specifications 251 form a list of equipment configuration candidates having high control performances, high economic performances, or high operation performances. The equipment configuration specifications 251 can be formed, for example, by seeking a Pareto solution by using a publicly known optimization technique while adopting the economic performance, the control performance, or the operation performance of each equipment configuration candidate as an evaluation index. Alternatively, the equipment configuration specifications 251 may be formed by performing score accounting by inputting a weight that is assigned to the control performance, the economic performance, or the operation performance while adopting the economic performance, the control performance, or the operation performance of each equipment configuration candidate as the evaluation index, thus obtaining a ranking.

[0044] The output unit 205 receives the equipment configuration specifications 251 as input and saves the equipment configuration specifications 251 in the external storage device such as the magnetic disk, and further outputs the equipment configuration specifications 251 to the output device 252 such as a liquid crystal display.

[0045] In the third embodiment, the evaluation index calculation unit 234 forms the equipment configuration specifications 251 necessary for determining the equipment configuration by using the operation performance as input in addition to the control performance and the economic performance of each equipment configuration candidate. The operation performance corresponds to operation cost of the membrane separation equipment. The equipment configuration specifications 251 form the list of the equipment configuration candidates having high control performances, high economic performances, or high operation performances. According to the present embodiment, it is possible to determine the number of the separation membrane modules in the group and the arrangement method therefor so as to satisfy requirement specifications for the equipment cost, the operation cost, and the gas concentration fluctuation margin.

[0046] As described above, in addition to the respective effects available from the second embodiment, the present embodiment can determine the number of separation membrane modules in a group and an arrangement method therefor so as to satisfy the requirement specifications for the equipment cost, the operation cost, and the gas concentration fluctuation margin with respect to the membrane separation equipment including the multiple separation membrane modules. Reference Signs List

[0047] 1, 101, 201:     membrane separation equipment design assistance system 2:       input unit 3, 203: equipment configuration evaluation unit 4, 204: equipment configuration determination assistance unit 5, 205: output unit 21:     supply gas information 22:     consumer requirement specification 31:    membrane module number determination unit 32:     device configuration candidate selection unit 33:     concentration propagation time / separation performance evaluation unit 34, 134, 234:    evaluation index calculation unit 35:     equipment configuration candidate 36, 236: cost database 137:    concentration propagation time / separation performance database 51, 251: equipment configuration specification 52, 252: output device 61:     membrane separation equipment simulator 62:     evaluation result output unit 63:     simulator updating unit 64:     concentration propagation time 65:     separation performance 66:     actual measurement value database

Claims

1. A membrane separation equipment design assistance system for assisting in design of membrane separation equipment including at least two separation membrane modules, comprising:a function to receive input of supply gas information and a consumer requirement specification and to output an equipment configuration specification necessary for determining an equipment configuration.

2. The membrane separation equipment design assistance system according to claim 1, whereinthe membrane separation equipment design assistance system includes an input unit, an equipment configuration evaluation unit, an equipment configuration determination assistance unit, and an output unit,the input unit has a function to input and save at least the supply gas information and the consumer requirement specification,the equipment configuration evaluation unit selects at least one equipment configuration candidate by using the supply gas information and the consumer requirement specification saved in the input unit as input, and calculates an economic performance and a control performance of the equipment configuration candidate,the equipment configuration determination assistance unit forms the equipment configuration specification necessary for determining the equipment configuration by using the economic performance and the control performance of the equipment configuration candidate calculated by the equipment configuration evaluation unit as input, andthe output unit has a function to input and save the equipment configuration specification formed by the equipment configuration determination assistance unit, and to output the equipment configuration specification to an output device.

3. The membrane separation equipment design assistance system according toclaim 2, whereinthe equipment configuration evaluation unit includes a membrane module number determination unit, a device configuration candidate selection unit, a concentration propagation time / separation performance evaluation unit, an evaluation index calculation unit, the equipment configuration candidate, and a cost database,the membrane module number determination unit calculates a total number of separation membrane modules required by the equipment by using the supply gas information and the consumer requirement specification saved in the input unit as input,the device configuration candidate selection unit selects and saves at least one equipment configuration candidate including information on the number of separation membrane modules per group, the number of groups, and arrangement of the separation membrane modules in the group based on the total number of separation membrane modules,the concentration propagation time / separation performance evaluation unit evaluates concentration propagation time relative to a flow channel length and a separation performance relative to a variation in propagation time by using the supply gas information and the consumer requirement specification saved in the input unit and using the equipment configuration candidate as input,the cost database holds cost information concerning a membrane equipment configuration, andthe evaluation index calculation unit calculates the control performance by using output from the concentration propagation time / separation performance evaluation unit, and calculates the economic performance by using the cost database.

4. The membrane separation equipment design assistance system according to claim 3, whereinthe concentration propagation time / separation performance evaluation unit includes a membrane separation equipment simulator, an evaluation result output unit, an actual measurement value database, and a simulator updating unit,the membrane separation equipment simulator calculates a temporal change in gas concentration in the membrane separation equipment by using the supply gas information and the consumer requirement specification saved in the input unit and usingthe equipment configuration candidate as input, and calculates the concentration propagation time relative to the flow channel length and the separation performance relative to the variation in propagation time,the evaluation result output unit inputs and saves the concentration propagation time and the separation performance calculated by the membrane separation equipment simulator, and outputs the concentration propagation time and the separation performance to the evaluation index calculation unit,the actual measurement value database holds the concentration propagation time relative to the flow channel length evaluated based on an actual measurement value of a gas concentration, and the separation performance relative to the variation in propagation time, andthe simulator updating unit updates the membrane separation equipment simulator such that the concentration propagation time and the separation performance calculated by the membrane separation equipment simulator coincide with the concentration propagation time and the separation performance evaluated based on the actual measurement value of the gas concentration.

5. The membrane separation equipment design assistance system according to any one of claims 2 to 4, whereinthe equipment configuration determination assistance unit forms the equipment configuration specification based on any of a Pareto solution and a ranking by assigning a weight while using the economic performance and the control performance of the equipment configuration candidate calculated by the equipment configuration evaluation unit as evaluation indices.

6. The membrane separation equipment design assistance system according to claim 3 or 4, whereinthe equipment configuration evaluation unit includes a concentration propagation time / separation performance database,the concentration propagation time / separation performance database forms and saves a database by associating the concentration propagation time and the separationperformance outputted from the concentration propagation time / separation performance evaluation unit with the equipment configuration candidate, andin a case where the equipment configuration candidate matches the concentration propagation time / separation performance database, the evaluation index calculation unit evaluates the control performance by using the information.

7. The membrane separation equipment design assistance system according to claim 3 or 4, whereinthe cost database holds cost information concerning an equipment operation in addition to the cost information concerning the equipment configuration, andthe evaluation index calculation unit calculates an operation performance in addition to the control performance and the economic performance by using the cost database, andthe equipment configuration determination assistance unit forms the equipment configuration specification necessary for determining the equipment configuration by using the economic performance, the control performance, and the operation performance of each equipment configuration candidate calculated by the equipment configuration evaluation unit as input.

Images