Page 16 - Design of Simple and Robust Process Plants

Design of Simple and Robust Process Plants. J. L. Koolen XVII
Copyright 2002 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA
ISBNs: 3-527-29784-7 (Hardback); 3-527-60047-7 (Electronic)

Acknowledgments

Writing a technical book requires not only a lot of reading,but also many discus-
sions and extensive support from colleagues who are active in the field of interest.
Without this support it would not be possible to prepare a work such as this. The
discussions and support are not limited to the time during which the pre-work and
writing is carried out,and most of the technological knowledge has been collected
during the working years of my life,and from academic relationships. Therefore,it
is virtually impossible to mention all those people who have in the past contributed
to my personal knowledge and consequently made writing the book more fun than
exercise. Hence,my first acknowledgement is to all these un-named' individuals.
The work could not have been prepared had I not received complete support from
The Dow Chemical Company during preparation of the manuscript. There was,in
addition to excellent office and library facilities,the even greater advantage of direct
contact with engineers who were active in the field,and it was they who made me
aware of recent developments of in the technology. The individuals to be mentioned
who personally created this possibility at Dow are; Theo van Sint Fiet,Sam Smolik,
and Doyle Haney.
In writing this book,perhaps the greatest encouragement came from Roel Wes-
terterp,who stimulated me to write from an industrial insight ± thus making it dif-
ferent from other volumes that mostly address specific design issues. It is my great
pleasure that he agreed to write the foreword.
The individuals who supported my work with their knowledge and experience,
and who gave their time for discussions and reviews of the manuscript are men-
tioned in order of the chapters.
Several chapters were reviewed by Paul van Ellemeet,who provided me with valu-
able comments on the style of the manuscript. In discussions on the simplicity of a
process,what makes it complex,and what the term 'robust' means,Peter Wieringa
was an excellent debating partner,and also provided me with excellent reference
material. The design philosophies were reviewed by Jan Willem Verwijs,who also
gave valuable suggestions on how to promote the messages,while process synthesis
and simplification were extensively reviewed by Henk van de Berg,who was my
sparring partner in this field.
With regard to process integration,the help of Stef Luijten and Guy de Wispelaere
was of great value,and reliability engineering was the area where the knowledge