Process industry is a pillar industry of national economy, and in the context of double carbon target, it is urgent to promote the green, low carbon, high-end and intelligent development of process industry. The group focuses on the optimal utilization of energy and resources in process industry, closely combines the intrinsic mechanistic characteristics of chemical production process, and carries out the research of process industry system integration and optimization with mathematical planning, artificial intelligence and information technology as the main means, including the following main directions:

l  Intelligent design and optimization methods for heat transfer networks, work networks and quality networks in the process industry

l  Machine learning and mechanistic model-driven simultaneous molecular and process design and optimization techniques

l  Carbon neutral oriented new energy reconfiguration process and new energy integrated system development

l  Software development for olefin polymerization process simulation and control scheme optimization

Many theoretical and industrial applications have been achieved in recent years, and the research results have been published in AIChE Journal, Chemical Engineering Science, Applied Energy, Journal of Cleaner Production, International Journal of Hydrogen Energy and other journals. The highly efficient recovery technology of polyolefin emission gas, which is centered on double-expansion self-deep-cooling separation technology, has been developed to maximize the separation efficiency and economic benefits. The technology has been applied in polyethylene plants of more than 30 enterprises, such as Qilu Petrochemical, Fujian Refining and Chemical, Baofeng Petrochemical, etc., with remarkable economic benefits, energy saving, consumption reduction and emission reduction effects, and basically eliminated the torch. 2015, the technology was selected as the "National Key Promoted Low Carbon Technology Catalogue (Second Batch)" organized by the Climate Department of National Development and Reform Commission; 2020, the technology won the China Petroleum and Chemical Industry Federation First Prize of Scientific and Technological Progress.