Accelerating the Roll-Out of Modular Plants: From Engineering and Approval to Operation of Energy-Efficient Modular Plants

Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review

Contributors

Abstract

Modular production concepts enable flexible process plants composed of standardized process equipment assemblies (PEAs). However, the practical implementation of modular plants across the entire engineering lifecycle, including planning, approval and operation, remains challenging. Within the ENPRO REUNION project, semantic PEA datasheets (SPEADs) were developed to enable manufacturer-independent and machine-readable module descriptions. The approach was validated through the commissioning of a modular pilot plant integrating modules from different manufacturers and through the development of a modular crystallization unit. In addition, energy monitoring via digital twins and a knowledge-graph-based hazard and operability study (HAZOP) analysis were implemented. The results demonstrate key technological building blocks for modular production while highlighting remaining challenges regarding semantic integration and regulatory approval.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere70129
Number of pages8
JournalChemie-Ingenieur-Technik
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 27 May 2026
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

ORCID /0000-0002-5814-5128/work/220700433
ORCID /0000-0001-5165-4459/work/220700821
ORCID /0009-0000-3014-9859/work/220701995

Keywords

Research priority areas of TU Dresden

Subject groups, research areas, subject areas according to Destatis

Keywords

  • digital twins, energy Key performance indicators (eKPIs), hazard and operability study (HAZOP) analysis, modular plants, semantic data models