To achieve greater flexibility, innovative production systems have been developed in the chemical industry that provide for decentralized, modular production using standardized apparatus modules in transport containers. The resulting flexibility places high demands on the configuration of the production network and has various implications for economic efficiency, including the fact that modular plants can be operated close to customers or suppliers. In this paper, the advantages of these modular production systems are analyzed for an example in the specialty chemicals sector. For this purpose, an efficient mathematical optimization model is developed and adapted to the specific conditions of the production network. The use of parallel process lines in conjunction with autonomous production and local procurement proves to be particularly advantageous.

Paper