| dc.description.abstract | This study aims to narrow the gap in advancement between computer science and the chemical process industry, to explore the potential uses of computer science technology in chemical process industry, and to demonstrate the economic benefits in CPI brought by new products developed in computer science. More specifically, this study explores and demonstrates the use of Microsoft Excel in distillation column designs to serve as an example of engineering applications with new interfaces for CPI. This study uses Excel sheets as a uniform user interface for distillation column design, rating, and optimization (Lockett, 1987; Kister, 1992). The Excel application also is used as a tool to integrate different legacy Fortran applications together, then to serve as a medium of communication between different Fortran applications and other applications through an array of Access databases. The proposed system can be considered not only as new interfaces for legacy Fortran applications but also a technology based management system (TBMS) to manage the various technologies in large corporations. | |
