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Abstract Simultaneous evaluation of multiple time scale decisions has been regarded as a promising avenue to increase the process efficiency and profitability through leveraging their synergistic interactions. Feasibility of such an integral approach is essential to establish a guarantee for operability of the derived decisions. In this study, we present a modeling methodology to integrate process design, scheduling, and advanced control decisions with a single mixed‐integer dynamic optimization (MIDO) formulation while providing certificates of operability for the closed‐loop implementation. We use multi‐parametric programming to derive explicit expressions for the model predictive control strategy, which is embedded into the MIDO using the base‐2 numeral system that enhances the computational tractability of the integrated problem by exponentially reducing the required number of binary variables. Moreover, we apply the State Equipment Network representation within the MIDO to systematically evaluate the scheduling decisions. The proposed framework is illustrated with two batch processes with different complexities. 

Adjustable robust optimization (ARO) involves recourse decisions (i.e. reactive actions after the realization of the uncertainty, ‘wait-and-see’) as functions of the uncertainty, typically posed in a two-stage stochastic setting. Solving the general ARO problems is challenging, therefore ways to reduce the computational effort have been proposed, with the most popular being the affine decision rules, where ‘wait-and-see’ decisions are approximated as affine adjustments of the uncertainty. In this work we propose a novel method for the derivation of generalized affine decision rules for linear mixed-integer ARO problems through multi-parametric programming, that lead to the exact and global solution of the ARO problem. The problem is treated as a multi-level programming problem and it is then solved using a novel algorithm for the exact and global solution of multi-level mixed-integer linear programming problems. The main idea behind the proposed approach is to solve the lower optimization level of the ARO problem parametrically, by considering ‘here-and-now’ variables and uncertainties as parameters. This will result in a set of affine decision rules for the ‘wait-and-see’ variables as a function of ‘here-and-now’ variables and uncertainties for their entire feasible space. A set of illustrative numerical examples are provided to demonstrate the potential of the proposed novel approach. 

As a founder of the Process Systems Engineering (PSE) discipline, Professor Roger W.H. Sargent had set ambitious goals for a systematic new generation of a process design paradigm based on optimization techniques with the consideration of future uncertainties and operational decisions. In this paper, we present a historical perspective on the milestones in model-based design optimization techniques and the developed tools to solve the resulting complex problems. We examine the progress spanning more than five decades, from the early flexibility analysis and optimal process design under uncertainty to more recent developments on the simultaneous consideration of process design, scheduling, and control. This formidable target towards the grand unification poses unique challenges due to multiple time scales and conflicting objectives. Here, we review the recent progress and propose future research directions.