Plenary Speakers

11 月 9 日 13:00-13:40 宗倬章紀念廳

演講題目：Reengineering of Zeolite Synthesis and Production

Synthesis and production of zeolites have been exclusively carried out based on the traditional knowledge and experiences. We have reengineered them in view of chemical engineering based on the elucidation of the formation mechanism of zeolite. In this lecture, our approaches toward rational synthesis and production of zeolites by design will be introduced.

Green transformation (GX) is a global task to realize sustainable future. There is no doubt that chemical engineering should play indispensable roles in the global GX toward carbon neutrality, nature positive and circular economy. Zeolites have been widely utilized as catalysts, adsorbents and ionexchangers. Recently, application has been expanded to automobiles, medical uses, nuclear waste management and beyond. Very recently, zeolites have been proposed to apply for direct air capture of carbon dioxide, ultimate negative carbon emission technology. Toward the grand challenges, further improvement as well as game-changing innovation are highly anticipated.

The production of zeolites has not been environmentally benign enough; still, consuming obnoxious chemicals and a lot of energy with a long production period. The wastes should be minimized and recycled. The ongoing production highly depends on the state-of-the-art synthesis of zeolite.

Zeolite synthesis has been exclusively carried out based on the tradition of employing autoclaves under batch operation since the first synthesis in the 1940s. It was like traditional cooking, where a specialized cooker (autoclave) was employed with a unique and secret recipe. So far, the synthesis and production have not been reexamined yet.

Before joining the zeolite community, I investigated other nanomaterials and their production processes. In order to start my own zeolite research, I spent one year at chemical engineering@Caltech under the supervision of Prof. Mark E. Davis. During the stay, I realized that synthesis of zeolite was not rationalized enough, and there remained a lot to do. I left Caltech in 1994, and started a zeolite research group at the University of Tokyo with only one autoclave. In the early stage, we tackled on the elucidation of formation scheme of zeolites. Based on the background, we have moved toward to the rational synthesis and production of zeolites. Simultaneously, the formation mechanism of zeolites from sub-nano to nanometer scale has been comprehensively investigated. In the past 10+ years, we have made the following achievements.

1. Seed-assisted, organic structure-directing agents (OSDA)-free synthesis of zeolites that has been exclusively synthesized with OSDAs and
   beyond [1-4].
2. Ultrafast synthesis and production of zeolite on the order of seconds to minutes [5-8]. See Figure
3. Introduction of informatic approach to zeolite synthesis [9-12].
4. Design of the starting materials and the aging control with an understanding of the aluminosilicate structure [13, 14].
5. Novel post-synthetic treatments for further introduction of superior function [15,16].

So far, zeolite synthesis highly depended on traditional knowledge. We proposed to describe the formation process of zeolite as a series of chemical
reactions, and reexamined the whole processes from chemical engineering viewpoint. The details of the achievements will be introduced.

11 月 9 日 17:20-18:00 宗倬章紀念廳

演講題目：石化產業數位轉型之路

石化相關產業正面臨來自產業環境、數位技術及碳中和議題的衝擊，導致經營環境極端變化，產業的未來將取決於快速回應市場、數位技術能力、提升營運效能及淨零轉型，分析各主要產業突破瓶頸的案例，其中數位優化及數位轉型是重要的契機之一。

傳統石化工廠的各項營運管理，因應數位科技的高度發展，有進一步提升與改善的空間，也就是說，經由開發資訊自動收集、模擬軟體應用、大數據分析、機器學習建模、數位孿生及全廠整合，可將現有被動式或異常管理模式，提升至預測、預警及數位優化管理模式，從而達成提升效率、降低成本及增加效益的目標。

台化公司創立於 1965 年，在歷經超過 50 餘年的發展與擴充，產品已發展成為涵蓋石化中游原料、泛用塑膠及工程塑膠原料、纖維紡織及汽電共生等的大型製造業。台化公司為推動數位轉型，自 2018 年起以事業部為中心，成立智能工廠推動小組，2021 年於總經理室設置數位轉型專案組，為確保推動力度及成效，定期分別由執行副總與董事長召集檢討會議。推動歷程包括導入 ERP 及 RTPMS、開發營運動態管理平台、開發模擬工廠(數位孿生)與整廠優化生產，涵蓋內容包括工廠安全、設備預警、產銷優化、製程優化及品質優化等五項，累計數位優化應用案超過 200 案，並獲得經濟部智慧財產局 6 項發明專利。

最後分享台化公司芳香烴廠主要原料─輕油的數位優化 AI 應用案例，主題為「開發輕油組成估價及效益最大化模組」，內容包括三個應用層面：

1. 備料面：開發輕油組成估價模組，作為採購最佳輕油的評估工具。
2. 操作面：開發重組油效益最大化模組，提供即時優化生產的操作條件指引。
3. 調度面：開發輕油調度試算介面，提供生產效益最大的廠間調度建議。