Continuous-time versus discrete-time approaches for scheduling of chemical processes: a review

An overview of developments in the scheduling of multiproduct/multipurpose batch and continuous processes is presented. Existing approaches are classified based on the time representation and important characteristics of chemical processes that pose challenges to the scheduling problem are discussed. In contrast to the discrete-time approaches, various continuous-time models have been proposed in the literature and their strengths and limitations are examined. Computational studies and applications are presented. The important issues of incorporating scheduling at the design stage and scheduling under uncertainty are also reviewed. © 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.