Industry 4.0 Vision for the Supply of Energy and Materials

11 Computer-Aided Molecular Design Accelerating the Commercialization Cycle

Tohid N. Borhani

Center for Engineering Innovation and Research, School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematical Sciences, University of Wolverhampton, UK

11.1 Introduction

The term Industry 4.0 is applied to express the Fourth Industrial Revolution in which the concept of connectivity will be considered in the production and manufacturing environment. It was predicted that in Industry 4.0 different machines in the smart factories can be connected, transfer information, and collaborate with each other through a global network. Hence, in the future, the smart factory can be operated automatically that the machine will recognize the manufacturing process of production of a chemical product and finally the product will be produced with tailor-made features [1].

In the process of production of unique and optimized chemical products, computer-aided molecular design (CAMD) can play a very important role. CAMD is the method to design and select the best candidates of molecules or components by considering the process conditions and constraints of the applications [2]. Therefore, this book chapter will address the concept of CAMD and also its application in the production of different chemicals. In addition to reviewing the recent progress and status of CAMD, this study will emphasize the importance of CAMD in Industry 4.0 and the chemical industry in the future.

Before arriving in CAMD with detail it will ...