Heat Integration has achieved a great success in both academic research and industrial applications since the 1970s. Traditional heat integration deals with process streams with temperature changes only. Pressure is an equally important parameter in the process industry. When the changes in both temperatures and pressures of streams are taken in consideration, the problem is extended from Heat Integration to Work and Heat Integration. The latter is much more complex due to the following reasons: (1) change in the pressure of a stream normally results in a change in temperature that influences the definition of the Heat Integration problem; (2) the amount of work consumed/produced will vary as a result of any change in the operating temperature of a stream before being compressed or expanded; and (3) work and heat have different energy quality (exergy). Work and Heat Integration is an emerging new research topic that has attracted increasing interest recently. This paper introduces the development and challenges for the topic with a focus on the following objectives: (1) a clear definition of Work and Heat Integration is presented; (2) a review of available literature related to this topic is performed; (3) the challenges in this topic using the Pinch Design Method and/or Mathematical Programming are addressed; and (4) potential industrial applications and the corresponding limitations are introduced.
