A new systematic methodology for screening retrofit options to improve the economics of a continuous chemical process is organized in three stages: 1. base case analysis; 2 generation of retrofit options; and 3. rough economic evaluation of the retrofit options. In stage 1, the flowsheet of a process, based on the steady-state mass and energy balances of a representative process operating state (base case), is decomposed into open and cycle component path flows with their corresponding flow rates. In the path flow assessment, variable process costs are then allocated to these component flows through two economic indicators representing raw material consumption, and energy and waste cost. Additional physico-chemical path flow indicators characterizing the degree of nonideality of the process are also calculated In stage 2, the results of the path flow assessment are used to identify possible retrofit options with the help of recommended retrofit actions. In stage 3, the impact of retrofit options on variable costs of the base case is estimated and discussed in terms of its technical feasibility. This method has been applied to the hydro-dealkylation process for the toluene production. Several promising retrofit options were identified through this method. The results demonstrate how the new method supports the systematic identification of economically beneficial retrofit options for chemical processes.