A framework for generating and optimizing chemical plant process connectivity is presented. The method addresses plant synthesis and analysis for multistep processes, processes where multiple reactions occur in both series and parallel, and where interstitial separation operations may be required. The method is tailored for the initial stages of process design, whereupon limited development of the process flowsheet has occurred, and estimation of plant economic viability is required. The chemical process is modeled as an interconnected graph linking chemical component nodes to operating sections. A mixed integer non linear program is utilized to obtain ＇best＇ flowsheet configurations with initial mass balances and estimations for reactor parameters. The method is illustrated by examining large scale continuous processes, with the hydrodealkylation of toluene (HDA) process and a multistage chloromethanes process presented as case studies.