This thesis considers the optimal design of integrated batch processes, where plant design and scheduling as well as the detailed operating procedure of the individual processing steps are considered simultaneously. The State-Task Network (STN) representation of process recipes is augmented to facilitate a detailed characterisation of both the materials handled in a process and the transient behaviour of batch processes. Based on this STN characterisation, a mathematical formulation for the design of batch processes is presented. This results in a multistage optimal control problem with continuous variables corresponding to both the control variables in individual processing steps and the scheduling decisions. The optimisation objective is the maximisation of the net profit of the process, comprising material, utility and annualised capital cost. A decomposition approach is proposed for solving this problem. The approach is illustrated through a number of examples of significant complexity in the process recipe as well as the process model describing each unit operation. The above methodology is also extented to address the problem of designing processes that have to operate under limited resource availability. It also deals with the determination of the equipment requirements for the design or retrofit of batch plants.