Heat Integration Assignment:

Investigation into Heat Exchangers

University of Hull, Chemical Engineering 3rd

Heat Integration and Sustainability in Chemical Industries
1. Abstract
A chemical process uses a heat exchange system in which temperature gradient of the different
elements are employed to exchange heat between the elements. This report will investigate the duties
required for the heat exchanger network and the installed cost of heat exchangers.

The MER heat integration network has following Data known to us.

 Minimum approach temperature of 15oC.

 The operating pressure of the heat exchangers is less than 3 Barg.

Throughout this investigation assumptions that are made will be clearly stated and supported with
evidence and all external sources will be referenced on the same as a footnote of the report.

2. Introduction
A heat exchanger is a unit operation in which the temperature gradient between two species are
utilized for heating and cooling purpose. It is basically the exchange of energy between two fluids
which could be sensed in terms of temperature, keeping in view the second law of thermodynamics;
this has the effect of heating the cold stream as well as cooling the hot stream. Utilising heat
exchangers are the most economical way of heating or cooling a stream and utilizing maximum
energy of the process. This method is typically far more effective than conventional heating and
cooling which require a large amount of energy which is very costly,

Heat integration allows for more energy efficient heat transfer the high temperature of the hot stream
will heat the cold stream to a degree without any energy input during which time the hot stream will
lose heat energy to the cold stream which in turn cools the hot stream, again with minimal energy
input.

However, heat integration is not without its limitations. The main one being that eventually the hot
and cold streams will, according to the zeroth law of thermodynamics, reach thermal equilibrium at
which point the heat transfer will be infinitesimally small as the temperature gradient will be virtually
non-existent. This means that is not possible to heat a cold stream to a temperature higher than the
initial temperature of the hot stream as this would violate the second law of thermodynamics. If the
cold stream is required at a temperature higher than that of the initial temperature of the hot stream
then additional heating duty will be required to achieve this.

The effectiveness of heat exchange depends on the properties of the species involved, arguably most
important is the heat capacity of the species. The heat capacity of a species denotes the ratio of the
heat energy absorbed by a species, usually measured in calories, to temperature change of the species,
essentially how much heat energy is required to invoke a change in temperature of species. The higher
the heat capacity of a species the more energy is required to heat it up, the difference between heat
capacities can greatly influence the effectiveness of a heat exchanger.

The Heat exchanger network under investigation contains two hot streams and two cold streams, the
two hot streams contain Sesame oil and vegetable oil respectively and the two cold streams contain
water and Soya bean oil. Below are the heat capacities for the species present in the system:

Species Heat Capacities (J/Kg.K)

Sesame oil 1630

Vegetable oil 1670
Water 4190
Soya Bean oil 1970

3 Process Analysis- Original Process

3.1 Process overview
In the current heat exchange network heat is transferred between Sesame Oil and Vegetable Oil
(acting as hot fluids), and water and Soya Bean Oil (as cold fluids). This process relies on the energy
flow as a result of temperature gradient between the hot and cold streams, according the second law of
thermodynamics heat energy will be transferred from the hot bodies to the cold bodies via conduction
effectively heating the cold streams and cooling the hot streams simultaneously at a fraction of the
energy cost of conventional heating and cooling.

Using heat integration techniques it is possible to ascertain the heating duty required to achieve this
heat exchange and from this it is possible to calculate the installed cost of such a heat exchange
network.

3.2 Calculations:

Sesame Oil=155oC Sesame Oil =10oC

Vegetable oil =80oC Vegetable oil =50oC

Heat Exchange Network
Water=20oC Water=90oC

Soya Bean oil =60oC Soya Bean oil =170oC

Table 1: Flow Streams of Heat Exchange System

Stream Mass Flow rate (kg/s) Tin(°C) Tout(°C)

Sesame Oil 12.0 155 15

Vegetable oil 5 80 50

Water 10.0 20 90

Soya Bean oil 5.0 60 170

For the calculation of capacity flow rate, using Formula:

W=𝐦̇ ×Cp Eq (1)

ṁ= mass flow rate of component;

Cp= Heat Capacity of the Component;

Table 2: Following table shows the capacity flow rate calculation using Eq (1)

Species Mass Flow Heat Capacity (J.kg-1.K-1)1 Capacity Flow rate(kW/K)

rate (kg/s) W= 𝐦̇×Cp

Sesame Oil 12.0 1630 19.56 kW/K

Vegetable oil 9.0 1670 15.03 kW/K

Water 10.0 4190 41.90 kW/K

Soya Bean oil 5.0 1970 9.85 kW/K

As shown in the table above its visible that the heat capacity of water is far greater than that of the
other species present in the heat exchanger. This indicates that the cold water stream will require
considerably more thermal energy compared to the other species to achieve the same temperature
change, most probably the water will required additional heat energy input to sufficiently heat the
water.

1
https://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/specific-heat-fluids-d_151.html.
When considering the cost of utility heating and cooling it is important to remember that it is
considerably more expensive to heat then to cool therefore to minimise running cost it is
recommended that utility heating is kept to a minimum.

The minimum approach temperature is assumed to be ∆𝑇𝑚𝑖𝑛 2 = 15°C.

𝟏
𝑨𝒅𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒅 𝑻𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 = 𝑹𝒆𝒂𝒍 𝑻𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆 ± 𝟐 ∆𝑻𝒎𝒊𝒏 Eq (2)

∆𝑇𝑚𝑖𝑛 = Minimum Approach Temperature;

Table 3: Values for Adjusted Temperatures for both Hot and Cold Streams

Real Temperatures Adjusted Temperatures Real Temperatures Adjusted Temperatures

(°C) (°C) (°C) (°C)
Hot Streams Hot Streams Cold Streams Cold Streams

15 7.5 20 27.5

50 42.5 60 67.5

80 72.5 90 97.5
155 147.5 170 177.5

Using adjusted temperature to tabulate the energy cascade of heat exchange network

Table 4: Energy Cascade to Ascertain Heating and Cooling Duties

Adjusted Sum of Change in Change in the Surplus

Sub Temperature Capacity temperature specific enthalpy Energy
Network (°C) Flow rates across sub (H) across sub (kW)
(W)(kW/K) networks network (kW)
(°C)
1 177.5 -9.85 30 -295.5 -295.5
2 147.5 9.71 50 485.5 190
3 97.5 -31.91 25 -797.7 -607.7
4 72.5 2.54 05 12.7 -595
5 67.5 -7.31 25 -182.7 -777.7
6 42.5 -22.34 15 -335.1 -1112.8
7 27.5 19.56 20 391.2 -721.6
8 7.5

2
While dealing with the heat exchange network we are required to specify the minimum approach of heat
exchange to define the ranges of heat transfer.
Currently this heat transfer violates the second law of thermodynamics, to correct this additional heat
duty must be require. By adding 1112.8 kW heat duty to the system the energy deficit can be
countered.
Table 5: Modified Heating and cooling duties:

Sub Network Adjusted Sum of Change in Change in Surplus

Temperature Capacity Temperature Specific Energy (kW)
(°𝐂) Flowrates Across Sub Enthalpy (𝑯̇)
(W) (kW/K) Network (°𝐂) Across Sub
Network
1 177.5 -9.85 30 -295.5 817.3
2 147.5 9.71 50 485.5 1302.8
3 97.5 -31.91 25 -797.7 505.1
4 72.5 2.54 05 12.7 517.8
5 67.5 -7.31 25 -182.7 335.1
6 42.5 -22.34 15 -335.1 0
7 27.5 19.56 20 391.2 391.2
8 7.5

If heat integration is to be ignored:

Heating Utility: 41.90 (90-20) +9.85 (170-60) = 4016.5
Utility Heating Required for Process without using Heat Integration = 4016.5kW
Cooling Utility: 19.56 (155-15) + 15.03 (80-50) = 3189.74
Utility Cooling Required for Process without using Heat Integration = 3189.74

Considering heat integration:

Utility heating= 4016.5-3189.74= 826.76kW
Utility Heating Required for Process using Heat Integration = 826.76 kW
Utility Cooling Required for Process using Heat Integration = 391.2 kW

From the data it is clear that utilising heat integration significantly reduces the amount of utility
heating and cooling required when compared to conventional heating/cooling.
Table 6: Heat Exchange Parameters

Unit Operations Tube In Shell in Duty (kW) ΔT U3 (Range) U (Min) U (Max) Area Area
(°C) (W/m2. °C) (W/m2. °C) (W/m2. °C) (Min) (Max)
(m2) (m2)

Utility Heating 826.76

Heat exchanger-1 Sesame Soya Bean 817.3 15 475-750 475 750 170.8 269.8
Oil Oil

Heat exchanger-2 Sesame Water 1302.8 15 250-750 250 750 244.1 732.3
Oil

Heat exchanger-3 Soya Bean Water 505.1 15 300-510 300 510 202.6 343.3
Oil

Heat exchanger-4 Vegetable Soya Bean 517.8 15 375-545 375 545 102.2 148.5
oil Oil

Heat exchanger-5 Vegetable Water 335.1 15 250-750 250 750 56.7 170.1
oil

Utility Cooling 391.2

Table 7: Approximate Costs

Unit Operations Average Approximate Cost ($)4 Approximate Cost ($) Approximate Cost ($)
Surface (316- Stainless-steel) (304- Stainless-steel) (carbon Steel)
Area (m2)
Heat exchanger-1 220.3 57850 44500 22500
Heat exchanger-2 488.2 72800 56000 44500
Heat exchanger-3 272.9 58760 45200 35500
Heat exchanger-4 125.3 43350 35200 18690
Heat exchanger-5 113.4 41665 32050 13568
Total Investment
(at 1 Bara) $ 27,4425 $ 21,2950 $ 13,4758

Whereas;
The species are assumed to be edible oils therefore we should consider stainless steel-316. The
operating pressure is 3barg or 4 Bara.

3
Values for overall heat transfer were obtained from Chemical Engineering Design- Principles, Practice and
Economics of Plant and Process Design (2nd Edition), Sinnott and Towler. 2013.

4
Approximate cost was obtained from Peters and Timmerhaus; Chapter 14, Heat transfer equipment-Design
and cost; Plant Design and Economics for Chemical Engineers 5th Edition
Table 8: Relative Cost per square meters of with respect to pressure at tube and shell side.

Unit Operations Average Surface Relative Cost ($) /m2 of Approximate Cost* ($)6
Area (m2) heating surface5 (SS-316 at 3 barg)
A Cr Capital cost

Heat exchanger-1 220.3 0.98 58065.89

Heat exchanger-2 488.2 0.98 73278.44
Heat exchanger-3 272.9 0.98 59027.44
Heat exchanger-4 125.3 0.98 43472.79
Heat exchanger-5 113.4 0.98 41776.13
Total Capital $ 27,5620.7
Investment

* Approximate cost is obtained using following formula:

𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝟑 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐠 = (𝐂𝐫 × 𝐀) + 𝑨𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒐𝒙𝒊𝒎𝒂𝒕𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝑨𝒕 𝟏 𝑩𝒂𝒓𝒂 Eq (3)

𝐂𝐚𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝟑 𝐛𝐚𝐫𝐠 = $ 𝟐𝟕, 𝟓𝟔𝟐𝟎. 𝟕

Installation cost of Heat exchanger= 10% of Capital cost of Equipment

Therefore, Installed Heat Exchanger Cost is given as:

Installed Equipment Cost= Installation Cost + Capital Cost of Equipment Eq (4)

Installed Equipment Cost: $30, 3182.7

Conclusion and recommendation:

We have considered stainless steel-316 as the material of construction because we have assumed
food grade oils and the pressure of the heat exchange network would be approximately 3barg.

The calculated cost for these considerations would be $ 27, 5620 for the heat exchange network.

5
Relative Cost per unit heating area is obtained from Peters and Timmerhaus; Chapter 14, Heat transfer
equipment-Design and cost; Plant Design and Economics for Chemical Engineers 5th Edition
6
Approximate cost is obtained from Peters and Timmerhaus; Chapter 14, Heat transfer equipment-Design and
cost; Plant Design and Economics for Chemical Engineers 5th Edition