Process Design Development: Procedures

 Recognize potential processes

Analyze the various processes
Know potential design problems
Identify data needed

 Literature survey:
Obtain data
Flow sheets
Equipment needed
Recognize and Apply design software
Data can be found in:
chemical abstract, engineering index, science citation index, Perry’s Chemical
Engineering handbook, handbook of chemistry and physics, chemical
processing handbook, unit operation handbook, kirk Othmer encyclopedia of
chemical technology, Ullman’s encyclopedia of industrial chemistry.
 Process Design Development: (continues)
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 Raw material and product specification:

Flow rate (a priori determined from market survey)
Composition of each chemical species
Phase (gas, liquid, solid)
Temperature and pressure of the feed and the product

 Process synthesis steps:

reactions, separation, phase, …
 Process Design Development: (continues)
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 Patent search
 Process creation:
you may even improve on the existing one
 Mode of operation:
batch, continuous, semi-continuous
Continuous mode of operation is always preferred
Batch and semi-continuous processes are utilized:
small production rates
Intermittent production
Dealing with hazardous and toxic materials
 Batch vs. Continuous
Factors Favoring Batch Operation
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1. Production Rate
 < 5000 ton/yr 
Sometimes we select batch
 < 500 ton/yr  Usually
Batch
 Multi-product plant
2. Market forces
 Seasonal Production
 Short product lifetime
3. Operational problem
 Very long reaction times
 Handling slurries at very
flow rate
 Rapidly fouling materials
Notes
1. Continuous are typically more expensive,
because of that it is only justified at high
production volumes, Continuous design
requires almost accurate data. However,
the range of uncertainty in batch is
greater, batch is also more flexible
2. Such as fertilizers, we have one month of
consumption, producing over a year and
storing most likely will be costly. Thus
operating for few month batch wise then
the process can be used for another
seasonal product
3. For long reaction time, this mean we need
a larger reactor for a given flow rate and
having many multiple reactors. If the
amount of slurry is small it is not feasible
building a continuous plant.
 Batch is more accident prone (safety)
Equipment scheduling is very important issue
 Process Design Development: (continues)
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Comparison between different processes is essential. Some processes

may be eliminated easily so that there is no need to go through its
design for comparison purposes.

When comparing consider the followings:

 Technical factors: flexibility, mode of operation, special control,
commercial yield, technical difficulty
 Raw material: present and future availability, storage, processing

 Waste and by product: amount value, potential markets, uses

 Equipment: availability, material of construction, cost maintenance,

installation
 Plant location: area of land needed, transportation, labor
availability, climate, services, taxation
 Process Design Development: (continues)
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 Cost: raw material, energy cost, depreciation,…

 Time factor: project completion deadline, value of money

 Types of process design
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 Order of magnitude
Based on similar previous cost data
Accuracy ±30%
 Study or factor design
Based on the knowledge of major equipment cost.
Accuracy is ±30%
 Preliminary design
Based on sufficient data to permit estimate of the budget.
Accuracy ±20%
 Definitive estimate
Based on almost complete data before drawings and completing specifics.
Accuracy ± 10%
 Detailed-estimated design
Based on complete Engineering drawings and specifications
Accuracy ± 5%
 Final process design
 Order of magnitude
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1. Lang Factor
FCI = f*delivered equipment cost
Lang factor, f
Type of plant FCI TCI
Solid 4.0 4.7
Solid – Fluid 4.3 5.0
Fluid 5.0 6.0
 Order of magnitude, continues
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2. Power factor applied to plant/capacity ratio

𝐶𝑛 = 𝐶𝑓𝑒 𝑅 𝑥
C=cost
Cn=Cost of plant at time t
fe = cost index ratio = (In/I)
R=Capacity of the new/Capacity of the old
X=factor (usually between 0.6 – 0.7)
See Table 6-11 and example 6-5
 Order of magnitude, continues
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3. Investment cost / unit capacity

Cn = C*new capacity*f

See Table 6-11

 Order of magnitude, continues
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4. Turn over ratio (T.O.R)

T. O. R. = gross annual sale/fixed capital investment

Note that T.O.R. = 0.2 – 4
For chemical industry T.O.R. of 1 is acceptable
 Preliminary Design
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 basis to determine whether future work should be done. It is an

approximate, few details are included, low time. If positive then proceed
else change.
 Flow sheet is utilized
 Establish basis for design (flow rate, specification..)
 Prepare simplified flow sheet
 Write down all equipment needed, its size, type, …
 Decide on utility need
 Decide on labor need
 Capital investment
 Total product cost
 Total economic evaluation which is essential to decide on to proceed or not
 Prepare a report
 Detailed-estimated design
13

Cost and profit are determined. Exact specifications are not given,
minimum piping and layout work is performed. If positive proceed to
final process design, complete specification, accurate cost…
 Manufacturing process

 Material and energy balance

 T and P ranges

 Raw material and product specifications

 Yield, reaction rates…

 Material of construction

 Utilities requirements

 Plant site

These lead to accurate estimation of required capital cost and profit

 Final process design
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 Plant is ready for purchasing and construction

 Specifications of the equipment is prepared

 Plant layout
 Flow diagrams
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 Block Flow Diagram (BFD)

Conceptual understanding

Ease of navigation
Complexity

Details

 Process Flow Diagram (PFD)

 Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID)

 Block Flow Diagram
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 BFD is a:
 seriesof blocks connected with the input and output
stream

 isa diagram that shows the general structure of the

process

 isa diagram that provides little information about the

process such as temperatures and pressures. However, it
does not provide details about what is going on inside
the blocks
 Block Flow Diagram (conventions)
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 Operations shown by blocks

 Major flow lines shown with arrows giving flow direction

 Flow goes from left to right whenever possible

 Light streams (gases) toward top, heavy streams (liquids and solids)
toward bottom

 Critical information unique to the process supplied (i.e., reaction

stoichiometry, conversion)

 If line cross, the horizontal is continuous and the vertical is broken

 Simplified material balance

 Block Flow Diagram:
Example: BFD for a process
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 Process Flow Diagram
19

 qualitative involves flow of material, unit operations,

equipment necessary

 quantitative: quantity of material

 Process Flow Diagram
20

 PFD shows all process engineering information

 Typical conventions :
 All major equipment are represented, described and uniquely numbered

 All process flow streams are shown and identified by numbers, with description of
each stream conditions and composition

 All utility streams supplied to major equipment are shown

 Basic control loops, illustrating the control strategy used during normal operation, are
shown
Note: There are no universally adopted structure for a process diagram, each company
might have different format and information
Often PFD are drawn on 24”x32” sheets, more than one sheet might be required because
of the amount of information.
 Process Flow Diagram: Typical information provided by PFD
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A. Process topology
• Process topology is the location of and interaction
between equipment and process streams

B. Stream Information

C. Equipment information
 Process Flow Diagram
22

PFD of coal to higher alcohol fuels process

 Process Flow Diagram: Process topology
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Chapter2- Flow Diagrams

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 Process Flow Diagram: equipment icon
25

 British Standard 1553*

Heat exchanger Pump Phase Distillation

separator Column

Reactor/Abso Open Conveyer Ball mill Cyclone

rber tank belt

You may use your company standards or any other standards.

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 Process flow diagram: equipment identification
27

General format XX-YZZ A/B

 XX: 1 or 2 letters to classify the equipment
 P = Pump
 T = Tower
 R = Reactor
 E = heat exchanger
 TK = Storage tank
 etc

 Y is the 1 or 2 digits identify the area within the plant

 ZZ are the number designation for each item in an equipment

class

 A/B represents presence of parallel or backup units (i.e. spare

equipment)
 Process Flow Diagram: equipment identification
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Example2: What each number and letter for the following equipment means?
P-101A/B

P-101A/B The equipment is a pump

P-101A/B The equipment is in area 100,
P-101A/B This pump is number 01 in area 100
P-101A/B There is a back-up pump installed.
This means we have 2 identical
pumps P-101A and P-101B

Example2: T-905 is the 5th tower in unit nine hundred

 Process flow diagram: Stream information
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 Streams are typically numbered from left to right

when possible
 Horizontal lines are dominant

√ ╳ ╳
 Process Flow Diagram
Stream information: Example 1 (small diagram): Polymerization process
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 Process Flow Diagram
Stream information: Example 2 (Complex diagram): Nitric acid plant
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Chapter2- Flow Diagrams

 Process Flow Diagram
Stream information: Information flags
32

Information flag

Information flag

Some standard symbols

 Process Flow Diagram
Equipment information: Example: HDA case vessels
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The information needed are those required to estimate the cost of the equipments
 Piping and instrumentation
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 Contains schematic for all piping, associated fixtures such as valves,

control mechanisms

Also called mechanical flow diagram

 Contains all piping with valves, control valves, etc…

 Contains information required by engineers to start for the plant

construction

 Each PFD requires many P&IDs to provide the necessary data

 Allow investigation of effect of operating conditions on operability

and economics (e.g., HAZOP)
 Piping and instrumentation diagram
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Chapter2- Flow Diagrams

P&ID diagram for benzene distillation in the HDA process
 Piping and Instrumentation Diagram
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 Based on P&ID diagrams

 Mechanical engineers and Civil engineers will build/install equipment

 Instrument engineers will specify/install/check control systems

 Piping engineers will develop plant layout and elevation drawings

 Project engineers will develop plant and construction schedules

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 Vessel and Piping Layout
38

Requires detailed specification of equipment, …

 Choose standard equipment when possible

 Desired size is available
 Can get special reduced price
 Better insurance and guarantees
 Avoid unnecessary restrictions
 Allow manufacturer to make suggestions
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 Scale up of Equipment Design
41

 When accurate data are not available

 No enough experience
 Use pilot plant results
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 Material of construction
43
 Preliminary Design: Example
Expansion of a natural gas company to produce ethylene and propylene
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Problem statement: The natural gas company decided to expand to separate

C2H6 and
. C3H8 exist in the natural gas to produces PE an PP monomers.

CH4
Ethylene C2H4
Natural gas Plant
Methane
CH4 C2H6
C2H6 plant
C3H8
C3H8 Propylene C3H6
Plant

.
 Engineering opinion:
Can’t compete with other companies.
Reason: Separation of the gases consumes lots of energy
(70% of the total energy consumption).
Management:
Review the separation section and make suggestion
Engineering:
Make comparison between the old technology of
separation and the new one and see room for
improvement

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 Literature survey:
46

The following separation techniques can be employed

•Absorption
•Selective adsorption
•Extractive distillation
•Membrane separation
Ethane
Colorless
Odorless
Density: 1.356 kg/m3
Melting point: -183oC
Boiling point: -89oC
Solubility in water: 56.8 mg/L
Ethylene
Colorless
Odorless
Density: 1.178 kg/m3
Melting point: -169.3oC
Boiling point: -103.7oC
Solubility in water: 3.5 mg/L
 Conclusion: Membrane (Facilitated Membrane Technology) and
distillation separation methods are most suitable
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Hybrid system:
High purity
Distillation + FMT High recovery

Low energy
 Arrangements
1. Apply membrane to the distillate
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Product = ethylene
membrane
(permeate)

Feed Retentate

ethane
 Arrangements
2. Apply membrane to a side stream
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Product
(ethylene)

Product = ethylene
(permeate)
Feed
membrane

Retentate

ethane

2
 Arrangements
3. Apply membrane to bottom stream
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Product
(ethylene)

Fee
d
Permeate
(ethylene)

membrane
Retentate
(ethane)
2
 Arrangements
4. Apply membrane to feed stream
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Product
(ethylene)
Product
(ethylene)
Feed membrane

Ethane
 Example: we wish to determine the conversion of ethylene from
ethane (C2H6 ↔ H2 + C2H4) in order to determine what equipment
do we need to install near to the reactor in case the reaction
conversion is < 1.0. Given T=1108 K, P=1.7 atm. The feed contains
0.5 steam / 1mol C2H6.

Solution:

𝑃𝐻2 𝑃𝐶2𝐻4 𝑦𝐻2 𝑦𝐶2𝐻4

𝐾= = 𝑃 (1)
𝑃𝐶2𝐻6 𝑦𝐶2𝐻6

Consider 1 mole C2H6 where 𝜉 mole reacts. Then the gases leaving the
reactor will contain (1- 𝜉) mole C2H6, mole H2 and mol C2H4.
Hence the mole fraction y for the compounds is shown in the table

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 Gas moles y
H2 x x/(1.5+ x)
C2H4 x x/(1.5+ x)
C2H6 1- x (1- x)/(1.5+ x)
steam 0.5 0.5/(1.5+ x)
Total 1.5+ x 1

𝜉2
𝐾= 𝑥1.7
1.5 + 𝜉 (1 − 𝜉)

Now in order to find x we need to find K

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 Basic equations:

𝑑𝑙𝑛 𝐾 ∆𝐻0
= (2)
𝑑𝑇 𝑅𝑇 2

∆𝐻0 = 𝐶𝑝 𝑑𝑇 (3)

𝐷
Note that: 𝐶𝑝 /𝑅 = 𝐴 + 𝐵𝑇 + 𝐶𝑇 2 + 𝑇2
(4)

Then find ∆𝐻0 = f(T) and substitute in (3)

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 Gas A Bx103 Cx106 Dx105 ∆𝐻 0 (J/mol) ∆𝐺 0 (J/mol)

H2 3.249 0.422 0 0.083 0 0

C2H4 1.424 14.394 -4.392 0 52300 68430
C2H6 1.131 19.225 -5.561 0 -83700 -32900
D 3.542 -4.409 1.169 0.083 136000 101330

∆𝐵 2 ∆𝐶 3 ∆𝐷
∆𝐻0 /𝑅 = ∆𝐴𝑇 + 𝑇 + 𝑇 − +𝐼 (5)
2 3 𝑇

At T= 298, ∆𝐻0 = 136000 𝐽/𝑚𝑜𝑙, then I = -1.1128x104

Hence the equation for ∆𝐻0 /R becomes

∆𝐻 0 ∆𝐵 2 ∆𝐶 3 ∆𝐷
= ∆𝐴𝑇 + 𝑇 + 𝑇 − + 1.5516x104 (6)
𝑅 2 3 𝑇

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 Substitute (6) in (2) and integrate to get

∆𝐵 ∆𝐶 2 ∆𝐷 1.5516𝑥104
ln 𝐾 = ∆𝐴𝑙𝑛𝑇 + 𝑇+ 𝑇 + − + 𝐼2 (7)
2 6 2𝑇 2 𝑇

To find I2 we use the following equation

∆𝐺 0 = −𝑅𝑇𝑙𝑛 𝐾 (8)

Now ∆𝐺 0 = 101330 𝐽/𝑚𝑜𝑙 then ln(K) at (298) is -40.8989.

Now this value can be used to find I2. At T=298, ln(K) = -40.8989.

Substituting this in (8) to get I2 = -8.4189

Now at T=1108 K the equilibrium constant K = 0.2083 (in the book it is 2.08)

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 Substitute this in equation (1) to get

𝜉2
𝐾 = 0.2083 = 𝑥1.7
1.5 + 𝜉 (1 − 𝜉)

solving this to find x=0.465.

Comment: the conversion is below the required one at those conditions.

Conclusion: Need to install a gas separation unit after the reactor

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