Ch.

E-403 Chemical Engineering Plant Design

Dr. Umair Aslam
Assistant Professor
[email protected]
COURSE DESCRIPTION
• Introduction to process design and development
• General design considerations
• Optimal design
• Materials of fabrication and their selection
• Material transfer handling and equipment design
• Heat transfer equipment design
• Mass transfer equipment design
• Application of computer aided design software
COURSE LEARNING OUTCOMES
Domain
CLOs Description PLOs Domain
Level
Create alternate processes for a chemical
CLO-1 process based on general design PLO-6 Cognitive 6. Create
considerations
Design of process equipment applying core
CLO-2 PLO-3 Cognitive 4. Analyze
chemical engineering knowledge
Apply optimization methods for design of
CLO-3 PLO-4 Cognitive 3. Apply
process equipment
Selection and application of appropriate
CLO-4 computing tools for process and equipment PLO-5 Cognitive 3. Apply
design
GRADING POLICY

Sessional 30% [(Quiz (CLO 1, 2 and 3) = 20 %), (Class assignments

(CLO 4) = 10 %)]
Midterm 30 % (CLO 1, 2 and 3)
Finalterm 40 % (CLO 1, 2 and 3)
An attendance of 75% is mandatory to sit in the final examination.
BOOKS

“Plant Design and Economics for

Chemical Engineers” by M. S.
Peters, K. D. Timmerhaus, and R. E.
West, 5th Edition
 Reference Books

• “Ludwig’s Applied Process Design for Chemical and Petrochemical

Plants” by A. K. Coker
• “Chemical Process Equipment: Selection and Design” by J. R.
Couper, W. R. Penney, J. R. Fair, and S. M. Walas
• “Equipment Design Handbook: For Refineries and Chemical
Engineers” by F. L. Evans
• “Chemical Process: Design and Integration” by R. Smith
• “The Art of Chemical Process Design” by G. L. Wells, and L. M. Rose
• “Coulson and Richardson’s Chemical Engineering Volume 6
Introduction
• A successful chemical engineer needs more than a knowledge and
understanding of the fundamental sciences and the related
engineering subjects.
• The engineer must also have the ability to apply this knowledge to
practical situations.
• Design of new chemical plants and the expansion or revision of
existing ones
• Recognition of the economic, environmental, and ethical implications
• Development of a new process or plant from concept evaluation to
profitable reality often is a very complex operation.
Chemical engineering plant design
• Plant design includes all engineering aspects involved in the
development of a new, modified, or expanded commercial process.
• Design engineer……. Process design
• Cost engineer……. Process engineering
• One individual cannot be an expert in all the phases involved in plant
design.
• If the overall design project is to be successful, close teamwork is
necessary among the various groups of engineers.
General overall design consideration
• Factors that require particular attention in the
development of a process or complete plant are:
• Plant location
• Plant layout
• Materials of construction
• Structural design
• Utilities
• Buildings
• Storage
• Materials handling
• Safety
• Waste disposal
• Health
• Federal, state, and local laws or codes
• Patents
Process Design Development
1. Recognize a societal or engineering need.
• Make a market analysis if a new product will result.
2. Create one or more potential solutions to meet this need.
• Make a literature survey and patent search.
• Identify the preliminary data required.
3. Undertake preliminary process synthesis of these solutions.
• Determine reactions, separations, and possible operating conditions.
• Recognize environmental, safety, and health concerns.
4. Assess profitability of preliminary process or processes (if negative, reject
process and create new alternatives).
5. Refine required design data.
• Establish property data with appropriate software.
• Verify experimentally, if necessary, key unknowns in the process.
6. Prepare detailed engineering design.
• Develop base case (if economic comparison is required).
• Prepare process flowsheet.
• Integrate and optimize process.
• Check process controllability.
• Size equipment.
• Estimate capital cost.
7. Reassess the economic viability of process (if negative, either modify
process or investigate other process alternatives).
8. Review the process again for environmental, safety, and health effects.
9. Provide a written process design report.
10. Complete the final engineering design.
• Determine equipment layout and specifications.
• Develop piping and instrumentation diagrams.
• Prepare bids for the equipment or the process plant.
11. Procure equipment (if work is done in-house).
12. Provide assistance (if requested) in the construction phase.
13. Assist with start-up and shakedown runs.
14. Initiate production.

The services of a chemical engineer as a design engineer are needed in

each step of the design procedure, either in a central creative role or as
a key adviser.
Flowsheet Development
• Once a need has been identified, the chemical engineer creates one or
more solutions to meet this need.
• These solutions generally consist of different process steps and operating
conditions, thus chemical engineer must establish separate flowsheets or
road maps for each solution.
• A computer-aided process simulator is used to evaluate the most promising
flowsheet/solution (development of base-case designs).
• The results of these algorithmic will identify the flowsheet that should be
developed (Flowsheets that provide a favorable gross profit are retained;
the others are rejected.).
• The controllability of the process is assed using dynamic simulators for ease
of controlling the process and the degree to which the design is resilient to
possible process disturbances. .
Cost Estimation
• You already covered it in chemical engineering
economics course.
Profitability Analysis of Investments
• You already covered it in chemical engineering
economics course.
Optimum Design
• Formaldehyde can be produced
• By Catalytic dehydrogenation of methanol
• By controlled oxidation of natural gas
• By direct reaction between CO and H2
under special conditions of catalyst, temperature, and pressure.

• Each of these processes contains many possible alternatives involving variables

such as
• The gas-mixture composition
• Temperature
• Pressure
• Choice of catalyst
It is the responsibility of the chemical engineer, in this case, to choose the best
process and to incorporate into the design the equipment and methods that will
give the best results. This study is known as optimization study.
Optimum Design
Engineering ethics in design
• The Code of Ethics adopted by the American Institute of Chemical
Engineers is as follows;
Members of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers shall uphold
and advance the integrity, honor, and dignity of the engineering
profession by: being honest and impartial and serving with fidelity their
employers, their clients, and the public; striving to increase the
competence and prestige of the engineering profession; and using their
knowledge and skill for the enhancement of human welfare. To achieve
these goals, members shall:
1. Hold paramount the safety, health, and welfare of the public in
performance of their professional duties.
2. Formally advise their employers or clients (and consider further
disclosure, if warranted) if they perceive that a consequence of their
duties will adversely affect the present or future health or safety of their
colleagues or the public.
3. Accept responsibility for their actions and recognize the contributions of
others; seek critical review of their work and offer objective criticism of
the work of others.
4. Issue statements or present information only in an objective and truthful
manner.
5. Act in professional matters for each employer or client as faithful agents
or trustees and avoid conflicts of interest.
6. Treat fairly all colleagues and co-workers, recognizing their unique
contributions and capabilities.
7. Perform professional services only in areas of their competence.
8. Build their professional reputations on the merits of their services.
9. Continue their professional development throughout their careers and
provide opportunities for the professional development of those under
their supervision.
General design considerations

Short cuts leads to

Deep cuts
The computer
doesn’t work!
HEALTH AND SAFETY HAZARDS
• Inherent toxicity and duration of exposure
• Short-term and long-term effects
• Safety hazard
• Industrial health and hygiene hazard
• Short-term ……….. Lethal dose (LD50)
• Long-term ………. Threshold limit value (TLV)
• Sources of Exposure
• Inhalation
• Exposure Evaluation (feedstocks, products, Intermediates, by-products, waste materials, catalysts, additives,
cleaning agents, and maintenance materials)
• Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)
• Exposure-Hazard Control (source controls, transmission barriers and personal
protection)
Sources of Exposure
• Most common, significant source and the most difficult to control—is inhalation.
• Solid…. Liquid ….. Vapors
• Gases stored or processed in closed systems…. Can emit from leaks or from
venting.
• High-value and very toxic materials
• Invaluable and non-toxic
• Flammable materials
• In plants……… pumps, joints and valves
• Solids handling in an open atmosphere should be avoided.
• Maintenance of any closed system
• Turnarounds, or major periodic overhauls
• Plant maintenance ……… new set of hazards ……… welding, painting, chemical
cleaning, catalyst handling, and insulation replacement
• Spills and accumulated debris.
Fire and Explosion Hazards
• Lower flammable limit (LFL)
• Upper flammable limit (UFL)
• Limiting oxygen index (LOI)
• Autoignition temperature (AIT)
• Flash point
• Classification of Fire
• Class A
• Class B
• Class C
• Class D

• Fire protection systems

• Active
• Passive

• Explosion
• Detonation
• Deflagration

• Boiling-liquid expanding-vapor explosion (BLEVE)

• Unconfined vapor cloud explosion (UVCE)
 LOSS PREVENTION
• Loss represents the financial loss associated
with an accident
• The cost of repairing or replacing the
damaged facility
• Taking care of all damage claims
• Loss of earnings from lost production
• Set of practices employed by the companies
to preserve profit.
 Summary

• Identification and assessment of the major

hazards
• Control of the hazards
• Control of the process, i.e., prevention of
hazardous conditions
• Limitation of the loss when an incident
occurs
HAZOP Study: Hazard
and Operability Study
HAZARD
• An inherent physical, biological or chemical
characteristic that has the potential for causing
harm to people, the environment, or property.

• Hazards are intrinsic to a material or its

conditions of use.
• Examples
• Hydrogen sulfide – toxic by inhalation
• Gasoline – flammable
• Moving machinery – kinetic energy
 Hazard Management:
The World as It Was Before

❑Good people
…….. Doing good
things
The Rising Case for Change

• 1984 – Mexico City, Mexico –

Explosion
• 300 fatalities HAZARD:
(mostly offsite)
Flammable LPG
• $20M damages
in tank
Then the Need is……
The proactive and systematic identification,
evaluation, and mitigation or prevention of physical,
biological or chemical hazards that could occur as a
result of failures in process, procedures, or
equipment.
HAZOP
HAZOP Study
Identifying potential hazards and operability problems caused by
deviations from the design intent of both new and existing process
plants.
Oh God!
What is HAZOP study?

• A Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) study is a structured

and systematic examination of a planned or existing
process or operation in order to identify and evaluate
problems that may represent risks to personnel or
equipment or prevent efficient operation.
• A HAZOP is a qualitative technique based on guide-words
and is carried out by a multi-disciplinary team (HAZOP
team) during a set of meetings.
When to perform a HAZOP?

• The HAZOP study should preferably be carried out as early in the design
phase as possible - to have influence on the design. On the other hand;
to carry out a HAZOP we need a rather complete design. As a
compromise, the HAZOP is usually carried out as a final check when the
detailed design has been completed.

• A HAZOP study may also be conducted on an existing facility to identify

modifications that should be implemented to reduce risk and operability
problems.
HAZOP Procedure
EXAMPLE:
STORAGE
TANK
Activity
• Review the benzene storage
system shown in Fig. P2-15
in which benzene enters
tank T-101 through line L-
101 and is subsequently
pumped out through pumps
P-101A and P-101B at 35
atm into line L-102. The
accompanying table shows
part of a HAZOP study of line
L-102 that has been
completed. Provide the
missing information to
complete the study.
• Fault-tree Analysis
• To estimate the likelihood of an accident by breaking it
down into its contributing sequences
• Failure Mode and Effect Analysis
• Applied to a specific equipment in a process. Its
primary purpose is to evaluate the frequency and
consequences of component failures. Its major
shortcoming is that it focuses only on component
failure and does not consider errors in operating
procedures or those committed by operators.
Activity
• Produce a fault tree for
the system shown in Fig.
P2.16, where the highest-
order event is
overpressure of the vessel.
The possible causes of
various failures should be
suggested.
 Environmental protection
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has systematically
been rewriting and tightening many policies and regulations.
• Disposal of wastes, both hazardous and non-hazardous
• Meet groundwater monitoring and insurance requirements
• Effluent controls on wastewater
• Deep-well injection
• Hydrocarbon emissions to the atmosphere
• Emissions from refineries
• Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)
• The National Environment Policy Act (NEPA) requires that federal agencies
prepare such a statement in advance of any major "action" that may
significantly alter the quality of the environment.
• To prepare the EIS, the federal agencies require the preparation of an
Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
• Study to predict the effect of a proposed activity/project on the environment.
• EIA compares various alternatives for a project and seeks to identify the one
which represents the best combination of economic and environmental costs
and benefits.
• EIA integrates the environmental concerns in the developmental activities
right at the time of initiating for preparing the feasibility report.
• EIA can often prevent future liabilities or expensive alterations in project
design.
EIA Cycles & Procedures
• Screening
• Scoping & consideration of alternatives
• Baseline data collection
• Impact Analysis
• Mitigation and Environmental Impact statement
• Public hearing
• Environmental Management Plan
• Decision Making
• Monitoring the Clearance Condition
Development of a Pollution Control System
• Investigation of the pollution source
• Determining the properties of the pollution emissions
• Design of the collection and transfer systems
• Selection of the control device
• Dispersion of the exhaust to meet applicable regulations
• Selection of the most appropriate control device requires consideration of
the pollutant being handled and the features of the control device.
• Often, poor system performance can be attributed to the selection of a
control device that is not suited to the pollutant characteristics.
• Three methods generally considered for cooling gases below 500°F are
dilution with cool air, quenching with a water spray, and the use of
cooling columns.
Air Pollution Abatement

• Best available control technology (BACT)

• Air pollution control equipment
• Those suitable for removing particulates
• Removed by mechanical forces
• Those associated with removing gaseous pollutants
• Chemical and physical means
Water Pollution Abatement
• Physical Treatment
• Sedimentation or gravity settling
• Adsorption processes…removal of refractory organics, toxic substances, and color
• Membrane processes—ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis
• Chemical Treatment
• Coagulation
• Neutralization
• Chemical oxidation…chlorine, ozone, and hydrogen peroxide
• Biological Treatment
Solid Waste Disposal
• Recycling and Chemical Conversion
• Incineration
• Pyrolysis
• Landfill
Plant location
1. Raw materials availability
2. Markets
3. Energy availability
4. Climate
5. Transportation facilities
6. Water supply
7. Waste disposal
8. Labor supply
9. Taxation and legal restrictions
10. Site characteristics
11. Flood and fire protection
12. Community factors