ENERGY INTEGRATION “| Step by step 200) 2 w ‘Smith and Ajit Patel 7 Most readers are aware of eneray integration and pinch technology but may not have applied it directly themselves. This article sets out to explain and illustrate the basic principles of energy integration. We hope that by showing how easily these techniques can be applied in a relatively simple but practical example, we may encourage their wider use within the process industries. Due to its limited length, this article is restricted to the analysis and design of the heat exchanger network; the theory Underlying the procedures used has been largely glossed over. You can tind further details of energy integration techniques in the bibiography. The example process ‘The flowsheet for the process we have chosen as an example 's shown In Figure 1. Itconsiss of two detilation colurs im Series. The current eat integration scheme uses the overheads ‘of column 2 first to preheat the feed to column 1 and then to raise low pressure (LP) steam; the bottoms of column 2 further heat the feed to column 1, Al'the remaining heating and cooling loads are supplied using high pressure (HP) steam and Cooling water ublies. A minimum approach temperature {Glug of 20°C botween al streams exchanging hest assumed (e the temperatures ofthe hot and cold streams in an fexchanger must be greater than 20°C apa). The challenge is to design a scheme which makes the “best” use of energy avaiable giving the so-called minimum energy requirement rid representation The fst ob is to represent the heat exchanger network contained in the flowsheet more convenienly as a gid (Figure 2) The important features are: ‘@hot streams (streams which require cooling) are drawn at the top running left to right Figure 1: The example flowsheet—a relatively simple but realistically practical problem plasesase aE 35 3 phrases Eo8. PSTST hes, ere Sa2h S$: 28224 Sirteperty Beech PisBot 2 bisiiuee Figure 2: Grid representation of the heat exchanger network of the example flow sheet 26 ‘The Chemical Engineer, November 1987sinmav we 0) = pam, Figure 3: A simplified reactor flowsheet showing trade- ‘off—minimum approach temperature: utility usage Hr Hen Figure 4: Development of the hot composite curve for the example Figure 6: Hot and cold composite curves for the example @ cold streams (streams which require heating) are drawn at the bottom running right to left © heat exchanger is represented by a vertical line joining two ‘open circles on the streams being matched. The heat ‘exchanger load can conveniantly be written under the lower open circle; @ heaters (H) and coolers (C) can be represented in an open Circle on the stream being heated or cooled; © tomperatures can be put on the grid as shown to allow an ‘easy check on the terminal approach temperature for each unit Some specific heat and heat load data is also included; we shall return to this. The plan of attack On first inspection the example offers little scope for energy integration because neither of the reboiler duties can be met by heat exchange with hot process sraams. The hotles! avalable procese siream ie at 220°C and the raboier loads are required 31 220° and 296°C; both require external not uty in order to find out whether we can stil improve the heat cexchenger network it would be usetu if we were abie %0 answer two questions ‘@how far away is the present network from the “best” network? To answer this question we need an analysis or targeting procedure to find the minimum energy requirement; ‘@how do we design the "best" network? To answer this uestion we need a syrthesis or design procedure. ‘We shall now outine and ilustrate these two procedures, and in doing #0 answer the questions Targeting To find out about the “best” network we must determine the ‘maximum energy recovery possible for the network. In doing this, we exclude the “boiler feed water (BFW) for steam raising’ stream from the analysis, as the procedure we use will maximise the amount of LP steam generated. As an introduction tothe concepts underlying targeting for the minimum energy requirement, consider for a moment not the Figure 1 tlowsheet but a simpierflowsheet in Figure 3a. Here the two process streams (reactor feed and product) are represented on a temperatureenthalpy (T-H) diagram. Aran has been fixed arbitrary at 100°C; it we reduce it trom 100°C to 10°C, we produce the situation shown in Figure 3b. Important points o note from comparing these two cases ar: the dtference between the hot utity required (Q,) and the cold utity required (Q,) is always constant (0.15MW in this ase); 2 provess-o-process heat interchange of x will reduce both hot and cold uly requirements by x; ‘fora givon ATrn, corresponding values of minimum hot and cold utity requrements can be calculated by adjusting the postions of the two straight lines until their closest approach is the spectied approach temperature: @ decreasing the value of ATmn feduces the hot and cold utity requirements but increases the heat transfer area required for the network, and hence the capital cost Not many heat recovery problems consist ofa single hot and Cold stream, so we must expand the technique to ‘accommodate the several hot and cold streams in the original ‘example detailed in Figures 1 and 2 ‘Consider frst the hot streams in that example represented on a TH diagram (Figure 4). We can see that the diagram is broken into a number of temperature intervals, defined by the S0UICe oF target temperature of a steam. To develop the hot composite curve (a single curve representing the heat content ‘of all the hot streams) we Smply sum the heat available in each of these temperature intervals. We can use an identical procedure to develop a composite Cold stream forall the cold process streams, and then plot the two composite curves on the T-H diagram (Figure §). The cold Composite curve can then be shifted horizontally to vary the ‘minimum approach temperature just as we did for the single ‘The Chemical Engineer, November 1987 ENERGY INTEGRATIONtemperatures temperatures 245 source target source target 240 me oe eee 230 225 1 150 100 «14090 220 2 100 40° 0) 30 190 3 175180165 (140) 165 4 150 40 (140) (80) 140 s 230 40 220 (30) 90, 6 15 18025190. 30 7 215 «220 225-280 25 8 «230-285. 240245 (denies dupicate Inerval temperature hot and cold streams of Figure 3. For every value of minimum approach temperature, there are corresponding values of hot and cold utility requirements. For a given value of ATryn these values represent the minimum Utiities required by the heat exchanger network and are in effect targets which the designer should aim to achieve when designing the network. {n our example, we already know that the heat load of the two column rebollers must be met by external hot utility, and so we slide the cold composite curve across unt these two cold streams are immediately to the right of the hot composte curve, The highest point on the rest of the hot composite curve Ties vertically above the third cold stream, with which it coexists. Should the curves be moved closer together, the hot ‘composite curve would lie above the lower of the two reboiler lines and would violate ATwin. Hence the discontinuity in the cold composite curve marks the limit of approach of the two ‘composite curves, The rinmum utility targets are then 11.4 MW hot utlity and 10.15 MW cold utity ‘The problem table This graphical manipulation of composite curves to generate minimum targets is ime consuming and clumsy. An alternative procedure is entirely based on simple arithmetic and involves fo ti-and-eror ‘The procedure is known as the problem table and is broken down info three stages. 1, Convert the actual stream temperatures to interval temperatures: for hot streams: Tre = Tae ATyye/2 for cold streams: Tipe = Tact * AT min/2 ‘The effect of using interval temperatures rather than actual temperatures is that an allowance has already been made for Table 2: Constructing the heat cascade for the example Corrected Interval Hest heat temperature ATECP,-ECP, 4H cascade cascade ec MWC” MW MW MW 245 00 ta 2 «818 = 80 god 20 19 00 09 80 34 25088 34 ane 00 220 «S090 ine 00 ig 90-0025 -0.75 “i065 075 tes 25 (00250825 Lina75 0125 18 25-093 8975 125" Bs 9 80-0098 -19 19 104 % 8 00 oO 15 joa 10.15 “ATryn (tis almost like the temperature of tube metal when heat is exchanged between hot and cold streams at a temperature difference of ATrin.) AS a result, the limit of ‘approach of hot and cold composite curves occurs at AT¢=0°C (they touch) rather than ata vertical separation equivalent 10 AT min= 20°C. ‘These interval temperatures for al the streams present are then ranked and duplicate points removed. The procedure is ilustrated in Table 1 2. Now we have set up the temperature intervals, we carry out ‘a heat balance for the streams which fall within each interval. This is a straight-forward procedure using the following equation: forthe jth temperature interval )~T.es) (BOP, — ECP) rnét heat requirement of th interval (MW) = mass specific heat of a cold stream (MW/°C) mass specific heat of a hot stream (MW/°C). ‘The results for the example are shown in the first four columns ‘of Table 2. Note thet within oach interval there is either a residual defict or surplus of heat, or occasionally neither. 3. The second law of thermodynamics tells us that heat can ‘only transfer down the temperature gradient. Thus we can, in general. supply the heat dafict of a given temperature interval tether directly by hot utiity or by “cascading” the heat surplus from a temperature intorval higher up the temperature gracient. | we apply this cascading concept to the data set of the ‘example and assume that no uility heat is supplied to the hottest interval, we produce the heat cascade column of Table 2. If we examine the heat flows between the intervals we notice ‘several negative values (the largest of which is ~11.4 MW. between intervals 3 to 4 and 4 to 5). This is clearly not thermodynamical feasible. In order to ensure a feasible heat cascade we must increase all the heat flows by 11.4 MW by supplying this quantity of tity to the hottest temperature interval. This adjusted heat ‘cascade forms the final column of Table 2. Note that the heat flow between intervals 3 to 4 (and 4 to 5) is now zero (ust feasible). The values of the heat flows entering and leaving the beat cascade represent the quantities of hot and cold utilities required for the value of ATryn assumed. For our example these values are 11.4 and 10.15 MW: exactly the same utiity values as targeted previously using the composite curve method. Its clear, however, that the problem table method ‘offers a quicker and more exact means of generating utity targets; this advantage is particularly evident for problems, involving large numbers of streams. The grand composite curve ‘The grand composite curve (GCC) Is a graphical representation of the neat cascade. tis produced for our example by plating {he net heat flow at each of the adjusted temperature interval boundaries in Table 2, Figure 6 results. Wea shall use i fo help ts maximise the emourt of LP steam raising we can perform. “he fst thing 0 do isto convert tho LP steam ternporaturo trom an actual to an interval temperature. As the steam is being raised it is a cold stream (accepting heal) and therefore the interval temperature is 140°C (= 130+ 20/2). On the GCC (igure 6) the heat available at 140°C for team raising 1s 8.5 MW Allowing for he heat required to provide the sense Neat to raise the condensate temperature from 108°C to 130°C the {otal energy required for steam raisng is 8.88 MW. Ths LP Stearn raising can be shown graphicaly on the GCC (Figure 6) where the arTowed lines rapresent the steam raising duties “Tho effect on the GCC of this steam generation at temperatures below 140°C is shown a8 a doted line Inspection of this modified GCC shows that the heat rejected to ‘cooing water has been reduced by 6.88 MW to 1.29 MW, this neat being used to alse LP steam, A comparison withthe base case design reveals thatthe amount of LP steam ‘eneraied has been incteased from 2.16 MW to 8.5 MW. 28 ‘The Chemical Engineer, November 1987The pinch and is significance We hve answered the fst ofthe two questions we asked eatier we now krow how far away our present network is from the “best'’ network. It still remains to develop a design procedure fo achieve é. In other words, having targeted for tho maximum generation of LP steam, how do we design a heat ‘xchanger network capable of meeting these utity targots? Figure 7 shows the hot and cold composite curves for the ‘example; itis Figure 5 modtied to incluge the maximum amount of steam rising. At the point of closest approach, ignoring the two colurnn reboller streams reterred to earlier and whieh require external utity (op right of coid compost curve). the curves are separated by a vertical distance ATmin (20°C). This point of closest approach is called the heat recovery pinch and at this point the temperature driving forces are at a minimum. Thus the pinch represents the most constrained part tha heat exchanger network. In out example the pinch temperature is 150°C for hot streams and 130°C for cold seams The concept ofthe heat recovory pinch is of fundamental importance to heat exchanger network design. The pinch spits ‘our problem into two parts (see Figure 8): ‘inthe heat sink area there is & not deficit of heat it requires external heating only vf wer ath bet by we moet in the heat source area there is a net surplus of heats requires external cooling only. ‘Asa resull, a number of process streams appear partly above and partly below the pinch—as will become clear later, streams 5 and 6 in our exampie ‘The consequences of the pinch are summarised as the three pinch design rules: 1. Don’t transter heat across the pinch, 2. Don't coal above the pinch. 3. Don't heat below the pinch, There is no room here to elaborate, but the IChemE Guide (see Bibliography) explains the rules fuly. Let's take each of the two design regions (above and below the pinch) separately, The design region above the pinch As the pinch represents the most constraines point in our system (in toms of temperature civing forces) wo shoud “design away from it" The IChomE Guide oxplans why Using the grid representation introduced earlier, we ean ‘raw the problem above the pinch. Figure 8 shows fal No sireams 3 and § and cold steams 6 and 9 are prosent atthe Figure 6: Use of the grand composite curve in targeting for the maximum production of low pressure steam Figure 8: The significance of the pinch oe wy Figure 7: Composite curves for the example including Provision for maximum low pressure steam raising Figure 9: Development of heat exchanger network design above the pinch ‘The Chemical Engineer, November 1987 20ENERGY INTEGRATION pi pinch. But which streams shoulg’we match? The answer is provided by }Aspaction ot the CPs of the streams atthe pinch. For iach matches above the pinch, CP, =CP, as illustrated in Figure 10. in our example this means that we match streams 3 and @ and streams 5 and 6. ‘The next problem is what heat load to assign to these ‘matches. The rule we should try to apply is to maximise the hheat exchange on each match to the limit of the heat load of ‘ther the hot or the cold stream. This will eliminate (or “tick ‘off”) that stream from the analysis. If we first consider the match between streams 3 and 9, placing a heat load of 8.5 MW wil eliminate stream 9, This results in a hot upstream temperature of 173.8°C on stream 3, The other pinch match is between streams 5 and 6. The “tick off” rule cannot be applied to this match because placing ‘a heat foad of 2.0 MW (and “ticking of stream 8) will result in ‘a cold downstream temperature of 170°C which will not allow itto receive heat from stream 3 (as it violates the AT min of 20°C specified earlier) and as it is the only remaining cold siream that can recelve heat, additional cold utiity (above the targeted value) would be needed. Instead no load is placed and we select the remaining matches to complete the problem, namely stream 3 with stream 6, and stream 5 with stream 6. Having done this, tis clear that the cold downstream temperature of the match between 3 and 6 must be 155°C (= 175~20, the “ATnq) THS enables us 10 calculate the remaining loads and temperatures for the problem, ‘The healing requirements of streams 7 and 8 are met using hot utlity (HP steam) available at a condensing temperature of 255°C. ‘The design region below the pinch Figure 11 shows the grid representation for the region below the pinch, Again we design away from the pinch. When we ‘come to select possible pinch matches, however, we encounter a problem. if we apply the CP rules below the pinch (CPpz=CPz itis not possible to match cold stream 6. What do we do? ‘The answer is to split cold and hot streams so as to ensure the CP rules can be obeyed. But how do we select which streams to split and what spit ratios do we choose? The procedure in such cases Is called the "stream split design procedure” which is summarised in Figure 12. Applying it to our example we see that we must spiit cold stream 6 into two branches. To aid our selection of the spit fractions we can construct a CP table (Table 3). In this case we have split the CP of stream 6 in the ratio of the CPs of the two hot streams to be matched (streams 1 and 4). Let's consider each of the pinch matches in turn. The match ane peoneaa oe>te : =e | ares lee Ca Pome “ f 1 Phas 7 5 Yana se Pe eae [Emap : owe ae Figure 11: Development of heat exchanger network design below the pinch Figure 12: Stream split procedure for heat exchanger network design between stream 1 and stream 6 (branch 1) has a heat load of 2.15 MW, which “ticks off" stream 1 and results in a cold Upstream temperature of 62.8°C on branch 1 of stream 6, A heat load of 2.07 MW on the match between stream 5 and ‘stream 6 (branch 2) “ticks off” branch 2 of stream 6 and. produces a hot upstream temperature of 67.2°C on stream 5. ‘The final pinch match is between streams 4 and 9 and has a heat load of 0.36 MW, which "ticks off” stream 9 and results in ‘a hot downstream temperatura of 132°C on stream 4, ‘Atter the pinch matches have been placed, the only cold ‘stream remaining is branch 1 of stream 6. This is matched with stream 4 and a heat load of 1.53 MW “ticks off” the cold branch. With all the cold streams “ticked off” the problem is ‘completed by placing coolers on the remaining hot streams 2, and 5. Stream 1 0.043 0.032 5 Siream 5 0.025 0.018 > 0.05 Stream 6 0.02 0.0164 ‘Stream 9 Stream 4 30 ‘The Chemical Engineer, November 1987The completed network display is shown in grid form in Figure 13 and the equivalent flowsheet is produced in Figure 14. it does not include, of course, provision for start-up or shut down. ‘The overall network is produced by joining together the individual adjacent design regions above and below the pinch. Since the design regions are independent of each other, in many cases itis possible to generate alternative regional designs. This may lead to @ reduction in the number of ‘exchangers requited i identical structures on either side of a pinch can be found. In the example there is, unfortunately, no ‘scope for this technique but no doubt you will ind ‘opportunities in your own work. | ‘Overall network design Where do we go from here? Tis article has concentrated on the fundamental task of setting targets for a design based on the concept of a “minimum approach temperature" —ATmnn—and the subsequent desian of a network to meet those targets, No mention has been made of the capital investment required to install such a network. In geneal there is a trade-off between reducing energy usage, represented by a decreasing ATmin, and increasing capital cost, Techniques exist to generate a capital ‘ost target for a given energy Figure 13: Overall heat exchanger network design for Improved energy recovery usage, and hence an economic potential which defines the appropriale ATmin can be | derived. This introduces a | =< further level of rigour into the analysis, c Furthermore, having designed a network, further analysis to reduce the ei number of units is desirable. |> Sometimes, as alroady indicated, units can be combined by appropriate choice of pinch matches, or by the technique of “loop . breaking” which is described |.» * in he IChemE Guide (see . Bibliography). More advanced procedures allow the Invesigation of the trade-of |< between capital and eneray brought about by relaxation Of the ATryn Constraint. Future artcles will pursue these proceduros—E¢.) Finally, a number of candidate designs can be compared by performing a flexibility analysis. Networks that are stable to Variations in stream source temperatures or flow rates can be highlighted quantitatively. In general these techniques require a sophisticated dedicated computer simulation as offered by ICI (MIDAS) and others, Conclusions The techniques illustrated in this article have been proven to ‘generate real cost savings on plants worldwide, Procedural modifications have been derived to cope with the instances of rotrofit studies, as opposed to the “new design’ scenario presented in the simple exampie here. This analysis has dealt with energy recovery under fixed fiowsheet conditions. Large benefits in terms of raw materials ang energy may be attainable by making changes to the process before heat exchanger network design. In any case, using the methodology presented in outline here, and which is contained in appropriate software tools, ‘sweeping studies to determine scope for eneray saving are within the capabilities of every process engineer actively involved in design. at Figure 14: The example tlowsheet modified to show Improved energy recovery Bibliography 4. Linnhott 8 and Hindmarsh E, Pinch design method for heat ‘exchanger networks, Chem Eng Sci, vol 38, 1983, 0745, 2. Linnhoff B and Tumer J A. Heatrecovery networks: new insights yield bio savings. Chem Eng (2 Nov 1981). p56. 3. Linnhoft B, Townsend D W. Bolend D. Hewitt GF. Thomas, BE A, Guy AR and Marsiand RH, A user guide on process integration for the efficient use of energy, IChemE, 1982. 4, Nishida N, Stephanopoulos G and Westerberg A W, Process synthesis, AIChE J, vol 27, 1981, p321 5, Westerberg A W and Grossmann I E, Process synthesis techniques in the process industries and their impact on energy use. Report prepared for Electric Power esearch Insitute (EPR), USA, 1985. Gary Smith and Ajit Patel are process engineers in the Process Engineering Group, Research and Technology Deparment, ICI Chemicals and Polymers Group, PO Box 90, Witon Centra, Witton, Middlesbrough, Cleveland TS6 BJE. Further information and advice oh energy saving: ji ‘may be found in the Energy Supplement pubished with this issue. The Chemical Engineer, November 1987 a EMERGY INTEGRATION