OST FIL! Estimate costs of distillation and absorption towers via correlations Computer-developed formulas yield preliminary, study-grade (+=30%) cost estimates of distillation towers and iE trays, absorption towers and packing, and column platforms and ladde: ‘Antonio Malet, University of Palma de Mallorca, Armando B. Corripio, Louisiana State Universit, and Lawrence B. Evans, Massachusetts Institue of Tecloology Cl Correlations for base cost, in carbon steel, of the shell (G) and of the platforms and ladders (Cz) are given in both English and SI units in Tables land Ul for distillation and absorption towers, respectively The standard deviations for the correlation of 200 distillation towers is 10.63% for shell cost and 3.35% for platform and ladder cost. For the correlation of 200 Ebsorption towers, the standard deviations are 9.68% for shell cost and 8.88% for platform and ladder cost. That this last percentage is so much larger than its | counterpart reflects the effect of correlating the dis- | Correlations for cost of distillation towers) Table I English units Shall of carbon sel (Win b, lower imit—W, Upper fimit—W, = 2,470,000 Ib) exp [6.823 + 0.14178 (in W) + 0.02468 (ia W/)? + 0.01580 (4/0) In (7/711 Platforms sind inddors (2, and inf. lower limit —D, = 3, 1, = 87.8, upper limit—D, = 24, &, = 170): Gq = 151.81 Doma, 92010 3.020, St unite ‘Sho of carbon steel (Wn kg, lower imit—W, = ‘upper limit, = 1,080,000}: 6, = exp [6.980 + 0.1808 (In w+ (0.02488 (in W/)? + 0.01580 (4/0) In (7/71 Patforme and. ladders (D, and 4, in m, lower Hinit— 91, 1, = 17-53. upper limit—D, = 7.32, 2} Gy = 834.86 D9ee 22001 1.090, cretely varying number (and cost) of platforms with a continuous variable, tower length. The effect of this ‘error is much larger for the shorter absorption towers than for the taller distillation towers Other construction materials To calculate shall cost in a material of construction other than carbon steel, use Eq, (1) Gatos C= Fu « “Material-of-construction factors, Fy, are given in Table HL Tn the ASPEN cost estimation procedure, the cost of installation materials (foundation, structural, instru mentation, paint, insulation, elecrical and piping) and of installation labor are estimated by means of factors Telated to the bate cost in carbon stee In these conelations, tower cost represents the sum of A previous aril (Malet, A Coil, A and Evany 1B, Exiite cot prema ena vinnie hn. Be a THT) ee ‘Scontintos developed fer ASPEN (Advanced Stem oy Roo Ee fing) preare ven! sng supra. This ce pron Snlar Seip nnd ep a nea shusetts Intute archos Sd the it poi. tne U8 Depe ity of foil ncrey nein and ater chemical proces. or dlional feforian abou he ASPEN progam, ler tothe Os 9 ate Correlations for cost of absorption towers Table I! Englich units ‘Shell of carbon ste! (W, inl, lower limit —W, = 4,250, ‘upper limit-—W, = 980,000): 1S xp [8.328 + 0.18255 (In W) + ‘0.02297 an w.)7) Petforms and ladders (D, and int. lower init —D, = 3, 1, = 27, upper limit-—D, = 21, b= 40): Gq = 182.50 e710, 708 SS units ‘Shot of carbon eto (Wn kg, lowor mit, = 1,930, upper limit—W, = 445,000: 6 = exp [6.488 + 0.21887 (in Wi) + ‘0.02297 @m Ww") Platforms and ladders (0, and f, in m, lower limi = 8.23, uppor limit—0, = 6.40, 1,017.0 0,971,070sa | Constant materisl-of-construetion factors Table HHL the costs of the shell, platforms and ladders, and in- ternals, either trays or packing. The cost of the tower, which covers fabrication and prime painting in the shop, is fo.b. manufacturer's plant. Bases of the correlations The shell-cost data on which the correlations are based include the cost of the skirt and a standard num- ber and sizes of nozzles and manholes. These are fune- tions of tower diameter, length and pressure rating, ‘Analysis of cost data for 200 distillation towers and 200 absorption towers revealed that shell cost (includ- ing skirt, nozzles and manboles) correlates equally well with both actual tower and shell weight. The latter is caledlated (assuming 2:1 elliptic heads and ignoring the nozzles, manholes and skirt) from tower diameter, tangent-to-tangent length and design pressure (external or internal), by the same procedure outlined for pres- sure vessels in a previous article (see footnote). This pro- cedure takes into account wind-load effects and allows for different shell thickness at the bottom and top of the tower. The cost of platforms and ladders is correlated against tower diameter and tangent-to-tangent length. Graphs of shell cost vs. calculated shell weight are presented in Fig. 1 and 2 for distillation and absorption towers, respectively. Although most of the data points in both groups show good correlation between cost and weigh, mg in Fig I show nonrandom deviation from the basic cofrelation. This discrepancy was traced to the additional labor cost required to fabricate a shell of thickness varying from top to bottom. This additional cost is significant only for towers having a high length- to-diameter ratio, as these must be thicker at the bot- tom to withstand wind loading. The discrepancy is smaller for towers of higher design pressure, because of the greater thickness at the top of such towers. To account for the additional cost, a term has been added to the correlation equation for distillation tow- ers. This term isa function of the ratios of tower length to diameter, and bottom to top thickness. Cost of tower trays Correlations for the base cost of valve trays in carbon steel (G,) are given as functions of tower diameter in both English and SI units in Table IV. The correlations ‘were developed from cost data for Glitsch "Truss type” ‘one-pass removable ballast trays. 8 Date: Jan.1,1979 Material" carbon steel Correlation of cost data for distillation towers For the corrélation of 14 trays of different diameter, the standard deviation is 1.3%. Tray material-of-con- struction cost factors (Fpy) for 4 different materials were correlated against tower diameter, using 14 data points for each material. The correlations are given in ‘Table IV. For other than valve trays, a tray type factor (Fyx) must be applied (Iable V). Ifa design calls for fewer than 20 trays, the following eas ne a eos Glee Date: Jon. 1, 1979 Correlation of cost data for absorption towers. Fig. 2Sil |Corretations for cost of trays Table IV Englich wns _ Som pcre wy ston od ow: it ‘D = 2, upper liit—O = 18): Cy = 278.38 oxp (0.1738 0) ‘Materia ot construction cost factor (Fy): 304 stainless steel, Fry = 1.189 + 0.0877 D 316 stsinioas stool, Fry = 1.401 + 0.0724 D Carpenter 20C8-3, Fy = 1-825 + 0.0788 D ‘Monel, Fry = 2-308 + 0.1120 D ‘st nies Cost per tray 6t carbon. steel (D in m, lower timit— ‘D = 06, upper fimit—D = 4.8) Gy = 278.38 exp (0.5705 D) Material otconstuction cost factors (Fp) 204 steiniogs steel, Fry = 7.189 + 0.1894 D £216 otzinleesstooh Fry = 1.401 + 0.2378 D Carpenter 2008-5, Fry = 1.825 + 0.2685 0 Monel, Fry = 2.308 ++ 0.3674 0 number-of-trays factor (Fyp) recommended by Enyedy rust be applied [3]: Frye = 2.25/(1.0814 9" 2) ‘The total estimated cost of a tray tower (C,) is caleu- lated by means of Eq. (3), in which the term Np repre- sents the number of trays required: C= CF + NCP ru refer + Cn (8) Cost factors for tray type Table V Teay type Factor Fy Vat 1.00 g seep is Sieve (with downcomer) Cost of tower packing per unit volume Table VI Paoking type, sr $im3 (Coramie Faschig ings, Vin. 148 B10 ‘Metal Reschig rings, 1 in Bs MO Innalox sds, 11. 45 510 (Caramie Reschig ring, 2 in. 101 360 ‘Metal Rescig ings, 2 in 170° 600. ‘Metal Pall rings, 1 in. 29-940 Intalox sale, 2. tor 360- ‘Metal Pall rings, 2in. 170 600 Cost of packed towers Estimates of the cost of packing in a tower are based fon required volume of packing and its cost per unit ‘volume. Data for the later taken from Pikulik and Diaz are listed in Table VI [5]. The data have been extrapo- lated to the first quarter of 1979 by means of Chemical Enginering’s Fabricated Equipment Index, the ratio being 252.5/2008, or 1.257. ‘The fotal estimated cost of a packed tower is caleu- lated vi Cig + (DP /ADHC, + Opp @ ‘e Cost of towers having two diameters ‘The ASPEN programs allow for the design and cost estimation of distillation and absorption towers having ‘ore than one diameter. The cost of towers having two diameters may be estimated by means of the following correlations of Enyedy [3]: G=UnGi + lela ttn) Cn = Enon + Le2GpeV/Ln + La) 6) Here, Gy, and Cy, are the base cost of the shell and of the platforms and ladders, respectively, calculated for a tower of diameter D, and the same total length as the two-diameter tower. The subscript 2 applies similarly for the D, tower diameter. ‘The cost of trays or packing is calculated separately for each of the two sections, and added. No analysis of the accuracy of Eq. (5) and (6) is known to exist. Source of the cost data Extensive data on the cost of distillation and absorp- tion towers and valve trays in a wide range of lengths, diameters, design pressures, numbers of trays and mate” rials of construction were acquired from PDQS, Inc. [3}. Although some ofthe data were for January 1979, all of them were escalated to the first quarter of 1979 by means of the Chemical Enginccring Fabricated Equipment Index (2525 for first-quarter 1979). The tower designs conform to the ASME Code. ‘The packing cost data of Pill and Diaz [5] were escalated to the first quarter of 1979 by means of the same index. The cost factors for tray types other than valve trays were obtained from the FLOWTRAN tray- tower cost subprograms of Monsanto Co. Towers taller than 40 fect (tangent-to-tangent) were classified as distillation towers, and those shorter as ab- sorption towers for data-grouping purposes. The result is that the cost of a tall absorption tower is calculated from the correlation for distillation towers, that of a short distillation tower from the absorption-tower cor- relation. Because the costs of trays and packing are cal- culated separately, however, this approach, despite its arbitrariness, does not affect cost estimates made with the correlations derived from the data. Example illustrates the method Estimate the cost of a carbon-stel distillation tower 3 fein dia. and 574, ft long (tangent-to-tangent), de- signed to withstand 320 psig, having a corrosion allow- ance of 1/32 in. and containing 32 valve trays of 304 stainless steelCans Fe Soit Sacto for ey albeit Skeouiccen (foc : teat First calculate the tower's shell weigh bythe proes- dure auined for presure vonels fw the Oe 8 arte (hr footnote, p79 For the ticknea atthe top ofthe dition tower, R=1% ft, P,=320 psig, E=085, and S = 13,700 psi (for a low steel). The required thickness a ie lop (7) to witout the 390 pg ds de pomme sagen PS 1-5 )R) > = [3,700)(0.85) — (0.64320) Rounding up the ‘Fesult to the ‘West 1/32 in, Te Oss es wane in eon sume Dy = 964 1 = 37 in. L, = (67%, (12 in./fe) = 690 in. Find the thea fo wind led (o20y8? + raybop CORT 0. Vente gh sea oneal ihn: 50) THEDOHOEST + (OAT = 02460 8. % Tons uy 17, = 03002 + 03468 = 0.4920 in. ‘Rounding up to the next 1/32 in., 7, = 0.5000 in, Deca Wy istosreceied by ena ot Te tod 7) Slow thd Gat Cocke wideund he intaal plemure the thicknen of the tower ts uniform at 58125 in ding the corrosion allowance trckncs (7) of 1/32 in. puts the calculated shell thickness (T,) £5025 With p= 0.284 Ib/in.3 for carbon steel, toe shell weight (W,) is 12,994 Ib: W, = m(3)575 + 0.8116(K0)(0.5625)144)(0.284) = 12,994 = 0.5029 0.3072 in. Because L, at 57% ft is greater than 40 ft, the base- cost correlation is chosen from Table I: G, = exp[6.823 + 0.14178(In 12,994) + 0.02468(In 12994)? + 0.01580(57.5/3.0) In (0.5625 /0.5625)} $32,220 ‘The PDQS, Inc. cost of $33,899 differs by 5.2%. Calculating the cost of platforms and ladders with the Table I correlation: Gy = 151.81(3.0)48916(57.5)080181 — $7,830 ‘The PDQS, Ine. cost is $8,020. Determining tray cost with the Table IV correlation: Gy = 278.38 exp [(0.1739(3.0)] = $469 Finding the material-of-construction factor for stain- less steel via the Table IV correlation: Fry = 1.189 + (0.0577)8.0) = 1.962 ‘The tray-type factor (Fy) is 1.0 for valve trays, and s0 is the number-of-trays factor (Fyp), because there are ‘more than 20 trays. Tray cost = (32)(469)(1.962) = $20,440. Adding the tray cost to the shell cost of $32,220 and the platform and ladder cost of $7,830 results in a total tower cost estimate of $60,490. Joy J: Matty, Biter References 1 ASME, Premure Vowel and Piping Design: Calla! Paper” 190 2 in of Technology, Cambridge, Ms, 4. Eoyedy, ©, “A Computer Bad Cost Estimation Sevie.” PDQ, Ine, Gate Ka, hie isa 4 Guth, KM, “Progcs Plant Enimation, Evaluation and Conta” ‘Glafuman Book Go of Americ, Solana Bench, Cai, 1974 5. lik and Dis HF, Got simating fr Major Proc Equipment hem ig, Oc. 10,1977 Ung fr Mae rose Ba 82 GRENIER RGREERING ESR a