EP426

Chemical Process Design and Optimization

Introduction
Jan – Apr 2017
Student attainment
CLO1: Identify sustainable processes for chemical
production.

C4 – Assessing peer feedback and Critical evaluation of literature.

A4 – Case study, PBL, and Case summary.
P1 - Case history exercise and Case presentation.

PLO9 - ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY

Understand the impact of professional engineering solutions in societal and
environmental contexts and demonstrate knowledge of and need for
sustainable development.

Note:
Teaching method - Lecture
Assessment – Written Test and Group Project
 EP426
Chemical Process Design and Optimization
Chapter 1 – Sustainable Process Design
What is Sustainability?

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency proposed the

following definition:
“sustainability occurs when we maintain or improve
the material and social conditions for human health
and the environment over time without exceeding
the ecological capabilities that support them”
Growing interest in sustainability

because of:
1. Increasing population, industrialization, and
standards of living.
2. Dwindling natural resources (for example, fossil
fuels) and increase in the consumptions of the
non-renewable resources.
3. Global climatic changes.
4. Risk to biodiversity and ecosystems.
 What is Sustainability?

“triple bottom line: people, planet, and profit” - (Elkington, 1994).

 Class Activity

Group the determinant of sustainable dimension

Product life cycle Eco
6R’ concept Env

Carbon trading Eco

Biodegradable material Env

Eco Green supply chain management

S Housing and service infrastructure

Waste minimization Env

Health and education S

Energy conservation Env

Note: 6R’ (reuse, recover, recycle, redesign, reduce and remanufacture)

 Determinant of
sustainable dimension

Reference
Sumit Gupta, G.S. Dangayach, Amit Kumar
Singh, Key Determinants of Sustainable
Product Design and Manufacturing, Procedia
CIRP, Volume 26, 2015, Pages 99-102.
Sustainable design

Sustainable design of industrial processes may be

defined as:
“the design activities that lead to economic growth,
environmental protection, and social progress for the
current generation without compromising the
potential of future generations to have an ecosystem
that meets their needs.” - El-Halwagi, 2012
Principal objectives of a sustainable design:

1. Resource (mass and energy) conservation

2. Recycle/reuse
3. Pollution prevention
4. Profitability enhancement
5. Yield improvement
6. Capital–productivity increase and
debottlenecking
7. Quality control, assurance, and enhancement
8. Process safety
 Pillars of sustainable process design

Process Process
Synthesis Analysis

Structure & Parameters Process Output

(unknown) (unknown)
 Process Synthesis

 
 Process Analysis


THE DESIGN PROCESS
 Schedule - The Design Process
• Primitive Design Problems
• Example
• Steps in Designing and Retrofitting Chemical Processes
• Assess Primitive Problem
• Process Creation
• Development of Base Case
• Detailed Process Synthesis - Algorithmic Methods
• Process Controllability Assessment
• Detailed Design, Sizing, Cost Estimation, Optimization
• Construction, Start-up and Operation
• Environmental Protection
• Safety Considerations

Ref: Seider, Seader and Lewin (1999), Chapter 1

Primitive Design Problems

The design or retrofit of chemical processes begins with the

desire to produce profitably chemicals that satisfy societal
needs that arise in the broad spectrum of industries that
employ chemical engineers:

– petrochemicals, – polymers
– petroleum products – coatings
– industrial gases – electronic materials
– foods – bio-chemicals
– pharmaceuticals

Note: Many design projects involve the redesign, or retrofitting, of

existing chemical processes to solve environmental problems and to adhere
to stricter standards of safety.
Origins of Design Problems

• To satisfy the desires of customers to obtain

chemicals with improved properties for many
applications

• To use an inexpensive source of a raw material(s)

• When new markets are discovered, especially in

developing countries
Steps in Process Design and Retrofit

Section A
• Assess Primitive Problem
• Development of Base-case
Section B
• Detailed Process Synthesis -Algorithmic
Methods
Section C
• Plant-wide Controllability Assessment
• Detailed Design, Equipment sizing, Cap. Cost
Estimation, Profitability Analysis, Optimization
Steps in Process Design and Retrofit
Assess Primitive
Problem

Detailed Process Plant-wide

Synthesis - Development of Controllability
Algorithmic Base-case Assessment
Methods

Detailed Design,
Equipment sizing, Cap.
Cost Estimation,
Profitability Analysis,
Optimization
Steps in Process Design and Retrofit
Steps in Process Design and Retrofit
SECTION A
Assess Primitive
Problem

Detailed Process Plant-wide

Synthesis - Development of Controllability
Algorithmic Base-case Assessment
Methods

Detailed Design,
Equipment sizing, Cap.
Cost Estimation,
Profitability Analysis,
Optimization
Steps in Process Design and Retrofit
Assess Primitive
Problem

Detailed Process Plant-wide

Synthesis - Development of Controllability
Algorithmic Base-case Assessment
Methods

SECTION B

Detailed Design,
Equipment sizing, Cap.
Cost Estimation,
Profitability Analysis,
Optimization
Steps in Process Design and Retrofit
Section B
Steps in Process Design and Retrofit
Assess Primitive
Problem

Detailed Process Plant-wide

Synthesis - Development of Controllability
Algorithmic Base-case Assessment
Methods

Detailed Design,
Equipment sizing, Cap. SECTION C
Cost Estimation,
Profitability Analysis,
Optimization
Steps in Process Design and Retrofit Section C

From : Dev. of
base-case
 Schedule - The Design Process
• Primitive Design Problems 
• Example Initial
• Steps in Designing and Retrofitting Chemical Processes 
• Assess Primitive Problem
• Process Creation Section A
• Development of Base Case
• Detailed Process Synthesis - Algorithmic Methods Section B
• Process Controllability Assessment
Section C
• Detailed Design, Sizing, Cost Estimation, Optimization
• Construction, Start-up and Operation Final Design
• Environmental Protection
• Safety Considerations

Ref: Seider, Seader and Lewin (1999), Chapter 1

 Group Activity #1
Instruction:

In a group of 5 or 6 members.

Answer on the following:

1. Select ONE product from petrochemical industries.
2. Investigate the current demand (Primitive Design
Problems).
3. Carried out a feasibility study (Sustainable design aspect).
4. Discuss a brief pathway to product it.

Note:
Submit short report in LMS (2000 words excluding references),
Due: 10 Jan 2016
Region of all designs
Resources

Possible
designs
Methods

Plausible
designs

Government Controls External constrains

Internal constrains
5 Environmental Issues in Design
1. Handling of toxic wastes
It is essential that facilities be included to remove
pollutants from waste-water streams.
2. Reaction pathways to reduce by-product toxicity
• Especially those recovered as byproducts, needs to be
evaluated.
• Pathways in large quantities of toxic should be
replaced by alternatives, except under unusual
circumstances.
3. Reducing and reusing wastes
• Environmental concerns place even greater emphasis
on recycling for unreacted, product and by-product
chemicals
Environmental Issues in Design (Cont’d)
4. Avoiding non-routine events
• Reduce the likelihood of accidents and spills through the
reduction of transient phenomena, relying on operation at the
nominal steady-state, with reliable controllers and fault-detection
systems.
5. Design objectives, constraints and optimization
• Environmental goals often not well defined because economic
objective functions involve profitability measures, whereas the
value of reduced pollution is often not easily quantified
economically.
• Solutions: mixed objective function (“price of reduced pollution”),
or express environmental goal as “soft” or “hard” constraints.
• Environmental regulations = constraints
Design Approaches for Safety
1. Techniques to Prevent Fires and Explosions
• Inerting - addition of inert dilutant to reduce the fuel
concentration below the LFL
• Installation of grounding devices and anti-static devices to avoid
the buildup of static electricity
• Use of explosion proof equipment
• Ensure ventilation - install sprinkler systems
2. Relief Devices
3. Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment
• the plant is carefully scrutinized to identify all sources of accidents
or hazards.
• Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) study is carried out, in which all
of the possible paths to an accident are identified.
• when sufficient probability data are available, a fault tree is
created and the probability of the occurrence for each potential
accident computed.
To be continued…
Chapter 1b - Introduction to Process and Sustainable Design