THE DESIGN PROCESS Ref: Seider, Seader and Lewin (2004), Chapter 1 ‘The Dezign Process Scanned with CamScanner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 2 ‘The Design Process Scanned with CamScanner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 ® Partly due to the growing awareness of the public, many design projects involve the redesign, or retrofitting, of existing chemical processes to solve environmental problems and to adhere to stricter standards of safety 3 The Design Process Scanned with CamScanner| Origins of Design Problems ® Often, design problems result from the explorations of chemists, biochemists, and engineers in research labs to satisfy the desires of customers to obtain chemicals with improved properties for many applications However, several well-known products, like Teflon (poly- tetrafluoroethylene), were discovered by accident. In other cases, an inexpensive source of a raw material(s) becomes available Other design problems originate when new markets are discovered, especially in developing countries Yet another source of design projects is the engineer himself, who often has a strong inclination that a new chetnical or route to produce an existing chemical can be very profitable. @ @ @® @ 4 The Design Process Scanned with CamScanner| Typical Primitive Design Problem Consider, the need to manufacture vinyl chloride (VC), Hy cl peo A typical primitive problem statement is as follows: “An opportunity has arisen to satisfy a new demand for VC monomer (VCM), on the order of 800 million pounds per year, in a petrochemical complex on the Gulf Coast, given that an existing plant owned by the company produces one- billion pounds per year of this commodity chemical. Since VCM is an extremely toxic substance, it is recommended that all new facilities be designed carefully to satisfy governmental health and safety regulations.” ‘The Design Process Scanned with CamScanner[Steps in Process Design and Retrofit | Assess Primitive Preblem Detailed Precess Plant-wide Synthesis - Development |. | controllability Algorithmic of Base-case Assessment Methods ae Detailed Design, Equipment sizing, Cap. Cost Estimation, Profitability Analysis, Optimization The Design Process Scanned with CamScanner[Steps in Process Design and Retrofit | SECTION A ae Assess Primitive Problem Detailed Precess ' Plant-wide Synthesis - Development | _) Controllability Algorithmic of Base-case Assessment Methods ——- Detailed Design, Equipment sizing, Cap. Cost Estimation, Profitability Analysis, Optimization The Design Process Scanned with CamScannerSteps in Process Design and Retrofit | The Design Process Scanned with CamScannerAssess Primitive Problem Process design begins with a primitive design problem that expresses the current situation and provides an opportunity to satisfy a societal need. Normally, the primitive problem is examined by a small design team, who begins to assess its possibilities, to refine the problem statement, and to generate more specific problems: - Raw materials - available in-house, can be purchased or need to be manufactured? - Scale of the process (based upon a preliminary assessment of the current production, projected market demand, and current and projected selling prices) - Location for the plant Refined through meetings with engineering technical management, business and marketing. © Brainstorming to generate alternatives 9 The Design Process Scanned with CamScannerExample: VC Manufacture To satisfy the need for an additional 800 MM\b/yr of VCM, the following plausible alternatives might be generated: Alternative 1, A competitor's plant, which produces 2 MMM Ib/yr of VCM and is located about 100 miles away, might be expanded to produce the required amount, which would be shipped. In this case, the design team projects the purchase price and designs storage facilities. Alternative 2. Purchase and ship, by pipeline from a nearby plant, chlorine from the electrolysis of NaCl solution. React the chlorine with ethylene to produce the monomer and HClas abyproduct. Alternative 3. Since the existing company produces HClas a byproduct in large quantities are produced, HCl is normally available at low prices. Reactions of HCl with acetylene, or ethylene and oxygen, could produce 1,2-dichloroethane, an intermediate that can be cracked to produce vinyl chloride. The Design Process Scanned with CamScannerSurvey Literature Sources Stanford Research Institute (SRI) Design Reports Encyclopedias - Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology (1991) - Ullman's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry (1988) - Encyclopedia of Chemical Processing and Design (McKetta and Cumingham, 1976) Handbooks and Reference Books - Perry's Chemical Engineers Handbook (1997) - CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (1997) Indexes - See Ferdowsi Library Patents (see web for example www.uspto.gov/patft) Internet The Design Process Scanned with CamScanner[Steps in Process Design and Retrofit | Assess Primitive Plant-wide Development |.) Controllability of Base-case Assessment SECTION B | — Detailed Design, Equipment sizing, Cap. Cost Estimation, Profitability Analysis, Optimization 12 The Design Process Scanned with CamScanner| =I | Steps in Process Design and Retrofit | Development of Base Case Demicd Pace [PART H| (Cieate a Process Flowsheet t Proce Integration Synthesis Algor Methods lee| [Separation Train Synthests | Second Law Aualyne | (Fear and Power Invegration fi [PARTI Conteoliabiity ‘Asivssmes: ‘Gualittive Synthows 13. ‘The Design Process Scanned with CamScanner[Steps in Process Design and Retrofit | Assess Primitive Preblem Detailed Precess i Y Plant-wide Synthesis - Development |. | Contrellability Algorithmic of Base-case Assessment Methods Detailed Design, Equipment sizing, Cap, Cost Estimation, SECTION € Profitability Analysis, Optimization The Design Process Scanned with CamScannerSteps in Process Design and Retrofit | [Buntne Tarai Corte sbi Yes Equipmert i Prati Aes, Opie TART Y Tag Rese tics! Earp 5s aio ‘Weltn Poses Design Repo Bees sr Oral Presents Takin ‘ral Dean ‘Analy ‘iguipmen: Drawing ‘pe Dupre Plow HAZUN Anus ce 15 ‘The Design Process Scanned with CamScanner@ @ Environmental Issues in Design Handling of toxic wastes - 97% of hazardous waste generation by the chemicals and nuclear industry is wastewater (1988 data). - Inprocess design, it is essential that facilities be included to remove pollutants from waste-water streams. Reaction pathways to reduce by-product toxicity - As the reaction operations are determined, the toxicity of all of the chemicals, especially those recovered as byproducts, needs to be evaluated. - Pathways involving large quantities of toxic chemicals should be replaced by alternatives, except under unusual circumstances. Reducing and reusing wostes - Environmental concerns place even greater emphasis on recycling, not only for unreacted chemicals, but for product and by-product chemicals, as well. (ie., production of segregated wastes - eg., production of composite materials and polymers), The Design Process Scanned with CamScanner| Environmental Issues in Design (Cont'd) | ® 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. ® 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 quntified economically. - Solutions: mixed objective function (“price of reduced pollution”), or express environmental goal as “soft” or “hard” constraints, - Environmental regulations = constraints 17 The Design Process Scanned with CamScanner| Safety Considerations ® Example Disaster 1 - Flixborough: 1st June 1974 http://www.hse.gov.uk/hid/land/comah/level3/5a591f6.htm - 50 tons of cyclohexane were released from Nyores KA plant (oxidation Gr eyalahenane) leading to release of vapor cloud and its detonation. Total loss of plant and death of 28 plant peeome ighly reactive system - conversions low, with large inventory in plant. Process involved six, 20 ton stirred-tank reactors. - Discharge caused by failure of temporary pipe installed to replace cracked reactor. - The so-called “dog-leg” was not able to contain the operating conditions of the process (10 bar, ] 150 °C) 29-m G0) 1m) 20 18 The Design Process Scanned with CamScannerSafety Considerations (Cont'd) ] ® Example Disaster 2 - Bhopal: 3rd December 1984 http://www.bhopal.com/chrono. htm - Water leakage into MIC (Methyl isocyanate) storage tank leading to boiling and release of 25 tons of toxic MIC vapor, killing more than 3,800 civilians, and injuring tens of thousands more. - MIC vapor released because the refrigeration system intended to cool the storage tank holding 100 tons of MIC had been shut down, the scrubber was not immediately available, and the flare was not in operation. ® Bhopal - What can we learn? - Avoid use of hazardous materials. Minimize stocks of hazardous materials (‘what you don't have, can't leak"). - Carry out HAZOP analysis. - Train operators not to ignore unusual readings. - Keep protective equipment in working order. - Control building near major hazards. 20 The Design Process Scanned with CamScanner| Safety Issues: Fires and Explosions Flammability Limits of Liquids and Gases LFL and UFL (vol %) in Air at 25 °C and 1 Atm Acetylene These limits can be extended for mixtures, and for elevated temperatures and pressures (see Seider et al, 2004). With this kind of information, the process designer makes sure that flammable mixtures do not exist in the process during startup, steady-state operation, or shut-down. 21 The Design Process Scanned with CamScanner| The Design Process - Summary Steps in Designing and Retrofitting Chemical Processes 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 - Environmental regulations = design constraints Safety Considerations - Should strive to design for “inherently safe plants” 2 ‘The Design Process Scanned with CamScanner