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CHAPTER 6

EQUIPMENT SIZING AND MECHANICAL DESIGN

6.1 Equipment Sizing

Equipment sizing is crucial part in plant design. It affects profitability of a

plant where the choice of material used and size of the units determine feasibility of a
plant. For this purpose, the calculations are based on the throughput into the
equipment and its corresponding operating parameters. The results will be needed
for the cost correlations to estimate the equipment cost. In the following section,
equipment sizing for all units in our ethylene glycol plant will be conducted.

In ammonia production plant, it involves many major types of equipment in

the set-up of the plant. Generally, the units comprises of reactor, flash column,
mixer, pump, heat exchanger and compressor. All the calculated data are tabulated in
Appendix A.

In this plant design, equipment sizing and costing will be referred to Product
and Process design Principles.
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Table 7.1: The equipment list.

Equipment Quantity

Compressor 1
Heat Exchanger 5
Reactor 1
Flash Column 3
Mixer 3

In this chapter, the summary result of all equipment will be shown and the
detailed calculation can be found in Appendix A. The result of this chapter will be
used in the calculation of mechanical design.

6.1.1 Heat Exchanger

Sizing The heat exchanger really applies to all types of equipment in which
heat is exchanged but is often used specially to denote equipment in which heat is
exchanged between two process streams. Exchangers in which a process fluid is
heated or cooled by a plant service stream are referred to as heaters and coolers. If
the process stream is vaporized the exchanger is called a vaporized if the stream is
essentially completely vaporized; a reboiler and condenser if associated with a
distillation column. The general equation for heat transfer across a surface is:

Q = U A ∆Tm
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where,
Q = heat transferred per unit mean temperature difference, °C
U = overall heat transfer coefficient, W/m2.°C
A = transfer area, m2
∆Tm = mean temperature difference, °C

The principal types of heat exchanger used in chemical process and allied industries
are:

a) Double pipe heat exchanger: the simplest type, used for cooling and heating.
b) Shell and tube exchangers: used for all applications.
c) Plate and frame exchangers (plate heat exchangers): used for heating and
cooling.
d) Air cooler: cooling and condensers.
e) Direct contact: cooling and quenching.

Since shell and tube exchanger is the most commonly used of heat transfer
equipment used in chemical and allied industries, it was chosen as the exchanger type
in the design, the advantages of this type are:

a) The configuration gives a large surface area in a small volume.

b) Good mechanical layout: a good shape for pressure operation
c) Uses well-established fabrication techniques.
d) Can be constructed from a wide range of materials.
e) Easily cleaned.
f) Well-established design procedures.

The designing procedures are based on the Kern’s and Bell’s method (Sinnott, 1996).
The design produce is as below:
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a) Define the duty: heat transfer rate, fluids flow rate and temperature.
b) Collect the fluid physical required: density, viscosity and thermal
conductivity.
c) Decide the type of exchanger to be used.
d) Select the trial value for the exchanger to be used.
e) Calculate the mean temperature different, ∆Tlm.
f) Calculate the area required.
g) Decide the exchanger layout.
h) Calculate the individual coefficients.
i) Calculate the overall coefficient and compare with the trial value.

If the calculated value differs from the estimate value, substitute the calculated value
and return to step (6)
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Below is the summary table for sizing and costing of heat exchanger

Table 6.2: Sizing summary for heat exchanger HX-11

EQUIPMENT SPECIFICATION SHEET

Identification: Heater

Item No = HE 1

Function : To increase temperature of products stream

Design Specification Tube side

T inlet 140 ºC

T outlet 231ºC
Type of heat Shell and tube (split ring floating head)1
exchanger shell : 2 tube passes Shell side

Material Stainless steel T inlet 250 ºC

Tube arrangement Triangle T outlet 150 ºC

Operating condition

Heat transfer area 174.9231 m2

Heat duty 981100 kW

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Table 6.3: Sizing summary for heat exchanger HX-2

EQUIPMENT SPECIFICATION SHEET

Identification: Heater

Item No = HE 2

Function : To increase temperature of products stream

Design Specification Tube side

T inlet 28 ºC

T outlet 162 ºC
Type of heat Shell and tube (split ring floating head)1
exchanger shell : 2 tube passes Shell side

Material Stainless steel T inlet 280 ºC

Tube arrangement Triangle T outlet 40 ºC

Operating condition

Heat transfer area 167.4368 m2

Heat duty 247700 kW

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Table 6.4: Sizing summary for heat exchanger HX-3

EQUIPMENT SPECIFICATION SHEET

Identification: Cooler

Item No = HE 3

Function : To decrease temperature of products stream

Design Specification Tube side

T inlet 38 ºC

T outlet -40 ºC
Type of heat Shell and tube (split ring floating head)1
exchanger shell : 2 tube passes Shell side

Material Stainless steel T inlet - 50 ºC

Tube arrangement Triangle T outlet 35 ºC

Operating condition

Heat transfer area 195.4736 m2

Heat duty 22700 kW

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Table 6.5: Sizing summary for heat exchanger HX-4

EQUIPMENT SPECIFICATION SHEET

Identification: Cooler

Item No = HE 4

Function : To decrease temperature of products stream

Design Specification Tube side

T inlet -116 ºC

T outlet -192 ºC
Type of heat Shell and tube (split ring floating head)1
exchanger shell : 2 tube passes Shell side

Material Stainless steel T inlet -196 ºC

Tube arrangement Triangle T outlet -130 ºC

Operating condition

Heat transfer area 44.5545 m2

Heat duty 71130 kW

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Table 6.6: Sizing summary for heat exchanger HX-4

EQUIPMENT SPECIFICATION SHEET

Identification: Cooler

Item No = HE 5

Function : To decrease temperature of products stream

Design Specification Tube side

T inlet 38 ºC

T outlet -40 ºC
Type of heat Shell and tube (split ring floating
exchanger head)1 shell : 2 tube passes Shell side

Material Stainless steel T inlet - 50 ºC

Tube arrangement Triangle T outlet 35 ºC

Operating condition

Heat transfer area 0.1742 m2

Heat duty 201.1 kW

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6.1.2 Reactor

The main function in the reactor is to synthesis ammonia that is formed by

hydrogen and nitrogen. The synthesis of ammonia is carried out at 450 oC and 172.71
atm. In terms of reactor design, decisions must be made due to the type of reaction,
concentration, temperature, pressure, phase and catalyst. Then, a practical reactor is
selected, approaching as nearly as possible the ideal in order that the design can
proceed.

For our plant, the type of reactor that we choose isplug flow reactor reactor.
This type of reactor is especially suited to our plant that needing considerable heat
transfer, where high pressure and very high temperature occur, and when relatively
short reaction times suffice. The catalyst that filled in the tube side improves heat
transfer by increased turbulent. The characteristics and assumptions for reactor are
stated as below:
 Heterogeneous, which promoted iron; α-Al2O3 is used as catalyst that packed
in tube. The spherical catalyst is chosen in order to increase the reaction area.
This catalyst has a very long life.
 Material of construction: Stainless steel (304)
 Steady state condition
 No radial variation in concentration in the reactor
 The concentration of reactants and products are varies continuous in the axial
direction through the reactor

The fixed bed reactor can be designed as unit in large cylinder with jacketed
or cooling as needed. It can also be designed as multiple units with heating or
cooling between the separate beds to maintain the necessary temperature levels. The
design of unit of this type is often based on the assumption of ideal plug flow.
Summary of reactor R-4 calculation as shown in table below and detailed calculation
are shown in Appendix D.1.
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Table 6.7: Sizing summary for reactor

Equipment Specification Sheet
Item no Reactor (R-1)
INdentification Plug Flow Reactor
Function Synthesis of Ammonia
Operation Parameter
Temperature oC 167
Pressure (atm) 1
Flowrates (kg/hr) 130182.76
Amount of catalyst 634.15 kg
Specification
Design type Horizontal cylinder
Material of construction Stainless Steel 316
Number of unit 3
Vessel(each reactor)
Diameter(m) 2.80
Length (m) 11.2
Volume (m3) 11.58
Number of tubes 749

6.1.3 Mixer

The preparation of mixtures of solids, liquids and gases is an essential part of

most production process in the chemical and allied industries; covering all processing
stages, from the preparation of reagents through to the final blending of products.
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The equipment used depends on the nature of the materials and the degree of mixing
required.
The function of a mixer is to mix the different component from different
stream into one stream. Turbulent flow is important to make sure that the component
to mix well. In theory, turbulent flow can be achieve when the Reynolds Number
>2000. Therefore, for the mixer Ammonia Production Plant, a space time assumption
of 180 seconds is made in order to achieve a Reynolds Number >2000
(Geankoplis,1993).

Table 6.8 : Sizing summary for mixer Mix-100

EQUIPMENT SPECIFICATION SHEET

Item no Mixer (MIX-100)
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Function To mix the feed from two stream into one stream
Operating Condition
Temperature (̊C) 140.4
Pressure (atm) 5.132
Specification
Design type Vertical vessel
Material of construction Stainless steel
Vessel
Diameter (m) 7.528 m
Height (m) 11.292 m
Volume (m3) 223.38 m3
Total volumetric flow rate 1.241 m3/s
(m3/s)

Space time (s) 180

Power Consumption (kW) 4391.6255 kW

Table 6.9 : Sizing summary for mixer Mix-101

EQUIPMENT SPECIFICATION SHEET

Item no Mixer (MIX-101)
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Function To mix Hydrogen and Oxygen

Operating Condition
Temperature (̊C) 46.3
Pressure (atm) 2.
Specification
Design type Vertical vessel
Material of construction Stainless steel
Vessel
Diameter (m) 10.852 m
Height (m) 16.278 m
Volume (m3) 669.096 m3
Total volumetric flow rate 3.7172 m3/s
(m3/s)
Space time (s) 180
Power Consumption (kW) 11676.38 kW

Table 6.10 : Sizing summary for mixer Mix-101

EQUIPMENT SPECIFICATION SHEET

Item no Mixer (MIX-102)
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Function To mix the feed from two stream into one stream
Operating Condition
Temperature (̊C) 46.3
Pressure (atm) 2.
Specification
Design type Vertical vessel
Material of construction Stainless steel
Vessel
Diameter (m) 11.346 m
Height (m) 17.019 m
Volume (m3) 764.694 m3
Total volumetric flow rate 4.2483 m3/s
(m3/s)
Space time (s) 180
Power Consumption (kW) 14621.295 kW

6.1.4 Flash Column

A vapor-liquid separator drum is a vertical vessel into which a liquid and

vapor mixture (or a flashing liquid) is fed and wherein the liquid is separated by
gravity, falls to the bottom of the vessel, and is withdrawn. The vapor travels upward
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at a design velocity, which minimizes the entrainment of any liquid droplets in the
vapor as it exits the top of the vessel.

Table 7.11 : Sizing summary for Flash Column

6.1.5 Compressor

Compressor is used to compress gases from one point to another point. There are
three type of compressor widely use in the process industries namely, centrifugal,
EQUIPMENT SPECIFICATION SHEET
Identification: Flash column
Item Number: V-001
No required : 1
Function : To separate Water from Hydrogen
Specification
Operation Continuous
Vapor flow rate 3763 m3/s
Liquid flow rate 3450 m3/s
Max. vapor velocity
Internal pressure 2.93 atm

Equipment sizing
Material Stainless Steel 316
Vessel Internal Diameter 0.5846 m
Corrosion allowance 4 mm
Vessel thickness 8.643 mm
Disengagement space 0.597 m
Volume of liquid hold-up 0.1435 m3
Liquid depth 0.5347 m
Total volume 0.627 m3
Height 2.3382 m
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reciprocating and axial flow compressor. Each compressor is generally a function of

the gas capacity, action and discharge head.

In this ammonia plant, the compressor is used to increase the pressure from 6,076.16
kPa to 17,498.97 kPa of the gases in the initial feed stream. Centrifugal compressor
is well suited to the application involving high flowrate. The compressor we used is
staged centrifugal compressor driven with an electric motor. MPF or Fd for this type
of compressor is equivalent to 1.00

Inlet

Rotating shaft

Outlet

Figure 7.1: Compressor

From the figure above, the work produced is given by the general expression:

Compressor: Ws
With:
Ws = work capacity J/hr = 8553706158 J/hr
μ = molar gas flow rate mole/hr = 1519840 mol/hr
γ = Cp/Cv = 1.005/0.71 = 1.4
R = 8.314 J/mole.K.
To = Inlet Temperature K = 311.15 K
Pi = Inlet Pressure atm = 1 atm
Po = Outlet Pressure atm = 5.43 atm
For work actual,
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Wb = 𝑊𝑆 = 1.188014744 x 1010
𝜂𝑐 𝜂𝑚
Where;
ηc = 0.8 (compression efficiency)
ηm = 0.9 (motor efficiency)

Wb /3600 = 3300040.956 J/s

Power = 4425 hp. / 3299.72 kW

Pump detail:

Figure 7.2 : Summary of Typical Compressor Selection Guidelines

To accommodate our short-cut method, we make several assumptions:

1) Assume an ideal, isentropic and adiabatic system.
2) For compressor efficiency, we choose ηc = 0.8 for compression work and ηm =
0.9 for motor efficiency.

Compressor is used to compress gases to the pressure required and compression will
increase the temperature of gas or vapour. In the ammonia production plant, only one
compressor is used (COMP-01).

Centrifugal compressor
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Advantage Disadvantage

 Wide operating range  Instability at reduce flow

 High reliability  Sensitive to gas composition
 Low maintenance change

6.2 Mechanical Design

In this section, the engineering data specification sheets for all the units in the
plant will present which include all the major equipment and auxiliary unit in the
plant. This specification sheets are the summary of the detail equipment sizing and
mechanical design of the units according to British Standard BS 5500 code. The
design was incorporated with safety factors to conservativeness in calculation and
follows the minimum requirements dictated by the code. Also, the appropriate
material of construction was chosen for each equipment to withstand the plant’s
operating condition.
The following section shall discuss the general design procedure. In addition,
the assembly drawings showing mechanical engineering design of each process
vessels and its corresponding equipment specification sheet are also presented.
Meanwhile, the detailed calculation for mechanical engineering design of equipment
is provided in Appendix B

Table 6.12 : Specification sheet for Flash Column

EQUIPMENT SPECIFICATION SHEET

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Identification: Flash column By: Alvin Rizano Iswandi

Item Number: V-001 Date: 10 June 2016
No required : 1
Function : To separate Water from Hydrogen
Specification
Operation Continuous
Vapor flow rate 3763 m3/s
Liquid flow rate 3450 m3/s
Max. vapor velocity
Internal pressure 2.93 atm

Equipment sizing
Material Stainless Steel 316
Vessel Internal Diameter 0.5846 m
Corrosion allowance 4 mm
Vessel thickness 8.643 mm
Disengagement space 0.597 m
Volume of liquid hold-up 0.1435 m3
Liquid depth 0.5347 m
Total volume 0.627 m3
Height 2.3382 m

Table 6.13 : Specification sheet for Reactor, R-01

EQUIPMENT SPECIFICATION SHEET

Identification : Plug Flow catalytic reactor
Item No. : R-01
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Specification Data Mechanical Design Data

Design type Horizontal Design stress 205 N/mm2
Material of Construction Stainless steel (304) Vessel weight 28779.0061 N
Material of insulation Fibreglass, 75mm Insulation weight 14540.24 N
Domed head type Torispherical Catalyst weight 6221.012 N
Operating Condition Data Total vessel weight 4780505.078N
Pressure stress, L 25.736 N/mm2
Temperature in 167 oC 51.472 N/mm2
Pressure stress, h
Temperature out 167 oC 3.7098 N/mm2
Dead weight stress
Pressure in 1 atm 3.9224 N/mm2
Bending stress
Pressure out 1 atm
Longitudinal stress,
Residence time,  33 s +29.6584 N/mm2
z(upwind)
Catalyst Ni
z(downwind) 21.8136/mm2
Catalyst weight 634.15 kg
Young’s modulus 34000
Reactor volume 18.53 m3
Critical buckling stress 33.5310 N/mm2

Design Sizing Data Vessel Support Data

Domed head wall thickness, c 2.76234 mm Type of support saddle
Column diameter, e 0.76138 m Material of construction Stainless steel
Saddle height (m),V 1.102 Bolt diameter 24 mm
Total column height, a 2.9457 m Bolt holes 30
Column wall thickness, b 82 mm
saddle thickness* 2.76138 mm
Number of tube 749
Weight of catalyst in each tube 0.8467 kg