Plant Design and Economics -ChEg5184

Tsegay G.

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 Content Overview
Unit I- Introduction to Design

Unit II- Process Design Development

Unit III- General Design Considerations

Unit IV- Flowsheeting

Unit V- Economic Analysis

Unit VI- Selection and specification of equipment

Unit VII- Waste Minimization

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Unit VI- Selection, specification & design of equipment

Introduction
❖ The selection, specification and design of the equipment required to carry
out the function of the process units (unit operations) is necessary.
❖The equipment used in the chemical processes industries can be divided
into two classes: proprietary and non-proprietary.
❖Proprietary equipment, such as pumps, compressors, filters, centrifuges
and dryers, is designed and manufactured by specialist firms.
❖Nonproprietary equipment is designed as special items for particular
processes; for example, reactors, distillation columns and heat exchangers.

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Cont…
❑The chemical engineer’s part in the design of “non-proprietary”
equipment is usually limited to selecting and “sizing” the equipment.
❑For example, in the design of a distillation column his work will
typically be to determine the number of plates; the type and design of
plate; diameter of the column; and the position of the inlet, outlet and
instrument nozzles.
❑This information would then be transmitted, in the form of sketches
and specification sheets, to the specialist mechanical design group, or
the fabricator’s design team, for detailed design

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Solids handling equipment
❑Storage bins, hoppers ; silos
❑ a storage vessel is considered as consisting of a bin and a hopper.
❖A bin is the upper section of the vessel and has vertical sides.
❖The hopper, which has at least one sloping side, is the section between
the bin and the outlet of the vessel.
❑Two important definitions of the flow characteristics of a storage vessel
are
❖mass flow, which means that all the material in the vessel moves
whenever any is withdrawn. and
❖funnel flow, which occurs when only a portion of the material flows
(usually in a channel or rathole in the center of the system.

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Cont..

❑Design Criteria
❑ Jenike’s criteria permit an engineering economic analysis of storage
with about the same confidence level as in the rest of the process plant.
❑His quantitative methods may be used to determine
(1) whether the vessel will function with mass or funnel flow and
(2) the outlet dimensions of the hopper so that product will flow.
❑His methods also provide criteria for making engineering trade-offs
between mass flow and funnel flow when product characteristics, space
limitations, etc., dictate against design for mass flow.

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Cont…
❑A further use of the Jenike method is its extension to the critical structural
design of storage vessels.
❑Because pressures can be calculated, it is possible to design for actual
conditions rather than estimates.
❑Many flow problems can be eliminated at the source by rigid, accurate, and
sensible specification of the physical characteristics of the material.
Things that affect the flowability of a given material
❑Particle size
❑Moisture content
❑High temperatures

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Separation processes
❑ chemical processes consist essentially of reaction stages followed by separation stages
in which the products are separated and purified.
Solid-solid separations
❑ Processes and equipment are required to separate valuable solids from unwanted
material, and for size grading (classifying) solid raw materials and products.
❑ The equipment used for solid-solid separation processes was developed primarily for
the minerals processing and metallurgical industries for the benefication (up-grading)
of ores.
❑ The techniques used depend on differences in physical, rather than chemical,
properties, though chemical additives may be used to enhance separation.
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Cont…
❑ Screening (sieving)
❖Screens separate particles on the basis of size.
❖Their main application is in grading raw materials and products into
size ranges, but they are also used for the removal of trash (over-and
under-sized contaminants) and for dewatering.
❖Industrial screening equipment is used over a wide range of particle
sizes, from fine powders to large rocks.
❖For small particles woven cloth or wire screens are used, and for larger
sizes, perforated metal plates or grids.

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Cont…
❑Screen sizes are defined in two ways: by a mesh size number for small
sizes and by the actual size of opening in the screen for the larger sizes.
❑ There are several different standards in use for mesh size, and it is
important to quote the particular standard used when specifying
particle size ranges by mesh size.
❑The simplest industrial screening equipment are stationary screens,
over which the material to be screened flows.

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Cont…
❑ Liquid-solid cyclones
❖Cyclones can be used for the classification of solids, as well as for
liquid-solid, and liquid-liquid separations.
❖Liquid cyclones can be used for the classification of solid particles over
a size range from 5 to 100 micro meter.
❖Commercial units are available in a wide range of materials of
construction and sizes; from as small as 10 mm to up to 30 m diameter.
❖ The separating efficiency of liquid cyclones depends on the particle
size and density, and the density and viscosity of the liquid medium.

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Cont…
❑ Classifying centrifuges
❖ Centrifuges are used for the classification of particles in size ranges
below 10 micro meter.
❖ Two types are used: solid bowl centrifuges, usually with a cylindrical,
conical bowl, rotated about a horizontal axis; and “nozzle” bowl
machines, fitted with discs.

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Cont…
Liquid-solid (solid-liquid) separators
❑The need to separate solid and liquid phases is probably the most
common phase separation requirement in the process industries, and a
variety of techniques is used.
❑Separation is effected by either the difference in density between the
liquid and solids, using either gravity or centrifugal force, or, for
filtration, depends on the particle size and shape.
❑The most suitable technique to use will depend on the solids
concentration and feed rate, as well as the size and nature of the solid
particles.

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Cont…
❑ Filtration
❖In filtration processes the solids are separated from the liquid by passing
(filtering) the slurry through some form of porous filter medium.
❖The principal factors to be considered when selecting filtration equipment
are:
1. The nature of the slurry and the cake formed. 2. The solids concentration in
the feed. 3. The throughput required. 4. The nature and physical properties of
the liquid: viscosity, flammability, toxicity, corrosiveness. 5. Whether cake
washing is required. 6. The cake dryness required. 7. Whether contamination
of the solid by a filter aid is acceptable. 8. Whether the valuable product is
the solid or the liquid, or both.

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Cont…
❑ Solids drying
❖Drying is the removal of water, or other volatile liquids, by evaporation.
❖Most solid materials require drying at some stage in their production.
❖ The choice of suitable drying equipment cannot be separated from the selection of the
upstream equipment feeding the drying stage.
❖Drying equipment can be classified according to the following design and operating
features:
1. Batch or continuous.
2. Physical state of the feed: liquid, slurry, wet solid.
3. Method of conveyance of the solid: belt, rotary, fluidised.
4. Heating system: conduction, convection, radiation.

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Cont…
❖The main factors to be considered when selecting a dryer are:
1. Feed condition: solid, liquid, paste, powder, crystals.
2. Feed concentration, the initial liquid content.
3. Product specification: dryness required, physical form.
4. Throughput required.
5. Heat sensitivity of the product.
6. Nature of the vapour: toxicity, flammability.
7. Nature of the solid: flammability (dust explosion hazard), toxicity.

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Cont…
Liquid-liquid separation
❖Separation of two liquid phases, immiscible or partially miscible liquids, is a
common requirement in the process industries.
❖For example, in the unit operation of liquid-liquid extraction the liquid contacting
step must be followed by a separation stage
❖It is also frequently necessary to separate small quantities of entrained water from
process streams.
❖The simplest form of equipment used to separate liquid phases is the gravity
settling tank, the decanter.
❖Various proprietary equipment is also used to promote coalescence and improve
separation in difficult systems, or where emulsions are likely to form. Centrifugal
separators are also used.

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Cont…
❑Decanters (settlers)
❖Decanters are used to separate liquids where there is a sufficient
difference in density between the liquids for the droplets to settle
readily.
❖Decanters are essentially tanks which give sufficient residence time for
the droplets of the dispersed phase to rise (or settle) to the interface
between the phase.
❖ In an operating decanter there will be three distinct zones or bands:
clear heavy liquid; separating dispersed liquid (the dispersion zone); and
clear light liquid.

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Cont…
❖ A great variety of vessel shapes is used for decanters, but for most
applications a cylindrical vessel will be suitable, and will be the cheapest
shape.

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Cont…
❑Liquid-liquid extraction
❖Solvent extraction, also, called liquid-liquid extraction can be used to
separate a substance from a solution by extraction into another solvent.
❖ It can be used either to recover a valuable substance from the original
solution, or to purify the original solvent by removing an unwanted
component.
❑Leaching
❖Liquids can be extracted from solids by leaching. As the name implies, the
soluble liquid contained in a solid is leached out by contacting the solid with
a suitable solvent.

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Gas-solids Separations
❖The primary need for gas-solid separation processes is for gas cleaning:
the removal of dispersed finely divided solids (dust) and liquid mists
from gas streams.
❖Process gas streams must often be cleaned up to prevent
contamination of catalysts or products, and to avoid damage to
equipment, such as compressors.
❖effluent gas streams must be cleaned to comply with air-pollution
regulations and for reasons of hygiene, to remove toxic and other
hazardous materials.

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Cont…
❖There is also often a need for clean, filtered, air for process using air as
a raw material, and where clean working atmospheres are needed: for
instance, in the pharmaceutical and electronics industries.
❖The particles to be removed may range in size from large molecules,
measuring a few hundredths of a micrometre, to the coarse dusts arising
from the attrition of catalysts or the fly ash from the combustion of
pulverized fuels.
❖Gas-cleaning equipment can be classified according to the mechanism
employed to separate the particles: gravity settling, impingement,
centrifugal force, filtering, washing and electrostatic precipitation.

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Comminution Equipment
❑Crushing is the first step in the process of size reduction; reducing large
lumps to manageable sized pieces.
❑For some processes crushing is sufficient, but for chemical processes it
is usually followed by grinding to produce a fine-sized powder.
❑The designer must rely on experience, and the advice of the
equipment manufacturers, when selecting and sizing crushing and
grinding equipment; and to estimate the power requirements.

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Cont…
❖The main factors to be considered when selecting equipment for crushing
and grinding are:
1. The size of the feed.
2. The size reduction ratio.
3. The required particle size distribution of the product.
4. The throughput.
5. The properties of the material: hardness, abrasiveness, stickiness, density,
toxicity, flammability.
6. Whether wet grinding is permissible.

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Mixing Equipment
❖The preparation of mixtures of solids, liquids and gases is an essential
part of most production processes in the chemical and allied industries;
covering all processing stages, from the preparation of reagents through
to the final blending of products.
❖The equipment used depends on the nature of the materials and the
degree of mixing required.
❖Mixing is often associated with other operations, such as reaction and
heat transfer. Liquid and solids mixing operations are frequently carried
out as batch processes.

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Cont…
❑Gas mixing
❖Specialized equipment is seldom needed for mixing gases, which
because of their low viscosities mix easily.
❖The mixing given by turbulent flow in a length of pipe is usually
sufficient for most purposes.
❖Turbulence promoters, such as orifices or baffles, can be used to
increase the rate of mixing.

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Cont…
❑Liquid mixing
❖The following factors must be taken into account when choosing equipment
for mixing liquids:
1. Batch / continuous operation.
2. Nature of the process: miscible liquids, preparation of solutions, or
dispersion of immiscible liquids.
3. Degree of mixing required.
4. Physical properties of the liquids, particularly the viscosity.
5. Whether the mixing is associated with other operations: reaction, heat
transfer.

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Transport And Storage Of Materials
❑Gases
❖The type of equipment best suited for the pumping of gases in
pipelines depends on the flow-rate, the differential pressure required,
and the operating pressure.
❖Gases are stored at high pressures where this is a process requirement
and to reduce the storage volume. For some gases the volume can be
further reduced by liquefying the gas by pressure or refrigeration.
➢Fans and compressors are used for transport of gases.

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Cont…
❑Liquids
❖Liquids are usually stored in bulk in vertical cylindrical steel tanks. Fixed and
floating-roof tanks are used.
❖In a floating-roof tank a movable piston floats on the surface of the liquid
and is sealed to the tank walls.
❖Floating-roof tanks are used to eliminate evaporation losses and, for
flammable liquids, to obviate the need for inert gas blanketing to prevent an
explosive mixture forming above the liquid, as would be the situation with a
fixed-roof tank.
❖Horizontal cylindrical tanks and rectangular tanks are also used for storing
liquids, usually for relatively small quantities.

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Cont…
❑Pumps are used for transport of liquids.
The power required for pumping an incompressible fluid is given by:

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Cont…
❑Solids
❖The movement and storage of solids is usually more expensive than the
movement of liquids and gases, which can be easily pumped down a
pipeline.
❖The best equipment to use will depend on a number of factors:
1. The throughput.
2. Length of travel.
3. Change in elevation.
4. Nature of the solids: size, bulk density, angle of repose, abrasiveness,
corrosiveness, wet or dry.

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Cont…
❖Belt conveyors are the most commonly used type of equipment for the
continuous transport of solids.
❖They can carry a wide range of materials economically over long and
short distances; both horizontally or at an appreciable angle, depending
on the angle of repose of the solids.
❖Overhead bunkers, also called bins or hoppers, are normally used for
the short-term storage of materials that must be readily available for the
process.
❖They are arranged so that the material can be withdrawn at a steady
rate from the base of the bunker on to a suitable conveyor.

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Reactors
❖The reactor is the heart of a chemical process. It is the only place in the process
where raw materials are converted into products, and reactor design is a vital
step in the overall design of the process.
❖The design of an industrial chemical reactor must satisfy the following
requirements:
1. The chemical factors: the kinetics of the reaction.
2. The mass transfer factors
3. The heat transfer factors: the removal, or addition, of the heat of reaction.
4. The safety factors: the confinement of hazardous reactants and products, and
the control of the reaction and the process conditions.

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Distillation column design
The design of a distillation column can be divided into the following steps:
1. Specify the degree of separation required: set product specifications.
2. Select the operating conditions: batch or continuous; operating pressure.
3. Select the type of contacting device: plates or packing.
4. Determine the stage and reflux requirements: the number of equilibrium
stages.
5. Size the column: diameter, number of real stages.
6. Design the column internals: plates, distributors, packing supports.
7. Mechanical design: vessel and internal fittings.

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 End of unit 6

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