Plant Layout Design Rules | Piping Layout Rules (PDF)

whatispiping.com/development-of-plant-layout/

Anup Kumar Dey December 10, 2019

Plant layout design means efficiently placing equipment, piping, instrumentation, and
other manufacturing supports and facilities with proper planning during the design
stage to create the most effective plant layout. It is directly related to project costs as
well. The most efficient plant layout has less overall project cost and the most utilization of all
resources.

Table of Contents

Principles of Plant Layout

Plant Layout Design rules for Site Selection
What is Plot Plan & its requirement?
Data to be collected before starting the process of plant layout development
Statutory Requirements and process plant layout
Expansion Philosophy during plant layout development
Roads & Paving considerations in Plant Layout
Elevations Requirement
Insulation & Fire Proofing considerations in plant layout
Equipment Layout and locations
Considerations for Pipe ways / Pipe racks
Relief valve and Flare systems
Clearance at Pig Receiver
Personal protection Considerations
Process Requirements
Economic Considerations
Erection & Construction

The main objective of efficient plant layout design is to design and construct the plant in an
economic fashion that meets all the process requirements and client specifications while
operating in a safe reliable manner. This article provides the basic considerations for the
development of plant layout. For more details on any of the listed points, you can refer to any
standard piping books.

Principles of Plant Layout

While developing plant layouts following 10 principles are kept in mind.

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 PRINCIPLES OF PLANT LAYOUT

Plant Layout Design rules for Site Selection

Location
Area Allocation
Transport Facilities
Manpower availability
Industrial Infrastructure
Community Infrastructure
Availability of Water
Availability of Power
Effluent Disposal
Availability of Industrial Gas
Site Size
Ecology
Pollution

What is Plot Plan & its requirement?

The plot plan is the master plan locating each unit/facility within the plot boundary for a
process industry such as

Refinery
Chemical /Agro Chemical / Petro Chemical / Organic Chemical / Inorganic Chemical
Fertilizer
Pharmaceutical
Metallurgical
Power Generation

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It is used to locate the unit/facility.

The following main aspects shall be considered during the development of the layout.

Process requirement
The economy of piping material and cables
Erection & Construction requirements
Safety requirements.
Operation and Maintenance requirements.
Grouping of similar equipment for the convenience of maintenance & safety wherever
possible.

Data to be collected before starting the process of plant layout

development

Data from the Civil Department

Plane table survey map.

Contour survey map.
Soil bearing capacity.
Nature of Soil
Rail/Road Access.

Data required from Electrical Team

Location of Electric Supply Point.

Supply voltage levels.
Fault Levels.
Voltage Levels required within the unit.
Proposed distribution scheme.

Non-Plant Facilities

Administrative Block
Canteen
Workshop
R&D, QC Lab, and Pilot Plant
GateHouse/Time office
Security Arrangements
Vehicle Parking
Medical Centre
Ware House
Covered Area

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 Open Area
Solid Warehouse
Liquid Warehouse
Steel / Scrap Yard
Fire Station
Weigh Bridge
Staff Colony

Meteorological Data

Minimum, Maximum, and Normal Temperature during the year

Rainfall
Intensity and Direction of the wind (wind rose)
Seismic zone
Wet and Dry Bulb temperatures
Relative humidity
Flood level

Process Data

Size/Capacity of the processing unit

Knowledge of the type of plant
The sequence of process flow
Hazardous nature of the plant
The Overall operating philosophy
Fully Automatic
Partially Automatic
Manual
Batch/Continuous
Raw material receipt and product dispatch philosophy
Storage Philosophy
Effluent plant capacity and discharge points, incineration requirements, etc.
Type of Hazard
No of flares

Data on Utilities

Source and/or supply point of raw water

Quality of Water available
Water Consumption for the process
The requirement of different types of utilities such as Steam, Air, Nitrogen, DM water,
Firewater, Brine, etc.
Capacities and Grouping philosophy.

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Statutory Requirements and process plant layout
State Industrial Development Corporation (SIDC)
Central / State Environmental Pollution Control Boards (PCBs)
Factory Inspectorate
State Electricity Boards (SEB)
Chief Controller of Explosives (CCOE)
Static and Mobile Pressure Vessel Rules (SMPV)
Tariff Advisory Committee (TAC)
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA)
Aviation Laws
Chief Inspector of Boilers (CIB)
Oil Industry Safety Directorate (OISD)
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF)

Expansion Philosophy during plant layout development

Within the unit
Additional Units
Near future expansion
Far future expansion

Considerations during plant layout

Normally Construction is permitted on a maximum of 50% of the plot area with a total
built-up area equal to the area of the plot (i.e. F.S.I. = 1 (Depending upon the regulation
governing the area and the type of industry))
The area reserved for tree plantation shall be 1/3 of the area occupied.
Water storage capacity – 24 hr. minimum.
Domestic water – 100 liters per person per day
Water requirement for Boiler – Steam rating x Working factor
Cooling tower – 11/4 % of capacity as drift and blowdown losses
Washing – 10-15 liters per day per sq. ft. of the floor area of the plant
Gardening – 5 liters per day per sq. ft. of garden area
Parking space – 10% of the plot area

Roads & Paving considerations in Plant Layout

Roads in the plant shall be planned for the effective movement of trucks, cranes &
emergency vehicles, etc. Road width (Blacktop) shall be generally as follows unless
specially requested.

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 Main plant road & roads connecting to Plant boundaries, roads for fire fighting access
are 6 meters wide (Min)
Secondary roads 4 meters wide (Min)
The turning radius of the road shall be adequate for the mobile equipment & shall clear
of any obstruction. The minimum turning radius is to be the same as the length of the
vehicle.
The finish of the road i.e. graded or blacktop shall be decided in the beginning while
developing a plot layout.
Paving should be provided around the equipment where spillage is likely to occur. For
example Pumps or machinery, below furnaces or fired heaters, compressors, etc.
Also paving should be provided below the Air fin cooler those are located at grade.
Area handling acids, alkalis, or toxic material shall be paved and bunded. Proper
surface treatment shall be provided for paving to meet the service requirements.

The below sketch (Fig. 1) shows the minimum distance required between the road and the
facility. This distance shall be reviewed on a case-to-case basis for the project.

Fig. 1: Minimum distance required between the road and the facility

Elevations Requirement
Below data for the elevations should be generally followed.
Underside the base plate of Structural steel: Min150 mm. above HP of finished
grade/paving.
Stair or ladder pads: Minimum 75 mm. above HP of finished grade/paving.
Top of Pedestal of Vessel & Tower: Min300 mm. above HP of finished grade/paving.
Top of Pump pedestal: Minimum 200 mm. above HP of finished grade/paving.

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Insulation & Fire Proofing considerations in plant layout
Fireproofing requirements for pipe racks, vessel supports, and process structure should
be considered as these reduce the clearances with access, pipework, instrument &
electrical equipment.
Proper insulation thickness should be considered for pipework & equipment
clearances.

Equipment Layout and locations

Pumps: Locate pumps close to the suction source considering NPSH requirements.
Pumps & driver axis should be located perpendicular to the pipe rack or other
equipment to minimize fire exposure in case of pump seal failure.
Gas compressor or Expanders: Gas compressors should be located downwind of the
fired heaters, flare, or any open flame equipment. They may be grouped together for
maintenance & operations (Common EOT / drop-down area, the single sunshade can
be made)
Plant Air & Instrument air compressors: Plant air & instrument air is vital to the
service of the plant. These units should be located near the control room & shall be
kept in a safe area sufficiently away from the HAC of equipment.
Heat Exchangers: Heat exchangers are generally placed on grade unless otherwise
due to process or technical reasons. (Platform for vertical heat exchangers, Tube
bundle removal area, access to mobile crane or monorail with hoist shall be
considered)
Air cooler: The air cooler is located in such a way as to allow access to mobile lifting
equipment. Preferably air cooler is located in the main equipment row in accordance
with process requirements.
Cooling Towers: Cooling towers shall be located away from the process equipment &
downwind of the process equipment, substation, and main pipe rack.
Offsite Tanks: Storage tanks (Grouped and shall be surrounded by a dike wall,
Primary/secondary roads for adequate firefighting accessibility, Lower elevations than
the other occupancies and downwind flares, furnace heaters). Emergency shutdown
valve, pumps, manifold & transfer piping shall be outside the dike area.

Considerations for Pipe ways / Pipe racks

Pipe ways or pipe racks should be overhead in-process main unit and at grade in off-
site.
Width is determined based on present need + 10% at outset of the job + 15% for future
requirements or as specified by the client.
The requirement of expansion bays, anchor bays & bracing shall be checked with the
stress / structural engineer at the beginning of the pipe rack layout.

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Relief valve and Flare systems
A closed relief valve system
Self-draining
No pocket to avoid condensation & backpressure.
Flare shall be located upwind process unit & storage.

Clearance at Pig Receiver

The area at the end closure of the Receiver shall be kept free to avoid any incident.
Provide a concrete wall a minimum of 20 meters away (Fig. 2) from the end closure if
the area needs to be utilized for any equipment.

Fig. 2: Clearance at Pig Launcher

Personal protection Considerations

Eyewash and emergency showers shall be provided in an area where operators are
subject to hazardous sprays or spills.
Breathing air stations in the facilities handling extremely toxic gases/fluids.

Fig. 3 shows a typical plant layout.

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 Fig. 3: Typical plant layout

What is a Hazard Classification?

Hazardous area classification is the risk locating plan for each unit/facility within the
plot boundary for the process industry.
The Plot plan will be used by indicating the boundaries of the risk area.
HAC drawings are generally used by operators while issuing work permits.

HAC Standard
HAZARDOUS AREA: An area in which an explosive gas atmosphere is present, or
maybe expected to be present, in quantities such as to require special precautions for
the construction, installation, and use of apparatus.
NON-HAZARDOUS AREA: An area in which an explosive gas atmosphere is not
expected to be present, in quantities such as to require special precautions for the
construction, installation, and use of apparatus.

Process Requirements
Proper interconnection between equipment to achieve intended process parameters.
Normally equipment is arranged in the process fluid flow sequence. Requirement like
gravity flow (Equipment Drain piping), Thermosyphon system should be considered,
and Limitation of pressure & temperature (process parameters) to be considered
The requirement of upstream and downstream pipe lengths for instruments.

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 Hazardous & Toxic fluids shall be identified. (H2S, Cyanide, Methanol, etc.)
Equipment handling hazardous fluids like flares and direct-fired equipment containing
open flame shall be located separately.
Similarly, equipment handling toxic material shall be located with restricted access or in
accordance with local statutory regulations.

Economic Considerations
Equipment shall be located without affecting the process requirement for maximum
economy of pipework & supporting steel with consistent standard clearances,
construction, and maintenance & safety requirements.
Runs of exotic material & large bore piping shall be minimized.
Optimum utilization of the structure to be ensured.

Erection & Construction

Road access for the erection of pipe support/pipes and equipment.
The clear area for the crane to erect equipment on the location from the trucks.
The minimum one side of the pipe rack shall be kept clear.

Fig. 4 shows relative locations for area Layout.

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Fig. 4: Relative locations for area Layout.

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