PROCESS ANALYSIS AND PLANT DESIGN

ECONOMIC AND TECHNICAL ASPECTS OF AGRICULTURAL PROCESSING PLANT

DESIGN

I. PROCESS ANALYSIS

1. What is process analysis?

Process analysis explains how to do something (play a computer game, change a tire),
how to make something (a butterfly sanctuary), or how something happens (how the modern
firehouse has evolved). Specifically, it explains a sequence of actions with a specified result
(the process) by dividing it into its component steps (the analysis). Basically, it answers the
question how something happens.

2. What is the purpose of process analysis?

The main purpose of process analysis is to explain; however, it might also prove something
about the process itself (perhaps its ease or difficulty) or evaluate it (perhaps its close
parallel to guidelines issued by an authoritative agency).

3. What varieties of process analysis are available?

Processes might include mechanical (a car engine), natural (cell division), psychological
(acquisition of sex roles), or political (the electoral process).

4. What are the two main types of process analysis?

The two main types are directive or explanatory.

 A directive process tells how to do or make something: make enchiladas, repair a
wagon wheel, negotiate an argument, write an essay. It should outline the individual
steps completely so that anyone can duplicate them and achieve the specified result.
It permits the use of second-person you, concentrating on words that tell the reader
what to do, or the use of imperative (commanding) mood of verbs (“Add an egg and
stir vigorously”).
  An explanatory process provides the information necessary for readers to understand
the process, but more to satisfy their curiosity than to teach them how to do
something. Third- person he, she, it, and they is more common with this type process
than is second-person.

5. How is a process analysis usually organized?

All process analyses usually follow a chronological sequence, especially a directive analysis,
in which order is important to the desired outcome. For both types of process analysis,
however, it is often useful to create phases or stages, which, in turn, can be divided into
steps. Both phases/stages and steps should be presented in proper sequence.
The phases or stages for changing a tire may include jacking up the car, removing the flat,
putting on the spare, and lowering the car. The steps for just one of those stages—jacking
up the car—may be setting the emergency brake, blocking the other wheels, loosening the
bolts, positioning the jack, and raising the car.
To ensure that the reader can duplicate the process or understand how it unfolds requires
fully detailing each step and specifying the reasons for it. Indeed, the process must make
clear to the reader the sequence of steps, their duration, and where they occur.
Occasionally, the chronology contains interruptions or modifications to suit it to your subject.
For instance, it may require background information, definitions of specialized terms,
explanations of how one step relates to a preceding or following step, examples, or
explanations of steps that are performed simultaneously.

6. What kind of thesis is required for a process analysis?

A process analysis thesis should contain two elements: (1) the main point of the analysis
and, if possible, (2) the organizational format for exploring the main idea—in this case,
process analysis. If possible, it also previews the stages in the process.

Example: Building a table is a simple, three-stage process of cutting, assembling, and

finishing.
In this example, the main point of the process is reflected in the word simple, which suggests
the ease of the process. The words cutting, assembling, and assembling obviously suggest
the stages.
To increase interest and variety, the thesis might also convey other details:
 A reason for the process: Changing a tire does not require a mechanic’s skill: on the
contrary, a ten-year-old child can do it. (emphasizes its ease)
  A more general principal: The process of getting a bill through Congress illustrates
majority rule at work. (emphasizes its relation to an important political principle)
 An assertion that the process is inefficient or unfair: The overly complicated
registration
procedure forces students to waste time standing in long lines.

7. What kind of transitional expressions are used in process analysis?

In order for readers to grasp the time and place of each stage or step in the process, these
and similar signal words help keep the chronological sequence straight: after five minutes,
meanwhile, to the left, before pumping the jack, and below.

Process Example 1: PC Manufacturing at Dell

Steps -
1. Kitting - collect components
2. Building - assemble components
3. Burning - burn software
4. Boxing - packaging products
5. Shipping - ship final products
Process Example 2: Oil Refinery
 - Very complicated
 - Input = crude oil
 - Output = fuel gases, LPG, jet fuels
“Kristen’s Cookie Company”
1. Business Concept - baking fresh cookies on campus
2. Production process - steps of cooking cookies
First step: Draw flow diagram of tasks / time of tasks for procedure
“Throughput Time”​ = concerns a particular order, amount of time an order spends in process
(includes waiting time & actual time being worked on)
Process Terminology
 ● The ​bottleneck​ is the limiting operation or step(s) with lowest capacity
 ● System capacity ​is determined by the maximum rate of output for the bottleneck or
# units / unit of time (e.g. hour, shift, year, etc)
 ● Cycle time​ vs manufacturing lead time = throughput time
○ Average time between completion of successive units (for entire process)
 ● Utilization​ = percent of time a resource is being used
○ Capacity used / capacity available
Setup Time vs Run Time
 Setup time​ - (constant): time needed before you can process a new batch
 Run time​ - (varies with batch size): time needed to process each unit

Example : producing car hoods

Input = sheet metal
Press Machine
Setup time = 60 mins
Run time = 1 min/ hood
Output = car hood
■ SO, 1 hood has cycle time of 61min & 10 hoods has cycle time of 7min per hood
(60+10 = 70 mins / 10 hoods)

COOKIES

Example of setup time:

● Mixing, takes 6 mins no matter how many cookies are made
Example of run time:
● Spoon, 2 min per dozen
System capacity​ - how many orders can you fill in a night given that you are open for 4
hours?
1. Figure out the cycle time of the bottleneck - look for the largest cycle time (setup
time + run time)
a. Baking is the bottleneck (10 mins)
2. System capacity = 1/ cycle time @ bottleneck

a. Capacity = 1 / (10 mins per dozen/60 mins per hour) = 6 dozen / hour
i. CONVERTED to hours
3. In 4hours: 6dozen/hr * 4hours = 24dozen
*Impact of Batch Size*

What if the batch size is changed to 2 dozen?

- Mixing and spooning = 6+2+2 = 10min/order
- Cycle time = 10min/2dozen = 5min/dozen
- Baking is still the bottleneck bc mixing + spooning is 5 min and baking is 10 min
*Impact of Additional Resources*

What is the impact of adding a second oven?

- Increase capacity @ bottleneck & change system capacity?
1. 1 dozen with 2 ovens
a. Mixing & spoon = 8 mins
b. 1 oven = 10 mins
c. 2nd oven = 10 mins
i. Total 10 min / 2 dozens = 5 mins
 ● BOTTLENECK SHIFTED from baking to mixing + spooning
 ● System capacity = 1 / (8 min per dozen / 60 min per hour) = 7.5 dozen/hr
 ● CAPACITY SHIFTED from 6 to 7.5 BUT doubling of resources at the bottleneck
DID NOT double system capacity
2. 2 dozen with 2 ovens
 - Mixing and spooning = 6+2+2 = 10min/2dozen = 5minsperdozen
 - Baking = 10 minutes / 2 dozen = 5 min per dozen
 - BOTH bottlenecks
 - Capacity=1/(5min/60min)=12 dozen per hour
3. 3 dozen with 2 ovens
 - 6+2+2+2=4minsperdozen
 - 10min/3dozen=
LESSONS:
● Bottleneck is the most important step of the process
 ○ A business can only produce/serve as fast as its bottleneck
 ○ Improving non bottleneck resources does not increase capacity
II. PLANT DESIGN
Engineering design of new chemical and petrochemical plants and the expansion or revision
of existing ones require the use of engineering principles and theories combined with a
practical realization of the limits imposed by industrial conditions. A successful engineer
needs more than a knowledge and understanding of the fundamental sciences and the
related engineering subjects such as thermodynamics, reaction kinetics, and computer
technology. The engineer must also have the ability to apply this knowledge to practical
situations for the purpose of accomplishing something that will be beneficial to society. There
are three parameters that must be defined namely:
1. Design: design is a creative activity and is defined as the synthesis, the putting together
of ideas to achieve a desired purpose. Also it can be defined as the creation of
manufacturing process to fulfill a particular need. The need may be public need or
commercial opportunity.
2. Process Design: process design establishes the sequence of chemical and physical
operations; operating conditions; the duties, major specifications, and materials of
construction (where critical) of all process equipment (as distinguished from utilities and
building auxiliaries); the general arrangement of equipment needed to ensure proper
functioning of the plant; line sizes; and principal instrumentation. The process design is
summarized by a process flowsheet.

Process design is intended to include:

a. Flowsheet development.
b. Process material and heat balances.
 c. Auxiliary services material and heat balances (utilities requirements).
d. Chemical engineering performance design for specific items of equipment required
for a flowsheet.
e. Instrumentation as related to process performance.
f. Preparation of specifications (specification sheets) in proper form for use by the
project team as well as for the purchasing function.
g. Evaluation of bids and recommendation of qualified vendor.
3. Plant Design: includes items related directly to the complete plant, such as plant layout,
general service facilities, and plant location.

Design Development Stages:

The stages in the development of a design, from the initial identification of the objectives to
the final design are shown in Fig.(1).

Fig.(1) The design process.

(I) The Design Objectives (The Need)
Engineering projects can be divided into three types:
a. New process development.
b. New production capacity to meet growing sales.
c. Modification and addition to existing plant.
In the design of a chemical process the need is the public need for the product, the
commercial opportunity as foreseen by the sales and marketing organization.

(II) (Setting The Design Basis (Data Collection)

The most important step in starting a process design is translating the customer
need into a design basis. The design basis is a more precise statement of the
problem that is to be solved. It will normally include the production rate and purity
specifications of the main product, together with information on constraints that will
influence the design, such as:
1. Information on possible processes and the system of units to be used.
2. The national, local or company design codes that must be followed.
3. Details of raw materials that are available.
4. Information on potential sites where the plant might be located, including
climate data, seismic conditions, and infrastructure availability.
5. Information on the conditions, availability, and price of utility services such
as fuel (gas), steam, cooling water, process air, process water, and
electricity, that will be needed to run the process.

(III)Generation of Possible Design Concepts (Solutions)

It is the creative part of the design process. This part is concerned with the
generation of possible solutions for analysis, evaluation, and selection (ways of
meeting objective problems). Source of solutions:
a- Past experiences.
b- Tried and tested methods.

(IV) Build Performance Model and Fitness Testing

When design alternatives are suggested, they must be tested for fitness of purpose.
In other words, the design engineer must determine how well each design concept
meets the identified need. In the field of chemical engineering, it is usually
prohibitively expensive to build several designs to find out which one works best (a
practice known as ‘‘prototyping’’ which is common in other engineering disciplines).
Instead, the design engineer builds a mathematical model of the process, usually in
the form of computer simulations of the process, reactors, and other key equipment.
In some cases, the performance model may include a pilot plant or other facility for
predicting plant performance and collecting the necessary design data.
The design engineer must assemble all of the information needed to model the
process so as to predict its performance against the identified objectives. For
process design this will include information on possible processes, equipment
performance, and physical property data
If the necessary design data or models do not exist, then research and
development work is needed to collect the data and build new models. Once the
data has been collected and a working model of the process has been established,
then the design engineer can begin to determine equipment sizes and costs. At this
stage it will become obvious that some designs are uneconomical and they can be
 rejected without further analysis. From this step a few candidate designs that meet
the customer objective are identified.

(V) Economic Evaluation, Optimization, and Selection

Once the designer has identified a few candidate designs that meet the customer
objective, then the process of design selection can begin. The primary criterion for
design selection is usually economic performance, although factors such as safety
and environmental impact may also play a strong role. The economic evaluation
usually entails analyzing the capital and operating costs of the process to determine
the return on investment (R.O.I).
The economic analysis of the product or process can also be used to optimize the
design. Every design will have several possible variants that make economic sense
under certain conditions. For example, the extent of process heat recovery is a
tradeoff between the cost of energy and the cost of heat exchangers (usually
expressed as a cost of heat exchange area). In regions where energy costs are
high, designs that use a lot of heat exchange surface to maximize recovery of waste
heat for reuse in the process will be attractive. In regions where energy costs are
low, it may be more economical to burn more fuel and reduce the capital cost of the
plant.
When all of the candidate designs have been optimized, the best design can be
selected. Very often, the design engineer will find that several designs have very
close economic performance, in which case the safest design or that which has the
best commercial track record will be chosen. At the selection stage an experienced
engineer will also look carefully at the candidate designs to make sure that they are
safe, operable, and reliable, and to ensure that no significant costs have been
overlooked.

(VI) Detailed Design and Equipment Selection

Here the detailed specifications of equipment such as vessels, exchangers, pumps,

and instruments are determined. During the detailed design stage there may still be
some changes to the design, and there will certainly be ongoing optimization as a
better idea of the project cost structure is developed. The detailed design decisions
tend to focus mainly on equipment selection though, rather than on changes to the
flowsheet. For example, the design engineer may need to decide whether to use a
U-tube or a floating-head exchanger, or whether to use trays or packing for a
distillation column.
 (VII) Procurement, Construction, and Operation

When the details of the design have been finalized, the equipment can be
purchased and the plant can be built. Procurement and construction are usually
carried out by an EPC firm (Engineering, Procurement, and Construction) unless
the project is very small. Because they work on many different projects each year,
the EPC firms are able to place bulk orders for items such as piping, wire, valves,
etc., and can use their purchasing power to get discounts on most equipment. The
EPC companies also have a great deal of experience in field construction,
inspection, testing, and equipment installation. They can therefore normally contract
to build a plant for a client cheaper (and usually also quicker) than the client could
build it on its own. Finally, once the plant is built and readied for startup, it can begin
operation. The design engineer will often then be called upon to help resolve any
startup issues and teething problems with the new plant.

Design Constraints

When considering possible ways of achieving the objective the designer will be constrained
by many factors which are called the design constraints.

Design constraints are divided into two types Fig.(2):

A. Internal constraints: over which the designer has some control.

B. External constraints: fixed, invariable.

What is meant by design constraints? What are the different types? Give examples?
What are the main items that should be included in the process design?
Draw a block diagram showing the main steps involved in the development of a design
process?
 Fig.(2) Design constraints.

References:

1. The Compact Reader: Short Essays by Method and Theme, 6th ed. Ed. Jane E.
Aaron. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 1999.
2.

https://www.kau.edu.sa/Files/0060757/Subjects/Plant%20design%20CHEN%204
51.pdf
3. https://www.smartdraw.com/flowchart/flowchart-symbols.htm