CHEMICAL PROCESS DESIGN

CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION
Dr. Nguyễn Thành Duy Quang
Department of Petroleum Processing Engineering

Room 109-B2.
Office hour: Monday morning, 8h30 – 11h30
E-mail1: ntdquang@hcmut.edu.vn
E-mail2: ntdquang@gmail.com
 Course introduction

This course presents practical approaches

to design chemical processes, typical
design steps to obtain a reasonable,
efficient (and optimum) design for a
chemical production process
 Textbooks

1. Turton, Bailie, Whiting, and Shaeiwitz. (2012). Analysis, Synthesis

and Design of Chemical Processes, Fourth Edition. Prentice Hall.

2. Seider, W. D., Seader, J. D., Lewin, D. R., & Seider, W. D. (2016).

Product and Process Design Principles: Synthesis, Analysis, and
Evaluation, Fourth Edition. Wiley.

3. Gavin Towler and R K Sinnott. (2013). Chemical Engineering Design:

Principles, Practice and Economics of Plant and Process Design,
Second Edition. Elsevier.

4. Douglas, J. M. (1988). Conceptual Design of Chemical Processes.

McGraw-Hill.
 Assessment

•Teamwork project: 40%

•Final exam: 60%

 Course outline
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Input-output and Recycle structure
Chapter 3. Selecting reactor operating conditions
Chapter 4. General structure of separation systems. Vapor recovery
system
Chapter 5. Liquid separation systems. Determine distillations sequence
Chapter 6. Introduction to Aspen Hysys. Non-linear behavior of recycle
systems
Chapter 7. Pinch analysis. Applications for minimum energy targeting
Chapter 8. Design heat exchanger networks using pinch design method
R&D
work
Chemical
product
tree
 Design Work Process

Determine Set Design

Customer Needs Specifications
Build Performance
Models
Generate Design
R&D if Needed
Concepts
Predict Fitness
For Service

Evaluate Economics
& Select Design
Customer
Approval
Detailed Design & Procurement
Begin Operation
Equipment Selection & Construction

Common to all design problems in all industries

Economic incentives in a project
 The design team

Project Business
Sponsor Input

Project
Manager

Process Technical Control

Cost Engineer Consultants
Engineer(s) Specialists Engineer

R&D Mechanical Civil

Contractors
Specialists Engineer(s) Engineers
 Specialization and Outsourcing

Operating Companies
• Own plants Technology Vendors
• Produce chemicals • Own patents
• High sales revenue
• Margins & return on assets • Sell catalysts, enzymes,
(ROA) vary by sector equipment, licenses
• Sales volume low
• Margins, ROA usually high

Engineering & Construction Companies

• Experienced project managers
• Highly competitive & cost effective
• Medium sales volume, low margins
Long ago (<1980s) most projects were done “in house”

Operating
Company Project Business
Sponsor Input

Project
Manager

Process Technical Control

Cost Engineer Consultants
Engineer(s) Specialists Engineer

R&D Mechanical Civil

Contractors
Specialists Engineer(s) Engineers

E&C
Technology Company
Vendor
 Nowadays
(For most companies, most sectors)

Project Business
Operating Sponsor Input
Company

Project
Manager

Process Technical Control

Cost Engineer Consultants
Engineer(s) Specialists Engineer

R&D Mechanical Civil

Contractors
Specialists Engineer(s) Engineers

Technology E&C
Vendor Company
Challenges when designing a chemical
process?
▪ Many requirements / restrictions are to be
enforced
▪ Many options are explored => so as to
arrive at an optimum design

Design engineers usually combine sound

fundamental knowledge with practical
experience insights, and innovative thinking
 Requirements,
restrictions
obliged when
designing

Environment protection
objectives (minimal
resource consumption,
minimal environment
impact) become
increasingly important
 Options ?
Example: Benzene synthesis from toluene

Toluene Hydrodealkylation

C6H5CH3 + H2 → C6H6 + CH4

Toluene Benzene

2C6H6  C6H5-C6H5 + H2
Benzene Diphenyl

Toluene Disproportionation

2C6H5CH3 → C6H6 + C6H4(CH3)2

Toluene Benzene Xylene
 Options ?
Toluene Hydrodealkylation (HDA) process
 Options ?
Toluene Hydrodealkylation (HDA) process

Recycle diphenyl Not recycle diphenyl

 Options ?
Toluene Hydrodealkylation (HDA) process with membrane
separator
Heat recovery option ?
Heat recovery option ?
 Results delivered after completion of
design tasks
1. Process configuration (optimized)
 Results delivered after completion of
design tasks
1. Process configuration (continued)
 Results delivered after completion of
design tasks
2. Operating condition (optimized, aided by computer tools
such as process simulators)
Results delivered after completion of
design tasks
 Results delivered after completion of
design tasks
Process flow diagram (PFD) with detailed operating data
 Results delivered after completion of
design tasks
PFD with detailed operating data
 Design Practices: Codes & Standards
• Methods and rules for designing processes and equipment are given in design
codes of practice
• Codes are set by national or international industry panels (e.g., ISO,
ASME, API, ISA)
• Codes are reviewed and reissued frequently
• Codes specify practices for design, construction, testing and operation of
equipment and processes, that are expected to lead to a safe design,
based on the experience of the code committee
• Design in accordance with code is usually required by the company or
by law
• Standard sizes for piping & equipment, compositions, etc. are given in standards
• Tubing dimensions, valve sizes, exchanger layouts, screw threads, wire
gauges, screens, …
• The two terms tend to be used interchangeably
• Always consult the current (latest) edition of the code. Always make sure that
the codes and standards used comply with local legal requirements.
 Design Practices: Design Factors (Design
Margins)
• Equipment is usually sized for greater than the
design throughput
– Allows for uncertainty in the design method and
data
– Leaves some room for expanding output
– Ensures the plant can run at design capacity
• Companies usually have a policy on design
margins
– Typically size equipment for 110% of design basis
– Be careful to add design margin only once!
 The most effective way of communicating information about
a process is through the use of flow diagrams

• Block Flow Diagram (BFD)

Conceptual
Details understanding of
level • Process Flow Diagram (PFD)
the whole
increases process
• Piping and Instrumentation
increases
Diagram (P&ID) (allo called
Mechanical Flow Diagram)

=> Refer to reference (3) for further information

 Toluene Mixed Gas
(10,000 kg/h)
Gas (2,610 kg/h)
Reactor Separator
Benzene
Hydrogen (8,210 kg/h)
(820 kg/h) Conversion Mixed Liquids
75% Toluene

Toluene + Diphenyl

Figure 1. Block flow process diagram (BFD) for

the toluene HDA process
Figure 2. Process Flow Diagram (PFD) – Toluene
HDA process
Figure 3. Piping & Instrumentation Diagram (P & ID)
 Activities of Process Design
(1)Synthesis
The step where one conjectures the building blocks and their
interconnections to create a structure which can meet the stated design
requirements.
(2)Analysis (Simulation)
The activity of modeling and then solving the resulting equations to
predict how a selected structure should behave if it were constructed.
(3)Evaluation
The activity of placing a worth on the structure where the worth might
be its cost, its safety, or its net energy consumption.
(4)Optimization
The systematic searching over the allowed operating conditions to
improve the evaluation as much as possible.
 Process design vs. Process simulation

Process design / synthesis is the creation of a process to

transform feed streams into product streams

Process simulation predicts how it would behave if it was

constructed
Figure 4. Typical steps in designing a
chemical process
 Reactor

Separation and
Recycle System
Heat Exchanger
Network
Utilities

Figure 5. The “onion model” of process design. A

reactor design is needed before the separation and
recycle system can be designed, and so on
Process design start by reactor design
Next: Design separation system to recover desired products from
by-products and unconverted reactants
Next: design the heat
recovery system
Change in reactor design usually leads to changes in separators
design
…and design of heat
recovery system
 Common approaches to design
chemical processes

1. Hierarchical approach (figure 4, figure 5, in this course)

- Step-by-step procedure
- Can be practiced by engineers, aided by process simulators
- Combine computer-based calculations with heuristics
2. Systematic approach, solving the optimization-based model
- Formulate the process design problem as an optimization model
(minimal investment + operating cost, maximize profit, etc…)
- Use computer to solve optimization model
- Simultaneous optimization of process structure and operating
condition