CHAPTER 4

INPUT INFORMATION AND BATCH V.s. CONTINUOUS

Input Information (Available at the initial stages of a design problem)

• The reaction and reaction conditions

• The desired production rate.
• Product purity or price v/s purity.
• The raw materials or price v/s purity.
• Information about the rate of reaction and rate of catalyst
deactivation.
• Any processing constraints.
• Other plant and site data.
• Physical properties of all components.
• Information concerning the safety, toxicity and environmental
impact of the
the materials involved in the process.
• Cost data for by-products, equipments and utilities.
 REACTION INFORMATION

• The stoichiometry of all reactions that take place.

• The range of temperatures and pressures for the reactions.

• The phase(s) of the reaction systems
• Information on the product distribution vs conversion
• Information about conversion v/s space velocity or residence
time.
• If catalyst is used, some information about the state of catalyst
• Catalyst deactivation rate and method of regeneration
 SIDE REACTIONS – Information of the by product produced
is very important.

MAXIMUM YIELD – Information concerning how the product

distribution changes with conversion and / or reactor
temperature, molar ratio of the reactants etc. is difficult to
obtain.

CATALYST DEACTIVATION

• Catalyst deactivation rate.

• Time consuming experiment is required to find the
deactivation rate.
PRODUCTION RATE
• For large capacity plants, we obtain the greatest economy of
scale
• The maximum size of plant is fixed by the maximum size of one
or more pieces of equipment.
• By gaining a large economy of scale, market share can be
increased but new types of management problems might lead to
significant increase in cost.
• Market conditions are continuously changing and we must be
responsive to these changes.
 PRODUCT PURITY –

• Normally fixed by marketing considerations.

• It might be possible to produce a range of product purities at different

prices.

RAW MATERIALS –
 A chemist normally uses very pure chemical reagents for

laboratory studies.
 Purchased or natural raw materials always contain some
impurities.
 CONSTRAINTS –

• For the sake of safety, we normally want to avoid processing

condition which is within the explosive limits of a mixture.
• At certain processing conditions, some of our materials might
polymerise and foul heat exchanger surfaces.
 OTHER PLANT AND SITE DATA –
The battery limit conditions and costs that we need to know
about are as follows:
1. Utilities –

 Fuel Supply.

 Levels of steam pressure.

 Cooling water inlet and outlet temperatures.

 Refrigeration levels.
 Electric power.

2. Waste Disposal facilities

 
PHYSICAL PROPERTY DATA –

• We normally require information about molecular weights,

B.P.s, V.P.s, Cps, heat of vaporization, heat of reaction, liquid
densities, fugacity coefficients (equation of state).
• For conceptual designs, we use available information (in some
cases the guess value) and then we estimate the sensitivity of
the total processing cost to these values.
• Sensitivity evaluation provides a measure of the economic
incentive for making the appropriate measurements.
 COST DATA
• Capital cost of equipments and some operating costs.

• In general, about the input information.

“YOU NEVER HAVE THE RIGHT INFORMATION”

 LEVEL I DECISION

Batch Vs Continuous

• Continuous – every unit will operate continuously

• Batch processes contain several units ( in some cases all units)
that are designed to be started and stopped frequently.
• Sometimes batch Processes contain one or more units that
operate continuously.
 LEVEL I DECISION

Batch Vs Continuous
• Continuous processes are dominant in the chemical process industries

for the manufacture of commodity chemicals , plastics, petroleum

products, paper etc.
• When production rates are low, however-say, in the manufacture of
specialty chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and electronic materials , it is
difficult to justify the construction of a continuous plant comprised of
small vessels and pipe.
• In these cases-it is common to design batch processes or semi continuous
processes that are hybrids of batch and continuous processes
 LEVEL I DECISION

Guidelines for selecting batch processes –

 
• Production Rates- Plants having capacity > 10*106 lb/yr are usually
continuous.

• Large capacity plants can justify more thorough development program,

• Batch plants are usually simpler & more flexible, so that a satisfactory
product can be produced with a larger uncertainty in the design.

• Because of their greater flexibility, batch plants are most common when a
large no. of products are produced in essentially the same processing
equipment (e.g. paints)

 
Market Forces –
• Batch plants often are prepared for the products with a seasonal
demand

Operational Problems –
• For slow reactions - batch process
• It is very difficult to pump slurries at low flowrates without the
solid settling out of suspension and plugging the equipment.
• Batch Process is ideal for materials which foul equipment so
rapidly. Frequent cleaning is required. 

Multiple Operations In a Single Vessel –

• Several operations can be carried out in a single batch vessel
• Individual vessel is required for each of the operations in a
continuous plant
 DESIGN OF BATCH V/S CONTINUOUS PROCESS

To develop a conceptual design for a continuous process,

we must do the following

• Select the process units needed

• Choose the interconnections among these units
• Identify the process alternatives that need to be considered
• List the dominant design variables
• Estimate the optimum processing conditions
• Determine the best process alternative
 
 
 DESIGN OF BATCH V/S CONTINUOUS PROCESS

For a batch process we must make exactly the same decisions.

However, we must also make the following decisions-

 
• Which units in the flow-sheet should be batch & which should be continuous

• What processing steps should be carried out in a single vessel Vs using

individual vessels for each processing Step I

• When is it advantageous to use parallel units to improve the scheduling of the

plant

• How much intermediate storage is required & where should it be located

 
 
 Systematic procedure for design of batch process –
 

• More decisions to design a batch process

• Best approach to design a batch process is to design a continuous

process first
• With this approach it is simpler to screen the alternatives & to
determine the process flow-sheet.