Plant Design and Economics -ChEg5184

Tsegay G.
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Unit I: Introduction to design
➢Design
➢Chemical engineering design
➢Chemical/process plant
➢Constraints
➢objectives
➢Basic components of a typical chemical process Unit 1

➢Requirement of a process plant

➢Design approaachs

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 Content Outline
Unit I- Introduction to Design

Unit II- Process Design Development

Unit III- General Design Considerations

Unit IV- Flowsheeting

Unit V- Economic Analysis

Unit VII- Waste Minimization

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Unit II- Process Design Development

Introduction
❑A principle responsibility of the chemical engineer is the design,
construction, and operation of chemical plants.

❑The engineer must continuously search for additional information to

assist in these functions.

❖From numerous sources, including recent publications, operation

of existing process plants, and laboratory and pilot-plant data.

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❑The collection and analysis of all pertinent information is of such
importance that chemical engineers are often members, consultants,
or advisors of even the basic research team which is developing a new
process or improving and revising an existing one.
❑In this capacity, the chemical engineer can frequently advise the
research group on how to provide considerable amounts of valuable
design data.
❑Subjective decisions must be made many times during the design of
any process. What are the best methods of securing sufficient and
usable data? What is sufficient and what is reliable?

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Design-project procedure
❑The development of a design project always starts with an initial idea
or plan.
❖initial idea must be stated as clearly and concisely as possible in
order to define the scope of the project.

❑General specifications and pertinent laboratory or chemical

engineering data should be presented along with the initial idea.

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Types of Designs

➢The methods for carrying out a design project may be divided into the
following classifications, depending on the accuracy and detail
required:
1. Preliminary or quick-estimate designs
2. Detailed-estimate designs
3. Firm process designs or detailed designs

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Preliminary designs

❑Ordinarily used as a basis for determining whether further work

should be done on the proposed process.
❑The design is based on approximate process methods, and rough cost
estimates are prepared.
❑Few details are included, and the time spent on calculations is kept at
a minimum.
❑If the results of the preliminary design show that further work is
justified, a detailed-estimate design may be developed.

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 Detailed-estimate designs

❑Started from the result of preliminary design.

❑The cost and profit potential of an established process is determined
by detailed analyses and calculations.
❑However, exact specifications are not given for the equipment, and
drafting-room work is minimized.

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Firm process designs

❑Prepared when the detailed-estimate design indicates that the

proposed project should be a commercial success.
❑Final step before developing construction plans for the plant.
❑Complete specifications are presented for all components of
the plant, and accurate costs based on quoted prices are
obtained.
❑The firm process design includes blueprints and sufficient
information to permit immediate development of the final plans
for constructing the plant.

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Feasibility Survey

❑Before any detailed work is done on the design,

❖the technical and economic factors of the proposed process should
be examined.
❖The various reactions and physical processes involved must be
considered, along with the existing and potential market conditions
for the particular product.
❑A preliminary survey of this type gives
❖an indication of the probable success of the project
❖shows what additional information is necessary to make a complete
evaluation.

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Following is a list of items that should be considered in making a
feasibility survey:

1. Raw materials (availability, quantity, quality, cost)

2. Thermodynamics and kinetics of chemical reactions involved
(equilibrium, yields, rates, optimum conditions)
3. Facilities and equipment available at present
4. Facilities and equipment which must be purchased
5. Estimation of production costs and total investment
6. Profits (probable and optimum, per pound of product and per year,
return on investment)
7. Materials of construction
8. Safety considerations

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9. Markets (present and future supply and demand, present uses,
new uses, present buying habits, price range for products and by-
products, character, location, and number of possible customers)
10. Competition (overall production statistics, comparison of
various manufacturing processes, product specifications of
competitors)
11. Properties of products (chemical and physical properties,
specifications, impurities, effects of storage)
12. Sales and sales service (method of selling and distributing,
advertising required, technical services required)
13. Shipping restrictions and containers

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14. Plant location
15. Patent situation and legal restrictions
➢When detailed data on the process and firm product specifications
are available, a complete market analysis combined with a
consideration of all sales factors should be made.
➢This analysis can be based on a breakdown of items 9 through 15 as
indicated in the preceding list.

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Process Development

❑ The preliminary feasibility survey indicates that additional research,

laboratory, or pilot-plant data are necessary, and a program to obtain
this information may be initiated.
❑Process development on a pilot-plant or semiworks scale is usually
desirable in order to -obtain accurate design data.
❑Valuable information on material and energy balances can be obtained,
and process conditions can be examined to supply data on temperature
and pressure variation, yields, rates, grades of raw materials and
products, batch versus continuous operation, material of construction,
operating characteristics, and other pertinent design variables.

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Process Design

❑If sufficient information is available, a preliminary design may be

developed in conjunction with the preliminary feasibility survey.
❑In developing the preliminary design the chemical engineer must first
establish a workable manufacturing process for producing the desired
product.
❑A number of alternative processes or methods may be available to
manufacture the same product, Except for those processes obviously
undesirable, each method should be given consideration.

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❑The first step in preparing the preliminary design is to establish the
bases for design.
❖specifications for the product and availability of raw materials,
❖expected annual operating factor (fraction of the year that the
plant will be in operation),
❖temperature of the cooling water,
❖available steam pressures,
❖fuel used,
❖value of by-products, etc.

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❑The next step consists of preparing a simplified flow diagram showing
the processes that are involved and the unit operations which will be
required.
❑ A preliminary material balance, flow rates and stream condition,
energy balances, yields, reaction rates, and time cycles. The
temperature, pressure, and composition of every process stream is
determined.
❑Equipment specifications are summarized in the form of tables and
included with the final design report.

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The equipment specifications include:
❑Columns (distillation): the number of plates and operating conditions
it is also necessary to specify the column diameter, materials of
construction, plate layout, etc.
❑ Vessels: size, materials of construction and any packing or baffling
should be specified.
❑ Reactors: Catalyst type and size, bed diameter and thickness, heat-
interchange facilities, cycle and regeneration arrangements, materials
of construction, etc., must be specified.
❑ Pumps and compressors: Specify type, power requirement, pressure
difference, viscosities, and working pressures.

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❑Heat exchangers and furnaces: Manufacturers are usually supplied
with the duty, corrected log mean-temperature difference, percent
vaporized, pressure drop desired, and materials of construction
❑ Instruments: Designate the function and any particular requirement.
❑Special equipment: Specifications for mechanical separators, mixers,
driers, etc.

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Finally:
❑it is important that the preliminary design be carried out as soon as
sufficient data are available from the feasibility survey or the
process-development step.
❑In this way, the preliminary design can serve its main function of
eliminating an undesirable project before large amounts of money and
time are expended.
❑The preliminary design and the process-development work gives the
results necessary for a detailed-estimate design.

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Cont…

The following factors should be established within narrow limits before

a detailed-estimate design is developed:
1. Manufacturing process
2. Material and energy balances
3. Temperature and pressure ranges
4. Raw-material and product specifications
5. Yields, reaction rates, and time cycles
6. Materials of construction
7. Utilities requirements
8. Plant site

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Cont…

❑Detailed Estimate Design

❖permits accurate estimation of required capital investment,
manufacturing costs, and potential profits.
❖Consideration should be given to the types of buildings, heating,
ventilating, lighting, power, drainage, waste disposal, safety
facilities, instrumentation, etc.
❑Firm process designs (or detailed designs)
❖can be prepared for purchasing and construction from a detailed-
estimate design.
❖Detailed drawings are made for the fabrication of special
equipment, and specifications are prepared for purchasing standard
types of equipment and materials

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Cont…

❖A complete plant layout is prepared, and blueprints and instructions

for construction are developed.
❖Piping diagrams and other construction details are included.
❖ Specifications are given for warehouses, laboratories, guard-houses,
fencing, change houses, transportation facilities, and similar items.
❑The final firm process design must be developed with the assistance
of persons skilled in various engineering fields, such as architectural,
ventilating, electrical, and civil.
❑Safety conditions and environmental-impact factors must also always
be taken into account.

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 To Be continued

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Comparison of different processes

• In a course of a design project it is necessary to determine the most

suitable process for obtaining a desired product.
• The following items should be considered in a comparison of this type:
1. Technical factors
e. Technical difficulties involved
a. Process flexibility
b. Continuous operation f. Energy requirements
c. Special controls involved g. Special auxiliaries required
d. Commercial yields h. Possibility of future developments
i. Health and safety hazards involved

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Cont…

2. Raw materials 3. Waste products and by-products

a. Present and future availability a. Amount produced
b. Processing required b. Value
c. Storage requirements c. Potential markets and uses
d. Materials handling problems d. Manner of discard
e. Environmental aspects

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Cont…

4. Equipment
a. Availability
b. Materials of construction
c. Initial costs
d. Maintenance and installation costs
e. Replacement requirements
f. Special designs

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Cont…

5. Plant location
a. Amount of land required
b. Transportation facilities
c. Proximity to markets and raw-material sources
d. Availability of service and power facilities
e. Availability of labor
f. Climate
g. Legal restrictions and taxes

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Cont…

6. Costs
7. Time factor
a. Raw materials
a. Project completion deadline
b. Energy
b. Process development required
c. Depreciation
c. Value of money
d. Other fixed charges
e. Processing and overhead
f. Special labor requirements
g. Patent rights
h. Environmental controls

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Cont…

8. Process considerations
a. Technology availability
b. Raw materials common with other processes
c. Consistency of product within company
d. General company objectives

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Batch Vs Continuous Operation

❑costs can be reduced by using continuous instead of batch processes.

Less labor is required, and control of the equipment and grade of final
product is simplified.
❑batch operation was common in the early days of the chemical
industry, most processes have been switched completely or partially to
continuous operation
❑the design engineer should be aware of the advantages inherent in any
type of continuous operation.

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Equipment design and specifications

❑The goal of a “plant design” is to develop and present a complete plant

that can operate on an effective industrial basis.
❑the chemical engineer must be able to combine many separate units or
pieces of equipment into one smoothly operating plant.
❑If the final plant is to be successful, each piece of equipment must be
capable of performing its necessary function.
❑The design of equipment, therefore, is an essential part of a plant
design.

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Scale-up in design

❑Scale up???
❑Things to scale up???Not?
❑Reactors, containers, cyclones, heat exchangers,…
❑When accurate data are not available in the literature or when past
experience does not give an adequate design basis, pilot-plant tests
may be necessary in order to design effective plant equipment. The
results of these tests must be scaled up to the plant capacity.

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Specifications

❑A generalization for equipment design is that standard equipment

should be selected whenever possible.
❑The chemical engineer cannot be an expert on all the types of
equipment used in industrial plants and, therefore, should make good
use of the experience of others.
❑Before a manufacturer is contacted, the engineer should evaluate the
design needs and prepare a preliminary specification sheet for the
equipment.
❖can be used by the engineer as a basis for the preparation of the
final specifications, or
❖it can be sent to a manufacturer with a request fabrication
information.

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Preliminary specifications for equipment should show the following:

1. Identification
9. Special information and details
2. Function pertinent to the particular equipment,
3. Operation such as materials of construction
4. Materials handled including gaskets, installation,
necessary delivery date, supports, and
5. Basic design data
special design details or comments
6. Essential controls
7. Insulation requirements
8. Allowable tolerances

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Cont…

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Materials of construction

❑The effects of corrosion and erosion must be considered in the

design of chemical plants and equipment.
❑Chemical resistance and physical properties of constructional
materials, therefore, are important factors in the choice and
design of equipment.
❑The materials of construction may be resistant to the corrosive
action of any chemicals that may contact the exposed surfaces.
❑ Structural strength, resistance to physical or thermal shock, cost,
ease of fabrication, necessary maintenance, and general type of
service required, including operating temperatures and pressures,
are additional factors that influence the final choice of
constructional materials.

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 Quiz 1=5%
Name________________________________________ID No________Date
NB: Full answer has full mark.

1. Explain chemical engineering design. As a chemical engineer, what could you design? (2pts)

2. Define process plant and its objective. (1pt)

3. List and explain the basic requirements of a process plant (2pts)

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