Practical Process Design for Chemical Engineers E-Book

Keith Marchildon

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Fachliteratur
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 735

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2025

Beschreibung

In-depth and practical textbook resource on chemical engineering processes, ranging from fundamentals to advanced aspects

Practical Process Design for Chemical Engineers presents an extensive overview of the fundamental and advanced aspects of chemical engineering processes. Spanning 20 chapters, the book delves into various processes, equipment, and methodologies essential for modern chemical engineering, from basic principles to specific applications such as reactors, separations, and process integration.

Each chapter systematically covers both theoretical concepts and practical applications, emphasizing process design, operational efficiency, environmental considerations, and safety. The book aims to equip chemical engineers with a robust toolkit for tackling diverse challenges in the industry, emphasizing innovation, sustainability, and the integration of new technologies.

Unlike conventional texts that often focus primarily on established methods and theoretical fundamentals, this book actively explores innovative technologies and strategies to enhance efficiency and minimize environmental impact. Additionally, the book places significant emphasis on practical experience and real-world applications, imbuing readers not only with theoretical knowledge but also with practical skills and an understanding of industry trends.

The book covers:

• Creativity, choice, and decision-making in chemical engineering, emphasizing the artistic and imaginative aspects of process design
• Solids processes such as size reduction, granulation, particle measurement and classification, and the conveyance of solids
• Principles and methods employed to mix diverse materials such as miscible and immiscible liquids, gases with liquids, and solids with liquids or gases
• Critical aspects of heat exchange in chemical processes, focusing on the heating, cooling, and phase changes of various substances
• Estimation of process engineering hours

With detailed discussions on process intensification and the latest developments in solvent and reactor technologies, and a focus on modern, sustainable practices alongside traditional engineering concepts, this book serves as a vital resource for students and professionals seeking to polish and hone their knowledge and practice in chemical engineering design.

Leseprobe

Table of Contents

Cover

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Preface

To Keith: Dedication and Foreword

Acknowledgments

1 A Plan for Process Design

1.1 Principles of Process Design

1.2 Operations and Equipment

2 Documentation and Communication

2.1 Basic Data

2.2 Process Flow Diagram (PFD)

2.3 Equipment List

2.4 Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID)

2.5 Equipment Data Sheets

2.6 Monitoring and Control Data Sheets

2.7 Functional Specification for Distributed Control System (DCS)

2.8 Scope of Work

2.9 Notes from Process Hazard Reviews

2.10 Input to Applications for Environmental Approval

2.11 Operating Instructions

2.12 Maintenance Instructions

2.13 Record of Design Calculations

2.14 People Communications

References

3 Introduction to Synthesis

3.1 Economic Basis of Synthesis

3.2 The Rate Concept

3.3 Achieving Driving Force: Some Patterns in Single-Stream Processes

3.4 Achieving Driving Force: Some Patterns in Two-Stream Processes

3.5 Summary of Synthesis

4 Experimentation and Modeling in Support of Design

4.1 A Systematic Review of Process Design

4.2 Pilot Plants and Scale-up

4.3 Mathematical Modeling

References

5 Operating Problems: Solution by Design

5.1 Buildup of Extraneous Substances

5.2 Corrosion

5.3 Erosion and Cavitation

5.4 Flashing and Phase Separation

5.5 Excessive Foaming and Entrainment

5.6 Interaction Between Units

5.7 Liquid Hammer and Vibrations

5.8 Restrictions in Piping Systems

5.9 Scaling and Fouling

5.10 Static Buildup

References

6 Process Monitoring and Control

6.1 Options for Measurement of Control Variables (CVs)

6.2 Combinations of Controllers for Specific Purposes

6.3 Causes of Non-Optimum Control

6.4 Programmable Controllers and Distributed Control Systems

7 Design for Safety and Health

7.1 Identification of Safety and Health Hazards

7.2 Process Design for Hazard Control: Equipment

7.3 Process Design for Hazard Control: Instrumentation

7.4 Process Reviews for Safety and Health

7.5 Training and Operating Procedures (PSM #3, #2)

7.6 Pre-Startup Safety and Health Review

References

8 Protecting the Environment

8.1 Consumption

8.2 Emission of Waste

References

9 Capital Cost Estimating and Economic Analysis

9.1 What Is an Estimate

9.2 Why Estimate

9.3 The What and Why of Economic Analysis

9.4 A Process Engineer’s Role in Estimating

9.5 Estimate Types and Methods

9.6 Detailed Capital Cost Estimates and Design/Build Projects

9.7 Hybrid Capital Cost Estimates

9.8 Estimate Summaries and Additional Factors

9.9 Economic Analysis

9.10 Risk Analysis of Project Economics

References

10 Project Management

10.1 Introduction

10.2 Comparison of Academic Versus Industry Project Environments

10.3 The Core Principles of Project Management

10.4 Phases of a Project

10.5 Business Phases of a Project

10.6 Engineering Project Phases

10.7 Project Initiation: Project Charter and Project Business Objectives

10.8 Project Initiation for Chemical Engineering Projects

10.9 Chemical Engineering Project Planning

References

11 Storage and Bulk Transport

11.1 Choose the Phase of the Material to be Stored

11.2 Choose the Volume of Storage Required

11.3 Choose a Design Pressure

11.4 Selecting a Tank Type

11.5 Storage of Gases

11.6 Storage of Liquids

11.7 Solid Storage

11.8 Bulk Shipping

References

12 In-Plant Transfer of Liquids and Liquid Mixtures with Gases and Solids

12.1 Flow of Liquids in Single Phase: Newtonian and Non-Newtonian

12.2 Two-Phase Flows

12.3 Liquid Movers – Dynamic

12.4 Liquid Movers – Positive Displacement and Other Pumps

12.5 Ancillary Equipment

References

13 Transfer of Gases: Compression and Vacuum

13.1 Compressible Flow

13.2 Gas Movers – General

13.3 Fans

13.4 Blowers

13.5 Compressors – Mechanical

13.6 Ejectors

13.7 Thermodynamics of Gas Compression

References

14 Formation and In-Plant Transfer of Solids

14.1 Solid’s Size Reduction

14.2 Cutting Mills

14.3 Formation of Granules

14.4 Measurement and Classification

14.5 In-Plant Transfer of Solids

14.6 In-Transit Storage

14.7 Solids Feeding

References

15 Heating, Cooling, and Change of Phase

15.1 Process Substances and Their Thermal Modifications

15.2 Heat Transfer Media

15.3 Insulation, Tracing, and Fouling

15.4 Shell-and-tube Heat Exchangers

15.5 Plate-and-frame and Other Heat Exchangers

15.6 Modeling, Control, and Design Tools

15.7 Thermal Integration and Pinch Technology

References

16 Mixing and Agitation

16.1 Mixing or Blending of Miscible Liquids

16.2 Blending Calculation

16.3 Immiscible Liquids

16.4 Gas and Liquid

16.5 Solid Particles in Liquid

16.6 Solid Particles with Solid Particles

16.7 Solid Particles and Gas

References

17 Mechanical Separations

17.1 Liquid–Liquid Separations

17.2 Solid–Solid Separations

17.3 Gas–Liquid Separations

17.4 Gas–Solid Separations

17.5 Liquid–Solid Separations

References

18 Molecular Separations

18.1 Separation of Permanent Gases

18.2 Separation of Gas–Vapor Mixtures

18.3 Separation of Vapor Mixtures

18.4 Separation of Liquid Mixtures

18.5 Separation of Liquid Solutions from Dissolved Solids

18.6 Separations: Solid–Solid, Dissolved Fluids from Solid

References

19 Chemical Reactions

19.1 Gas-Phase Reactions

19.2 Liquid-Phase Reactions

19.3 Gas–Liquid Reactions

19.4 Reaction of Immiscible Liquids

19.5 Fluid–Solid Reactions, Non-Catalytic

19.6 Solid-Catalyzed Reactions

19.7 Bio-Reactions

References

20 Process Intensification and Integration

20.1 Mixing and Comminution

20.2 Enhanced Energy

20.3 Solvent Development

20.4 Novel Reactors

20.5 Combined Operations

References

Index

End User License Agreement

List of Tables

Chapter 3

Table 3.1 Relative sizes of various reactor types.

Chapter 4

Table 4.1 Dowtherm A and steam pressure.

Table 4.2 Simulation results of the batch reactor.

Chapter 6

Table 6.1 Common control loops in chemical processes.

Chapter 9

Table 9.1 Estimate types and required information.

Table 9.2 Material of construction costs, adapted from Turton (2003).

Table 9.3 Lang factors.

Table 9.4 Equipment installation factors.

Table 9.5 Typical cost factors and equations.

Table 9.6 Typical operating cost factors.

Table 9.7 Typical economic analysis methods.

Table 9.8 Risk register example.

Chapter 10

Table 10.1 Process engineering hour estimation.

Chapter 11

Table 11.1 Typical manufacturer’s list of API tank sizes.

Table 11.2 Comparison of transportation methods by capacity.

Chapter 12

Table 12.1 Pipe wall protuberances.

Table 12.2 Frictional coefficients (velocity heads) for turbulent flow.

Table 12.3 Coefficients for the Turian and Yuan gas–liquid frictional pressu...

Table 12.4 Flow in partially filled horizontal pipes.

Table 12.5 Centrifugal pump calculations.

Table 12.6 Typical velocities in conduits.

Chapter 13

Table 13.1 Temperature rise in gas compression.

Table 13.2 Manufacturer’s fan specification.

Table 13.3 Performance of fans and blowers.

Chapter 14

Table 14.1 Mohs scale of hardness.

Table 14.2 Other typical losses in pneumatic conveying.

Chapter 15

Table 15.1 MVR for evaporation.

Table 15.2 Heat-transfer network case study by Linnhoff and Flower.

Table 15.3 Utilities with and without recovery.

Chapter 16

Table 16.1 Mixing situations for miscible liquids.

Table 16.2

Chemineer

series on turbine mixing.

Table 16.3 Mixing intensities.

Table 16.4 Single- and dual-impeller elements.

Table 16.5 Smoothing effects of total back-mixing.

Table 16.6 Static mixer characteristics and comparison.

Table 16.7 Dispersion of gases: assessing the task.

Table 16.8 Suspension of solids: assessing the task.

Chapter 17

Table 17.1 Summary of mechanical separations.

Table 17.2 Membrane filtration degrees.

Chapter 18

Table 18.1 Molecular separation operations.

Chapter 19

Table 19.1 Conversion versus different flow patterns.

List of Illustrations

Chapter 2

Figure 2.1 Reactor with recycle.

Figure 2.2 Batch process material balance.

Figure 2.3 P&ID ready for construction.

Figure 2.4 First stage piping and instrumentation diagram for the recycle re...

Chapter 3

Figure 3.1 Cash-carrying streams in a chemical process.

Figure 3.2 Pellet heating.

Figure 3.3 Reaction and mass transfer in a bubbling reactor.

Figure 3.4 Single-stream flow configurations.

Figure 3.5 Some multi-well-mixed-stage configurations.

Figure 3.6 Paper making.

Figure 3.7 Recycle reactor.

Figure 3.8 Comminution with recycle.

Figure 3.9 Two-liquid heat exchange.

Figure 3.10 Other two-stream operations.

Figure 3.11 Hot-air drying of solids.

Figure 3.12 Solids hot-air drying performance curves.

Figure 3.13 Single-pass flush and dual-pass flush (“crosscurrent”).

Figure 3.14 Countercurrent batch flushing.

Chapter 4

Figure 4.1 Rheology of non-Newtonian liquids.

Figure 4.2 Mass transfer combinations.

Figure 4.3 Full verification of process.

Figure 4.4 Continuous flow reactor vessel.

Figure 4.5 Scaling of distillation column.

Figure 4.6 Reactor with recycle.

Chapter 5

Figure 5.1 Non-condensables in a vapor condenser.

Figure 5.2 Entrapment and purge of components.

Figure 5.3 Cavitation in a valve.

Figure 5.4 Expansion of a two-phase gas–liquid mixture.

Figure 5.5 Interaction of parallel fluid flows.

Figure 5.6 Flooding due to pressure imbalance.

Figure 5.7 Venting inversion.

Figure 5.8 Generalized Baker plot.

Figure 5.9 Charles plot for vertical two-phase flow.

Figure 5.10 Wake shedding around cylindrical pipe.

Chapter 6

Figure 6.1 Single input, single output level control.

Figure 6.2 Thermocouples, sheathing and wells.

Figure 6.3 Resistive temperature device (RTD).

Figure 6.4 Orifice volumetric flow meter.

Figure 6.5 Venturi volumetric flow meter.

Figure 6.6 Pitot tube for volumetric flow.

Figure 6.7 Turbine meter for volumetric flow.

Figure 6.8 Vortex-shedding volumetric flow meter.

Figure 6.9 Magnetic volumetric flowmeter.

Figure 6.10 Coriolis mass flowmeter.

Figure 6.11 Liquid level by static head pressure differential.

Figure 6.12 Liquid level by bubble-tube pressure.

Figure 6.13 Nuclear level gage.

Figure 6.14 Capacitance liquid level probe.

Figure 6.15 Ultrasonic level detector.

Figure 6.16 Bellows and diaphragms in pressure measurement.

Figure 6.17 Pressure device configured for differential, gage and absolute m...

Figure 6.18 Differential pressure device with balance line.

Figure 6.19 Level control and flow control.

Figure 6.20 Alarm and interlock.

Figure 6.21 Cascade control.

Figure 6.22 Balancing control or valve-position control.

Figure 6.23 Ratio control.

Figure 6.24 Control using a calculation block.

Figure 6.25 Multiple-input/multiple-output (MIMO) control.

Figure 6.26 Inter-acting level controls versus dueling controls.

Figure 6.27 Difficult composition control.

Figure 6.28 Rapid-response control.

Figure 6.29 Slow response control.

Chapter 7

Figure 7.1 Bellows-sealed valve.

Figure 7.2 Diaphragm pump.

Figure 7.3 Peristaltic pump.

Figure 7.4 Controlled oxidation of a hydrocarbon.

Figure 7.5 Position indicator on valve.

Figure 7.6 Spare pump – manual switch.

Figure 7.7 Alarm and hardwired interlock.

Figure 7.8 Alarm voting Hardwired interlock.

Figure 7.9 Layers of protection.

Chapter 8

Figure 8.1 Forced transition.

Figure 8.2 Adventures of process water.

Figure 8.3 Suspended-solid aerobic water-waste treatment.

Figure 8.4 Direct-flame oxidizer, recuperative thermal oxidizer, catalytic t...

Figure 8.5 Regenerative thermal oxidizer – cycles.

Figure 8.6 Scales.

Chapter 9

Figure 9.1 Estimate and project timeline.

Figure 9.2 Routes to equipment pricing.

Figure 9.3 Modified Guthrie estimating method.

Figure 9.4 Comparison of factored equipment estimating methods.

Figure 9.5 Estimate equipment tabulation.

Figure 9.6 Equipment list.

Figure 9.7 Estimate summary.

Figure 9.8 Contingency calculation via rand methodology.

Figure 9.9 Typical utility costs.

Figure 9.10 Discounted cash flow analysis worksheet.

Chapter 10

Figure 10.1 Project management triple constraint.

Figure 10.2 Project plan elements.

Figure 10.3 Work breakdown structure to schedule.

Figure 10.4 Brown paper task definition.

Figure 10.5 Product and process development.

Figure 10.6 Cost to make changes to a design.

Figure 10.7 Chemical engineering front-end engineering I process design step...

Chapter 11

Figure 11.1 (a) Conservation vent, (b) Reduction of breathing losses via tan...

Figure 11.2 Storage tank variation.

Figure 11.3 UL tank.

Figure 11.4 API tank.

Figure 11.5 Floating roof storage tank.

Figure 11.6 Internal floating roof tank (hybrid cone/floating roof tank).

Figure 11.7 Spherical high-pressure storage tank.

Chapter 12

Figure 12.1 Moody chart for the Fanning friction factor.

Figure 12.2 Power law Fanning friction factors.

Figure 12.3 Variation in the stress–strain behavior of liquids.

Figure 12.4 Flow regimes in the gas–liquid flow.

Figure 12.5 Baker map for two-phase gas–liquid flow.

Figure 12.6 Lockhart & Martinelli multipliers for gas–liquid flow.

Figure 12.7 Vertical flow of liquid–gas mixtures, Charles & Oshinowa.

Figure 12.8 Two-phase liquid–solid flow regimes.

Figure 12.9 Required Froude number to begin saltation.

Figure 12.10 Outflow from vessels.

Figure 12.11 Partially filled horizontal pipe.

Figure 12.12 Dimensions of partial filling.

Figure 12.13 Centrifugal pump.

Figure 12.14 Centrifugal impeller.

Figure 12.15 “Head” leaving pump.

Figure 12.16 Centrifugal flow curve.

Figure 12.17 Other flow curve types.

Figure 12.18 Pump and system characteristics.

Figure 12.19 Performance characteristics for a centrifugal pump.

Figure 12.20 Calculation of the net positive suction head.

Figure 12.21 Effect of the impeller diameter on pump characteristics.

Figure 12.22 Control of net flow via a recycle valve.

Figure 12.23 Control of flow via a mainline valve, with recycle relief.

Figure 12.24 Reciprocating-diaphragm positive-displacement pump.

Figure 12.25 Rotary gear pump.

Figure 12.26 Auger for a single-screw pump.

Figure 12.27 Twin screws, corotating.

Figure 12.28 Peristaltic pump.

Figure 12.29 Moyno progressive cavity pump.

Figure 12.30 Magnetically driven sealed pump.

Figure 12.31 Electrically driven “canned-motor” pump.

Figure 12.32 BWG-inch conversion.

Figure 12.33 Tensile strength of materials.

Figure 12.34 Ratings for normal carbon steel valves.

Figure 12.35 Valves: gate, globe, diaphragm, and bellows-seal.

Figure 12.36 Valves: ball and butterfly.

Figure 12.37 Swing check valve.

Figure 12.38 Typical valve characteristics.

Figure 12.39 Critical point in flow through a valve.

Figure 12.40 Variety of valve pressure profiles.

Chapter 13

Figure 13.1 Behavior of isothermal compressible pipe flow.

Figure 13.2 Representation of Lapple/Levenspiel charts for adiabatic pipelin...

Figure 13.3 Converging–diverging nozzles.

Figure 13.4 Typical centrifugal fan.

Figure 13.5 Centrifugal fan vane types.

Figure 13.6 Fan characteristics.

Figure 13.7 Characteristics of a commercial fan: static pressure.

Figure 13.8 Characteristics of a commercial fan: brake power.

Figure 13.9 Fan and system characteristics.

Figure 13.10 Tube-axial fan.

Figure 13.11 Regenerative blower.

Figure 13.12 Rotary lobe blower (Courtesy Aerzen)

Figure 13.13 Pressure development in a rotary lobe blower.

Figure 13.14 Hoffman multistage centrifugal blower (Courtesy Gardner Denver)...

Figure 13.15 Sliding-vane compressor.

Figure 13.16 Liquid-ring compressor.

Figure 13.17 Reciprocating piston compressor.

Figure 13.18 Reciprocating diaphragm compressor.

Figure 13.19 Centrifugal compressor.

Figure 13.20 Screw compressor.

Figure 13.21 Axial-flow compressor.

Figure 13.22 Comparison of compressors (courtesy of Gas Processors Suppliers...

Figure 13.23 Ejector entraining a second stream.

Figure 13.24 Two-stage steam ejector.

Figure 13.25 Single ejector design and performance.

Figure 13.26 Mollier chart for gas.

Chapter 14

Figure 14.1 Particulate size distributions.

Figure 14.2 Strand pelletizing.

Figure 14.3 Roller and pin mills.

Figure 14.4 Simple jet mill.

Figure 14.5 Size reduction by process (adapted from Clement & Purutyan 2002)...

Figure 14.6 Product sizes from methods of enlargement

Figure 14.7 Range of particle size measurement.

Figure 14.8 Apparatus for Dense-phase solids conveying.

Figure 14.9 Typical dilute phase, positive-pressure system.

Figure 14.10 Typical dilute phase, vacuum system.

Figure 14.11 Bin modes: mass flow, funnel flow, and arching.

Figure 14.12 Allowable slope of hopper walls.

Figure 14.13 Hopper inserts.

Figure 14.14 Rotary valve.

Chapter 15

Figure 15.1 Varieties of thermal transfer for process materials.

Figure 15.2 Enhanced heat exchange with fins.

Figure 15.3 Narrow-gap condensation.

Figure 15.4 Distillation column reboiler.

Figure 15.5 Continuous evaporation with mechanical vapor recompression (MVR)...

Figure 15.6 Thermosiphon evaporator.

Figure 15.7 Electrical cartridge heater and vaporizer.

Figure 15.8 Countercurrent double-pipe heat exchanger.

Figure 15.9 Shell-and-tube heat exchanger – typical.

Figure 15.10 Plate-and-frame heat exchanger – conceptual.

Figure 15.11 Thermal screw.

Figure 15.12 Heat transfer fluid – liquid system.

Figure 15.13 Heat transfer fluid – vapor system.

Figure 15.14 Heat recovery around a reactor.

Figure 15.15 Comparison of cooling and heating streams.

Figure 15.16 Linnhoff and Flower’s example.

Figure 15.17 Minimum number of exchangers.

Figure 15.18 Exchanger network V2.

Chapter 16

Figure 16.1 Pitched-blade and straight-blade turbine impellers.

Figure 16.2 Flow patterns for pitched and straight impellers.

Figure 16.3 Typical dependence of the power number on the Reynolds number an...

Figure 16.4 Typical power numbers for the

A

straight-blade impeller,

B

pitch...

Figure 16.5 Correction to the impeller diameter for low Reynolds number.

Figure 16.6 Schematic of circulating-flow blending.

Figure 16.7 Helical-ribbon agitator and anchor agitator.

Figure 16.8 Multistage stirred extraction column.

Figure 16.9 Sparging calculation.

Figure 16.10 Agitator power for adequate sparging.

Figure 16.11 Gassing factor for agitator flooding.

Figure 16.12 Terminal velocity correction.

Figure 16.13 Solid’s suspension factor.

Figure 16.14 Rotating solids blender.

Figure 16.15 Recirculating blender for solids.

Figure 16.16 Particulate behaviors in solid beds.

Chapter 17

Figure 17.1 Varieties of the separation challenge.

Figure 17.2 Liquid–liquid decanter.

Figure 17.3 Tubular bowl liquid–liquid separator.

Figure 17.4 Particle size distribution.

Figure 17.5 Screening of solid particulate matter.

Figure 17.6 Magnetic separation of solid particulate matter.

Figure 17.7 Coalescer.

Figure 17.8 Scrubber for solid particles in gas.

Figure 17.9 Multichamber (or chamber-bowl) centrifuge.

Figure 17.10 Disk centrifuge.

Figure 17.11 Scroll decanter or solid-bowl decanter.

Chapter 18

Figure 18.1 Pressure swing adsorption of gases.

Figure 18.2 Principle of separation via membranes.

Figure 18.3 Separation via condensation.

Figure 18.4 Absorption.

Figure 18.5 Separation of vapor mixture by distillation.

Figure 18.6 Liquid separation by sparging and flashing.

Figure 18.7 Multistage liquid–liquid extraction.

Figure 18.8 Pervaporation.

Figure 18.9 Regular and irregular crystals.

Chapter 19

Figure 19.1 Continuous plug-flow reactor including static mixers.

Figure 19.2 Means for radial dispersion of continuous fluid flow.

Figure 19.3 Axial dispersion in laminar and turbulent flow.

Figure 19.4 Typical batch reactor with agitator, pressure control, and addit...

Figure 19.5 Two-phase flow – homogeneous and stratified.

Figure 19.6 Simple back-mixed reactor with stirrer.

Figure 19.7 Back-mixed reactor with circulating pump-around.

Figure 19.8 Reaction with recycle.

Figure 19.9 Internally heated reactor.

Figure 19.10 Externally heated reactor.

Figure 19.11 Rates of chemical reaction and of mass transfer.

Figure 19.12 Pipeline reactor with static mixer.

Figure 19.13 Tumbling reactor, fluidized-bed reactor, moving-bed reactor.

Chapter 20

Figure 20.1 Subdivison of volumes.

Figure 20.2 Electromagnetic waves.

Figure 20.3 Typical cations and anions for ionic liquids.

Figure 20.4 A deep eutectic solvent.

Figure 20.5 Some CO

2

-switchable organic liquids.

Figure 20.6 Effect of carbon dioxide on ionization.

Figure 20.7 Two paths for switchable solvent.

Figure 20.8 Milli-channel reactor element.

Guide

Cover

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright

Preface

To Keith: Dedication and Foreword

Acknowledgments

Begin Reading

Index

End User License Agreement

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Practical Process Design for Chemical Engineers

Keith Marchildon and David Mody

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Preface

Our book is intended to be significantly different from other process design books. The expected readership will include recent graduates from chemical engineering schools as well as engineers re-assigned to process design. The book will be shorter relative to some previous books. We believe this – along with the content – will recommend itself to selective and even complete reading. With regard to recent graduates, this book may serve as a “finishing school” to fill in concepts that the curriculum omitted or covered inadequately.

It is divided into two main sections: the first covering topics such as synthesis and process modelling, one of two essential prototyping (process verification) methods discussed in this book. Sage advice on prototyping using pilot plants is also provided. The process verification steps – from paper design to pilot plant, to semi-works, to commercial facility – to minimize the chance of project problems are discussed. In the chapter “Operating Problems: Solution by Design,” ten common problems are identified that can crop up in an operating plant, and some means are proposed to circumvent them.

In the second section (Chapters 11 through 20), the selection of technologies for a design is approached by explaining the technology (e.g. heat exchangers) but by focusing on the process needs and relating those to technologies that can be utilized. An effort has been made to ferret out the whole range of technologies, some obscure, that are possibilities for each need. Furthermore, the book utilizes chemical engineering principles to help a designer prioritize the design needs.

In addition to the usual suspects of technologies used in the design of chemical processes – such as reactions, separations, heat transfer, mass transfer, and so forth – a variety of process needs not covered in many undergraduate programs or process design books are discussed, such as:

Formation, Modification, and Transportation of Solids

Mixing, Blending, and Agitation

Integrated Process Operations.

Patents are rarely discussed, but they should be. This book discusses intellectual property for the process designer.

Keith Marchildon and David Mody

To Keith: Dedication and Foreword

Keith Marchildon didn’t live long enough to see this joint book with his friend and colleague David Mody published, but it is the culmination of his life-long dream. From as far back as we, Keith’s five children, can remember, writing a book had always been on Keith’s list of things to do. However, this list was long, encompassing Keith’s many responsibilities, ambitions, and interests. Keith placed a high value on family, community, and service to others, which had to be balanced with his professional responsibilities and academic pursuits.

In addition to raising the five of us with his wife Joan, Keith led boy scout troops, was an active member of his church, organized university reunions, taught engineering courses at Queen’s University and elsewhere, created and presented courses on nylon polymerization fundamentals to his DuPont colleagues around the world, wrote and acted in skits for the annual Dupont Christmas party, and hosted grandchildren, cousins, DuPont and extended family at his cottage, all while becoming one of the foremost technical authorities at Dupont Canada and being promoted to DuPont fellow in 2000. From 2010, Keith was the primary caregiver for Joan on her journey with Alzheimer’s, noting that for the first 40 years of their marriage she had cared for all of us, and now it was his turn to take care of her.

True to his engineering training, Keith believed that any problem could be resolved with a sufficient application of thought and analysis. Moreover, the solution to any problem starts with a consideration of first principles. He mulled over and researched issue after issue, including getting up to speed as much as necessary on new technologies. Nevertheless, he drew the line when it came to computer programming, insisting until the end on doing all his programming in Fortran. Getting the right answer was always more important to Keith than a deadline.

It was only after Keith was diagnosed with cancer in February 2019 at the age of 82 that the finiteness of his life – and the need to finish this book – came into stark view. Always deliberative, Keith joked that his terminal cancer diagnosis was the first deadline that he truly couldn’t ignore.

Keith threw himself into the final stages of his book-writing the way he tackled most challenges in life, with an intensity and energy that doesn’t come easy to many of us. Blessed with a steel trap memory and a boundless love for learning and teaching, Keith spent many hours bent over in complete stillness reading papers he had written or collected over the span of decades. Other times we would find Keith lying in bed, hands behind his head as he worked through mathematical problems in his mind, a look of pure contentment on his face.

Thankfully, Keith had more than two years after his diagnosis to collaborate with his friend and colleague, David Mody, on this book. David completed the remaining work after Keith died in July 2021. We are exceptionally grateful to David for bringing their joint project to fruition and fulfilling Keith’s dream.

Keith’s efforts in this book reflect the high priority he put on teaching and the transfer of knowledge to his kids, his students, and his colleagues. We hope that this book contributes to the practice of chemical engineering process design in a way that Keith had hoped.

April 2024      

Lori, Lee, Lynn, Bernie, and Marc

Acknowledgments

Keith and I (Dave) have a long list of people whom we thank for contributing to the book. The book’s origin dates back to professional development courses that Keith and other DuPont Canada engineers developed and taught. I think we owe a thank you to those individuals for the beginning of this endeavor. The notes for those courses turned into professional development courses that Keith and I taught in various locations across Canada. Each course we taught brought unique and interesting perspectives and questions from engineers across Canada, and we thank those participants for that. Keith taught many courses at DuPont, Invista, and Queen’s and I know he would want to thank those individuals. David’s work at Fluor Canada with the engineers, designers, and managers made possible his lifelong enjoyment of learning from others and teaching engineering ways of thinking and the skills needed to do design. Those technical and management leaders helped me to build a skill set and an enthusiasm for the creativity that underlies all of engineering. Several of those individuals have advised and contributed directly to this book, and I’m deeply grateful for their time and commitment to helping myself and the next generation of designers. I echo Keith’s sentiments of never letting an opportunity to learn pass you by, and to that, we owe a lot to the many operations and maintenance people we worked with over the years.

In my second career, while working at Queen’s University, I worked with so many bright, aspiring engineering students who, in many ways, contributed to this book through their enthusiasm, their questions, and their monumental efforts to become engineers. I never really considered myself to be teaching, as much as working with the students. In addition, a host of engineers and professors helped with the courses I mentored, and they refined my understanding and teaching of design, project management, and chemical engineering. I was blessed with the opportunity to see and understand engineering from a remarkable variety of industries. The names are numerous, but I would like to say thank you to all of them and to the ones who have answered my questions and provided feedback and suggestions, an even larger thank you! Your contributions are truly appreciated.

Keith was a devoted family person. We both owe a huge thank you to our wives and families for their unwavering support and love.

1A Plan for Process Design

This book is about process design, the kind of design in which the knowledge and talents of a chemical engineer are significantly required. Design may include selection, modification, and even invention of equipment, as well as specification of operational sequences and conditions. Design always involves choices.

Engineers perform many functions, but for most engineers, the chance to be a designer is at the top of their ambition. Design is a chance to be creative, to integrate existing knowledge, and possibly the opportunity to be famous – doubly so if the design does not work!

A design assignment may be small – a modification to an existing process – or it may be a whole new plant. It may be a close duplicate of something else or a radical departure. However, the operative word is always “choice”.

At the very outset, the activity of process design must be distinguished from that of project implementation or project management. Process design is part, but only a part, of a project. The project only ends when everything is up and running. The project leader – usually an engineer – has responsibility to see that all required engineering components are attended to, not just the chemical ones, that regulatory permits are obtained, that funding is obtained, and that the system is built and operational. The process designer is an integral part of the project implementation team. If the project is small, the process designer may be the leader of the implementation team. In any case, the designer needs to take this role as a member of the team seriously because there are no accolades if the project fails, even if the design was great.

To be specific then, this book is about process design. One chapter is included to better explain how projects are managed and how process design and project management mesh with each other.

The plan comprises the following three sections:

Principles of Project Design

Operations and Equipment

Appendices

We review each section here.

1.1 Principles of Process Design

In the 10 chapters of this section, the considerations that accompany all designs are presented.

Documents and Communications are given pride of place because the designer must get his or her plans into the hands of others who will take the next step, which is in the hands of the rest of the project team. There are formal ways of doing this, and they are explained.

The mention of “choice” above implies that the designer must Synthetize the process. This is a creative operation with no step-by-step procedure. However, there are configurations and guidelines that chemical engineers know and which can help.

To back up the synthesis, the process designer engages in Experimentation and also in Modeling. The gold standard for experimentation is the pilot plant, which, if designed thoughtfully and the results interpreted properly, provides a huge help to the success of the commercial unit. But pilot plants are expensive, all-inclusive, and have issues with scale-up. Modeling of key elements can be cheaper, whether it is physical modeling, computational fluid modeling, or mathematical modeling of the transport and chemical phenomenon. Sometimes a simple homemade model suffices: Math modeling should be in every engineer’s bag of skills.

Solution by Design addresses some of the untoward problems that often arise in the operation of an eventual process, such things as corrosion, interaction between vessels, etc. Ten items are listed and probably many more could be. Better to deal with them at the design phase rather than be surprised at the operational stage.

Process Monitoring and Control are integral parts of the process design. Control is obvious, although subject to various strategies to make it sharper and to various equipment choices. Monitoring is not so obvious, especially to management who are trying to cut costs. However, the conscientious process designer insists on heavy monitoring to assist the personnel who will subsequently operate and troubleshoot and modify the system. Who knows, it might be the designer themselves.

Safety and Health are paramount concerns these days for all industries, in spite of past transgressions over earlier decades and centuries. The chemical industries are highly regarded in their efforts to keep their workers safe, to make safe products, and to protect the integrity of their worksites and the people and land around them. There are formal procedures for making this happen.

Protecting the Environment is part of safety and health, namely the well-being of the world around the plant or process. It has risen over the years to be a major part of new industrial installations. It is highly regulated and rightly so.

Project Economics, Capital Cost Estimates, and Operating Cost estimates may seem like more of a task for the project manager or for management in general. However, there is no use building a wonderful process design if it is obvious that it will be a technical success but an economic failure. The designer may want to keep an eye on what others are doing with the cost figures to make sure that items are evaluated fairly and that costs for extraneous items are not being added on.

And finally, Project Implementation is addressed since the process designer is an integral part of the project team and may often find her or himself lying on the critical scheduling path.

Thus, ends the general considerations that all process designs must adhere to, to a greater or lesser extent.

We turn now to resources for designing specific processes.

1.2 Operations and Equipment

The approach here is to list according to process needs, rather than according to technologies. For instance, a design might require a miscible solution of two liquids to be separated. The obvious choice might be distillation, but there are other methods, and these will be described. In some cases, the technologies are described more than once because they serve more than one design need. Hopefully, a full palette of technologies is described, but of course, the genius of chemical engineering from time to time results in new and improved methods.

The sequence was meant to start at the plant door and to proceed stepwise through the plant. But plants do not operate in a linear fashion. However, the first of the eleven parts of this section does start at the beginning.

Bulk Shipping and Storage of Gases, Vapors, Liquids, and Solids are common to many operations, with a variety of modes depending on the phase and nature of the material.

In-Plant Transport of Liquids, Liquid–Solid Mixtures (Slurries), and Liquid–Gas Mixtures, with the combinations quite common but generally not taught in initial chemical engineering education.

In-Plant Transport and Compression of Gases, which because of variable density, are more complicated than other phases.

In-Plant Transport of Solids: Solids being very common in the chemical industry, yet their transport is not much touched on academically.

Formation and Modification of Solids are again not much studied in initial chemical engineering education but important because solids are more susceptible to modification than liquids or gases. Solids may be comminuted or built up, including by 3-D printing these days. Solids may be melted and recast, and they may be made into film or laminates, or spun into fibers, or converted into extremely tiny nanoparticles.

Energy Transfer is a very frequent accompaniment of other operations, i.e., in heating and cooling and changing phase of materials. This includes sensible effects as well as vaporization and condensation. Liquids, gases, and solids as well as combinations require various treatments.

Mixing, Blending, and Agitation are ubiquitous in chemical plants. Similar phases and mixed phases generally require different equipment. Material properties – e.g., the viscosity of a liquid – may call for radically different agitators.

Separation of materials is also found generally somewhere along a process. Mechanical Separations remove separate immiscible phases from one another using a surprising number of techniques suited to specific occasions.

Molecular Separations, by contrast, are used to break apart a single phase into more than one phase, with the object of having the different phases richer or poorer in various components.

Not every process design includes chemical reaction, but, of course, chemical engineers require the ability to design reactors. Many general Chemical Reactors are described.

For biochemical applications, there are additional restrictions, so a small treatment is provided of Biochemical Reactors.

One of the talked about topics of the day is process integration to reduce costs, increase efficiency, and reduce “footprint.” We finish this section with a part on Integrated Operations.

2Documentation and Communication

All communication is essentially good. For chemical and chemical engineering projects, a set of formal documents has evolved over the years, which is almost universally used. The production of some of these documents is the sole prerogative of the process designer or process design team. Others have shared responsibility with other members of the project team, including management, to a greater or lesser extent.

Here is a summary of the possible documents that can accompany a project. The list is arranged chronologically. The names may differ from organization to organization, but the content and sequence are universal.

Basic data – responsibility of management sponsor, laying out the goals and constraints of the projects.

Process flow diagram (PFD) and the heat and material balance – graphically displaying the result of process synthesis, showing the flow and properties of internal and external streams. An accompanying process description document may also be provided for the purpose of clarity.

Equipment list – evolving as equipment becomes better defined, providing key parameters that can be used for an initial and ongoing estimate of capital cost, and providing key information for other disciplines such as weights, size, and so on for preliminary design and estimating.

Piping and instrumentation diagram (P&ID) – showing interconnections and interactions between vessels and the required instrumentation hardware and controllers.

Equipment data sheets – showing details, as they are calculated, about each major piece of equipment; added by other specialists and vendors so that quotes can be provided.

Instrument data sheets.

Functional specifications for distributed control system (DCS) to augment the P&IDs.

Scope of work and cost estimation.

Notes from process hazard review.

Input to applications for environmental permits.

After the project has been approved and before plant start-up, training manual and operating instructions.

Maintenance instructions.

Record of design calculations for future troubleshooting and modification of the system.

This is a formidable list and does not apply in full to every project. For a large project, several people may be involved in creating these documents. Of course, if management eventually decides against proceeding with the project, then some documents (e.g. operating instructions) would be curtailed or never be written.

Here is an overview of the general content of each document.

2.1 Basic Data

Projects always start with a sponsor, i.e., someone who can authorize the money. That person or persons may be wishing to make a new product and will convey in the basic data document the production rate and characteristics (e.g. purity) of that product. The sponsor may be a government agency and perhaps wish to build a facility to deal with a waste stream. Again, the rate is given, and, in this case, the purity of the stream leaving the facility is specified. In particular cases, there may be additional requirements and constraints. The key is to ensure that the process designer and the project team deliver what the sponsor asks for. The document also serves as a reference point for any subsequent negotiation between the sponsor and the team as the details of the project start to emerge.

Sponsors and designers will engage in producing a workable document and may wish to refer to writings on this subject, such as Read (2000), Manganaro (2002), Ainsworth and Brocklebank (2003), Pavone (2006), Buckbee (2010), Lagace (2011), Ogle and Carpenter (2014), and Toghraei (2015).

2.2 Process Flow Diagram (PFD)

The PFD can be drawn for any process but is most commonly illustrated for continuous processes. It consists of a sheet on which schematics of the major vessels are located. The interconnections between the vessels are shown with arrows. Every flow stream is indicated with a number. The streams are listed in a table outside the diagram, showing their properties, e.g., phase, flow rate of each of the components in the stream (kg s−1), temperature, pressure, and physical properties. In some jurisdictions, this information is listed on the diagram itself, but this can introduce clutter and make it difficult to list extra information about the streams, so it is simplest to have it separated in a table. The details of the flows, in the initial version of the PFD, may be simply what the process designer wishes them to be, with no reference to the actual equipment that will produce these flows. Design of the equipment can come later. Nasby (2012) saw PFDs as communication tools.

The example shown in Figure 2.1 is a chemical reactor feeding into the side of a distillation column, with recycle from the top of the distillation column back to near the entrance point of the reactor. Near the top of the column, there is a waste or purge stream. At the bottom of the column, almost pure product B emerges ready for sale. This is a very common scenario in chemical process systems, which deals with the situation where one possibility is that the reaction of A to B approaches equilibrium. Another is that B has a tendency to degrade into C and B is removed as quickly as possible. The seven streams are numbered as follows:

1. raw material feed stream,

2. the exit from the reactor,

3. the recycle return flow to the reactor,

4. the pure B product stream from the bottom of the distillation column, and

5. 6 and 7 – the streams around the C-purge unit.

Figure 2.1 Reactor with recycle.

This is the way the process is intended to operate and for which the designer has specified the size, geometry, and operating conditions. Subsequently, the details of the vessels will be worked out and will appear in the equipment data sheets. A process description similar to the description above is a useful document for communication to other members of the team.

For simplicity in this example (Figure 2.1), all components A, B, and C have the same molecular weights. The order of volatilities is “A” (most volatile), “C”, and “B”.

The flow data are useful to other members of the team, particularly the pipe designers who need to know the flow and properties of the stream and any corrosion potential. The principal vessels on the chart may have names attached to them, but in many cases, this is not done to avoid giving a competitor information in case the sheet falls into the wrong hands. PFDs are generally quite guarded by the enterprise and released to other employees only with a need to know. For aesthetic purposes, the vessels are usually shown with rounded corners rather than squared corners.

The choice of flows for this process is dictated by the amount of product that the manufacturer wants this process to yield. Some of the vessels, when eventually chosen, would be quite capable of outperforming their rate in this particular flow sheet. All of the flows have to be consistent with one another and one way would be to count the atomic species in the streams in the PFD. The numbers in the flow table should be checked for consistency with the reaction kinetics or conversions and the vessel sizes.

The flow table can and should display more data than shown, especially the phases of the stream. In this case, only stream 6 and stream 3 before the condenser are vapor; all the rest is liquid.

2.2.1 PFD for Batch Processes

The continuous version of the PFD does not lend itself to batch processes because the flow streams are not constant. There is, in fact, no hard and fast rule that diagrams have to appear on a flow sheet; however, they do assist engineering personnel in interpreting the sheet for any process. In batch processing, there may be a single vessel which undergoes various cycles or there could be two or more vessels all of which need to be described.

Consider the example of a single vessel undergoing four cycles of operation from start to finish (Figure 2.2). In the first cycle, the pressure rises autogenously with temperature. In the second cycle, the pressure is kept constant by virtue of the release of volatile material from the vessel. In the third cycle, the pressure is reduced. In the fourth cycle, the material is expelled from the vessel. A single image of the vessel would suffice, but an alternative is to show an image for each cycle since the valves or pumps can be shown as on or off for each cycle. In this case, four copies of the vessel could be printed on the process flow sheet. The figure shows two of the cycles, with the time-wise progression of the variables during the initial pressurization and then during the emptying.

Sometimes a batch process uses an extra feed somewhere along its process path. This is known as a batch-fed process. A particular cycle in which this feed is introduced is separated into two cycles. The additional feed also has a time line for the time it takes to be introduced: its time, pressure, temperature, flow, and composition are listed out in the same manner as the actual emissions of the main process vessel. Note that this is an addition rather than an emission. Once again, the full rate out of the vessel is useful to the piping designer. In these situations, it is useful to document the instantaneous flow rate for sizing pipes, etc., and the time average flow rate for material consumption and yearly production.

In some cases, one batch vessel feeds to another. In that case, the above treatment is required, again with data along horizontal time lines. The time lines have to be coordinated between the two vessels. In multiproduct batch plants, vessels may have to be shown many times because their cycles are specific to given products. In such an arrangement, if common pipes are employed for different flows, then the diagram requires more imagination. Creating a PFD for a batch process is discussed by Cooper and Moore (2013).

Figure 2.2 Batch process material balance.

* * * * * *

For both continuous and batch processes, the PFD is a living document. It begins with sketching the proposed equipment items but only indicating their function and their interconnectivity. The flows and properties of the streams are then added, but these are what is intended by the process designer based on the chemistry and phase behavior of the materials. The design of equipment follows, in order to effectuate the desired material transformations. The process flow sheet will live on to assist future workers in understanding the process. The calculations which led to the PFD and its development need to be available to future workers. We have not discussed simulators and optimization at this point, and, in some cases, the final PFD is not complete until those tools and processes have been utilized.

2.3 Equipment List

Although the equipment has not been fully designed at this point, the nature and size of the vessels and major auxiliary equipment may be approximately determined. Assembling the equipment list and applying well-known cost factors allow an initial estimate of capital cost. This is an early step in the ongoing communication among the project team and the sponsor. Toghraei (2014A) acknowledged that equipment is designed with margins, but these margins must be thought through and managed.

2.4 Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID)

The P&ID is actually more recognized among project managers and engineers than the PFD. This is because, when fully completed, it shows essentially every piece of equipment in the system including pipe sizes, reducers, expanders, valves, strainers, sample points, points of measurement, and points of control action along with all of the main vessels in the form of simple blocks. Like the PFD, the P&ID is a living document. It begins with the process engineer adding essential controls, and, eventually, the diameters, wall thickness, length, and code of every pipe are included. In a large corporation, the piping would be handled by a piping specialist. In a smaller operation, it may be handled by the process designer. This is the diagram to which the operators and maintenance personnel refer. In many cases, the P&ID is taped to the wall in the control room for ready reference. For a P&ID on multiple sheets, it is highly convenient to match up the outflows from one P&ID to the inflows of the subsequent P&ID (Figure 2.3).

At some point, the process designer must specify the process monitoring and control equipment and add these details into the P&ID. Essentially, this means, for monitoring, points of measurement of temperature, pressure, level, flow, and possibly concentration. It also includes sample points. For control, some of these points of measurement are included as parts of feedback loops that activate final control elements such as valve position, pump speed, and energy flow to heat-transfer devices. The designation of these loops forms part of the P&ID. As part of the initial calculation of cost, there is usually an average cost-per-loop which can be used for initial estimates. Rinker (2017) provided a valuable compendium of symbols for piping and instrumentation and also for valves. The Instrument Society of America (ISA 5.1) provides a standard of instrument symbols for P&IDs. Of course, an enterprise often has its own symbols, which should be used. Shah (2020A, 2020B) spoke about P&IDs. Toghraei (2014B) provided principles of P&ID development.

Figure 2.3 P&ID ready for construction.

Source: Used under permission by the Alberta Government.

Figure 2.4 First stage piping and instrumentation diagram for the recycle reactor.

A PFD with controls is the first step in the transition from PFD to P&ID. Some aspects of P&IDs are illustrated in Figure 2.4 for the reactor-with-recycle example for which the PFD is shown in Figure 2.1. Starting in the lower right-hand corner, it is seen that the product is desired to be delivered at a constant rate, with the flow indicator and controller (FIC) measuring the flow, comparing it with the set point, and manipulating the pump to deliver the desired product rate. Heat is provided at the bottom of the distillation/separation column, and the heating rate is manipulated to maintain the desired bottom temperature – that temperature indicates the composition of the bottom product. This is the function of the temperature indicator and controller (TIC). The bottom liquid level is also measured (level indicating controller (LIC)) and is controlled by manipulating the flow from the reactor into the column.

If some upstream malfunction were to cause the liquid level at the bottom of the column to fall below its set point and possibly to zero, the outlet pump would run dry, with damaging effects to itself. For this reason, the level control measurement connects to an interlock (“I”), which shuts off the pump regardless of the signal from the FIC (which would have speeded up the pump if it detected reduced flow).

The purge of component “C” near the top of the column is a small vapor stream which gets partially condensed with the liquid running off to waste. The level in the separation tank is controlled by manipulating the outlet valve.

The recycle line contains vapor from the purge separator which is condensed and fed to the reactor. An analytical detector (Analyzer Indicator (AI)) for component “C” could be installed in the recycle line since it is desired to keep the impurity from building up in the system. This detection could consist of just a sample point, where occasional samples are taken and transmitted to an online analyzer or to the lab for analysis. The fresh feed to the reactor is manipulated in order to control level. The temperature is maintained by external heating. The reader is invited to consider what equipment or controls would be needed to provide liquid reflux for the column, and what would be required to handle an impurity with a lower volatility than component A.

Usually, there are more than one P&ID. The very practical custom is to make the piping on one drawing line up with the same piping on the next drawing. The P&IDs are often posted, side by side around the walls of the control room.

2.5 Equipment Data Sheets

The process designer begins the specification of the equipment which is going to be used to carry out the process. Referring to the example in Figure 2.1