CB307

Process Equipment Design-II

LTPC: 1-0-3-5

Course Instructor: Dr. Anoop Kumar Gupta

E-mail: [email protected]
Office: Block 06/116

Indian Institute of Technology Patna

Bihta, Patna-801103, Bihar, India
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Syllabus:
Introduction, Flow sheeting (includes flowsheet presentation, flowsheets with
recycle, optimization, etc.). Drawing and design of phase separation equipment
such as cyclone separators, centrifuges, packed towers, electro-static precipitators.
Design of pressure relief system. Design of heat transfer equipment such as heat
exchangers with and without phase change, condensers and reboilers. Design of
mass transfer equipment such as distillation columns (plate/tray), absorption
columns, extraction columns, dryers and cooling towers. Process hazards and
safety measures.
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• Text Books:
1. M. S. Peters, K.D. Timmerhaus, R. E. West, Plant Design and Economics for Chemical Engineers, 5th
Ed., McGraw Hill Education, 2003.
2. G. Towler, R. Sinnott, Butterworth-Heinemann, Chemical Engineering Design: Principles, Practice
and Economics of Plant and Process Design, 4th Ed., An Imprint of Elsevier Inc., 2005.

• Reference Books:
1. J.R. Couper, W.R. Penny, J.R. Fair, S.M. Walas, Chemical Process Equipment selection and design, 3rd
Ed., Elsevier Inc., 2012.
2. R. H. Perry, D.W. Green, Perry’s Chemical Engineer’s Handbook, 7th Ed., McGraw Hill, 1998.
3. M.V. Joshi, V.V. Mahajani, Process Equipment Design, 3rd Ed., Macmillan India Ltd., 1996.
4. Robin Smith, Chemical Process Design and Integration., Wiley, 2014.

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Performance Evaluation Strategy:

• Quiz 1: 25 marks
• Quiz 2: 25 marks
• Quiz 3: 25 marks
• Presentation: 15 marks
• Class attendance, responsiveness, sincerely, etc.: 10 marks

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 By-products
Basic anatomy of a chemical process: Main
Product product
Raw material Feed separation
Reactor
storage preparation unit
Recycle of
unreacted various
reactants contacting
methods

Sales Storage Purification

• Chemical process design is about selection and arrangement of various stages in

process; and selection, specification and design of equipment in that stage.
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Hierarchy of chemical process design

• Identify the unit process.

• Identify the equipment needed.
• Optimize each process.
• Optimize process as a whole.
• Effluent treatment.
• Check if the end product meets our desired criteria.
• Evaluate the economic potential or profitability of the process.
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Strategy for any chemical process design

• Flow sheet development

• Reactor
• Separation and recycle
• Heat recovery system
• Heating/cooling utilities
• Effluent treatment process

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 Creative aspects of process design

• Purpose of the process: create new material wealth through chemical or

biochemical transformation of raw material into value added product.
• What ideas can be generated?
• Production of purchased raw material.
• Conversion of waste product into value added products.
• Creation of a new material.
• To find new ways of producing existing material.
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Creative aspects of process design (contd.)

• To implement a new technology.

• To use new materials of construction.
• How does a process design evolve?
• Research phase – 1-3% success
• Development stage – 10-25% success
• Pilot stage – 40-60% success
• Evaluate the ideas at various stages.

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Synthesis and analysis of process design

• Design problems are always under-defined, very little information is available

at research stage.
• Missing information: make guesses, make use of thumb rules.
• Synthesis activity is a creative process.
• Various variables of process (temperature, pressure, concentration,
conversion, etc.) give rise to large number of process alternatives, could be as
high as 104 –106.

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Synthesis and analysis of process design (contd.)

• Choice of best process alternative, but which criteria to be used?

• Capital and operating cost
• Environmental friendly
• Less hazardous
• Easy to start up and operate
• Not all alternatives can satisfy all criteria, shortlist the best.
• Shortcut design of a process is a powerful tool for comparing various
alternatives.
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 Synthesis and analysis of process design (contd.)

• Approach of design.
• Economic trade-offs to reduce the overall capital and operating cost.
• Introduce changes in design only if they give significant improvement.
• Process design can never be completed.
• Process design ceases when addition of further details does not warrant
significant benefits.
• Designing is a joint activity of a scientist and an engineer.

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 Levels of Engineering Design

• Order of magnitude estimate: based on previous cost data, accuracy is ± 50%.

• Study or factored estimate: based on broad process design, knowledge of
major process equipment, ± 25% accurate.
• Preliminary estimate: based on more data, ± 15% accurate.
• Definitive estimate: based on almost complete process but before exact
drawings and specifications, ± 5% accurate.
• Detailed/contractor’s estimate: complete engineering drawing, market survey,
± 3% accurate.
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Let us see a process diagram of Hydrodealkylation of Toluene

Main reaction: Toluene + H2 ⟶ Benzene (main product) + CH4

Side reaction: 2 Benzene ⟶ Diphenyl (side product) + H2

Process variables:
Vapor phase process, pressure = 500 psi
Optimum temperature = 1150 oF-1300 oF
Limiting reactant – Toluene
Typically, molar ratio of 5:1, i.e., 5/1 = H2/Toluene

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15
 Distillation Train:
Reactor effluent comprises of
 Benzene
 Diphenyl
 Unreacted Toluene
 Hydrogen
 Methane

Alternative Distillation Train:

Stabilizer column removes
dissolved gas.

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 (1) (2)

• Relatively pure Toluene can be obtained as

side product which is recycled to reactor.
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 These alternatives try to combine three columns into two and thus reduce
both the capital and operating cost.

 Vapor recovery system – treat the gas stream before vent to the atmosphere.

Options for vapor recovery:

• Condensation (compression/cooling/both)
• Absorption
• Adsorption
• Membrane separation
Economics of vapor recovery:
• Lets say absorption: needs a solvent, recovery of solute from solvent needs
distillation/stripping.
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Simplified flowsheet for separation systems

Components:

1. Flash drum (vapor-liquid separation at reduced pressure)

2. Liquid separation system (distillation column, extraction unit,
membrane separation).
3. Vapor recovery unit (absorption, adsorption, membrane separation).

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Recycle Structure of Flowsheet

• Recycle streams are associated with significant cost, i.e.,

 Cost involved for separation

 Cost involved for recycle (major contribution from gas recycle)

• Gas recycle is more cost intensive as it requires compressor which has

high capital and operating cost.

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21
Input/Output Structure of Flowsheet
• Simplest possible flowsheet
• To access economic potential of the process
• Cost of raw materials
• Cost of products
• Difference between the above two gives “value addition”

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Systematic approach for process design
• Batch or continuous process
• Input/output structure
• Recycle structure of the flowsheet
• Design of separation system
• Vapor recovery
• Liquid recovery
• Energy integration or heat exchanger network

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Example: Ethanol Synthesis by Hydration of Ethylene

Ethylene + H2O ⟶ Ethanol

2 Ethanol ⟶ Di ethyl ether + H2O

Reaction conditions: T = 560K, p = 69 bar

CH4 and C2H6 are impurities in the feed stream.

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Input/output structure

Recycle structure

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Separation system design

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Batch vs. Continuous process

Input information

• Reactions and reaction conditions

• Desired production rate
• Desired product purity
• Reaction kinetics
• Physical properties of components
• Safety, toxicity, etc.
• Cost data of products and bi-products
• Yield of reaction and corresponding conditions

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Selectivity = moles of B obtained/ moles of A reacted
or
= moles of B obtained / Moles of C obtained
Example:
Toluene + H2 ⟶ Benzene + CH4
2 Benzene ⟶ Di phenyl + H2
Recycle
Toluene
(unreacted)
Toluene S : selectivity
Benzene
(1 mole)
Toluene
(reacted) Di phenyl
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Production rate: what should be optimum production rate for any product.

Economy of scale: As the production rate increases, unit production price

deceases.

Product purity: fixed by market consideration, production of a range of product

with different purities. As the purity of the product increases, the operational cost
increases and so does the cost of production.

Raw material: very pure reactants are used by the chemist. During transforming
the process on large scale , high purity raw material is not available.
• Access the level of impurity.
• The sensitivity of overall process against impurities.
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Process constraints:
• Safety, thermal sensitivity
• Coke formation in carbonaceous materials
• Toxicity, corrosiveness

Batch vs. continuous:

Continuous process: 24 hr/day, 7 days in week
8000 hr/year or 330 days
maintenance shutdown and start up

Batch process: the equipment is started/shut down very frequently, small scale
production.
• Complete batch or complete continuous process is rare.
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Guidelines

• Scale of production – plant capacity > 107 lb/year (continuous)

< 106 lb/year (batch)

• Batch plants are more flexible and simpler.

• Slow reactions ⟶ batch
• Fouling in process ⟶ batch

• Which operation in single or which in separate vessels.

• Some units in batch or some in continuous mode.

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Fundamentals of material balance

• Basis of process design.

• Material balance over the complete process gives quantities of raw materials
required and products produced.
• Material balance over individual process units set the process stream flows
and compositions and provide basis equations for sizing equipment.

Conservation of mass:

Mass out = Mass in + Generation – Consumption – Accumulation

• For steady state: accumulation = 0
• In absence of any chemical reaction, Mass in = Mass out
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Example:

1) 2000 kg of a 5% (wt.) slurry of a Ca(OH)2 in water is to be prepared

by diluting a 20% (wt.) slurry. Calculate the quantities required.

2) CO2 is added at a rate of 10 kg/h to an air stream (having 0.03% CO2

initially) and air is sampled at a sufficient distance downstream to ensure
complete mixing. If the analysis shows 0.45% v/v CO2, calculate the
airflow rate.
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Excess Reagent:

• To promote the desired reaction.

• To ensure complete mixing.
• To maximize the use of expensive reagent.

Percent excess = (Quantity supplied – Stoichiometric

quantity)/Stoichiometric quantity

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Example:

To ensure complete combustion, 20% excess air is supplied to a furnace

burning the natural gas. The gas composition is methane 95%, ethane 5%
by volume. Calculate moles of air required per mole of fuel.

CH 4  2O2  CO2  2 H 2O
C2 H 6  3.5O2  2CO2  3H 2O

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Conversion:

• Fraction of the reagent that reacts.

• To optimize reactor design and minimize by-product formation, the conversion
of a reagent is typically < 100%.

amount of reagent consumed

Conversion (X) 
amount of reagent suplied
amount in feed stream  amount in product stream
=
amount in feed stream
C A0  C A
=
C A0

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Example:

In the manufacturing of vinyl chloride (VC, m.wt. = 62.5) by the pyrolysis

of dichloroethane (DCE, m.wt. = 99), the reactor conversion is limited to
55% to reduce carbon formation, which fouls the reactor tubes. Calculate
the quantity of DCE fed to the reactor to produce 5000 kg/h of VC.

C2 H 4Cl2  C2 H 3Cl  HCl

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Selectivity:
• Efficiency of a reactor in converting reagents to the desired product. It is the
fraction of reacted material that was converted into the desired product.
• In absence of by-products, selectivity is 100%.
• For side-reactions and by-product formation, selectivity decreases.
moles of B formed
Selectivity 
moles of B formed in absence of by-product or side reaction
moles of B formed
=
moles of A consumed x stoichiomeric factor (SF)

SF = moles of B formed per molecule of A reacted in the stoichiometric

equation.
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Example:
In the production of ethanol by hydrolysis of ethylene, diethyl ether is produced
as a by-product. A typical feed stream composition is: 55% ethylene, 5% inerts,
40% water; and product stream: 52.26% ethylene, 5.49% ethanol, 0.16% ether,
36.81% water, 5.28% inerts. Calculate selectivity of ethylene for ethanol and for
ether. C2 H 4  H 2O  C2 H 5OH
2C2 H 5OH  (C2 H 5 ) 2 O  H 2O
C2H4 (52.26%)
C2H4 (55%) C2H5OH (5.49%)
Inerts (5%) Reactor (C2H5)2O (0.16%)
H2O (40%) H2O (36.81%)
Inerts (5.28%)
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Yield:
• It is the measure of performance of plant or reactor.

moles of B formed
Yield of product B from feed A =
moles of A supplied x stoichiometric factor

• For a reactor, yield = conversion x selectivity

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Recycle Process:
• In the conversion of a valuable reagent in a reaction process is << 100%, the
unreacted material is usually separated and recycled back to the reactor.

• For instance, reflux on the top of a distillation column in absence of any

reaction.

Example: Production of Vinyl Chloride from Ethylene

A. Chlorination:
C2H4 + Cl2 ⟶ C2H4Cl2 , yield of DCE (dichloroethylene) on ethylene =
98%
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B. Oxyhydrochlorination:
C2H4 + 2HCl + 0.5O2 ⟶ C2H4Cl2 + H2O , DCE yield: 95% on ethylene and 90%
on HCl

C. Pyrolysis:
C2H4Cl2 ⟶ C2H3Cl (VC) + HCl , yield: 99% of VC on DCE and 99.5% of HCl on
DCE

The HCl from pyrolysis step is recycled to the oxyhydrochlorination step. The flow
of ethylene to the chlorination and oxyhydrochlorination reactors is adjusted so that
the production of HCl is in balance with the requirement. The unreacted DCE is
separated and recycled. Calculate the flow rate (kmol/h) of ethylene to each reactor,
flow rate of recycled HCL and overall yield of VC on ethylene, for a production rate
of 12,500 kg/h vinyl chloride (VC). M.wt.: VC = 62.5, DCE = 99, HCl = 36.5.
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43
Purge
• Bleeding off a portion of a recycle stream to prevent the build up of an unwanted
material.

• Under steady state conditions:

Rate of loss of inert in the purge = Rate of feed of inert into the system
• Note: Concentration of any component in purge stream is same as in the recycle
stream.

• Purge rate can be determined as:

Feed stream flow rate x feed stream inert concn. = purge stream flow rate x
recycle inert concn

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Example:

In the production of ammonia from hydrogen and nitrogen, the conversion based on
either of the raw material is limited to 15%. The ammonia produced is condensed
from the reactor product stream and the unreacted material is recycled. If the feed
contains 0.2% argon, calculate the purge rate required to hold the argon in the recycle
stream below 5%. (percentage is in volume)

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Conservation of Energy and Utilization
• Energy can exist in several forms including chemical energy, heat, mechanical
energy, electrical energy, etc. Total energy is conserved but can be transformed
from one form to another.

• For energy requirements of the process such as heating, cooling, power

required, etc., energy balance is needed.

Energy out = Energy in + Generation – Consumption – Accumulation

(First law of thermodynamics)

• For steady state: accumulation = 0

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1. Potential energy = gz per unit mass

2. Kinetic energy = ½ u2 per unit mass

3. Internal energy: due to molecular motion, U = f(T)

4. Work:
v2
W   Pdv where v is specific volume = V/m
v1

Isothermal expansion: Pv = const.

Reversible adiabatc expansion: Pv  const. where  = Cp /Cv

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48
 u12 u22
U1  Pv
1 1  z1 g  Q  U 2  P2v2   z2 g  W
2 2
Enthalpy : H  U  Pv
u12 u22
 H1   z1 g  Q  H 2   z2 g  W
2 2
Kinetic and potential energy are relatively small in chemical processes as
compared to heat and work terms:

 H 2  H1  Q  W H1 = Enthalpy of inlet stream

H2 = Enthalpy of outlet stream

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In many processes: W 0
 Q  H 2  H1
 Q p  Qs  H 2  H1

Qp = Process heat added to the system to maintain required system

temperature
Qs = Heat generated (exothermic +ve, endothermic –ve)

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Example:
Distillation
column

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Reboiler: latent heat of steam = 2174 kJ/kg
Condenser: rise in cooling water temperature is limited to 30 oC

Note: In figure, compositions are given in weight, column operates at 1 bar.

• Latent heat data: B.P. of 99% acetone/water = 56.5 oC
Acetone at 56.5 oC (330K) = 620 kJ/kg
Water at 56.5 oC (330K) = 2500 kJ/kg
• Heat capacity data:
Acetone at 25-35 oC = 2.2 kJ/kg.K
Water at 25-100 oC = 4.2 kJ/kg

Calculate:
1) Cooling water flow rate (kg/h)
2) Steam flow rate (kg/h)
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