Feature Report

Engineering Practice

INS ND CO
Loop Piping model
diagram

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Principles of

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Isometrics

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Alarm
table

P&ID Development Calculations

P&ID

Mechanical
The tips provided here will streamline efforts to data sheets

ME
develop piping & instrumentation diagrams

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CH
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OC

AN
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ICA
Mohammad Toghraei

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Consultant Process
data sheets

T
he piping and instrumentation instrument lists, cause-and-effect
diagram (P&ID) is often consid- diagrams, control philosophy, de- FIGURE 1. P&IDs are technically pip-
ered to be the gold standard for scription, alarm-setpoint tables, ing and instrumentation diagrams but
the proper design, operation and line-designation tables (LDT), plot they provide a central repository of es-
sential engineering information that is
maintenance of plants in the chemi- plans, loop diagrams, tie-in lists, relevant to numerous other functions
cal process industries (CPI), includ- and many more (Figure 1). With throughout the planning and operation
ing chemical, oil-and-gas facilities, such universal applicability, P&IDs of most process plants
mining operations, food-processing are often affectionately referred
plants, and water- and wastewater- to as “primary interdisciplinary ment training in academia may re-
treatment plants. The P&ID provides documents.” sult in part from the fact that inher-
important information for manufac- ently, P&ID development involves
turing and installing equipment and Role of the process engineer more art than science. Plus, the
machinery, piping, instrumention, The duties of the process or chemi- content and structure of individual
and safe and appropriate startup cal engineer in a CPI project can be P&IDs tends to vary from company
and correct operation of the plant. broadly split into two categories — to company, and there is a constant
The P&ID is frequently refer- equipment sizing and P&ID devel- stream of new technologies being
enced by various engineering dis- opment. Therefore, most engineers introduced as older ones are retired.
ciplines — during both the design need to have skills in both areas. While volumes could be written on
stages and the operating phase. It The former skill calls for knowl- the development of P&IDs, this ar-
is also referenced in technical meet- edge related to hydraulic calcula- ticle provides a framework of recom-
ings with equipment vendors and tions, pump and compressor siz- mendations for P&ID development.
manufacturers, in hazard and op- ing, vessel and tank sizing, process
erability (HAZOP) studies, in man- safety-valve (PSV) sizing, and heat- P&ID development activities
agement meetings, and during proj- exchanger sizing. Equipment sizing The block flow diagram (BFD) is the
ect scheduling and planning. requires different skill sets, which preliminary document in the devel-
The P&ID is one of the few plant may vary by level of seniority and opment of any CPI project. It out-
documents that is created by multi- by industry segment. lines the most basic, general infor-
ple engineering disciplines working Chemical engineers should have mation related to the project. Then,
in concert. These disciplines include the knowledge that is needed to size it is the job of the process flow dia-
process engineering, instrumenta- specific equipment components re- gram (PFD) to add further details
tion and control (I&C), plot plant lated to their industry segment (for to the design before the final docu-
and piping (PL&P), mechanical, instance, distillation towers for pe- ment — the P&ID — is developed
heat ventilation and air condition- troleum refineries and clarifiers for (Figure 2). In general, the BFD cap-
ing (HVAC), and to a lesser extent water treatment). While equipment- tures the theoretical process steps
civil, structural and architecture sizing skills are routinely taught that are needed to convert a feed
(CSA), and the environmental and during the acquisition of an engi- stream to finished products while
regulatory group. neering degree, the skills needed the PFD goes inside of each of the
Similarly, the information pro- to develop meaningful P&IDs are BFD “blocks” and shows the major
vided by the P&ID allows for the often not formally taught in school, types of equipment that are needed
generation of various other impor- but rather are acquired through “on to meet the goal of each block. The
tant documents, including isomet- the job” training. BFD and PFD only show the main
ric drawings and models for piping, The absence of P&ID-develop- elements of the plant, while the
62 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM APRIL 2014
 Block flow diagram Process flow diagram Piping & instrumentation
Reversible system
(BFD) (PFD) diagram (P&ID)

FIGURE 2. Before a detailed P&ID can be developed, a BFD and PFD must be devel-
oped to identify the major aspects of the process. The BFD identifies primary streams FIGURE 4. The startup of a reversible
and unit operations. The PFD expands each BFD block, adding tanks, pumps and system often requires a recirculation
some instrumentation. The P&ID pulls it together with fuller details loop; it should be sized appropriately to
minimize costs

A plant with: (to ensure ease of op- All given elements must be de-
• Low capital and eration and flexibility), signed to allow them to be appro-
operating expenses
• Quick construction
while meeting all local priately isolated, drained, vented,
• Proper operation environmental and safety cleaned and flushed (via purging,
Environmental Owner
health and regulatory requirements steaming, or water flushing).
safety (EHS) (Figure 3). 4.Provisions must be made to mini-
codes mize the impact on the rest of
Plant Essential elements plant when an item, equipment or
Ideally, the specific ele- unit is out of operation.
Designer Operator ments captured in any The following points should be con-
P&ID should account for sidered when adding different items
A plant with comercially A plant with: full functionality of the to address any of the above four re-
established design • Ease of operation
procedures • Safe operation
plant in all stages of the quirements:
plant lifecycle, as outlined 1.Make sure that no added element
below: within one stage of the plant’s
FIGURE 3. CPI facilities require cooperation 1. All given elements — lifecycle will jeopardize another
among three parties. Each has its own responsibili- including equipment item’s function. For example, add-
ties but EHS requirements are common to all and piping items — ing bypass capabilities with a
must operate well and manual block valve for a safety-
P&ID provides more detailed ele- reliably during normal opera- related switching valve (for the
ments, capturing the real plant on tion, within the window of oper- purpose of making the plant op-
paper while ignoring the scale. ating conditions that is expected erational when the switching
Despite the simplified drawing at the plant. A basic process con- valve is out for maintenance, per
shown in Figure 2, P&ID develop- trol system (BPCS) should be Item 4 from the list above) could
ment goes beyond just expanding implemented to bring parameters jeopardize the operation of the
the PFD. There are some small items within normal conditions. The switching valve in an SIS; that is,
that are not shown but that need to five key parameters of chemical the bypass could be left open and
be developed by the designer for the process operations (temperature, therefore create a safety flaw).
P&ID. Still, the development of the pressure, flowrate, level and com- 2.Decide if added items can be
BFD and PFD requires exhaustive position) may need to be “adjusted” “merged” with each other or not.
studies and rigorous calculations continuously by the actions of the This basically involves check-
and simulations. Going through BPCS to ensure that they meet ing if a single shared item can
these “preliminary” efforts and not the requirements at the inlet and address multiple requirements
bypassing BFD and PFD develop- outlet of each component. within the plant lifecycle or not.
ment is essential, because every 2.The element operates well dur- Whenever possible, items should
single decision for main items on ing non-normal conditions, such be “merged” or “shared” to make
the PFD could have a big impact on as under reduced-capacity condi- the most of capital and opera-
the project. tions, and during process upsets, tional costs. In certain cases, this
startup and shutdown. Engineer- can be justified, especially when
The main goal of a facility ing provisions for working reliably an item needs to be added for the
The main goal of a process plant during low-capacity operating purpose of satisfying Item 3 or 4
is to produce desired quantities conditions, the use of safety-in- above. As these specific compo-
of various products while meet- strumented systems (SIS) to shut nents are not in use all the time,
ing stated quality goals. A sound down the system, and safety-relief a good process engineer will at-
plant design will take into consid- valves are examples of the types of tempt to “merge” them with other
eration the owner’s wishes for the items that can address this stage items so they can carry out mul-
plant (for instance, low capital and of plant lifecycle in P&ID develop- tiple functions.
operating expenses, the ability to ment activities. However, this last practice
build it quickly and so forth), the 3.There are enough provisions to cannot be carried out in all situ-
designer’s requirements (that the ensure ease of inspection and ations. From a redundancy point
design procedures can be trustwor- maintenance; these include in- of view, it is not always good to
thy and commercially established) situ inspection, ex-situ inspection, expect one item to carry out mul-
and the operator’s requirements workshop maintenance and more. tiple duties. Technically, one item
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM APRIL 2014 63
 Engineering Practice

could be time-shared when it is TABLE 1. OPTIONS FOR EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE

meant to carry out different du- In-line Off-line
ties at different times (that is,
In-place By operators doing rounds
with no overlap in duty duration). By the mechanical group
When designing for shared duty, In workshop Not applicable
keep in mind that this setup may
end up creating confusion among
operators, may be more prone to Quick hardware
Accident
loss
cross-contamination, and may
Mechanical protection
enable a small failure to lead to
Major upset Long-term
a big shutdown. Meanwhile, de- hardware loss
signing components to be dedi- High high
cated (not shared) will drive up Does not meet
Alarm Mild upset
process goal
costs (if items are expensive), High
but they will be easier to trouble-
shoot, should a failure occur. One Interlock
Control
Meets
system Normal process
common example is the use of a (SIS)
system
goal
manway pressure-relief valve (range)
(speciic
(PRV) on one shared nozzle on points) Low
tanks. Alarm Mild upset Does not meet
process goal
Typically, the ability to install
Low low
shared items is most practical Long-term
in batch systems and in systems Major upset hardware loss
with only intermittent operation. Mechanical protection
In such operations, a given item Quick hardware
Accident
can be used for different duties loss
during different time spans.
The following discussion explains FIGURE 5. A diagram depicting upset conditions, such as this, can be deined for
the activities that are reqruied for temperature, pressure, level, lowrate or composition of each component
P&ID development for each stage of
a plant lifecycle. following conditions (Each is dis- plant items (such as tanks) have an
1. Normal operation. For normal cussed below): inherently high TDR, while others
operation, each item on the P&ID a.During reduced-capacity opera- (such as equipment with internal
needs to be able to carry out the tion weirs or vessels with internal feed
duty it has been assigned. Since, b.During startup distributors) have a lower TDR. The
in the majority of cases, this is not c. During upset conditions duty of the process engineer is to
achievable through equipment de- Reduced-capacity operation. Oc- provide the required TDR (defined
sign alone, a control system should casionally, actual plant capacity by the client) for each equipment
be implemented on the equipment. should be reduced from the design component and for the entire plant.
The BPCS must ensure that the capacity for a variety of reasons. One method of providing TDR is
design of the equipment will force Such conditions may result from a to install multiple smaller compo-
the equipment to operate within a shortage of raw materials or an ex- nents in parallel, instead of one big
“window” of expected results, typi- cess of production, or from downtime piece of equipment. Another solu-
cally at its best operating point. of a critical equipment component tion is to implement a recirculation
In a broad sense, a control system or unit. The process engineer usu- loop around the equipment to com-
is supposed to bring the five main ally provides some turndown ratio pensate for the low flowrate.
process parameters — flowrate, (TDR) for the plant. TDR is a ratio Startup operations. Startup opera-
pressure, temperature, level and between the normal capacity of the tion could be assumed to be a severe
composition — into the required plant and the minimum running ca- capacity-reduction case. Be cause
range. “Composition” encompasses pacity that is possible without los- process parameters during startup
many relevant parameters, ranging ing the quality of the product. TDR are not necessarily within their
from viscosity, density and conduc- can be defined for the equipment, range, equipment and instrumenta-
tivity to octane number and Brix for a unit, or for the whole plant. tion are not expected to be working
number. All utility distribution and Some owners or operators ex- according to full operating expecta-
collection networks, and heat-con- pect the engineer to provide a TDR tions. However, startup specialists
servation insulation, must also be of around two for their plants (this are often onsite in this stage and
decided at this stage. means they want to be able to oper- can help to compensate for the tem-
2. Non-normal operation. Non- ate the plant at half capacity without porary lack of operability of equip-
normal operations occur under the losing any product quality). Some ment and instruments.
64 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM APRIL 2014
 TIPS FOR VENTS AND DRAIN VALVES
• Each drain can cover a portion of a system; Vents can cover
a bigger portion
• Drain or vent size should be manageable (Minimum size
should be ¾ in.; limit to 2 in., unless inside of dike)
• Multiple drains and vents should be implemented in a cov-
ered area to ensure draining or venting within a reasonable tp = 2 years tm = 1 year tp = 2 years

time
tm = time between
• When the system is small: drain = vent (usually for pipes <2 each maintenance, inspection or cleaning event
in.), and there is no need for dedicated vents or drains
• The drain or vent should be routed to a safe location (hard tp = time between
each plant overhaul or turnaround
piped, if required)
• For volume < 0.5 m3 (such as pump casings), use ¾-in. tp = 2 years tm = 3 years tp = 2 years
drains
• Vents can be one size smaller than the drain
• Drains for liquids with viscosity higher than 50 cP could be
one size bigger than guidelines stated above FIGURE 6. When planning for isolation valves, the engineering
team should evaluate data related to the anticipated time for sched-
uled maintenance and anticipated turnaround schedules

TABLE 2. OPTIONS FOR ISOLATING A PORTION OF THE PROCESS for normal operation for the pur-
FROM THE PLANT pose of startup recirculation is so
Type Symbol Credibility strong that some process engineers
1 Block valve Not forget to think about the startup op-
(with or without lock) Process acceptable eration during the development of
2 Block valve the P&ID; they simply assume they
(with lock) and blind Process will find a way to accommodate

Safer isolation
3 Double block valve startup somehow without actually
(with lock) and bleed Process planning for it.
Upset conditions. Upset conditions
4 Block valve
can be defined as operation of the
(with lock) and blind Process plant when some of the process pa-
and removable spool rameters are beyond the normal
band. In Figure 5, this situation
is arbitrarily split into two differ-
TABLE 3. DIFFERENT METHODS OF REMOVING MATERIAL ent cases — mild upset and severe
FROM EQUIPMENT FOR INSPECTION OR MAINTENANCE
upset — for any of the five key pa-
Type of Removal method P&ID rameters (flowrate, pressure, tem-
“dirt” perature, level, and composition). In
1 Solid/ • Manual • Nothing is needed on P&ID both cases, during upset conditions,
semi-solid: • Machine-as- • Do we need “clean-out” doors? the process goals have already been
removal sisted
lost so the immediate goal is to
2 Liquids: • Flushing: By For all the cases , three options are protect the equipment (hardware
Washing water available to show on the P&ID:
conservation) and the health and
• Steaming out: 1. Only washing valves
By utility steam 2. Washing valves that are hard piped safety of the personnel and neigh-
• Chemical 3. Hard piped washing system with boring communities.
cleaning: By switching valves for automatic To address point upset conditions,
chemical solu- washing the facility should be equipped with
tion or solvents
an alarm system and a SIS. The
3 Gases: • Neutral gas • If it is by inert gas, the same options alarm setpoints are usually on the
Purging purging for “washing” (above options) are
maximum (or minimum, in some
• Ventilation available here
• For ventilation (by natural draft of cases) value of a parameter, and the
air), imake sure there are at least 2 SIS action will be set to the high-
nozzles are available high (or low-low) level. However,
some additional alarm setpoints
For reversible systems (such as sively large circulation loops, so as or additional SIS setpoints can be
reactors that carry out equilibrium not to waste money for piping that added, too.
reactions), startup operation can be is supposed to be used only during The purpose of this SIS action is
supported by recirculation. If the startup. As much as possible, the to shut down a plant and bring it in
system is not reversible, the startup design should try to use the existing the lowest energy state (in terms of
operations can be more complicated pipe arrangement for the purpose lowest pressure, lowest temperature
and case-specific. Figure 4 shows of startup recirculation, especially and so on) Other than “event-based
the basics of this procedure. when high-bore pipe is needed to SIS” explained above, SIS action(s)
If recirculation is to be used dur- support startup efforts. can also be activated by the opera-
ing the startup procedure, efforts The tendency to use the piping ar- tor. This shutdown is named “opera-
should be made to avoid exces- rangement that was implemented tor activated SIS.”
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM APRIL 2014 65
 TABLE 4. EXAMPLES OF REMOVABLE SPOOLS (RS)
Item Potential P&ID example
Engineering Practice location of RS
Centrifugal Suction and PG
PG
pump discharge side

The duty of the alarm is to warn

the operator that something has RS RS
gone wrong. If for whatever reason Progressive- Discharge side
the operator fails to respond in a cavity pump
timely manner, the SIS system will RS
initiate the action that the operator
has failed to, or tried without suc- Shell-and- Tube side
RS
tube
cess. This allocation of responsibili-
heat
ties between alarm system and SIS exchanger
is shown in Figure 5.
If, for whatever reason, the SIS Vessels and Lines out of
RS
tanks flanged head
cannot mitigate the parameter that or blinded
has deviated from the normal point nozzles
and it has gone beyond high-high
(or low-low) level, then finally a me- TABLE 5. OPTIONS TO DEAL WITH LOST ITEMS IN A PLANT
chanical item needs to be triggered
to “tame” the system and regain Option Schematic P&ID example
control. Even though a mechanical The exact
system (as the last line of defense) replica in
parallel
can be considered for each of the
five parameters mentioned earlier,
pressure safety valves (PSV) are a A similar item in
parallel
popular type of mechanical defense
against a wild parameter. Installing
PSVs, and routing their release to an
Bypassing the absent
appropriate destination, is an essen- item
tial task during P&ID development. Bypass
Winterization is another issue
that is resolved in this stage. Win- Redirecting the in-flow
terization involves implementing to a “reservoir” for later
specific features in a plant design to use
Reservoir
prevent any impact of cold weather Pond
during a plant shutdown. For in-
stance, winterization efforts typi- Upstream tank stores
cally start with provisions to enable this inlet flow and the
downstream tank pro-
“natural internal drainage” of the vides outlet flow for a Furnace
equipment and pipes more tolerant short period of time
items, such as tanks. Other activi-
The inlet flow is sent To flare
ties include heat tracing and insu-
permanently for ulti-
lation of pipes to prevent freezing mate disposal and the
or settling of non-drained (trapped) stream will be wasted Ultimate disposal
fluids, and installing fluid mov-
ers on emergency power sources The absence of an
to provide recirculation to prevent item doesn’t generate
freezing/setting in the case of power any upset in the rest of Steam
plant or whole plant generator
loss.
3. Inspection and maintenance. should be shut down
Equipment care can be categorized
into “in-workshop” and “in-place” pair or maintenance. Each requires • Sound: To sense vibration, cavita-
care, and the latter can be catego- different types of provisions for the tion, hammering, PSV release, ex-
rized further into “in-line” or “off- equipment on the P&ID. plosion and more by listening
line” operation. In-place care is Operators making rounds could • Touch: To detect vibration
usually done by operators making be equipped with portable sensors; • Smell: To detect fire, leakage, PSV
rounds, while in-workshop care is if not, then he or she must rely on release to atmosphere, and more
typically carried out in a workshop the use of the senses: To support the work of the operator
by a mechanical group (Table 1). • Sight: To observe, for instance, making rounds, specific items can
Inline care can be considered the leakage, vibration, overflow of be put on the P&ID. These may in-
inspection of operation equipment, tanks, fluid levels, flame color and clude sight glasses to check liquid
while off-line care is equipment re- shape levels, catalyst levels or filtering-
66 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM APRIL 2014
 TABLE 6. AN EXAMPLE OF P&ID DEVELOPMENT FOR A PUMP (FOUR PHASES OF OPERATION)
Case P&ID
Normal operation
Putting the pump call-out with the required informa- Call-out should be put on P&ID
tion on top of P&ID sheet
Placing a reducer/expander to match suction and
discharge side of the pump, if needed (may need
a top-flat eccentric reducer at connection)

Adding a permanent strainer to prevent damage to

the pump

Making sure the suction pressure (and tempera- It needs some calculations. The impact on P&ID could be seen
ture) is enough. This reflects the sensitivity of on suitable in upstream container of pump
centrifugal pumps towards NPSH
Showing the pump’s BPCS for capacity control of FT FC

pump FE FV

FO

S/S COMMAND
Adding pump driver control PM RUN STATUS
115 COMMON TROUBLE ALARM
L/R STATUS STOP
SHUT DOWN COMMAND
S/S
HS
H/O/A
MCC HS FT FC

FE FV
M

FO

Non-normal condition
Considering a temporary strainer (commissioning) A permanent strainer is already placed
S/S COMMAND
Adding a non-returning valve in the case of reverse PM RUN STATUS
flow 115 COMMON TROUBLE ALARM
L/R STATUS STOP
SHUT DOWN COMMAND
S/S
HS
H/O/A
MCC HS FT FC

FE FV
M

FO

Using the minimum flow line on the discharge line FC

with a control valve to protect the pump from flows FV

that are lower than the minimum flow of the pump
FO S/S COMMAND
PM RUN STATUS
115 COMMON TROUBLE ALARM
L/R STATUS STOP
SHUT DOWN COMMAND
S/S
HS
H/O/A
MCC HS FT FT FC

FE FE FV
M

FO

Showing the pump SIS and/or alarming system FC

to protect the pump from an abnormal condition FV

(one example is a monitoring system for seal leak- S/S COMMAND

FO
age) PM RUN STATUS
115 COMMON TROUBLE ALARM
L/R STATUS STOP
SHUT DOWN COMMAND
S/S
HS
H/O/A
I MCC HS FT FT FC
436
FE FE FV
M

FO

Continues on pg. 69

media levels, or peep holes to check these may include portable pres- may include, for example, a pres-
the color and shape of flames in a sure gages, temperature sensors sure tapping (PT) point, or temper-
furnace or boiler. and so on. The P&ID designer may ature point (TP), to be shown on the
In terms of the use of small, por- decide to provide some “test points” P&ID. An example of PT location
table measuring devices that can be instead of fixed gages, to save some could be the suction side of centrifu-
used by operators making rounds, money in non-critical points. This gal pumps. The decision must be
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM APRIL 2014 67
 Engineering Practice

made to either use test points and viding isolation valves is not nec- tions.” This means having provi-
fixed gages that transmit informa- essary for all the equipment in a sions that will allow all five key
tion to the control room, or to imple- plant. Isolation valves are required process parameters to be brought
ment a control loop that depends on to isolate the equipment from the into a safe range:
some parameters based on the criti- rest of the plant if the equipment • Ensuring safe temperatures:
cality of the parameter. is expected to need “off-line care” Options include allowing time
Meanwhile, in-place, off-line care at frequent intervals, in time du- lapses, or options for cooling down
may include chemical or solvent rations that are shorter than the (or warming up, in the case of
cleaning, steaming-out, pigging op- scheduled plant turnaround times). cryogenic services) streams. For
erations and so on. Depending on For instance, if (based on histori- some systems (for instance some
the operation-specific requirements, cal data), the unit expects to need batch operations) that require a
different items should be imple- off-line care every three years but more rapid cooling (or warming)
mented (such as chemical cleaning the entire facility for which you by cooling streams
of valves). are developing the P&ID will need • Making pressure safe: Venting is
For all off-line care a specific ar- planned turnaround work every widely used
rangement must be made to ensure two years, there is no need (at • Ensuring appropriate flowrates:
positive isolation of the system from least theoretically) to put isolation As long as equipment is isolated
the rest of the plant. This arrange- valves upstream and downstream from the rest of the plant, there is
ment typically comprises isolation of the unit. This concept is shown no flow going into it, and it is not
valves, drains, vent valves and so on. in Figure 6. a point of concern
The isolation system is discussed in In some cases, companies don’t • Making levels safe: Drainage op-
greater detail below. provide isolation systems for es- tions are needed for tanks, vessels,
For in-workshop care, the provi- sential equipment, such as heat pump casing and more. Some gen-
sions defined by in the P&ID are exchangers. The logic is that they eral rules for sizing and installing
items that will allow the equipment essentially cannot afford to put the drain and vents are in the Box (p.
to be removed from their founda- heat exchanger out of service, so 65)
tion easily and safely. However, adding isolation valves would be ir- • To ensure safe compositions, the
the characteristics to satisfy this relevant. body of the equipment (external
requirement are not always shown The answer to the second question and/or internal) must be safe in
on P&IDs (mainly to avoid clutter- is that the isolation system should terms of exposure. These provi-
ing of the P&ID). For example, if be added on all downstream or up- sions involve proper cleaning of
equipment needs to be hoisted for stream connecting pipes, as close as the equipment.
removal, this engineering detail is possible to the equipment. However, Table 5 shows options for mak-
often not shown in the P&ID. Items some companies challenge this and ing the composition safe for dif-
that must be shown on the P&ID in- question if there is real needed to ferent types of materials inside
clude the following: put isolation valves on, for example, of the equipment. Washing and
• Isolation valves that allow the a vent pipe to atmosphere or not. purging (through ventilation) are
equipment components to be de- To answer the third question, especially important for walk-in
tached from the rest of the plant it should be stated that there are equipment.
• Drains and vents different type of isolation systems. The last step as mentioned above
• Removable spools (RS) that would Table 3 summarizes these methods. is to provide removable spools (RS).
be used around the equipment to Decision needs to be made about Sometimes required RS are already
allow it to be “untangled” from the the type of isolation method. The present due to previous activities
system by removing the piping sys- isolation method depends on fac- on the P&ID. Table 4 provides some
tem interference; this allows for tors, such as the equipment envi- examples.
easy equipment transfer to ronment (for instance, for confined Allocating a utility station in dif-
the workshop spaces or non-confined spaces), ferent locations of the plant, and de-
When it comes to preparing for the fluid type (aggressive or toxic ciding about the required utilities
off-line care, with regard to de- or not), and the pressure and tem- for each utility station, is another
signing isolation systems, the fol- perature of the system. Usually the activity to address this stage of the
lowing three questions should be first type of isolation (Table 2) does plant lifecycle.
answered: not provide enough “positiveness.” 4. Operability of the plant in the
1.To which equipment should the Possibly the only application of this absence of one item. The designer
isolation elements be added? isolation method is for instruments. needs to decide the impact of equip-
2.Where do they need to be placed In such an application, the isolation ment loss on the rest of plant opera-
“around” the equipment? valve is called a root valve. tions and take engineering steps to
3.Which types of isolation systems The next step for making equip- minimize its impact. The wide range
or elements should be used? ment ready for periodic removal is of answers and decisions should in-
To answer the first question, pro- to bring it to “non-harmful condi- clude the following:
68 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM APRIL 2014
 TABLE 6. AN EXAMPLE OF P&ID DEVELOPMENT FOR A PUMP (FOUR PHASES OF OPERATION) (continued)
Case P&ID
Maintenance / Inspection
Adding a pressure gage on discharge and/or
FC
suction side
FV

FO S/S COMMAND
PM RUN STATUS
115 COMMON TROUBLE ALARM
L/R STATUS STOP
SHUT DOWN COMMAND
S/S
HS
H/O/A
I MCC HS FT FT FC
436
PG FE FE FV
PG M

FO

Adding block valves in the suction and discharge FC

line (such as a gate valve) in order to isolate the FV
pump during maintenance
FO S/S COMMAND
PM RUN STATUS
115 COMMON TROUBLE ALARM
L/R STATUS STOP
SHUT DOWN COMMAND
S/S
HS
H/O/A
I MCC HS FT FT FC
436
PG FE FE FV
PG M

FO

Consider vent and drain valves in the pump FC

suction and discharge sides and in the pump cas- FV
ing
FO S/S COMMAND
PM RUN STATUS
115 COMMON TROUBLE ALARM
L/R STATUS STOP
SHUT DOWN COMMAND
S/S
HS
H/O/A
I MCC HS FT FT FC
436
PG FE FE FV
PG M

FO

Consider the use of a piping spool piece to facili- It is already created and exists
tate dismantling
Installing pump insulation for personal protection Service temperature is 40°C and there is no need for personnel
protection insulation
Production interruption
Define the pump sparing philosophy Based on RAM analysis, a second pump with the same arrange-
ment is added (to provide 2 x 100% capacity)

1.A parallel, exactly similar spare to the alternate component in- 5.The storage tanks upstream and
system can take care of flow that stead. Examples include having a downstream of the component
would result from the loss of a given manual throttling valve (such as should have enough residence
component. Examples include spare a globe valve) in the bypass line time to continue operations. This
pumps or spare heat exchangers of a control valve, or placing a by- way, if the component goes out
(in highly fouling services). The pass line for a PSV together with of service, the upstream string
installation of spare equipment a pressure gage (or pressure tap- of equipment can still feed the
is popular for fluid-moving equip- ping) and a globe valve. upstream tank and downstream
ment, since interruption of service 3.The feed to the equipment can be components can still be fed by
in pumps and compressors cannot simply bypassed temporarily with the downstream tank. This ar-
be handled through other below marginal impact on the operation rangement will prevent a surge
options. One important example is of the system. that could impact connected plant
having two fire pumps installed in 4.The feed to the equipment can components.
parallel, with two different types be redirected temporarily to an 6.The feed to the equipment is re-
of drives (for instance one with an “emergency reservoir” (such as a directed temporarily to a waste-
electromotor and the other using a tank or pond), and processed later receiving system or flare.
diesel drive pump). by returning it back to the system. 7.Whole plant or unit should shut
2.A parallel component can be used Usually this option is available for down: This option should be
and the flow can be redirected liquid streams. avoided, if possible. However,
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM APRIL 2014 69
 Engineering Practice

Too few tools Too many tools

sometimes this is inevitable when pumps (that may need to
the equipment of interest is a key periodically function as
asset in the facility. spare pumps for all other
Table 5 summarizes these options pumps), the specific pip- Flexibility
for a P&ID. ing arrangements around Badly operating in operation
Confusion
the pumps will need to be plant
Spare pump options elaborated on the P&ID.
While the discussion below focuses Table 6 shows an exam-
FIGURE 7. A balance must be sought between
on pumps, the guidelines apply to ple of P&ID development “too much” and “too little” when developing the
any other types of spare equipment for a pump in one case. This engineering details for a P&ID
as well. A spare pump, depend- table only provides the re-
ing on the criticality of the service, quired thought process for
could be “an installed spare” or “a the development of a pump P&ID as CPI facilities should be brought
workshop spare.” A workshop spare an example. closer to the desired operating
pump is not installed but can be point through the use of a control
moved from the workshop and de- Additional important items system. Key parameters that must
ployed within a short period of time In addition to the last four stages be controlled include flowrate and
(say, 24 hours). of the lifecycle of a plant (discussed head for pumps, and heat duty for
Decisions related to any of the above), a few other items must be heat exchangers.
above two options (in terms of in- considered: 2. Check the required temperature
stalled spares or workshop spares) Future plans. If there is any plan and, pressure for each item (inlet
can be based on different param- for expansion, or any prediction for and outlet) and make sure these
eters, including the following: implementing new, under-review are matched with process needs.
• Mean time between failure innovations in future, this needs to If they are not matched, take ac-
(MTBF) of the equipment be addressed in the P&ID to facili- tion to address them.
• Mean time to repair (MTTR) of tate the implementation of the fu- 3. Check the required flowrate for
the equipment ture changes with minimum impact each item. What is the minimum
• Cost of maintenance on the operating plant. flowrate that can be handled
• Value of the “lost production” Insulation to safeguard personnel. without negative impact on the
For installed spares, if the ambient Equipment and pipes with skin process, and what is the mini-
temperature of the space around temperatures that are greater than mum flow that can be accommo-
the a pump is far from the operat- 60–75°C (especially for metallic dated before there is potential
ing temperature of the pump (for items), and those that are located harm to the equipment? If there
instance, differs by 100 to 150°C), in crowded areas within reach of is a chance of harm from low flow,
the pump should be “a hot standby workers, must be insulated. This in- then plan accordingly to protect
pump” (or “a cold standby pump” for sulation is called personnel protec- the equipment from it.
cryogenic service) to make sure it tion (PP) insulation on the P&ID. 4. Check the required composition of
will not experience thermal shock the streams going into the equip-
during the startup. Otherwise the Useful rules-of-thumb ment and note the special care
pump could be installed with no Whether the design engineer (in that should be taken. For exam-
specific “stand-by provisions.” the role of P&ID developer) is ple, a positive-displacement pump
If a spare pump is supposed to capturing general items (such as is prone to plugging if the liquid
“sit” beside more than one operat- containers, fluid movers, heat ex- contains large suspended solids.
ing pump, another feature that changers and so on) or more spe- In this case, a strainer should be
should be decided is whether the cialized items (such as liquid-ex- installed.
spare pump is a common spare traction towers, filter press and so 5. B e sure to account for the required
(to be available for several operat- on), these general rules-of-thumb utilities and their temperatures
ing pumps), or is intended for use can help: and pressures.
with just one dedicated pum; thus 1. Much of the equipment that we 6.What are the weak points of the
a spare should be installed for each buy for any given plant is not item and what requirements
operation pump. “custom built equipment,” so we should be taken when designing a
For spare pumps, the user might cannot expect the components to proper SIS system for the item?
expect that all pumps should be operate exactly according to the 7.Which parameters must be moni-
able to act as both an operating desired operating points. Even for tored by the operator making
pump and a spare pump for any the case of custom made items, we rounds? Think about the five key
of other pumps that may be out usually expect that the equipment parameters: Temperature, pres-
of service (where no specific spare will operate in a pre-determined sure, level, flowrate and composi-
pump has been designated). When “window” of operation. The result tion.
providing common (shared) spare is that almost all equipment in 8. B e sure to acknowledge which as-
70 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM APRIL 2014
 pects of each component need in- or will it be captured in other docu- capacity of the system, and ambi-
spection or monitoring. ments?” The P&ID is supposed to ent temperatures and pressures
9.Review any history of item fail- be a common document that can be will most likely differ for each new
ures (in terms of frequency and used by quite a few different disci- project. When developing P&IDs, a
time for maintenance) and act ac- plines. Incompleteness is an inher- previously effective method may be
cordingly to address them. ent feature of it. Furthermore, the entirely ineffective in the current
10. Consider the impact of an item P&ID is supposed to be kept in the project, while a method that has
going out of service. What steps plant, for easy use by operators. If proven useless in the past may work
can be taken to minimize the it is too cluttered, its usefulness is perfectly well this time around. ■
impact of this on the rest of the diminished. Edited by Suzanne Shelley
plant? Is it possible to have a sim- Generally speaking, all process
ilar system as a spare? equipment should be shown in Author
P&IDs. Sometimes, non-process Mohammad Toghraei is
currently an independent
Common challenges related P&IDs (such as gearboxes consultant and is the instruc-
During the development of a and lubrication systems) should tor of several P&ID-related
courses offered through
P&ID, the need to choose between also be shown on the main P&ID or Progress Seminars Inc. (Web-
competing options is a common on auxiliary P&IDs. Meanwhile, if site www.engedu.ca; Email:
[email protected]).
challenge. Here are several common they are not shown on P&IDs, their Toghraei has more than 20
years of experience in pro-
scenarios: details can be found in vendor doc- cess engineering. For the
“Should I show a given detail on the uments. past seven years, he has
held different technical and leadership roles
main body of P&ID by a schematic, All pipes and pipe appurtenances related to oil removal and water treatment for
or can I capture it in the note area?” except bends and elbows are shown steam-assisted gravity drainage (SAGD) proj-
ects. Toghraei holds a B.Sc. in chemical engi-
The P&ID is a pictorial diagram. As on P&IDs. Flanges should be de- neering from Isfahan University of Technology,
much as possible, the P&ID should picted, if there is a specific reason and an M.Sc. in environmental engineering from
the University of Tehran, and is a member of
capture relevant schematic shapes. for them. Specific piping items that APEGA. He is a certified professional engineer
in Alberta, Canada.
“Should I add the item or not?” Items are not shown on the P&ID can be
should be added to give required found on piping models.
flexibly to the operator. A plant with When it comes to instrumenta-

Please visit REMBE®, INC. at PTXi Conference & Exhibition, Rosemont, May 6-8, 2014, booth 1228
insufficient “facility resources” is dif- tion and control system, things
ficult to operate.However, from the become more debatable. The three
other side, this is also the case for a main items of integrated control
plant with more than enough pipe and safety system (ICSS) elements
circuits, control valves, alarms and are: Regulatory control system
SIS actions. For example, a plant (BPCS), the alarm system and the
with too many alarms can “overload” SIS. Almost everyone agrees about
the operator and result in a loss of basic process control items should
urgency from the operator when an be shown on the P&IDs. They are
alarm does activate (Figure 7). mainly the elements of the control
“Adding more doesn’t hurt.” This is loops. For alarming systems, the
a popular statement when P&ID same clarity exists. The main de-
developers try to “bypass” conduct- bate is usually on SIS systems, in
ing a rigorous evaluation for the terms of the question of “down to
necessity of an item on the system, which level of detail the safety in-
and thus place it with no real ne- terlock loops should be shown on
cessity. However, designers should the P&IDs?”
remember that in some cases, add- Different companies follow differ-
ing an item might not necessar- ent directions.
ily increase the capital cost of the “Based on my past experience...” The
project — if the item is small and inherent creativity required in cre-
relatively inexpensive — but may ating P&IDs may become hindered,
still increase the operating cost be- if for every single case one refers
cause of required inspection, main- to “past experience.” As unlikely as
tenance, related utility and chemi- it may seem, the “this is what has
cal usage and more. In addition been done before” mentality is not
to that, any new item added to the the most efficient way of developing
system provides a new opportunity this document. That being said, the
for mistakes, cross -contamination, technological innovations, availabil-
leaks and other problems. ity of materials, quality of raw ma-
“Should I add it here on the P&ID terials, required quality of products, Circle 24 on p. 76 or go to adlinks.che.com/50975-24

CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM APRIL 2014 71

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