Lecture 4

• Flow sheet development

 1. Flow diagrams

✓ The chemical engineer uses flow diagrams to show the

sequence of equipment and unit operations in the overall
process, to simplify visualization of the manufacturing
procedures, and to indicate the quantities of materials and
energy transfer. These diagrams may be divided into three
general types:
✓ (1) qualitative,
✓ (2) quantitative, and
✓ (3) combined-detail.
cont…
• A qualitative flow diagram indicates the flow of
materials, unit operations involved, equipment
necessary, and special information on operating
temperatures and pressures.

• A quantitative flow diagram shows the

quantities of materials required for the process
operation. An example of a qualitative flow
diagram is shown in the following figure:
[Qualitative process flow diagram for the manufacture of nitric acid by the
ammonia-oxidation process].
An example of a quantitative flow diagram is shown in the following figure:

[Quantitative process flow diagram for the manufacture of nitric acid by the ammonia-
oxidation process].
 Combined-detail flow diagram

• shows the location of

» temperature and pressure regulators and indicators,
» critical control valves and special instruments.
• Each piece of equipment shown and is designated by a defined code
number.
• For each piece of equipment, accompanying tables give essential
information, such as
» specifications for purchasing,
» specifications for construction,
» type of fabrication,
» quantities and types of chemicals involved, and
» sample calculations.
An example of a combined flow diagram is shown in the following figure:

[Combined process flow diagram for the manufacture of nitric acid by the
ammonia-oxidation process].
 2. The flow sheet importance

❖ Shows the arrangement of the equipment selected to carry out the

process.

❖ Shows the streams concentrations, flow rates & compositions.

❖ Shows the operating conditions.

❖ During plant start up and subsequent operation, the flow sheet

from a basis for comparison of operating performance with design.
It's also used by operating personnel for the preparation of
operating manual and operator training.
 3. Flow sheet presentation

1- Block diagram

✓ Represent the process in a simplified form.

✓ No details involved.

✓ Don’t describe how a given step will be achieved.

When is it used?
✓ In survey studies.

✓ Process proposal for packaged steps.

✓ Talk out a processing idea.

2- Pictorial Flow Sheet:

The equipments are normally drawn in a stylized pictorial form. For tender
documents or company brochures actual scale drawing of the equipment are
sometimes used.
 4. Types of pictorial flow sheets
a) Process Flow Diagram (PFD):
✓ A PFD is a simplified flow diagram of a single process unit,
a utility unit, a complete process module.

✓ The purpose of a PFD is to provide a preliminary

understanding of the process system indicating only the
main items of equipment, the main pipelines and the
essential instruments, switches and control valves.

✓ A PFD also indicates operating variables, such as mass

flow, temperatures and pressures, which are tabulated at
various points in the system.
The PFD is a document containing information on:
❖ Process conditions and physical data of the
main process streams.
❖ Main process equipment with design data.
❖ Main Process lines.
❖ Mass (material) balance.
❖ Heat balance (if applicable).
NOTE: If the PFD doesn’t contain any data about the
flow rates, it is called a qualitative flow sheet, while if
the flow rates are involved the PFD is called a
combined flow sheet in which qualitative information
and quantitative data are combined on the basis of one
flow sheet.
Qualitative process flow diagram (PFD) for the manufacture of nitric acid
by the ammonia-oxidation process.
b) Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (P & ID)
(mechanical flow diagram):
A P&ID diagram shows the arrangement of the
process equipment, piping, pumps, instruments,
valves and other fittings. It should include:

✓ All process equipment identified by an equipment

number.
✓ All pipes identified by a line size, material code and
line number.
✓ All valves with an identified size and number.
✓ Fittings.
✓ All pumps identified by a suitable code number.
✓ All control loops and instruments.
Process and Instrument Diagram (P&ID)
 c) Utility Flowsheet (Process Engineering Utility Flow Diagram
(PEUFD)):

✓ Used to summarize and detail the interrelationship of utilities such

as air, water (various types), steam (various types), heat transfer
mediums, process vents and purges, safety relief blow-down, etc., to
the basic process. The amount of detail is often too great to combine
on other sheets, so separate sheets are prepared.

✓ The PEUFD is a document containing information on:

✓ Main distribution or arrangement of each individual utility system,

expect electrical systems.
Cont…

• PEUFD Function:
The PEUFD shall state characteristics and
consumption figures of the particular utility
concerned, cooling water, fire water, drinking
water, steam, plant air, instrument air, fuel
oil/gas, inert gas and similar utilities.
d) Process Safeguarding Flow Diagram (PSFD):

The PSFD is a document highlighting information on:

❖ Types and levels of protection offered by the devices installed and

their inter relation to demonstrate the plant’s safety.

❖ The P&ID contains all information required for a PSFD; however,

the PSFD highlights protection in case of extreme conditions and
measures to be taken to safeguard personnel and environment.

Note: In general these schemes will only be made for complex

installations like offshore process platforms. For simple applications
the information shown on the P&ID is usually sufficient to highlight
safety devices and aspects.
 5. Flow sheet symbols:

❖ To reduce detailed written descriptions on flow

sheets, it is usual practice to develop or adopt a set
of symbols and codes which suit the purpose.

❖ Many symbols are pictorial which is helpful in

representing process as well as control and
mechanical operations.
 6. Equipment code designation

➢ Equipment code designations can be developed to suit

the particular process, or as is customary a master
coding can be established and followed for all projects.

➢ A suggested designation list (not all inclusive for all

processes) for the usual process plant equipment is
given in the following Table.
 Equipment design and specifications

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

plant that can operate on an effective industrial basis.

• To achieve this goal, the chemical engineer must be able to combine

many separate units or pieces of equipment into one smoothly
operating plant.

• If the final plant is to be successful, each piece of equipment must be

capable of performing its necessary function.

• The design of equipment, therefore, is an essential part of a plant

design.
Cont…
• The engineer developing a process design must accept the
responsibility of preparing the specifications for individual
pieces of equipment and should be acquainted with methods
for fabricating different types of equipment.
• The importance of choosing appropriate materials of
construction in this fabrication must be recognized.
• Design data must be developed, giving sixes, operating
conditions, number and location of openings, types of
flanges and heads, codes, variation allowances, and other
information.
• Many of the machine-design details are handled by the
fabricators, but the chemical engineer must supply the
basic design information.
Scale-up in design:
❖ When accurate data are not available in the literature or when past
experience does not give an adequate design basis, pilot-plant
tests may be necessary in order to design effective plant
equipment.
❖ The results of these tests must be scaled up to the plant capacity.
A chemical engineer, therefore, should be acquainted with the
limitations of scale-up methods and should know how to select
the essential design variables.
❖ Pilot-plant data are almost always required for the design of
filters unless specific information is already available for the type
of materials and conditions involved. Heat exchangers, distillation
columns, pumps, and many other types of conventional
equipment can usually be designed adequately without using
pilot-plant data.
The following table presents an analysis of important
factors in the design of different types of equipment. This
table shows the major variables that characterize the size or
capacity of the equipment and the maximum scale-up ratios
for these variables. Information on the need for pilot-plant
data, safety factors, and essential operational data for the
design is included in the table.
 Safety factors:
❖ Some examples of recommended safety factors for equipment design are
shown in the previous table. These factors represent the amount of
overdesign that would be used to account for the changes in the operating
performance with time. The indiscriminate application of safety factors can
be very detrimental to a design. Each piece of equipment should be
designed to carry out its necessary function.
❖ Then, if uncertainties are involved, a reasonable safety factor can be
applied. The role of the particular piece of equipment in the overall
operation must be considered along with the consequences of under-design.
Fouling, which may occur during operation, should never be overlooked
when a design safety factor is determined. Potential increases in capacity
requirements are sometimes used as an excuse for applying large safety
factors. This practice, however, can result in so much overdesign that the
process or equipment never has an opportunity to prove its economic value.
❖ In general design work, the magnitudes of safety factors are
dictated by economic or market considerations, the accuracy
of the design data and calculations, potential changes in the
operating performance, background information available
on the overall process, and the amount of conservatism used
in developing the individual components of the design.

❖ Each safety factor must be chosen on basis of the existing

conditions, and the chemical engineer should not hesitate to
use a safety factor of zero if the situation warrants it.