John S.

Donaldson Technical Institute

THE UNIVERSITY OF TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

COURSE: INOV 110D Industry Overview

SEMESTER 1

LAB #1: Unit Operations Familiarization

INSTRUCTOR: Mrs. Natalie Jackman

PRODUCED BY: Carlin Sylvester

DATE DUE: 8th December, 2009

OBJECTIVES
1.

To observe and record the operating principles of key process equipment.

2.

To identify the various sub-components of these equipment, e.g. pumps, heat exchangers.

3. To note the different types of instrumentation used and their functions.

APPARATUS
1. Three-phase gravity separator 2. Absorption unit 3. Distillation unit 4. Shell and tube heat exchangers (single and double pass) 5. Plate and frame heat exchangers 6. Centrifugal pumps

DIAGRAMS OF APPARATUS: 3-PHASE SEPARATOR

As the name implies, this device is used for the separation of immiscible mixtures on the basis of their different densities. This apparatus is used as a precursor to petroleum refining in that it is used to separate a feed of crude oil from its other constituents of natural gas and water. They are also used in the agro and food industry to separate various food ingredients and additives. Its operating principle is fairly simple and consists of four main steps which include:

Fluid inlet - This simply is the incoming feed. Gravity settling This is the separation of water, oil and gas based on their differing natural densities, with water settling at the lowest region, followed by oil and thirdly by gas. Mist extraction This refers to the extraction of water droplets that may be entrained within the gas. Liquid collection This is the removal of water that has settled at the bottom of the separator.

GAS ABSORPTION AND REGENERATION UNIT

This device consists of two main columns, an absorption column and a regeneration column. As gases rich in H2S diffuse upwards within the absorber, liquid monoethanolamine (MEA) is pumped downward. As they come into contact with each other, the MEA absorbs the impurities producing lean gas at the top of the absorber. Meanwhile, rich amine (containing impurities) exits the bottom. Moving onward to the regenerator via centrifugal pumps, the rich MEA liquid enters the top of the regeneration unit as steam generated by the reboiler diffuses upwards. As the steam comes into with the MEA, it strips away all the impurities, leaving lean MEA at the bottom as rich gases exit

above. The lean or regenerated MEA can then be reused within the absorber and the gases rich in H2S sent to a sulphur plant to produce elemental sulphur.

DISTILLATION COLUMN

At the heart of any process plant involving the separation of miscible fluids is the distillation column, and this is no different than at the model plant to which we were exposed. The operation which we were privy to involved the distillation of a binary mixture which consisted of methanol and water to produce a product of at least 95% methanol. The main difference between this plant and those of the industrial scale was its size; another noteworthy difference was the material from which the main column was constructed, this resembled Pyrex, which is able to withstand relatively high temperatures.

Industrial columns are constructed using various alloy steels which are able to withstand the high pressures and temperatures which develop as a result of distillation processes. Another difference between both columns was the number of trays they contained and heights which they extended to. The model used for the demonstration contained ten trays and had a height of approximately twenty feet; while industrial columns may contain as much as thirty-five trays, and its height may be in excess of sixty metres. As the feed stream exited the feed tank it first entered a plate and frame heat exchanger for preheating before entering the fifth tray of the column. This was necessary in order to maintain the existing operating temperature of the column. With trays 1-5 being the stripping section and 6-10 being the rectifying section, the lean methanol vapour diffused upward where it condensed into liquid by means of a condenser into the reflux accumulator. Meanwhile, the rich mixture descended into the stripping section where it then entered the reboiler to be heated further. The mixture was then stripped of the methanol by the incoming vapours diffusing upward. As the reflux accumulator becomes filled, some of the pure product (95% methanol >) is tapped off while some is pumped back to the top of the column to maintain the existing operating temperature. As a result of maintaining this temperature, the differential pressure that exists between the top and bottom of the column was indirectly maintained. The bottom product accumulator containing mainly water, with a trace of methanol was then pumped back to the methanol feed tank.

ADDITIONAL EQUIPMENT
The model plant to which we were exposed contained additional process equipment in the form of:

Plate and frame heat exchangers These consisted of a number of grooved steel plates mounted facing each other. As cold water enters through the cold water route, hot water enters the one diagonally opposite. As the streams traverse the plates heat is transferred from the hot to the cold one via the counter current flow of both streams.

Single pass shell and tube heat exchangers This type of heat exchanger doesnt contain any baffles which are the elements which redirects the flow of the cooling medium back through the heat exchanger. Hence, the flow travels in one direction only.

Double pass shell and tube heat exchangers This type of exchanger contains baffles which direct the flow of the cooling medium back through the exchanger. The introduction of baffles within a heat exchanger serves to increase its cooling efficiency.

Centrifugal pumps These types of pumps were used throughout each of the plants main process equipment since each of the fluids used in the various processes were of a lower viscosity. Hence, the utilization of this type of pump was adequate enough to cover the needs of such a plant.

CONCLUSION
The entire operation, though on a small scale provided an invaluable insight into the various instrumentation and control methods as well as the processes that one may become exposed to on an industrial scale. The entire observation was one that illustrated practically the measurement of process values discussed in previous classroom sessions which included: Flow Pressure Temperature Level

REFERENCES

www.chemindustry.com www.emersonprocessexperts.com www.patentstorm.us www.processregister.com www.springerlink.com

en.wikipedia.org