CH3080

PROCESS EQUIPMENT DESIGN

PROBLEM SET 4B QUESTION 5
11/04/2012

BY,
CH09B006
CH09B022
CH09B047
CH09B081

Problem Statement:
A vertical tube condenser and sub-cooler is to be

selected to condense 10,000 lb/h of benzene vapor at 1

atm. and to cool the liquid condensate to 900 F. The
benzene will flow inside the tubes. Cooling water flows
through the shell side and enters at 750 F at the
condensate end of the equipment. The exit cooling water
temperature is to be 1300 F. Assuming that the overall
coefficient corresponding to the condensing section is
250 Btu/h.ft2.0F and that for the cooling section is 100
Btu/h/ft2.0F, determine the total square feet of heat
transfer surface required. Condensing temperature of
benzene at 1 atm is 176.20 F and the latent heat of
condensation at 176.20 F is 169.3 Btu/lb. Design the
condenser.

Introduction:
Condenser:
Heat transfer equipment where heat energy transfer
takes place accompanied by a phase change
Shell and tube heat exchangers are designed as
condensers
4 condenser configurations are possible: Horizontal, with condensation in the shell, and the cooling

medium in the tubes

Horizontal, with condensation in the tubes
Vertical, with condensation in the shell
Vertical, with condensation in the tubes
The construction of a condenser will be similar to other

shell and tube exchangers, but with a wider baffle

spacing, typically lB = Ds.

Block Diagram

Data given:
Mass flow rate of benzene vapor (m) = 10000 lb/hr
Shell side:- Cooling water
Tube side:- Benzene vapor
Assumption:- Benzene vapor is entering at 176.2 0F (also its

boiling point)
Temperature data:
Tube side inlet = 176.2 0F
Condensate outlet = 90 0F
Shell side inlet = 75 0F
Shell side outlet = 130 0F

Over-all heat transfer coefficients:

Condensing = 250 Btu/hr/ft2/0F
Cooling = 100 Btu/hr/ft2/0F

Latent heat of vaporization (L) of benzene vapor (at 176.2

Calculations:
Over-all heat balance:
Total heat transferred from vapor (Q) = mL + mCpT
Cp = 0.418 Btu/lb/0F
T = (176.2 90) 0F = 86.2 0F
On substitution, Q = 2.0533 * 106 Btu/hr
Mass flow rate of coolant water (mc):
Q = mc*Cpw* T { Heat balance}
Cpw = 1Btu/lb/0F
T=(130 75) 0F = 55 0F
mc = 3.733 * 104 lb/hr
Final temperature of condensing section water (Tinter):
mL = mc*Cpw*(130- Tinter)
Tinter = 84.65 0F

Design fundamentals:
Tube side
Tube diameters in the range 16 mm to 50 mm are used.
The smaller diameters 16 to 25 mm are preferred for most

duties, as they will give more compact, and therefore

cheaper, exchangers.
Larger tubes are easier to clean by mechanical methods and
would be selected for heavily fouling fluids.

A tube inner diameter of 0.782 inch (19.86mm) is selected

Tube arrangements
The tubes in an exchanger are usually arranged in an

equilateral triangular, square, or rotated square pattern

The recommended tube pitch (distance between tube
centres) is 1.25 times the tube outside diameter

 Tube side passes

The fluid in the tube is usually directed to flow back and forth

in a number of passes through groups of tubes arranged in

parallel, to increase the length of the flow path

Single tube side pass is chosen in our case

Tube sheet layout

Cross sectional view of the shell

 Shell side passes

The fluid in the shell is usually directed to flow back and

forth in a number of passes to increase the length of the

flow path

Single shell side pass is chosen

Baffles
Baffles are used in the shell to direct the fluid stream across

the tubes, to increase the fluid velocity and so improve the

rate of transfer
Baffle cut:- Height of the segment removed to form the
baffle, expressed as a percentage of the baffle disc diameter
Baffle cuts from 15 to 45 per cent are used
A baffle cut of 20 to 25 per cent will be the optimum
The optimum baffle spacing will usually be between 0.3 to
0.5 times the shell diameter

For condensers, baffle spacing = Shell diameter

 Pressure drop:
Tube

Shell

Condenser Design:
Assume: Single shell and single tube pass

Calculation of LMTD
Condensing region:

On substitution, Tlm = 66.31 0F

 Cooling section:

On substitution, Tlm = 42.32 0F

Heat transfer area:
Condensing region:
U1A1 T = mL
A1 = 102.13 ft2 = 9.476 m2

 Cooling section:

U2A2 Tlm = mCp (T)benzene

A2 = 85.14 ft2 = 7.909 m2
Total area required = A1 + A2 = 187.27 ft2 = 17.397 m2
Weighted Overall coefficient (Uc):
A1U 1 A2U 2
Uc
A1 A2

Uc = 181.80 Btu/hr/ft2/0F

Choosing the specifications:

Length of shell (l) = 6 ft = 1.83 m
Tube outer diameter = 1 inch
Tube inner diameter (di)= 0.782 inch
Flow area per tube = 0.479 inch2
Surface area per linear feet of tube
Outside = 0.2618 ft2/lin ft
Inside (Ai)= 0.2048 ft2/lin ft

Number of tubes (n):

Q
nAil
Uc T '

where T '

Q
q
q

T cond T cool

T '
On substitution,

= 60.31 0F

Hence, n = 152

Bundle and shell diameter

Selecting a triangular pitch for the tubes

K1 = 0.319; n1 = 2.142

 Bundle diameter (Db) = 451.95 mm

Shell side diameter (Ds)

Ds = Db + 56mm = 507.95 mm
Baffle diameter

Hence, baffle diameter = 506.35 mm

Baffle spacing (lB)= Ds = 506.35 mm

Number of baffles = 3

Pressure drop calculation:

Tube side

 = 0.41 mPa.s
w = 0.37 mPa.s
(benzene) = 879 kg/m3
o Tube side velocity (ut)

ut
n AtubeCS
On substitution, ut = 0.0305 m/s
o Tube side Reynolds number
utdi
Re

Re = 1299
m = 0.25

jf = 9 * 10-3
On substitution, Pt = 3.66 kPa
Shell side

de = Equivalent diameter
Ds = Shell diameter
L = Length of shell
lB = Baffle spacing
(water) = 1000 kg/m3
w = = 1 cP

o Shell side velocity (us)

mc
us
As

Calculation of As (Area of cross flow):

On substitution, As = 0.021 m2

o Equivalent diameter (de)

On substitution, de = 0.01m
o Shell side Reynolds number

On substitution, Re = 2300

Note: Optimum value of baffle cut is 25%

So, from graph, jf = 1.2 * 10-2
Hence, Pshell = 1161.684 Pa

Results:
Length of shell (l) = 6 ft = 1.83 m
Tube outer diameter = 1 inch
Tube inner diameter (di)= 0.782 inch
Flow area per tube = 0.479 inch2
Number of tubes = 152
Bundle diameter (Db) = 451.95 mm
Shell side diameter (Ds) = 507.95 mm
Baffle diameter = 506.35 mm
Baffle spacing (lB)= Ds = 506.35 mm
Number of baffles = 3
Pt = 3.66 kPa
Pshell = 1161.684 Pa

References
Process Heat transfer Donald Q Kern
Chemical process and equipment (Selection and design)

Stanley M Walas
Coulson and Richardson, Vol 6

Thank You