Chapter 02 - Structure and Synthesis of PFD

Design Project Procedure
Preliminary or quick estimate design

- based on approximate process
methods
- rough costs estimate
Detailed estimate design
- detailed analysis and calculations on
cost as well as profitability analysis
- complete design of equipment
(chemical and mechanical design) is
performed
CHAPTER 2
The Structure and
Synthesis of the Process
Flow Diagram
Objectives of this section

To learn the hierarchy of chemical
process design
To familiarize with the structure of
continuous chemical processes
To know the differences between
batch and continuous processes
Hierarchy of chemical process

design
The important decision is the choice of

chemical syntheses or routes for
production of desired product.
The identification of alternatives process
chemistries is being done at the very
beginning of conceptual design.
During evaluation of alternatives, cost of
raw materials, value of by-products,
complexity of synthesis, environmental
impact of waste materials and pollutant
produced are being taken into
considerations.
4
Douglas has proposed a

hierarchical approach to
conceptual design
Decide whether the process will be batch

or continuous
Identify and define the input/output
structure of the process
Identify and define the recycle structure of
the process
Identify and design the general structure
of the separation system (Chapter 12)
Identify and design the HEN or process
energy recovery system (Chapter 15)
5
Step 1:Batch vs. Continuous

Most chemical plants operates at
continuous mode. Only unloading
and loading of materials are batch
wise.
Batch operation a finite quantity of
product is made during a period of
few hours or days.
Continuous feed is sent
continuously to a series of equipment
where product, by products and
6
Factors to decide
The most important is size and
flexibility.
Size
Batch < 500 tonne/yr ~ 1.5 tonne/day
(< 2 m3 of liquid or solid per day)
Continuous > 5000 tonne/yr
Other factors
- Table 2.1 textbook
7
FACTOR
ADV/DADV BATCH
ADV/DADV
CONTINUOUS
SIZE
Small production capacity
Large scale production
PRODUCT QUALITY
For pharmaceutical and

food products, where the
manufacturing practices are
strictly monitored by FDA
Potentially producing
large quantities of offspec products. But it can
be recycled.
OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY
The same equipment can

be used for multiple
operations
Often leads to inefficient

use of capital
STANDARDIZED EQUIPMENT
multiple products
Can be easily modified to

produce several different
products
The product is fixed
PROCESSING EFFICIENCY
High usage of utility due to

no energy integration.
Separation and reuse of
materials are more difficult
than continuous.
Energy integration,
separation and reuse of
materials are possible.
The process becomes
more efficient with high
production capacity
MAINTENANCE AND
OPERATING LABOUR
Higher operating cost

labour due to equipment
cleaning and preparation
time
Lower operating cost

labour
Batch operation is favoured
Higher amount of
8
feedstock
is required
FEEDSTOCK AVAILABILITY
Copyright - R. Turton and J.

when
the feedstock is
Shaeiwitz,
2012
limited
FACTOR
ADV/DADV BATCH
ADV/DADV
CONTINUOUS
PRODUCT DEMAND
Seasonal demand for

products such as fertilizers
etc. could be produced.
Other product produce
during the off-season
One plant for one

product.
RATE OF RXN TO PRODUCE

PRODUCTS
For slow reaction rates and

long residence time such as
fermentation, biological rxn,
aerobic/anaerobic
wastewater treatment
Slow rxn requires very

large equipment
(reactor). So favour the
high rxn rate
EQUIPMENT FOULING
Cleaning of fouling is easy
Fouling is a serious
problem and difficult to
handle
SAFETY
Worker exposure to
chemicals and operator
error will be higher
The plant has excellent

safety records and safety
procedures are well
established
CONTROLLABILITY
The efficient scheduling of

equipment becomes very
important and the control is
Copyright
- R. Turton and J.
complicated
Shaeiwitz, 2012
Easy to control
STEP 2: THE INPUT/OUTPUT

STRUCTURE OF THE PROCESS
Input represents feed stream and
output represents products streams
or waste streams
To determine the process route
through construction of process
concept diagram.
Uses the stoichiometry of the main
reaction pathways to identify feed
and product chemicals.
Fig. 1.5 (toluene hydrodealkylation
10

Shaeiwitz, 2012
11
Input Output Structure

(Process Concept Diagram)
From Analysis, Synthesis, and Design of Chemical Processes, Fourth Edition, by Richard Turton, Richard C. Bailie, Wallace B. Whiting, Joseph Shaeiwitz, and Debangsu Bhattacharyya
12
(ISBN-13: 978-0-13-261812-0) Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
The input/output structure of the

PFD
The same overall input/output
structure between Fig. 2.1 and 2.2
The reactants streams, Stream 1 and
2
Benzene is clearly labelled in Stream
15 but no identification of methane.
Check with Table 1.5 on stream 16
contain considerable amount of
methane.
13
Generic Structure of Process Flow

Diagrams
C6H5CH3+H2 C6H6 + CH4

14
Input-Output on PFD
From Analysis, Synthesis, and Design of Chemical Processes, Fourth Edition, by Richard Turton, Richard C. Bailie, Wallace B. Whiting, Joseph Shaeiwitz, and Debangsu
15
Bhattacharyya (ISBN-13: 978-0-13-261812-0) Copyright 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.
Input-Output Utility
Streams
16
Generic Block Structure of Process

Flow Diagrams
The generic block diagram
intermediate between the process
concept diagram and PFD
It contains logical building blocks for
all processes
Fig. 2.4(a) provides generic block
diagram that shows chemical process
broken into six basic areas;
17
Generic Structure of Process Flow Diagrams
18
Generic Structure of Process Flow Diagrams
19
Other considerations for the

input/output structure of the
process flow sheet
Feed purity and trace components

Addition of feeds required to stabilize
products or enable separations
Inert feed material to control
exothermic reactions
Addition of inert feed material to
control equilibrium reaction
20
Information that can be obtained

from input/output diagram of the
process
Basic economic analysis on profit

margin could decide on the
pathway that is feasible
What chemical components must
enter with the feed and leave as
products
All the reactions, both desired and
undesired that take place
21
Profit Margin
If $ Products - $ Raw Material
< 0,
then do not bother to pursue
this process, but start looking
for an alternate route
Toluene HDA vs. Toluene Disproportionation
Toluene used
more efficiently
C6H5CH3 + H2 C6H6 + CH4
Toluene
benzene
2C6H5CH3 C6H6 +C6H4(CH3)2

22
Toluene
benzene
xylene
STEP 3: THE RECYCLE STRUCTURE

OF THE PROCESS
Since raw materials make up from 25
to 75% of total operating costs, a
plant should recover as much raw
material as possible
Furthermore, when the price is
expensive
The unused reactants must be
separated and recycled
The extent of recycling depends on
ease of operation
23
Efficiency of raw material

usage
Single pass conversion
Overall conversion
Yield

Shaeiwitz, 2012
24
3 Basic Recycle Structures

Separate and purify unreacted feed from
products and then recycle, e.g., toluene
Recycle feed and products together and
use a purge stream, e.g., hydrogen with
purge as fuel gas
Recycle feed and products together but do
not use a purge stream - must come to
Equilibrium
2C6H6
C12H10 + H2
25
Recycle Structure in PFD
26
Recycle without separation or

purge
Recycle
increases and
equip. and op.
costs increase
2C6H6
C12H10 + H2
27
Recycle with Separation (and

Purge)
2C6H6
C12H10 + H2
Extra tower
with associated
operating costs
28
Other Issues on Recycle

Number of recycle streams
Does excess reactant affect structure
Size of Recycle Loop
H2 : Toluene = 5 : 1
Number of Reactors
Separate and recycle to different reactors
29
Other Issues on Recycle (cont.)

Do we need to purify prior to
recycling?
Is recycling of inerts warranted?
Can recycling an unwanted inert
material push equilibrium to the
right?
Gasification of coal CO2 recycle
30
Other Issues on Recycle (cont.)

Can recycling an unwanted inert
control reaction
CO2 in Gasifier
Phase of Recycle Stream?
31

Chapter 02 - Structure and Synthesis of PFD

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Chapter 02 - Structure and Synthesis of PFD

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Design Project Procedure

Preliminary or quick estimate design

Objectives of this section

Hierarchy of chemical process

The important decision is the choice of

Douglas has proposed a

Decide whether the process will be batch

Step 1:Batch vs. Continuous

Small production capacity

Large scale production

For pharmaceutical and

The same equipment can

Often leads to inefficient

Can be easily modified to

The product is fixed

High usage of utility due to

Higher operating cost

Lower operating cost

Batch operation is favoured

Copyright - R. Turton and J.

Seasonal demand for

One plant for one

RATE OF RXN TO PRODUCE

For slow reaction rates and

Slow rxn requires very

Cleaning of fouling is easy

The plant has excellent

The efficient scheduling of

STEP 2: THE INPUT/OUTPUT

Copyright - R. Turton and J.

Input Output Structure

The input/output structure of the

Generic Structure of Process Flow

C6H5CH3+H2 C6H6 + CH4

Generic Block Structure of Process

Generic Structure of Process Flow Diagrams

Generic Structure of Process Flow Diagrams

Other considerations for the

Feed purity and trace components

Information that can be obtained

Basic economic analysis on profit

2C6H5CH3 C6H6 +C6H4(CH3)2

STEP 3: THE RECYCLE STRUCTURE

Efficiency of raw material

Copyright - R. Turton and J.

3 Basic Recycle Structures

Recycle Structure in PFD

Recycle without separation or

Recycle with Separation (and

Other Issues on Recycle

Other Issues on Recycle (cont.)

Other Issues on Recycle (cont.)

Phase of Recycle Stream?

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