Construction materials, plant design

The chemical and petrochemical industries are highly capital intensive and this has two important implications for the plant designer. Before the expenditure for any plant is approved, a discounted cash flow (DCF) return on capital invested is projected (Section 9.1). The capital cost of the plant is a key factor in deciding whether the DCF return is above or below the cut-off value used by a company to judge the viability of projects. Thus, there is always strong pressure on the materials engineer not to overspecify the materials of construction. 

Develop necessary process and design information (Section 3.1). The first step in the analysis is to obtain necessary information in sufficient detail to support the type of evaluation being performed. This can include information about the materials being handled, the process conditions, and other site-specific information such as the type of building construction, occupancy, plant layout, and equipment location. 

Using the materials of construction and mechanical design procedures which are typical of the late 1970 s, a conventional high temperature steam reformer would have operating and design parameters approximately as given in Table 2 for a 10 million scf/day hydrogen plant. 

The choices of the construction materials used in a chemical plant are some of the most important decisions a process designer will make. Inherently safer plants will be designed by people who take advantage of the latest and best available technology to avoid catastrophic failure (Liening, 1986a,b). It is not possible for most process designers to be experts in the field of corrosion. Therefore, it is necessary to make use of the resources available. 

The effects of corrosion and erosion must be considered in the design of chemical plants and equipment. Chemical resistance and physical properties of constructional materials, therefore, are important factors in the choice and design of equipment. The materials of construction may be resistant to the... 

It becomes clear that the chances a single fire or explosion will spread to adjoining units can be reduced by careful plant layout and judicious choice of construction materials. Hazardous operations should be isolated by location in separate buildings or by the use of brick fire walls. Brick or reinforced concrete walls can serve to limit the effects of an explosion, particularly if the roof is designed to lift easily under an explosive force. 

In most cases corrosion can be effectively prevented (i.e., slowed down to the point that the device, be it a piece of machinery or a structure, will have to be replaced for some other reason, before corrosion has become severe), by investment in the construction material. Jewelry and coinage are extreme examples, but even in a chemical plant one has the choice of designing for minimum maintenance and long... 

Split infinitives in report writing, use of 475 Spread sheef 111 Stages of plant-design projecf 2-3 Stainless steel as material of construction,... 

---