Process design equipment sizing

Having defined and gathered data adequate for an initial reserves estimation, the next step is to look at the various options to develop the field. The objective of the feasibility study is to document various technical options, of which at least one should be economically viable. The study will contain the subsurface development options, the process design, equipment sizes, the proposed locations (e.g. offshore platforms), and the crude evacuation and export system. The cases considered will be accompanied by a cost estimate and planning schedule. Such a document gives a complete overview of all the requirements, opportunities, risks and constraints. 

Evaluation of economies of scale is part of the detailed process design. The size of equipment and the use of multiple equipment trains is evaluated with respect to product cost, market demands, batch size and scale-up risk. 

Design several alternative steady-state processes flowsheet, equipment sizes, operating conditions and utilities. 

An operability measure needs to quantify the inherent ability of the process to move from one steady state to another and to reject any of the expected disturbances in a timely fashion with the limited control action available. This inherent ability is designed into the process by economic tradeoffs made in flowsheet design, equipment sizing and specification, and provisions for dy-... 

Once the flowsheet structure has been defined, a simulation of the process can be carried out. A simulation is a mathematical model of the process which attempts to predict how the process would behave if it was constructed (see Fig. 1.1b). Having created a model of the process, we assume the flow rates, compositions, temperatures, and pressures of the feeds. The simulation model then predicts the flow rates, compositions, temperatures, and pressures of the products. It also allows the individual items of equipment in the process to be sized and predicts how much raw material is being used, how much energy is being consumed, etc. The performance of the design can then be evaluated. 

Process calculations for traditional unit-operations equipment can be divided into two types design and performance. Sometimes the performance calculation is caHed a simulation (see Simulation and process design). The design calculation is used to roughly size or specify the equipment. EoUowing the... 

Sulfur Compounds. Various gas streams are treated by molecular sieves to remove sulfur contaminants. In the desulfurization of wellhead natural gas, the unit is designed to remove sulfur compounds selectively, but not carbon dioxide, which would occur in Hquid scmbbing processes. Molecular sieve treatment offers advantages over Hquid scmbbing processes in reduced equipment size because the acid gas load is smaller in production economics because there is no gas shrinkage (leaving CO2 in the residue gas) and in the fact that the gas is also fliUy dehydrated, alleviating the need for downstream dehydration. 

Overall Eactor Estimates. The next level of fixed capital estimate is based on a preliminary design that includes a flow sheet, material balances, energy balances, and enough equipment design to size all of the principal process equipment, including pumps and tanks. 

At the heart of a leaching plant design at any level—conceptual, pre-liminaiy, firm engineering, or whatever—is unit-operations and process design of the extraction unit or hne. The major aspects that are particular for the leaching operation are the selection of process and operating conditions and the sizing of the extrac tion equipment. 

Regulatory control is governmental imposition of limits on emission from sources. In addition to quantitative limits on emissions from chimneys, vents, and stacks, regulations may limit the quantity or quality of fuel or raw material permitted to be used the design or size of the equipment or process in which it may be used the height of chimneys, vents, or stacks the location of sites from which emissions are or are not permitted or the times when emissions are or are not permitted. Regulations usually also specify acceptable methods of test or measurement. 

Process Conceptual Design Equipment selection and sizing Inventory of process Single vs. Multiple trains Utility requirements Overdesign and flexibility Recycles and buffer capacities Instrumentation and control Location of plant Preliminary plant layout Materials of construction As above plus equipment suppliers data, raw materials data, company design procedures and requirements... 

Minimization goes much further than storage, however. For many processes the largest inventory of hazardous materials is in the reactor. If, through radical reactor design, inventories and equipment size can be reduced whilst throughput is maintained, then this presents opportunities for improved safety and possibly reduced capital costs. This is the concept behind Process Intensification which is discussed more fully below. 

A batch plant for 7 products and 10 batch stages (equipment units) is to be designed. Products must be manufactured within H = 6200 hours. Tables 7.4-13 to 7.4-15 show processing times tij, size factors Sij, and yearly production requirements g for all products and stages. Cost coefficients for all... 

Uncertainties in amounts of products to be manufactured Qi, processing times %, and size factors Sij will influence the production time tp, whose uncertainty reflects the individual uncertainties that can be presented as probability distributions. The distributions for shortterm uncertainties (processing times and size factors) can be evaluated based on knowledge of probability distributions for the uncertain parameters, i.e. kinetic parameters and other variables used for the design of equipment units. The probability of not being able to meet the total demand is the probability that the production time is larger than the available production time H. Hence, the objective function used for deterministic design takes the form ... 

Equipment used in the manufacture, processing, packing, or holding of a drug product shall be of appropriate design, adequate size, and suitably located to facilitate operations for its intended use and for its cleaning and maintenance. 

With discontinuous processes, the period between shut-downs will usually be a function of equipment size. Increasing the size of critical equipment will extend the production period, but at the expense of increased capital cost. The designer must strike a balance between the savings gained by reducing the non-productive period and the increased investment required. 

In Chapter 3, the reaction system is discussed using the heat and mass balances, and interaction with the equipment. Scale-up affects both temperature and pressure profiles, which vary with types of reactor systems and sizes. Relevant test methods for scale-up and for process design are covered, including discussions on the methods as well as the relative advantages and disadvantages. Typical approaches for safe design and for defensive measures are presented. The theoretical and experimental subjects in Chapters 2 and 3 are illustrated by the use of examples. 

Also indices such as the Dow Fire and Explosion Hazard Index and the Mond Index have been suggested to measure the degree of inherent SHE of a process. Rushton et al. (1994) pointed out that these indices can be used for the assessment of existing plants or at the detailed design stages. They require detailed plant specifications such as the plot plan, equipment sizes, material inventories and flows. Checklists, interaction matrices, Hazop and other hazard identification tools are also usable for the evaluation, because all hazards must be identified and their potential consequences must be understood. E.g. Hazop can be used in different stages of process design but in restricted mode. A complete Hazop-study requires final process plans with flow sheets and PIDs. 

---