Unit operations, control heat exchangers

Armed with the thermodynamic fundamentals of heat management, we now take a closer look at the unit operation control loops for heat exchangers. We start with utility exchangers. These are used when heat is supplied to, or removed from, the process. Examples are steam-heated reboilers, electric heaters, fuel-fired furnaces, water-cooled condensers, and refrigerated coolers. 

Some important factors regarding a safe plant can be better understood if the reader is familiar with such process equipment as reactors (Section 5.2), mass transfer units (Section 5.3), heat exchanges (Section 5.4), ancillary equipment (Section 5.5), environmental equipment (Section 5.6), and utilities (Section 5.7). Protective equipment is reviewed in Section 5.8. Process diagrams, which illustrate the various possible arrangements of plant equipment, valves, piping, and control systems, are presented in Section 5.9. Plant siting and layout are discussed in Section 5.10 - this last section illustrates the factors that can contribute to proper plant operation. 

In this approach accident cases and design recommendations can be analysed level by level. In the database the knowledge of known processes is divided into categories of process, subprocess, system, subsystem, equipment and detail (Fig. 6). Process is an independent processing unit (e.g. hydrogenation unit). Subprocess is an independent part of a process such as reactor or separation section. System is an independent part of a subprocess such as a distillation column with its all auxiliary systems. Subsystem is a functional part of a system such as a reactor heat recovery system or a column overhead system including their control systems. Equipment is an unit operation or an unit process such as a heat exchanger, a reactor or a distillation column. Detail is an item in a pipe or a piece of equipment (e.g. a tray in a column, a control valve in a pipe). 

The toolkit does not artificially fragment unit operations such as mixing and heat exchange across different modules, but integrates them into individual function-oriented micro reaction modules. A controlled thermal environment and continuous monitoring of the micro reaction process with sensors and analyzers are other crucial elements of the concept. 

The dynamic simulation file prepared in Aspen Plus is exported in Aspen Dynamics [10]. We select the flow-driven simulation mode. Aspen Dynamics files have already implemented the basic control loops for levels and pressures. Units with fast dynamics, such as the evaporator or some heat exchangers, may be handled as steady state. The implementation of control loops for the key operational units, chemical reactor and distillation columns, take into account some specific issues from the plantwide perspective, which are developed in detail in Luyben et al. [8]. 

National Emission Standards for Closed Vent Systems, Control Devices, Recovery Devices and Routing to a Fuel Gas System or a Process National Emission Standards for Equipment Leaks—Control Level 1 National Emission Standards for Equipment Leaks—Control Level 2 Standards National Emission Standards for Oil-Water Separators and Organic-Water Separators National Emission Standards for Storage Vessels (Tanks)—Control Level 2 National Emission Standards for Ethylene Manufacturing Process Units Heat Exchange Systems and Waste Operations... 

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