Unit operations equipment

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... 

Filtration is the separation of a fluid-solids mixture involving passage of most of the fluidthrough a porous barrier which retains most of the solid particulates contained in the mixture. This subsec tion deals only with the filtration of solids from liquids gas filtration is treated in Sec. 17. Filtration is the term for the unit operation. A filter is a piece of unit-operations equipment by which filtration is performed. The filter medium or septum is the barrier that lets the liquid pass while retaining most of the solids it may be a screen, cloth, paper, or bed of solids. The hquid that passes through the filter medium is called the filtrate. 

The term process intensification is used synonymously with minimization. Process intensification is also often used more specifically to describe new technologies which reduce the size of unit operations equipment, particularly reactors. Innovative process intensification techniques are receiving more and more attention. Interesting possibilities for a range of unit operations, including reaction, gas-liq-... 

Process flowsheet Unit operations Equipment geometry. Materials of construction. 

The necessary feature for all sorbents is their selectivity, their distinct level of interaction with any given fluid component relative to the others. This property enables the sorbent to accomplish the required separation or purification. Another necessary sorbent property is the ratio of its active surface area relative to its mass. This allows reasonable unit operations equipment size for high-volume processing. The sorbents should also be possible to be regenerated for extended use (Reynolds, 1982 Perry and Green, 1997). 

To operate the MPI or LPI equipment at stable and reprodncable inspection conditions modern units are equipped with a monitoring and control system called "Quality Assurance Package" (termed QAP). The QAP System is ba.sed on an industrial PC with a bus system and field sensors. It ensures that process parameters important for the reproducability of the MPI or LPI are controlled an held between defined limits by a central computer system. It can be adapted to any old system, as well as integrated into new systems. 

Extraction, a unit operation, is a complex and rapidly developing subject area (1,2). The chemistry of extraction and extractants has been comprehensively described (3,4). The main advantage of solvent extraction as an industrial process Hes in its versatiHty because of the enormous potential choice of solvents and extractants. The industrial appHcation of solvent extraction, including equipment design and operation, is a subject in itself (5). The fundamentals and technology of metal extraction processes have been described (6,7), as has the role of solvent extraction in relation to the overall development and feasibiHty of processes (8). The control of extraction columns has also been discussed (9). 

In order to make a multipurpose plant even more versatile than module IV, equipment for unit operations such as soHd materials handling, high temperature/high pressure reaction, fractional distillation (qv), Hquid—Hquid extraction (see Extraction, liquid-liquid), soHd—Hquid separation, thin-film evaporation (qv), dryiag (qv), size reduction (qv) of soHds, and adsorption (qv) and absorption (qv), maybe iastalled. 

Tanks are used in innumerable ways in the chemical process iadustry, not only to store every conceivable Hquid, vapor, or soHd, but also ia a number of processiag appHcations. For example, as weU as reactors, tanks have served as the vessels for various unit operations such as settling, mixing, crystallisation (qv), phase separation, and heat exchange. Hereia the main focus is on the use of tanks as Hquid storage vessels. The principles outlined, however, can generally be appHed to tanks ia other appHcations as weU as to other pressure-containing equipment. 

Lime-Sulfuric. Recovery of citric acid by calcium salt precipitation is shown in Figure 3. Although the chemistry is straightforward, the engineering principles, separation techniques, and unit operations employed result in a complex commercial process. The fermentation broth, which has been separated from the insoluble biomass, is treated with a calcium hydroxide (lime) slurry to precipitate calcium citrate. After sufficient reaction time, the calcium citrate slurry is filtered and the filter cake washed free of soluble impurities. The clean calcium citrate cake is reslurried and acidified with sulfuric acid, converting the calcium citrate to soluble citric acid and insoluble calcium sulfate. Both the calcium citrate and calcium sulfate reactions are generally performed in agitated reaction vessels made of 316 stainless steel and filtered on commercially available filtration equipment. 

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. 

Mixing of sohds is an important unit operation in the production of solids with consistent properties. A number of properties of the solid particles influence the mixing process, the design, and selection of mixing equipment. The second subsection elaborates on the theoiy of mixing, types of mixing equipment, and their operation. 

The following subsections discuss the basic considerations involved in various unit operations of solid-solid separation and describe present industrial practice and equipment in general use. 

---