Process Design Principles-1

(CHE F314)-Chapter-4
by
Prof. Manas Ranjan Behera & Prof. Sampatrao Dagu Manjare

Department of Chemical Engineering

Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani – Goa
 The Five-Level Decision Hierarchy
• The procedure decomposes the problem into a hierarchy of decisions:
• Level 1: Batch vs. Continuous

• Level 2: Input-Output Structure of the Flow Sheet

• Level 3: Recycle Structure of the Flow Sheet & Reactor Design

• Level 4: Separation System Specification

• 4a: Vapor Recovery System

• 4b: Liquid Recovery System

• Level 5: Heat Exchanger Network

 Input information & Batch vs. Continuous
• Design problems are always under-defined, with very little input information available.
• We have to answer two fundamental questions
❑ What do we know? (Input Information)
➢ Understanding the data you have and don’t have
➢ You might only know that A B occurs under certain conditions & You have to design an efficient, economical
process around it.
➢ What side reactions create C,D, and E?
➢ How fast does the catalyst die?
➢ What impurities are in the raw materials?
➢ Missing information is gathered through: Literature survey; Experience from other projects; Heuristics.

❑ How should we make it ? (Batch vs Continuous)

➢ Once enough input information is gathered, the next major design decision is:
➢ Should the process be Batch or Continuous?
➢ This choice impacts equipment design, economics, safety, scalability, and product quality.
 Input information
• The following information is typically required or must be gathered at the initial stages of process design:
1. The reactions and reaction conditions.
2. The desired production rate.
3. The desired product purity, and/or information about price versus purity.
4. The raw materials and/or information about their price versus purity.
5. Information about the rate of the reaction and the rate of catalyst deactivation.
6. Any processing constraints (e.g., safety, stability, coking).
7. Other plant and site data (utilities, waste disposal, etc.).
8. Physical properties of all components.
9. Information concerning the safety, toxicity, and environmental impact of the materials.
10. Cost data for by-products, equipment, and utilities.
 Input information
1. Reaction information
a. Foundational Chemistry
• Stoichiometry: The balanced equations for all reactions that take place (both primary and side reactions) must be
known.
• Side Reactions are Crucial: Overlooking side reactions is a common and costly mistake. Even trace by-products in
the lab can build up to significant levels in recycle loops, adversely affecting the separation system and process
economy.
b. Operating Conditions
• The range of feasible temperatures and pressures for the reactions must be identified.
• The phase(s) of the reaction system (e.g., gas, liquid) must be known.
c. Kinetics and Performance
• Conversion vs. Space Velocity (or Resident time): Indicates how quickly reactions proceed and guides reactor
sizing.
• Product Distribution vs. Conversion: This is critical data showing how selectivity and yield change with the
conversion of the key reactant. It is crucial for optimizing conditions and downstream separations.
 Input information
d. The Critical Concept of Maximum Yield vs. Economic Optimum
➢ Maximum Yield ≠ Economic Optimum: Conditions for maximum product yield (often the focus of chemists)
frequently do not correspond to the most economically optimal conversion for the overall process.
➢ Economic Trade-off: The optimum is a trade-off between:
➢ High Conversion: Large selectivity losses (more raw material converted to waste) and high reactor costs.
➢ Low Conversion: Large recycle flows and high separation/recycle costs.

e. Catalyst Information (if used):

➢ Information is needed on the state of the catalyst (e.g., homogeneous, packed bed).
➢ The catalyst deactivation rate and its regenerability (including the regeneration method, e.g., coke burning) are
essential design data that are often lacking initially.
 Reactor Performance
Three important parameters are used to describe its performance
Moles of reactant consumed in the reactor
Conversion =
Moles of reactant fed to the reactor
Fraction of the reactants that are transformed into products.
Mole of desired product formed
Selectivity = ×SF
Mole of reactant consumed in the reactor

Selectivity focuses on how well the reactant is converted to the desired product and
is adjusted by the stoichiometric factor.
Moles of desired product formed
Reactor yield =  SF
Moles of reactant fed to the reactor
Yield measures the overall efficiency of converting reactant into the product, taking
into account the total amount of reactant fed.
Stoichiometric coefficient of reactant
Stoichiometric factor (SF) =
stoichiometric coefficient of product
 Input information
2. Desired production rate:
➢ Define how much product the plant must produce per time unit (kg/h, ton/day).
➢ Why it matters: Determines reactor size, number of units, and downstream processing requirements.
➢ Impacts raw material procurement and economic feasibility.
3. Product purity & price vs purity tradeoffs
➢ Specify the required product quality (e.g., 99% purity) as per market demand
➢ Understand how increasing purity affects price and production cost
➢ Guides separation and purification steps.
➢ Helps make economic trade-offs between purity and cost.
4. Raw materials & price vs purity info
➢ Identify all feedstocks, their level of impurity, and cost vs purity.
➢ Assess the sensitivity of the reactor and catalyst to the impurity.
➢ Will the impurity trigger side reactions, or is it inert?
➢ Impurities in raw materials can affect reaction selectivity and product quality.
 Input information
5. Processing constraints (safety, fouling, coking)
➢ Identify limitations such as temperature limits, pressure limits, corrosion, fouling, coking, or explosion hazards.
➢ Ensures safe, operable design.
➢ Impacts material selection, heat transfer, and maintenance schedules.
6. Plant & site data (utilities, waste)
➢ Gather site-specific info: available utilities (steam, cooling water, electricity), waste treatment facilities, space
constraints.
➢ Determines practical feasibility of the process.
➢ Affects cost and environmental compliance.
7. Physical properties of all components
➢ Collect density, viscosity, heat capacity, melting/boiling points, vapor pressure, solubility, etc., for all reactants,
intermediates, and products.
➢ Needed for equipment sizing, separation design, and heat/mass transfer calculations.
 Input information
8. Physical properties of all components
➢ Collect density, viscosity, heat capacity, melting/boiling points, vapor pressure, solubility, etc., for all reactants,
intermediates, and products.
➢ Needed for equipment sizing, separation design, and heat/mass transfer calculations.
9. Safety, toxicity, environmental data
➢ Identify hazards (flammability, toxicity, corrosivity, environmental impact).
➢ Essential for safety systems, handling procedures, regulatory compliance, and environmental design.
10. Cost data (equipment, utilities, co-products)
➢ Collect capital and operating costs for equipment, utilities, raw materials, and potential co-products.
➢ Enables economic evaluation, feasibility studies, and optimization.
➢ Balances design choices with cost-effectiveness.
 Batch over Continuous process
Characteristic Batch Process Continuous Process
Continuous, non-stop flow of materials through the
Operation Discrete, separate processing of materials in individual
process for 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, for nearly
Mode batches.
a year
Scalability Small to medium Large
Investment Low initial investment High initial investment
Highly adaptable to different products and formulations. Less adaptable to frequent changes in products or
Flexibility
formulations.
Easier to monitor and control on a per-batch basis. Requires sophisticated real-time monitoring and
Control
control systems.
Product May vary slightly between batches due to manual Very high uniformity and consistent product quality
Consistency handling and variations in conditions. due to steady-state operation.
Frequent, due to cleaning and preparation between Minimal, primarily during maintenance or
Downtime
batches. adjustments. Hence, less energy requirement
• Suitable for drug requiring precise formulation and • Ideal for large scale production of consistent,
small-scale production high volume products (e.g. Petrochemicals)
• Ideal for chemicals with variability and customization • Suitable for continuous production process (e.g.
(e.g. cosmetic industry) Paper and Pulp)
Applications
• Suitable for products with larger uncertainty • Operations require uniform quality (e.g. Steel
• Used for high value, low volume food products manufacturing)
 Guidelines for selecting Batch over Continuous process
➢ Production Rates
▪ Plants having capacity > 10*106 lb/yr are usually continuous.
▪ Plants having capacity < 1*106 lb/yr are usually batch.
▪ Batch plants are usually simpler & more flexible, so that a satisfactory product can be produced with a larger uncertainty in the
design.
▪ Because of their greater flexibility, batch plants are most common when a large no. of products are produced in essentially the
same processing equipment (e.g. paints)
➢ Market Forces
▪ Batch plants often are prepared for the products with a seasonal demand
➢ Operational Problems
▪ For slow reactions - batch process
▪ It is very difficult to pump slurries at low flowrates without the solid settling out of suspension and plugging the equipment.
▪ Batch Process is ideal for materials which foul equipment so rapidly. Frequent cleaning is required.
➢ Multiple Operations in a Single Vessel
▪ Several operations can be carried out in a single batch vessel
▪ Individual vessel is required for each of the operations in a continuous plant
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 Design for Batch vs Continuous process
Decisions that lead to choice of process whether continuous or batch.
1. Select the process units needed
➢ Choosing the main process operations (reactor, separator, heat exchanger, etc.) needed to carry out the chemical
transformation.
➢ It helps to decide:
▪ If the required units are large, complex, and expensive, continuous operation is preferred — to justify high capital cost by
operating 24×7.
▪ If the units are small, multipurpose, or flexible, batch operation may be more suitable — especially for varied or changing
products.
➢ Unit type and scale indicate whether continuous operation is economically justified or flexibility is more valuable.
2. Choose the interconnections among these units
➢ Determine how the selected units will be connected (e.g., pipelines, valves) to facilitate the flow of materials, energy, and
utilities between them.
➢ It helps to decide:
▪ Continuous process: Interconnections are fixed and designed for steady material flow (e.g., pipeline networks).
▪ Batch process: Flow paths are flexible — materials move from one vessel to another between steps, often manually or via
temporary connections.
➢ The complexity and permanence of connections reveal whether the system is designed for steady-state or step-wise
operation.
 Design for Batch vs Continuous process
3. Identify the process alternatives that need to be considered
➢ Explore different configurations or technologies that could be employed to achieve the same production goal, such as
variations in reactor types or separation methods.
➢It helps to decide:
▪ Some technologies are inherently continuous (e.g., tubular reactors, distillation columns).
▪ Others are naturally batch-oriented (e.g., stirred tanks, crystallizers).
▪ By comparing alternatives, engineers can see whether a continuous option gives better yield or economy, or whether batch
operation provides necessary flexibility or quality control.
➢ The feasible technologies available often determine whether continuous operation is practical or batch is unavoidable.
4. List the design variables
➢ Identify key parameters that significantly influence the process performance
➢It helps to decide:
▪ If process variables must be tightly controlled and steady-state is important → continuous is ideal.
▪ If variables must be frequently adjusted or different for each product → batch offers easier control.
➢ The stability and controllability of key design variables point toward the suitable mode.
5. Estimate the optimum processing conditions
➢ Perform calculations or simulations to find the best operating conditions that maximize efficiency, yield, or product quality
while minimizing costs.
 Design for Batch vs Continuous process
5. Estimate the optimum processing conditions
▪ If the optimum lies within a narrow range and must be maintained constantly → continuous preferred.
▪ If conditions vary from batch to batch (e.g., during heating, reaction, cooling cycles) → batch fits naturally.
➢Variation of optimum conditions determines whether continuous steady-state is feasible.
6. Determine the best process alternative
➢ Evaluate the various alternatives based on technical, economic, and environmental criteria to select the most suitable
process design
➢It helps to decide:
▪ Economic evaluation:
o High capital cost but high production → continuous justified.
o Low capital cost, low or variable production → batch preferred.
▪ Market demand:
o Steady, large market → continuous.
o Seasonal, uncertain demand → batch.
▪ Environmental & safety:
o Continuous minimizes handling and waste.
o Batch simplifies cleaning, inspection, and containment for hazardous products.
➢ Economic and market analysis often provides the final verdict:
large-volume, stable-demand → continuous; flexible, low-volume → batch.
 Design for Batch vs Continuous process
For a batch process we must make exactly the same decisions as continuous process. However, we must also make
the following decisions
1. What processing steps should be carried out in a single vessel vs using individual vessels for each processing Step
2. When is it advantageous to use parallel units to improve the scheduling of the plant
➢ If demand is high but each batch takes time, parallel vessels help maintain production
3. How much intermediate storage is required & where should it be located
➢ If one step takes longer than the next, you need storage to buffer the material until the downstream step is ready.
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