Introduction

Course outline
● Introduction to design
● Materials of construction
● Design information and data
● Designing of separation columns
○ (Distillation and Absorption)
● Designing of heat exchangers
○ Shell and tube heat exchangers, condensers, reboilers and fired heaters
● Storage tanks
● Pressure vessels
Common equipment in chemical engineering
● Agitators
● Compressors, turbines and fans
○ Centrifugal compressors
○ Reciprocating compressors
○ Screw compressors
○ Turbines (pressure discharge and vacuum discharge)
○ Fans

Agitator
… cont

● Conveyors
○ Troughed belt,
○ flat belt,
○ Screw, steel, Troughed belt conveyor
○ Screw, stainless
○ Bucket elevator
○ Pneumatic

Screw steel conveyor

… cont
● Cooling towers
○ Concrete
○ Wooden
● Crushers and grinders
○ Cone crusher, Cooling tower
○ Gyratory crusher
○ Jaw crusher
○ Hammer mill
○ Ball mill
○ Pulverizer

Jaw crusher
… cont
● Crystallizers
○ External forced circulation
○ Internal draft tube
○ Batch vacuum
● Distillation and absorption towers
○ Distillation tray towers
○ Absorption tray towers
○ Packed towers

Crystallizer
 Dryer
… cont

● Dryers
○ Rotary, combustion gas heated
○ Rotary, hot air heated
○ Rotary, steam tube heated
○ Cabinet dryers
○ Multiple hearth furnace
● Evaporators
○ Forced circulation
○ Long tube
○ Falling film

Evaporator
… cont
● Fired heaters
○ Box types
○ Cylindrical types
● Heat exchangers
○ Shell and tube
○ Double pipe
○ Air coolers

Shell and tube heat exchanger

… cont
Mechanical separators
● Centrifuges
● Cyclone separators
○ Heavy duty
○ Standard duty
○ Multiclone
● Disk separators

Cyclone
… cont
Mechanical separators
● Filters
○ Rotary vacuum belt discharge
○ Rotary vacuum scraper discharge
○ Rotary vacuum disk
○ Horizontal vacuum disk
○ Pressure leaf
○ Plate and frame
● Vibrating screens
Rotary vacuum scraper discharge filter
… cont
Motors and couplings
● Motors
● Belt drive couplings
● Chain drive couplings
● Variable speed drive couplings

Motor Couplings
… cont
● Pumps
○ Centrifugal
○ Vertical mixed flow
○ Vertical axial flow
○ Gear pumps
○ Reciprocating pumps
● Refrigeration

Centrifugal pump
… cont
● Steam ejectors and vacuum pumps

Steam ejector Vacuum pump

… cont
● Vessels
○ Horizontal pressure vessels
○ Vertical pressure vessels
○ Storage tanks, shop fabricated
○ Storage tanks, field erected

Pressure vessel
 Proprietary and Nonproprietary equipment
● The equipment used in the chemical processes industries can be divided into
two classes: proprietary and nonproprietary
● Proprietary equipment are designed and manufactured by specialist firms.
● Proprietary equipment include pumps, compressors, filters, centrifuges,
dryers, cooling towers, mixers, agitators, piping equipment and valves etc
● Thus there is no need of a chemical engineer to be concerned with the
accurate details of how these are manufactured unless you are working for
such a firm.
● Your role as a chemical engineer is to select the best for a particular
application.
… cont
● Nonproprietary equipment are designed as special, one-off items for particular
processes
● These are special equipment not amenable to complete standardization
● Examples include reactors, distillation columns, most vessels and heat
exchangers
● Reactors, columns, and other vessels are usually designed as special items
for a given project.
● In particular, reactor designs are usually unique, except where more or less
standard equipment is used, such as an agitated, jacketed vessel.

NB

This whole courseunit is dedicated to the design of nonproprietary equipment

… cont
● Distillation columns, vessels, and tubular heat exchangers, though
nonproprietary items, will be designed to conform to recognized standards and
codes; this reduces the amount of design work involved.
● The chemical engineer’s part in the design of ‘‘nonproprietary’’ equipment is
usually limited to selecting and ‘‘sizing’’ the equipment.
● For example, in the design of a distillation column, the design engineer will
typically determine the number of plates; the type and design of the plate; the
diameter of the column; and the position of the inlet, outlet, and instrument
nozzles.
● This information would then be transmitted, in the form of sketches and
specification sheets, to the specialist mechanical design group or the
fabricator’s design team for detailed design.
… cont
● Thus as far as proprietary equipment are concerned, as a chemical engineer
emphasis should be on the selection of a given equipment for a given
application.
● Some of the factors influencing equipment selection include,process
compatibility, capacity and performance, efficiency and energy consumption,
safety features, ease of maintenance and durability, regulatory compliance and
standards, cost (including total cost of ownership), vendor reputation and
support, scalability and flexibility, lead time.

Can you?
Discuss the various factors that should be considered when selecting equipment for
a specific process application
Design constraints
The picture shown on the right shows both

the internal and external constraints

on process design. Even though our

focus is on equipment design, most

constraints on process design overlap

with those on equipment design.

Project documentation
● During the design of nonproprietary equipment, other disciplines have to
come in for example the mechanical engineer in order to do the fabricating
work and as a result, there is a need to document your design project.
● The following is a list of the documents that you must come up with as a
chemical engineer
○ Calculation sheets which will include design calculations, cost estimates and
(material and energy balances)
○ Drawing(s) of the equipment showing all the details (using CAD)
○ Specifications sheet (what the equipment should have)
○ Health, safety and environmental information
○ Operating manuals
Codes and standards
● The need for standardization in engineering dates back to 1841 with
Whitworth's introduction of the standard screw thread, facilitating
interchangeability among manufacturers.
… codes and standards
● Modern engineering standards cover a much wider function than the
interchange of parts.
● In engineering practice, they cover
○ Materials, properties, and compositions.
○ Testing procedures for performance, compositions, and quality.
○ Preferred sizes; for example, tubes, plates, sections, etc.
○ Methods for design, inspection, and fabrication.
○ Codes of practice for plant operation and safety
… codes and standards

Codes
● Codes are comprehensive sets of rules that govern the design, fabrication,
testing, installation, operation, and maintenance of chemical equipment.
● These are often legally enforced by government agencies and are considered
minimum requirements that must be met.
● Codes are intended to ensure safety, reliability, and efficiency, and they
typically specify what needs to be done but not how to do it.
● Examples include the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code (BPVC) for
pressure vessels and boilers and the API (American Petroleum Institute)
codes for oil and gas industry equipment.
… codes and standards
Standards
● Standards are detailed technical definitions and guidelines that are used to ensure
products, services, and systems are safe, reliable, and consistently perform as
intended.
● Unlike codes, standards are often developed by professional organizations and
industry groups and may not have the force of law, though they can be adopted into
codes.
● Standards provide the "how to" for meeting the requirements set forth in codes or
for achieving specific design or operational criteria.
● They cover a wide range of aspects, including materials selection, testing
methodologies, design practices, and performance criteria.
● Examples include ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) standards for
material properties and ISO (International Organization for Standardization)
standards for quality management systems and other operational protocols.
… codes and standards
Why are codes and standards important?
● They ensure a common language is being used relating to products and practices.
● They protect the public from questionable designs, products, practices and/or
services.
● They provide a legal, enforceable means to evaluate the acceptability of products,
practices and/or services

Research about!
● The different codes and standards we have in Uganda that are relevant to
chemical engineers
● The disadvantages of codes and standards to an equipment designer
Design factors (Design margins)
● Design is an inexact art; errors and uncertainties arise from uncertainties in
the design data available and in the approximations necessary in design
calculations.
● Experienced designers include a degree of over-design known as a ‘‘design
factor,’’ ‘‘design margin,’’ or ‘‘safety factor,’’ to ensure that the design that is
built meets product specifications and operates safely
● In mechanical and structural design, the design factors used to allow for
uncertainties in material properties, design methods, fabrication, and
operating loads are well established.
… design margins
● For example, a factor of around 4 on the tensile strength, or about 2.5 on the
0.1% proof stress, is normally used in general structural design.
● The recommended design factors are set out in the codes and standards.
● This also applies to process design
● Companies often specify design factors in their design manuals

Why are design margins important to a chemical equipment designer?

● Compensates for Uncertainties: Accounts for the inherent uncertainties in
material properties, operating conditions, and measurement precision.
● Adapts to Variable Conditions: Ensures equipment can safely handle
fluctuations in temperature, pressure, and chemical concentrations beyond
nominal design points.
… design margins
● Accounts for Material Degradation: Provides a buffer for material degradation
over time due to corrosion, fatigue, and chemical wear, ensuring longevity and
integrity.
● Ensures Safety and Regulatory Compliance: Facilitates adherence to safety
codes and standards, protecting personnel, the environment, and ensuring
legal compliance.
● Facilitates Future Modifications: Allows for the flexibility to modify equipment
for new conditions or increased capacity without extensive redesign.
● Compensates for Prediction Errors: Bridges the gap between theoretical
predictions and actual performance, accounting for errors in models and
simulations. Mitigates Construction Variabilities:
… design margins

● Accommodates variations in manufacturing quality, material properties, and

construction practices, ensuring consistent performance.
● Minimizes Downtime and Maintenance: By enabling equipment to withstand
tougher conditions, design margins reduce the likelihood of failures, thereby
decreasing downtime and maintenance costs.

NB
● When selecting the design factor, a balance has to be made between the desire
to make sure the design is adequate and the need to design to tight margins to
remain competitive in terms of costs.
● Greater uncertainty in the design methods and data requires the use of bigger
design factors.
Optimization
● Optimization is an intrinsic part of design: the designer seeks the best, or
optimum, solution to a problem.
● Many design decisions can be made without formally setting up and solving a
mathematical optimization problem.
● The design engineer will often rely on a combination of experience and
judgment, and in some cases, the best design will be immediately obvious.
● Other design decisions have such a trivial impact on process costs that it
makes more sense to make a close guess at the answer than to properly set
up and solve the optimization problem.
● In every design though, there will be several problems that require rigorous
optimization.