The Design of Chemical Processes – A Brief History

and Some Personal Reflections

by

Richard Turton
West Virginia University
Morgantown, WV 26506
USA

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 Outline
• WV,WVU, and Personal Backgrounds
• A Brief History of Chemical Engineering
• The Design Process – An Historical Perspective
• Advances in Process Simulation
• Operator Training Simulators
• 3D Immersive Training Simulators
• Some “Take-homes”

ENEIQ XXV Barranquilla 2
 Outline
• WV,WVU, and Personal Backgrounds
• A Brief History of Chemical Engineering
• The Design Process – An Historical Perspective
• Advances in Process Simulation
• Operator Training Simulators
• 3D Immersive Training Simulators
• Some “Take-homes”

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 WV Background

http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/namerica/us.htm
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 WV Background

Demographics and other Facts

Land Area = 24,077 sq mi. (62,359 sq km) (Columbia = 1,138,910 sq km)
Population = 1.85 million (46.2 million - Barranquilla = 1.84 million)
Population Density ~ 30/sq km (Columbia ~ 40/sq km)
Largest City = Charleston (51,400) (Bogotá ~ 8.7 million)
Morgantown (31,100)
State Forests/Parks = 9/37
Nickname – The Mountain State
Unofficial State Song – “Country Roads” by John Denver

http://www.50states.com/wvirgini.htm#.VaAlc2DbKUk
http://www.infoplease.com/country/colombia.html

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 WV Background

http://www.movoto.com/blog/opinions/photos‐of‐west‐virginia/

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 WVU Background
West Virginia University
• West Virginia University, founded in 1867.
• Land-grant university - 1862, President Abraham Lincoln signed
the Morrill Act, to establish a college to teach agriculture and
the “mechanic arts” (engineering).
• Kiplinger.com included Morgantown in their 10 great places to
live list and voted No. 1 small city in America by BizJournals.com
• Fall 2014 - main campus enrollment is 29,175 (WVU system
31,976) with
• 22,563 undergraduate
• 5,001 graduate
• 1,611 professional students.
• 24 Rhodes Scholars, 22 Truman Scholars, 40 Goldwater
Scholars, 2 British Marshall Scholars
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 WVU Background
Morgantown/WVU Downtown Campus

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 Personal Background
• Process Engineer for ~ 4 years
• Fluor E&C Corporation
• M.W. Kellogg Company
• Brooke-Bond Oxo Ltd.
• Shell Oil Company

• Education ~ 10 years
• B.Sc. Chemical Engineering (Nottingham University, UK)
• M.S. and PhD in Chemical Engineering (Oregon State University, USA)
• Professional Engineer (PE) State of West Virginia

• Academic Career ~ 30 years

• Instructor at Oregon State (1 y)
• Professor of Chemical Engineering at West Virginia University (29 y)
• Author of Analysis, Synthesis, and Design of Chemical Processes,
Prentice-Hall, 4th ed., 2012
• Process Equipment Design – new book coming in 2016!

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 Outline
• WV,WVU, and Personal Backgrounds
• A Brief History of Chemical Engineering
• The Design Process – An Historical Perspective
• Advances in Process Simulation
• Operator Training Simulators
• 3D Immersive Training Simulators
• Some “Take-homes”

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 A Brief History of Chemical Engineering
Of course – the Egyptians, Chinese, Romans, Greeks, Myans,
Incas… had developed fermentation techniques, dye-making,
perfume making, manufacture of metal alloys, paper making, even
gunpowder manufacture several thousands of years ago. So can
they be legitimately called chemical engineers?...
Probably not – these skills were more art–based than
technology-based and certainly very little
quantification of the process was attempted.

So what defines Chemical Engineering or

the Chemical Engineer?

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 A Brief History of Chemical Engineering
Who was the first Chemical Engineer? According to Wikipedia the first chemical
engineering course was given at the University of Manchester, UK in 1887 by George E. Davis
– 12 lectures on various aspects of industrial chemical practice
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_chemical_engineering

Where did Chemical Engineering start? According to Delglass and Peppas, “The origins of
chemical engineering education can be traced almost exclusively to the first half of the 19th
Century in Germany…University of Heidelberg, University of Göttinggen and University of
Giessen--chemical laboratories which nurtured many generations of theoretical and applied
chemists.”
Seventy Five Years of Chemical Engineering, W. N. Delgass and N. A. Peppas, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 47907

Other Quotes
“Historians generally agree that chemical engineering was developed by the Americans in the
beginning of the twentieth century”
http://www.creatingtechnology.org/eng/chemE.htm

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 A Brief History of Chemical Engineering

“Chemical engineers conceive and design processes

to produce, transform and transport materials —
beginning with experimentation in the laboratory
followed by implementation of the technology in
full-scale production”
https://cheme.stanford.edu/admissions/undergraduate/what-chemical-engineering

Chemical Engineering is - The Design, Control, and

Optimization of Chemical Processes to Produce Value-Added
Chemicals in an Environmentally Friendly and Safe Way

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 Outline
• WV,WVU, and Personal Backgrounds
• A Brief History of Chemical Engineering
• The Design Process – An Historical Perspective
• Advances in Process Simulation
• Operator Training Simulators
• 3D Immersive Training Simulators
• Some “Take-homes”

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 The Design Process – An Historical Perspective

When I was a ChE Student in 1973 – we used slide rules!

Two advantages/requirements of using a slide rule:

• In order to complete a calculation, the number of

zeros or decimal points had to be estimated by the
user:

(151.7)(13.45) = 2040
(1.517)(1.345) = 2.040 2,040

• Another “advantage” was that the number of

significant figures was limited to the accuracy
(physical size) of the slide rule

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slide_rule#/media/File:Sliderule.PickettN902T.agr.jpg User must estimate the order of magnitude

of the solution

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 The Design Process – An Historical Perspective

Estimation of the Order of Magnitude

You should develop the habit of estimating the answer
before you calculate it.

Sounds obvious but…

Estimate the weight of your or your friend’s bicycle

100 kg

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 The Design Process – An Historical Perspective
Estimation of the Order of Magnitude

Example Problem – Evaporative Cooling Tower

xm What fraction of water must be evaporated to
cool water from 40 to 30oC?

m
c p ΔT
 p ΔT = xm λ ⇒ x =
mc
λ
(4.2) [kJ/kgK](40 − 30)[ K ]
x≈ = 0.019 or 1.9%
(2, 200) [kJ/kg]

xm ENEIQ XXV Barranquilla
Make‐up 17
 The Design Process – An Historical Perspective

Estimate the Order of Magnitude of the Solution

Take Home: Always make an estimate of what you

are trying to calculate - this is your “reality check”

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 The Design Process – An Historical Perspective

When I was a ChE Student in 1975 – I bought a calculator

The Texas Instruments 2500 Datamath – 4 function calculator

This was a “Revolution in Computing Power”

Increased speed of calculations by a factor 5-10 and it did the

order of magnitude estimate automatically!

BUT……

• Large numbers could be displayed ~ < 9,999,999.9

• Later versions increased the size of the number – using
scientific notation (1.234×107)
• Soon a “Googol “= 10100 could be displayed (where the famous
search engine Google comes from)
http://www.vintagecalculators.com/ht
ml/texas_instruments_2500.html
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 The Design Process – An Historical Perspective
Problem* to demonstrate how big Avagadro’s (6×1023)Number is:
Take a tablespoon of aqueous dye (14.8ml or 14.8 g ,~0.82 mol) and drop it
into the ocean and mix it up. Then go to the other side of the world (after
the dye is well mixed in all the water on the earth’s surface) and dip the
tablespoon in the ocean to get a sample - how many samples needed to
recover 1 molecule of dye?
Total volume of water on the earth = 1.335×1018 m3
10 samples?
100 samples?
Molecules of dye added to water in 1 Tbsp = (0.82)(6×1023)
1,000 samples?
106 samples?
Molecules in 1 sample = (14.8×10-6)(0.82)(6×1023) = 5.5
109 samples?
…….more
(1.335×1018)

*Problem originally formulated by Prof. Levenspiel
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 The Design Process – An Historical Perspective

From previous example – Avagadro’s Number is a really,

really, really large number!!

Take Home – when you see numbers from a program or

calculator like 106, 1010, 1012 make sure they make sense! –
Another “reality check”

Note: the largest number that Excel can calculate is 1×10308

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 The Design Process – An Historical Perspective
Think Back to 1976 (~40 years ago)
I had a senior design project – 3 people had to design an “Air
Liquefaction and Argon separation plant.”
Impossible to do by hand and
We had only basic calculators and slide rules (Computers
existed but were very cumbersome)
get
Think any type
of designing of solution in 6
a column today:

months!
Thermo package – Peng-Robinson - VLE
Physical property generator – μ, k, ρ, etc.
Solution method – rigorous rate-based distillation using mass
transfer coefficients, approach to equilibrium, mass and
energy balances for each species…..

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The Design Process – An Historical Perspective

So how were chemical plants

designed prior to 1970?

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 The Design Process – An Historical Perspective
Solution – use Shortcut methods

• McCabe-Thiele analysis – binary columns

• Fenske-Underwood-Gilliland (FUG) Correlation for
multicomponent distillation
• Many others

Check Results using

“Rules of Thumb” or Heuristics

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The Design Process – An Historical Perspective

“Rules of Thumb” or Heuristics

Table 11.14* Heuristics for Tray Towers (Distillation and Gas Absorption)

1. For reasons of accessibility, tray spacings are made 0.5–0.6 m (20–24 in).

2. Peak efficiency of trays is at values of the vapor factor Fs = uρ0.5 in the range of 1.2–1.5 m/s {kg/m3}0.5 [1–1.2

ft/s {lb/ft3}0.5]. This range of Fs establishes the diameter of the tower. Roughly, linear velocities are 0.6 m/s (2

ft/sec) at moderate pressures, and 1.8 m/s (6 ft/sec) in vacuum.

3. Pressure drop per tray is on the order of 7.6 cm (3 in) of water or 0.007 bar (0.1 psi).

4. Tray efficiencies for distillation of light hydrocarbons and aqueous solutions are 60–90%; for gas absorption

and stripping, 10–20%.

* From Chapter 11, Analysis, Synthesis, and Design of Chemical Processes, R. Turton, R.C. Bailie, W.B..Whiting, J.A. Shaeiwitz, D.
Bhattacharyya, 4th ed., Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ (2012)

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 The Design Process – An Historical Perspective

Take-Away

You should ALWAYS check your results against some “known”

design – be it an existing plant (preferred) or a short-cut method
or some heuristic(s)

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 The Design Process – An Historical Perspective

• We have discussed the basic “process design” that was possible

before 1970. Obviously design companies were designing and
building successful plants from the 1920s on.
• The designs were less optimized than today (because of the
manpower required to obtain a converged solution) and relied
heavily on previous designs. Thus a new ammonia plant might
use a previous ammonia plant as a starting point.
• Innovations were often done by the owners of operating plants
and implemented in “next generation” designs.
• The Chemical Process Industry was (and is) a conservative one.

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 The Design Process – An Historical Perspective

Some other aspects of Process and Plant Design pre-1970

• Plant Layout – where to place equipment (Plot Plan),

• Piping Isometrics
• Elevation Diagrams
• Plant Model
• material take-off
• location and operation of controls I/O lists, etc.

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 The Design Process – An Historical Perspective

Plant Layout – where to place equipment (Plot Plan),

Preliminary work done by cutting out pieces
of paper to represent equipment foot
prints and moving them around to get
“best” configuration.

Spatial relationships between equipment

and pipe racks important for accessibility,
equipment removal, optimizing pipe lengths,
etc.

https://www.google.com/search?q=chemical+plant+plot+plan&biw=1920&bih=985&tbm=isch&imgil=nDTNXdLdyGFK1M%253A%253B5oDOKVhwhyr28M%2
53Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fwww.atsdr.cdc.gov%25252FHAC%25252Fpha%25252Fpha.asp%25253Fdocid%2525253D1385%25252526pg%2525253D2
&source=iu&pf=m&fir=nDTNXdLdyGFK1M%253A%252C5oDOKVhwhyr28M%252C_&usg=__fRxmKu7sSCi4DXNyUKZWrJhCQHQ%3D&ved=0CCkQyjc&ei=JzadV
feNGYzv‐AHkq6OIBQ#imgrc=WgCPZsDdZ_ZzTM%3A&usg=__fRxmKu7sSCi4DXNyUKZWrJhCQHQ%3D

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 The Design Process – An Historical Perspective
• Piping Isometrics
Piping (mechanical) engineers responsible
for location and determining the route that
every pipe takes by hand (No Computers!).

Also where to place pipes when built vs.

where pipes are situated when plant is
operating – differential thermal expansion.

https://3c591ee5f6316310f88f2b7fcb784b15dfb0cd8db17b8ca1f38.ssl.cf1.rackcdn.com/ddebb
ffc7cefd3c3a6d175848698aab6.jpg
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 The Design Process – An Historical Perspective
• Elevation Diagrams

Used with Plot Plan to determine piping

routes and also to plan for gravity flow and
sufficient liquid head for pumps (NPSH)

https://www.google.com/search?q=elevation+diagrams+for+chemical+plants&biw=1920&bih=985&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=mLqdVfXSFIf7tQW7l4w
BQ&ved=0CB0QsAQ#imgdii=hE2_YIqS4ShRlM%3A%3BhE2_YIqS4ShRlM%3A%3B9XK3RCRbqqXNyM%3A&imgrc=hE2_YIqS4ShRlM%3A

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 The Design Process – An Historical Perspective
• Plant Model
In order to “test” the plot, elevation, piping
isometrics, etc., a physical plant model was
constructed out of plastic parts. Prior to
the 1980s, design companies like Kellogg,
Braun, and Fluor, had a whole department
of model builders.

Huge time requirement to build models and

then models were subject to a rigorous
(often 2-5 day) review by engineers to
determine what problems might be caused
with the full-scale design – “pre-
construction model check”.

http://c8.alamy.com/comp/DC39D7/plant‐engineering‐model‐maker‐working‐at‐a‐model‐of‐
chemical‐plant‐DC39D7.jpg

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 The Design Process – An Historical Perspective

Despite the lack of digital computers – the design process for

chemical plants was very involved and sophisticated - but, of course,
very man-/woman-power intensive.

So let us take a look at how advanced computation has allowed

chemical engineers to broaden and improve the design of new chemical
processes.

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 Outline
• WV,WVU, and Personal Backgrounds
• A Brief History of Chemical Engineering
• The Design Process – An Historical Perspective
• Advances in Process Simulation
• Operator Training Simulators
• 3D Immersive Training Simulators
• Some “Take-homes”

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 Advances in Process Simulation

In Chemical Engineering (Curriculum and Engineering Practice) we rely

mainly on the following process software:

• Steady State Simulators – Aspen Plus®, Aspen HYSYS®,

CHEMCAD, SimSci Pro/II, ProSim, etc. – used in most u/g
curriculum

• Dynamic Simulators – Aspen Plus Dynamics, Aspen HYSYS

Dynamics™,SimSci Dynsim, etc. - rarely used in u/g curriculum

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 Advances in Process Simulation

Steady State Simulators

• Material and energy balances

• Rigorous thermodynamic property and complex VLE data generation
• Unit Operations – rigorous and equilibrium-based calculations
• Equipment sizing
• Costing
• Optimization
• Case study generation
• Detailed heat exchanger design and pinch analysis
• etc.

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 Advances in Process Simulation

Steady State Simulators (SSS)

In my opinion, every simulator should carry the following warning:

Warning: excessive use of this product

may cause a loss in rational thinking!

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 Advances in Process Simulation
Steady State Simulators – Hints to using them

• Just because the simulator gives you an answer – it does not mean that
the answer is either right or makes sense – this is your responsibility
• If the simulator gives a result that does not make sense to you – it
probably is incorrect - it is your responsibility to make sense of the results
• Think before you act – plot out a strategy to solving problems based on your
understanding of chemical engineering and use the simulator as a tool to
verify and implement this strategy – not the other-way-around
• If a simulation has not converged – the answer must NOT be used
• If a simulation has converged – this means that you have a converged
solution – nothing more!

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 Advances in Process Simulation
Steady State Simulators (SSS)

If used correctly
• Provide highly accurate representation of plant at one operating condition
(the “design point”)
• Optimize the process for that design point

The simulation generally will not tell anything about how

the plant operates – operational flexibility and control
are not considered

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 Advances in Process Simulation
Steady State Simulators (SSS)

Example – exothermic catalytic reaction

• Exothemic reaction
• Integrate energy from reactor
effluent to reactor feed

Do you foresee any problems with this • Eliminate hps cost

• Reduce lps cost
proposed change in the process?
• Reduce cw cost
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40
 Advances in Process Simulation
Steady State Simulators (SSS)

Example – exothermic catalytic reaction

Bypass some of the reactor effluent

around the new exchanger. Design the
exchanger with a larger area
• More expensive
• Greater flexibility in operation
• When catalyst activity drops enough –
Tin system will not be able to maintain
reactor inlet at 250oC – regenerate
catalyst

time
We still need to address the
start-up issue
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41
 Advances in Process Simulation

Dynamic Simulators
These have many of the features of SSS but they also solve the
transient problem. For mass balance:

∑ ∑
dm
m in,i = m out , j +SteadyDynamicSimulator
State Simulator
i j dt
SSS – solve a set of non-linear algebraic equations – any ODEs are discretized
DS – solves a set of ODEs – PDEs are discretized in space

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 Advances in Process Simulation

Dynamic Simulators – Key Features

• Unsteady state material and energy balances
• Rigorous thermodynamic property and complex VLE data generation
• Unit Operations – unsteady state equilibrium-based calculations
• Equipment sizing is an input (size of vessels, pipes, reactors, etc. must be
included)
• Costing
• Optimization
• Case study generation
• All controllers and control loops must be included
• Boundary conditions for feeds must be specified in terms of the pressure
and phase/condition
• Simulation is pressure-driven – pressure drops across equipment determine
flow through equipment, e.g., open a valve and more material flows through it

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 Advances in Process Simulation

Dynamic Simulators – Uses

• Simulate the start-up, shut-down, normal operation and
abnormal operations of the plant.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of different control strategies
• Identify large process lags (long dead times)
• Determine if the process can be operated successfully

None of these functions can be determined using SSS

Dynamic Simulators form the basis for Operator

Training Simulators (OTS)

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 Outline
• WV,WVU, and Personal Backgrounds
• A Brief History of Chemical Engineering
• The Design Process – An Historical Perspective
• Advances in Process Simulation
• Operator Training Simulators
• 3D Immersive Training Simulators
• Some “Take-homes”

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 Operator Training Simulators
What is an operator training simulator (OTS)?

Dynamic simulation of a chemical plant or power plant that is capable of:

• Real-time operation
• Capturing quantitative and qualitative changes in operation of plant due to
“typical” plant malfunctions
• Reproducing the process conditions seen during start-up and shut-down
• Training operators and engineers to understand plant operation
• Representing the touch and feel of a real control room environment

The Chemical Engineer’s

“Flight Simulator”
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 Operator Training Simulators
Advanced Virtual Energy Simulation Training And Research ( )
Center (WVU)

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Operator Training Simulators

48
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Operator Training Simulators

49
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Operator Training Simulators
P&ID of the Gasifier in
the Integrated
Gasification Combined
Cycle plant

50
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Operator Training Simulators
Human Machine Interface (HMI) for Gasifier Feed Section

51
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 Operator Training Simulators
HMI Displays for plant areas with Alarms and Trending

(Courtesy of Invensys Operations Management)

52
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 Operator Training Simulators

Educational Opportunities

• Enhance engineering education in process simulation,

dynamics, control, and safety Prof. Bhattacharyya (WVU, ChE)

• Example courses at WVU include:

• Process Control for Chemical Engineers
• Seniors in Chemical Engineering
• 4-6 hours on IGCC dynamic simulator
Prof. Turton (WVU, ChE)
• Learn how plant responds dynamically to changes in manipulated inputs,
as well as how control system impacts plant performance, stability, and
robustness
• Process and Dynamic Simulation
• New course for ChE seniors
• Theory of steady-state/dynamic process simulation
• Development of operator training simulators
• 3-4 weeks on IGCC dynamic simulator Prof. Lima (WVU, ChE)
• Learn key OTS features and capabilities
• Practice start-up and malfunction scenarios

53
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 Operator Training Simulators
Benefits of using an OTS in ChE Curriculum
• Benefits to new generation of students
• Practical application of process control
• Experience interactions of different equipment/systems
• Understand consequences of process lags/fast and sluggish
systems/poor control
• Exposure to digital control logic/permissives/trips, etc.
• Experience plant startup and shutdown
• Develop feel for large-scale process

54
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 Outline
• WV,WVU, and Personal Backgrounds
• A Brief History of Chemical Engineering
• The Design Process – An Historical Perspective
• Advances in Process Simulation
• Operator Training Simulators
• 3D Immersive Training Simulators
• Some “Take-homes”

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 3D Immersive Training Simulators

What is a 3D Immersive Training System?

• Recreation of the process in a virtual environment

• Start with CAD drawings of the plant – convert to more realistic representation with
shadowing, etc.
• Wrap photographs of real equipment “around” 3D images to give a photo realistic view
of the plant
• Check location of all equipment, pipes, sensors, instrumentation, controllers, etc.,
against the P&IDs

This Procedure Yields a Very Realistic 3D Rendering of the

Plant through which an Operator Avatar can be Maneuvered.

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3D Immersive Training Simulators

57
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 3D Immersive Training Simulators

Benefits of an ITS in ChE Curriculum

• Benefits to new generation of students

• View plant design in familiar virtual world
• Appreciation of 3D structure of Chemical Plants
• Experience virtual plant tour
• Enhanced reality allows the walls of equipment to be peeled away to
reveal and enhance the understanding of equipment operation
• Experience emergency situations and respond to plant malfunctions

58
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3D Immersive Training Simulators

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 3D Immersive Training Simulators
How can educators maximize OTS and 3D immersive
capabilities in the class room?
• Unit Operations laboratory
• Run “virtual” experiments on large-scale equipment,
collect data, observe dynamics.
• In Classroom
• Experience troubleshooting problems through
programmed malfunctions
• Appreciation for “performance” problems (design vs.
performance)
• Engage students in seemingly “dry” course work
• Improve 3D appreciation of equipment
• Teach safety courses interactively
• Others…….

60
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3D Immersive Training Simulators

61
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 Outline
• WV,WVU, and Personal Backgrounds
• A Brief History of Chemical Engineering
• The Design Process – An Historical Perspective
• Advances in Process Simulation
• Operator Training Simulators
• 3D Immersive Training Simulators
• Some “Take-homes”

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 “Take Homes”
• Beware of very large numbers – check your results against
reality
• Short-cut methods, heuristics, and experience should be used
as guides to obtain realistic starting cases and comparing results
• Use the process simulator as a tool to verify and extend what
you have been taught in class – if the results do not make sense
then you have probably made an error.
• Modern SS simulators are incredibly powerful and allow the
user to perform extensive optimization – but usually only at the
design point.
• Plant operation and control system performance are best
evaluated using dynamic simulators

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 And Finally
As chemical engineers, you are members of a small but highly
talented community. Use your skills wisely to make better,
safer, more environmentally safe products.

Good luck to all of you

Are there any questions?

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