CHE323: Chemical Process Industries (CPI)

COURSE OUTLINE

Flow Sheets and Process Calculations for major industries Such as Industrial gases, Cements,
Aluminium, Fertilizer, Soap and Detergents, Petrochemicals, Pulp and Paper Industries,
Cosmetics, Ceramics, Food and Beverages, Industrial Chemical e.t.c.

BOOKS

1. R. Norris Shreve. The Chemical Process Industries. MCGRAW-Hill Series in

Chemical Engineering.
2. Osei-Wusu Achaw, Eric Danso-Boateng. Chemical and Process Industries with
Examples of Industries in Ghana. Springer.

Chemical Engineering
Chemical engineering is that branch of engineering concerned with the development and
application of manufacturing processes in which chemical or certain physical changes of
materials are involved. These processes may usually be resolved into a coordinated series of
unit physical operations and unit chemical processes. The work of the chemical engineer is
concerned primarily with the design, construction, and operation of equipment and plants in
which these unit operations and processes are applied. Chemistry, physics, and mathematics
are the underlying sciences of chemical engineering, and economics its guide in practice [1]

These unit operations or physical changes and these unit processes or chemical changes
may be accepted as the units or blocks into which we can break down the manufacturing
processes of the various chemical industries.

Chemical Process Industry (CPI)

The chemical processing industries broadly include industries which convert raw materials
and intermediary chemical materials into finished chemical products through chemical or
physical means. In chemical conversions, the raw materials undergo one or more chemical
reactions during the manufacturing process to produce products that have different chemical
and, sometimes, varying physical characteristics from the original materials from which they
were made. During a physical process, a material transforms into a new one that has different
physical characteristics but retains its chemical properties. These industries include the
traditional chemical industries, both organic and inorganic; the petrochemical industry; and

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allied industries in which chemical processing plays a significant part. The modern world
economy hinges on the chemical processing industries as these industries convert raw
materials, namely oil, natural gas, air, water, metals, minerals and intermediary chemical
products into several thousands of different finished and semi-finished products. The
chemical processing and allied industries have traditionally provided the major arena for the
employment of chemical engineers where they play leading roles in the design and operation
of chemical processes and process units. The training of the chemical engineer, therefore,
invariably includes understanding of the design, operation and the technologies underlying
the processes of chemical and physical changes that result in the conversion of materials into
finished chemical products [2].

Chemical processing is done to change the chemical structure of raw (bulk) materials to
obtain products of value to other industries / in daily life. These products include
agrochemicals, petrochemicals, oleochemicals, ceramics, polymers, rubber, fragrances,
flavors, and explosives.

The industry includes manufacturers of inorganic- and organic-industrial chemicals, ceramic

products, petrochemicals, agrochemicals, polymers and rubber (elastomers), oleochemicals
(oils, fats, and waxes), explosives, fragrances and flavors. Examples of these products are
shown Table 1.

Table 1: Chemical Industries with Product and Examples

Product Type Examples

ammonia, chlorine, sodium hydroxide, sulfuric acid, nitric

inorganic industrial
acid

organic industrial acrylonitrile, phenol, ethylene oxide, urea

ceramic products silica brick, frit

petrochemicals ethylene, propylene, benzene, styrene

agrochemicals fertilizers, insecticides, herbicides

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polymers polyethylene, Bakelite, polyester

elastomers polyisoprene, neoprene, polyurethane

oleochemicals lard, soybean oil, stearic acid

explosives nitroglycerin, ammonium nitrate, nitrocellulose

fragrances and flavors benzyl benzoate, coumarin, vanillin

industrial gases nitrogen, oxygen, acetylene, nitrous oxide

Process Flow Sheet

The diagram showing equipment symbols and process stream flow lines, equipment identification
numbers and names, temperature and pressure designations, utility designations, volumetric or molar
flow rates for each process stream, and a material balance table pertaining to process flow lines [1].

The process flow sheet may show additional information such as energy requirements, major
instrumentation, and physical properties of the process streams. A flow sheet changes with time on the
basis of process modifications / improvement.

Types of schematic diagrams:

1. Block Flow Diagrams (BFDs)

2. Graphic flow diagram (GPD).
3. Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs) to
4. Process piping and instrumentation flow diagram (P&ID)

A. Block Flow Diagrams (BFD)

Major process streams are shown connecting the blocks. The flow of process streams is generally
from left to right, with a gravity bias, where possible, which means that liquids will leave from the
bottom of a block, gases from the top. A BFD may also show a few of the more important operating
parameters, such as flow rates and temperature. Excluded from BFDs are single pieces of equipment

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and package numbers. In block diagram, the Block diagram does not include pipes, valve, and
interlock.

A BFD is a useful tool for reports, textbooks and presentations when a detailed process flow diagram
is too cumbersome. These models allow for the reader to get an overall picture of what the plant does
and how all the processes interact. These can be understood by people with little experience with
reading or creating flow diagrams.

Conventions

There are several conventions regarding the construction and format of BFDs that are commonly used
in the engineering community. Some of the recommended conventions are:
1. Operations/equipment are represented with blocks
2. Material flows are represented with straight lines with arrows giving the direction of flow
3. Lines are horizontal and/or vertical, with turns at 90 degree angles
4. Flows go from left to right whenever possible
5. If lines cross, the horizontal line is continuous and the vertical line is broken
6. Light streams (gases) are typically closer to the top of the BFD than are heavy streams (liquids or
solids)
7. Critical information unique to the process (such as a chemical reaction) is supplied
8. A simplified material balance should be provided (Seider et al., 2004)

Examples of BFD

EXAMPLE 1

Toluene and hydrogen are used as feed stocks for the production of benzene. The toluene and
hydrogen are sent to a reactor, and the effluent is sent to a gas separator where the non-condensable
gases are discharged from the system. The bottoms of the separator provides a liquid feed to a still
where the lighter benzene gas is collected as the distillate and the bottom toluene draw is recycled
back into the reactor (Figure 1).

NOTE

The BFD provided shows the reaction, the stream names, and the mass flow of the inlets and outlets.
There are many components of this system (heat exchangers and pumps, etc.) that are not represented
because they are not vital for an understanding of the main features of the process.

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Figure1. Block flow process diagram for the production of Benzene (Turton et al., 2012)

EXAMPLE 2

Oxidation of Propene to Acrylic Acid

Propane is dehydrogenated to propene, which is oxidized to acrolein first and then further oxidized to
acrylic acid. The products are separated in the end to give acrylic acid and various by-products. The
by-products are further separated to yield a propane recycle stream (Figure 2).

NOTE

Each block in the BFD provided shows what each individual unit is doing along every step of the
process. It also shows inlet and outlet streams, as well as byproducts and recycle streams. A BFD in
this style is helpful so that all materials can be seen, every step of the process is outlined, and
byproducts can be taken into consideration for waste removal/treatment.

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Figure 2: BFD for Oxidation of Propene to Acrylic Acid

B: Graphic flow diagram:

The graphic flow diagram is used most frequently in advertising, company financial reports,
and technical reports in which certain features of the flow diagram require extra emphasis.

It should present the desired information clearly and in an eye-catching fashion that is both
novel and informative.

C. PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAMS (PFD)

A process flow diagram (PFD) is a diagram commonly used in chemical and process engineering to
indicate the general flow of plant processes and equipment. Material and energy balances are
normally shown on the PFDs, which are a development of the block diagrams discussed above. A
PFD contains process information for all significant streams. This information typically includes flow
rates, chemical compositions, phases, temperatures, pressures, viscosities, thermal conductivities, and
specific heats. A PFD will often show the major control systems, but will not provide instrument
detail.

In general, the following information is provided on a PFD:

• Process piping above a certain size, such as 2 inches
• Process flow directions

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• Major equipment
• Bypass and circulation lines
• Control valves and process-critical block valves
• Connections between systems located on other PFDs.

The general layout guidance provided for BFDs, such as flows going from left to right, applies to
PFDs also.

PFDs are not usually used much once a facility is built. They are too complex to provide a simple
overview, such as is obtained from the BFDs. Nor do they contain mechanical information, so they
have limited value to those working in operations or maintenance. Furthermore, once a facility is
built, operating conditions are usually changed soon after start-up, often to obtain either higher
production rates or improved yields. It is unusual for a facility to keep the PFDs up to date to reflect
such changes.

Process flow diagrams are drawn with the aid of Computers

The following are some technical soft-wares, are used in drawing a process flow diagram:
 AUTO-CAD
 Chem-CAD
 MS-Visio
 CADSIM Plus
 EDraw.

The process flow diagram below (Figure 3) depicts a single chemical engineering unit process known
as an amine treating plant:

Amine gas treating, also known as amine scrubbing, gas sweetening and acid gas removal, refers
to a group of processes that use aqueous solutions of various alkylamines (commonly referred to
simply as amines) to remove hydrogen sulphide (H2S) and carbon dioxide (CO2) from gases. It is a
common unit process used in refineries, and is also used in petrochemical plants, natural gas
processing plants and other

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Figure 3: Process flow Diagram of amine treating plant:

D. PIPING & INSTRUMENT DIAGRAMS (P&ID)

P&IDs show all the process lines in a unit, including valves, material specs, and insulation detail. The
P&ID may or may not include minor piping such as vent and drain lines and tubing. They provide a
pictorial representation of all equipment, instrumentation, and piping in a facility. They are crucial
documents in almost all types of safety study and analysis.

Information that is typically to be found on a P&ID includes the following:

• Equipment (with principal dimensions and a unique name and number)
• Piping (with sizes and specifications)
• Valves (including sizes)
• Vents and drains
• Interfaces to vendor packages
• Instruments (with unique names and numbers)
• Emergency shutdown systems
• Control loops
• Types of process connections
• Insulation

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• Materials of construction
• Strainers and traps.

The following information is not usually entered on the P&ID:

• Process information (flows, temperatures, and pressures)
• Distances (P&IDs are not to scale)
• Small fittings such as vents and drains.

Because P&IDs are the foundation for all other engineering documents and for virtually all safety
analyses, they should always be kept up to date (this is often a legal requirement). For a facility that is
starting a new process safety program, updating the P&IDs should be one of the first tasks to be
carried out. Otherwise, all other elements of PSM will be built on insecure foundations.

When checking or validating P&IDs, good practices to follow include the following:
• They should not be too crowded, otherwise they are difficult to follow. It is also hard to make
further additions.
• They should be neat and clearly laid out.
• They should be consistent. Generally, consistency is achieved by using the first P&ID in a series—
the Legend Sheet—to define the symbols and conventions used on this particular process (such as line
labeling conventions).
• They must be accurate. This is really the most important item of all. If they contain many errors,
users will lose confidence in them, and they will not be used. Moreover, incorrect engineering
decisions may be made as a result of those errors.

Presentation of Stream Flow-Rates

The data on the flow-rate of each individual component, on the total stream flow-rate, and the
percentage composition, can be shown on the flow-sheet in various ways.

1. Tabulate the data in the blocks alongside the process stream line (Figure 4). Only a limited
amount of information can be shown in this way, and it is difficult to make neat alterations or
to add additional data.

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 Figure 4. Flow-sheet: polymer production
2. In this method each stream line is numbered and the data tabulated at the bottom of the sheet
(Figure 5). Alterations and additions can be easily made. This is the method generally used by
professional design offices.

Figure 5: Flow-sheet: simplified nitric acid process

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Information to be included on a Flow-sheet
The amount of information shown on a flow-sheet will depend on the custom and practice of
the particular design office. The list given below has therefore been divided into essential
items and optional items. The essential items must always be shown; the optional items add to
the usefulness of the flow-sheet but are not always included.
Essential information
1. Stream composition, either:
(i) the flow-rate of each individual component, kg/h, which is preferred, or
(ii) the stream composition as a weight fraction.
2. Total stream flow-rate, kg/h.
3. Stream temperature, degrees Celsius preferred.
4. Nominal operating pressure (the required operating pressure).
Optional information
1. Molar percentages composition.
2. Physical property data, mean values for the stream, such as:
(i) density, kg/m3,
(ii) viscosity, mN s/m2.
3. Stream name, a brief, one or two-word, description of the nature of the stream, for
example “ACETONE COLUMN BOTTOMS”.
4. Stream enthalpy, kJ/h.

Basic Instrument Symbols

Below are basic process flow chart symbols (Figure 6)

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Figure 6: Process and Instrument Symbols

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