CHAPTER 1

Introduchon
The Role of the Chemical Engineer
The chemical engineer is one who is skilled in development, design,
construction, and operation of industrial plants in 'which matter undergoes a change. Chemical engineers work in four main divisions of the
chemical process industries: research and development, design, manufacturing, and sales. This is illustrated in the frontispiece of this book.
The chemical engineer prospers because he is versatile; he is well grounded
in the fundamental sciences of chemistry, physics, and mathematics, yet
knows when to apply empirical engineering know-how to solve problems.
The decisions which make progress possible in engineering (development, design, construction, operation, or management) from an economic
necessity are based on inadequate data backed up by experience and
sound judgment. Such decisions represent the highest form of expression
of engineering. In this manner, the engineer soives the problems vrhich
have to be solved.
Chemical Engineering Design
Chemical engineering design consists of process, equipment, and build~
ing designs for manufacturing plants to supply the product needs of the
customers. More and more, the creative function exemplified in design
has become a determining characteristic of the chemical engineer. Since
chemical engineering design is a fundamental chemical engineering problem, it is essential that the chemical engineer should recognize design
as his responsibility in connection urith chemical industries.
Design should follow some prearranged plan based upon space requirements, selections and specifications of process equipment, the layout of
process equipment according to processing _flovzs, plant location, plant
site selection, and future expansion. Both building and equipment
should be designed to give the most efficient production \vith a minimum
of handling of material in process. Provision should be made for storage,
for expansion to fit in with the original arrangement without disturbing
the ow of work, and for the most favorable and economical conditions
of operation of each piece of equipment with respect to all variables.
Design is Centered about problems of rates of mass and energy transfer
and of chemical change. ~ Other factors that should be considered in the
design of building and equipment arrangement include possible hazards
of fire, explosion, chemical injury, and injury to health, the welfare of the
xvoricer, economical distribution of process steam and power, and expansion of production.
All other factors being equal, intelligent and careful design has every
advantage over one that has grown up or been put together in a hit-ormiss fashion by alterations, hunches, and additions. The task of the
chemical engineer is to calculate qunntities and yields, to consider the
handling of materials in process and in storage, to apply technical
knowledge of material and energy baiances, mass and heat transfer by
convection, diusion, and conduction, the flow of fiuids, the separation of
materials, the thermodynamics and equilibria of reacting' systems, the
behavior of catalysts, and the kinetics of all types of chemical reactions.
In' addition, the engineer must develop detailed costs of each unit opera~
tion so that even before the plant is in the blueprint stage, he will know

not only the cost per ton for processing the raw materiais, but also the
cost per unit xveight of material in each operation, such as grinding,
crystallization, filtration, evaporation, drying, etc.
Need for Plant Design
The main factor which dictates the decision to produce a new product
or expand or modernize present facilities is generally an economic one as
represented by the question What will be the return on the investment?"
The design engineer must be in a position to supply management with
preconstruction cost estimates based on a preliminary plant design for
manufacturing the product so that a sound decision can be made. This
plant design analysis includes (1) process design, (2) selection of process
equipment and materials, (3) preliminary plant layout and location considerations to estimate labor, building, and *land costs, and (4) a manufacturing cost analysis.
It is seen that a good design engineer should have a thorough understanding of
chemical economics to make his best contribution to management problem of
making the decision to commercialize the project. if the decision is an affirmative
one, then a detailed commercial plant design is required for expediting construction
arm-k. The detailed design will probably include optimization and specifications for
the process and equipment, in addition to models and working drawings of the
building and equipment layout for the construction engineers.The subject matter
required for preliminary and detailed plant designs is given in the subsequent
chapters of this book.
Plant Design and Its Relation to Sales
Before a manufacturing plant can be considered, it is necessary to
have a product to sell so that profit can he made. This product evaluation job is carried out by a market research group which conducts a scientifically directed study of product design. The fundamental purpose of
product design programs* is to sell more goods and gain greater profits
(1) by keeping the company's products and product lines in a strong
competitive position, (2) by diversifying the product lines to serve the
industries, (3) by improving or replacing products urhich, because of
market saturation, have shown declining profits, and (4) by advancing
by-product or waste products to a profitable status.
Items such as market opportunities, competition, and distribution are
studied by the market analysts. Production and economic aspects ofproduct design confront the design engineer \vith these typical questions z*
Production
1. Is the product properly designed from a cost and production
viewpoint?
2. Can a necessary new process be integrated with existing plant
facilities?
3. What is the best process for producing the product?
4. What new equipment is needed?
5. How much plant space is needed?
6. Can the product be rnanufactured efiiciently?
7. What is the status of raw materials? Should any of these be
manufactured?
Economics

1. What is the estimated manufacturing cost per unit?

2. \Vhat is the estimated sales and advertising expens per unit?
3. How much capital is required?
4. How much inventory is needed?
5. Can a quality product be produced at a price consumers will pay?
6. How long \rill it take the product to reach a break-even basis?
7. What is the long-term profit outlook for the product?
Questions such as these must be answered by an engineering design
group familiar with methods of preconstruction cost estimating based on
process and preliminary plant design principles.
Process Design
The question of what is the best process for producing the product
bears on the important subject of process design. The process information required for process design comprises the following: (l) ivritten
description of the process; (2) notes regarding special safety precautions,
possible operating peculiarities, chemical reactions, and properties of
materials of construction; (3) knowledge of all raw materials, products,
and ;Intermediate process-quantities in convenient and appropriate units;
(4) knoivledge of all process temperatures, pressures, and concentrations;
(5) knowledge of physical characteristics and chemical compositions and
properties of all raw materials, products, and intermediate process
materials under operating conditions; (6) heat, material, and energy
balances around all significant operations or pieces of equipment. The
complete balances around process equipment as such (a still, a fractionat~
ing tower, etc.) should be attempted; but some of the balances, such as
energy balances around nonstandard equipment, can be only general
and approximate, pending engineering design, procurement of equipment, and information on manufacturers' specified operating efiiciencies;
etc.; (7) a complete diagrammatic process flow sheet which shows the
flow of the process streams and tabulates conditions at the appropriate
points on the process streamlines and equipment sketches where convenient. A typical process flow sheet is shown in Fig. 3-4.
Preconstzucticn Cost Estimation
After the process information has been integrated into one or more flow
sheets, the economic aspects of \the design are next considered. This
involves ( 1) an estimate of the types and sizes of equipment and materials,
buildings, ground area, and utility facilities; (2) a determination of what
the process xvill cost based on physical facilities and construction charges;
(3) a cost estimate of utilities consumption (steam, electricity, ivater, fuel),
labor and supervision personnel requirements, maintenance and repairs,
raw materials-and finance charges-(interest, taxes, insurance, medical
benefits, eta).
On this economic basis, a suitable process design can be chosen and
recommendations presented in a preliminary report to company executives for a decision on the project.

Design and Selection cf Chemical Engineering Equipment

In the design of all chemical processing equipment, it is important to
remember that success depends on continuous performance and the
designer should recognize unit operations and unit processes as the basis
for selection and design. The designer is concerned primarily in specifying an economical system or piece of equipment suitable for a specific
chemical operation. Naturally, this involves problems of temperature,
pressure, corrosion, erosion, metal fatigue, and other considerations such
as relief from overpressure or vacuum.
Design based upon standard equipment is of primary importance.
Requirements for the basic designs of chemical processing equipment are
presented in established codes; these are frequently alter-ed in accordance
with experiences acquired. Writing of specifications on special equipment for successful operation is equally the task of _the designer, should
standard equipment not be available to carry on the specific operation.
A good design will provide for the processing, handling, and storage of
chemical materials in batch and/or continuous systems, xvhich are productive and safe under the conditions involved.
Bases for Good Design
Good designs do not happen; they are founded on rvell-knoivn, sound
principles. To create a good chemical engineering design, it is necessary
to possess an interest in and a genuine lil-aing for chemical plant layout
and for solving engineering problems, together with a faculty of koen,
appreciative Observation, and the ability to analyze conditions and data.
The chemical engineer accumulates data and determines in minute detail
the variables that must be kept under control to ensure economy and
success. From these data. he makes preliminary designs for the plant
and writes specifications for the equipment and the materials needed.
He indicates types and sizes of commercial equipment, the feasibility
and conditions of economic operation, and supplies information for building and often for designing special equipment. The technical skills
required in design involve a comprehensive training in mechanics, engineering drawing, electricity, thermodynamics, materials of construction,
materials handling, fluid dynamics, chemistry, physics, and mathematics.
In the final analysis, the development through details should be dele-_
gated to technicians and draftsmen; but a good engineer must himself be
suflicientiy skilled so that he can convey his thoughts clearly for others
readily to interpret. One of the most important means of communication of design ideas is through the use of engineering graphics skills.
Drawings and Models in Process and Plant Design
The representation of design ideas and the assembly of information
for purposes of manufacture, construction, and erection of structures and
equipment are done largely through ciranrings and models. For the average chemical process plant, it is estimated that the cost of preparing these
items of design ranges from 3 to 6 per cent of the total created plant cost.
Sketches, schematic diagrams, engineering drawings of varying degree
of detail, and three-dimensional models are used in process and plant

design. Typical drawing procedures will be itemized and discussed

briefly in the introductory section and references xvill be made to specific
details on drawings and models in the chapters which follow
Process Design Drawings. The ideas which develop the chemical and
physical picture of the process are set down in terms of flow sheets by
the chemical design engineer. These vary in degree of complexity from
simple block or box diagrams connected by lines to highly complex
sehematic diagrams show-ring equipment and process auxiliary requirements. (See Chap. -3 and Figs. 3-1 to 3-10 for explanation and examples.)
Equipment Design Drawings. Usuaily the chemical plant design
group is not. vitally concerned with the preparation of engineering drawings required for the manufacture of equipment items. Standard equipment is used vrherever possible; drawings required for use in general
layout and arrangement, and for erection at the plant site, are supplied
by the vendor.
However, there may be times urhen special equipment is needed and
the design engineer must develop the necessary drawings to have the
equipment built in his shop or in a vendor's shop. Often it is necessary
to assemble a group of standard items to perform an engineering function,
A brief review of engineering drawing requirements for these purposes is
included.
A series of drawings required to manufacture and assemble the parts
to produce an operable piece of equipment would follow this chronological order of development.
1. Design or Schemalic Presentation Sketchcs. These rst drawings aire
usually freehand pencil sketches on which original ideas and planning are
presented. Calculations must be made to prove feasibility. Often
models are constructed at this stage for the same reasons. An example
of a schematic diagram, made with drawing tools and not freehand
sketohed, is shown in Fig. 4-4.
2. Design Assembly or Layout Draurings. More details of the design
are next worked out on a design assembly drawing, using the design
sketches and calculations. The drawing is done in pencil and shows
essential dimensions; it is coded for general design specifications of
standard parts, materials, finishes, tolerances, and any other information
required by draftsmen for producing detail draxvings. The specifications
can be tabulated on the side of the drawing or on a separate information
sheet. The drawings should he sufiiciently well presented, using two or three
views, so that there can be no confusion about tha basic construction of the
equipment. An example of this type of work is ilustrated in the design of a grit
washer picture in figure 1. The design assembly drawing in three views required for
clarity of design is shown in fig 1.2. the code and parts specification listing on the
original drawing. Were not reproduced in this text to save space
3. Detail Drawings. From a design drawing such as Fig. 1-2, the
detail draftsman makes up individual drawings of each part Qu' theequip~
ment so that these can he fabricated. These drawings are accurately
to scale and give principal dimensions and manufacturing directions.
4. Shop Assembly Draunlngs. Various classifications of dratvings under
this heading are used industrially. Referring to the grit-Washer example

of Figs. 1-1 and 1-2, the assembly of the detailed parts requires a shop
assembly drawing \vith necessary code and specifications of parts to allow
the final assembly and erection. For complicated machinery such as the
grit washeri several unit ar subassembly drazuings of groups of parts are
required to enable the shop mechanic to assemble the complete machine
easily. The design and manufacture of complex equipment may require
a total of several hundred drawings under classifications 1 through 4.
5. Outline .Assembly or General Arrangement Drauzings. The chemical
design engineer must pian for the proper layout of equipment and thus
needs a general idea of the exterior shape and principal dimensions of each
piece of equipment used in the process. For this purpose, general
arrangement drawings of the type .shown in Fig. 1~3 are available from
the vendor or from the equipment design group \within the company.
Detailed design information such as disassemhly and over-all clearance
requirements, anchor bolt locations, and piping connections are frequently included.
6. Equipment Installation Dramaga. Vendor prints which show the
details and installation sequencing of purchased equipment are routinely
supplied to the design and construction groups. Accurately dimensioned
mounting details for heavy machinery, flow diagrams, and electric power
and instrumentation drawings are examples of the drawings required
for proper installation and operating performance.
Plant Design Drawing Chemical plants cannot be put together in
random fashion. Careful planning and integration of all process equipment and auxiliaries such as piping, electric power, and instrumentation
are done through drawings and models.
1. Plant Layout Drawing After principal equipment has been specified, seale models are usually constructed and arranged by plant layout
design for optimum feasibility of operation (Figs. 5-4 and 5-5). Assembly
draxvings in plan and elevation can be prepared for a permanent record
of general layout arrangements of the entire plant from which construction and installation drawings can be detailed by draftsmen.
2. Construction and Installation Dramaga. Ail parts of the plant are
drawn in consider-able detail to scale to show position of equipment and
connections, foundations, supports, overhead structures, etc., so that
every required item of plant equipment can be fitted into the desired
arrangement by a construction crexv. Drawings classified under this
category are:
a. Plot plane
b. Foundation plans, including erection details
c. Structure plans, including erection details
d. Piping drawings (Figs. 9-2 to 9-6)
c. Electrical drawings, iargely schematic (see Figs. 8-20 and 9-23 for
symbols)

f. Instrumentation drawings, largely schematic (see Fig. 3-10 for

symbols)
Drafting Procedures
Drafting of design requirements by means of drawings is a time-consuming operation and thereby expensive. The use of three-dimensional
models of chemical plants has very effectively reduced drawing require~
ments, but many two-dimensional drawings are still required. A few
words about efcient methods of planning and expediting drawings and
reproductions would be in order by way of review.
Drawing Instruments.
Drafting machine.? Which combine the functions of T square, triangles, protractor, and scales are used exclusively in
commercial drafting rooms. M atur-driver; rotating erascrs are now
employed in combination \with shields for correcting errors and making
changes. Hand lettering is reduced to a minimum by use of iyping
much-inca, particularly for drawings where design notes and specifications
are included with the drawing on one sheet. Many types of templates
are available for drawing commonly used symhols.
Drafting Scales. The choice of correct scales and precision of measuremerit is a matter of experience. The best soale is one that presents a
clear, graphic description within the precision of measurement required.
Highly cengested drawings should be avoided because of the additional
time required to produce and to interpret the drawings.
It should be obvious that dimensioning requirements for machine-shop
work is much more exact than the requirements for process plant con~
struction drawings. In the latter case, center-line locations of principal
process equipment must be specified by scale drawings to give a precision
of i 1 in. This can be achieved by a generally used soale of 95 in. = 1 ft.
The soale is increased to 34 in. = 1 ft where more detail is required or
where the drawing becomes unusually congested. For an over-all layout
the scale is reduced to 3-4 or k; in. = 1 ft. Once the equipment is located
by this type of center-line scaling procedure, the working dimensions
required for installation and repair procedures are shown directly on the
drawings.
Reproduction Methods. Pencil drawings on a good-quality tracing
paper can be directly reproduced as blueprints or by the newer processes
giving blacie, red-, yellow-, or blue-on-white prints. The latter method
is being adopted throughout the industry since these prints are easier to
read, as well as to reproduce and reduce by photo-graphic procedures.
The reproduction machines are smaller and portable and employ a fastdry-process procedure. Blueprints are still produced by drafting firms
which have made a high investment in blueprint machines and cannot
economically afford a change-over,
Use of High-speed Computers
There are many tools used through the entire development of a commercial process but none \vill contribute as much as high-speed computing
machinery when properly utilized. For this reason a special section in
this Orientation chapter will stress the applications of this relatively
new tool in the chemical industry.

High-speed computers consist of electronic circuits and mechanical

parts coupled together in such a manner that nearly every conceivable
operation in mathematics can be performed at very high speeds. _Any
process which can be reduced to mathematical Ianguage, i.e., addition,
subtraction, multiplication, division, integration, and differentiation, is
adaptable to and should be considered for high-speed computing. Many
problems encountered in process development and design can be solved
rapidly with a higher degree of completeness with high-speed computers
at less money than \vas heretofore possible xvith slide rules and desk
calculators. Overdesign and safety factors can be reduced \vith a substantial savings in capital investment.
-Typical Applications.
Some of the applications of high-speed com
puters in the development of a chemical process are listed next with
specific reference to chapters in this book xvhere such problems are
encountered:
1. Statistical correlation of datar-laboratory and pilot plant data for
design purposes; plant data for quality control and trouble shooting
(Chap. 3).
2. Preparation of process flow sheets-material and energy balances,
particularly on recycle operations; ultimately can incorporate many
process variables into a general design optimization (Chups. 3, 4, and 6).
3. Selection of equipment-many equipment design problems require
trial and error or complex mathematical solution; examples are absorption, distillation, humidication-dehumidificatiom evaporation, extraction, fiuid flow, and heat exchange (Chap. 4). ` 4
4. Economic evaluatiom-solution of cost equations for optimization
of process and equipment selection; this is also a part of items 2 and 3
(Chaps. 3, 4, and B).
5. Piping design studies-study of piping forces to obtain points of
maximum stress; proper location of pipe supports (Chap. 9).
6. Instrumentation and control-study of controi loops for proper
process control design and operation (Chap. 9).
7. Plant operations-operations research and linear programming of
the commercial plant for maximum economic returns; cost accounting,
payroll preparation, and other business procedures.
Types of Computers. High-speed computing machinery can be divided
conveniently into two types based on their mode of operation. The
digital cmnputer is a very fast calculator performing basically addition
and subtraction with multiplication and division possible by a repetitive
series of basic operations. Such machines are expensive to install and
program via punch cards, are more precise, capable of repetitive operation
on the same type of problem, and produce solutions in tabular form on
typed sheets. The cost of the digital computer depends on the speed
of operation and the number of its memory units or spaces where numer~
ical information can be filed for future sequential mathematical process-

ing. Small units capable of solving simple problems cost around $50,000,
while large machines will require an expenditure of $500,00{) or more.
In some cases it is possible to rent the larger machines.
Analog computers are essentially electronic amplifying circuits capable
of solving diiierential equations without the use of numerical methods
required for digital xvork. The effect ofra complex set of variables on a
process can be studied ivithout an expensive card programming. The
resultant electronic output data as the answer can be automatically plotted for a
permanent record. The inherentaccuracy of this type of machine is not as good as
that of the digital. It ranges from 0.1 to 2 per cent, depending on the electronic
components, but the analog
computer is usually less expensive to purchase and operate than a digital
computer. For example, a kit can be purchased and assembled for
student training for less than $230& Analog computers also have the
disadvantage of lack of memory storage required for optimization studies.
Engineers should become familiar 'with the capabilities of these
machines and use them to the utmost. It is only then that the large
investment in this tool for the chemical industry urilI pay off. Most
colleges now have both digital and analog equipment so that the instructor
in plant design should have the class solve a few simple problems by this
means. Further study references in this area are listed in the Additional
Selected References at the back of the book.