Chemical Engineering Plant Design

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Chemical Engineering Plant Design

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Preface

Chemical engineering design is divided into equipment design and plant design; it is the purpose of this book to deal only with the latter phase of design as applied to the chemical industries. Chemical engineering plant design is neither a unit operation nor a unit process, but must be considered as one of the tools of the chemical engineering profession. As a tool this book is presented as an analysis of the fundamental principles and factors that are involved in the development of a technically and economically efficient plant process from the laboratory stage through the pilot plant stagers to the commercial size unit. The subject matter has been selected and developed with particular reference to advanced students of chemical engineering, recent graduates of such courses, and seasoned professional chemical engiiu'ers. The subjen t matter should also be of interest to executives in the chemical engimvring industries who have not lK‘en trained in the field of chemical engineering, to serve as a guide for their appreciation of the application of chemical engineering principles to plant design.

For the student in chemical engineering, this book presents an opportunity for coordinating chemical and engineering information by the application of previously gained or readily available knowledge or facts to the design of an assembled chemical engiiu'ering plant; the desigiunl plant is based not only upon the application of accurate fundamental principles and data on unit operations to a plant process, but also upon the economic phases of the process, emphasis being placed upon costs as an important factor in plant design.

The correlation of the data obtained through laboratory experimentation into a workable basis for dcvsigning a plant for the commercially feasible production of a chemical commodity takes into consideration a thoroughly studied organization of equipment and flow of materials in process and a study of storage and expansion. The writing of specifications for materials and equipment and the study of preconstruction cost accounting are also considered in the analysis of the submitted design. As presented, plant design is built around a visualization of the process in terms of equipment as well as in terms of chemical reactions. A series of examples have been suggested for consideration as possible laboratory work for class purposes. The correlation of the material applicable to this tool of chemical engineering brings together from widely scattered sources of information many of the latest concepts dealing with the design of chemical plants. References have been included as a guide for collateral reading. No originality is claimed so far as all subject matter is concerned, as much of the material presented can be found published elsewhere. It is essential that books dealing with unit operations and unit processes must serve as companion texts with this tool of the profession.

Many individuals and corporations have provided material, without which the book would present an incomplete picture of plant design. To give due credit for such assistance, references have been made at appropriate places in the text to those responsible for important facts. The author is indebted to T. R. Olive of the editorial staff of Chemical and Metallurgical Engineering for many helpful and detailed criticisms and suggestions, especially for the organization of the material in the chapter on selection of equipment; also, the author wishes to express his appreciation for the kind suggestions and aid of Dr. O. R. Sweeney, head of the Department of Chemic^al Engineering at Iowa State College.