Conceptual Process

Design
An introduction at
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Basic process steps

Basic Engineering package

FEED

Residual process engineering

Detail engineering

Basic core process documents

Process design basis, PFD, P &ID,

Datasheets, Line lists, Safety study
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Agenda for this presentation

Workflow for conceptual process design

PFD Development

P & ID Development

Line sizing

Control Valve sizing

Pump Head calculations

PSV sizing

Area classification
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Conceptual process design

DESIGN BASIS

Why to prepare a design basis?

Any guess on what this document consists of?

Can a P&ID be made without knowing basis?

Two different plants same product. Can P & IDs

be absolutely same?

Two different plants same product. Can control
valve and safety valves be exactly same?

If Yes why and if no why?

Same product with same capacity: plant in India
and plant in Russia- will it be exactly same?
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Conceptual process design

DESIGN BASIS

P & IDs for same product are different

because.
Different licensor philosophies and design
specifications
Different Legends
Different plant capacity
Different climatic conditions
Different utility availability
Different logistics requirements
Different plot layouts
Different equipment/ Instrument manufacturers

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Conceptual process design

DESIGN BASIS

Equipment design margins

Standard design philosophy

Controls and instrumentation levels

(DCS/PLC, SIL study)

Safety philosophy: (Fire, F&G, Flare)

Isolation and sparing philosophy

Battery limit conditions

Environmental norms
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Conceptual process
engineering

Focus on process flow diagram

development (Example.reflash column)

Generate a mass and energy balance

Chemicals and catalyst summary

Development of conceptual P & IDs

Critical equipment sizing

Estimate utility requirements

Operating instructions
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Conceptual process
engineering

Not part of conceptual engg..

Pump head checks

Control valve sizing

Safety valve sizing

Safety valve sizing

Vendor package information

Utility distribution drawings

HAZOP study
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DOUGLAS METHODOLOGY

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BATCH VS. CONTINUOUS

Production rate: > 45000 T/yr, use continuous

process

Product demand: seasonal products  batch

Multiproduct plant  Batch plant

Significant gas recycle  continuous plant

Reaction behavior: High temperature or highly
exothermic reactions, continuous plant

Significant opportunities of heat integration 
continuous plant
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RECYCLE STRUCTURE

Decide reactants to be

recycled / purged

Decide purity / separation
feasibility

Check effect of recycle on
reaction chemistry e.g.
recycle of poisons etc

Check effect of compression
cost on feasibility

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BLOCK FLOW DIAGRAM

Major equipments on block flow diagram

Evaluate cost based on major equipments and

approximate operating cost

Use ratio method for cost estimation

Shortlist alternatives for further evaluation

Process simulation will help fix process
conditions, utility loads etc

Pinch analysis for energy and area saving, but
keep operational issues in mind
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Any Questions so far?

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PFD developement

Show only process flow lines

Start up lines, pump recycle lines need

not be shown

Utility streams shown in short

Standby equipment and working
equipment depiction

Which streams to number?

Where to place stream number
diamond?
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PFD Development

All equipments tagged

Equipment title block added

Exchanger symbol is generic and not as

per its TEMA type

Start/stop switches for motors not shown

All bays of air cooler are not shown

Local temperature and pressure guages
not shown
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Control valve Selection and Sizing

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COMPONENTS OF
CONTROL SYSTEM

Measuring element

(thermometer)

Controller

Final control
element (control
valve)

F (kg/hr)
Ti (oC)
To (oC)
Ms (kg/hr)
TS (oC)

Thermometer

Hand

Human
Brain

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CONTROL SYSTEM BLOCK

DIAGRAM
V1
Controller

P
Kc {1+(1/ I)+ d}

Final Control
Element

Process

__1__
v + 1

__1__
p + 1

Measuring
Instrument

__1__
m + 1

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CONTROL VALVE SYSTEM

Controller sends the output signal
of the order of 4 to 20 mA.
The i/p converter changes the
signal to 3 to 15 psi and sends to
Actuator.
The Actuator moves the plug
relative to the stationary valve seat.
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POSITIONER

Measures valve stem

position and compares with

set point

Makes sure control valve
opening is as required by
controller

Corrects for effect of packing
friction due to dirt, lack of
lubrication etc
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VALVE TYPES AND

SELECTION

Globe valve
 Workhorse of industry
 Multiple ports available
 Large pressure drop
 Size limited to about 12

Butterfly valves
 Low pressure drop
 Large sizes available

Ball valves
 Low leakage
 Quarter-turn
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CONTROL VALVE SIZING

- 1

Need to fix following:
 Minimum, normal and maximum flow
 Corresponding pressure drop
 Required flow characteristics i.e. linear or quick
acting etc

Control valve flow coefficient Cv used as sizing

parameter

Cv is flow of water in m3/hr through valve at 1 bar

pressure difference across valve

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HOW TO ASSIGN PRESSURE

DROPS?

For pump systems:
 50-60% of total frictional loss excluding control valve
OR
 15% of pump differential head OR
 0.7 kg/cm2

For process systems
 Difference of pressure between upstream and
downstream system
 Should give better controllability
 Smaller the pressure drop, bigger the valve
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FLOW CHARACTERISTICS

Inherent characteristics

Quick acting / linear / equal percentage

Quick opening

Linear
Equal %

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SELECTING CHARACTERISTICS:
LEVEL

Level control: very slow response (remember

tanks in series experiment)

Mostly linear

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SELECTING CHARACTERISTICS: FLOW

Whenever in doubt, use equal percentage

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CAVITATION AND FLASHING

Cavitation is collapse of

bubbles

Damages trim

Special trim designs
available

Flashing not as dangerous
as cavitation

Needs to be specified to
vendor
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CHOKING

Occurs for gaseous systems when downstream

pressure less than about 50% of inlet pressure

Can occur at much higher % for two-phase
systems

Fluid accelerated to sonic velocity in valve

Formation of shock waves

Avoided by use of multiple valves or use of ROs

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FAIL
- SAFE POSITION

Action for valve when air supply fails

Three options
 Fail open
 Fail close
 Fail last

Energy adding valves to be fail closed e.g. steam

Energy removing valves to be fail closed e.g.

cooling medium

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Line sizing

An introduction

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Flow rate basis for line sizing

PFD and mass balance

Utility summary and utility flow diagrams

Design margin: General

considerations

For all process lines 10%

Start up, intermittent flow 5%

Utility lines 15%

Utility main header 20%
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Line sizing basis

For revamp, basis differs.

Circulating fuel oil system-design ring main for

125 to 150% of flow

Pipe wall roughness basis
Carbon steel, new- 0.047 mm
Brass, aluminum, Copper, Plastics, Glass
0.03 mm
Stainless steel 0.025 mm
Rusty steel 0.2 mm
Galvanized steel 0.13 mm

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Normal pipe size

Avoid 30NB,65NB,125NB, 550NB

Nominal pipe size for process lines shall

be 25mm

Pipe rack lines shall be minimum 40NB

Schedule number as per pipe
specification index

Piping length estimate based on project
status-preliminary or plot plan/equipment
layout based or isometrics based
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Equivalent length calculations:

Le/D values

Globe valve

Angle valve

Gate valve

Ball Valve

90Deg Elbow

Conventional check valve

Globe lift check valve

45 degree elbow

Flow through run

Flow through branch
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450
200
13
18
30
135
450
16
20
60

Pressure drop calculations

Preliminary line size based on velocity criteria

Actual pressure drop to be verified with

allowable pressure drops as per process design

General criteria: Pump suction line delp is
0.085kg/cm2 per 100m of pipe

General criteia: Pump discharge line delp is
0.15 to 0.6 kg/cm2 per 100 mtr pipe

Reynolds number: Try to be in turbulant region
or laminar region. Avoid transition region(2300
to 4000 Nre)
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Cooling water lines

DeltaP per 100 mtr is generally 0.3 kg/cm2

Flow possible through various pipes- in m3/h based on

above criteria
1.5
40
3.8
50
8.5
80
26
100
51
150
160
200
350
250
640
300
1000

25

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Gravity lines

The maximum recommended velocity for

gravity lines is 1 m/s

The minimum line size for gravity lines
within process area to be 40mm

Sizing of self venting lines- velocity at
about 0.3 to o.7 m/s

Column draw off lines based on static
head available
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Compressible fluid line sizing

If pressure drop is less than 10% of the

upstream pressure, use density and

average linear velocity based on either
inlet or outlet conditions

If pressure drop is between 10%-40% of
the upstream pressure, use density and
average linear velocity based as
averages of inlet and outlet conditions

First estimate- v= c/row; c is 13 to 24
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Tower overhead lines

For pressure between, 0 to 0.7 kg/cm2g, use

velocity range as 40 to 60 m/s and max

allowable pressure drop of 0.011 kg/cm2 for
100 mtr pipe

For pressure between, 0 to 3.5 kg/cm2g, use
velocity range as 18 to 30 m/s and max
allowable pressure drop of 0.033 kg/cm2 for
100 mtr pipe

For pressure between, 3.5 to 15 kg/cm2g, use
velocity range as 12 to 15 m/s and max
allowable pressure drop of 0.15 kg/cm2 for 100
mtr pipe
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Special services

Recommended velocity in m/s for special

services:
Concentrated H2So4
Salt water
Caustic solution
Plastic pipe
Liquids with suspended solids
Liquid lines to chillers
Refrigerant lines
Liquid from condenser
Reboiler trap out
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1.2
1.8
1.2
4.5
0.9 min.
1.8
1.2
2.1
1.2

HAZARDOUS AREA CLASSIFICATION

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OBJECTIVE OF AREA
CLASSIFICATION

Fire triangle: Oxygen / Fuel / Ignition source

Oxygen: Air abundantly available

Plant leak: Fuel supply started

A minor spark and EMERGENCY

Different fluids, different thresholds

Area classification makes sure that ignition

source is not available

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ZONES: HOW TO DECIDE

Zone 0 normally means vapour space above continuous

vents, storage tanks, open tanks of volatile materials

Zone 1 normally have following locations




Frequent maintenance, leakage prone area

Areas where frequent upstream upsets mean downstream
released to atmosphere
Location adjacent to zone 0 area

Zone 2 normally means areas like

 Accidental failure of gaskets/packings etc
 Zone adjacent to zone 1 area

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FUEL PROPERTIES

Classification based on minimum ignition energy

Fluids classified as either IIC or IIB or IIA

IIC fluids very sensitive. Explode at slightest spark

energy. E.g. acetylene, hydrogen

IIB / IIA rather less sensitive

No difference between electric equipments for IIB
and IIA

Basically fluid group either IIC or IIA/IIB

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TEMPERATURE CLASS

Makes sure that

temperature of electrical
equipment surface does
not exceed fluid
autoignition temperature

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Temperature
Code

oF

oC

T1

842

450

T2

572

300

T3

392

200

T4

275

135

T5

212

100

T6

185

85

EXTENT OF ZONES

Defined by codes

Depends on whether source of hazard is lighter or heavier

than air

Depends on location of source i.e. near ground / above
ground, open or closed space etc

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ELECTRIC EQUIPMENT
SPECIFICATIONS

Method of containment: contain explosion within

confines of electric equipment e.g. Flameproof

apparatus (Ex d)

Method of segregation/separation: Separate spark
from fuel e.g. Oil immersion (Ex o)

Method of prevention: Provide just sufficient
energy and reduce faulty conditions e.g. Increase
Safety (Ex e)

Identified on electric equipment by notations
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Pressure Relief

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WHAT IS THE ROLE OF PSV?

Makes sure that vessel pressure does not exceed vessel

design pressure
Pressure increase in a system occurs due to imbalance of
either energy or flow i.e. input is not equal to output 
Relief events
Example of energy imbalance = Fire
Example of material imbalance = Blocked outlet
Imbalance corrected by releasing material out of the
system (to atmosphere or flare)

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STEPS IN PSV SYSTEM

SIZING

Identify relief events

Calculate relieving capacity required

Select type of valve to be used

Calculate PSV orifice area

Select Standard orifice having area more than calculated

orifice area

Fix PSV inlet and outlet line size based on rated capacity

Design flare system (if any) considering worst case
scenario for entire plant

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ACCUMULATION

Accumulation allowed by API:
 3% for fired and unfired steam boilers
 10% for vessels equipped with a single pressure
relief device in non-fire case
 16% for vessels equipped with multiple pressure
relief devices
 21% for fire contingency

PSV overpressure should be such that at no

instant relieving pressure is reached

Consider vessel operating at 1.5 bar (g)
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What are Relief Events?

External fire

Control valve failure leading to uncontrolled

flow of fluid or energy

Blocked outlet

Cooling water failure

Power failure

Exchanger tube rupture

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OTHER RELIEF EVENTS

Blocked outlet case: relief flow is flow into the system

(credit can be taken for pump curve shift)

Control valve failure case: Vendor certified full open
control valve flow (corrected for relieving pressure)

Cooling water / power failure: uncondensed vapour
minus vapor normally exiting the system

Tube rupture: Calculated based on orifice theory

All calculations at relieving pressure

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RELIEF DEVICE TYPES

Pressure Safety Valves




Conventional spring operated valves

Balanced bellows valves
Pilot operated valves

Rupture Devices



Rupture discs
Rupture pin devices

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CONCEPT OF BACKPRESSURE

Backpressure = pressure from valve outlet which tries to

close the valve i.e. forces disk down

Superimposed backpressure: backpressure on disc

before valve opens

Superimposed backpressure can be constant or variable

Built-up backpressure: backpressure developed due to

flow after valve opens

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BALANCED BELLOWS
VALVE

Balanced bellows work on similar principle of

spring tension, but bellows takes care of problems

of backpressure

Conventional valves okay if backpressure limited
to 10% of set pressure

Balanced bellows can go easily upto 30%
backpressure and upto 50% at reduced capacity

Problem of bellow rupture due to fatigue etc

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RUPTURE DISC

Nonreclosing device

Once ruptured, material

loss continues

Used in place of or
upstream of PSV in
corrosive, viscous services
etc

Reduce capacity of valve if
upstream of PSV
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PSV INLET AND OUTLET

LINE

PSV inlet line size should atleast be equal to PSV inlet

flange
PSV inlet line size pressure drop limited to 3% of set
pressure  avoids chattering
3% limit not applicable to pilot operated valves
PSV outlet line size should atleast be equal to PSV outlet
flange
PSV outlet line size selected to meet backpressure
requirements




10% of set pressure for conventional valves

30 50% of set pressure for balanced bellow valves
Max. 90% for pilot operated valves possible

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THANK YOU

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