FACULTY OF ENGINEERING & TECHNOLOGY

Effective from Academic Batch: 2020-21

Programme: Bachelor of Engineering (Chemical Engineering)

Semester: VII

Course Code: 102020701

Course Title: Chemical Process Plant Design and Economics

Course Group: Professional Core Course

Course Objectives: This course brings together the concepts of engineering and economics with
special reference to chemical process and plant design along with the hierarchy of decisions in
synthesis and analysis of a chemical process and its alternatives. The course is intended to challenge
chemical engineer to combine basic technical principles learned in other courses in the general
curriculum with practical elements of economics, business practices and organization along with
principles of safety, environmental and sociological issues to design an integrated chemical process
plant.
Teaching & Examination Scheme:
Contact hours per week Course Examination Marks (Maximum / Passing)
Credits Theory J/V/P*
Lecture Tutorial Practical Total
Internal External Internal External
3 0 0 3 40/14 60/21 NA NA 100/35
* J: Jury; V: Viva; P: Practical

Detailed Syllabus:
Sr. Contents Hours
1 Process design development: economics in the overall plant, techno-economic 06
integration, selection of process-factors affecting process selection, types of project
design, Pilot plant and its importance, Flow diagrams and its types.Standard versus
special equipment, material of construction for process equipment, selection
criteria, and specification sheets. Plant location and layout – Factors affecting plant
location and layout, vertical and horizontal lay out, feasibility survey and studies.
2 Cash flow and cumulative factors affecting estimation of investment and 06
production cost, total capital investment, fixed and working capital investment &
their estimations, cost indexes, factors involved in project cost estimation, methods
employed for estimation of the capital investment, estimating equipment cost by
scaling. Simple and compound interest, concept of capitalized cost, numerical
problems.
3 Process auxiliaries and process utilities: Piping design, layout, and supports for 05
piping insulations. Pipe fittings, types of valves, selection of valves, process control
and instrumentation control system design. Process water, boiler feed water,
water treatment, waste treatment and disposal, disposal, steam, oil heating
system, compressed air and vacuum.

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4 Depreciation – Introduction, types and causes of depreciation, Methods of 07
Depreciation calculation - Straight Line method, Double Declining Balance Method,
Sum of Years Digits Method /Sinking Fund Method. Comparison of various
methods, Numerical problems
5 Estimation of total product cost: manufacturing cost, general expenses, 06
manufacturing cost: direct production cost, fixed charges, plant overhead cost.
Numerical problems.
6 Profitability, alternative investments and replacement studies using % rate of 06
return, incremental rate of return, payback period, Practical factors in alternative
investment and replacement Studies. Numerical problems of alternative
investments.
7 Break-even analysis, variable and fixed costs, breakeven point and its significance, 05
economic production chart or break-even chart, capacity, demand, load and
diversity factor, Application of break-even analysis for profit improvement.
8 Project management: Planning of project schedule by BAR CHART, Inventory 04
control scheduling a project using CPM/PERT methods.

Reference Books:
Peters, Max S., K.D. Timmerhaus and R.E. West, Plant Design and Economics for Chemical
1 Engineers (5th Ed), McGraw-Hill International Editions (Chemical Engineering Series), New
York, USA (2003).
Douglas, James M., Conceptual Design of Chemical Processes, McGraw-Hill International
2
Editions (Chemical Engineering Series), New York, USA (1988).
Biegler, L.T., I.E. Grossmann and A.W. Westerberg, Systematic Methods of Chemical Process
3
Design, Prentice Hall (Pearson Education), New Jersey, USA (1997).
4 Thuesen, Fabrycky and Thuesen, Engineering Economy, 9th Edition, Prentice-Hall,2000.
OP Kharbanda, Process plant and equipment cost estimation, Solana Beach, CA : Craftsman
5
Book Co.
G S Davis, Chemical Engineering Economics and decision analysis, ChemEnggEdu
6 Development Centre, IIT, Madras, Rose A; 1981, Engineering Costs and Production
Economics, Elsevier, vol. 5(3-4), pages 308-309.

Supplementary learning Material:

1 https://www.coursera.org/lecture/faecalsludge/4-7-engineering-economics-KoVa9
2 https://online.stanford.edu/courses/cee146s-engineering-economics-and-sustainability
NPTEL lecture series Literature available on Plant design and project Economics

Suggested activities/mini-project on plant design and cost estimation:

The plant design project involves a small group of students working as a team to design a
nominated chemical manufacturing plant. The tasks include the study of the available processes,
process selection, calculation of material and energy balances, preparation of flow sheets, design of
selected plant items, an assessment of factors affecting plant safety, sustainability and
environmental impact, estimation of plant cost and process economics, preparation of a design
report and drawing of the plant layout.

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Pedagogy: Following one or more points can be incorporated as relevant pedagogy methods.
 Direct classroom teaching
 Audio Visual presentations/demonstrations
 Assignments/Quiz
 Continuous assessment
 Interactive methods
 Seminar/Poster Presentation
 Industrial/ Field visits
 Course Projects

Suggested Specification table with Marks (Theory) (Revised Bloom’s Taxonomy):

Distribution of Theory Marks in % R: Remembering; U: Understanding; A:
R U A N E C Applying; N: Analyzing; E: Evaluating;
10% 20% 30% 25% 10% 5% C: Creating
Note: This specification table shall be treated as a general guideline for students and teachers. The
actual distribution of marks in the question paper may vary slightly from above table.

Course Outcomes (CO):

Sr. Course Outcome Statements %weightage
To be acquainted with the application of the principles of Economics to
CO-1 20%
Chemical Engineering
To understand the basics of fixed and working capital in an industrial
CO-2 20%
set up and the cost accounting principles of product costing.
To identify the appropriate method of depreciation under various
CO-3 15%
circumstances.
CO-4 To analyze project profitability by using various methods and tools. 20%
To apply project management tools like PERT and CPM for planning
CO-5 10%
and scheduling of projects
To infer on a macroscopic level the minute economics of Process
CO-6 15%
Engineering Design and Plant Technology.

Curriculum Revision:
Version: 1
Drafted on (Month-Year): Jun-22
Last Reviewed on (Month-Year): --
Next Review on (Month-Year): Jun-25

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