Chemical Process Industries

ChE-103
Recommended Books
 “Shreve’s Chemical Process Industries” by G. T. Austin
 “A Textbook of Chemical Technology” by G. N. Pandey
 “Chemical Process Technology” by J. Moulijn, M. Makkee, and A.
van Diepen
 “Riegel’s Handbook of Industrial Chemistry” by J. A. Kent
Contents
Introduction to process flow-sheeting, process flow diagrams, and standard
symbols
Detailed study of the following group of industries:
 Water treatment
 Silicate industries (cement, ceramics)
 Agro-based industries (pulp and paper, soap and detergent, oil and ghee,
sugar)
 Acid industries (hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid, nitric acid, phosphoric acid)
 Alkali industries (soda ash, caustic soda)
 Production of Ammonia
 Fertilizer industries (NPK based fertilizers)
 Classified chemical (insecticides, explosives, surface coating industries)
 Petrochemicals
Chemical Engineering
Chemical Engineering involves the conversion of raw materials into
desired products. To convert raw materials into products there are two
processes involved,
1. Unit Operations
2. Unit Processes
Unit Operations & Unit Processes
 Unit Operations
 In any system when the physical changes occurs or only physical
properties of a component is changed then that is called an unit-operation
 It will bring changes in size, shape, density, concentration etc. All these
are structural changes only
 General example for this is boiling of water in which the physical state of
water changes from liquid to the vapor so we say that the boiling is an unit
operation
In industry following unit operations are used:
 Mixing
 Distillation
 Absorption
 Adsorption
 Extraction
 Leaching
 Humidification
 Dehumidification
 Evaporation
 Crystallization

In this only physical properties of component are changed.

Unit Processes

 In any system where the reaction takes place and because of which the
chemical properties of a component also changes that is called an Unit-
Process. In general we say that the rusting of iron is unit process

 In industry oxidation, polymerization, reduction, hydrogenation,

dehydrogenation, alkylation, chlorination, bromination and many more
Chemical Processing
 Chemical processes are used to produce chemical products and are by
definition processes which include chemical transformation(s)

 Chemical processing is the conversion of raw materials into useful and

profitable products. These products are used both as consumer goods
and as intermediates for further chemical and physical modification to
yield consumer products
A picture / figure is better than 1000
words...
Process Description in chemical industries
 Any physical or chemical process can be explained by the help of
description or by use of blocks, or pictorially
 Pictorial representation of a process makes it easier to understand
and presentation of process by pictures uses lesser sheets and words
Get Up Get Ready Breakfast Car/Bike/ Reach
transport University

A student coming to university can be represented by a

diagram
In a similar way any process can be represented by the help of diagram
or picture.
 Flow sheet
 The flow sheet is a key document in process design. It shows the
arrangement of the equipment selected to carry out the process; the
stream connections; stream flow-rate and compositions; and the
operating conditions
 It is a diagrammatic model of the process
 Process flowsheets are the language of chemical processes. They
describe an existing process or a hypothetical process in sufficient detail
to convey the essential features
 This includes piping, instrumentation, and equipment design and plant
layout
Types of Process Flow Diagrams
There are three types of process flow diagram in chemical industry;

 Block flow diagram (BFD)

 Process flow diagram (PFD)
 Process and instrumentation diagram (P&ID)
Block Diagram
 It is a process description and flow direction depicted in the form of
blocks. Every unit operation is represented as a block. In this, there
is no need to show any controls
 Block diagram is useful for representing a process in a simplified
form in reports and textbooks, but have only a limited use as
engineering documents
 The blocks can be of any shape, but it is usually convenient to use
a mixture of squares and circle, drawn with a template
 Examples
Here are two examples of very simple process block flow diagrams.
One is a diagram of the processes used to produce Ammonia and the
other is adiagram of aprocess for producing Petroleum Asphalt.
Process flow diagram (PFD)
 In PFD, simply replace the blocks of the Block Diagram and in
addition to it some major controls are shown which affects the
process more or without which plant can be prone to accidents.
Mass and Energy balance are also mentioned on the same sheet.
Stream no. and details of these streams can also be displayed on
PFD

 The PFD displays the relationship between major equipments of a

plant facility and does not show minor details such as piping details
and designations. Another commonly-used term for a PFD is a flow
sheet
A process flow sheet includes:
 Process piping
 Major bypass and recirculation lines
 Major equipment symbols, names and identification numbers
 Flow directions
 Compositions of fluids
 Control loops that affect operation of the system
 Interconnection with othersystems
Process flow diagrams generally do not include:

 Pipe classes or piping line numbers

 Process control instrumentation (sensorsand final elements)
 Minor by-pass lines
 Isolation and shutoff valves
 Maintenance vents and drains
 Relief and safety valve
 Flanges
 Example of a
Refinery Operation
 Process and Instrumentations Diagrams (P&ID)
 This is the next step to PFD. Where all the controls, details of equipments like
size, design pressure/temp., insulation, nozzle details etc. are shown. You have
to mention line sizes. It is the basic document and considered as basis for the
construction of plant. It is often called the Engineering Flow-sheet or
Engineering Line Diagram

 The P&ID shows the arrangement of the process equipments, piping, pumps,
instruments, valves and other fittings. It should include:
o All process equipment identified by an equipment number. The equipment
should be drawn roughly in proportion, and the location of nozzles shown
o All pipes, identified by a number. The pipe size and material of
construction should be shown
o All valves control and block valves, with an identification number, the type
and the size should be shown. The type may be shown by the symbol used
for the valve or included in the code used for valve number
P&ID of Refinery
Standard Symbols used in Chemical Industries