The Basicsof Chemical Plant Operations Dec 23 by Azharin Shah Abd Aziz

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THE BASICS OF CHEMICAL
PLANT OPERATIONS
By Azharin Shah B Abd Aziz (PhD in Chemical Engineering)
THE BASICS OF CHEMICAL
PLANT OPERATIONS
By Azharin Shah B Abd Aziz (PhD in Chemical Engineering)
DECEMBER 31, 2023

UNIVERSITY COLLEGE TATI, KIJAL, TERENGGANU, MALAYSIA
i
Disclaimer:
All the information in this book is based on the author experiences and researches in chemical plant
operations. The author is not responsible for any consequences arise from the usage of the information
by any parties.
The author respect copyright laws. The images/text in this book are of free to share and use usage rights,
and some with the consent of the respective holders. The author tries his best not to violate any copyright
laws, but if the images/text in this book infringe any copyrighted work, please contact the author. The Any
images/text in this book are subject to trademark, brand or patent protections of the respective holders.
All right reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced in any form or by any means for
commercialization without the consent from the author, except for knowledge transfer.
Copyright@ Azharin Shah Bin Abd Aziz.
Published by:
Azharin Shah Bin Abd Aziz
4525, Kg. Titian Berayun,
24100 Kijal, Kemaman,
Terengganu,
Malaysia.
The author can be contacted at azharinshah@yahoo.com
e ISBN 978-629-99043-0-4
ii
Table of Contents
Preface ........................................................................................................................................................ vii

Abbreviation .............................................................................................................................................. viii
1.0 Chemical Process Plant: Main Process and Auxiliary Process........................................................... 1
1.1 The Main Process .......................................................................................................................... 1
1.2 The Auxiliary Process .................................................................................................................... 2
1.2.1 Instrument and Service Air System ....................................................................................... 3
1.2.2 Equipment Cooling Water System ........................................................................................ 5
1.2.3 Process Cooling Water System ............................................................................................. 8
1.2.4 Deionized Boiler Feed Water Treatment Plant ................................................................... 11
1.2.5 Deionized BFW Physical and Chemical Treatments ............................................................ 15
1.2.6 Boiler and Steam System .................................................................................................... 17
1.2.7 CO2 Absorption System ....................................................................................................... 23
1.2.8 Hydraulic System ................................................................................................................. 25
1.2.9 Conveyor System................................................................................................................. 27
2.0 Phases or Stages of a Chemical Process Plant ................................................................................ 30
2.1 Preliminary Process Design ......................................................................................................... 30
2.2 Detail Design ............................................................................................................................... 31
2.3 Construction ................................................................................................................................ 32
2.4 Commissioning and Initial Start-up ............................................................................................. 32
2.5 Normal Plant Operations ............................................................................................................ 34
2.6 Debottlenecking .......................................................................................................................... 34
2.7 Decommissioning ........................................................................................................................ 34
3.0 Process Flow Diagram (PFD) & Piping Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID) ....................................... 35
3.1 Process Flow Diagram (PFD) ....................................................................................................... 35
3.2 Piping & Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID).................................................................................. 36
3.3 Area Classification and Equipment Tag Number ........................................................................ 38
3.4 Recycle, Purge and By-pass in Chemical Process ........................................................................ 39
4.0 Safety in Chemical Process Plant .................................................................................................... 40
4.1 Some Important Safety Terms .................................................................................................... 40
iii
4.2 Major Hazard No 1: Fire .............................................................................................................. 42
4.2.1 Pool, Flash and Torch Fire ................................................................................................... 43
4.3 Major Hazard No 2: Explosion..................................................................................................... 44
4.3.1 UVCE, CVCE, BLEVE and Dust Explosion .............................................................................. 45
4.4 Method to Reduce Fire/Explosion Hazard .................................................................................. 46
4.5 Major Hazard No 3: Toxic Release .............................................................................................. 47
4.5.1 Some Terminologies for Toxic Release ............................................................................... 47
4.5.2 Method to Eliminate or Reduce Toxic Release Hazard ....................................................... 48
4.6 Hazard Control Category ............................................................................................................. 49
4.7 Permit to Work System ............................................................................................................... 50
5.0 Pipes & Fittings ............................................................................................................................... 52
5.1 Fittings ......................................................................................................................................... 52
5.2 Pipes ............................................................................................................................................ 52
5.2.1 Pipe Dimension & Schedule Number .................................................................................. 55
5.2.2 Minimum Wall Thickness for a Pipe (ASME 31.3) ............................................................... 56
5.3 Flanges ........................................................................................................................................ 58
5.3.1 Pressure Class Rating .......................................................................................................... 60
5.5 Gasket ......................................................................................................................................... 62
5.6 Valves .......................................................................................................................................... 64
5.7 Pipe Support, Pipe Hanger and Expansion Joint ......................................................................... 67
5.8 Pressure Safety/Relief Valve ....................................................................................................... 68
6.0 Boilers and Pressure Vessels ........................................................................................................... 71
6.1 Some Requirements for Boiler .................................................................................................... 71
6.2 Unfired Pressure Vessel. ............................................................................................................. 72
6.3 Pressure Vessel Inspection.......................................................................................................... 72
6.4 Frequency of Inspection.............................................................................................................. 73
6.5 Confined Space Preparation for Safe Entry ................................................................................ 73
6.6 Hydrostatic Test .......................................................................................................................... 76
7.0 Heat Exchangers.............................................................................................................................. 78
7.1 Types of Heat Exchanger ............................................................................................................. 78
7.2 Components of Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger ......................................................................... 79
7.3 Classification of Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger ........................................................................ 80
iv
7.4 Heat Exchanger Start-up ............................................................................................................. 81
7.5 Heat Exchanger Shut-down......................................................................................................... 82
7.6 Shut-down Activities ................................................................................................................... 82
8.0 Fired Heater or Furnace .................................................................................................................. 84
8.1 Components of Fired Heater....................................................................................................... 84
8.2 Burner and Procedure to Ignite Burner Safely ............................................................................ 86
8.3 Extinguishing a Burner and Common Problems ......................................................................... 87
8.4 General Procedure to Start-up a Fired Heater ............................................................................ 87
8.5 General Procedure to Shut-down a Fired Heater ....................................................................... 89
8.6 Routine Check for a Fired Heater During Normal Operations .................................................... 89
8.7 The Important Interlock & Control Loops of a Fired Heater ....................................................... 90
9.0 Rotating Equipment: Pump, Compressor and Turbine ................................................................... 91
9.1 Pump ........................................................................................................................................... 91
9.1.1 Classification of Pump ......................................................................................................... 91
9.1.2 Pump Performance Curve ................................................................................................... 92
9.1.3 Pump Head .......................................................................................................................... 93
9.1.4 Pump Cavitation .................................................................................................................. 96
9.1.5 Standard Fittings, Balancing, Alignment and Components of Centrifugal Pump ............... 97
9.1.6 Procedure to Start a Centrifugal Pump ............................................................................... 99
9.1.7 Procedure for Centrifugal Pump Change Over ................................................................... 99
9.1.8 The Important Interlocks of Pump .................................................................................... 100
9.2 Compressor ............................................................................................................................... 101
9.2.1 Classification of Compressor ............................................................................................. 101
9.2.2 Surge ................................................................................................................................. 102
9.2.3 Balancing and alignment ................................................................................................... 102
9.2.4 Centrifugal Compressor Start-up. ..................................................................................... 103
9.2.5 Normal Operations, Shut-downs and Interlocks............................................................... 103
9.3 Steam Turbine ........................................................................................................................... 104
9.3.1 Classification of Steam Turbines ....................................................................................... 104
9.3.2 Components of Steam Turbine ......................................................................................... 105
9.3.3 Typical Start-up of Steam Turbine of a Pump ................................................................... 106
9.3.4 Normal Operations & Shut-down ..................................................................................... 107
v
10.0 Control and Instrumentations....................................................................................................... 108
10.1 Purposes of Control and Instrumentation ................................................................................ 108
10.2 Broad Categories of Control and Instrumentation. .................................................................. 108
10.3 Regulatory Control .................................................................................................................... 109
10.4 Modes of Operation for Regulatory Controller ........................................................................ 110
10.5 Pressure, Level, Temperature and Flow Indicator Controller ................................................... 112
10.6 Local Gauges ............................................................................................................................. 114
10.7 Maintenance, Troubleshooting and Override Switch ............................................................... 115
11.0 Plant Start-up, Normal Operations and Shut-down...................................................................... 116
11.1 Activities Prior to Start-up......................................................................................................... 116
11.2 Start-up Sequence of the Auxiliary System ............................................................................... 117
11.3 Start-up Concepts ..................................................................................................................... 117
11.4 Proposed Start-up of Benzene Plant ......................................................................................... 118
11.5 Normal Operations ................................................................................................................... 123
11.6 Shut-down ................................................................................................................................. 124
11.7 Activities After Main Process Plant Shut-down ........................................................................ 126
References ................................................................................................................................................ 128
Index.......................................................................................................................................................... 131
vi
Preface
This book is about chemical process plant equipment based on the experiences and study of the author.
Chemical process plant usually can be classified into the main process and auxiliary process. The auxiliary
process such as instrument air system, equipment cooling water system, boiler and steam systems are
vital to support the operations of the main process. The common typical auxiliary systems are discussed
in quite detail due to their existence in almost every chemical process plant. The knowledge gained are
very useful and always related to the main process. The discussion includes the functions, components,
start-up, controls and interlocks. Important stages before initial plant start-up are explained such as
construction and commissioning. For safety understanding in chemical plant, the basic concepts of three
major hazards are explained (fire, explosion and toxic release). Details on how to prepare confined space
for safe entry are provided in pressure vessel section. Piping and fitting components such as types and
function of flanges, gaskets, valves, pipe fittings and supports. The major unit operations such as pressure
vessels, fired heater, heat exchanger, pump, compressor and turbines are also included. At the end of this
book, an example of a simplified guideline to start-up a chemical plant is provided.
This book is suitable for those who are new to chemical process plant such as engineering technology
students, contractors working in chemical process plant, fresh plant operators and anybody who want to
enrich their knowledge on chemical process industries.
vii
Abbreviation
AE Authorized entrant
AGT Authorized gas tester
API American Petroleum Institute
ASME American Society of Mechanical Engineers
BFW Boiler feed water
BLEVE Boiling liquid expansion vapor explosion
CVCE Confined vapor cloud explosion
DCV Directional control valve
DCS Distributed control system
DI Deionized
DP Differential pressure
DOSH Department of Safety and Health
DSU Distress signal unit
ECW Equipment cooling water
ERT Emergency rescue team
ES Entry supervisor
EU European Union
FAR Fatal accident rate
FC Fail to close
FDF Forced draft fan
FIC Flow indicator controller
FO Fail to open
GPM Gallon per minute
GRE Glass reinforced epoxy
GRP Glass reinforced plastic
HDPE High density polyethylene
HPS High pressure steam
ID Inside diameter
IDF Induced draft fan
JIS Japan International Standard
viii
KO Knock down
LCV Level control valve
LFL Lower flammability limit
LIC Level indicator controller
LPG Liquified petroleum gas
LPS Low pressure steam
MCB Motor circuit breaker
MOS Maintenance override switch
MPS Medium pressure steam
NDT Non-destructive testing
NPS Nominal pipe size
NPSH Net positive suction head
OD Outside diameter
OSHA Occupational safety and health act
P&ID Piping and instrumentation diagram
PCV Pressure control valve
PCW Process cooling water
PE Pressure element
PEL Permissible exposure limit
PFD Process flow diagram
PIC Pressure indicator controller
PLC Programmable logic controller
POS Process override switch
PPE Personal protective equipment
PT Pressure transmitter
PTW Permit to work
PV Process variable
PVC Polyvinylchloride
RO Reverse osmosis
RPM Rotation per minute
RTD Resistant thermal diode
RTJ Ring type joint
ix
SCBA Self-contained breathing apparatus
SOP Standard operating procedure
SP Standby person
TEMA Tubular Exchanger Manufacturing Association
TIC Temperature indicator controller
TLV Threshold limit value
TWA Time weighted average
UFL Upper flammability limit
UVCE Unconfined vapor cloud explosion
VSH Vibration switch high
3D Three dimensional
x
1.0 Chemical Process Plant: Main Process and Auxiliary
Process
In general, chemical process plant can be divided into two main sections:
i) Main process: the sections where the raw material is converted into products.
ii) Auxiliary process or system: the sections to support the operation of the main process by
supplying instrument air, equipment cooling water, steam etc.
The main process is unique for every chemical process plant. Training is usually provided by the company
for their staffs to understand the process and to operate the plant safe without compromising product
quality and production capacity.
In order for the main process to be in operation, auxiliary process or systems are needed such as the
instrument air system (to supply dry air to pneumatic control valves), equipment cooling water system (to
supply cooling water to heat exchangers), deionized boiler water treatment plant (to supply deionized
water to boilers), boiler feed water physical & chemical treatment system (to supply oxygen free and
chemical treated deionized water to boilers), boiler & steam system (to produce steam and supply steam
to heat exchangers and process) etc.
1.1 The Main Process
The main process is the heart of the chemical plant in which the product is processed from the raw
materials using the main equipment. Figure 1 shows an example of a main process to produce ethanol
from raw material of water and ethylene.
Figure 1: A main process to produce ethanol

Figure 2 is another example of a main process. In this example, the equipment shown in the process flow
diagram are suggested to produce ethylene oxide from raw materials of oxygen and ethylene.
Figure 2: A main process to produce ethylene oxide
1.2 The Auxiliary Process
The auxiliary systems or processes are vital to the main process. Auxiliary system is also known as utility
system. If an auxiliary system is not working or shut-down, the main process will also shut-down. For
example, when an instrument air system shut-down, the whole plant cannot be controlled because there
is no dry air to operate pneumatic control valves. To avoid the occurrence of major hazard, the main
process is configured to shut-down. Another example, if equipment cooling water system shut-down,
there will be no cooling water supply to reactor or heat exchangers that might lead to overheating and
cause major hazards such as explosion, fire and toxic release.
Since most of chemical process plant has auxiliary systems, it is worth to go in details of some typical
systems in the following sections. The knowledge gained are very useful and always related to the main
process. Some of the typical auxiliary systems are instrument and service air system, deionized boiler
water treatment plant, boiler feed water physical & chemical treatment system, boiler & steam system
etc.
2
1.2.1 Instrument and Service Air System
The function of an instrument air systems is to supply dry air, mainly to pneumatic control valves. Ordinary
compressed air cannot be used in pneumatic control valve because condensing water may damage the
pneumatic control valves.
The function of service air system is to supply compressed air for general use such as for cleaning. Figure
3 shows a basic typical instrument air and service air systems. The different between those two systems
is only at the dryers. There are no air dryers for service air system. The air dryers may be of the type of
molecular sieve adsorber or refrigeration unit.
Figure 3: A typical instrument & service air system (courtesy of PSSB)
The functions of main components for the instrument & service air systems are as follows:
i) Air filter: to filter particulate matter in air.

ii) Compressor: to compress the air, typically to 8 bars.
iii) Air cooler and knock-out (KO) drum: to cool down the compressed air (to condense the water)
and separate the condense water in KO drum.
iv) Air tank: as temporary storage.
v) Air dryer: to dry the air. In this example, the dryer is of the type of molecular sieve adsorbents.
One unit is in service and the other one is in regeneration & standby mode. The unit that is
saturated with water is regenerated using hot air.
Since most of air compressor used lubricant, modern instrument & service air system has oil filter at the
outlet of air dryers.
3
Figure 4 show a photo of an instrument air system. Usually, the system is supplied as a package (ready to
supply the instrument air) from the manufacturer.
Figure 4: An instrument air system (courtesy of PSSB)
The followings are the typical start-up procedure of an instrument & compressed air system.
i) Check the compressor oil level. The level should not be too high (may create carry over) and
not too low (may cause a lot of frictions and overheating).
ii) Check all filters. Make sure that they are cleaned.
iii) Start the heat exchanger (by introducing the cooling water, if any).
iv) Start the air dryer.
v) Start the compressor. Check for any abnormal sound and vibration.
During normal operation, the followings should be checked:
i) Check for any abnormal sound.

ii) Drain the system regularly, to avoid accumulation of water inside the system.
iii) Check the pressure difference (∆P) of any filter / heat exchanger. High ∆P is an indication that
the filter or heat exchanger is clogged.
iv) Check temperature of compressor and heat exchanger.
v) Check the level of oil compressor.
vi) Check the performance of air dryers.
4
Normally the air compressor will automatically start and stop at certain set pressures. Something is wrong
if the compressor operates continuously. This may be due to over consumption of air. One of the causes
of over consumption is tube leaking.
1.2.2 Equipment Cooling Water System
The function of equipment cooling water system (ECW) is to supply equipment cooling water to users and
to cool water return from the users by heat exchange with air. The main user of ECW is heat exchanger.
There are a lot of configurations for ECW system. Figure 5 shows the basic components of an ECW system.
Figure 5: A basic equipment cooling water system
The functions of components in the ECW system are as follows:
i) Pumps: to supply cooling water to users (normally heat exchangers for process cooling).
ii) Cooling tower: to cool down hot water return from users. The fan at the cooling tower induces
air for heat exchange with hot ECW water return.
iii) The common chemical injections are:
a) Caustic soda: to maintain ECW pH at 9. The water pH is maintained at 9 -10 to avoid
formation of scale on pipe walls. Scale is solid deposited on pipe wall and may affect the
operation of the whole system.
b) Biocide: to eliminate algae growth in the systems. Algae may clog the heat exchangers
etc.
c) Dispersant: to avoid solid deposits on pipe wall. These deposited solids are called “scales”.
iv) Some ECW systems have backwash filter, to filter particulate matter in the cooling water.
Typical flow to the filter is approximately 10% of the normal ECW flow to the whole plant.
Figure 6 shows a simple ECW system with backwash filter.
The temperature of ECW return should be maintained below 45oC, to avoid formation of scale. In Figure
5 and Figure 6, there are two ECW pumps. One pump is in operation while the other pump in stand-by
mode. If the operating pump fails, the stand by pump will start automatically, to avoid shut-down to the
5
main process. With a small amount of initial investment for the stand by pump may save a lot of money
by avoiding total shut-down of the whole plant. The similar redundant technique is applied to all sections
of chemical plants if feasible. Figure 7 shows a photo of a typical cooling tower for an ECW system.
Figure 6: A simple ECW system with backwash filter
Figure 7: A photo of a cooling tower for ECW system (source: Rtracey via commons. Wikipedia.com)
The followings are the typical start-up procedure of an ECW system.
i) Fill the basin with industrial water until required level (the basin already washed).
ii) Fill pipeline to pump, open suction valves, open drain valves (to remove sediment, rust &
debris) & vent valves (to remove air trap for developing pressure).
iii) Set the pressure controller (in auto mode) at 4.5 kg/cm2. The ECW pressure may differ from
plant to plant. The pressure controller is not shown in Figure 4 & Figure 5.
6
iv) Start pump A according to pump start-up procedure. Put pump B is stand-by mode.
v) Gradually increase the pressure to operating pressure by opening the pump discharge valve
slowly. The ECW pressure is controlled at set pressure automatically by the pressure
controller. Air traps must be removed completely by venting for pressure to develop.
vi) Start the cooling tower fan.
vii) Put in service the ECW users slowly, maintaining the ECW system pressure.
i) Pump operations: check for abnormal sound, bearing temperature, oil level (if any), cooling
water (if any).
ii) Fan operations: check for abnormal sound, bearing temperature, oil level.
iii) Water level of the cooling tower. Perform routine blow down. Blow down is very important
in any water system to control dissolved solid content.
iv) Backwash filter operation: check pump conditions and pressure drop of the filter.
v) Chemical dosing station: top up chemicals if required, check the dosing pump operations and
check for any chemical leakage. Appropriate personal protective equipment must be worn
when preparing the chemical at dosing station.
vi) Take routine water samples for water quality monitoring.
There are four basic process variables need to be controlled in any chemical plants to achieve production
capacity and quality. The four basic process variables are:
i) Level.
ii) Flow.
iii) Temperature.
iv) Pressure.
These process variables are controlled via interface of controllers centralized in control room, nowadays.
The modern system for the controllers is commonly called as the distributed control system (DCS). For a
typical ECW system, there are two main controllers:
i) ECW pressure controller: typical set pressure is 4.5 kg/cm2 g. This is of the type of regulatory
control, in which a control valves always regulating the process variables against the set point
of the controller. Typical components of a pressure regulatory control are pressure sensor,
pressure transmitter, pressure controller and pneumatic valve.
ii) ECW level controller: the simplest is on-off valve triggered by level switch. This is of the type
of sequence control, usually configured using programmable logic controller (PLC). When low
level switch is activated, inlet water valve is opened. When high level switch is activated, inlet
water valve is closed.
7
Interlocks are automatic protection of equipment or personnel if dangerous situation arise (without
waiting decision from human action) in a chemical plant. It is must for chemical plant for the highest
standard of chemical plant safety. For ECW system, some of the common interlocks are:
i) Pumps will shut-down if level of cold basin is low (activated by low-low-low level pressure
switch) to protect the pump from damage due to cavitation and overheating.
ii) The stand by pump will start if low pressure and/or low flow is detected to avoid shut-down
of the main process. Therefore, do not touch or lean to any stand by pump or equipment,
because there can start automatically any time when needed.
iii) Cooling tower fan will shut-down if vibration switch is activated to protect the fan from
damage or fly and cause damage to personnel and/or other equipment.
1.2.3 Process Cooling Water System
The function of process cooling water (PCW) system is to supply direct contact cooling water with process
fluid and to cool water return from the users by heat exchange with air. Due to occurrence of direct
contact, solid particles are returned with hot water to cooling tower. Thus, the solid particles must be
removed before the PCW can be recycled for this system. The basic equipment is similar to ECW system
with extra clarification units to separate the solid particles such as clarifiers and thickeners. Figure 8 shows
a typical system of PCW system. Figure 9 shows a photo of a PCW system.
Figure 8: A typical process cooling water system
8
The functions of components in the PCW system are as follows:
i) Pumps: to supply cooling water to users (direct contact cooling).

ii) Cooling tower: to cool down hot water return from users by direct contact with induced cool
air.
iii) Clarifier: to remove suspended solids by gravity settling. Sludge goes to thickener, whilst clear
water over flow to hot well and pumped to cooling tower
iv) Thickener: to further thickening the bottom flow sludge from clarifier (to recover more PCW).
v) Sludge drying bed: open space to dry the sludge by heating under the sun.
vi) The common chemical injections are:
a) Flocculant/coagulant: to floc or coagulate the suspended for fast gravity settling.
b) Dispersant: to avoid solid deposits on pipe walls forming scale.
c) Caustic soda: to maintain the pH at 9-10.
There is more efficient clarification equipment nowadays, which requires less space with fast settling time.
One of them is lamellar clarification.
Figure 9: A photo of process cooling water system during shut-down (courtesy of PSSB)
The followings are the typical start-up procedure of a PCW system.
i) Fill the cooling tower, clarifier & thickener with industrial water until required level (assuming
that all of them already washed).
ii) Run rake mechanisms of clarifiers & thickener.
iii) Set the pressure controller (in auto mode) at 5.0 kg/cm2g. The PCW pressure may differ from
plant to plant. The pressure supplied by the pump must be higher than main process pressure.
The pressure controller is not shown in Figure 8
iv) Fill pipeline to pump with water by opening the suction valves, open drain valves (to remove
sediment, rust & debris) & vent valves (to remove air trap for developing pressure). Start the
operating pump according to pump start-up procedure.
9
v) Open the pump discharge valve slowly, to increase the PCW pressure. The system pressure is
controlled automatically by the pressure controller (in auto mode).
vi) Put in service the users slowly, maintaining the system pressure.
vii) Start the overflow pumps of the clarifier and thickener
viii) Start the sludge pumps of the clarifier and thickener.
ix) Start the cooling tower fan.
x) Start the chemical injections (flocculant/coagulant).
water (if any). Sludge pumps operations must be inspected regularly to ensure that they are
not clogged.
iii) Rake operations: check for abnormal sound, bearing temperature, oil level.
iv) Water level of the cold basin at the cooling tower or pump intake basin. Perform routine blow
down especially at the piping of sludge pumps. The tendency of clogged pipeline and pumps
are very high at this area.
v) Chemical dosing station: top up chemicals if required, check the dosing pump operations and
check for any chemical leakage. Appropriate personal protective equipment must be worn
when preparing the chemical at dosing station.
vi) Take routine water samples for water quality monitoring.
For a typical PCW system, there are two main controllers:
i) PCW pressure controller: typical set pressure is 5.0 kg/cm2g. This is of the type of regulatory
control. The set pressure depends on the main process pressure, in which PCW pressure must
be higher than the main process pressure.
ii) PCW level controller: the simplest is on-off valve triggered by level switch. This is of the type
of sequence control. When low level switch is activated, inlet water valve is opened. When
high level switch is activated, inlet water valve is closed.
For a typical PCW system, some of the common interlocks are:
i) Pumps will shut-down if level of intake basin is low (activated by low-low-low level pressure
switch) to protect the pump from damage due to cavitation and overheating.
ii) The stand by pump will start if low pressure and/or low flow is detected to avoid shut-down
of the main process. Therefore, do not touch or lean to any stand by pump or equipment,
because there can start automatically any time when needed.
10
iii) Cooling tower fan will shut-down if vibration switch is activated to protect the fan from
damage or fly and cause damage to personnel and/or other equipment.
1.2.4 Deionized Boiler Feed Water Treatment Plant
The function of deionized boiler feed water (BFW) treatment plant is to produce deionized (DI) water for
boilers. A boiler is an equipment to produce steam. Water used in the boiler must be pure enough to avoid
the formation of scale that decrease the heat transfer coefficient. Figure shows a photo of heavy scale in
a boiler tube. The scale may also lead to local overheating of the boiler heating surface, resulting tube
rupture. The scale originated from hardness in water (mainly calcium hardness, magnesium hardness and
silica). In some literature, the DI water is equivalent to soft water. Figure 10 and Figure 11 shows a typical
diagram and a photo of a typical deionized BFW treatment plant.
Figure 10: A typical diagram of deionized BFW treatment plant (courtesy of PSSB)
The functions of the main components in the deionized BFW treatment plant are as follows:
i) Coagulation filter: to filter out suspended solids. Coagulant is added to coagulate suspended
solids to large flocs. The filter media inside this filter is sand, gravel and sometimes activated
carbon.
ii) Cation exchanger: to remove cations (positively charged ions) in water. The pressure vessel
contains cation resins. The H+ functional group in the resin is exchanged with cations in water
(Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+) as in the following mechanisms:
11
iii) Degassifier: to decompose bicarbonate to CO2 and released to atmosphere as in the following
mechanism:
iv) Anion exchanger: to remove remaining anions (negatively charged ions) in water. This
pressure vessel contains anion resins. The final product is pure water without hardness. The
OH- functional group in the resin is exchanged with anions in water (Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+) and silica
(SiO2) as in the following mechanisms:
v) Mix bed polisher: comprised of anion & cation exchange resins for final purification of DI
water.
Figure 11: A photo of a typical deionized BFW treatment plant (source: Z22 via en.m.wikipedia.com)
Latest and new designs of deionized BFW treatment plant, incorporate membrane filtration and reverse
osmosis (RO) system. Figure 12 shows a simplified diagram of deionized BFW treatment plant with RO
system. However, the basic principle is similar, to remove the hardness before going into the boiler.
12
Figure 12: A deionized water BFW plant with RO (courtesy of www.w2system.com)
The followings are the typical simple start-up procedure of a deionized BFW treatment plant (refer Figure
10):
i) Fill in industrial water tank up to required level.

ii) Start the coagulation filter unit by starting-up the industrial water tank pump into the
coagulation filter. Vent the air traps and drain the unit for a while to remove dirt and rust.
iii) When there is enough level in filtered water basin, start the cation exchanger unit by starting-
up filtered water basin pump into the cation exchanger. Vent the air traps and drain the unit
for a while to remove dirt and rust.
iv) Start the degassifier unit by starting-up the degassifier fan.
v) When there is enough water in degassifier water tank, the anion exchanger unit can be started
by starting-up the degassifier water pump into the anion exchanger followed by mixed bed
polisher. Don’t forget to vent the air traps and drain the units for a while to remove dirt and
rust.
vi) The BFW water pump can be started, when there is enough level in BFW water tank,
water (if any).
iii) Water level of every water tank or basin.
iv) Monitor the backwashing operations of the coagulation filter. Backwash operations can be
carried out manually or automatically for modern system. Backwash operation is carried out
when the pressure drop across the unit is relatively high, meaning that the filter is clogged
with suspended solids. All the parameters for backwash operation such as valves opening and
timers are set during commissioning stage.
13
v) Monitor the regeneration of the anion, cation and mix bed polisher regeneration. All these
units are not able to remove hardness when they are saturated with anion and/or cations.
Therefore, to remove these anion and cation, regeneration must be carried out. Regeneration
for cation exchanger is carried out by ion exchange with hydrochloric acid and regeneration
for anion exchanger is carried out by ion exchange with sodium hydroxide. Both hydrochloric
acid and sodium hydroxide are used to regenerate mixed bed polisher. The regeneration
operations can be carried out manually or automatically for modern system. All the
regeneration parameters operation such as valves opening, flowrates and timers are set
during commissioning stage.
vi) Chemical dosing station for regeneration: top up chemicals if required, check dosing pumps
condition, check for chemical leakages.
vii) Take routine water sample for water quality monitoring. The typical conductivity of the BFW
should be less than 1 µS/cm. This conductivity limit is different for various boilers
manufacturer depending on the operating pressure.
The regeneration purpose is to regenerate saturated cation & anion resin for economic reasons. For cation
resin, HCl aqueous solution is used to remove attached cation in the saturated resin and for anion resin,
NaOH aqueous solution is used to remove the attached anion as in the following mechanisms:
i) Cation resin regeneration:
ii) Anion resin regeneration:
For a typical deionized BFW treatment plant, there are several controls of the type of sequence control.
A lot of on-off valves are programmed via programmable logic controller (PLC) for this type of sequence
controls. Some of them are:
i) Coagulant filter backwash sequence.

ii) Cation exchanger unit regeneration sequence.
iii) Anion exchanger unit regeneration sequence.
iv) Mix bed polisher unit regeneration sequence.
Level controller for all pump intake basins is a must. The simplest is on-off valve triggered by level switch.
This is of the type of sequence control.
14
Some of the common interlocks in the deionized BFW treatment plant are:
i) Pump will shut-down if water level in any pump intake is low (activated by low-low-low level
pressure switches).
ii) Stand by pump will start automatically to maintain the operation if low pressure and/or low
flow switches are activated.
1.2.5 Deionized BFW Physical and Chemical Treatments
Deionized water from DI BFW treatment plant has to be further treated physically and chemically before
being sent to boiler because it contains dissolved gases such as O2 and traces of CO2, which may lead to
severe corrosion especially at high operating pressure and temperature in the boiler. Therefore, the
function of DI BFW physical and chemical treatments unit is to further treat the BFW physically (by
deaeration) & chemically (by chemical injections). Figure 13 shows the simplified diagram of a typical DI
BFW physical and chemical treatment unit. Figure 14 shows a typical photo of this unit.
Figure 13: A typical DI BFW physical and chemical treatments unit
15
Figure 14: A photo of typical DI BFW physical and chemical treatment unit (source: Ignatus via commons.wikimedia.com)
The functions of the main components in the DI BFW physical and chemical treatment unit are as follows:
i) Deaerator: to eliminate dissolve gases such as O2, N2 & CO2 which may lead to corrosion in
boiler & steam system, using low pressure steam (LPS) based on the principle that solubility
of gases in water is less at high temperature and low pressure.
ii) Chemical injections:
a) O2 scavenger: to remove remaining O2 at the outlet of deaerator using chemical such as
hydrazine or sodium sulphite. Hydrazine is a carcinogen (may cause cancer). Therefore,
many process plants use sodium sulphite as O2 scavenger.
b) Sodium phosphate: to avoid corrosion by creating protective coating inside steam system
and to precipitate some dissolved solids which can be removed by blow down.
Recycle condensates from steam system such as from turbines and heat exchangers go to the deaerator
to remove dissolve gases such as traces of CO2 originated from bicarbonate decomposition. The water,
CO2 and bicarbonate are always in equilibrium in the steam system.
The followings are the typical simple start-up procedure of a DI BFW physical and chemical treatment unit:
i) Fill the deaerator with DI BFW to required level. Control the deaerator level at 50% (in auto
mode).
ii) At the same time, start low pressure steam (LPS) injection to the deaerator. First, warm up
the steam line, followed by LPS injection. Control the pressure at 1500 mm Hg (in auto mode).
iii) When boiler is ready, the deaerator pump may be started according to pump standard
operating procedure (SOP). Pump is required here to move water to high pressure boiler.
iv) Start the chemical injections to the physically treated DI BFW.
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i) Pump operations: pump pressure, check for abnormal sound, bearing temperature, oil level
(if any), cooling water (if any).
ii) Water level and pressure of the deaerator.
iii) Chemical dosing station: top up chemicals if required, check dosing pumps condition, check
for chemical leakage, check that injection pipeline is not clogged.
iv) Take routine water sample for water quality monitoring. Adjust the chemical dosage, if
required, based on the water analysis.
There are two main controllers in DI BFW Physical & Chemical Treatment unit. Both are of the type of
regulatory control:
i) Pressure controller: the typical set pressure is around 1500 mm Hg, the type of regulatory
control (with pressure sensor, transmitter, pressure controller, pneumatic valve).
ii) Level controller: typical set level is 50%, the type of regulatory control (with level sensor,
transmitter, level controller, pneumatic valve).
The main interlocks in this unit are:
i) Pump will shut-down if water level is low (activated by low-low-low level pressure switch) to
protect the pump from cavitation and overheating due to lack of water.
ii) Stand by pump will start if low pressure and/or low flow is detected to maintain the operation
of the whole plant. If there is turbine pump, the turbine pump will be the operating pump and
electric motor driven pump will be the stand by pump. The stand by pump is always driven by
electric motor (for fast start-up).
1.2.6 Boiler and Steam System
The function of a boiler is to generate steam. A steam system is a network of pipe headers to receive
steam from boilers and to distribute them to users.
There are a lot of classifications of boilers. In this book, in general, boilers can be classified into fired steam
boiler and waste heat boiler:
i) Fired steam boiler: where direct fire (natural gas, diesel, heavy oil, wood etc.) is used to heat
the treated DI BFW to produce steam. The fired steam boilers can be classified into:
a) Fire tube boiler: fire(heat) inside the tube and water outside the tube.
b) Water tube boiler: water inside the tube and fire (heat) outside the tube.
ii) Waste heat boiler: where the treated DI BFW is heated using waste heat (hot process fluid
that need to be cooled down) to produce steam.
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Figure 15 shows a typical simplified diagram of a fired steam boiler and Figure 16 shows the photo of
fired steam boiler.
Figure 15: A simplified diagram of a fired steam boiler
Figure 17 shows the diagram of fire and water tube steam boiler. Figure 18 shows a photo of a waste heat
boiler. The functions of components are explained in the photo. The term “package boiler” is an
independent fired steam boiler come in a package from boiler manufacturer. The package boiler is ready
to be operated when fuel pipeline and steam pipeline have been connected.
Steam produced by the boiler or from the steam drum is saturated (in equilibrium with saturated water).
To make it superheated, the saturated steam must be reheated at the superheater.
Figure 16: A photo of fired steam boiler (source: David Hebb via www.geograph.org.uk)
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Figure 17: Fire and water tube steam boiler (source: www.thermodyneboilers.com)
Figure 18: A photo of waste heat boiler (source: www.thermodyneboilers.com)
An economiser is water preheater before boiler water reach the boiler or steam drum. In the economiser,
the boiler water is preheated by the waste heat of the flue gas that is released to the atmosphere.
Saturated steam is easy to condense. Therefore, superheated steam is desired in steam header compared
to saturated steam. The condensate must be removed in steam header and steams pipelines because it
may produce water hammer. The water hammer is the hammering of high velocity condensate pushed
by the steam to the end of pipe line or pipeline discontinuities (such as elbow, pipe U-turn etc.) To remove
the condensate automatically, steam traps are installed in steam pipelines.
Figure 19 shows a photo of heavy scales in a boiler tube if the boiler water hardness is not removed.
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Figure 19: Scale in a cross-cut boiler tube (source: 1e4cMET via
en.wikipedia.org)
Steam system is actually a series of steam pipelines (or steam headers) in which the systems receive steam
from the boilers and distributed them to users according to operating pressure. In this book, steam can
be classified into three, according to operating pressure (the operating pressures for the classification
differ from plant/boiler manufacturer to plant/manufacturer):
i) High pressure steam (HPS): pressure above 40.0 bar g. High pressure steam is normally used
for turbine to operate generator (turbogenerator), compressor (turbine compressor) and
pump (turbine pump).
ii) Medium pressure steam (MPS): typical pressure is around 12.5 bar g. It is used usually for
process (such as in the reactor etc.).
iii) Low pressure steam (LPS): the typical pressure is around 3.5 bar g. It is used usually as heating
media in heat exchanger.
Figure 20 shows an example of simplified steam system.
Figure 20: A simplified diagram of steam system
20
The functions of the main components in the steam system are as follows:
i) Desuperheater: to reduce steam temperature before entering subsequent pressure header

by injecting the treated DI BFW. This is the direct route to produce MPS and LPS from HPS.
ii) Condensate drum: to collect condensate from equipment and sending them to deaerator for
recycling.
iii) Steam knock-down (KO) drum: to receive blow down and to separate condensate (going to
deaerator) & steam (to LPS header).
iv) Steam trap (not in the drawing): to remove condensate from steam pipeline to avoid water
hammer.
The boiler start-up procedure varies according to type of boiler and their manufacturer. The followings
are general start-up guide to start a fired steam boiler:
i) Fill the boiler with treated DI boiler feed water (from deaerator). If steam drum is available,
fill the steam drum and control the level at 50% (auto mode).
ii) Control the combustion chamber draft (pressure) at -5 mm Hg. If the boiler has induced draft
fan (IDF), the induced draft fan has to be started first. If the boiler is equipped with induced
draft fan and forced draft fan (FDF), the IDF has to be started first followed by FDF. Maintain
this operation for about 30 minutes to purge any combustible gas in the combustion chamber.
iii) If recirculation pump is available (to recirculate the boiler water through the heating tube and
back into steam drum), start the recirculation pump according to pump start-up procedure.
iv) Check combustible gas inside the combustion chamber using combustible gas detector.
v) If no combustible gas is present, the burner can be ignited according to burner start-up
procedure.
vi) The boiler pressure will start to increase with the burner firing.
vii) After the boiler has been connected inline to the steam system, the boiler pressure can be
controlled and increased using pressure controller of the steam system.
The followings are the general start-up guide for steam system:
i) For steam system, pipeline and equipment warm-up is very important before putting them at
full service. Cold pipeline and equipment can create a lot of condensates and may lead to
water hammer. How to warm-up the pipeline? If the boiler has a blocking valve to the main
header, open the valve slightly (if no blocking valve, proceed to the next activity). Open the
drain valves and steam trap By-pass valves and By-pass valves of the HPS, MPS & LPS headers.
Many types of steam trap are not working when it is cold, therefore their by-pass valves must
be opened to remove the condensate. Steam pipeline warm-up can be carried out section by
section or simultaneously. When the pipeline and equipment are hot, the drain and By-pass
valves can be closed gradually.
ii) Develop the pressure of the LPS header, followed by MPS and HPS header.
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iii) Set the pressure controllers of each steam header to their assigned operating pressure in
auto. Put in service the desuperheaters and set the controllers to their assigned operating
temperature in auto.
ii) Check turbine operations (if any): abnormal sound, oil level, cooling water, temperature, the
rotation per minute (rpm) and governor condition. A governor is a mechanical controller to
maintain the turbine rpm and trip the turbine if overspeed occurs.
iii) Check boiler operations: water level, burner firing, boiler pressure, boiler draft, boiler tubes,
tubes temperature and do routine blow down (to remove precipitates and to control
suspended solid in boiler water).
iv) Check for steam leakage: for small leakage, cover them using thick cloth, gunny sack, etc. to
avoid direct contact to personnel. Maintenance can be carried out during scheduled shut-
down.
v) Check the operation of steam traps.
vi) Take water samples for water quality monitoring.
The main controllers of boilers and steam system are:
i) Steam pressure controllers for boiler and every steam header: they are usually of the type of
regulatory control (with pressure sensor, transmitter, pressure controller, pneumatic valve).
ii) Level controllers for boiler, steam drum, condensate drum and blow down drum: typical set
level is 50%. They are of the type of regulatory control (with level sensor, transmitter, level
controller, pneumatic valve).
iii) Boiler draft control: typical set draft = -5 mm Hg, of the type of regulatory control (with level
sensor, transmitter, level controller, pneumatic valve).
iv) Desuperheater temperature control: of the type of regulatory control (with level sensor,
transmitter, level controller, pneumatic valve).
Some of the main interlocks in this unit are:
i) Pump will shut-down if water level is low (activated by low-low-low level pressure switch) to
protect the pump from damage by cavitation and dry-run.
ii) Stand by pump will start if low pressure and/or low flow is detected to maintain boiler
operation.
iii) Boiler will shut-down if water level too low or too high (to protect burner tubes and
personnel)
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iv) Boiler will shut-down if boiler draft too low or too high (to avoid burner from extinguish). In
some boiler, boiler will shut-down if burner flame is not detected.
v) Boiler will shut-down if fuel pressure too low or too high (to avoid burner from extinguish).
1.2.7 CO2 Absorption System
The function of CO2 absorption system is to absorb CO2 form process gas. Not all chemical plant has this
system. The solvent that is usually used to absorb CO2 is usually diethanolamine (DEA) or methyl
diethanolamine (MDEA). Figure 21 shows a simplified diagram of a CO2 absorption system.
Figure 21: An example of simplified CO2 absorption system (courtesy of PSSB)
The functions of the main components in the system are as follows:
i) Absorption tower: where the CO2 is absorbed by the solvent via counter current flow with
process gas. This tower is operated at high pressure (e.g., 4 bar) and low temperature (e.g.,
60oC) to maximize the absorption. Solubility of gas increased at low temperature and high
pressure.
23
ii) Stripping tower: where CO2 is stripped off from the solvent by heating with steam at low
pressure. This tower is operated at low pressure (e.g., 1500 mm water column) and high
temperature (e.g., 90oC). The regenerated fresh solvent is recycled to the absorption tower
for economic reason.
iii) Mist separator: to remove any water/solvent carried over with lean gas from the absorber.
iv) Lean solution pump: to transport lean solution from stripper to absorption tower.
The followings are simplified start-up procedure for the CO2 system:
i) Fill the absorption and stripping tower system with solvent. Fill the separator with treated DI
BFW from deaerator.
ii) Pressurize the absorber up to operating pressure (e.g., 4 bars). Due to high operating pressure
in the absorber, no pump is required to move the rich solution to stripping tower.
iii) Start the lean solution pump according to pump start-up procedure.
iv) Set the required flow of lean solution to the absorber.
v) Set the required level of absorption tower, stripping tower, mist separator and condensate
drum.
vi) Top-up the solvent if necessary.
vii) Set the pressure for stripping tower.
viii) Warm-up and start the reboiler for stripping tower.
ix) The pump for stripping tower condensate tank and absorption tower mist separator may be
started when there is enough level in both tanks.
x) When the operation of the CO2 absorption system stabilizes, the rich process gas may now be
introduced into the gradually (open the inlet process gas to the absorption tower, gradually
open the outlet lean process gas valve from the absorption tower and close the CO2
absorption system by-pass valve.
i) Check pumps operation: check for abnormal sound, the bearing temperature, oil level (if any)
and cooling water (if any).
ii) Check the operation of all heat exchangers: check for differential pressure, check the
temperature, check for any leakage. For air cooled heat exchanger, check for operations of
cooling fan.
iii) Check the level, pressure and pressure drop of every pressure vessel such as absorption
tower, stripping tower, condensate drum and mist separator.
iv) Check the operation of reboiler.
v) Check the operation of condenser.
vi) Check for any leakage in the system.
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The main controllers for this system are (all controllers are of the regulatory type):
i) Level controllers for each absorption tower, stripping tower, mist separator and condensate
drum.
ii) Lean solution flow controller to the absorption tower.
iii) Steam flow controller to the reboiler.
iv) Pressure controller of the stripping tower.
Some of the main interlocks in this system are:
i) Pumps will shut-down if level is very low to avoid damage from cavitation and dry-running.
ii) Stand-by pump will start automatically if low discharge pressure or/and low flow is/are
detected to maintain the operation of the system.
iii) If the level of the mist separator is too high, the subsequent process will be shut-down to
protect subsequent process from damage by carry over from the mist separator.
1.2.8 Hydraulic System
Instrument air is used to open and close pneumatic valves (to control or to block process flow). However,
if the valve is very big, the pressure from instrument air is not sufficient to open or close the actuator of
the valve. Therefore, hydraulic system with high operating pressure (100 -250 bar) has to be used.
Figure 22: Example of a general hydraulic system (courtesy of PSSB)
25
Figure 22 shows a typical hydraulic system in a chemical process plant. Figure 23 shows detail section of
the system.
Figure 23: Details of a hydraulic section (source: www.manufacturinget.org)
Functions of the main components of the system:
i) Oil tank or reservoir: to supply hydraulic fluid to the hydraulic pumps.

ii) Oil filters: to filter any particulate matter in hydraulic oil.
iii) Cooling line: to cool down the hydraulic oil. For continuous system, the hydraulic fluid
becomes hot (due to continuous pump operations) if there is no cooling line provided.
iv) Hydraulic pump: to move and increase the hydraulic oil pressure.
v) Directional control valve (DCV): valve to control the movement and sequence of hydraulic
system. These valves are programmed using PLC.
vi) Actuator: to move the valves etc. The most common actuator is hydraulic cylinder.
vii) N2 accumulator: to maintain the pressure of the hydraulic system during transient state (e.g.,
when a valve is opened or closed.
The followings are simple guideline to start this system:
i) Please ensure that the hydraulic tank reservoir is full up to required level.
ii) Start the hydraulic pump (the pump is self-priming). The pressure will develop and is
maintained by the pressure relief valve (mechanically controlled).
iii) Put in service the cooler of the hydraulic oil. Start the cooling pump.
26
ii) Check the level of hydraulic oil reservoir.
iii) Check the hydraulic oil cooler.
iv) Check for any leakage in the system.
v) Check the pressure drop of oil filter.
The most important controller:
i) Pressure control: pressure is maintained via releasing overpressure by pressure relief valve
mechanically and/or using DCV programmed using PLC.
ii) The sequence of closing and opening of valves are controlled by DCV programmed using PLC.
All these are of the type of sequence control.
The main interlock in the system:
i) Sequences are halted if the valves are not fully closed or opened. The opening and closing of
these valves are detected by limit switches.
ii) Pump will shut-down if level is very low to avoid damage from cavitation and dry-running.
iii) Stand-by pump will start automatically if low discharge pressure or/and low flow is/are
detected to maintain the operation of the system.
1.2.9 Conveyor System
Conveyor system is used to transport solid material from one place to another. There are many types of
conveying system in industries. In this book, typical rubber belt conveyor system is discussed. Figure 24
shows an example of this system. In the diagram, R is the abbreviation of raw material conveyor and P is
the abbreviation of the product conveyor.
The followings are an example of to start the system of the raw material conveyor system:
i) Conveyor located downstream has to be started first to avoid material overload and spillage.
For example, R 3190 has to be started first, followed by R 3108, R 3107, R 3101, MX-3101
(vibrating screen), MX 3102 (vibrating feeder). To stop the system, the upstream conveyor
must be stopped first. For example, the vibrating feeder (MX 3102) must be stopped first,
when no material is observed, the vibrating screen (MX 3101) may be stopped. When no more
material is observed on the rubber belt, the RF 3101 and R 3107 may be stopped, followed by
R 3108 and R 3190.
27
Figure 24: A system of belt conveyor (courtesy of PSSB)
ii) Usually, this system can be started automatically or manually. In automatic mode, by
activating the start button, the system will start automatically according to the configurated
start sequence. In manual mode, the operator may start the conveyor system one by one
starting from downstream conveyor (also to avoid material overload and spillage).
iii) A lot of conveyor systems have dedicated dedusting system to reduce dust contamination in
air. This dedusting system should be started first prior to start the conveyor system.
The bins in the system are temporary storage or buffer for the materials. The vibrating feeder function is
to move the material from the bin into subsequent vibrating screen. The vibrating screen function is to
separate the material into preferred size and sent them to the subsequent process (in this case, the
reactor).
Figure 25 shows typical component of a belt conveyor (anatomy of a conveyor). The head pulley is the
drive pulley to move the conveyor (driven by electric motor). Material on the conveyor falls onto the
subsequent conveyors through discharge chute. The material enters the rubber belt through feed chute.
Without feed chute, spillage will occur and may lead to material overload. The tail pulley is located at the
most upstream of the conveyor. The rubber belts are supported by many rollers or idlers. The take-up
weight has the function as tensioner of the rubber belt.
Conveyor system is one of the most troublesome system in any plant. During normal operation, the
followings should be checked:
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i) Check the operation of pulleys and idlers. Stuck idlers should be changed.
ii) Check motor of head pulley: check for abnormal sound and motor temperature.
iii) Check the alignment of the rubber belt.
iv) Check and clean spillage.
v) Check rubber belt conditions.
vi) Check screen conditions for leakages.
vii) Check chute condition for any wear and blockage.
viii) Check the operation of dedusting system. (if any).
The most important controller is the start and stop sequences of the conveyor. The sequences are
configurated using PLC. The interlocks of this system are also configured using PLC.
Some of the interlocks for conveyor systems are:
i) When a conveyor stops, all upstream conveyors will be stopped to avoid material overload
and spillage.
ii) A conveyor cannot be started if the subsequent downstream conveyor is not running.
iii) A conveyor will stop is it is misaligned (activated by misalignment switch).
iv) A conveyor cannot be started or will stop if emergency stop switch is activated.
Figure 25: Component of a belt conveyor (courtesy of www.ckit.co.za).
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2.0 Phases or Stages of a Chemical Process Plant
Figure 26 shows a process is needed to convert raw materials into products. In Chapter 1, ethanol (the
product) can be produced from the reaction of raw materials of water and ethylene. In the process, the
water and ethylene are reacted in a reactor at specified operating temperature and pressure. The ethanol
in separated using several unit operations such as flash columns and series of distillation column.
Unreacted raw materials are recycled to maximize the profit.
In another example, ethylene glycol (the product) can be produced from the raw materials of ethylene
and oxygen.
Figure 26: A process to convert raw materials into products
The following three main goals are very important when designing, constructing and operating a chemical
process plant (but not limited to chemical plant):
i) A profitable process.
ii) A safe process.
iii) An environmentally friendly process.
Phases or stages in a chemical process plant differ from a literature to other literatures. In this book,
several important stages in plant life cycle are discussed. The stages are preliminary process design, detail
design (3D modelling and layout), construction, normal plant operations, debottlenecking and
decommissioning. Figure 27 shows the important stages in a chemical plant covered in this book.
2.1 Preliminary Process Design
In this stage, a design team is set up usually lead by process engineer. The team comprised of staffs with
various experience backgrounds such as chemical/process, electrical, control and instrumentation,
mechanical etc. The design team generates and evaluates the conceptual flow sheets with several
alternative designs for feasibility studies and to maximize the profit. They usually use commercial
computer simulators and existing plant data (if any) to enhance the understanding and the accuracy of
30
the process. They also examine safety and maintenance issues such as plant configurations and lay-out,
start-up and shut-down proposal, shut-down interlocks, adherence to local rules and regulations etc.
Figure 27: Phases or stages in chemical plant life cycle
2.2 Detail Design
If the project is feasible, the process plant design is refined in detail design stage. Every detail is planned,
specified and the full cost of the whole project is estimated. Process flow diagram (PFD) is converted into
detail piping and instrumentation diagram (P&ID). In addition, control engineers develop the blueprints
for all the control system hardware. Nowadays, the P&ID is normally constructed using advanced 3D
graphically oriented computer programs. All details including control systems, instrumentations, material
of construction are incorporated. These tasks are usually carried out by a 3rd party professional hired
experienced contractor.
Figure 28: An example of 3D computer drawing (source: logicsequence via skecthfab.com)
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2.3 Construction
This stage usually starts with site survey & mapping, site clearing and civil works according to plant layout
for process plant foundation, erections of pressure vessels, towers, reactors and storage tanks followed
by installation of rotating equipment such as pumps, compressors, turbines and fans. After installation of
those main equipment (static and rotating equipment) piping installations may be started followed by
electrical, control and instrumentation work etc. In this stage, the speed and correctness of the
construction is utmost importance to minimize profit lost. Figure 29 shows a photo of construction stage
of a chemical process plant.
Two popular project types for chemical process plant are turnkey project and EPC (Engineering,
procurement and construction). The concept of both types of project are almost similar and not to be
discussed here. In a turnkey or EPC project, the supplier or provider or main contractor is responsible for
the entire project (from design until plant operation) and handover it to the client completely finished
and ready to use. A contractor of a turnkey project begins the work from scratch and deliver a ready-to-
use project to the client. Large scale projects are usually handled by the turnkey project contractors. EPC
contractors usually handle a major part of a project (not from scratch), for example civil work or electrical
works of a chemical plant.
Figure 29: Construction stage of a chemical process plant (source: PEO ACWA via www.flickr.com)
2.4 Commissioning and Initial Start-up
Commissioning is a process to prepare the plant for initial start-up done by the contractor (witnessed or
assisted by client/owner staffs). Activities involved in commissioning are cleaning (pipeline & equipment),
testing the electrical system, testing control loops and control valves, checking the installed instruments,
testing the safety and shut-down interlocks, testing and inspecting static equipment (such as pressure
vessels), testing rotating equipment, testing the auxiliary systems, dry out (slow heating of refractory
bricks to remove moisture to avoid cracks), boil out (chemical cleaning of boiler and steam system to
remove oil and grease that may create foam) etc. In short, there are a lot of works have to be carried out
before initial start-up. Experience gained during commissioning activities is very valuable for any person
32
involved in commissioning stage of a chemical process plant. During commissioning stages, a lot of
problems are encountered and every problem must be solved before starting-up the chemical process
plant. There will be a lot of modification made to the hardware (piping, pressure vessels, valves etc.),
software (e.g., control system, interlock systems etc) and procedures (start-up procedure, shut-down
procedure, isolation procedure etc.) of the chemical plant in order to ensure the safe and smooth
operations of the chemical process plant after handing over.
What will happen if pipeline is not cleaned before initial start-up? For an ECW system, mud, debris etc.
may clogged heat exchangers causing fouling and decrease the efficiency of the system and may lead to
breakdown of equipment before next schedule shut-down. A small of metal piece in suction pipe of
rotating equipment may damage the impeller of a pump or compressor or a turbine that may lead to total
shut-down and profit lost. For a gas pipeline, normally compressed air is used for cleaning. The pipeline is
pressurized with compressed air and depressurize quickly using quick opening valve. This pressurization
followed by depressurization is repeated several times until no debris, sand or dust come out from the
quick opening valve. For liquid pipe line, water is used as the cleaning medium. For steam system, steam
is used as the cleaning medium (usually chemical cleaning with the addition of sodium hydroxide is
required cleaning of steam system). Figure 30 shows a photo of chemical cleaning for a section of a
chemical process plant.
Figure 30: A photo of steam system cleaning during commissioning stage of a chemical process plant
(source: PEO ACWA via www.flickr.com)
After all issues have been resolved during commissioning stage, the contractor will carry out initial start-
up, section by section according to the proposed start-up procedure. Usually, the auxiliary system will be
started followed by the main process. The typical sequence of auxiliary system start-up is flaring system
(to burn excess combustible gas form the chemical plant due to plant pressure control, start-up and shut-
down), instrument air system, compressed air system, ECW system, PCW system, DI water treatment
plant, DI water physical and chemical treatment plant, boiler and steam system etc. followed by the main
process.
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2.5 Normal Plant Operations
For a turnkey project, before a chemical process plant is handed over to the owner, a performance test
must be carried out. Usually, the performance test is carried out for 2 weeks, 24 hours every day. The
product quality must within the guaranteed specification at the design production rate as per agreement
between the owner and the contractor. The plant owner will operate and maintain the plant according
to the operating condition in PFD and according to SOPs to achieve production target as specification, 24
hours a day, in shifts. Shut-down is scheduled once a year for inspection and maintenance. Some of the
routine check for equipment and auxiliary systems have been discussed in chapter 1.
2.6 Debottlenecking
Debottlenecking is a process of getting more production (or profit margin) from an existing plant and
equipment by improving the process or revamping the equipment. An example of debottlenecking: by
changing to a bigger capacity pump (from 50 m3/ h to 100 m3/h) the production can be increased by 10%.
In this case the existing small capacity pump is the bottleneck to increase the plant production. Another
example is injecting antifoaming agent to reduce amine loss in CO2 absorption system. It is said that any
chemical plant can be debottlenecked up to 120 % of the plant normal capacity.
2.7 Decommissioning
Decommissioning is the process after end of life of the plant. All plants will cease to run someday. When
this happened, a process must be designed & executed to decommission the plant safely with minimum
cost. Decommissioning a chemical process plant is challenging due to the presence of harmful chemicals
to the people and environment. Decontamination of harmful materials using proper procedure and
technique is necessarily followed by dismantling and safe disposal of the chemical plant. Figure 31 shows
some of works that has to be considered during decommissioning.
Figure 31: Decommissioning stage
34
3.0 Process Flow Diagram (PFD) & Piping Instrumentation
Diagram (P&ID)
There are lot of diagrams in chemical process plant. The two most important diagrams for process
operators in chemical process plant are process flow diagram (PFD) and piping instrumentation diagram
(P&ID).
3.1 Process Flow Diagram (PFD)
PFD shows the arrangement of the major equipment and general flow to carry out the process. A PFD
contains the main equipment, the stream connections, stream flow rates, compositions and the operating
conditions. The PFD is usually used for fixing process parameters such flow, temperature and pressure of
the chemical plant during normal operations. It is also used for process understanding, process
improvement, quality control and process trainings. Figure 32 shows an example of a simple PFD for a
chemical process plant.
The following information must be present in a PFD:
i) Stream composition, either:

a) The flow rate of each individual component, in kg/h (which is preferred), or
b) The stream composition as a weight fraction.
ii) Total stream flow rate, in kg/h.
iii) Stream temperature, in oC (which is preferred).
iv) The operating pressure.
The following information are optional in a PFD:
i) Composition in molar percentage.

ii) Physical property data, mean values for the stream, such as:
a) Density, kg/m3.
b) Viscosity, mNs/m2.
iii) The stream enthalpy, kJ/h.
iv) Stream name, a brief, one or two words, description of the nature of the stream, for example
“Acetone column bottoms”.
35
Figure 32: An example of a PFD
3.2 Piping & Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID)
The P & ID diagrams show the graphical engineering details and arrangement of the equipment,
instruments, piping, valves and fittings and other process equipment in a chemical process plant. Figure
33 shows an example of a simple P&ID. The P&ID is used by the engineer for laying out a process control
installation. For a process operator it is used for an activity called “line tracing”. A line tracing activity is a
type of chemical plant familiarization training by comparing every detail in a P&ID with real equipment,
fittings and instrumentation at site.
A P&ID should include:
i) All process equipment identified by an equipment number with location of nozzles and drawn
roughly in proportion.
ii) All pipes identified by a line number with pipe size and material of construction.
iii) All valves, control and block valves, with an identification number with size and types
(differentiate by symbols)
iv) Ancillary fittings that are part of the piping system, such as inline sight glasses, strainers and
stream traps; with an identification number.
v) Pumps, identified by a suitable code number.
vi) All control loops and instrument, with an identification number.
36
Figure 33: An example of P&ID of a waste heat boiler (courtesy of PSSB)
Please be noted that the symbols used in P&ID and PFD, are somewhat differ from one drawing
standard/code to another drawing standard/code. Therefore, one has to refer to the respective standard
when reading a drawing of P&ID and PFD. Figure 34 shows the common symbols used in P&ID.
Figure 34: Some common symbols in P&ID
37
3.3 Area Classification and Equipment Tag Number
The main process and auxiliary systems have unique area classification number. All equipment, piping and
instrument have their own unique identification number (tag number) based on the area classification.
The tag number for every item based on the area classification is used in the PFD and P&ID.
The following is an example of area classification:
A process plant is designed to produce 1.4 million ton of iron per year with guarantee product specification
of 92% metallization and 1.8% carbon. The main process (supported by auxiliary systems such as
instrument air, ECW, PCW, boiler and steam system etc.) is divided into two sections:
i) The reforming section: where reducing gas is formed by natural gas catalytic steam reforming.
ii) The reduction section: where iron ore is reduced to metallic iron by reaction with the reducing
gas.
The area classification of the main process is:
i) Reforming section : Area 4100

ii) Reduction section no 1 : Area 4200
iii) Reduction section no 2 : Area 4700
The area classification of the auxiliary systems is:
i) ECW System : Area 5100

ii) PCW System : Area 5200
iii) Instrument Air System : Area 6000
iv) Compressed Air System : Area 6100
v) Nitrogen System : Area 6200
vi) BFW System : Area 5000
vii) Boiler & Steam System : Area 4400
viii) Water Treatment System : Area 5300
ix) CO2 Absorption System : Area 4300
x) Raw Material System : Area 3100
xi) Product Handling System : Area 3200
Based on the area classification, the tag number of ECW pumps in equipment cooling water systems are
PU 5101 A/B/C:
PU 5101 A/B/C is the abbreviation for pump.

PU 5101 A/B/C indicates that the pump is located in area 5000 (ECW system).
PU 5101 A/B/C indicates that the pump number is 101 in area 5000 (ECW system).
PU 5101 A/B/C indicate that there 3 pumps including standby pump.
38
3.4 Recycle, Purge and By-pass in Chemical Process
Recycling can reduce operating cost of any plant a lot. For example, if there is a lot of unreacted reactants,
it may be separated using suitable unit operations and recycled to reactor to reduce the cost of fresh raw
materials (if it is economically feasible i.e., recycling cost is less than cost to buy fresh raw material). Off-
spec product during start-up, may also be recycled (typical percentage 10% maximum) to reduce fresh
raw material cost. Another example is steam condensate (from reboiler, turbine etc.) is also recycled into
the deaerator to reduce cost of fresh industrial water make-up and cost of converting the industrial water
into DI water.
An inert material (any material that does not involve in chemical reaction) that enters with the fresh feed
or produced in a reaction will accumulate in a recycle stream, making the attainment of steady state
impossible. To prevent the accumulation of the inert material, a portion of the recycle stream must be
withdrawn as a purge stream. The percentage of recycle stream that must be purged depends on the
specific process. The releasing of material from the system for pressure control is also a kind of “purge”.
The purged material usually goes into flaring system for safety (due to combustible properties of the purge
materials). For liquid material, the term “purge” is known as “blow down”. In Figure 35, the function of
the recycle stream is to recycle separated ethylene, the feed of the reactor. The purge in Figure 35 has
the function to control the plant pressure and to remove unreacted (inert components) such as CO2 and
CH4 from the process.
By-pass of a process is diverting a fraction of inlet stream around a unit and combined with the output
stream to alter the properties such as process temperature and composition of the output stream.
Another function of by-pass is for isolation and maintenance such as the by-pass pipeline & valves of a
control valve. In Figure 35, the function of by-pass is to maintain the inlet temperature of the reactor.
Figure 35: Recycle, purge and by-pass in a chemical process plant
39
4.0 Safety in Chemical Process Plant
Safety is very important when dealing with chemical process plant. There are many types of hazards in a
chemical process plant such as chemical, biological, physical, environment, psychosocial and ergonomic
hazards.
In chemical process industry, the followings (of the type of chemical hazard) are considered major hazards:
i) Fire
ii) Explosion
iii) Toxic release
These three major hazards are discussed in this chapter in order for us to understand the principles in
mitigating those hazards in chemical process plant.
4.1 Some Important Safety Terms
In short, “hazard” is anything with the potential to produce an accident. “Risk” is a likelihood of hazard to
occur in term of probability. The word “safety” or “loss prevention” is the prevention of accidents by the
use of appropriate technologies to identify the hazard and try to eliminate or reduce them before an
accident occurs.
It is always good to adhere to inherent safety concept. Inherent safety is to select a process or equipment
which is by nature a safer process or equipment by applying keywords such as substitution, intensification
& attenuation. For the keyword “substitution”, always substitute hazardous material/process/equipment
with a safer one. For example, electric motor driven valve should be substituted with pneumatic valve (no
spark is produced by pneumatic actuator). The keyword “intensification” tells us to limit the inventory of
hazardous materials in our process or storage. An example of the application of this keyword is selecting
distillation sequence with minimum inventory (or minimum column number) at the design stage. The
keyword “attenuation” tells us, if hazardous materials cannot be substituted, then handle them under the
least hazardous conditions. For example, liquefied gas should be stored as refrigerated liquid instead of
under pressure.
Accident and loss statistics are measurement to evaluate the effectiveness of safety program in a
workplace. The accident and loss statistics are indicator whether a process is safe and safe working
procedure are working properly at a workplace. There are three popular accident and loss statistics used
in any industry, namely:
40
i) OSHA 1 & OSHA 2:
OSHA 1 is based on injury and illness, while OSHA 2 is based on lost workdays. Both OSHA 1
and 2 are based on 100 workers years which is equivalent to 200,000 hours. 1 worker year is
equivalent to 2000 hours (8 hours/ day X 5 days/work week X 40 work weeks/ year).
ii) Fatal Accident Rate (FAR):

FAR reports the number of fatalities based on 1000 employees working their lifetime which is
equivalent to 108 hours. 1 worker year is similar to OSHA 1 & 2 which is equivalent to 2000
hours. A lifetime work for an employee is equivalent to 50 years. Thus, 108 hours = 1000
employees X 2000 hours/ year X 50 years/employee.
iii) Fatality rate: the unit is death per person per year. It is independent of total employees
working hours during period covered.
The formula to calculate those accident and loss statistics can be found in Figure 36.
Figure 36: Formula to calculate OSHA 1 &2, FAR and fatality rate
Some of important terms used by OSHA are explained in the following section:
i) Occupational injury: any injury (cut, fracture, amputation, etc.) resulting from workplace
accident.
ii) Occupational illness: any disorder other than (i) caused by exposure to working environment
such as chronic or acute illness.
iii) Lost workdays: days which employee shall work but could not due to occupational injury or
illness (excluding the day of injury).
iv) Recordable case: cases involving occupational injury or illness (including death). 1st aid case is
excluded.
41
4.2 Major Hazard No 1: Fire
As mentioned earlier, there are 3 major hazards in chemical process plants. Table 1 shows the relative
ratings of probability, fatalities and economics loss of the major hazards.
Table 1: Relative ratings of probability, fatalities and economic loss of major hazard
Fire is a rapid oxidation of a material accompanied by heat or flame and other reaction products. Fire may
lead to explosion and toxic release.
To assess the fire hazard of any substance, the followings should be considered (as depicted in Figure 37):
i) Flash point: is the lowest temperature of a liquid at which it gives enough vapor to form an
ignitable mixture with air.
ii) Fire point: the lowest temperature at which vapor above liquid will continue to burn once
ignited. Fire point is higher than flash point.
iii) Autoignition temperature: is the temperature at which a flammable mixture will ignite
spontaneously in air without any external source of ignition.
iv) Lower & upper flammability limit (LFL & UFL): A flammable gas will burn in air only in between
UFL and LFL. Below the LFL, the mixture is too lean to burn (lack of fuel). Above UFL, the
mixture is too rich to burn (lack of O2). Common unit used - volume percent fuel (% of fuel
plus air).
Figure 37: Flash point, fire point, autoignition temperature and flammability limit (source https://expeltec.com,
www.chem1.edu) 42
Fire occurs if there is enough fuel, enough oxidizer (within flammable range) and enough heat (or ignition
source) according to fire triangle (Figure 38). Therefore, a fire can be extinguished by removing either the
fuel, the oxidizer or the heat.
Figure 38: Fire triangle
Example of oxidizers are:
i) Gas: O2, Cl2, F2.

ii) Liquid: H2O2, nitric acid, perchloric acid.
iii) Solid: Metal peroxides, ammonium nitrates.
Example of fuels are:
i) Gas: CO, CH4, H2.

ii) Liquid: Gasoline, ether, ethanol.
iii) Solid: wood, charcoal, metal particles
Example of ignition sources (or heat) are:
i) Spark, electric static, flame, heat.
4.2.1 Pool, Flash and Torch Fire
There are several general types of fire (Figure 39):
i) Pool fire: liquid spills onto the ground forming a pool. The volatile liquid (example: petrol)
evaporates into atmosphere to form flammable mixture, ignited and form pool fire. The heat
vaporizes more fuel and air is drawn in round to the side to support combustion. Danger to
people is by direct thermal radiation.
ii) Flash fire: relatively volatile spilled material (example: propane, butane, LPG) forms a pool
with rapid evaporation forming sizeable vapor cloud, drifted away by wind, ignited by ignition
source to form flash fire. People is at risk from thermal radiation effect.
43
iii) Torch fire: high pressure release of gas from a pressure vessel or pipeline ignites almost
immediately, forming torch fire with flame length tens of meters. Danger arises from thermal
radiation and also impingement on adjacent pressurized vessel containing liquefied
petroleum gas (LPG) may cause vessel failure from boiling liquid expansion vapor explosion
(BLEVE).
Figure 39: Pool, flash and torch fire (source: www.tasnimnews.com, EdJF via en.wikipedia.org)
4.3 Major Hazard No 2: Explosion
Explosion is sudden and violent release of energy physically or chemically. Examples of chemical explosion
are explosion from explosive material and exothermic chemical reaction. Examples of physical explosion
are explosion due to fracture of a vessel containing high pressure gas or steam due to over pressure.
In general, explosion can be divided into two types:
i) Deflagration: resulting shock wave moving at the speed less than speed of sound.
ii) Detonation: resulting shock wave moving at the speed greater than speed of sound, i.e., shock
wave followed closely by a combustion wave. Figure 40 shows, a photo of shock wave
followed by combustion wave in a detonation.
Figure 40: Shock wave of a detonation (source: causticsodapodcast.com)
44
4.3.1 UVCE, CVCE, BLEVE and Dust Explosion
The followings are several specific types of explosions in chemical process plant:
i) Unconfined Vapor Cloud Explosion (UVCE): It is an explosion due to the ignition of large pre-
mixed cloud of flammable vapor and air of concentration within the flammable range. Popular
example: Flixborough,1974 in which a major leak of hydrocarbon occurred at a reactor non-
standard modified piping, forming vapor cloud, ignited and led to UVCE.
ii) Confined Vapor Cloud Explosion (CVCE): Vapor explosion occurs within a vessel or building.
Popular example: Abbeystead disaster, 1984, in which methane gas in water pumping station
ignited killing several visitors.
iii) Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion (BLEVE): Vessel containing flammable liquid (e.g.,
LPG) is heated by fire from neighboring vessel. The flammable liquid vaporized and build
pressure, vessel weakened and finally ruptures creating vapor cloud and explodes. Casualties
are from blast effect, thermal radiation or missiles. Popular example: Feyzin 1966 involving
propane tank and San Juanico, Mexico City 1984 involving LPG tank.
iv) Dust Explosion: Results from the rapid combustion of fine combustible solid particles (dust in
grain silo, iron & aluminum dust). Popular example: New Orleans in 1977 in which 45 silos
containing corn, wheat and soy beans were involved.
Figure 41 shows photos of those type of explosion.
Figure 41: Specific types of explosions (source: Tom’s River Fire Dept via www.flicker.com, Hans-Peter Schlolz via commons.
wikimedia.org, www.tispain.com)
45
4.4 Method to Reduce Fire/Explosion Hazard
Based on the fire triangle, fire and explosion hazard can be eliminated in chemical process plant if there
is no fuel or no oxidizer (oxygen) or no ignition source. Figure 42 shows illustration of some methods to
eliminate or reduce fire/explosion hazard
i) No fuel:
a) Make sure there is no leakage in the process plant. An example to ensure no leakage
before start-up is to perform leak test activity before plant start-up. In the leak test
activity, the chemical plant has to be pressurized up to operating pressure. Operators
should check for any leakage at flanges, manholes etc. by using soap solution. The plant
should be 100% leakage free before start-up.
b) Installation of permanent combustible gas detectors in plant, to detect any combustible
gas leakage during plant operations.
ii) No oxygen:
a) Do N2 purging inside pipeline and pressure vessel before start-up until O2 content is less
than 0.5% to avoid occurrence of flammable gas mixture inside pipeline.
b) For liquid storage tank, ensure N2 blanket working properly at the top space of the storage
tank to avoid admission of O2 into the storage tank.
iii) No ignition source:

a) Prohibition to bring ignition sources into chemical plant such as lighter, camera, petrol
driven vehicles etc.
b) Using explosion proof equipment such as explosion proof motor etc.
c) Earth all metallic pipe and equipment to avoid ignition from electric statics.
Figure 42: Some of the methods to eliminate fire/explosion hazard (source: www.scielo.org.co, S.J. de Waard via
en.wikipedia.org, Ali K via commons.wikimedia.org, Leo Reynolds via www.flickr.com, Sansumaria via fr.wikipedia.org,
Barry Smith via rustnstuff.blogspot.com, Guy Immega via en.wikipedia.org)
46
d) Process flames such as flare, incinerator should be sited away from area containing
flammable materials.
4.5 Major Hazard No 3: Toxic Release
A toxic may come into contact (or exposed) to us through four ways:
i) Inhalation: by inhaling through nose and mouth into the lungs.

ii) Skin contact: by absorption through our skin into blood streams.
iii) Ingestion: through the mouth accidently or purposely into digestion systems.
iv) Injections: purposely injected into blood stream using needled syringes.
4.5.1 Some Terminologies for Toxic Release
There are a lot of safety terminologies regarding toxic release hazard. Therefore, it is appropriate to
discuss the definition of the terminologies in this chapter.
Acute exposure is a short-term effect (immediate effect) where large number of people are briefly
exposed at high concentrations of toxic material. Acute exposure is also called safety hazard in which
people are exposed to highly toxic materials that can cause immediate injury such as chlorine and
phosgene.
Chronic exposure is long term health risk associated with prolonged exposure at low concentrations. It is
also known as health and hygiene hazard in which its effect is apparent after long exposure at low
concentration. An example of health hazard is cancer due to long exposure to low concentration of vinyl
chloride. Figure 43 shows some differences of acute and chronic exposure of toxic substances.
For short term exposure, LC50 and LD50 are applicable to assess the toxicity of a material. LC50 is the lethal
Figure 43: Acute and chronic exposure
concentration of air borne toxicant which is lethal to 50% of an animal test group over a given exposure
47
period, usually 4 hours. LD50 is the lethal dose, an index for non-air borne material which result in the
death of 50% of the test group over a given exposure period, usually 4 hours.
For long term exposure (for workplace environment) 3 threshold limit values (TLV) categories are used. In
Malaysia they are called Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL):
i) TWA A limit: the time-weighted average airborne concentration for a normal eight hours
workday, to which nearly all workers may be repeatedly exposed, day after day, without any
adverse effect.
ii) Maximum Exposure Limit: a fifteen minutes time-weighted average airborne concentration
that is defined as three times the TWA.
iii) Ceiling Limit: the airborne concentration that should not be exceeded during any part of the
working day
4.5.2 Method to Eliminate or Reduce Toxic Release Hazard
The main objective of controlling or reducing toxic hazard is to limit the chemical dosage by preventing or
minimizing the exposure (normally by inhalation). The followings are some methods used to eliminate or
reduce toxic release hazard:
i) Avoid using toxic chemicals (if possible).

ii) Containment i.e., use leak tight equipment such as mechanical seal (instead of packing),
welded joint in preference to flanges, seal less pump etc.
iii) Equipment can be enclosed & ventilated with vapor treatment. In laboratory, fume hood can
be used to avoid contact with chemicals vapor.
iv) Storage tanks should be prevented from breathing to atmosphere by 3 ways: a) By vapor
treatment (adsorption, absorption, condenser etc. with inert blanketing); b) Floating roof with
inert blanketing; c) Flexible membrane roof.
v) Proper disposal: provision of effective vent stacks to disperse material from pressure relief
devices or vent scrubbers or purging during after shut-down.
vi) Installation of permanent toxic gas detectors in plant, to detect any combustible gas leakage
during plant operations.
vii) Good ventilation: use open structure or provide ventilation where ever necessary, especially
in laboratories.
viii) Regular medical check-up should be carried out to examine for chronic effects.
ix) Regular monitoring of the workplace to check chemicals exposure level.
x) Good general hygiene: workplace is equipped with washing facilities, proper operating
instruction, good housekeeping etc.
Figure 44 shows illustration of some methods to eliminate or to reduce toxic release hazard.
48
Figure 44: Some methods to reduce or eliminate toxic release hazard (source: 2018.igem.org, ourfiniteworld.com, Nick
Youngson via www.thebluediamondgallery.com, studentswithlearningdifficulties.blogspot.com, www.octavarius.com,
spencer.gear.dyndns.org)
4.6 Hazard Control Category
In this book, hazard control category is divided into 3:
i) Engineering control.
ii) Management control.
iii) Using personal protective equipment (PPE).
Examples of engineering controls are mechanical guard, toxic and combustible gas detection system,
process control system, shut-down and interlock system, ventilation system, illumination system etc.
Some examples of management (or administrative) system are safe working systems, permit to work
systems, training and re-training on process, equipment and safety, planned preventive maintenance,
good housekeeping etc.
Many books say that the last line of defense are PPEs. According to OSHA Act 514, it is the obligation of
the employer to provide PPEs to their employee and it is the obligation of the employee to wear and use
suitable PPEs at any time in their workplace. Some of PPEs used in chemical process plant are hard hat (to
protect the head from falling objects), safety shoe (to protect the feet from impact of heavy objects),
gloves (to protect hands from physical injury, chemicals, heat etc.), safety glass and goggles (to protect
eyes from dust, flying debris, UV light), ear muff or plug (to protect ears from intense noise, > 85 dB),
49
apron (to protect body from chemicals, heat),respirator including self-contained breathing apparatus,
SCBA (to protect respiratory system from dust, toxic or oxygen deficiency atmosphere), falling protector
(such as full body harness, lanyard, anchor) etc. Figure 45 shows some photos of common PPEs.
Figure 45: Some of the common PPEs (source: www.iconographystudios.net, bluecollarprepping.blogspot.com, Francis Flinch
via en.wikipedia.org, foottalk.blogspot.com, www.atlantictraining.com/blog, Ed Hunt via www.flickr.com, bisakimia.com,
scioly.org, wradrasis.blogspot.com, www.noonpost.com, ajishnavigator.blogspot.com, Gratuit via www.freeimageslive.co.uk,
Scott Ward via www.freepngimg.com, pngimg.com, www.nextcrave.com, Bill Ebbesen via commons.wikimedia.com
4.7 Permit to Work System
Permit to work (PTW) system is a part of safe working procedure under management control to ensure
safe maintenance and repair works. In chemical process plant, any work requires the work permit. Some
of the important PTWs are:
i) Confined space entry permit: Hazardous situation from lack of oxygen and exposure to toxic
fumes may exist when entering a confined space.
ii) Hot work permit: For any work producing sparks and heat such as welding, grinding etc.
Hazardous situation may arise from the presence of flammable and explosive gas.
iii) Cold work permit: For any work other than hot work.
iv) Excavation permit: To avoid damaging underground cable and pipe systems.
v) Radiation permit: For any works using ionizing radiation such as X ray for weld seam etc.
Figure 46 shows examples of work permit.
50
Figure 46: Examples of work permit
51
5.0 Pipes & Fittings
Pipe and fittings are one of the most abundant components in a chemical process plant. A pipe is a straight
pressure tight hollow cylinder to transport fluid from one location to another. Fittings are used in piping
and plumbing to connect straight pipes (or tubing), to adapt to different sizes or shapes and to regulate
fluid flow.
5.1 Fittings
Fittings are used to connect pipes, to adapt to different sizes or shapes and to regulate flow of fluid. Some
of the common fittings in industry are:
i) Elbow: installed between two pipes or tube to allow a change in direction (usually 45o or 90o).
ii) Tee: to combine or split a fluid flow.
iii) Cross: to combine or split flow but with one inlet and three outlet or vice versa.
iv) Coupling: to connect two straight pipes. If the size of the coupling is dissimilar, it is called a
reducer or adapter.
v) Cap: to cover end of a pipe.
vi) Plug: to close the end of a pipe. Has similar functions to a cap, but fits inside the mated pipe.
vii) Union: has similar functions to a coupling, but it allows a quick and convenient disconnection
of pipes for maintenance.
Figure 47 shows photos of some common fittings.
5.2 Pipes
Pipe is used to convey fluids from one location to another. Pipes in oil and gas industries can be
classified into (Figure 48):
i) Seamless pipe.
ii) Welded pipe.
There are two types of welded pipe:
i) Straight seam: single seam (for medium size pipe) or double seams (for large diameter pipe).
ii) Helical seam.
52
Figure 47: Some common pipe fittings
Figure 48: Seamless and welded pipe (source www.hostedredmine.com, www.steelpipe-tube.com

& www.jetvision-cn.com)
53
Pipe with the size above 2″ is called large bore pipe, whereas pipe with size up to 2” is called small bore
pipe. Pipe length is measured in feet or meter from 3.7 – 10.7 m. Pipes are not manufactured in the same
length, so please refer to the manufacturer specifications when ordering a pipe.
Pipe end can be classified into (Figure 49):
i) Plain end: easy to align, but not suitable if crevice corrosion is anticipated.
ii) Beveled end: suitable to join large bore pipe and a reliable leak proof joint. End preparation
is necessary and the most common join used in chemical process industry.
iii) Threaded end: can be used when welding is not allowed due to fire hazard. May leak if not
properly sealed. Not suitable if crevice corrosion and vibration is anticipated. Joint strength
reduced due to the thread.
iv) Socket and spigot end: can accept misalignment up to 10o. Suitable for low pressure
application.
Figure 49: Pipe end classification (source: W.Carter via commons.wikimedia.org,

www.hostedredmine.com, Mm zaletel via commons.wikimedia.org)
A lined pipe is a pipe with mechanical bonding between lined material and base pipe. The most popular
lined materials are PTFE, glass and fiber. The advantage of this technique is a low-cost pipe with good
strength and special properties such as corrosion resistance.
A clad pipe is a pipe with mechanical bonding between cladding material and base pipe. An example of
cladding material is stainless steel. The advantage of this technique is similar to lined pipe, producing low-
cost pipe (compared to using full material cladding material) with good strength and special properties.
54
5.2.1 Pipe Dimension & Schedule Number
Schedule number is the way pipe wall thickness is mentioned. The formula to determine schedule number
is:
Schedule Number = 1000 x P / S
P = service pressure, in psi

S = allowable stress, in psi
As an example, for ordinary steel pipe having allowable stress of 10,000 psi to be used at working pressure
of 300 psig, the calculated schedule number is (1000) x (300/10,000) = 30. Thus, pipe with schedule
number higher than 30 (higher than calculated) should be used for the application. The common schedule
numbers of pipes are 5, 10, 20, 30, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 140 and 160. The higher the schedule number,
the higher the thickness of the pipe. Pipe with schedule number 80 is thicker than schedule number 40.
Schedule number with S suffix is for stainless steel pipes (E.g., 5S, 10S, 40S, 80S). There are some
abbreviations in the schedule number such as STD for standard, -XS for extra-strong and -XXS for double
extra-strong.
The outside diameter of each pipe size is standardized. The inside diameter depends on the schedule
number (or thickness of the pipe).
Figure 50: The NPS, OD and ID of a pipe
NPS stands for nominal pipe size. The end point of the NPS is not necessarily at the middle of the pipe
material. For NPS 2, the pipe ID is near to NPS, whereas for NPS 14, the pipe OD is similar to NPS.
Some of the common materials for pipe are carbon steel, low alloy steel, stainless steel, exotic materials
(such as titanium, copper, nickel and its alloy) and non-metal (such as PVC, HDPE, GRE/GRP etc.). Table 2
shows the most common materials and grades for pipe and the recommended conditions.
55
Table 2: The common materials for pipe (source: Carucci V.A., 2000)
In P&ID, all pipelines have their own tag number. For example, 10”-ECW(R)-4102- W01, 10” is the nominal
pipe size, ECW(R) refers to content of the pipe, in this case ECW(R) stands for equipment cooling water
return. 4102 is the unique identification of the pipe. W01 is the reference for the pipe specification
document.
5.2.2 Minimum Wall Thickness for a Pipe (ASME 31.3)
Minimum wall thickness of a process pipe for a specific internal pressure according to ASME 31.3 Code is
given by:
𝑃𝑃 x 𝐷𝐷
𝑡𝑡 =
2(𝑆𝑆 x 𝐸𝐸 + 𝑃𝑃 x 𝑌𝑌)
P = Design pressure, psig

D = Pipe outside diameter, in.
S = Allowable stress in tension, psi.
E = Longitudal joint quality factor.
Y = Wall thickness correction factor.
𝑡𝑡𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 = 𝑡𝑡 + 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶
tmin = pipe thickness + corrosion allowance

CA = corrosion allowances.
𝑡𝑡𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚
𝑡𝑡𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 =
0.875
tnom = nominal thickness
56
Example:
Determine the pipe wall thickness according to ASME 31.3 Code for the following conditions:
Design T = 800oF.
Design P = 800 psig.
Pipe outside diameter = 10 in.
Material: Carbon Steel A106, Grade B, Seamless.
Corrosion allowance = 0.0625 in.
Answer:
S, allowable stress at design temperature = 10800 psi (from Table 3, interpolate if required)
Y, wall thickness correction factor = 0.4 (from Table 4)
E, longitudal joint quality factor = 1 (from Table 5)
800 × 10
𝑡𝑡 =
2[(10800 × 1) + (800 × 0.4)]
𝑡𝑡 = 0.360 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖
𝑡𝑡𝑚𝑚 = 𝑡𝑡 + 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 = 0.360 + 0.0625 = 0.4225 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖
0.4225
𝑡𝑡𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛 = = 0.4829 𝑖𝑖𝑖𝑖
0.875
Table 3: Allowable stress at designated temperature (source: Carruci V.A., 2000)
Table 4: Correction factor (source: Carruci V.A., 2000)
57
Table 5: Joint quality factor (source: Carruci V.A., 2000)
5.3 Flanges
Flanges are used to joint pipes. Flanges are made from forged materials with machined surface according
to standard ASME/ANSI B16.5 or ASME/ANSI B 16.47. There are a lot of flanges classification according to
their manufacturers. In this book, based on their attachment, flanges can be classified into several types
(Figure 51):
58
i) Weld neck: the most widely used in process pipe for high pressure & high temperature
application.
ii) Slip on: inserted and can slip along a pipe. It is welded inside and outside, suitable for low
pressure and low temperature application.
iii) Socket weld: has a female socket (cannot slip), used in small bore pipe and suitable for low P
and low T application.
iv) Blind flange & spectacle blind: both are used for process isolation.
v) Lap Joint: has two components, the stub and loss backing flange. The flange can be freely
rotated and used where frequent dismantling is required.
vi) Threaded: having a thread inside flange bore. Mostly used for utility services such as air and
water (low P & low T application), usually for pipe size with NPS < 4”.
Figure 51: Type of flanges based on attachment (courtesy of Varunpatel via https://hardhatengineer.com)
There are many classifications of flange faces by the flange manufacturers. In this book, the face of a
flange is of three types (Figure 52):
i) Flat face: for low pressure application (pressure class rating of 150).
ii) Raised face: for high pressure application (up to 600 pressure class rating).
iii) Ring joint type (RTJ): for very high-pressure application (above 900 pressure class rating).
59
Figure 52: Type of flanges face (courtesy of Varunpatel via https://hardhatengineer.com)
5.3.1 Pressure Class Rating
Pressure class rating is used in flange, pipe and fittings design to determine the acceptable pressure and
temperature combination for a material of flange, pipe and fittings. Some of the available pressure classes
are class 150, 300, 400, 600, 900,1,500 and 2,500.
An example for determination of pressure class of a flange is presented here for better understanding of
the pressure class concept.
Example:
Determine the required flange class for the following conditions
• Pipe Material: 1¼ Cr - ½ Mo
• Design Temperature: 800°F
• Design Pressure: 600 psig
Answer:
The first step is to determine the material group number (from Table 6):
Group Number = 1.9
Secondly, determine the allowable design pressure for the design pressure and material group (Table 7):
For class 150: Allowable design stress = 80 psig < design pressure (600 psig).
Pressure class rating 150 is not suitable, so move to next higher pressure class.
For class 300: Allowable design stress = 510 psig < design pressure (600 psig).
Pressure class 300 is not suitable, so move to next higher pressure class.
For class 400: Allowable design stress = 650 psig > design pressure (600 psi).
Thus, the required flange pressure class is 400.
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Table 6: Material specification table (source: Carucci V.A, 2000)
Table 7: Pressure class rating (source: Carruci V.A, 2000)
61
5.5 Gasket
A gasket is a mechanical seal that fills the space between two objects (such as between flanges or covers),
generally to prevent leakage between the two objects while under compression (usually compressed by
bolts).
In this book, gaskets for flanges, generally can be classified into four:
i) Sheet: the cheapest gaskets, "punched out" of a sheet of fibrous materials. These gaskets can
fulfill many chemical requirements based on the inertness of the material used.
ii) Spiral wound: a mix of metallic material and “sealing filler material “(e.g., graphite) winding
in spiral. The most widely used gaskets in chemical process plant.
iii) Solid metal ring: is used for high temperature and very high-pressure applications with RTJ
type flanges. The solid metal ring must be greatly compressed in order to become flush with
the flange to prevent leakage.
iv) Double jacketed: metal jacketed gaskets are made from filler material (graphite, ceramic)
covered with thin metal jacket (stainless steel, copper etc.). Its special used is in sealing spots
of heat exchanger, pressure vessel etc. These gaskets are highly resistance against blow-out
and suitable for high assembly stress.
All gaskets can be used once only, (not to be reused) due to compression deformation. Once
disassembled, a new gasket should be used to ensure positive sealing of the flanges or covers. Figure 53
shows photos of gaskets types. Table 8 shows some recommended gasket materials at different
combination of pressure and temperature.
Figure 53: Type of gaskets (source: en.wikipedia.org, www.dimer-group.com and www.exportersindia.com)
62
Table 8: Recommended gasket materials for different conditions
To avoid leakage at the gasket, the flanges must be properly aligned. Figure 54 shows types of mis
alignment for proper gasket installation. Figure 55 shows the illustrations of type E gaskets (same outside
diameter as the flanges, and are made with precision-located bolt holes) and type F gaskets (are made to
fit within the bolt hole circle of the flange faces.)
Figure 54: Flange misalignment for gasket installation
Figure 55: Type F, E & D gaskets (source: www.yorkshiregaskets.com)
63
5.6 Valves
General functions of valve are:
i) To block flow.
ii) To regulate flow (or control) flow.
iii) To prevent back flow.
The types of valves that can be used to block, regulate and prevent flow reversal are (Figure 56):
i) To block flow: gate valve, ball valve, plug valve and butterfly valve.
ii) To regulate flow: globe valve and butterfly valve. For small flow such as for laboratory usage,
needle valve or diaphragm valve can be used.
iii) To prevent back-flow: check valve.
In chemical process plant, valves are used as:
i) Shut off valve: whose purpose is to block flow during shut-down, for isolation etc. This shut-
off valves can be closed manually (by hand) or automatically (driven by electric motor or
pneumatic actuator during shut-down).
ii) Control valve: usually in automatic mode to regulate flow. When material flow can be
regulated the main process variables such as level, temperature, pressure and flow rate can
be controlled to get production target and specification.
iii) Check valve: to prevent flow reversal or back flow.
Valves can be opened/closed manually by hand or driven by pneumatic, hydraulic or electric actuator
(electric motor or solenoid). Figure 57 shows drivers to close or open a valve. Control valves and shut-
down valves are dismantled for services and calibration during annual shut-down or turnaround.
There are a lot of drain and vent valves in chemical process plant. These valves are relatively small, but
vital to the smooth plant operations. The function of drain valve is to drain any accumulating liquid in
process vessel, pipes and for N2 purging. The function of vent valve is to remove accumulating gas or vapor
in process vessel, pipes and for N2 purging. Figure 58 shows example of drain and vent valves of a steam
boiler.
It is important to anybody working in chemical process industry to know some basic component of a valve.
Figure 59 shows some components of a globe valve.
64
Figure 56:Type of valves (A) to block flow, (B) to regulate flow and (C) to prevent back-flow (source: Gwen
Arkin via pressbooks.oer.hawaii.edu, avibert.blogspot.com, Bitjungle via common.wikimedia.org, Kostroman
via sketchfab.com, bennet.willis@sbcglobal.net via www.flickr.com, The Alloy Valve Stockist’s via
fr.wikipedia.com, Heather Smith The Alloy Valve Stockist’s via de.wikipedia.org, www.asahivalve.com,
https://chemicalengineeringworld.com, Heather Smith The Alloy Valve Stockist’s via
commons.wikimedia.org, pubs.sciepub.com, Emilian Robert Vicol via www.flickr.com, Palagiri via
en.wikipedia.org)
65
Figure 57: Hand, pneumatic, electric motor and solenoid driven valves (source: www.asahivalves.com, avibert.blogspot.com,
Regentvalve via commons.wikimedia.org, millops.community.uaf.edu, arduino.stackexchange.com, www.solenoidvalve.in)
Figure 58: Drain and vent valve at a level gauge (source: Dave Sclavi via ibls.org)
66
Figure 59: Components of a globe valve (source: Coulson et. al., 2006)
5.7 Pipe Support, Pipe Hanger and Expansion Joint
Pipe support is used to support pipe and its content in order to maintain the integrity of the pipework.
Rigid support restricts the movement of the pipe. Pipe hanger is used to support pipe by hanging. Flexible
support is used to support pipe and at the same time compensating slight vertical pipe movement. Figure
60 shows some examples of pipe support, pipe hanger and flexible support.
Figure 60: Pipe support, pipe hanger and flexible support (source: en.wikipedia.org, Piping Technology & Products Inc. via
www.flickr.com, Speric via www.flickr.com, diy.stackechange.com)
67
Expansion or flexible joint is used to reduce stress due to vibration or small movement such as at the inlet
and outlet pipe of pump and compressor. There are made from metallic or rubber-like material. Figure 61
shows some typical installation of expansion joints at pump or compressor.
Figure 61: Example of expansion or flexible joint (source: The Yeti via
en.wikipedia.com, Maxxde777 via common.wikimedia.org, en.wikimedia.org)
5.8 Pressure Safety/Relief Valve
Overpressure of a chemical process plant may lead to major hazard (fire, explosion and toxic release) The
1st line of defense against overpressure hazard is good pressure control, that is controlling the process
pressure within safe operating pressure region. The 2nd line of defense against overpressure hazard is to
install pressure safety/relief valve to relief liquid or gases before excessive pressures are developed
(Figure 62).
Figure 62: The 1st and 2nd line of defense against overpressure hazard
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The difference between safety and relief valve:
i) Relief valve: primarily for liquid service. The relief valve should open at the set pressure
(normally less than 10% of operating P) and reaches full capacity at 25% overpressure. The
relief valve closes as the system pressure returns to the set pressure.
ii) Safety valve: for steam, gas & vapor service. The safety valve should open at the set pressure
and reseat after reaching approximately 4% below set P.
Safety relief valve: is used for liquid and vapor service.

There are two types of relief devices (Figure 63):
i) Spring operated safety/relief valve which can be used repeatedly:

a) Conventional.
b) Balanced bellow: eliminating the back pressure effect when the device activates and
avoid direct contact of corrosive media with spring etc.
ii) Rupture disc: a calibrated sheet of metal designed to rupture at a specified pressure. Can
be used one time only.
Figure 63: Type of relief devices (source: API 520, diy.stackexchange.com, PurplePen19 via www.solidswiki.com,
Hans-Peter Scholz via common.wikimedia.org)
It is important to anybody working in chemical process industry to know some basic component of a
safety valve. Figure 64 shows a typical component of safety valve.
69
Figure 64: Typical component of safety valve (source: API 520)
The followings are the guideline where relief devices should be installed:
i) All vessels need reliefs, including reactors, storage tanks, towers and drums.
ii) Blocked-in sections of cool liquid-filled lines which are exposed to heat (e.g., cooling water
side of a heat exchanger) or refrigeration need reliefs.
iii) Positive displacement pumps, compressors and turbines need reliefs on the discharge side.
iv) Vessel steam jackets are often rated for low pressure steam. Reliefs are installed in jackets to
prevent excessive steam pressures due to operator error or pressure regulator failure.
v) Storage vessels need pressure and vacuum reliefs to protect against pumping in or out of a
blocked-in vessel or against the generation of a vacuum by condensation.
All reliefs devices should be inspected for their functionality and set pressure during shut-down.
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6.0 Boilers and Pressure Vessels
Pressure vessel can be divided into:
i) Fired pressure vessel.

ii) Unfired pressure vessel.
An unfired pressure vessel (except for unfired steam boiler) is defined as a vessel containing gas or vapor
and having an internal or external working pressure of more than 15 psig. Standard codes and regulations
requirement generally exclude unfired pressure vessel having internal diameter less than 6 in.
A fired steam boiler is defined as a pressure vessel in which steam is generated by heat resulting from the
burning of solid, liquid or gaseous fuels. An unfired pressure vessel is defined as a vessel in which steam
is generated not by direct fire heating such as in waste heat boilers, evaporators and certain process
equipment in the chemical & petroleum industries. Figure 65 shows photo of fired and unfired pressure
vessel.
Figure 65: Example of fired and unfired steam boiler (source: Jorrit de Jager via
www.flickr.com, www.thermodyneboilers.com)
6.1 Some Requirements for Boiler
The most popular code or standard to manufacture boiler is ASME Code. According to DOSH regulations,
boilers must be operated and managed by competent persons i.e., boiler man and steam engineer. These
two competent certificates are issued by DOSH only after having several years of experience and pass oral
& written examinations. The followings are some simplified requirements for a boiler:
i) Name plat on the boiler (and pressure vessel) according to ASME Code which include:
a) ASME symbol.
b) Size of boiler in terms of area of heating surface.
c) Safe operating pressure or maximum allowable working pressure.
71
d) Manufactured year.
e) Manufacturer’s serial number.
f) Authorized inspector number.
g) Tag number of the boiler.
ii) Safety valve must be attached and tested regularly.

iii) At least one level gauge should be provided with drain or blow down for each boiler.
iv) The boiler must have proper instrumentations and controls such as pressure control and
indicator, level control and indicator. Automatic control & safety interlocks should be checked
regularly.
v) Oil and gas fueled boilers should be provided with automatic fuel shut off if the burner flame
is extinguished.
vi) Blow down pipes and fitting must be installed to remove sludge and sediment to a safe
location such as blow down tank to reduce its pressure and temperature.
vii) A log book for the boiler should be well maintained by the competent person.
6.2 Unfired Pressure Vessel.
The followings are some standards and codes to manufacture unfired pressure vessel:
i) Section VIII of the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) Boiler and Pressure
Vessel Code.
ii) The API Standard 620 or the American Petroleum Institute Code, which provide rules for lower
pressure vessels not covered by the ASME Code.
iii) Other codes: JIS of Japan, PEU of EU etc.
6.3 Pressure Vessel Inspection
After plant shut-down, pressure vessels should be isolated, procedure for safe entry must be performed
followed by, erection of scaffoldings, cleaning etc. before an inspection can be carried out. Pressure
vessels need to be inspected and repaired, if necessary, at regular intervals to ensure safe operations of
the plant. The inspection is performed by certified professionals as they can identify the weak areas of a
pressure vessel. A pressure vessel should be inspected internally and externally during shut-down or
turnaround. The inspection is conducted to identify wear and tear, and corrosion around components
such as vessel connections, welded nozzles and seams, and areas near to welds, external controls or
fittings, and so on. The certified inspector should review the last inspection record of the pressure vessel
before performing an inspection.
Here are some important inspected items for a pressure vessel internally and externally:
72
i) Weld joints (or weld seams): these items are checked for cracks and other defects. Non-
destructive testing (NDT) is used for checking the weld joint integrity. Some popular NDT
techniques are dye penetrant, magnetic particle inspection, ultrasonics, radiography and
Eddy current techniques.
ii) Surface corrosion: whether it is of the type of uniform corrosion, pitting, chemical attack etc.
Thickness measurement of the vessels also needs to be carried out. The liquid level lines, the
bottom, and the shell area adjacent to and opposite inlet nozzles are often locations of most
severe corrosion. Welded seams and nozzles and areas adjacent to welds are often subjected
to accelerated corrosion.
iii) Structural attachment: such as pressure vessel mounting for distortion or weld cracks.
iv) Evidence of leakage: if leakage evidence is found, it must be examined thoroughly.
v) Insulations and other coverings: check for the corrosion resistant coatings.
vi) Vessel connections: manholes, nozzles etc. are inspected for cracks, deformation etc.
vii) Vessel internals: the vessel internals should be taken out or removed if required. Dirty
internals should be cleaned using appropriate method.
The internal inspection of pressure vessels is considered a very high priority during turnaround because
of tight-schedule of many parties such as the DOSH officers, the third-party inspectors, other shut-down
manpower contractors with the plant start-up schedule etc. Thus, a very good shut-down program should
be planned beforehand to avoid lengthy and costly shut-down.
6.4 Frequency of Inspection
Pressure vessels must be inspected and tested before being placed in service and after any alteration or
major repair. The next inspection must be performed within 2 years, and the interval of subsequent
inspections must not exceed 5 years (very rare). Where deterioration is shown to be rapid in any part of
a vessel, an inspection and testing interval will be determined according to the authorized body or 2 years.
6.5 Confined Space Preparation for Safe Entry
A pressure vessel is a kind of confined space. A confined space is defined as an enclosed or partly enclosed
structure that:
i) Is large enough for a person to enter.

ii) Has a limited or restricted means of entry or exit.
iii) Is not primarily intended or designed for human occupancy.
iv) And contain one or more of the following:
a) A potentially hazardous atmosphere (toxic, flammable gas, O2 deficiency)
73
b) A potentially engulfment hazard
c) Other health & safety risks.
Examples of confined space are tunnel, duct, hopper, storage tank, pressure vessel, clarifier, sewer, boiler
etc. Figure 66 shows a confined space hazard warning sign.
Figure 66: A confined space (source: Jeffrey L. Cohen via

www.flickr.com)
The general procedure to prepare confined space for entry is:
i) Initiate confined space entry permit and issue instruction such as preparing the entry form,
shut-down instruction etc.
ii) Isolate the confined space & release any stored energy.
Isolation can be carried out by closing all blocking valves to the confined space. Here are some
examples to release any stored energy:
a) Let the pressure vessel cools down.
b) Depressurize the pressure vessel.
c) Drain, clean and wash residual chemical etc.
After releasing the stored energy with some N2 purging, blind plates should be installed at the
pipeline connected to the confined space for positive isolation.
iii) Carry out the tagout & lock out procedure. Some valves or electric motor switches need to be
lock out and tagged. Example of tagging “Under Maintenance”, “Do Not Remove”, “Do not
open” etc.
iv) Purge, ventilate & atmospherically test the confined space:
“Purge” is to remove flammable and toxic gas in the pressure vessel using inert gas N2, until
LEL < 10% and toxic gas <25 ppm as CO. For gas heavier that N2, purge them from the top, and
for gas lighter than N2, purge them from the bottom of the confined space. There are two
types of purge a) continuous purge and b) pressure swing purge.
74
“Ventilate” is to use ventilation fan to remove N2 with air. “Atmospherically test” is to ensure
that the O2 > 19.5%, LEL < 10% and toxicity < 25 ppm as CO and NH3 (<10 ppm for H2S) for safe
entry of personnel. For hot work purposes, the LEL should be less than 1%.
v) Check that all hazardous energy source is eliminated such as all pipes connection are blinded,
isolation valves are blocked, pump motor circuit breaker (MCB) are locked, ventilation fans
are working etc.
vi) Complete the entry permit. The pressure vessel is now ready for entry. Do not enter any
confined space if entry permit is not approved.
The followings are authorised persons involved in confined space activities:
i) Authorized entrant (AE): only AE can enter the confined space.

ii) Stand-by person (SP): always available outside the confined space to ensure safety of AE. Has
to communicate with AE every 3 minutes. Has to inform entry supervisor (ES) and emergency
rescue team (ERT) in emergency case. Has to maintain accurate count of people entering the
confined space.
iii) Authorised gas tester (AGT): to test and interpret the level of gas in confined space for AE
safety.
iv) Entry supervisor (ES): to supervise all activities before, during and after entering the confined
space.
v) Emergency rescue team (ERT): for rescue operation during emergency.
vi) Fire watcher: to watch and warn AE and SP in case of occurrence of fire for hot work in
confined space.
The followings are some special safety equipment involved in confined space activities (other than
ordinary PPE):
i) Full body harness, retrieval line, distressed signal unit (DSU) for AE.
ii) Self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) or emergency life support apparatus (ELSA) for
rescue if AE collapse in confined space.
iii) Gas detector: to check gas level in confined space.
iv) Ventilator: to ensure enough O2 in confined space.
v) Tripod, winch and fall arrester: for rescuing collapsed AE by vertical entry.
Figure 67 shows some equipment and authorized person in confined space activity.
75
Figure 67: Equipment & authorized person in confined space activity (source: leancrew.com, www.fire-
brigade.asn.au, www.webmar.com, ajishnavigator.blogspot.com)
6.6 Hydrostatic Test
Hydrostatic test is the application of hydraulic pressure to determine the ability of the pressure vessel to
hold pressure (Figure 68). The objective of a hydrostatic test is to assess the strength of the vessel before
it is placed in service. The media for hydrostatic test is water (incompressible fluid). Compressed air is
prohibited in this test because it may lead to physical explosion if the test fail.
Figure 68: Hydrostatic test (source: MTA Construction & Development via www.flickr.com)
76
A hydrostatic test for a pressure vessel needs to be carried out:
i) When a pressure vessel is in service for the 1st time.

ii) After any alteration or major repair of the pressure vessel.
iii) As instructed by authorized body.
The general procedure to carry out the hydrostatic test is as follows:
i) Blind all connections to the pressure vessel.

ii) Fill the vessel with water. Open vent valve during water filling.
iii) Close the vent valve when no air bubble is observed.
iv) Using hydrostatic pump, increase the pressure up to 1.5 x design pressure.
v) The vessel passes the test if there is no pressure drop (not more than 10%) is observed in at
least 10 minutes.
Some precautions for hydrostatic test:
i) Use rupture disc if the pressure test is high.

ii) The need of protected test area such as pit enclosure, test box etc.
77
7.0 Heat Exchangers
A heat exchanger is a device built for efficient heat transfer from one medium to another. The media is
not mixed if separated by a solid wall and will mix if the media is in direct contact.
7.1 Types of Heat Exchanger
The common types of heat exchanger are as follows (Figure 69):
i) Double pipe exchanger: the simplest design and the cheapest heat exchanger for cooling &
heating.
ii) Shell & tube exchangers: the most commonly used heat exchangers in chemical process plant.
The design method and fabrication techniques were already established. Provide good
mechanical layout with large surface area for heat exchange.
iii) Plate & frame exchangers (plate heat exchangers): provide very large surface area for heat
exchange with small footprint. A very easy to clean heat exchanger but the price is expensive.
Figure 69: The common types of heat exchanger (source: Mayurachat Rattanamaung via th.wikipedia.org,
Mbeychok via en.wikipedia.org, Ppntori via en.wikipedia.org)
78
iv) Air cooled exchanger: usually coolers & condensers. This heat exchanger uses air to cool down
the hot media, cheaper maintenance but with high initial cost.
v) Direct contact: for cooling & quenching of the hot media. The price is cheap yet very effective
in cooling, simple and easy to construct.
In terms of flow arrangement, the heat exchanger can be classified into three:
i) Parallel flow.
ii) Counter current flow.
iii) Cross flow.
Figure 70 shows the illustration of the types of heat exchanger flow arrangement.
Figure 70: Types of flow arrangement for heat exchanger.
7.2 Components of Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger
The followings are some common components of basic shell and tube heat exchanger:
i) Shell: is the container for the shell side fluid.

ii) Shell cover: to cover the shell (if any).
iii) Tubes: the basic components that provide heat transfer surfaces.
iv) Channel: control the flow of fluid into and out of the tubes.
v) Channel cover: covering the channel. Can be removed for tubes inspection.
vi) Tube sheet: tubes are held in place by insertion into holes of tube sheet.
vii) Baffles: have two functions (a) to support tubes & prevent vibration, (b) to guide
shell side flow & to increase heat transfer coefficient by creating turbulence.
viii) Nozzles: are any inlet or outlet port of the heat exchanger.
ix) Tie rod and spacers: to tie and fixed the baffles distances.
Figure 71 shows some common components of a shell and tube heat exchanger.
79
Figure 71: Component of shell and tube heat exchanger (source: Mbeychok via commons.wikimedia.org)
7.3 Classification of Shell and Tube Heat Exchanger
Shell and tube heat exchanger can be classified into:
i) Fixed tube sheet: it the cheapest shell and tube heat exchanger and relatively easy to
construct. However, it is difficult to clean and provision for thermal expansion is poor because
of the fixed tube sheet to the shell.
ii) U-tube: the tube bundle is in the shape of U. The tube bundle is free to expand, can be
removed and easy to clean the tube at shell side. However, it quite difficult to clean at the
tube U bend.
iii) Floating head: one tube sheet fixed to the shell and the other end is free to “float” for thermal
expansion. The tube bundle can be removed from shell for easy cleaning. It is the most
versatile but the most expensive shell and tube heat exchanger.
In shell and tube heat exchanger, thermal expansion is absorbed by either floating head design, the U-
tube or expansion joint at the shell. Tubular Exchanger Manufacturing Association (TEMA) Code is the
most popular standard to manufacture shell and tube heat exchanger.
80
Figure 72: Type of shell and tube heat exchanger (source: Standard of Tubular Exchanger Manufacturer
Association, 6th Edition, 1978)
7.4 Heat Exchanger Start-up
The general start-up procedure for heat exchanger of cooling water/process fluid (such as condenser) is
as follows:
i) Open the ECW inlet valve slowly (to maintain the ECW system pressure). ECW system is
assumed already started and stabilized.
ii) Open the vent (to remove air trap) & drain valves (to remove sediment, rust etc.). Air trap can
lead to localize overheating at the tube surface. The vent valve can be closed when no air
bubble is observed. The drain valve can be closed when no dirt is observed.
iii) Open the ECW outlet valve of the heat exchanger slowly. The valve opening depends on the
cooling requirement (temperature outlet of the cooling water must not exceed 45oC to avoid
scaling).
iv) As the process flow increased according to start-up schedule, open the ECW outlet valve to
maintain the cooling water return temperature less than 45oC.
The general start-up procedure for heat exchanger of steam/process fluid (such as reboiler and process
fluid preheater) is as follows:
i) Warm-up all steam pipeline by opening all drain and vent valves of the steam side at the heat
exchanger. Open also the by-pass valve of any steam trap, to create steam flow through the
pipeline.
81
ii) Open the blocking valve of any steam side control valve to the heat exchanger slowly (for
warm up).
iii) After the pipeline and heat exchanger has been warm up, the control valve can be opened
slowly. Gradually the drain, vent and the by-pass valves can be closed.
iv) Increase the flow of the process according to start-up schedule. Increased the flow of steam
accordingly (for ease of operation, put the temperature controller mode in auto, if any)
7.5 Heat Exchanger Shut-down
The general shut-down procedure for heat exchanger of cooling water/process fluid (such as process
cooler and condenser) is as follows:
i) The process fluid flow will be decreased according to shut-down schedule, until a point where
the process will be shut-down.
ii) Let the cooling water flows into the heat exchanger for cooling.
iii) After cooling down, close the ECW inlet valve slowly (to maintain the ECW system pressure).
The general shut-down procedure for heat exchanger of steam/process fluid (such as condenser and
process preheater) is as follows:
i) The process fluid flow will be decreased according to shut-down schedule, until a point where
the process will be shut-down. The steam flow will reduce accordingly (in auto mode of the
temperature controller).
ii) Closed the control valves and blocking valve of the steam supply. Open the drain valve of the
heat exchanger to avoid water hammer.
7.6 Shut-down Activities
After plant shut-down, the heat exchanger will be isolated, depressurized, drained and purge using N2.
Then it will be dismantled and cleaned for inspection. The usual problem with heat exchanger is fouling.
Fouling is layer of scale, biological matter, sediment etc. that decrease the heat transfer coefficient thus
the efficiency of the heat exchanger. Fouling can also increase the skin temperature of the tubes
exceeding the design temperature and eventually lead to tubes failure. Figure 73 shows example of fouling
in heat exchanger. The usual ways to clean the heat exchanger is by physical cleaning such as using water
jet. If the scale is very hard, chemical cleaning can be carried out. Figure 74 shows photo of physical and
chemical cleaning. After cleaning, NDT and visual check are carried out to check for crack, thickness and
severity of corrosion. Each tube of the tube bundle will be pressure tested for leakage. If tube leakage is
found, the tube will be plugged for isolation. As a guide the maximum number of tubes that can be plugged
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in 10% of the total tube. After inspection activities, before putting the heat exchanger in service, leak-test
must be performed to ensure no leakage between tube bundle and shell.
Figure 73: Fouling in Heat Exchanger (source: Taprogge GmbH via commons.
wikimedia.org, commons.wikimedia.org)
Figure 74: Cleaning of heat exchangers (source: Hammelmann Oelde via commonswikimedia.org, vimio.com)
83
8.0 Fired Heater or Furnace
An industrial furnace or direct fired heater for chemical process plant is an equipment used to provide
heat directly from a flame for a process or can serve as reactor which provides heats of reaction. In steel
making industry a furnace is used to melt mixtures of iron raw material to produce various steel grades
which is not covered in this book.
A fired heater can be classified into (Figure 75):
i) Natural draft.
ii) Induced draft.
iii) Forced draft.
iv) Forced and Induced draft (or Balanced draft).
Figure 75: Classification of fired heater
8.1 Components of Fired Heater
The basic components of a fired heater are (Figure 76):
i) Burner: fuel (gas or liquid) flows into the burner and is burnt with air. The number of burners
depends on particular heater design, and can be arranged in cells which heat a particular set
of tubes. The burners can be floor mounted, wall mounted or roof mounted depending on
the design.
ii) Radiant section: the flames from the burner heat up the tubes mainly by radiation, which in
turn heat the fluid inside the tube to the desired temperature in the first part of the furnace
known as the radiant section or firebox. Crossover is the term used to describe the tube that
connects the convection section outlet to the radiant section inlet.
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iii) Convection section: the flue gas (combustion gas) leaves the firebox to convection section
where more heat is recovered by convection heat transfer to finned tubes before venting to
the atmosphere through the flue gas stack. The tubes are finned to increase the heat transfer
area.
iv) Stack: the flue gas stack is a structure at the top of the fired heater (usually cylindrical shaped),
collecting the flue gas and brings it up high into the atmosphere where it will not endanger
other people.
v) Damper: the stack damper regulates furnace draft (pressure difference between air intake
and flue gas exit) to pull the flue gas through the convection section (it works like a butterfly
valve).
vi) Insulation: insulation is very important in a furnace because it prevents excessive heat loss
and protect the carbon steel outer metal plate shell. Refractory materials such as firebrick (for
wall), castable refractory (for floor) and ceramic fiber (roof and expansion joint) are used for
the insulation.
vii) Soot blower (in some fired heater): soot blower utilize media such as water, air or steam to
remove deposits from the finned tubes in the convection section. Soot tends to accumulate
at the convection section due slower flue gas movement.
Figure 76: Components of a fired heater (source: www.brembanarolle.com, Anchorage48 via

en.wikipedia.org, Anchorage48 via en.wikimedia.org)
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8.2 Burner and Procedure to Ignite Burner Safely
There are many types of burners. Figure 77 shows a premix wall mounted burner. The typical fuel for this
type of burner is natural gas or mixture of natural gas with tail gas. Tail gas is mainly off-gas from the
process due to pressure control.
Figure 77: A premix wall mounted burner
The premix chamber function is to mix the air and fuel for better combustion at the burner. The primary
air register supplies primary air to the burner. The air flows into the burner by venturi effect of fuel gas
flow. The secondary air register is added to supplement primary air. Not all burner has secondary air
register. Some burners have pilot burners to ignite the main burners which increase safety and ease of
igniting. Some burners have to be ignited manually and some can be ignited using push button at local
control panel. All burners have their own maximum and minimum operating fuel pressure. Very low fuel
pressure may extinguish the flame or create back fire (fire inside burner pipe). Very high pressure may
also extinguish the flame and when re-ignited may cause an explosion.
The followings are general procedure to ignite a burner safely:
i) Conduct leak test (or pressure test) on the fuel gas pipe works to ensure that it is gas tight
(i.e., not leaking).
ii) Check the movement of the primary and/or primary air register. Lubricate the spindle if
necessary.
iii) Check that no combustible gas is present inside furnace chamber using combustible gas
detector.
iv) With the primary air register closed, insert gas lighting torch or igniter to ignite the burner or
the pilot burner. For burner that comes with pilot burner, main burner can be ignited by
simply open the valve to the main burner. Igniter can be inserted through secondary air
register or special opening for the ignitor. In modern burner, the pilot burner can be ignited
simply by push button at local control panel.
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v) Slowly open and adjust the primary air register to give short bluish flame (this is for natural
gas fuel).
vi) The secondary air register, if any (and/or primary air register) should be adjusted to give the
required optimum O2 content of 2 -3 % excess O2 in flue gas.
8.3 Extinguishing a Burner and Common Problems
The followings are the general guideline to extinguish a burner:
i) Close the primary air register (to ensure fuel rich mixture & to avoid “pop”).
ii) Close all fuel valves to the burner.
Table 9 shows some common problems of a burner.
Table 9: Some common problems of a burner.
8.4 General Procedure to Start-up a Fired Heater
Fired heater must be started as the procedure suggested by the manufacturer. An industrial fired heater
cannot be started quickly like an automobile or laboratory furnace. If the procedure was not followed,
damage may occur due to uneven thermal expansions at the inside and outside of the fired heater due to
the massive dimensions.
The followings are the general procedure to start-up a fired heater safely (Figure 78):
i) Introduce minimum process fluid flow to avoid localized overheating inside fired heater tubes
during start-up.
ii) Start the induced draft fan (IDF), if any.
iii) Start the forced draft fan (FDF), if any.
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Figure 78: The balanced type fired heater for start-up example (courtesy of PSSB)
iv) Control furnace draft at -5.0 mm Hg. There must be negative pressure inside the fired heater
to move the flue gas through the chimney or stack. The set point for draft controller may
differ from one fired heater to another.
v) Wait for 30 minutes to purge any combustible gas inside the furnace.
vi) Leak test of the fuel gas line to burner. If there are no leakage & no burner valves are opened,
no pressure drop will be observed.
vii) After passing the leak test, reset to open shut off valves (normally double block & bleed) of
fuel gas to the burner.
viii) Open a valve to flare in the fuel line to create fuel flow and control the fuel pressure at the
burner minimum pressure.
ix) Ignite the burner according to the schedule (1 or 2 at one time). The heating rate should be
50oC/h at the radiant chamber initially. When the fired heater is already hot (may be around
400-500oC at the radiant chamber), the reference temperature (for heating rate calculation)
can be changed to the outlet temperature of the fired heater.
x) After all burners are ignited at the minimum fuel pressure, firing is increased by increasing
the burner pressure gradually. Please stick to the standard rate of 50oC/h for the reference
temperature at the outlet of the fired heater.
xi) Bring the process temperature and flow as scheduled, preferably in automatic mode.
Notes: process override switches (POS) for furnace draft, fuel pressure and minimum process flow should
be activated during start-up. If these switches are not activated, the fired heater cannot be start-up since
the DCS system recognized the fired heater in shut-down state. The POS must be deactivated later, for
interlock protection.
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8.5 General Procedure to Shut-down a Fired Heater
Basically, the shut-down procedure is the reverse of start-up procedure. The followings are the general
shut-down procedure for the fired heater as in Figure 78. This guideline also applied to fired reactor.
i) Reduce the process gas flow as scheduled.

ii) After reaching the minimum process gas flow rate, reduce the temperature of the outlet of
the fired heater outlet at the rate of 50oC/h by decreasing the set point of temperature
controller or set point of the fuel pressure controller (in automatic mode). If the fuel pressure
reaching the minimum pressure, the heating can be reduced by gradual burner extinguishing.
Open the valve to flare if required.
iii) When the temperature at the outlet of the fired heater reaches recommended shut-down
temperature (e.g., at 800oC), shut-down the furnace by pressing the shut-down button
without vent (IDF & FDF will shut-down, double block fuel valves to the burners will close and
the fuel vent valve will open). The recommended shut-down temperature differs from process
to process.
iv) Close the individual burner valves.
v) Close the main block valves for fuel gas valves to flare (if opened for pressure control during
shut-down).
vi) Restart the IDF & FDF to cool the heater tubes and coils in the fired heater.
vii) Close the damper & burner air register to avoid rapid cooling inside the furnace. Stick to the
cooling rate of 50oC/h of the radiant chamber (by adjusting the damper).
viii) To cool down heater tube and to avoid over-heating, introduce N2 flow through the fired
heater tubes.
8.6 Routine Check for a Fired Heater During Normal Operations
The followings are common items that an operator should check for a fired heater or fired reactor:
i) The temperature of every part of the fired heater.

ii) The draft of the fired heater.
iii) Visual check of the tubes by opening the peep (inspection) holes. There should be no hot or
cold spot at the reactor tubes. Adjust the burner firing if necessary.
iv) Visual inspection at the outer shell of the heater. If the outer shell is red glowing, indicating
that refractory inside the combustion chamber is broken and falling down. The hot red
glowing shell should be cool down (by air or water spray) and operations can be resumed.
v) Check the burner firing, adjust the air register if necessary. The flame should not touch the
furnace tube/coil, with the right color, no back fire and not extinguished.
vi) Measure the skin temperature of the tube using pyrometer. Skin temperature should not
exceed the design skin tube temperature. Adjust the burner firing if necessary.
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vii) IDF & FDF operations: check for any abnormal sound, check the lubrication oil, bearing and
motor temperature.
8.7 The Important Interlock & Control Loops of a Fired Heater
The followings are the important interlocks in a fired heater. These interlocks are very important to
safeguard people and equipment inside and outside the plant if abnormalities detected.
i) Furnace will shut-down if the temperature exceeding certain limit (depends on the location
of the temperature sensor). Higher temperature indicates tube or coil leakage.
ii) Furnace will shut-down if IDF or FDF is not operating, to avoid overheating inside the fired
heater chamber and led to tube failure.
iii) Furnace will shut-down if the pressure of fuel is too high or too low. These are to avoid burner
from extinguish at high fuel pressure and may led to explosion when reignited. Low fuel
pressure may cause back-fire (fire inside the fuel line).
iv) Furnace will shut-down if the draft too low or too high. Too low draft may overheat the tubes
and coils whereas too high draft may extinguish the burner.
v) Furnace will shut-down if no flow is detected inside the fired heater tubes, to avoid
overheating of the tubes.
Two most important control loops of a fired heater are:
i) The furnace draft, to ensure smooth flow of flue gas to the atmosphere. The pressure inside
heater chamber must be negative pressure.
ii) The process gas temperature control, controlling the firing of burner to obtain the right
process gas temperature.
The followings are the most important instrumentation in a fired heater:
i) The furnace drafts.

ii) The temperature of the radiant section, convection section and stack.
iii) Temperature of the process gas inlet, process gas outlet and the crossover.
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9.0 Rotating Equipment: Pump, Compressor and Turbine
Equipment in chemical process plant can be divided into static equipment and rotating equipment. Pump,
compressor, turbine and fan are rotating equipment. Pressure vessel, boiler and storage tank are
examples of static equipment.
9.1 Pump
Pump is a machine to move or transport incompressible fluids. A pump converts mechanical energy to
fluid energy (for incompressible fluid).
9.1.1 Classification of Pump
The common pump classification is as follows:
i) Dynamic pump: dynamic pumps may have 100% slips if the discharge valve is closed.
Therefore, no excessive pressure build up will occur if the discharge valve is closed. The
dynamic pump efficiency is lower than positive displacement pumps. They have relatively high
flow rates at relatively high operating speed with low maintenance costs. Two types of
dynamic pump are:
a) Centrifugal pump.
b) Axial pump.
ii) Positive displacement pump: positive displacement pumps operate by forcing a fixed volume
of fluid from the inlet pressure section to the discharge section of the pump. They have
relatively low capacity, operating at lower speed but able to produce higher pressure than
dynamic pumps. Therefore, if the discharge valve is closed, the pressure will increase and may
damage the discharge pipe if pressure relief is not provided. The positive displacement pump
may be classified into:
a) Rotary pump such as screw pump, gear pump, sliding vane pump and lobe pump.
b) Reciprocating pump such as piston pump, diaphragm pump and plunger pump.
Various types of pumps are presented in Figure 79.
91
Figure 79: Various type of pumps examples (source: www.pikist.com, josecasares.com, S.J.de Waard
via commons. wikimedia.org, Archiumtechnica via commons.wikimedia.com, Xlory via
fr.wikipedia.org, Jahobr via en.wikipedia.org, engineering.stackexchange.com,
diy.stackexchange.com)
9.1.2 Pump Performance Curve
Pumps are designed to work across a range of flow rates and fluid properties. For example, a centrifugal
pump at constant speed can deliver any flow from zero to maximum capacity depending on the pressure
head. All these can be found in pump performance curve supplied by the pump manufacturer (Figure 80).
Technical peoples refer to the performance curve before changing or redesigning a pump system.
Figure 80: An example of a pump performance curve (source: uta.pressbooks.pub)
92
9.1.3 Pump Head
Two main criteria for pump selection are the capacity and pump head. Manufacturers use pump head (in
the unit of water height) instead of pressure for pump specifications. The process designer has to calculate
the required pump head when pumping a fluid from a location to another. Then, he/she will refer to the
pump performance curve to select suitable pump for the operating condition. For example, the pump for
Figure 80, is suitable at the operating condition (pump head, flowrate and horsepower) at the best
efficiency point (maximum efficiency).
The required pump head calculation includes the suction & discharge tank pressure, elevation of suction
and discharge tank, the head loss of fittings (at the suction & discharge pipes) and the friction loss in pipes
(at the suction and discharge pipes). These can be found in Figure 81.
Figure 81: The required pump head formula
Example of pump head calculation:
Calculate the required pump head for the following system. The suction pressure is 14.7 psia (atmospheric
pressure) and the suction fluid level is elevated 15 m from center of the pump. The calculated friction and
fitting loss for suction and discharge pipes are given as in Figure 82. The discharge pressure is 40 psia and
the level of the discharge fluid is elevated 40 m from the center of the pump. The pumping fluid is liquid
kerosene. Since the suction level is above the pump center, it must be distracted with the zd, when using
the equation. Head due to velocity is negligible. Use safety factor of 1.1 for the calculation.
93
Figure 82: The system for pump head calculation
Answer:
94
95
9.1.4 Pump Cavitation
If the pressure of the pump falls below the vapor pressure of the fluid, vapor will form. As the fluid moves
to the higher-pressure region, the bubbles will collapse and cavitation occurs. The implosion of the
bubbles may cause pitting to the impeller. Cavitation is a common problem for centrifugal pump. Figure
83 shows a photo of cavitation on a pump impeller.
Figure 83: Cavitation on a pump impeller (source: www.jadominguez.com)
The following techniques can be used to avoid cavitation in a pump:
i) Avoid low pressure if possible. Pressurize the supply tank or increase the level of the supply
tank.
ii) Reduce the fluid temperature.
iii) Use a larger pipe diameter to reduce minor losses in the suction pipe.
iv) Use special cavitation-resistant materials or coatings.
v) The available net positive suction head (NPSHA) should always be more than the required
NPSH (NPSHR) as in Figure 84. The required NPSH is provided by the pump supplier or can be
estimated using the graphical techniques from various literatures.
Figure 84: Required and available NPSH (source: Thefluidmechanic via

www.ingenieriaquimicareviews.com)
96
The available NPSH at the suction side can be calculated using the following equation:
9.1.5 Standard Fittings, Balancing, Alignment and Components of Centrifugal Pump
Figure 85 shows the standard fittings for a centrifugal pump.
Figure 85: The standard fittings of a centrifugal pump
Pump impeller (and all other rotating equipment) must be balanced before putting them in operation.
Unbalance impeller may cause vibration and may damage the bearings, mechanical seal and the pump
itself. The pump shaft (and all other rotating equipment shaft) must be aligned with drive shaft such as
shaft of the electric motor. Pump that is not properly aligned may vibrates and damage the bearings,
mechanical seal etc. Figure 86 shows shaft alignment and impeller balancing of a centrifugal pump.
Figure 86: Alignment and balancing of a pump (source: glossarissimo.wordpress.com, Checcucci M et.al. via
www.hindawi.com, Ivan Mendoza et.al. via www.scielo.org.bo)
97
Figure 87 shows common components of a centrifugal pump.
Figure 87:Common components of a centrifugal pump (source: www.wolfautomation.com,

boilersinfo.com)
To seal the rotating shaft, two types of seals can be used, the mechanical seal or the packing (or gland
packing). There should be no fluid leakage when using mechanical seal. In contrast, some leakage (a few
drops per minute) must be observed when using gland packing (to cool the packing). Figure 88 shows the
mechanical seal and the gland packing.
Figure 88: Mechanical seal and gland packing (source: aviation.stackexchange.com, Ubaid Anwar via
www.slideshare.net, Miya.m via commons.wikimedia.org, snapper via www.flickr.com)
98
9.1.6 Procedure to Start a Centrifugal Pump
The followings are the general procedure to start a centrifugal pump (Figure 89):
i) There must be two-way communications between field operator and control room.
ii) Check local switches are at the right position (off, manual or auto). The switch mode may
differ among manufacturers.
iii) Check the availability of utilities such as cooling water (if any) and power supply.
iv) Check the condition of foundation, electric motor, the bearings etc.
v) Hand-turn the shaft, to ensure free shaft movement.
vi) Valve setting: open the suction valve and close the discharge valve.
vii) Water filling: open vent valves to remove air, open drain valve to remove rust and dirt's.
viii) Start the pump locally for 2 -3 second to check for correct rotation and any abnormality.
ix) Start the pump normally (from control room), open discharge valve slowly while looking at
the pressure gauge. Open vent valves to release any air traps. Panel operator may control
the fluid flow (and/or the pump pressure, if any) using automatic controller to the user.
x) Check for abnormal sound, leakage, valve gland and temperature of electric motor and
bearings.
Figure 89: Centrifugal pumps at field
9.1.7 Procedure for Centrifugal Pump Change Over
The followings are the general procedure for centrifugal pump change over (to start stand-by pump B
and to stop the running pump A, see Figure 90):
i) Start pump B with discharge valve closed according to previous centrifugal pump start-up
procedure.
ii) Slowly, open discharge valve of pump B and close discharge valve of pump A while
maintaining the system pressure.
99
iii) Pump A can be stopped after the discharge valve is fully closed and the discharge valve of
pump B is fully opened.
Figure 90: Centrifugal pump change over
9.1.8 The Important Interlocks of Pump
The followings are some of the important interlocks for the pump system:
i) If the fluid level of supply tank is low, pump will shut-down to protect the pump from
cavitation.
ii) For stand by pump, the stand by pump will start if pressure switch (PSL) or flow switch (FSL)
or both (PSL & FSL) is activated.
Notes:
For pumps in series, the total discharge pressure is equal to the addition of the particular discharge
pressures of each pump and the total flow is equal to the flow of one pump, which is the flow of the
smaller pump (if the pumps are not of the same capacity).
HT = H1 + H2 + …
Qt = Q1 = Q2 = …
For pump in parallel, the total discharge pressure is equal to discharge pressure of one pump & the total
flow rate is the addition of the flow of each pump.
HT = H1 = H2 = …
QT = Q1 + Q2 + …
100
9.2 Compressor
Compressor is a machine to move or transport gas or vapor. A compressor converts mechanical energy
to fluid energy (for compressible fluid).
9.2.1 Classification of Compressor
In general, the classification is similar to pump classification. The common compressor classification is as
follows (Figure 91):
i) Dynamic compressor
a) Centrifugal compressor.
b) Axial compressor.
ii) Positive displacement compressor

a) Rotary compressor such as screw, sliding vane and lobe compressor.
b) Reciprocating compressor such as piston and diaphragm compressor.
Figure 91: Types of compressors (source: Lim Tien K et.al. via www.hindawi.com,
kevsproreviews.blogspot.com, BSE9619 via commons.wikimedia.org, Liquidat via es.wikipedia.org,
mechanics.stackexchange.com, Xlory via fr.wikipedia.org, ocw.mit.edu)
101
9.2.2 Surge
For centrifugal compressor, surge is noisy unstable operation caused by periodic backflow due low inlet
flow (flow < surge limit flow). This unstable operation may cause mechanical damage and lead to major
hazards. To avoid surging, the compressor must always be operated above control limit (anti surge line).
Control limit is the control line for the minimum flow at 10% of the surge limit (Figure 92).
Figure 92: Typical surge compressor curve
If compressor surging occurs, the operator should do the following immediately to minimize the surge
effect:
i) Fully open the compressor by-pass valve (or recirculation valve).

ii) Close the compressor inlet valve to the minimum opening. Usually, the compressor inlet valve
is mechanically locked at minimum opening.
9.2.3 Balancing and alignment
As in pump, balancing and alignment are very important for very good operations of compressor. These
are true for all rotating equipment (turbines, fans etc.). The tolerance for balancing and alignment for
compressor is much more stringent due to higher rotation per minute compared to pump.
Unbalance impeller may cause vibration and may damage the bearings, mechanical seals and the
compressor itself. Compressor that is not properly aligned may vibrates and damage the bearing,
mechanical seals, shaft etc.
102
9.2.4 Centrifugal Compressor Start-up.
The followings are the general procedure to start-up a centrifugal compressor:
i) Two-way communications between control room and field operator must be established.
ii) Check that local switches are at the right position (off, manual or auto).
iii) Check availability of utilities such as cooling water & power supply.
iv) Check the condition of foundation, electric motor, the bearings etc.
v) Check that the lubrication system is working properly.
vi) Check that sealing system is working properly.
vii) Hand-turn the shaft to check for free movement (if possible).
viii) Valves setting: inlet filter valve opened, suction valve minimum opening, by-pass valve fully
opened (to reduce start-up amperage). Open drain valve to remove liquid from the piping.
ix) Start the compressor from control room (If possible, start the compressor locally for 2 -3
second to check for abnormality).
x) Re-check compressor condition, lubrication system, sealing system, cooling system etc.
xi) Increase the flow and pressure as scheduled.
The process pressure should be low enough during compressor start-up to reduce the start-up amperage.
Operating with higher molecular weight gas result in higher discharge pressure, higher outlet temperature
and higher amperage of electric motor. Compressor discharge temperature is limited to 120oC to prevent
seal damage.
9.2.5 Normal Operations, Shut-downs and Interlocks
The followings should be checked during normal operations of a compressor:
i) Check compressor condition, temperature, pressure, vibration, any abnormal sound.

ii) Check lubrication system, the pressure, oil level, cooling water etc.
iii) Check for any leakage.
iv) Always drain any liquid by opening the drain valves.
v) Check differential pressure of the compressor filter. Change the filter if necessary.
Compressor shut-down is the reverse of start-up. Just after the compressor shut-down, please ensure that
the lubrication system, sealing system, cooling water etc. is running for cooling down and for safety.
The common interlocks for a compressor are:
i) Compressor will shut-down if the vibration is too high (VSH is activated).

ii) Compressor will shut-down if sealing & lubrication system is not running.
iii) Compressor will shut-down if amperage of compressor too high.
iv) Compressor will shut-down if temperature of electric motor too high.
103
9.3 Steam Turbine
Steam turbines are widely used as prime movers, i.e., they are used to drive pump, compressor or electric
generator. Steam turbine is selected as the prime mover when a lot of steam is expected to be produced
in a plant. Work is obtained through the expansion of steam. Normally, a turbine will be backed up by
electric motor prime mover. Figure 93 shows photos of steam turbine.
A turbine converts steam energy into mechanical energy (rotation of drive shaft).
Figure 93: Steam turbine (source: Joe Mabel via commons.wikimedia.org)
9.3.1 Classification of Steam Turbines
Steam turbines can be divided into:
i) Impulse turbine: the rotor spins from the impact force, or the direct push of steam on the
blades.
ii) Reaction Turbine: the rotor spins from a reaction force rather than an impact or impulse force.
Both types of turbines can be:
i) Condensing: exhaust steam is condensed. Thus, the pressure is less than atmospheric
pressure.
ii) Non-condensing: exhaust steam is at pressure higher than atmospheric and used for other
process.
Figure 94 shows an illustration of impulse and reaction turbine.
104
Figure 94: Impulse and reaction steam turbine (source: Emoscopes via en.wikipedia.org)
9.3.2 Components of Steam Turbine
The followings are the common components of a steam turbine (Figure 95):
i) Blades: they are subject to vibration. The material generally used for blade construction is low
carbon stainless steel. The blades are fixed to turbine shell.
ii) Rotor: operates at high speed, must be tough at the operating temperature.
iii) Casing: material made similar to rotor but always casting instead of forging.
iv) Bearing: thrust bearing and main bearing. Main bearing is lubricated by turbine oil pump (if
any).
Figure 95: Components of a steam turbine (source: William Livoti via www.pumpsandsystems.com)
105
v) Seals: to prevent steam leakage, carbon packing or metallic labyrinth packing is normally used.
vi) Governor: controlling the speed of the turbine. The governor will trip the turbine at 10% over
normal full speed (over speed protection).
9.3.3 Typical Start-up of Steam Turbine of a Pump
The followings are the typical start-up procedure for a specific steam turbine of a pump.
A) Prior to start-up:
a) Check the ECW supply and return valves are opened for cooling purpose.
b) Check that valves of pump are opened at the suction and discharge pipes.
c) Open slightly pump vent valve to remove air trap. Close it after all trapped air has been
removed.
d) Check oil level for governor & bearing lubrication for pump and turbine.
B) Warm-up:
i) Open slightly casing drain, chest drain and ¾ in high venting valve (inlet pipe to turbine)
for warm-up and to remove condensate.
ii) Open slowly HPS by-pass valve to warm up the turbine. Wait for about 30 minutes until
the inlet pipe temperature is hot enough (condensate formation is less).
C) Increasing the rpm.

i) Open fully LPS outlet valve of the turbine to LPS header.
ii) Gradually fully close the casing drain valve, ring drain, chest drain and ¾ inches high
venting valve.
iii) “ON” the emergency trip valve (by hand).
iv) Slowly open the 1 in by-pass valve to increase rpm to 500 rpm. Maintain this speed for 5
minutes.
v) “OFF” the emergency trip valve (by hand) for functioning test. Close the 1 in by-pass valve.
vi) If the emergency trip valve works well, “ON” it by hand again.
vii) Slowly open the HPS by-pass valve until turbine speed is 500 rpm. Maintain this speed for
10 minutes. Check pump and steam turbine condition: vibration, abnormal sound, bearing
temperature, steam & water leakage.
viii) Open slowly HPS inlet valve to increase rpm from 500 to 1000 rpm. Maintain at 1000 rpm
for 5 minutes. Check pump and turbine condition.
ix) Gradually close fully casing drain, ring drain, chest drain and ¾ inches high venting valve.
x) Open fully HPS valve to increase rpm from 1000 to 1765 rpm (minimum governing speed).
The minimum governing speed differ among turbine manufacturers.
xi) Close the 1 in by-pass valve. Check the condition of pump and turbine.
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Notes: the size of by-pass, drain and vent valves & start-up and operating rpm differ among turbine
manufacturers.
9.3.4 Normal Operations & Shut-down
During normal operations, a turbine should be checked for:
i) Turbine condition, temperature, pressure, vibration, any abnormal sound.

ii) The governor, the lubrication system, the pressure, oil level, cooling water etc.
iii) Any leakage.
iv) Steam trap operations at the turbine.
Steam turbine shut-down:
i) The shut-down is basically the reverse of start-up.

ii) Make sure the lubrication system, cooling water etc. are running after shut-down for
cooling.
iii) Drain condensate to avoid water hammer.
Similar to pump and compressor, the turbine shaft must be properly aligned and the rotor must be
properly balanced to avoid vibration.
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10.0 Control and Instrumentations
Process variables such as temperature (T), pressure (P), level (L), flow (F) etc., need to be maintained every
second to get product within specification and to ensure safety. These can be achieved by the control and
instrumentation. Some of the instrumentations are used for control, some for monitoring and some for
interlocking.
10.1 Purposes of Control and Instrumentation
The main purposes of control and instrumentation are:
i) For safe plant operation.

ii) To achieve the design production rate.
iii) To maintain the product quality within the specified quality standards.
iv) To operate the at lowest production cost.
How control & instrumentation create safe plant operations?
i) By keeping the process variables within safe operating limits.

ii) By detecting dangerous situations as they developed, providing alarms to the operator &
performing automatic shut-down when dangerous situation arises. Example: if low level of
boiler water is detected in steam drum, an alarm is activated to notify operators that
operation is not normal. Some action by the operator should be taken. If the level keeps going
down, and low-low level is detected, the boiler will be shut-down automatically to avoid
dangerous situation.
iii) By providing interlocks to prevent dangerous operating procedures.
Example 1: Boiler cannot be started- up if there is no level in steam drum.
Example 2: Fired heater cannot be started-up if there is no negative draft in fired heater
chamber.
Example 3: Fired heater cannot be started-up if leak test procedure is failed.
10.2 Broad Categories of Control and Instrumentation.
The control and instrumentation can be divided into (Figure 96):
i) Regulatory control: to maintain the process variables (PV), close to set point of the controller
at all time. Example: flow controller, level controller, temperature controller and pressure
controller, etc.
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ii) Sequence control: to arrange the sequence of a process. Example: Charging solid materials
into pressurized bin, which required pressure equalization. The sequence is usually carried
out by programmable logic controller (PLC).
iii) Interlock control: to prevent dangerous situation or operating procedure due to human
negligence. Example: a pump cannot be started-up if there is no liquid level in supply tank to
avoid pump cavitation.
iv) Data acquisition: there are a lot of instrumentation in process plant not for the purpose of
control. The data provided by the instrumentation is used for process monitoring,
troubleshooting and enhancing the vision of the process.
Figure 96: Regulator control, sequence control, interlock and data acquisition
10.3 Regulatory Control
Regulatory controller is very common in chemical process plant. Sensors measure the process variables
(PV). These PVs are compared to the set point. As a result, the controller sends regulated outputs to the
final control element (control valves, electric motor, heaters etc.) to ensure that the PVs are always similar
to the set point. Figure 97 shows an illustration of a regulatory single loop flow control.
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Figure 97: A typical single loop of regulatory flow control
There are varieties of controller, such as single controller and controller incorporated in distributed
control system (DCS). Modern process industries using DCS in controlling process variables efficiently.
Figure 98 shows photo of DCS and single controller.
Figure 98: Single controller and DCS (source: scifi.stackexchange.com, www.plc-city.com)
10.4 Modes of Operation for Regulatory Controller
In general, there are 3 modes of operation for a regulatory controller (Figure 99):
i) Manual mode: where the operator controls the PV by manually open or close the final control
element (e.g., control valve) via the output.
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ii) Auto mode: where the operator controls the PV by giving a set point to the controller. The
controller automatically regulates the output to the final control element to ensure the PV is
similar to the set point.
iii) Cascade mode: where a controller (slave controller or secondary controller) receives a set
point from an output of another controller (master controller or primary controller).
Figure 99: Modes of regulatory controller (source: kll.engineering-news.org)
Figure 100 shows a control loop of burner firing in a fired heater. Cascade mode is applied after operations
is stable in which the heater outlet temperature is controlled by adjusting the set point of the TIC (auto
mode). During start-up or at instable condition, the cascade mode is inactivated, therefore the heater
outlet temperature can be controlled visually by adjusting the set point of PIC (in auto mode of the PIC)
or output of PIC (in manual mode of the PIC).
Figure 100: Cascade mode in controller of distillation column.

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10.5 Pressure, Level, Temperature and Flow Indicator Controller
Figure 101 shows a control loop of a pressure indicator controller (PIC), level indicator controller (LIC) and
flow indicator controller (FIC). In other references, the PIC is written as PC (pressure controller), the LIC is
written as LC (level controller) and FIC is written as FC (flow controller).
Figure 101: Pressure indicator controller (PIC), level indicator controller (LIC) and flow indicator controller (LIC)
For PIC, the typical pressure element (PE) or sensor is the differential pressure cell (DP cell). The DP cell
change the pressure into electrical signal. Pressure Transmitter (PT), transmit the pressure electrical signal
to pressure indicator controller (PIC). In PIC, the measured pressure (i.e., the process variable, PV) from
pressure sensor is compared with the set point given to the controller. If the measured pressure is higher
than the set point, the controller will send an output to open the pressure control valve (% open is
accordingly to the deviation of set point to PV). If the measured pressure is lower than set point, the
controller will send an output to close the control valve (% open is accordingly to the deviation of set point
to PV). If the measured pressure is similar to the set point, the controller will maintain the opening of the
control valve (i.e., maintaining the output of the controller). The I/P converter, (I/P) is a device to convert
electrical signal (4- 20 mA) into pneumatic signal (3-15 psi) to open or close a pneumatic control valve.
For LIC, the most typical level sensor is the also the differential pressure cell (DP cell). The DP cell change
the pressure into electrical signal. The level transmitter (LT), transmit the level electrical signal to level
indicator controller (LIC). In LIC, the measured level from the pressure sensor is compared with the set
point given to the controller. If the measured level is higher than set point, the controller will send an
output to open the level control valve (% open is accordingly to deviation of set point to PV). If the
measured level is lower than set point, the controller will send an output to close the control valve (%
open is accordingly to the deviation of set point to PV). If the measured level is similar to the SP, the
controller will maintain the opening of the control valve (i.e., maintaining the output of the controller).
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The I/P converter, convert the electrical signal (4- 20 mA) into pneumatic signal (3-15 psi) to open or close
a pneumatic control valve.
The principles of temperature indicator controller (TIC) are similar to level and pressure indicator
controller. The typical temperature sensors for temperature are thermocouple and resistant temperature
detector (RTD). A thermocouple is a temperature sensor that measure temperature by generating a small
voltage signal proportional to the temperature difference between the junctions of two dissimilar
bimetallic wires. The RTD has 3 wires. The resistance developed is proportional to the measured
temperature. A thermowell is used to isolate a temperature sensor and the harsh process environment,
allowing the temperature sensor to be removed and replaced safely for maintenance.
The principles of flow indicator controller (FIC) are similar to level, pressure and temperature indicator
controller. The most common flow element is orifice plate, which convert the flow signal into differential
pressure. The differential pressure is converted into electrical signal by the DP cell (the most common
sensor for flow).
In some books, the word “transducer” replaces the “transmitter”. A transducer is a type of transmitter. A
transducer is used to convert electrical energy to other energy or vice versa. Figure 102 shows some
components in control loops.
Figure 102: Some components in control loops (source: Bitjungle via commons.wikipedia.org, ijirst.org,
electronics.stackexchange.com, www.electronics-lab.com, totaleng.history.com)
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The final control element in a control loop can be:
i) Control valves: pneumatic, hydraulic or electric motor driven. Control valves can be the type
of fail to close (FC) or fail to open (FO)
ii) Electric motors: to drive pumps and compressors etc.
iii) Solenoid valves: to open or close blocking valves during shut-down.
Figure 103 shows the photo of some of these final control elements.
Figure 103: Some of the final control element (source: Rafal Rygielski via pl.wikipedia.org,
www.pxfuel.com, 2019.igem.org)
10.6 Local Gauges
There are many manual local gauges for flow, temperature, level and pressure at field for monitoring. The
followings are some typical local gauges at field.
i) Pressure gauge: the most common type of pressure gauge is Bordon tube pressure gauge.
The accuracy ranged from 0.1 to 5% of span.
ii) Temperature gauge: temperature gauges make use of either a filled thermal system (for
example, a thermometer) or bimetallic element. In bimetallic element, the amount of bending
is a direct indication of temperature change.
iii) Level gauge: the most common level gauges are of the sight glass and float type.
iv) Flow gauge: some of them are rotameter, turbine flow meter and electromagnetic flow
meter.
Figure 104 shows some typical local gauges at field in chemical process plant.
Figure 104: Some of local gauges (source: www.wallpaperflare.com,

pxhere.com, diy.stackexchange.com, KROHNE via commons.wikimedia.org)
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10.7 Maintenance, Troubleshooting and Override Switch
During annual shut-down, the control valves are dismantled for servicing by maintenance contractor.
Control valve calibration has to be carried out as scheduled (usually during annual shut-down). A control
valve opening is calibrated to 4 -20 mA electrical signal for opening and closing. Usually, a valve is
calibrated at 0%, 25%, 50%, 75% and 100% opening. A transmitter is calibrated to the span of the process
variables of the measuring element.
By monitoring the process variables closely, one should be able to determine whether there is an upset
(abnormal) in process or an instrument is failing. If all of the instrumentation reading show similar
increasing or decreasing trend, then there is an upset in the process. If an instrument deviates too much
whereas the others are not, most likely the instrument is failing.
Override switches are switches accessible to the supervisor in order to by-pass shut-down signal during
start-up or during instrumentation maintenance. The followings are two examples of the function of the
override switches:
i) A reformer will shut-down if the temperature of the desulphurizer decrease to less than 350oC
in order to avoid catalyst poisoning. During start-up, the temperature of the desulphurizer is
less than 100oC, thus this signal should be overridden in order to start-up the system.
ii) A pressure transmitter of an instrument air system is going to be calibrated. If the pressure
signal is not overridden the whole plant will shut-down.
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11.0 Plant Start-up, Normal Operations and Shut-down
The general concepts and general guidelines for chemical process plant start-up are presented in this
chapter.
11.1 Activities Prior to Start-up
The followings are some of the important activities prior to start-up of a chemical process plant:
i) Remove all blind plates installed for plant positive isolation during shut-down. Figure 105
shows the blind plate and spectacle blind for positive process isolation.
Figure 105: Spectacle blind and blind spade for isolation (source: www.piping-designer.com,
www.excelmetal.net)
ii) Verify that all maintenance works are completed.

iii) Verify that all pressure vessels and tanks are ready for start-up.
iv) Verify that all rotating equipment is in in order and ready for start-up (connected to drive
shaft and aligned).
v) Verify that all control loops and control valves have been tested.
vi) Verify that raw materials are available and enough.
vii) Purge the system with N2 until the O2 content is less than 0.5% to avoid combustible or
explosive mixture formation inside the system.
viii) Leak test/tightness test: after activity (vii), pressurize the system up to operating pressure
with N2 and check for leakage at every flange, fittings, manholes etc., using commercial
surfactant such as “snoop” or soap solution. If leakage was found, retighten the flanges
and/or change to a new gasket etc.
The activities no (vii) and (viii) are mandatory before a chemical process plant can be started-up.
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11.2 Start-up Sequence of the Auxiliary System
Auxiliary systems have to be started-up before main process start-up according to the following sequence:
i) Start the flaring system. The excess of flammable gases during start-up has to be burnt at the
flare stack for safety.
ii) Start the instrument & compressed air system. Pneumatic control valves in the whole plant
need instrument air for functioning. See notes on auxiliary system.
iii) Start the ECW system. All heat exchangers for cooling have to be started-up before main
process start-up.
iv) Start the deionized BFW treatment plant, the BFW deaerator, boiler and steam system.
v) Start the PCW system (if available)
vi) Other system (if available).
11.3 Start-up Concepts
The followings are the start-up concept for chemical process plant:
i) Establish fluid flow in all pipe lines which are exposed to heat such as boiler coil (with BFW),
reactor coil (with NG or N2 which is applicable) to avoid localize overheating.
ii) Heating rate: 50oC/h initially at radiant chamber, then switch to the outlet of fired heater or
direct fired reactor (to avoid uneven expansion of materials which lead to structure distortion
and crack of refractory bricks).
iii) To increase temperature of a process: (for fired heater or furnace or reactor)

a) Ignite pilot burner first (if any), one by one according to the standard heating rate 50oC/h.
b) Ignite main burner one by one at the recommended minimum fuel pressure. Follow the
standard heating rate of 50oC/h.
c) After all main burner has been ignited, the heating or temperature can be increased by
increasing the fuel pressure. The fuel pressure must not exceed maximum recommended
fuel pressure to avoid hazardous situation. Follow the standard heating rate of 50oC/h.
iv) To increase the pressure: use pressure controller, in auto mode adjust the set point or in
manual mode adjust the output.
To increase the flow: use flow controller, in auto mode adjust the set point or in manual mode
adjust the output.
To maintain the level: use level controller, in auto mode adjust the set point or in manual
mode adjust the output.
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To adjust the temperature: use temperature controller, in auto mode adjust the set point or
in manual mode adjust the output.
v) Activate the process override switch (POS) or maintenance override switch (MOS) where
applicable during start-up. Deactivate the POS/MOS after start-up for interlock protection.
Example: A fired heater will shut-down if fuel pressure is very low. During start-up, there is
no pressure in the fuel line. Therefore, this signal should be overridden during start-up in
order to start a fired heater. If this signal is not overridden, the shut-off valve of the fuel line
cannot be reset to open.
11.4 Proposed Start-up of Benzene Plant
Figure 106 shows a PFD of a benzene plant. In this plant, the direct hydration reaction of propylene with
water produces benzene and methane. In this section a general start-up procedure for this plant is
proposed.
These activities must be carried out prior to start-up:
i) N2 purging to remove O2 in the system: This activity is carried out to avoid formation of
combustible gas mixture when introducing raw material during start-up inside the process
equipment and pipeline. N2 can be introduced in stream S1 and S3, passing through TK 101,
PU 101, HE 101, FH 101, RE 101, HE 102, VE 101 and purged through stream S8 into fuel and
flare system. Continue the N2 purging for VE 102, HE 102, TW 101, HE 103, TK 102, PU 102,
HE 105, HE 104 and purged them through stream S17 and S19 into fuel and flare system. N2
purging also is carried out for pipeline S11 (recycle) and S15 (to storage tank).
There are two methods for N2 purging:
a) Continuous purging in which nitrogen is introduced into the system and purged into
flare pipeline continuously until O2 content is less 0.5%.
b) Pressure swing purging: in which the system is pressurized and depressurized several
times until O2 content is less than 0.5%. Practically, pressure swing method is faster
than continuous purging.
If the system is pressurized up to 4 bar, at least 4 swings has to be carried out to

achieved O2 content less than 0.5%. For the 1st swing, the estimated concentration of
O2 is 21%/4 = 5.25%. The estimated concentration of O2 for 2nd swing is 5.25%/4 =
1.31%. For the 3rd swing, the estimated O2 content is 1.31%/4= 0.33% and lastly for
the 4th swing, the estimated O2 content is 0.33%/4 = 0.08%.
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ii) Leak test: the system is pressurized preferably up to operating pressure. Every flange,
connection, manhole especially that has been dismantled during shut-down will be checked
for leak using soap solution or commercial surfactant such as “snoop solution”. The plant must
be 100% leakage free before start-up.
Figure 106: The PFD of direct hydration benzene plant
The general proposed start-up procedure for this plant is as follows:
i) Activating process override switches (POS) for start-up: At the beginning of start-up, there are
a lot of shut-down signals from the plant such as low flow of raw material into fired heater,
low draft of fired heater, low fuel pressure of burner, low level of TW 103 etc. If the shut-
down signals are not overridden, the shut-down valves cannot be reset to open (because they
received the shut-down signals).
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ii) Start all heat exchangers using ECW as the cooling media (including heat exchanger using air
as the cooling media if any): For this plant, the heat exchangers are HE 102 (reactor cooler),
HE 103 (benzene condenser) and HE105 (benzene cooler).
In general, procedure to start-up the ECW heat exchanger is as follows:
a) Open the ECW inlet valve slowly (to maintain the ECW system pressure). ECW system is
already started and stabilized.
b) Open the vent (to remove air trap) & drain valves (to remove sediment, rust etc.). Air trap
can lead to localize overheating at the tube surface. The vent valve can be closed when
no air bubble is observed. The drain valve can be closed when no dirt is observed.
c) Open the ECW outlet valve of the heat exchanger slowly. The valve opening depends on
the cooling requirement (temperature outlet of the cooling water must not exceed 45oC
to avoid scaling).
d) As the process flow increased according to start-up schedule, open the ECW outlet valve
to maintain the cooling water return temperature less than 45oC.
iii) Fill TK 101 (toluene feed tank) with toluene, control the level at 50% (automatic mode).
Usually, this type of storage tank is blanketed by N2 for safety and pressure compensating
during filling and pumping. So, please make sure the self-regulating N2 valve and venting is in
service.
iv) Introduce the H2 via stream S3, pressurized the system to 2.5 bar. Low pressure is suggested
for compressor start-up to avoid overcurrent. Control the pressure in automatic mode at
stream S8. Start the recycle gas compressor CP 101, to recirculate the hydrogen for start-up.
H2 is selected for start-up because it is lighter than toluene, thus may reduce the compressor
load. Control the flow at stream S4 at 30% normal flow, that is 5505.0 kg/h. The initial fresh
feed of H2 at stream S3 should be 219.2 kg/h. This flow may be adjusted later for good
pressure control at S8. After cooling media has been established in all heat exchangers, the
heated part of those heat exchangers can be put in service. Failure to establish cooling media
may damage the equipment due to overheating.
v) Start the feed preheater, HE 101: Firstly, warm-up the steam line, followed by start-up of HE
101. The temperature at the S4 will increase gradually to 225oC. The feed preheater is
provided here, to avoid flue gas condensation at the inlet of the FH 101 (at the heater tube
outside surface) if cool raw material is fed. This unwanted condensation may lead to corrosion
and eventually lead to heater tube failure.
vi) Start the feed fired heater, FH 101 to increase the temperature from 225oC to 600oC. The
standard heating rate is 50oC/h to avoid structural and insulation firebrick deformation due
to uneven expansion due to the heating. For cold start-up, the 1st temperature reference is at
the radiant chamber. The 2nd reference temperature is at the outlet of the feed heater (when
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it is sufficiently hot). Switch reference temperature to the outlet of the feed heater when the
heating rate of the radiant chamber is similar outlet of the heater (at the outlet feed heater
temperature of approximately above 400oC, depending on the size of the heater). The
procedure to start a fired heater depends on the type and manufacturer of the heater. The
followings are the general suggested start-up of the fired heater.
a) Start the induced draft fan (IDF), if any.

b) Start the forced draft fan (FDF), if any.
c) Control furnace draft at -5.0 mm Hg. There must be negative pressure inside the fired
heater to move the flue gas through the chimney or stack. The set point for draft
controller may differ from one fired heater to another.
d) Wait for 30 minutes to purge any combustible gas inside the furnace.
e) Leak test of the fuel gas line to burner. If there are no leakage & no burner valves are
opened, no pressure drop will be observed and the leak test is considered pass.
f) After passing the leak test, reset to open shut off valves (normally double block &
bleed) of fuel gas to the burner.
g) Open a valve to flare system in the fuel line (if any) to create fuel flow and control the
fuel pressure at the burner minimum pressure.
h) Ignite the burner according to the schedule (1 or 2 at one time). The heating rate
should be 50oC/h at the radiant chamber initially. When the fired heater is already
hot (may be around 400-500oC at the radiant chamber), the reference temperature
(for heating rate calculation) can be changed to the outlet temperature of the fired
heater.
i) After all burners are ignited at the minimum fuel pressure, firing is increased by
increasing the burner pressure gradually. Please stick to the standard rate of 50oC/h
for the reference temperature at the outlet of the fired heater.
j) Bring the process temperature and flow as scheduled, preferably in automatic mode.
vii) Introducing toluene: Start the toluene feed pump, PU 101 and introduce the toluene gradually
into the heater according to the mass flow ratio of S1 : S3 of 12.3 : 1.00 (i.e., 9000.4 kg/h:
730.8 kg/h). At 600oC, the reaction to produce benzene occurs. The reaction is exothermic
and the reactor temperature will increase. The temperature of the reactor can be reduced by
cooling flow of stream S7 from the recirculating compressor. This temperature is controlled
in automatic mode at the set point of 655oC.
viii) Effluent from reactor RE 101, flows into reactor effluent cooler HE 102. Condensable
component especially benzene condensed when cooled down from 655oC to 36oC at HE 102.
Level of liquid starts to build-up at high pressure flash column, VE 101. Set the level controller
of VE 101 in automatic mode, 50% level. The pressure control of VE 101 is controlled at 24 bar
during normal operations. Thus, increase the pressure of the system gradually from 2.5 bar
to 24 bar gradually by increasing the set point of the pressure controller in automatic mode
(the pressure control valve location is above stream S8 to the flare system). Non-condensable
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components such as H2 are recycled into reactor. This recycle stream has to be purged to
avoid accumulation of CH4.
ix) The liquid from high pressure flash column, VE 101 will go to next vessel, the low-pressure
flash column, VE 102. Control the pressure here at 3 bar (less than VE 101) and control the
level at 50% in automatic mode. The function of this vessel is to remove remaining non-
condensable methane and hydrogen using low pressure condition.
x) Liquid from the low-pressure flash column, VE 102 starts to flow into benzene tower
distillation column TW 101. Control the level of TW 101 at 50% in automatic mode. When the
reboiler HE 104 has been filled with liquid, it can be started up (steam line and equipment
warm-up followed by the introduction of the low-pressure steam). Control the flow of steam
using steam flow controller in auto mode. Increase the temperature of the liquid (by
increasing the set point of the flow controller). The temperature profile of the column will
increase accordingly. Then, the liquid will vaporize into the benzene condenser HE 103 and
condensable component condensed after passing the condenser. The condensed liquid starts
to build level at reflux drum TK 102. Control the level of TK 102 at 50% in automatic mode.
Control the pressure of the condenser via control valve at stream S19 in auto mode (2.5 bar).
When there is enough level in reflux drum TK 102, the reflux pumps PU 102 can be started.
Use total reflux operations (all condensate is returned into distillation column) at the
beginning of this distillation column start-up. This condenser is the type of partial condenser
to remove non-condensable components such as traces of methane and hydrogen through
the pressure control valve. After stabilized, start to open product flow control valves by
adjusting gradually the reflux flow (S12): product flow (S15) of 1.75 : 1.00 (i.e., 13010.7 kg/h :
7418.2 kg/h).
xi) After the process parameters stabilized, put controllers in cascade mode (if available) e.g., the
heater fuel pressure controller with the heater outlet temperature controller (if available),
reflux flow controller with reflux ratio controller (if available), distillation reboiler steam flow
rate controller with distillation reboiler temperature controller (if available) and so on.
xii) Increase the plant product capacity according to schedule. Deactivate the respective POS for
automatic plant protection. The benzene product flows into product cooler HE 105 for further
cooling before going into other section (for further processing or storage).
Table 10 shows the proposed start-up schedule for the chemical plant.
Notes: in some cases, the other heating rate has to be followed due to hazardous condition as advised by
the manufacturer/process engineer. Example: reformed gas at the temperature of 600 -700oC may create
tube failure called “metal dusting”. Thus, at this temperature range the temperature increment is
expedite at the rate of 100oC/h.
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Table 10: Proposed start-up schedule
11.5 Normal Operations
During normal operations, it is the obligation of the operations and process personnel with the assistant
of the maintenance people (mechanical, electrical, control and instrumentation etc.) to maintain the
continuous operations of the plant at the desired product capacity and specification for a year without
comprising safety to people and environment.
A lot of “what to inspect during normal operation” can be found in Section 1.2 “The Auxiliary Systems”
and individual chapter of the static and rotating equipment previously (Chapter 7.0, 8.0 and 9.0).
In general, the “what to inspect during normal operations” are:
i) For rotating equipment such as pumps, fan, compressors and turbines:

a) Check their conditions (including their driver electric motor): temperature, pressure,
vibration, any abnormal sound.
b) Check the lubrication system, the pressure, oil level, cooling water etc.
c) Check for any leakage.
d) Always drain any liquid by opening the drain valve to remove dirt and sediment.
e) Pumps should be vented every shift to remove air bubbles.
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f) Check differential pressure of the compressor filter. Change the filter if necessary.
ii) For heat exchangers:

a) Check the temperature of inlet and outlet streams. Do adjustment if required.
b) Check the differential pressure of the heat exchanger. High differential pressure indicates
that the heat exchanger is clogged (High differential pressure across equipment such as
filter, strainer, packed bed, catalyst bed etc. indicates that they are clogged).
c) Drain the heat exchanger to remove rusts and solid sediments (if any).
d) Vent the heat exchanger to remove air trap. Air trap may lead to localized overheating.
iii) For fired heater and some reactor (with direct fire):
a) Check the temperature of every parts of the fired heater.
b) Check the draft of the fired heater.
c) Visual check of the tubes by opening the peep (inspection) holes. There should be no hot
or cold spot at the reactor tubes. Adjust the burner firing if necessary.
d) Visual inspection at the outer shell of the heater. If the outer shell is red glowing,
indicating that refractory inside the combustion chamber is broken and falling down. The
hot red glowing shell should be cool down (by air or water spray) and operations can be
resumed.
e) Check the burner firing, adjust the air register if necessary. The flame should not touch
the furnace tube/coil, with the right color, no back fire and not extinguished.
f) Measure the skin temperature of the tube using pyrometer. Skin temperature should not
exceed the design skin tube temperature. Adjust the burner firing if necessary.
g) IDF & FDF operations: check for any abnormal sound, check the lubrication oil, bearing
and motor temperature.
iv) Check and maintain all important process parameter to maintain production capacity and
specification such as reactor pressure and temperature, distillation column temperature
profiles etc.
v) Check for raw materials quality, all water quality (ECW, DI BFW, condensate etc), product
quality etc. Process engineer will instruct some process parameter adjustment based on the
analysis of raw material, product quality, water quality etc., for lowest operating cost while
maintaining the specification of the product at desired production rate.
11.6 Shut-down
There are several types of shut-down:
i) Annual normal shut-down (the reverse of start-up) for plant maintenance and mandatory
inspection by authorized body (i.e., DOSH).
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ii) Emergency shut-down (ESD) with-out vent, by activating the respective ESD button. This type
of shut-down is configured for fast re-start-up by maintaining the content and heat of the
plant.
iii) ESD shut-down with vent, by activating the respective ESD button. This type of shut-down is
configured to minimize the consequences of severe hazards such as fire, heated tube leaking
etc. By depressurizing the content of the plant to a safe place may reduce the severity of the
accompanying hazard.
iv) Shut-down due to activation of interlock or shut-down signals such as very high draft in fired
heater, very low water level in steam drum, very high temperature at the outlet of fired
heater, very high temperature at the heater outlet etc. This shut-down is configured to
protect the equipment, the plant, personnel etc. automatically without the involvement of
man decision.
The followings are the proposed normal shut-down procedure for this plant. In general, normal shut-down
is the reverse of start-up:
i) Reduce the plant capacity to 30% of normal capacity (flow at stream S15 = 2225.5 kg/h), by
decreasing the flow of fresh raw material, toluene (at stream S1) and hydrogen (at stream S3)
maintaining the flow ratio of toluene to hydrogen. Since all controllers are in auto mode, all
process flows in the process will automatically be reduced.
ii) Reduce the outlet temperature of feed heater FH 101 to 400oC at the standard cooling rate
of 50oC/h. When the F H101 temperature reaches 400oC, extinguish all burners, cut the supply
of fresh toluene (stream S1) into TK 101. PU 101 can be stopped when no recycle liquid of
toluene at stream S11 is observed. Field operators should manually close the block valves at
stream S1.
iii) When no liquid is observed into the distillation column (stream S10), cut off the steam supply
to the distillation feed preheater HE 102 and reboiler HE 104. Maintain total reflux operation
of the column during transient states. Maintain the reflux pump running for distillation
column cooling down.
iv) Reduce the pressure of the system to 2.5 bar, gradually (using PCV above stream S8, stream
S17 and stream S19). Let the compressor running, recirculating the H2 to cool down the heater
and reactor. After compressor is shut-down, block the fresh flow of H2 (stream S3). Field
operators should manually close the block valves at stream S3.
v) Closed all air register of burners at the heater FH 101. Maintain the operation of the heater
IDF to cool down the heater chamber. Stick to the standard cooling rate of 50oC/h by adjusting
the damper opening of the FH 101. If the radiant temperature of FH 101 is above the design
temperature of the heater tube, N2 flow should be introduced into the heater tube to avoid
tube overheating (and to initiate N2 purge of the system).
vi) Let the plant cools down (let the ECW system running to cool down all heat exchangers, let
the IDF heater running to cool down the heater, let the BFW running through the boiler and
steam drum to cool down the boiler tubes etc.).
125
vii) At this stage the whole plant can be shut-down (by pressing the shut-down button, if any).
11.7 Activities After Main Process Plant Shut-down
The typical activities after a chemical plant shut-down are as follows:
i) Shut-down the auxiliary system after the main process plant cools down, in sequence
opposite to start-up:
a) Shut-down other auxiliary system (if any).
b) Shut-down the PCW system (if available).
c) Shut- down the steam system, boiler, BFW deaerator, deionized water BFW treatment
plant.
d) Shut-down the ECW system.
e) Shut-down the instrument and compressed air system.
The operation of flare system is maintained for depressurization and N2 purging activities.
ii) Depressurize the process and drain all liquids. Hazardous liquids such as toluene is drained
into their respective storage. Non-hazardous liquid can be drained into drain systems
following the regulations of DOE.
iii) Purge the system with N2 to remove combustible and toxic gas until LEL is less than 10% and
toxicity is less than 25 ppm (as CO). Notes: the specific toxic and combustible gas depends on
the chemical components of the individual chemical plant.
iv) For positive isolation, blind plate must be installed at appropriate locations especially at the
raw material inlet pipe line (such as at S1 & S3), at all chemical injection inlets, pipe lines to
flare system and all permanent N2 pipeline. Manual block valves and automatic shut-down
valves deteriorates with time and always have the possibility of unsealed seats and lead to
hazardous condition to the shut-down sections.
The main circuit breakers of rotating equipment such as pumps, compressors and fans must
be off, tagged and locked.
v) For safe entry purposes, follow the preparation for confined space entry procedure (Section
6.5).
vi) Do the equipment isolation and maintenance as in the proposed shut-down program. Permit
to work must be obtained for every work to be carried out during shut-down. Required safety
courses and competency are under the authorization of the individual company and DOSH.
126
The followings are some of the typical maintenance activities during the shut-down of a
chemical process plant:
a) Pressure vessels, boilers, reactors, storage tank: isolated, prepared for safe entry,
cleaned, staging installed with lighting for inspection activities. Repairing is carried out if
required. Any repaired pressure vessel has to go for hydrostatic test.
b) Control valves: serviced and calibrated.
c) Instrumentation transmitter: serviced and calibrated.
d) Safety valve: serviced and pressure setting.
e) Heat exchanger: dismantled for cleaning and inspection. Leaking tubes are identified and
plugged (if number of leaking tubes is less than 10%).
f) Rotating equipment: dismantled for inspection, lubrication oil changes, grease motor
changed, bearing changed, mechanical seal changed.
g) Fired heater: heater tube inspected, firebrick checked, burner cleaned, finned tube
cleaned (if any).
127
References
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New Jersey: Prentice Hall.
Carucci V.A. 2000. Overview of Process Plant Piping System Design. ASME Career Development Series.
Carmagen Engineering Inc.
Crowl D.A. and Louvar J.E. Chemical Process Safety: Fundamentals with Applications.2019. 4th Edition.
Pearson.
Coulson J.M., Richardson J.F. and Sinnot R.K. 2006. Chemical Engineering Design. Volume 6. 4th Edition.
Butterworth: Heinemann.
Custom Pipe Supports/Pipe Shoes – E-Z. www.ezline.com
Diaphragm Valve Type 14. www.raccordplust.com
Electric Hydrostatic Test Pumps. www.reedmggco.com
Equipment Diktron DSX MKII ADSU Automatic Distress Signal Unit. www.eten.regiopurmerend.nl.com
Heat Exchanger. www.real-world-physics-problems.com
Heat Exchanger Fouling. www.hcheattransfer.com
Heat Exchanger Tube Cleaning Services, Industrial. www.indiamart.com
Heat recovery heat exchangers. www.tempco.it
Hydrostatic Test. www.mcwaneductile.com
Industrial Cleaning of Heat Exchangers. www.atlasindustrialservicer.com
Lockout Tagout: Everything You Need to Know to Stay in Line with OSHA LOTO Standard.
www.arauniversity.com
Motor Operated Valves – Control Valves – Instrumentation Forum. www.instrumentationforum.com
MSS Pipe Hangers and Supports – ANSI Blog. www.blog.ansi.org
Needle Valve: A Complete Guide for Engineer. www.hardhatengineer.com
Package boiler-Wikipedia. www.en.wikipedia.com
128
Parallel and Counter Flow Design Heat Exchanger. www.engineesedge.com
Pipe. www.hardhatengineer.com
Piping Guide: What are safety Valves and Pressure Relief Devices. www.pipingguide.net
Piping Support System in HVAC. www.conquas.com
Pipe support – Wikipedia. www.en.wikipedia.com
PSSB Training Manual. 1992.
Qsense Direct Contact Heat Exchanger. www.bionomicind.com
Safety Valve vs Relief Valve – AccuTEST Systems. www.accutestsystem.com
Sharonizam N., Mohd Nazif M.Z and Mohamad Redzuan S.M. 2012. Practical Guide for Authorized Entrant
& Standby Person For Confined Space. NIOSH.
Seider W.D., Seader J.D. and Lewin D.R. 2016.Product and Process Design Principles: Synthesis, Analysis
and Evaluation, 4th Edition, New York: Wiley.
Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers. www.thomasnet.com
Sizing, Selection and Installation of Pressure Relieving Devices in Refineries, Part 1 – Sizing and Selection,
API Recommended Practice 520, 7th Edition, January 2000.
Standard of Tubular Exchanger Manufacturer Association, 6th Edition, 1978.
Reverse Acting Buckling Pin Rupture Disc. www.powderbulksolids.com
Thomas C.E. 2011. Process Technology & Systems. 4th Edition. Stamford: Cengage Learning.
Types of Flanges. www.wermac.org
Turton R., Shaeiwitz J.A., Bhattacharyya A. and Whiting B.V. 2018. Analysis, Synthesis and Design of
Chemical Processes.5th Edition. Prentice Hall.
Wagner D.D. 2015. Confined Space in Construction: A Giant Step Toward Closing Gaps in Safety. EHS
Today. www.ehstoday.com
What are motor operated valves? www.autonationforum.co
What is Industrial Confined Space Rescue. 2014. www.pksafety.com
What is Piping & Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID). www.instrumentationtools.com
What is Waste Heat Recovery Boiler? www.thermodyneboilers.com
129
3M Scott Emergency Life Support Apparatus (ELSA). www.ieppl.com
60 Inch Stainless Steel Butterfly Valve BS 5. www.wog-valve.com
www.w2systems.com
130
Index
surge .......................................................................... 109

A
Confined space
Acute exposure ................................................................. 55 Authorised gas tester (AGT) ........................................ 83
Air cooler .......................................................................... 11 Authorized entrant (AE) .............................................. 83
Air dryer ............................................................................ 11 definition ..................................................................... 81
Anion exchanger ......................................................... 20, 22 Entry supervisor (ES) ................................................... 83
area classification ............................................................. 46 preparation for entry................................................... 82
Autoignition temperature ................................................. 50 Standby person (SP) .................................................... 83
auxiliary process ................................................................. 9 Confined Vapor Cloud Explosion (CVCE) .......................... 53
auxiliary system ................................................................ 10 Control and instrumentation
category ..................................................................... 116
B Data acquisition ......................................................... 117
final control element ................................................. 122
Backwash filter.................................................................. 15 Interlock control ........................................................ 117
Biocide .............................................................................. 13 local gauges ............................................................... 122
Boiler and steam system maintenance.............................................................. 123
components ................................................................. 29 Override switches ...................................................... 123
controllers .................................................................... 30 purposes .................................................................... 116
interlocks ..................................................................... 30 Regulatory control ..................................................... 116
normal operation ......................................................... 30 Sequence control....................................................... 117
start-up ........................................................................ 29 Controller Mode
Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion (BLEVE) ........... 53 Auto mode ................................................................. 119
By-pass .............................................................................. 47 Cascade mode ........................................................... 119
Manual mode ............................................................ 118
C Conveyor system
component .................................................................. 36
Cation exchanger ........................................................ 19, 22 interlocks ..................................................................... 37
Caustic soda ................................................................ 13, 17 normal operation ........................................................ 36
chemical cleaning ............................................................. 41 start-up ........................................................................ 35
Chronic exposure .............................................................. 55 Cooling tower ..................................................13, 16, 17, 19
Clarifier ............................................................................. 17
CO2 absorption system
D
components ................................................................. 31
controllers .................................................................... 33 DCS ..................................................................... 15, 96, 118
interlocks ..................................................................... 33 debottlenecking ......................................................... 38, 42
normal operation ......................................................... 32 decommissioning ....................................................... 38, 42
start-up ........................................................................ 32 Deflagration: .................................................................... 52
Coagulation filter .............................................................. 19 Degasifier ......................................................................... 20
commissioning ................................................ 21, 22, 40, 41 deionized BFW treatment plant
compressed air .............................................. See service air components................................................................. 19
Compressor controller ..................................................................... 22
balancing and alignment ............................................ 110 interlocks ..................................................................... 23
centrifugal compressor start-up ................................ 111 normal operation ........................................................ 21
classification............................................................... 109 regeneration ................................................................ 22
definition.................................................................... 108 start-up ........................................................................ 21
interlocks ................................................................... 111 detail design ............................................................... 38, 39
normal operations ..................................................... 111 Detonation ....................................................................... 52
131
DI BFW physical and chemical treatment Blind flange .................................................................. 67
components ................................................................. 24 Lap Joint ...................................................................... 67
controllers .................................................................... 25 Slip on .......................................................................... 67
interlocks ..................................................................... 25 Socket weld ................................................................. 67
normal operation ......................................................... 25 Threaded ..................................................................... 67
start-up ........................................................................ 24 Weld neck .................................................................... 66
diethanolamine (DEA) ....................................................... 31 Flanges ............................................................................. 66
Directional control valve (DCV) ......................................... 34 flaring system ..................................................... 41, 47, 125
Dispersant ................................................................... 13, 17 Flash fire ........................................................................... 51
distributed control system ....................................... See DCS Flash point ........................................................................ 50
Dust Explosion .................................................................. 53 Flocculant ......................................................................... 17
flow indicator controller............................................ See FIC
E
G
ECW
components ................................................................. 13 gasket ............................................................................... 70
interlocks ..................................................................... 16 Gasket type
level controller ............................................................. 15 Double jacketed........................................................... 70
normal operation ......................................................... 15 Sheet ........................................................................... 70
pressure controller....................................................... 15 Solid metal ring............................................................ 70
start-up procedure ....................................................... 14 Spiral wound................................................................ 70
engineering controls ......................................................... 57
EPC project........................................................................ 40 H
equipment cooling water system ........................... See ECW
ethanol................................................................................ 9 hardness ..........................................................19, 20, 22, 27
ethylene oxide .................................................................. 10 hazard.................................................. 48, 54, 55, 56, 57, 76
Heat exchanger
classification of shell and tube .................................... 88
F
components of shell and tube ..................................... 87
FIC ................................................................................... 121 definition ..................................................................... 86
Fire point........................................................................... 50 flow arrangement ........................................................ 87
fire triangle ................................................................. 51, 54 Fouling ......................................................................... 90
Fire tube boiler ................................................................. 25 shut-down ................................................................... 90
Fired heater shut-down activities .................................................... 90
classification................................................................. 92 start-up ........................................................................ 89
components ................................................................. 92 types ............................................................................ 86
control loops ................................................................ 98 High pressure steam................................................ See HPS
definition...................................................................... 92 HPS ..................................................................... 28, 29, 114
extinguishing a burner ................................................. 95 hydraulic system .............................................................. 34
fired heater start-up .................................................... 95 Hydraulic system
interlocks ..................................................................... 98 components................................................................. 34
normal operations ....................................................... 97 controllers ................................................................... 35
procedure to ignite a burner........................................ 94 interlocks ..................................................................... 35
shut-down .................................................................... 97 normal operation ........................................................ 35
Fired steam boiler ............................................................. 25 start-up ........................................................................ 34
Fittings .............................................................................. 60 hydrazine .......................................................................... 24
Flange face Hydrostatic test
Flat face........................................................................ 67 definition ..................................................................... 84
Raised face ................................................................... 67 procedure .................................................................... 85
Ring joint type (RTJ) ..................................................... 67
Flanges
132
I pressure controller ...................................................... 18
start-up ........................................................................ 17
instrument air Permit to work ..................................................... 7, 58, 134
components ................................................................. 11 personal protective equipment .............................. See PPEs
normal operation ......................................................... 12 PFD .................................................... 39, 42, 43, 45, 46, 126
start-up ........................................................................ 12 PIC .................................................................................. 120
Pipe and fittings
L clad pipe ...................................................................... 62
common fittings .......................................................... 60
lamellar clarification ......................................................... 17 large bore pipe ............................................................ 62
level indicator controller........................................... See LIC lined pipe ..................................................................... 62
LFL ..................................................................................... 50 Minimum wall thickness .............................................. 64
LIC120 NPS .............................................................................. 63
Long term exposure Schedule number ........................................................ 63
Ceiling Limit.................................................................. 56 small bore pipe ............................................................ 62
Maximum Exposure Limit ............................................ 56 type ............................................................................. 60
TWA A limit .................................................................. 56 Pipe end
loss prevention .................................................... See safety Beveled end ................................................................. 62
Low pressure steam .................................................. See LPS Plain end ...................................................................... 62
Lower flammability limit ........................................... See LFL Socket and spigot end ................................................. 62
LPS ................................................................ 24, 28, 29, 114 Threaded end .............................................................. 62
Pipe support
M flexible support............................................................ 75
pipe hanger ................................................................. 75
main process ....................................................................... 9 Rigid support ............................................................... 75
Major hazard piping and instrumentation diagram......................See P&ID
explosion ...................................................................... 52 plant normal operations................................................. 131
fire ................................................................................ 50 Plant shut-down
toxic release ................................................................. 55 activities after a chemical plant shut-down............... 134
management control ........................................................ 57 Annual normal shut-down ......................................... 132
Medium pressure steam ......................................... See MPS Emergency shut-down (ESD) with-out vent .............. 133
membrane filtration ......................................................... 20 ESD shut-down with vent .......................................... 133
methyl diethanolamine (MDEA) ....................................... 31 positive isolation ....................................................... 134
Mix bed polisher ......................................................... 20, 22 Proposed normal shut-down for benzene plant........ 133
MPS ............................................................................. 28, 29 Shut-down due to activation of interlock .................. 133
typical maintenance activities ................................... 134
N Plant start-up
activities prior to start-up .......................................... 124
nominal pipe size ..................................................... See NPS
Leak test .................................................................... 127
N2 continuous method ............................................... 126
O N2 pressure swing method......................................... 126
proposed benzene plant start-up .............................. 126
oil filter ............................................................................. 11
start-up concept ........................................................ 125
start-up schedule....................................................... 130
P start-up sequence of auxiliary system ....................... 125
P&ID .................................................... 39, 43, 44, 45, 46, 64 Pool fire ............................................................................ 51
PCW POS ............................................................96, 126, 127, 130
components ................................................................. 17 PPEs. ................................................................................. 57
interlocks ..................................................................... 18 preliminary process design............................................... 38
level controller ............................................................. 18 Pressure class rating ......................................................... 68
normal operation ......................................................... 18 pressure indicator controller ............................. 120, See PIC
133
Pressure safety/relief valve substitution ................................................................. 48
component................................................................... 77 scale .......................................................... 13, 17, 19, 40, 90
location guideline......................................................... 78 Short term exposure
Relief valve ................................................................... 77 LC50 .............................................................................. 56
Rupture disc ................................................................. 77 LD50 .............................................................................. 56
Safety valve .................................................................. 77 Sludge drying bed ............................................................. 17
Spring operated balanced bellow ................................ 77 Sodium phosphate ........................................................... 24
Spring operated conventional ...................................... 77 sodium sulphite ................................................................ 24
Pressure vessel stages in a chemical process ............................................ 38
fired steam boiler......................................................... 79 static equipment ........................................................ 40, 99
inspection..................................................................... 80 steam system start-up...................................................... 29
unfired pressure vessel ................................................ 79 Steam turbine
process cooling water .............................................See PCW classification .............................................................. 112
Process flow diagram ............................................... See PFD components............................................................... 113
process override switches........................................ See POS definition ................................................................... 112
Pump normal operations ..................................................... 115
cavitation ................................................................... 104 shut-down ................................................................. 115
classification................................................................. 99 start-up ...................................................................... 114
components ............................................................... 106
definition...................................................................... 99 T
interlocks ................................................................... 108
mechanical seal .......................................................... 106 temperature indicator controller .............................. See TIC
packing ....................................................................... 106 Thickener .......................................................................... 17
performance curve..................................................... 100 TIC .................................................................................. 121
procedure for centrifugal pump change over ............ 107 Torch fire .......................................................................... 52
procedure to start a centrifugal pump....................... 107 turnkey project ........................................................... 40, 42
pump head ................................................................. 101
standard fittings ......................................................... 105 U
purge......................................... 29, 47, 82, 90, 96, 129, 133
UFL ................................................................................... 50
Unconfined Vapor Cloud Explosion (UVCE) ...................... 53
R Upper flammability limit .......................................... See UFL
Recycling ........................................................................... 47
rotating equipment............... 40, 41, 99, 105, 124, 131, 134 V
Valves
S basic component ......................................................... 72
safety drain valve ................................................................... 72
attenuation .................................................................. 48 driver ........................................................................... 72
Fatal Accident Rate (FAR) ............................................. 49 functions ...................................................................... 72
Fatality rate .................................................................. 49 type ............................................................................. 72
inherent safety ............................................................. 48 vent valves ................................................................... 72
intensification .............................................................. 48 vibration switch .......................................................... 16, 19
Lost workdays .............................................................. 49
Occupational illness ..................................................... 49 W
Occupational injury ...................................................... 49
OSHA 1 ......................................................................... 49 Waste heat boiler ............................................................. 25
OSHA 2 ......................................................................... 49 water hammer...............................................27, 29, 90, 115
Recordable case ........................................................... 49 Water tube boiler ............................................................. 25
134
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THE BASICS OF CHEMICAL PLANT OPERATIONS

Book · March 2024

Azharin Shah Abd Aziz

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

DECEMBER 31, 2023

Copyright@ Azharin Shah Bin Abd Aziz.

The author can be contacted at azharinshah@yahoo.com

Preface ........................................................................................................................................................ vii

1.1 The Main Process

Figure 1: A main process to produce ethanol

Figure 2: A main process to produce ethylene oxide

1.2 The Auxiliary Process

Figure 3: A typical instrument & service air system (courtesy of PSSB)

i) Air filter: to filter particulate matter in air.

Figure 4: An instrument air system (courtesy of PSSB)

During normal operation, the followings should be checked:

i) Check for any abnormal sound.

1.2.2 Equipment Cooling Water System

Figure 5: A basic equipment cooling water system

The functions of components in the ECW system are as follows:

Figure 6: A simple ECW system with backwash filter

The followings are the typical start-up procedure of an ECW system.

During normal operation, the followings should be checked:

1.2.3 Process Cooling Water System

Figure 8: A typical process cooling water system

i) Pumps: to supply cooling water to users (direct contact cooling).

The followings are the typical start-up procedure of a PCW system.

During normal operation, the followings should be checked:

For a typical PCW system, there are two main controllers:

For a typical PCW system, some of the common interlocks are:

1.2.4 Deionized Boiler Feed Water Treatment Plant

i) Fill in industrial water tank up to required level.

During normal operation, the followings should be checked:

i) Cation resin regeneration:

ii) Anion resin regeneration:

i) Coagulant filter backwash sequence.

1.2.5 Deionized BFW Physical and Chemical Treatments

Figure 13: A typical DI BFW physical and chemical treatments unit

The main interlocks in this unit are:

1.2.6 Boiler and Steam System

Figure 15: A simplified diagram of a fired steam boiler

Figure 18: A photo of waste heat boiler (source: www.thermodyneboilers.com)

Figure 20 shows an example of simplified steam system.

Figure 20: A simplified diagram of steam system

i) Desuperheater: to reduce steam temperature before entering subsequent pressure header

During normal operation, the followings should be checked:

The main controllers of boilers and steam system are:

Some of the main interlocks in this unit are:

1.2.7 CO2 Absorption System

Figure 21: An example of simplified CO2 absorption system (courtesy of PSSB)

The functions of the main components in the system are as follows:

During normal operation, the followings should be checked:

Some of the main interlocks in this system are:

1.2.8 Hydraulic System

Figure 22: Example of a general hydraulic system (courtesy of PSSB)

Figure 23: Details of a hydraulic section (source: www.manufacturinget.org)

Functions of the main components of the system: