Methods:

Aspen simulation:
A completed block flow diagram was designed first; based on the BFD, Aspen plus was used to
construct the design. The thermodynamic property method chosen was the NRTL model (non-
random two-liquid model). The reactor used was an RStoic reactor which enables the user to
input selectivity and typically provides accurate results. Three separation towers were used
afterwards. At the end of the process, two streams are recycled to the beginning of the process
whereas two streams represent the final products. A flow sheet produced by aspen is shown
below; a stream table, as well as an input summary can be found in Appendix I .



Summary of Equipment:
The following tables include a summary of the equipment used in the process. The materials
used to construct the equipment vary depending on the chemicals used in the design.
According to The Handbook of Corrosion Data, it was found that carbon steel and stainless steel
are not suitable materials for storing or handling formic acid as the corrosion rate is a little high.
Therefore, nickel was the material of choice for the equipment that will deal with formic acid,
as it has a great resistance to the formic acid. Carbon steel was chosen to be the material of
construction for the rest of the equipment due to its low price and availability.

Vessels
V-101 V-102 V-103
Carbon Steel Carbon Steel Nickle
Horizontal Horizontal Vertical
V= 72.60 ft
3
V= 22.11 ft
3
V= 62.57 ft
3

Mx. Op. Pressure = psig Mx. Op. Pressure = psig Mx. Op. Pressure = psig

V-104 V-105
Carbon Steel Nickle
Vertical Vertical

V= 50.91 ft
3
V= 15.44 ft
3

Mx. Op. Pressure = psig Mx. Op. Pressure = psig







Pumps
P-101 P-102 P-103
Carbon Steel Carbon Steel Nickle
Centrifugal/electric drive
Centrifugal/electric drive
Centrifugal/electric drive
Power=10.728 hp Power= 3.268 hp Power= 3.110 hp
Efficiency= 85% Efficiency= 85% Efficiency= 85%

P-104 P-105 P-106
Nickle Nickle Carbon Steel
Centrifugal/electric drive Centrifugal/electric drive Centrifugal/electric drive
Power= 3.694 hp Power= 2.183 hp Power= 1.776 hp
Efficiency=85% Efficiency= 80% Efficiency= 80%

P-107
Nickle
Centrifugal/electric drive

Power= 1.886 hp
Efficiency= 80%





Towers
T-101 T-102 T-103
14 trays, Nickle 44 trays, Carbon Steel 44 trays, Nickle
Feed Tray = 7 Feed Tray = 38 Feed Tray = 25
Column h, D = 38.33, 1.92ft Column h, D = 103.33, 5.17 ft Column h, D = 103.33, 5.17 ft
Reflux ratio = 7.4999 Reflux ratio = 7.4999 Reflux ratio = 7.7999








Heat Exchangers
E-101 E-102 E-103
Carbon Steel Nickle Nickle
Floating Head Floating Head Floating Head
A (ft
2
)= 3392.0269 A (ft
2
)= 278.004

A (ft
2
)=55.764

Q (MBtu/hr)= 4.11 Q (MBtu/hr)= -3.18 Q (MBtu/hr)= -0.558


E-104 (T-101-cond) E-105 (T-101-reb) E-106 (T-102-cond)
Nickle Nickle Carbon Steel
Floating Head Floating Head Floating Head
A (ft
2
)= 5275.702 A (ft
2
)= 4232.106 A (ft
2
)= 4396.416
Q (MBtu/hr)= -9.806 Q (MBtu/hr)= 9.784 Q (MBtu/hr)= -6.294


E-107 (T-102-reb) E-108 (T-103-cond) E-109 (T-103-reb)
Carbon Steel Nickle Nickle
Floating Head Floating Head Floating Head
A (ft
2
)= 1811.459 A (ft
2
)=1106.110 A (ft
2
)= 9392.271
Q (MBtu/hr)= 6.303 Q (MBtu/hr)= -8.977 Q (MBtu/hr)= 9.114


Reactor
R-101
Nickle
V= 2081.598 ft
3

L, D = 28.77, 9.60 ft
Max Pressure 145 psig


Equipment sizing calculations:

Chapter 11 of Analysis, Synthesis, and Design of Chemical Processes was used to obtain all
heuristics, assumptions, and equations for equipment sizing. Design pressure for applicable
equipment was calculated as 10% above maximum operating pressure, where maximum
operating pressure is 25 psi above normal operation. Sample calculations can be found in
Appendix II


Reactors:
The reactor used is a continuous flow stirred-tank reactor (CSTR); since no catalyst is used in the
reactor, the volume of the reactor was determined using the volumetric flow rate (obtained
from Aspen), as well as the residence time (obtained from literature) according to the following
equation:

(

)
(

)
(

)

Heat Exchanger:
The equation below was used to calculate the area of each heat exchanger. Where F, the correction
factor, was set to be 0.9, heat transfer coefficient values, U, were obtained from Chapter 11 of
Analysis, Synthesis, and Design of Chemical Processes; whereas the heat duties, Q, and various
temperatures were taken from Aspen.
(

Pumps:
Pumps were sized using Equation below, where P is power in kW, F is the volumetric flow in
m3/min obtained from Aspen, P is the pressure drop in bar, and is the efficiency; final results
were converted back to hp. The maximum power was calculated 10% greater than actual
maximum power.

= 1.67/
Vessels:
A holdup time of 5 minutes was used to size process drums. Incoming volumetric flow rates,
obtained from Aspen, were used to find vessel volume as well as the diameter and height.




Towers:
The height of each tray was taken to be 2 inches. Added height for (reboiler + condenser) was set
to be 10 feet; an assumption of a maximum spacing of 24 in was made. Tower height (based on
the number of trays input into our Aspen simulation) was calculated by adding together the total
tray height, the total space between trays, and the reboiler-condenser height. A height to diameter
ratio of 20, minimizing the need for additional supports, allowed for the calculation of tower
dimensions.

= 2 + ( 1)24 + 120




Sample Calculations:
P-101
()
167 (

167
(

5435911

624

(
1
328

60 (

)
)

) 9
085
11
W = 8.003 kW = 10.728 hp

T-101
= 2 + ( 1)24 + 120

H = (2 in/tray)(14 trays) + (14 spaces)(24in/space)+120in = 460 in = 38.33 ft
D= H/20 = 38.33/20 = 1.92 ft

E-101

(

) (

)
(

) (

4107940

09 5

(3778 1678) (3278 248)
*
3778 1678
3278 248
+

V-103

V = 46854.08 * (1/62.4)*(1/60)*5
V = 62.57 ft
3





D = ((4/3)*(62.57))
1/3

D = 6.40 ft
L = 19.20 ft
R-101
(

)
(

)
(

)
1387732

1
0667

208160

() (
4
3
208160

3 3 960