P

rovided that they are updated

when appropriate to keep them
relevant, time-tested heuris-
tics rules based upon experi-
ence, also referred to as rules
of thumb, can be useful for the design,
specifying and operation of several
kinds of equipment used in process
plants. The first and foremost heuris-
tic rule is that the engineer should not
shy away from using heuristics and
the second rule is that he or she should
not rely blindly upon them.
Presented here are a wide range
of heuristics, classified according to
major kinds of typical process equip-
ment or activity.
Fluid handling
Fans are suitable for raising gas pres-
sures moderately (for instance, by
3%, or by 12 in. of water); for higher
pressures up to about 40 psig, blowers
are suitable; for yet higher pressures,
employ compressors (however there is
overlap between the operating ranges
of blowers and compressors)
Typical polytropic efficiencies for
large centrifugal compressors are
about 76 to 78%; rotary compressors
normally have efficiencies around
70%, except for liquid-sealed ones,
which have efficiencies around 50%
For pipe lines of diameter D in
inches, typical fluid velocities and
pressure drops are as follows:
(a) for pump discharge (liquid): (5 +
D/3) ft/s, and 2 psi/100 ft;
(b) at pump suction (liquid): (1.3 +
D/6) ft/s and 0.4 psi/100 ft;
(c) for steam or gas, 20D ft/s and 0.5
psi/100 ft
Control valves function best if the
pressure drop through them is at
least 10 psi
Single-stage centrifugal pumps can
operate at rates of up to about 5,000
gal/min, (and to maximum heads of
500 ft); multistage pumps can oper-
ate to about 11,000 gal/min.
Conveying of particulate solids
Screw conveyors:
(a) Can transport solids that are
abrasive or sticky
(b) Typical incline is about 20 deg
(c) Most are 150 ft or less in length
(d) With a conveyor of 12-in. diam-
eter, throughputs of up to about
3,000 ft
3
/h are feasible; typically,
screw rotation rates are up to
about 60 rev/min
(e) Power consumption relatively low
Bucket elevators:
(a) Vertical transport of abrasive or
sticky materials is feasible
(b) Typically, speeds can reach 100 to
300 ft/min; at 100 ft/min, bucket
elevators with 20X20-in. buckets
can convey about 1,000 ft
3
/h
Drag type conveyors:
(a) Can convey for relatively short
distances in any direction
(b) Have high power requirements
(c) Typical speeds are 30 ft/min (for, e.g.,
fly ash) to 250 ft/min (for grains)
Pneumatic conveyors:
(a) They offer high capacity
(b) Usually employed with convey-
ing distances of 400 ft or less
(c) Can transport simultaneously to
several destinations
(d) Operate under vacuum or low
pressures
(e) Typical conveying-gas velocities
are 35 to 120 ft/s
Cooling towers
In full-scale units, air saturation can
reach 90%
To minimize pressure drop (ordinar-
ily a maximum of 2 in. water), em-
ploy an open-structured material for
the tower fill
Typical water circulation rates are 1
to 4 gal/min per square foot, whereas
the air rates are 1,300 to 1,800 lb/h
per square foot, or 300 to 400 ft/min
Countercurrent induced-draft tow-
ers, which can cool water to about 2F
above the wet-bulb temperature, are
the most prevalent version of tower
used in the process industries
For a given service, the required size
(volume) of a given tower is a func-
tion of the difference between the
wet-bulb and the exit temperatures;
the smaller the difference, the larger
the required volume
Evaporation losses are typically 1%
of the circulation for every 100F
of cooling range. Windage or drift
losses in mechanical-draft towers
typically amount to 0.1 to 0.3%. To
keep salt from building up exces-
sively, it is typical to blow down 2.5
to 3% of the circulation
Heat exchangers; refrigeration
In a shell-and-tube exchanger, the
tube side is for corrosive, fouling,
scaling and/or high-pressure fluids;
Feature Report
44 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM OCTOBER 2006
Engineering Practice
Alejandro Anaya Durand, Josseline Alarid Miguel,
Gabriel Gallegos Diez Barroso, Marco Alejandro Leon Garcia,
and Juan Pablo Sierra Angeles
National Autonomous University of Mexico
Heuristics Rules for
Process Equipment
If applied with thought and care, heuristics like these can
make life much easier during project scoping, process
design, equipment specification and similar tasks
the shell side is for viscous and/or
condensing fluids
Typical minimum temperature ap-
proaches are 20F with normal cool-
ants, or 10F or less with refrigerants
Ordinarily, the maximum heat-
transfer area for shell and tube heat
exchangers is about 5,000 ft
2

When refrigerating to temperatures
below about 80F, it is customary
to use cascades of two or more re-
frigeration stages
Evaporators
The maintaining of a suitable tem-
perature gradient (for instance,
about 45F) can minimize film-re-
lated efficiency losses. From an
efficiency standpoint, about 250
Btu/(h)(ft
2
) is a suitable overall coef-
ficient of heat transfer
In countercurrent evaporation sys-
tems, a suitable temperature ap-
proach between the inlet (hot) and
output (cold) streams is about 30F.
In multistage operation, the typical
minimum value is 10F
In a well-designed evaporator sys-
tem, it should be possible to achieve
heat recoveries of more than 75%
Storage tanks
For less than 100 gal, it is common
practice to use vertical tanks on legs
For between 100 and 10,000 gal,
horizontal tanks on concrete sup-
ports are commonly used
For beyond 10,000 gal, consider ver-
tical tanks on concrete foundations
Liquids that are subject to breathing
losses may conveniently be stored
in tanks with floating or expansion
roofs, for conservation
Although the amount of material
inventoried is highly plant-specific,
many process plants specify 30 days
worth of capacity, for raw materials
and products alike
Drums
Liquid drums usually are horizontal
Drums for gas-liquid separation are
vertical
A length-to-diameter ratio of 3 is
considered optimal; but in practice,
the ratio for drums commonly falls
between 2.5 and 5.0
In liquid-liquid separation, reflux
drums are usually kept about half
full, with holdup time of about 5
min. (or 5 to 10 min if the drum liq-
uid is fed to a downstream separa-
tion tower)
For entrainment removal, mesh
pads of 4 to 12 in. thickness can
achieve 99% removal; a thickness of
6 in. is widely used
Reactors
In stirred tank reactors, it is prefer-
able to maintain a liquid level that
is approximately equal to the tank
diameter
Common motives for conducting
batch reactions, in stirred-tank re-
actors, are: the daily production rate
is relatively low; reaction times are
relatively long; particular process
parameters, such as the feed rate
or the vessel temperature, must be
programmed during the course of
the reaction
An array of continuous stirred-tank
reactors in series (four or five, for in-
stance) is in many cases the system
of choice for slow reactions of liquids
and slurries
Tubular reactors are attractive for
short-residence-time reactions (sec-
onds or minutes), high throughputs,
and reactions that require a rela-
tively large amount of heat transfer
Distillation and gas absorption
Generally speaking, distillation tends
to be the most economical method for
liquid-liquid separation; more so, for
instance, than liquid-liquid extrac-
tion or crystallization. Flashing can
be more economical than distillation,
but is more limited by physical prop-
erties of the mixture
The well-known simple equation for
relative volatility relative volatil-
ity = (vapor pressure of more vola-
tile component)/(vapor pressure of
less-volatile component) is valid
only for ideal mixtures
If the system is ideal and there are only
two components, the McCabe-Thiele
method offers a good approximation
to the number of equilibrium stages
The most common determinant of
the column operating pressure is
either the temperature of the avail-
able condensing medium (in many
cases, cooling water at about 100 to
120F) or the maximum allowable
reboiler temperature (for instance,
366F for 150-psig steam)
For many separations, the optimal
reflux ratio is 1.2 times the mini-
mum reflux ratio
In many cases, the economically op-
timal number of trays equals twice
the minimum number of trays
Reflux pumps should be oversized
by about 25%
From a maintenance standpoint,
tray spacings of about 20 to 24 in.
are attractive
Typical pressure drop per tray is of
the order of 3 in. of water or 0.1 psi
For separation of light hydrocarbons
and aqueous solutions, the tray ef-
ficiencies are typically 60 to 90% for
distillation, and 10 to 20% for gas
absorption and stripping
For a typical sieve tray, the holes are
0.25-0.50 in diameter, and the hole
area is about one-tenth of the active
cross-section area
For a typical valve tray, the holes
are about 1.5 in. diameter, each out-
fitted with a liftable cap; there are
typically 12 to 14 caps per square
foot of active tray cross-section
The typical height of a column weir
is 2 in.; the weir length is usually
about 75% of the tray diameter;
maximum liquid rate is about 8 gal/
min. per inch of weir; for high liquid
rates, multipass arrangement are
often the choice
For towers of less than 3 ft diam-
eter and where low pressure drop
through the tower is desirable,
packings (random or structured) are
commonly preferred over trays. If
the packing is initially distributed
with care and is periodically redis-
tributed, the volumetric efficiency
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM OCTOBER 2006 45
can be greater than that of a compa-
rable tray tower
Most reflux drums are horizontal,
kept about half full, and have a liq-
uid holdup of 5 min
For 3-ft-diameter towers, about 4 ft
of column height should be added
at the top for vapor disengagement,
and 6 ft at the bottom for liquid level
and reboiler return
Due to wind-loading and other struc-
tural considerations, towers should
be no higher than about 175 ft. Fur-
thermore, the ratio of tower height
to diameter should be less than 30
Liquid-liquid extraction
Ordinarily, the phase with the
greater volumetric flowrate should
be the dispersed phase; however, in
extractors subject to backmixing,
the phase with the lower flowrate
should instead be dispersed. It is
also preferable that the dispersed
phase be the one that wets the equip-
ment less well. Finally, because the
holdup of continuous phase is usu-
ally the greater, it is desirable that
that phase consist of the less expen-
sive and/or less hazardous material
For separations achievable in rela-
tively few stages (5 to 10 for in-
stance), packed extraction towers
offer advantages, unless the surface
tension exceeds 10 dynes/cm. It is
possible to achieve attractive HETS
values (5 to 10 ft, for example). Dis-
persed-phase loadings should not
exceed 25 gal/(ft
2
)(min), and the
dispersed phase should be redistrib-
uted every 5 to 7 ft
Sieve tray on extraction columns
typically have holes of only 3- to 8-
mm diameter. Velocities through the
holes should kept below about 0.8 ft/s
to minimize formation of excessively
small drops. Typical tray spacings
are 6 to 24 in.; typical tray efficien-
cies are in the range of 20 to 30%
Crystallization from solution
Whether melt crystallization or crys-
tallization from solution is employed,
the maximum recovery of solids is
limited by the eutectic composition
Crystal growth rates and the final
crystal size are both controlled by
limiting the extent of supersatura-
tion in the liquid
It is good operating practice to hold
the liquid temperature at a few
Fahrenheit degrees below the satu-
ration temperature for the prevail-
ing concentration

Filtration
A convenient way to classify the ease
of a given filtration task is to measure
the rate of cake buildup on a labora-
tory vacuum leaf filter: 0.1 to 10 cm/s
indicates rapid filtration; 0.1 to 10 cm/
min, medium-speed filtration; and 0.1
to 10 cm/h, slow filtration
Selection of the filtration method for a
given task depends partly on whether
the liquid phase or the solid phase is
the one of value. Among the suitable
methods if the liquid phase is desired
are filter presses, sand filters and pres-
sure filters. If the solid phase is desired,
consider rotary vacuum filters
Drying of solids
Continuous tray and belt dryers for
natural or pelletized 315-mm gran-
ular material commonly have drying
times in the range of 10-200 min
Drum dryers that handle pastes and
slurries operate with contact times of
3-12 seconds, generating flakes that
are 1-3 mm thick; common evapora-
tion rates are 15 to 30 kh/(m
2
)(h).
Commonly found diameters are 1.5
to 5.0 ft; common rotation rates are
2-10 rev/min; evaporative capacities
as high as about 3,000 lb/h are fea-
sible in full-sale installations
Fluidized-bed dryers work best on
very small particles, with diameters
of a few tenths of a millimeter; but
this technique has also been used
successfully with particles of up to 4
mm diameter. A suitable velocity for
the fluidization gas is twice the mini-
mum required for fluidization. In
many continuous operations, drying
times of 1-2 min are sufficient, but
some products (including some phar-
maceuticals) require much longer
Most spray dryers complete their
task in less than one minute; in fact,
the surface moisture is usually re-
moved within the first 5 s. The wet
feed and the drying air are most com-
monly fed in parallel. The atomizing
nozzles typically operate at pressures
of 300 to 400 psi, and have openings
that measure 0.012 to 0.15 in.
Size reduction
Ball or roller mills are commonly
set up to operate in a closed circuit
which includes size classification and
the return of the oversize to the mill
Roll crushers come in two versions:
either smooth or with teeth. A 24-
in., toothed crusher can accommo-
date pieces of feed as large as 7
in. in radius. Smooth rolls achieve
reduction ratios of about fourfold.
Rotation speeds are typically 50 to
900 rev/min
To produce particularly small par-
ticles, consider hammer mills. Large
units operate at 900 rev/min; small
ones can reach 16,000 rev/min
Rod mills usually feed on particles of
about 50-mm size. The material is usu-
ally reduced to about 865 mesh, but
reduction to 300 mesh is achievable
For fine grinding, consider ball mills,
tube mills or pebble mills. The last-
named are the choice when metal
contaminations must be avoided
For jaw crushers, the feed is usually
under 4 in. diameter; typically, about
eight to ten strokes are needed to
achieve the required size reduction.
Gyratory crushers can produce par-
ticles that are more rounded
Mixing and agitation
Solids with a low settling velocity
(such as 0.03 ft/s) can be success-
fully suspended with either turbine
or propeller agitators; suspension of
solids with settling velocities greater
than 0.15 ft/s requires vigorous agi-
tation with a propeller
When only brief contact time (such
as 1 or 2 s) is required between two
components, inline blending should
prove adequate. Typical power in-
puts are 0.1 to 0.2 hp/gal
Small propellers are usually run at
about 1,500 to 1,750 rev/min, large
ones at about 400 to 800 rev/min
Paddle agitators typically employ
paddles that extend to about 50 to
80% of the inside diameter of the
vessel. Typically, the rate of rotation
lies between 20 and 150 rev/min

Agglomeration
Some major methods of particle size
enlargement are: compression into
a mold; extrusion through a die fol-
lowed by cutting or breaking to size;
Engineering Practice
46 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM OCTOBER 2006
globule formation from molten ma-
terial followed by solidification; and
agglomeration under tumbling or
other conditions of agitation without
a binding agent
For rotating-drum granulators typi-
cal length-to-diameter ratios are 2 to
3, rotational speeds are 10 to 20 rev/
min, and the pitch as great as 10 deg.
The size of the produced granules de-
pends in part on the rotational speed,
the residence time and the amount
of binder. Commonly, the produced
granules are 2 to 5 mm in diameter
If uniformity of product size is im-
portant, rotary disk granulators
are preferable to drum granulators,
other things being equal
For roll compacting and briquetting,
typical rolls measure from 130-mm
diameter by 30 mm wide to about
900-mm diameter by 550 mm wide.
The material extruded by the rolls,
typically about 1 mm thick, can be
broken into any size desired
Rotary compression equipment,
feeding upon powders or granules
and typically operating at around
100 rev/min, is suitable for produc-
ing tablets of uniform size, at rates
as high as 10,000 tablets/min
Fluidized-bed granulation is typi-
cally carried out in beds having a
depth of 12 to 24 in. Typical air ve-
locities are 0.1 to 2.5 m/s, which is
three to ten times the minimum ve-
locity needed for fluidization
Edited by Nicholas P. Chopey
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHE.COM OCTOBER 2006 47
Principal author
Alejandro Anaya Durand
(Parque Espaa 15B, Colonia
Condesa 06140, Mexico D.F.
Mexico; aanayadurand@hot
mail.com), is a member of the
Faculty of Chemistry at the
National Autonomous Uni-
versity of Mexico (UNAM).
He has more than 45 years
of experience in process and
project engineering, during
almost all of which time he
has also served as a professor at UNAM and
other Mexican universities. Also included in that
career are 30 years with the Mexican Institute of
Petroleum (IMP), from which he retired in 1998.
He is a member of the Mexicos National Institute
of Researchers (SNI), and is a Fellow of AIChE.
The Mexican Institute of Chemical Engineers,
the National Soc. of Chemistry and the National
College of Chemical Engineers have each hon-
ored him with excellence awards. The author of
more than 220 articles in local and international
technical magazines, he holds a masters degree
in chemical engineering from UNAM.
Call for Papers
2007 Chem Show Conference
October 30 November 1, 2007 Javits Convention Center New York, NY
Typical topics to be covered:
Energy effciency
Process control and instrumentation
Process-plant safety
Green engineering
Pumps, valves, other fuid-fow equipment
Distillation
Solid-liquid separations
Water pollution control
Air pollution control
Process integration
Process-plant water supply
How to submit a paper:
We invite abstracts (less that 200 words) for proposed, non-promotional, technical
presentations on the above conference topics or related felds. Emphasis should be on modern
proven technologies, application of best practices, improvement of return on investment.
Send by February 1, 2007 to: Nicholas P. Chopey at nchopey@che.com,
or fax to (212) 621-4694.
Presentations to run for about 25 minutes, followed by 5 minutes for questions and discussion.
Presented by
In conjunction with
10392
10392 CHE 2007 Papers ad.indd 1 9/20/06 11:49:18 AM Circle XXX or go to www.info.ims.ca/34xx-xx
References
1. Anaya Durand, Alejandro, Heuristics Rules
and Criteria for Equipment Process Design,
Revista Instituto Mexicano de ingenieros
Qumicos, November December 1993.
2. Anaya Durand, Alejandro, and oth-
ers, Updated Rules for Pipe Sizing,
Chem. Eng, pp. 153156, May 1999.
Also recommended
3. Peters, Max S., Plant Design and Economics
for Chemical Engineers, 5th Ed., McGraw-
Hill, New York, 2003.
4. Cheremisnoff, Nicholas, Handbook of Chem-
ical Process Equipment, Butterwith-Heine-
mann, 2000.
5. Walas, Stanley, Heuristics in Chemical En-
gineering, Butterworh-Heinemann, 1990.