Design Heuristics

1. Select raw materials and chemical pathways to avoid storage and handling of
hazardous materials
2. Use an excess of one reactant to completely consume the other reactant
3. When nearly pure product are required eliminating inert species before the
reaction operation .If the separation is easily achievable. Do not do this when
large exothermic heat is to be removed
4. Introduce purge streams for species that does not have an escape route
5. Do not purge valuable or hazardous species
6. Recycle to extinction in reversible reactions
7. For series reactions manipulate temperature and pressure to obtain better
yield
8. Consider reactive separation for reversible reactions
9. Separate liquid mixtures using separators L-L extraction distillation est.
10.Attempt to condense vapor with cooling water
11.Use 9 and 10 when you have a mixture of vapor and liquid
12.

an inert
diluent

13.

Heuristic 13: For less exothermic heats of

reaction, circulate reactor fluid
to an external cooler, or use a
jacketed vessel or cooling
coils. Also, consider the use
of intercoolers.

14.to control high endothermic heat of reaction use ,excess reactant ,hot shot
and inert diluents
15. for small endothermic heat of reaction consider jacketed vessels or inter
heater
16.Cool vapor and then pump it avoid compressors
Tutorial for high pressure separators and material and energy balance
Tutorials

Property prediction methods

All
Non-polar

Interaction Parameters
Available

Estimating properties in Unisim Tutorial LV EQUILIBRIUM

Separation Processes
Absorbers and strippers
1. Calculate K
KK

mole fraction of the key component in the gas

mole fraction of the key component in the absorbent in equilibriu m with the gas

2. Calculate L

min

or V

L min K K Vin 1 A K

Vmin

L in
1 S K
KK

min

where:

Lin and Vin are the entering molar liquid and vapour flow rates,
respectively.

(1 fAK) is the fraction of the key component in the feed gas to be

absorbed.
(1 fSK) is the fraction of the key component in the feed liquid to be
stripped.

3. Multiply L min or V min by 1.5 to get L or V

4. Calculate Aek o Sek

AeK = L / KKV
SeK = KKV/L
5. Calculate actual Number of stages N

A K

AeK 1
AeKN 1 1

SK

S eK 1
S eKN 1 1

6. Calculate fi A for other non key components

Tutorial Design of Absorbers

Design of Distillation columns

1. Assume a 99 mol % recovery of the light key in the distillate and the heavy
key in the bottoms (unless more specific information is available).
2. Select the distillate and bottoms column pressures.

Bubble point V.F = 0

Dew Point V.F = 1

3. Estimate the number of equilibrium stages and reflux ratio by the FUG
method (e.g., using Unisims Shortcut Column).
4. Use Unisims Rigorous Column Solver to obtain a more accurate design of the
number of stages and reflux ratio.
5. Calculate the plate efficiency (trayed column) or HETP (packed column).
6. Select the tray spacing (typically 2 ft.) and calculate the column height, H.
7. Compute the tower diameter, D, using Fairs correlation for flooding velocity
or Unisims Tray Sizing Utility.
Tutorial operating pressure for distillation columns
with rigorous solver

Design of a distillation column

Changes in column operations

Overall plate efficiency E0 is used to estimate actual number of trays

N actual

N equilibrium
E0

Tray sizing utility in Unisim instructions

1
2
3

Open your case study. If the green calculation light is not on, turn it on.
Click on Tools, Utilities, and add the tray sizing utility.
Click on Select TS (tray section), click on a converged column (preferably a
distillation column), Main TS object, OK.
4 Click on Add Section.
5 Click on Design Specs. Hit F1. This should give you the help page for Setting
Tray Sizing specifications. Read this page carefully along with the information
windows on the underlined green items. Click on each type of internals in item 7
and select that most suitable for your column. For item 8, you want to select the
design mode to let this utility select optimal values. For sieve, valve & bubblecap trays, note that the recommended number of flow paths and the tray
spacing depend on the tower diameter. The tower diameter, in turn, depends on
the number of flow paths, so you will probably have to iterate to achieve the
recommended values.
6 Return to the Tray Sizing Specs page and enter any required values. This should
cause the utility to calculate and converge. If weeping occurs in a sieve-tray
column, switch to valve trays.
7 Click on Performance Results to see the calculated results. See also the
Performance Plots. If necessary to reach recommended values (from help in 5
above), return to the Tray Sizing Specs page and make the required changes.
8 When you are satisfied with the results, from the Performance Results copy the
column diameter, height, percent of flooding, and total pressure drop (bottom to
top, Section Delta P). If you have used 100% column efficiency, to get the actual
pressure difference youll have to divide by a realistic column efficiency and add
a safety factor (see the heuristics listed above and Table 14.6 in the 7th edition of
Perry's Handbook). Return to the Column Design Connections page, and adjust
either the top and/or bottom pressure to give the total pressure drop youve just
determined. Return to the utility Performance Results. Note that the pressure
drops and diameter(s) will have changed slightly.
9 Go to File, Print, and print out the first page (Tray Results) of the performance
results.
10 Click on Performance Plot, and print out plots of the Flow and Delta P.
11 Compare the above results with those calculated using appropriate heuristics
(e.g., % flooding, diameter, height, height/diameter, pressure drop / tray, etc.).
If you see any strong discrepancies, correct them in the Tray Sizing Utility Design
Specs. If the height/diameter exceeds the value in heuristics, you will probably
have to break the column into two parts. If you do this, make certain to account
for the change in hydrostatic head for the liquid flowing between the two parts.
(Draw a diagram to clarify your thinking.)
12 Make certain you have recorded the number of actual (not theoretical with
100%) trays, the top and bottom pressures, tower diameter and tower height, all

corrected for tray efficiency and safety factor. You will need these to estimate
the cost of installing and operating the column.
13 Repeat using the tray efficiency entered into the column calculations. Doubleclick on the column, enter the actual number of trays (without the safety factor)
on the Design Connections page, and the efficiencies on Parameters Efficiencies.
Make any changes required to get convergence.
14 Packed columns: Do NOT use tray efficiencies for packed columns. The height
is equal to the number of trays times the HETP (Height Equivalent to a
Theoretical Tray); this substitutes for the tray efficiency in tray columns. Add a
safety factor to the height, say 10%.
Purchase costs of pressure vessels and separation towers (pg 573-579)

Cp = FMCV + CPL
CP = purchase cost of empty vessel including nozzles, manholes supports, platforms
and ladders
Cv = Cost of empty vessel in carbon steel excluding platforms and ladders
FM = Material of construction factor.
Purchase cost of trays

CT = NTFNTFTTFTMCBT
CBT = base cost for sieve trays at a CE cost index of 500
NT = number of trays
FNT = factor depending on the number of trays
FTT = factor accounting for the type of tray
FTM = factor correcting for the material of construction
Purchase cost of packing

Cost of packings = VpCPK + CDR

VP = volume of the packing in ft3
CPK = installed cost of packing in $ per ft3
CDR = cost of high performance liquid distributors and redistributors
Total purchase cost

CTT=Cost of packings + CT + Cp

Atmospheric vessels
1. Calculate the design pressure, Pd (> operating pressure)
2. Calculate the design temperature (operating temperature + 50F)
3. Calculate the maximum allowable stress, S, for the material of construction at
the design temperature.
4. Calculate the shell wall thickness, tp, in the absence of corrosion, wind, and
earthquake considerations.
5. For vertical vessels, calculate the additional thickness, t w, to withstand the
wind load earthquake at the bottom of the column.
6. Calculate the average wall thickness, t V = tp + tw/2.
7. Add a corrosion allowance to tV to give tS.
8. Calculate the vessel weight, W, including the two heads, based on t s.
9. Calculate the empty vessel cost, CV (or read from chart)
10.Multiply CV by the material of construction factor, FM, and add the cost of
platforms and ladders, CPL
Vacuum vessels
1. Calculate the design pressure, Pd (> operating pressure)
2. Calculate the design temperature (operating temperature + 50F)
3. Calculate the modulus of elasticity, EM, for the material of construction at the
design temperature.
4. Calculate the shell wall thickness, tV.
5. Add a corrosion allowance to tV to give tS.
6. Calculate the vessel weight, W, including the two heads, based on t s.
7. Calculate the empty vessel cost, CV (or read from chart)

8. Multiply CV by the material of construction factor, FM, and add the cost of
platforms and ladders, CPL

Heat exchangers

Tm TLM

T1 T2
ln T1 T2
Heat transfer coefficient

1
U clean

1
U dirty

( R f , o R f ,i )

Tm FT TLM for countercurrent flow

where FT is a correction factor less than 1, which depends on two parameters, R and
S.

Tcold out Tcold in

Thot in Tcold in

use chart to determine Ft

Thot in Thot out

Tcold out Tcold in

Q UAFT TLM
Designing reboilers

When steam is used for heating the reboiler, the entering steam must be
specified as all vapor (vapour fraction = 1), and either P or T but not both.

The exiting water should be specified as all liquid (vapor fraction 0) at a P

slightly lower than the entering P (e.g., 1.5 psi lower).

The steam flow rate should not be specified, as UniSim will calculate it from
the heat required by the process stream and the change in specific enthalpy
of the steam/water.

Select a reasonable steam pressure or temperature. Steam is usually

available at temperatures between 220 and 450F.

Create a Fluid Package Basis for your desired heating fluid (e.g., ASME Steam)
and make sure this basis is selected for the side of the heat exchanger where
the heating fluid flows.

Designing Condensers

When a condenser is cooled by water going to steam, the entering boiler feed
water should be specified as all liquid (vapour fraction = 0) at a specified P
or T but not both.

The exiting steam should be specified as all vapor (vapour fraction = 1) at a

slightly lower P (e.g., 1.5 psi lower).

When a condenser is cooled by a refrigerant, such as ethane or ammonia, the

entering refrigerant should be specified as all liquid at a high pressure and
the exiting refrigerant as all vapor at a much lower pressure. (See, for
example, Perry's 7th page 11-77.)

When cooling water is used for a condenser, specify T and P, but not the
vapour fraction, since the cooling water is not saturated.

Create a Fluid Package Basis for your desired cooling fluid (e.g., ASME Steam)
and make sure this basis is selected for the side of the heat exchanger where
the heating fluid flows.

Tutorials heat exchangers

Purchase cost of heat exchangers (page 570-572)

Shell and tube
1. Calculate the base cost, CB, based on the tube outside surface area, A, using
an equation or chart. Base case = or 1-in O.D., 16 BWG carbon steel tubes,
20 ft long, square or triangular pitch, carbon-steel shell, shell-side pressure
up to 100 psig
2. The cost of a specific exchanger is then calculated from:

CP = FPFMFLCB
CB = base cost at a CE cost index of 500
FP = pressure factor based on the shell-side pressure
FM = materials of construction factor
FL = tube length correction
Double pipe and
1. Calculate the base cost, CB, based on the outside surface area of the inner
pipe, A, using an equation or chart. Base case = carbon-steel construction,
pressure up to 600 psig
2. The cost of a specific exchanger is then calculated from:
CP = FPFMCB
CB = base cost at a CE cost index of 500
FP = pressure factor based on the shell-side pressure
FM = materials of construction factor

Reactors
How to set up heating and cooling in Unisim
1
2

3
4

Enter all known conditions for the reaction kinetics, including the Catalyst Data
on the Reactions Overall page and the tube diameter & wall thickness and void
fraction on the Ratings page.
With the calculator turned off, guess values for Tube Volume and Length (do not
specify the number of tubes) on the Ratings page, T & P for the process stream
inlet & outlet. Turn the calculator on. If necessary, adjust these parameters to
get a reasonable conversion.
Unspecify the exit pressure (or pressure drop). On the Design Parameters page
click on the Ergun Equation button. If the pressure drop is too high, increase the
reactor volume and/or decrease the tube length.
Turn off the calculator. Select a water-steam temperature corresponding to one
of the standard steam pressure values, ~150 oC, ~190 oC or ~253 oC . Enter this
as the Inlet Temp on the Design Heat Transfer page. (The "Heat Medium" is

actually the cooling medium, i.e. boiling water, and is on the shell side.) For Wall
Heat Tran enter a reasonable value for boiling heat transfer (e.g., 200
Btu/h.ft2.oF). For tubes packed with solid catalyst particles, use an appropriate
value such as ~200 kJ/h-m2-oC. For tubes containing only a fluid, use the default
values for the Standard Tube Side Heat Transfer (A=1.6, B=0.51, C=1/3).
(Alternately, you can use an equation shown in Table 17.18 in Walas.)
Turn on the calculator. When the calculations have converged, check the
temperature profiles on the Performance Conditions Plot.
If the coolant
temperature varies significantly, increase the coolant flow and heat capacity
until it is constant. If you find that this lowers the process temperature in the
reactor too much, increase the initial coolant temperature to a higher standard
steam pressure, even if this is higher than the process feed temperature.
When you are satisfied with the result, record the duty. This is the heat removed
in formation of steam. Calculate the amount of steam produced by dividing the
duty by the latent heat of evaporation of saturated water at this temperature.

How to make a plug-flow reactor isothermal, calculate yield, and prepare a

case study with two independent variables

Setting the reactor outlet temperature equal to a specified inlet temperature

1. Reload a converged reactor into HYSYS.
2. On the Design, Heat Transfer tab select Direct Q Value for the SS Duty
Calculation Option. Select either Heating or Cooling and name the energy
stream. Leave the Duty unspecified (<empty>; for an adiabatic reactor this
would be set to 0).
3. On the Worksheet Conditions tab set the outlet temperature equal to the inlet
temperature.
Unfortunately, if the inlet temperature is changed the outlet temperature must be
changed by hand in this method. To make the reactor automatically isothermal, use
the following procedure:

1. On the pfd, double click on the reactor outlet stream. Unspecify the reactor
product temperature.
2. Using the palette, insert a set (S) icon above the reactor.
3. Double click on the set icon to open it.
4. On the Connections page, rename this object "Set isothermal" (without the
quotation marks). Set the Target Variable to the reactor product T and the Source
the reactor feed.
5. On the Parameters page, set the multiplier to 1 and the offset to 0.

6. Close the Set menu and turn on the green calculate signal if it's not already on.
The pfd should quickly recalculate and converge.
Calculating the yield
1. Insert a spreadsheet into the pfd just below the reactor (see "help, index,
spreadsheet, adding" for instructions on how to do this).
2. On the Connections page, rename the spreadsheet "Yield spreadsheet" or "yield
calculator."
3. Make cell A1 of the Imported Variables the molar flow rate of desired product in
the reactor effluent, A2 the molar flow rate of limiting reactant in the reactor
feed, and A3 the flow rate of the limiting reactant in the reactor effluent.
4. Click on the Spreadsheet tab. The values of the above three variables should be
in black in their respective cells.
5. Click on cell A4. Set Variable Type to unitless, Variable to "yield," and enter the
formula "=a1/(a2-a3)" in the bar just below Variable. This should result in
placing the value of the yield in cell A4 in red. Make certain "Exportable" is
checked.
6. Close the spreadsheet menu.
Preparing a case study with excess reactant and temperature as two independent
variables
1. Open the Data Book.
2. Add yield from the Yield spreadsheet to your list of Variables.
3. Add a new Case Study entitled "Yield vs excess reactant & T," with the yield as
the dependent variable and the excess reactant flow rate and reactor
temperature as independent variables.
4. Select realistic bounds for the two independent variables.
5. Start the calculations and be patient while they are completed. Print out the
resulting graph.

Tutorial Reactors

Pumps and compressors

Design of Expanders and compressors

RT1 P2

Wad
1 M P1

Work of a single stage per unit mass

The adiabatic discharge Temperature

T2,ad

P
T1 2
P1

where P1 = suction absolute pressure

P2 = discharge absolute pressure
T1 = suction temperature (K)
g = Cp/Cv
M = gas molar mass

For N stages assuming the gas is cooled back to original temp after each stage

N RT1 P2

Wad

1 M P1

1
N

T2, ad

P2

T1
P1

1
N

where

P2 / P1 = overall pressure ratio

The compressor efficiency, h, is given by:

Theoretica l (isentropi c) work

Fluid power

Actual work
Total (brake) power

0.371T1 q0
PB
1

P2
P1

The power required by a single stage

where PB = power, kW
q0 = gas volumetric flow rate, std m3/s, evaluated at 0C and
100 kPa
T1 = suction temperature, K

Tutorial Compressors
Pumps

P V2
H z

g 2g
Total fluid head H

Pump output or WHP

WHP

QH T
3960 w

where Q = capacity (gallons/minutes)

HT = total differential head (ft)
r = density of the pumped liquid
rw = density of water

Brake horse power BHP obtained from pump curves

BHP

QH T
3960 w P

WHP
BHP

Pump efficiency

Power can also be expressed by

W Fv P
where

F = molar flow rate

v = molar volume

Tutorial Pumps

Costing
Compressors (pg565-570)
1. Calculate the base cost, CB, based on the consumed horsepower P C using an
equation or chart.
Base case = cast iron or carbon steel construction with electric motor drive
2. The cost of a specific compressor is then calculated from:
CP = FDFMCB
CB = Base cost at a CE cost index of 500
FD = Drive type factor (FD = 1.15 for a steam turbine drive and FD = 1.25 for
a gas turbine drive)
FM = Materials of construction factor (FM = 2.5 for stainless steel and F M =
5.0 for nickel alloy

Pumps (pg 559-565)

Size factor S

S Q H

0.5

Purchase cost

CP = FTFMCB
Where
CB = base cost at a CE cost index of 500
FT = Type factor (Table 22.20 in Seider et al.)
FM = materials of construction factor (table22.21 in Seider et al.)
Power consumed by pump motor

PC

WHP BHP
QH

P M
M
33,000 P M

where Q = capacity (gal/min)

H = pump head (ft)
r = density of the pumped liquid (lbs/gal)
hP = pump fractional efficiency
hM = motor fractional efficiency


Purchase cost of motor

CP = FTCB
CB = base cost at a CE cost index of 500
FT = Factor based on enclosure type and rpm (Table 22.22 in Seider et al.)