CHE655 Plant Design Project #6 Summer 2011 DESIGN OF AN AMMONIA PRODUCTION PROCESS

(Courtesy of the Department of Chemical Engineering at West Virginia University)

Introduction
You work for a consulting company that has been hired to determine a profitable operating condition (but not necessarily the most profitable) for an ammonia synthesis loop at your clients facility. You are only to evaluate the ammonia synthesis portion of a much larger process that takes coal, converts it into a synthesis gas (carbon monoxide and hydrogen), adds nitrogen and removes the carbon monoxide, adjusts the composition and produces ammonia. Ammonia is one of the five most produced chemicals in the industry. It is a raw material for nitrogen oxides and fertilizers, among others. The process in question is to produce 50,000 tonne/year of ammonia in an 8,000-hour year.

Process Description
A suggested process flow diagram (PFD) is shown in Figure 1. You should use this as a starting point. Your assignment is to develop a profitable case, where profitable is dependent upon economic considerations, i.e., EAOC. In reporting your best case, clearly indicate any modifications to the PFD and state the operating conditions for the modified process and the corresponding EAOC. However, you need not carry out any optimization in your process. Chemical Reaction Syngas is available from a pipeline at 1000 kPa and 200C. It is compressed, mixed with a recycle stream, and heated or cooled to 350C to be fed to the reactor. The reactor operates adiabatically. The reactor effluent is cooled, the pressure is reduced by a valve, and the stream partially condensed, producing an ammonia-rich stream. The ammonia liquid product is in Stream 8. Some of Stream 9 is recycled and some is purged. Depending on the pressure of the flash separator, V-601, the recycle stream may need to be compressed up the pressure of Stream 2. The reaction that occurs in the reactor is reversible N 2 + 3H 2 = 2 NH 3 This is an equilibrium reaction, and the equilibrium constant over a wide range of temperatures is given by
11,806 K = 3.29 10 12 exp T

(1)

(2)

In the reactor, 90% of the equilibrium conversion is obtained. Process Details Streams and Equipment Details Stream 1: syngas at 200C and 1000 kPa contains 72 mol% H2, 24 mol% N2, and 4 mol% CH4 Stream 8: ammonia product 50,000 tonne/y a year is 8000 hours Stream 10: purge used as fuel-gas to furnace may take credit for lower heating value Streams 9-11: unreacted syngas and ammonia not in the product stream are recycled the recycle split is a potential decision variable Equipment Information Compressor (C-201) The compressor increases the pressure of the feed stream to the pressure of the reactor. & The compressor may be assumed to be adiabatic. In that case, the compressor power W s (kW) may be calculated as
P & & Ws (kW) = 20,000m(kmol/s) out Pin
0.286

(3)

& where m (kmol/s) is the total molar flowrate of Stream 1. Equation 3 includes the compressor efficiency. The cost of electricity to run the compressor is a utility cost. The compressor increases the temperature of the stream being compressed according to
Tout Pout = Tin Pin
where T is absolute temperature. In general, the ratio of outlet to inlet pressure in a compressor is between 3 and 5. If a compression ratio greater than 5 is needed, compressors are usually staged with cooling in between the compressor stages, but not after the last stage. If you choose to do this, the compression ratio for each stage should be identical, and the intercooling should be to 50C. The process-flow diagram should accurately represent the chosen compressor configuration.
0.286

(4)

Heat Exchanger (E-601) The reactor feed is cooled to T = 350C using a cold utility. In any heat exchanger, the process stream may not be cooled below the temperature of the utility plus 10C. The 10C allowance is for design purposes. Reactor (R-601) This is an adiabatic reactor. It is essentially a large pipe packed with catalyst. The equilibrium conversion can be calculated based on a choice of the operating pressure and the outlet temperature. These are decision variables that you are expected to manipulate to find optimum values. The reactor may operate at pressures of 500 kPa P 20,000 kPa and at any temperature above 350C. The actual conversion in the reactor is 90% of the equilibrium conversion. You will find the conversions to be low, requiring a large recycle stream. An alternative reactor configuration that can increase the conversion is to stage several adiabatic reactors with a heat exchanger between the stages to reduce the inlet temperature to each subsequent reactor. The number of reactor stages is determined by the economics. The temperature of the intercooled stream is a potential decision variable. The process-flow diagram should represent the chosen reactor configuration. Heat Exchanger (E-602) and Vessel (V-601) This heat exchanger cools and partially condenses the reactor effluent to a temperature that condenses ammonia. The subsequent valve reduces the pressure to the desired pressure for the separator. Equation 4 is used to determine the outlet temperature of the valve for a chosen pressure. This vessel allows the vapor and liquid produced in E-602 to be separated. The vapor exits in the top stream, and the liquid exits in the bottom stream. Stream 9 contains all of the light gases in Stream 7 plus some ammonia. Stream 8 contains only ammonia, and the ammonia split must be calculated for the chosen temperature and pressure.. E-602, the valve, and V-601 may all be treated together for computational purposes as a flash operation at the chosen temperature and pressure. The temperature and pressure of this flash are potential decision variables. The appropriate utility must be used in E-602, and the appropriate utility depends on the temperature chosen for the separation. In any heat exchanger, the process stream may not be cooled below the temperature of the utility plus 10C. The 10C allowance is for design purposes as you will learn next year. Compressor (C-602) The compressor increases the pressure of the recycle stream to the pressure of the stream with which it is mixed. The compressor may be assumed to be adiabatic. In that case, the & compressor power W s (kW) may be calculated as
P & & Ws (kW) = 10,000m(kmol/s) out Pin
0.286

(5)

& where m (kmol/s) is the total molar flowrate of Stream 11. Equation 3 includes the compressor efficiency. The cost of electricity to run the compressor is a utility cost. The

compressor increases the temperature of the stream being compressed according to Equation 4. In general, the ratio of outlet to inlet pressure in a compressor is between 3 and 5. If a compression ratio greater than 5 is needed, compressors are usually staged with cooling in between the compressor stages, but not after the last stage. If you choose to do this, the compression ratio for each stage should be identical, and the intercooling should be to 50C. The process-flow diagram should represent the chosen compressor configuration. Design of Heat Exchanger, E-601 A detailed design of E-601 is required for base-case conditions. It should be assumed that cooling water is available at the conditions specified in the Appendix of this problem statement. For this heat exchanger design, the following information should be provided: Diameter of shell Number of tube and shell passes Number of tubes per pass Tube pitch and arrangement (triangular/square/..) Number of shell-side baffles, if any, and their arrangement (spacing, pitch, type) Diameter, tube-wall thickness, shell-wall thickness, and length of tubes Calculation of both shell- and tube-side film heat transfer coefficients Calculation of overall heat transfer coefficient (you may assume that there is no fouling on either side of the exchanger) Heat transfer area of the exchanger Shell-side and tube-side pressure drops (calculated, not estimated) Materials of construction Approximate cost of the exchanger

A detailed sketch of the exchanger should be included along with a set of comprehensive calculations in an appendix to the mini-design.

Economic Analysis
When evaluating alternative cases, you should carry out an economic evaluation and profitability analysis based on a number of economic criteria such as payback period, internal rate of return, and cash flow analysis. In addition, the following objective function should be used. It is the equivalent annual operating cost (EAOC), and is defined as EAOC = (product value feed cost other operating costs capital cost annuity) A negative value of EAOC means there is a profit. It is desirable to minimize EAOC; i.e., a large negative value of EAOC is very desirable. Utility costs are those for steam, cooling water, boiler-feed water, natural gas, and electricity.

The capital cost annuity is an annual cost (like a car payment) associated with the one-time, fixed capital cost of plant construction and installation. A list of fixed capital costs on an installed basis (installed cost) for all pieces of equipment will be provided by mid-March. The capital cost annuity is defined as follows:

capital cost annuity = FCI

i (1 + i ) n (1 + i) n 1

(12)

where FCI is the installed cost of all equipment; i is the interest rate; and n is the plant life, in [y]. For accounting purposes, take i = 0.15 and n = 10. For detailed sizing, costing, and economic evaluation including profitability analysis, you may use the Aspen Process Economic Analyzer (formerly Aspen Icarus Process Evaluator) in Aspen Plus Version 7. However, it is also a good idea to independently verify the final numbers based on other sources such as cost data given below.

Other Information
You should assume that a year equals 8,000 hours. This is about 330 days, which allows for periodic shut-down and maintenance.

Final Comments
As with any open-ended problem; i.e., a problem with no single correct answer, the problem statement above is deliberately vague. You may need to fill in some missing data by doing a literature search, Internets search, or making assumptions. The possibility exists that as you work on this problem, your questions will require revisions and/or clarifications of the problem statement. You should be aware that these revisions/clarifications may be forthcoming. Moreover, in some areas (e.g. sizing/costing) you are given more data and information than what is needed. You must exercise engineering judgment and decide what data to use. Also you should also seek additional data from the literature or Internet to verify some of the data, e.g. the prices of products and raw materials.

Appendix 1 Economic Data

Equipment Costs (Purchased) Note: The numbers following the attribute are the minimum and maximum values for that attribute. For a piece of equipment with a lower attribute value than the minimum, the minimum attribute value should be used to compute the cost. For a piece of equipment with a larger attribute value, extrapolation is possible, but inaccurate. To err on the side of caution, the price for multiple, identical, smaller pieces of equipment should be used. Pumps log10 (purchased cost ) = 3.4 + 0.05 log10 W + 0.15[log10 W ]2 W = power (kW, 1, 300) assume 80% efficiency log10 (purchased cost ) = 4.6 0.8 log10 A + 0.3[log10 A]2 A = heat exchange area (m2, 20, 1000) log10 (purchased cost ) = 2.3 + 1.4 log10 W 0.1[log10 W ]2 W = power (kW, 450, no limit) assume 65% efficiency log10 (purchased cost ) = 2.5 + 1.4 log10 W 0.18[log10 W ]2 W = power (kW, 75, 2600) log10 (purchased cost ) = 2.5 + 1.45 log10 W 0.17[log10 W ]2 W = power (kW, 100, 4000) assume 65% efficiency log10 (purchased cost ) = 3.0 + 0.66 log10 Q + 0.02[log10 Q ]2 Q = duty (kW, 3000, 100,000) assume 80% thermal efficiency assume can be designed to use any organic compound as a fuel log10 (purchased cost ) = 3.5 + 0.45 log10 V + 0.11[log10 V ]2 V = volume of vessel (m3, 0.3, 520) log10 (purchased cost ) = 3.5 + 0.38 log10 V + 0.09[log10 V ]2 V = volume of vessel (m3, 0.1, 628) log10 (purchased cost ) = 4.85 0.397 log10 V + 0.145[log10 V ]2 V = volume of tank (m3, 90, 30000)

Heat Exchangers

Compressors

Compressor Drive

Turbine

Fired Heater

Vertical Vessel

Horizontal Vessel

Storage Tanks

Additional Cost Information Piping straight pipe: $/m = 5.0 (nominal pipe diameter, in)(1+(sch #)/20)0.25 sch = schedule number for pipe use the same schedule number for fittings and valves $/fitting = 50.0 (nominal pipe diameter, in)(1+(sch #)/20)0.25

Fittings (except valves)

Valves for gate (isolation) valves $100 (nominal pipe diameter, in)0.8 (1+(sch #)/20)0.25 for control valve use $1000 (nominal pipe diameter, in)0.8(1+(sch #)/20)0.25 Utility Costs Low-Pressure Steam (618 kPa saturated) Medium-Pressure Steam (1135 kPa saturated) High-Pressure Steam (4237 kPa saturated) Natural Gas (446 kPa, 25C) Fuel Gas Credit Electricity Boiler Feed Water (at 549 kPa, 90C) $13.28/GJ $14.19/GJ $17.70/GJ $11.00/GJ none, but there is no treatment cost $0.06/kWh $2.45/1000 kg

Cooling Water $0.354/GJ available at 516 kPa and 30C return pressure 308 kPa return temperature is no more than 15C above the inlet temperature Refrigerated Water available at 516 kPa and 10C return pressure 308 kPa return temperature is no higher than 20C Deionized Water available at 5 bar and 30C Waste Treatment of Off-Gas Low-temperature Refrigerant available at -20C Very low-temperature Refrigerant available at -50C $4.43/GJ

$1.00/1000 kg

incinerated zero cost $7.89/GJ

$13.11/GJ

Wastewater Treatment

$56/1000 m3

Raw Material Costs/Product Value Raw Material or Product syngas ammonia price $0.10/kg $500/tonne

Equipment Cost Factors Total Installed Cost = Purchased Cost (4 + material factor (MF) + pressure factor (PF)) Pressure < 10 atm, PF = 0.0 (absolute) 10 - 20 atm, PF = 0.6 20 - 40 atm, PF = 3.0 40 - 50 atm, PR = 5.0 50 - 100 atm, PF = 10 100 - 200 atm, PF = 25 Carbon Steel MF = 0.0 Stainless Steel MF = 4.0 does not apply to turbines, compressors, vessels, packing, trays, or catalyst, since their cost equations include pressure effects

References
1. Turton, R., R.C. Bailie, W. B. Whiting and J. A. Shaeiwitz, Analysis, Synthesis and Design of Chemical Processes, Prentice-Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ,1998. 2. Felder, R. M. and R. W. Rousseau, Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes, 2nd edition, Wiley, New York, 1986. 3. Perry, R. H. and D. Green, eds., Perry's Chemical Engineers' Handbook, 7th edition, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1997.

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