Class Overview & Introduction
CHEN 4460 – Process Synthesis,
Simulation and Optimization
Dr. Mario Richard Eden
Department of Chemical Engineering
Auburn University
Lecture No. 1 – The Design Process
August 21, 2012
Contains Material Developed by Dr. Daniel R. Lewin, Technion, Israel
My Background
•
Background
–
–
•
M.Sc. (Chem. Eng.), Tech. Uni. of Denmark (1999)
Ph.D. (Chem. Eng.), Tech. Uni. of Denmark (2003)
Professional Experience
–
–
–
–
–
Department Chair, Auburn University (2012 – Present)
Professor, Auburn University (2012 – Present)
Associate Professor, Auburn University (2008 – 2012)
Assistant Professor, Auburn University (2004 – 2008)
Visiting Lecturer, Auburn University (2002 – 2003)
Where is Denmark?
A Few Facts about Denmark
Constitutional Monarchy
A little smaller than the state
of Alabama (not
including Greenland)
Population approximately
5500000.
National sport – SOCCER!
My hometown
Where I moved
to go to college
My Research Interests
•
Computer Aided Process Engineering
–
–
•
Process/Product Synthesis and Design
–
–
–
•
Property prediction & CAMD for solvent selection/design
Process modeling and simulation
Develop novel efficient methods for emerging problems
Develop strategies for simultaneous solution
Systematic identification/generation of alternatives
Process Integration and Optimization
–
–
Application of holistic methods to ensure sustainability
Fuels reforming and biorefinery optimization
Class Overview 1:3
•
Lectures (Start Today)
–
–
•
Tuesday 9:30 – 10:20 AM (Ross Hall 136)
Additional recitation lectures during lab sessions
Labs (Start Today)
–
Sections
•
•
•
•
•
I: Tuesday & Thursday 11:00 AM - 12:20 PM (Ross 306)
II: Tuesday & Thursday 6:30 PM - 7:45 PM (Ross 306)
Large part of labs consist of multimedia based instruction
Headphones are available upon request
Homework
–
–
Assigned for both lecture and lab parts
Some homework assignments can/should be solved
using Aspen
Class Overview 2:3
•
Teaching Assistants
–
–
Dr. Zheng Liu
Mr. Alexander Kelly
•
•
Office hours: TBA
Location: TBA
Ms. Zhelun Li
•
•
•
Office hours: Wed. 1:00–3:00 PM
Ross 349
Office hours: TBA
Location TBA
Course Materials
–
Textbook
•
•
Seider, W.D., J.D. Seader, D.R. Lewin, S. Widagdo “Product and
Process Design Principles”, 3rd edition Wiley (2008).
Eden, M. R. "ASPEN Lab Notes", Auburn University (Posted as
PDF on class webpage).
Class Overview 3:3
•
Grading
–
–
–
–
•
Simulation Project (10%)
Homework (10%)
Midterm (30%)
Final exam (50%)
Instructors Office Hours
–
–
Official: Tuesday 1:00 – 3:00 PM
Reality: Any time the door is open
Tentative Class Schedule
Date
8/21
8/28
9/4
9/11
9/18
9/25
10/2
10/9
10/16
10/23
10/30
11/6
11/13
11/20
11/27
12/3
Topic
#1: Course Introduction and Overview
 Introducing Simulation Multimedia Package
 Introducing Design and Synthesis Process
#2: Process Creation
 Preliminary Database Creation
 Preliminary Process Synthesis
 Development of Base-Case Design
#3: Heuristics for Process Synthesis
 Chemical Reaction
 Mixing and Recycle
 Separation
 Temperature, Pressure and Phase Change
 Task Integration
#4: Algorithmic Methods for Process Synthesis – Part I
 Reactor Design and Reactor Network Synthesis
 Synthesis of Separation Trains
#5: Algorithmic Methods for Process Synthesis – Part II
 Sequencing of Ordinary Distillation Columns
#6: Review of Thermodynamics of Non-Ideal Mixtures
 Azeotropy
 Residue Curves
 Distillation Boundaries
#7: Algorithmic Methods for Process Synthesis – Part III
 Separation of Non-Ideal Mixtures
Review for Midterm Exam
Midterm Exam
#8: Mathematical Optimization
 Solution of LP, NLP, MILP, MINLP
 Introducing LINGO Solver Software
#9: Heat and Power Integration - Targeting
 Temperature Interval Method
 Composite Curve Method
 Thermal Pinch Analysis
AIChE Annual Meeting, Pittsburgh, PA
#10 :Heat and Power Integration – Network Design
 Maximum Energy Recovery Networks
Class Review
Thanksgiving Holiday
Class Review
Final Exam (8:00 – 10:30 AM)
Reading
SSLW Chapter 1
Pages 1-31
Homework Due
SSLW Chapter 4
Pages 77-94, 101-109
SSLW Chapter 6
Pages 152-180
SSLW Chapter 7+8
Pages 181-216
SSLW Chapter 8
Pages 216-223
SSLW Chapter 8
Pages 223-230
SSLW Chapter 8
Pages 230-251
#1: 8.1, 8.2, 8.3
#2: 8.14b-d, 8.15
SSLW Chapter 24
Pages 642-661
SSLW Chapter 9
Pages 252-261
#3: 24.1 + Handout
SSLW Chapter 9
Pages 261-280
#4: 9.1, 9.2
Tentative Lab Schedule
Week
1
2
3
Dates
8/16
8/21, 8/23
8/28, 8/30
Lecture and Multimedia Material
No labs
MM: Principles of Flowsheet Simulation
 Getting Started in Aspen
o Brief Introduction
o Setting Up
o Sample Problem
SSLW Chapter 5, pp. 110-120
MM: Principles of Flowsheet Simulation
 Getting Started in Aspen
o Convergence
SSLW Chapter 5, pp. 120-131
4
9/4, 9/6
Computer Exercises
9/11, 9/13
Dates
10/2, 10/4
MM: Tutorials
 Material and Energy Balances
o Ammonia/Water Separation
9
10/9, 10/11
10
10/16, 10/18
MM: Tutorials
 Material and Energy Balances
o Ethylchloride Manufacture
Homework #1 (Due Week 4 in lab)
 Exercise A.1 (Aspen Notes)
Lab Recitation Lecture #1
 Heuristics for Process Synthesis
MM: Heat Exchangers
 Overview
o Introduction
o Heat Requirement Models
o Shell-and-Tube HX
o Multiple-Stream HX
MM: Separators
 Overview
o Phase Equil. And Flash
MM: Physical Property Estimation
 Overview
o Property Estimation
 Phase Equilibria
 Equil. Diagrams
 Property Data Regression
Lab Recitation Lecture #2
 Separation Trains
6
9/18, 9/20
7
9/25, 9/27
MM: Separators
 Overview
o Introduction
o Split-Fraction Model (SEP2)
o Phase Equil. and Flash
o Distillation
Week
8
Dates
10/2, 10/4
Lecture and Multimedia Material
Lab Recitation Lecture #3+4
 Azeotropic Distillation
 Choosing Property Models
MM: Physical Property Estimation
Lecture and Multimedia Material
Lab Recitation Lecture #3+4
 Azeotropic Distillation
 Choosing Property Models
MM: Physical Property Estimation
 Property Package Selection
MM: Chemical Reactors
 Overview
o Introduction
o Stoichiometric Reactors
o Equilibrium Reactors
o PFR
o CSTR
Lab Recitation Lecture #5
 Introducing LINGO
Lab Recitation Lecture #6
Solution for Midterm Exam
MM: Pumps, Compressors and Expanders
 Overview
o Pumps
o Compressors and Expanders
5
Week
8
Homework #2 (Due Week 6 in lab)
 Exercise B.1 (Aspen Notes)
 Exercise B.2 (Aspen Notes)
 Exercise B.3 (Aspen Notes)
MM: Tutorials
 Heat Transfer
o Toluene Manufacture
MM: Tutorials
 Separation Principles
o Flash and Distillation
 Flash
 Distillation
Computer Exercises
Homework #3 (Due Week 9 in lab)
 Exercise D.1 (Aspen Notes)
11
10/23, 10/25
12
10/30, 11/1
13
11/6, 11/8
14
11/13, 11/15
15
16
11/20, 11/22
11/27, 11/29
Computer Exercises
Homework #3 (Due Week 9 in lab)
 Exercise D.1 (Aspen Notes)
MM: Tutorials
 Reactor Design Principles
o Overview
 Theory
 Setting Up Reactors
MM: Tutorials
 Reactor Design Principles
o Ammonia Converter
Homework (Due 10/23 in class)
 SSLW 24.1
 Problems in Handout
Homework #4 (Due Week 12 in lab)
 Exercise E.1 (Aspen Notes)
Lab Recitation Lecture #7
 Simulation Project Overview
 Preparing Reports
Lab Recitation Lecture #8
 Heat Integration
Simulation Project
 Report due 11/29
 Build Steady State Simulation
Simulation Project
 Finalize Initial Simulation
 Perform Integration Analysis
Simulation Project
 Simulate Integrated Process
Thanksgiving Holiday
Simulation Project
 Finalize Report
MM: Multimedia material to review
using headphones at your own pace.
MM Tutorials: Perform simulation
while following multimedia presentation.
Multimedia 1:2
Choice of Simulator Software
• Aspen Plus
• Hysys
• Matlab
Multimedia 2:2
Contents
Navigation
Lecture 1 – Objectives

Be knowledgeable about the kinds of design decisions that
challenge process design teams.

Have an appreciation of the key steps in carrying out a
process design. This course, as the course text, is
organized to teach how to implement these steps.

Be aware of the many kinds of environmental issues and
safety considerations that are prevalent in the design of a
new chemical process.

Understand that chemical engineers use a blend of hand
calculations, spreadsheets, computer packages, and
process simulators to design a process.
Lecture 1 – Outline
•
Primitive Design Problems
–
•
Steps in Designing/Retrofitting Chemical Processes
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
•
•
Example
Assess Primitive Problem
Process Creation
Development of Base Case
Detailed Process Synthesis - Algorithmic Methods
Process Controllability Assessment
Detailed Design, Sizing, Cost Estimation, Optimization
Construction, Start-up and Operation
Environmental Protection
Safety Considerations
Primitive Design Problems
•
The design or retrofit of chemical processes begins with a
desire to produce profitable chemicals that satisfy societal
needs in a wide range of areas:
–
–
–
–
–
•
petrochemicals
petroleum products
industrial gases
foods
pharmaceuticals
–
–
–
–
polymers
coatings
electronic materials
bio-chemicals
Partly due to the growing awareness of the public, many
design projects involve the redesign, or retrofitting, of
existing chemical processes to solve environmental
problems and to adhere to stricter standards of safety.
Origin of Design Problems
•
Often, design problems result from the explorations of
chemists, biochemists, and engineers in research labs to
satisfy the desires of customers to obtain chemicals with
improved properties for many applications.
•
However, several well-known products, like Teflon (polytetrafluoroethylene), were discovered by accident.
•
In other cases, an inexpensive source of a raw material(s)
becomes available.
•
Yet another source of design projects is the engineer
himself, who often has a strong inclination that a new
chemical or route to produce an existing chemical can be
very profitable.
Steps in Product/Process Design
Initial Decision
Concept & Feasibility
Development & Manufacturing
Product Introduction
Steps in Product/Process Design
•
Initial Decision
Steps in Product/Process Design
•
Concept & Feasibility
Steps in Product/Process Design
•
Development & Manufacturing
Steps in Product/Process Design
•
Product Introduction
Steps in Process Design
Assess Primitive
Problem
Detailed Process
Synthesis Algorithmic
Methods
Development
of Base-case
Detailed Design,
Equipment sizing, Cap.
Cost Estimation,
Profitability Analysis,
Optimization
Plant-wide
Controllability
Assessment
Steps in Process Design
Part I
• Assess Primitive Problem
•
•
•
Find Suitable Chemicals
Process Creation
Development of Base Case
Part II
• Detailed Process Synthesis
Part III
• Detailed Design & Optimization
Part IV
• Plantwide Controllability
Steps in Process Design
PART I
Detailed Process
Synthesis Algorithmic
Methods
Development
of Base-case
Detailed Design,
Equipment sizing, Cap.
Cost Estimation,
Profitability Analysis,
Optimization
Assess Primitive
Problem
Plant-wide
Controllability
Assessment
Steps in Process Design
Steps in Process Design
Assess Primitive Problem
•
Process design begins with a primitive design problem that
expresses the current situation and provides an
opportunity to satisfy a societal need.
•
The primitive problem is examined by a small design team,
assessing possibilities, refining the problem statement, and
generating more specific problems:
–
–
–
•
Raw materials - available in-house, can be purchased or need to be
manufactured?
Scale of the process (based upon a preliminary assessment of the
current production, projected market demand, and current and
projected selling prices)
Location for the plant
Brainstorming to generate alternatives.
Example: VCM Manufacture
•
To satisfy the need for an additional 800 MMlb/yr of VCM,
the following plausible alternatives might be generated:
–
Alternative 1. A competitor’s plant, which produces 2 MMM lb/yr of
VCM and is located about 100 miles away, might be expanded to
produce the required amount, which would be shipped. In this
case, the design team projects the purchase price and designs
storage facilities.
–
Alternative 2. Purchase and ship, by pipeline from a nearby plant,
chlorine from the electrolysis of NaCl solution. React the chlorine
with ethylene to produce the monomer and HCl as a byproduct.
–
Alternative 3. The company produces HCl as a byproduct in large
quantities, thus HCl is normally available at low prices. Reactions
of HCl with acetylene, or ethylene and oxygen, could produce 1,2dichloroethane, an intermediate that can be cracked to produce
vinyl chloride.
Survey Literature Sources
•
•
SRI Design Reports
Encyclopedias
–
–
–
•
Handbooks and Reference Books
–
–
–
•
Perry’s Chemical Engineers Handbook
CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
...
Indexes
–
•
•
Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology
Ullman’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry
...
See Auburn University Library
Patents
Internet
Steps in Process Design
Assess Primitive
Problem
Detailed Process
Synthesis Algorithmic
Methods
Development
of Base-case
PART II
Detailed Design,
Equipment sizing, Cap.
Cost Estimation,
Profitability Analysis,
Optimization
Plant-wide
Controllability
Assessment
Steps in Process Design
Steps in Process Design
Assess Primitive
Problem
Detailed Process
Synthesis Algorithmic
Methods
Development
of Base-case
Detailed Design,
Equipment sizing, Cap.
Cost Estimation,
Profitability Analysis,
Optimization
Plant-wide
Controllability
Assessment
PART III
Steps in Process Design
Environmental Issues 1:2
•
Handling of toxic wastes
–
–
•
97% of hazardous waste generation by the chemicals and nuclear
industry is wastewater (1988 data).
In process design, it is essential that facilities be included to
remove pollutants from waste-water streams.
Reaction pathways to reduce by-product toxicity
–
–
•
As the reaction operations are determined, the toxicity of all of the
chemicals, especially those recovered as byproducts, needs to be
evaluated.
Pathways involving large quantities of toxic chemicals should be
replaced by alternatives, except under unusual circumstances.
Reducing and reusing wastes
–
Environmental concerns place even greater emphasis on recycling,
not only for unreacted chemicals, but for product and by-product
chemicals, as well. (i.e., production of segregated wastes - e.g.,
production of composite materials and polymers).
Environmental Issues 2:2
•
Avoiding non-routine events
–
•
Reduce the likelihood of accidents and spills through the reduction
of transient phenomena, relying on operation at the nominal
steady-state, with reliable controllers and fault-detection systems.
Design objectives, constraints and optimization
–
–
–
Environmental goals often not well defined because economic
objective functions involve profitability measures, whereas the
value of reduced pollution is often not easily quantified
economically.
Solutions: mixed objective function (“price of reduced pollution”),
or express environmental goal as “soft” or “hard” constraints.
Environmental regulations = constraints
Safety Issues
Flammability Limits of Liquids and Gases
LFL and UFL (vol %) in Air at 25 oC and 1 Atm
Compound
LFL (%) UFL (%)
Acetylene
2.5
100
Cyclohexane
1.3
8
Ethylene
2.7
36
Gasoline
1.4
7.6
Hydrogen
4.0
75
•
These limits can be extended for mixtures, and for
elevated temperatures and pressures.
•
With this kind of information, the process designer makes
sure that flammable mixtures do not exist in the process
during startup, steady-state operation, or shut-down.
Design for Safety
•
Techniques to Prevent Fires and Explosions
–
–
–
–
•
•
Inerting - addition of inert dilutant to reduce the fuel concentration
below the LFL
Installation of grounding devices and anti-static devices to avoid
the buildup of static electricity
Use of explosion proof equipment
Ensure ventilation - install sprinkler systems
Relief Devices
Hazard Identification and Risk Assessment
–
–
–
The plant is scrutinized to identify sources of accidents or hazards.
Hazard and Operability (HAZOP) study is carried out, in which all of
the possible paths to an accident are identified.
When sufficient probability data are available, a fault tree is
created and the probability of the occurrence for each potential
accident computed.
Summary – The Design Process
•
Steps in Designing and Retrofitting Chemical Processes
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
•
Assess Primitive Problem – Covered Today (SSLW p. 1-31)
Process Creation – Next Week (SSLW p. 77-94, 101-109)
Development of Base Case
Detailed Process Synthesis - Algorithmic Methods
Process Controllability Assessment
Detailed Design, Sizing, Cost Estimation, Optimization
Construction, Start-up and Operation
Environmental Protection
–
•
Environmental regulations = design constraints
Safety Considerations
–
Should strive to design for “inherently safe plants”
Final Comments
•
Capabilities upon Completion of this Class
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
How to simulate complete flowsheets and predict their
performance.
How to identify best achievable performance targets for a process
WITHOUT detailed calculations.
How to systematically enhance yield, maximize profit, maximize
resource conservation, reduce energy, and prevent pollution?
How to debottleneck a process?
How to choose units and screen their performance?
How to understand the BIG picture of a process and use it to
optimize any plant?
And much more….. 
Other Business
•
Lab
–
–
–
–
•
Starts today in Ross 306
Aspen notes are available online and could be made available for
purchase at Engineering Duplicating Services if desired
Headphones can be checked out with me or in the lab
Multimedia software is located under “Chemical Engineering Apps”
Next Lecture – August 28
–
•
Process Creation (SSLW p. 77-94, 101-109)
Class Webpage
–
http://wp.auburn.edu/eden/?page_id=75