TABLE OF CONTENTS Although this book is devoted to the selection and design of individual equipment, some mention should be made of integration of a number of units into a process. Each piece of equipment interacts with several others in a plant, and the range of its required performance is dependent on the others in terms of material and energy balances and rate processes. This chapter will discuss general background material relating to complete process design, and Chapter 2 will treat briefly the basic topic of flowsheets.
Process design establishes the sequence of chemical and physical operations; operating conditions; the duties, major specifications, and materials of construction (where critical) of all process equipment (as distinguished from utilities and building auxiliaries); the general arrangement of equipment needed to ensure proper functioning of the plant; line sizes; and principal instrumentation. The process design is summarized by a process flowsheet, a material and energy balance, and a set of individual equipment specifications. Varying degrees of thoroughness of a process design may be required for different purposes. Sometimes only a preliminary design and cost estimate are needed to evaluate the advisability of further research on a new process or a proposed plant expansion or detailed design work; or a preliminary design may be needed to establish the approximate funding for a complete design and construction. A particularly valuable function of preliminary design is that it may reveal lack of certain data needed for final design. Data of costs of individual equipment are supplied in...
