CHEN 4460 - Process Synthesis, Simulation and Optimization

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.
Where I moved
National sport – SOCCER! to go to college
My hometown
My Research Interests
• Computer Aided Process Engineering

– Property prediction & CAMD for solvent selection/design
– Process modeling and simulation
• Process/Product Synthesis and Design

– 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: Wed. 1:00–3:00 PM Office hours: TBA
• Ross 349 Location: TBA
– Ms. Zhelun Li
• 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
Tentative Lab Schedule
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
– Example
• Steps in Designing/Retrofitting Chemical Processes
– 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 – polymers
– petroleum products – coatings
– industrial gases – electronic materials
– foods – bio-chemicals
– pharmaceuticals
• 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 (poly-

tetrafluoroethylene), 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
• Initial Decision
• Concept & Feasibility
• Development & Manufacturing
• Product Introduction
Steps in Process Design
Assess Primitive
Problem
Detailed Process Plant-wide

Synthesis Development Controllability
-Algorithmic of Base-case Assessment
Methods
Detailed Design,
Equipment sizing, Cap.
Cost Estimation,
Profitability Analysis,
Optimization
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
PART I
Assess Primitive
Problem

Methods
Detailed Design,
Cost Estimation,
Optimization
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 1,2-
dichloroethane, an intermediate that can be cracked to produce
vinyl chloride.
Survey Literature Sources
• SRI Design Reports
• Encyclopedias
– Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology
– Ullman’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry
– ...
• Handbooks and Reference Books
– Perry’s Chemical Engineers Handbook
– CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics
– ...
• Indexes
– See Auburn University Library
• Patents
• Internet
Assess Primitive
Problem

Methods
PART II
Detailed Design,
Cost Estimation,
Optimization
Assess Primitive
Problem

Methods
Detailed Design,
Cost Estimation,
PART III
Optimization
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

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Class Overview & Introduction

CHEN 4460 – Process Synthesis,

Dr. Mario Richard Eden

Lecture No. 1 – The Design Process

Contains Material Developed by Dr. Daniel R. Lewin, Technion, Israel

A little smaller than the state

• Computer Aided Process Engineering

• Process/Product Synthesis and Design

• Process Integration and Optimization

• Labs (Start Today)

• Instructors Office Hours

MM: Multimedia material to review

Choice of Simulator Software

 Be knowledgeable about the kinds of design decisions that

 Have an appreciation of the key steps in carrying out a

 Be aware of the many kinds of environmental issues and

 Understand that chemical engineers use a blend of hand

• The design or retrofit of chemical processes begins with a

• Partly due to the growing awareness of the public, many

• However, several well-known products, like Teflon (poly-

• In other cases, an inexpensive source of a raw material(s)

• Yet another source of design projects is the engineer

Concept & Feasibility

Development & Manufacturing

Detailed Process Plant-wide

Detailed Process Plant-wide

• The primitive problem is examined by a small design team,

• Brainstorming to generate alternatives.

– Alternative 2. Purchase and ship, by pipeline from a nearby plant,

– Alternative 3. The company produces HCl as a byproduct in large

Detailed Process Plant-wide

Detailed Process Plant-wide

• Design objectives, constraints and optimization

Flammability Limits of Liquids and Gases

• These limits can be extended for mixtures, and for

• With this kind of information, the process designer makes

• Next Lecture – August 28

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