CHEE4001

Process Engineering Design

Project
Principles
of
Process Plant Layout

PROCESS PLANT LAYOUT

Key Issues:

Major factor in overall cost

Influences operating costs

Influences maintenance costs

Major issue for safe operation and

control

Dependent on indoor/outdoor designs

Scale of layout - site, plant, unit

PROCESS PLANT LAYOUT

Doing it right !

Plant
Layout

Process
Design

Plant
Layout

Operational
Requirements

Structural
Design

Maintenance

Parallel Tasks improve final design

PROCESS PLANT LAYOUT

Hierarchy
Plot Plan

(overall site)

roads
access

Process Plant

storage
admin
utilities

roads
access
units
buildings

Process Unit
access
equipment

Process
Equipment
spacing
arrangement

Important issues in layout

General terrain
Safety and environment
regulations, native title,
flammable / non-flammable materials
high / low pressure units
wet / dry systems
Maintenance, utilities

Important Safety Issues in Plant Layout

Accident containment and avoidance of domino

effects
High hazard operations
Segregation of different risks
Exposure to possible explosion overpressure
Exposure to fire radiation
Minimizing vulnerable piping
Drainage and grade sloping
Prevailing wind directions
Provision for future expansion

Typical Plot Plan

Note: Maximum block size is 100m x 175m (IRI)

Recommended Inter-Unit Spacings for

Traditional Chemical/Oil Plants
Ref: Guidelines for
Engineering Design
for Process Safety,
CCPS, 1993
All distances in feet

Plot Plan Layout - Examples

Tank farm layout

Pipe rack Design

PROCESS PLANT LAYOUT

Hierarchy
Plot Plan

(overall site)

roads
access

Process Plant

storage
admin
utilities

roads
access

Process Unit

units

access

buildings

equipment

Process
Equipment
spacing
arrangement

Unit Layout External Elevation

Unit Layout Internal Elevation

PROCESS PLANT LAYOUT

Overall Philosophy
Arrange units to provide:

economical plant

safe and easy to operate and maintain

compactness in arrangement

integrated units and equipment

arranged in flow sequence

space provided for convenient

operation and maintenance access

planned expansion

PROCESS PLANT LAYOUT

Hierarchy
Plot Plan

(overall site)

roads
access

Process Plant

storage
admin
utilities

roads
access
units
buildings

Process Unit
access
equipment

Process
Equipment
spacing
arrangement

Recommended Inter-Unit Equipment for

Traditional Chemical/Oil Plants
Ref: Guidelines for
Engineering Design
for Process Safety,
CCPS, 1993
All distances in feet

Structural Features - Examples

Fireproofing
steel

Piperack design

Control room

Pipe runs

PROCESS PLANT LAYOUT

Housed Plant

Multi-level
* vertical and horizontal arrangements important
* gravity flow possible?

Mobile crane-use in central aisle

Pipe rack locations and main access

Removal of vessels

Equipment location and access

Piping runs to change elevation on direction change

Ability to extend plant

Offices and control room

Recommended Storage Tank Spacing for

Chemical/Oil Plants
Ref: Guidelines for
Engineering Design
for Process Safety,
CCPS, 1993
All distances in feet

PROCESS PLANT LAYOUT

Hierarchy
Plot Plan

(overall site)

roads
access

Process Plant

storage
admin
utilities

roads
access
units
buildings

Process Unit
access
equipment

Process
Equipment
spacing
arrangement

Equipment layout issues

Pumps (NPSH, suction line, motor location)

Instrumentation (CVs accessible)
Heat exchangers (bundles, fin-fan vs water)
Flares (radiation levels, alternatives?)
Solids (use gravity flow?, Containment)
Expensive piping (run lengths)
Reactors (catalyst dump)
Maintenance (access, removal)

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Equipment Layout - Examples

Heat
exchanger
banks

Cableways

Heat exchanger
piping

Pump
layouts

Equipment Layout - Examples

Column
landings/
ladders

Product tanks

Column
piping

Intermediate storage

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Equipment Layout - Examples

Intermediate tanks and bunding

Tank top and davit

Modular systems
Major saving in construction costs (~50%)
Require more detailed engineering design
Extra structural steel (~30%)
Transportation costs (~1-2% of module
cost)
Small footprints possible
Ideal for small-scale plants

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Modular designs
Modules being
fabricated

Module being
transported

Modular plant
Middle East plant
fabricated in Japan

Barge transport to
port facility in
Middle East

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Modular plant

Hauling equipment

Hauler in action

Container sized modules

Plant compressor
system

Process unit module

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Container sized oil refinery

Inland Oil Refiners
mini-refinery
(www.ior.com.au)

Microstill
(Pinnacle Engineering)

Interactive 3D modelling
Intergraph PDS (USA)

PDMS CADCentre (UK)

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The way forward

Consider the logical process plant units

Look at overall site layout for process units
Consider key separations on grounds of safety
Consider environmental factors (flood, spills )
Consider requirements for access/maintenance
Locate key equipment into each module
Produce initial plan & elevation to scale
Use modules horizontally & vertically
Isometric sketches for pipe-runs, utilities, cabling
Location of control centre module

Useful references
Plant Layout, Chem. Eng., 81-99, 1992
Making inroads with modular construction,
Chem. Eng., 30-35, Aug 1990

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