LECTURE 4

PROCESS FLOWSHEETS

Flowsheeting
Flowsheets are intended to represent and
explain processes.
To make them easy to understand, they are
constructed with a consistent set of
symbols for equipment, piping, and
operating conditions.
At present there is no generally accepted
industrywide body of drafting standards,
although every large engineering office
does have its internal standards.

 Process flowsheets embody the

material and energy balances
between and the sizing of the
major equipment of the plant e.g.
reactors, separators, and drums;
special processing equipment, heat
exchangers, pumps, and so on.
Numerical
data
include
flow
quantities,
compositions,
pressures, temperatures, and so
on.

Conventions and Format Recommended for

Laying Out a Block Flow Diagram

Block Flow
Diagram

Checklist of Data Normally

Included on a
Process Flowsheet
1.Process lines, but including only
those bypasses essential to an
understanding of the process
2. All process equipment. Spares are
indicated by letter symbols or Notes
3. Major instrumentation essential to
process
control
and
to
understanding of the flowsheet.
4.
Valves
essential
to
an
understanding of the flowsheet

5. Design basis, including stream factor

6.
Temperatures, pressures, flow
quantity
7. Weight and/or mol balance, showing
compositions, amounts, and other
properties of the principal streams
8. Utilities requirements summary
9.
Data
included
for
particular
equipment
a. Compressors: number of stages;
details of stages if important; SCFM
(standard cubic feet per Minute) (60F.
14.7 psia)

b. Drives: type; connected HP; utilities

such as kW, lb steam/hr, or Btu/hr
c. Drums and tanks: ID or OD, seam to
seam length, important internals
d.
Exchangers:
Sqft,
kBtu/hr,
temperatures, and flow quantities in and
out; shell side and tube side indicated
e. Furnaces: kBtu/hr, temperatures in and
out, fuel
f. Pumps: Gallons per minute, type, drive
g. Towers: Number and type of plates or
height
and
type
of
packing;
identification of all plates at which
streams enter or leave; ID or OD; seam
to seam length; skirt height

Heat Exchanger

Topology of a chemical
process plant
We denote every equipment as YYZXX
YY denotes letters designated for
specific equipment
Z denotes to unit number
XX denotes the number of that
equipment in the unit e.g.
T-109 denotes 09th tower in unit 1

Process
flowsheet of
the
manufacture
of benzene
by
dealkylation
of toluene

PIPING AND
INSTRUMENTATION
DIAGRAM (P&ID)

CONTROL VALVE:
An automatic control system
consists of:
the fluid to be controlled
a sensor for the process variable
a controller which affects the
actuator
an actuator which modulates the
valve
a control valve to control the flow

ACTUATORS: The function

of an actuator is to adjust
the position of the valve to
ensure correct control of the
process fluid.

Failure
mode

General instrument and

controller symbols

Distributed control

Other
symbols

Letter Code for Instrument

Symbols
[based on ISA-5.1-1984 (R1992)]

Notes:
1. The letters D, G, M, N, and O are not defined and can be used for any userspecified
property.
2. The letter S as second or subsequent letter indicates a switch.
3. The letter Y as second or subsequent letter indicates a relay or a compute function.
4. The letter Z is used for the final control element when this is not a valve.

VALVE SELECTION
The valves used for a chemical process plant can be divided into
two broad classes, depending on their primary function:
1. Shut-off valves (block valves or isolation valves), whose
purpose is to close off the flow;
2. Control valves, both manual and automatic, used to
regulate flow.
The main types of valves used are
Gate
Plug
Ball
Globe
Diaphragm
Butterfly
Nonreturn

 A utility flowsheet may be provided

which shows all the headers for utility
inputs and outputs available along with the
connections needed to the process. It
provides information on the flows and
characteristics of the utilities used by the
plant.
Vessel sketches, logic ladder diagrams,
wiring diagrams, site plans, structural
support diagrams, and many other
drawings are routinely used
Plot plans and elevation diagrams are
provided that locate the placement and
elevation of all of the major pieces of
equipment such as towers, vessels, pumps,
heat exchangers, and so on.

Layout of the plot plan can take one of two

basic configurations: the grade-level,
horizontal, in-line arrangement and the
structure
mounted
vertical
arrangement.
In
the
grade-level,
horizontal
arrangement, the process equipment units
are aligned on either side of a pipe rack that
runs through the middle of the process unit.
The purpose of the pipe rack is to carry
piping for utilities, product, and feed to and
from the process unit. Equipment is located
on either side of the pipe rack, which allows
for easy access.
Horizontal arrangement generally requires
a larger footprint and, hence, more land
than does the structure-mounted vertical
arrangement.

Plant Layout: Grade-Mounted Horizontal Inline

Plant Layout: Structure-Mounted Vertical

Arrangement

 the location of shell and tube exchangers must allow for tube
bundle removal for cleaning and repair.
Locations of pumps must allow for access for maintenance and
replacement. For compressors, this access may also require that
a crane be able to remove and replace a damaged drive. Control
valves must be located at elevations that allow operator access.

Reasons for Elevating Equipment

Piping isometrics are drawn for every piece of pipe

required in the plant. These drawings are 3-D
sketches of the pipe run, indicating the elevations and
orientation of each section of pipe. In the past, it was
also common for comprehensive plants to build a scale
model so the system could be viewed in three
dimensions and modified to remove any potential
problems. Over the past twenty years, scale models
have been replaced by 3-dimensional computer aided
design (CAD) programs that are capable of
representing
the
plant
as-built
in
three
dimensions.
They provide an opportunity to view the local equipment
topology from any angle at any location inside the
plant. One can actually walk through the plant and
preview what will be seen when the plant is built. The
ability to view the plant before construction will be
made even more realistic with the help of virtual
reality software. With this new tool, it is possible
not only to walk through the plant but also to
touch the equipment, turn valves, and climb to the
top of distillation columns, and so on.

THE 3-D PLANT MODEL

The PFD is divided into logical

subsystems