4 FLOWSHEETING

Chapter Contents
4.1. Introduction
4.2. Flowsheet Presentation
4.3. Process Simulation Programs
4.4. Specification of Components and Physical Property Models
4.5. Simulation of Unit Operations
4.6. User Models
4.7. Flowsheets with Recycle
4.8. Flowsheet Optimization
4.9. Dynamic Simulation
4.10. References
4.11. Nomenclature
4.12. Problems

Key Learning Objectives

& How to prepare and present a process flow diagram
& How to use commercial process simulation software to build a process heat and material
balance model
& How to use user-specified models and components when the simulator does not have
what you need
& How to converge flowsheets that include recycles

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154 CHAPTER 4 FLOWSHEETING

4.1. INTRODUCTION

This chapter covers the preparation and presentation of the process flowsheet, also
known as the process flow diagram (PFD). The flowsheet is the key document in process
design. It shows the arrangement of the equipment selected to carry out the process, the
stream connections, stream flow rates and compositions, and the operating conditions.
It is a diagrammatic model of the process.
The flowsheet is used by specialist design groups as the basis for their designs.
These include piping, instrumentation, and equipment design and plant layout. It is
also used by operating personnel for the preparation of operating manuals and
operator training. During plant startup and subsequent operation, the flowsheet
forms a basis for comparison of operating performance with design.
The flowsheet is drawn up from material balances made over the complete process
and each individual unit operation. Energy balances are also made to determine the
energy flows and the utility requirements.
Most flowsheet calculations are carried out using commercial process simulation
programs. The process simulation programs contain models for most unit operations
as well as thermodynamic and physical property models. All the commercial programs
feature some level of custom modeling capability that allows the designer to add
models for nonstandard operations.
Many companies developed proprietary flowsheeting programs between 1960 and
1980. The cost of maintaining and updating proprietary software is high; conse-
quently, very few of the proprietary flowsheeting programs are still in use, and most
companies now rely entirely on commercially available software. Each of the com-
mercial process simulation programs has its own unique idiosyncrasies, but they share
many common features. The discussion in this chapter addresses general problems of
process simulation and flowsheeting rather than software-specific issues. The latter
are usually thoroughly documented in the user manuals and online help that come
with the software. Examples have been provided in this chapter using both Aspen
Plus1 (Aspen Technology Inc.) and UniSim DesignTM (Honeywell Inc.). UniSim
Design is based on the HysysTM software that was originally developed by Hyprotech
Ltd. and is now owned and licensed by Honeywell.
Because flowsheeting is usually carried out using computer programs, it is neces-
sary for the design engineer to have a good understanding of how to set up and solve
computer models. The flowsheet model that is solved on the computer to generate a
mass and energy balance is often not an exact representation of the process flow
diagram. The designer may need to use combinations of simulation library models and
user models to capture the performance of process equipment. Spreadsheet or hand
calculations are also often helpful in setting up process simulation models and
providing good initial estimates, so as to accelerate convergence.
The next step in process design after the flowsheet is the preparation of Piping and
Instrument diagrams (abbreviated to P & I diagrams or PIDs), often also called the
engineering flowsheet or mechanical flowsheet. The P & I diagrams, as the name implies,
show the engineering details of the process, and are based on the process flowsheet. The
preparation and presentation of P & I diagrams is discussed in Chapter 5.
4.2. FLOWSHEET PRESENTATION 155

4.2. FLOWSHEET PRESENTATION

As the process flowsheet is the definitive document on the process, the presentation
must be clear, comprehensive, accurate, and complete. The various types of flow-
sheets are discussed in the following sections.

4.2.1. Block Diagrams

A block diagram is the simplest form of presentation. Each block can represent a single
piece of equipment or a complete stage in the process. Block diagrams were used to
illustrate the examples in Chapters 2 and 3. They are useful for showing simple
processes. With complex processes, their use is limited to showing the overall process,
broken down into its principal stages, as in Example 2.13 (vinyl chloride). In that
example, each block represented the equipment for a complete reaction stage: the
reactor, separators, and distillation columns.
Block diagrams are useful for representing a process in a simplified form in reports,
textbooks, and presentations, but have only limited use as engineering documents.
The stream flow rates and compositions can be shown on the diagram adjacent to
the stream lines, when only a small amount of information is to be shown, or
tabulated separately.
Block diagrams are often drawn using simple graphics programs such as VisioTM or
Microsoft PowerPointTM.

4.2.2. Pictorial Representation

On the detailed flowsheets used for design and operation, the equipment is normally
drawn in a stylized pictorial form. For tender documents or company brochures,
actual scale drawings of the equipment are sometimes used, but it is more usual to use
a simplified representation. There are several international standards for PFD sym-
bols, but most companies use their own standard symbols, as the cost of converting all
of their existing drawings would be excessive. ISO 10628 is the international standard
for PFD drawing symbols. Very few North American companies apply this standard.
The symbols given in British Standard, BS 1553 (1977) ‘‘Graphical Symbols for
General Engineering’’ Part 1, ‘‘Piping Systems and Plant,’’ are more typical of those
in common use, and a selection of symbols from BS 1553 is given in Appendix A. The
symbols in BS 1553 are used in the UK and commonwealth countries. Most European
countries have adopted ISO 10628 as their standard.

4.2.3. Presentation of Stream Flow Rates

The data on the flow rate of each individual component, on the total stream flow rate,
and the percentage composition can be shown on the flowsheet in various ways. The
simplest method, suitable for simple processes with few pieces of equipment, is to
tabulate the data in blocks alongside the process stream lines, as shown in Figure 4.1.
156 CHAPTER 4 FLOWSHEETING

AN 500
Water 2500 H1
Total 3000 Water 5000
Total 5000 60⬚C 15⬚C
DM water

Steam

From 15⬚C 40⬚C F1

storages 60⬚C To dryer

CW

60⬚C
R1
Cat. 5 AN 5
Water 100 Water 300
Total 105 AN 50 Water 7300 Polymer 448
Water 2600 AN 45 Salts trace Equipment key
From Polymer 450 Polymer 2 Total 753 R1 Polymer reactor
catalyst Salts 5 Salts 5
prep Total 3105 Total 7352 H1 Water heater
F1 Vacuum filter

Figure 4.1. Flowsheet: polymer production.

Only a limited amount of information can be shown this way, and it is difficult to
make neat alterations or to add additional data.
A better method for the presentation of data on flowsheets is shown in Figure 4.2.
In this method each stream line is numbered and the data are tabulated at the bottom
of the sheet. Alterations and additions can be easily made. This is the method
generally used by professional design offices. A typical commercial flowsheet is
shown in Figure 4.3. Guide rules for the layout of this type of flowsheet presentation
are given in Section 4.2.5.

4.2.4. Information to Be Included

The amount of information shown on a flowsheet will depend on the custom and
practice of the particular design office. The following list has therefore been divided
into essential items and optional items. The essential items must always be shown; the
optional items add to the usefulness of the flowsheet but are not always included.

Essential Information
1. Stream composition, either
i. the flow rate of each individual component, kg/h, which is preferred; or
ii. the stream composition as a weight fraction.
2. Total stream flow rate, kg/h;
3. Stream temperature, degrees Celsius preferred;
4. Nominal operating pressure (the required operating pressure);
5. Stream enthalpy, kJ/h.
 To Tail gas 4.2.
sheet no 9317 1 Water
10 11
2

Air
Filter 8
Compressor Absorber
2A Steam
1A 3 Cooler
5
Ammonia 1 6 9
14
4 Filter
FLOWSHEET PRESENTATION

From
sheet no 9315 Vaporiser W. H. B. 7 12
Reactor
(Oxidiser) Condenser Mixer
13
Product

Flows kg/h Pressures nominal

Line no. 1 1A 2 2A 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Stream Ammonia Ammonia Filtered Oxidiser Oxidiser Oxidiser W.H.B. Condenser Condenser Secondary Absorber Tail(2) Water Absorber Product C & R Construction Inc
Component feed vapour air air feed outlet outlet gas acid air feed gas feed acid acid
NH3 731.0 731.0 731.0 Nil Nitric acid 60 percent
O2 3036.9 2628.2 2628.2 935.7 (935.7)(1) 275.2 Trace 408.7 683.9 371.5 Trace Trace 100,000 t/y
N2 9990.8 8644.7 8644.7 8668.8 8668.8 8668.8 Trace 1346.1 10,014.7 10,014.7 Trace Trace Client BOP Chemicals
NO 1238.4 (1238.4)(1) 202.5 202.5 21.9 Trace Trace SLIGO
NO2 Trace (?)(1) 967.2 967.2 (Trace)(1) Trace Trace Sheet no. 9316
HNO3 Nil Nil 850.6 1704.0 2554.6
H2O Trace 1161.0 1161.0 29.4 1010.1 29.4 26.3 1376.9 1136.0 2146.0

Total 731.0 731.0 13,027.7 11,272.9 12,003.9 12,003.9 12,003.9 10,143.1 1860.7 1754.8 11,897.7 10,434.4 1376.9 2840.0 4700.6

Press bar 8 8 1 8 8 8 8 8 1 8 8 1 8 1 1 Dwg by Date

Temp. °C 15 20 15 230 204 907 234 40 40 40 40 25 25 40 43 Checked 25/7/1980

Figure 4.2. Flowsheet: simplified nitric acid process.

(Continued)
157
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CHAPTER 4

Figure 4.2a. Alternative presentation.

FLOWSHEETING