Process flowsheeting is the use of computer aids to perform steady-state heat and mass balancing, sizing and costing calculations for a

chemical process In a scientific sense, a chemical process is a method or means of somehow changing one or more chemicals or chemical compounds. Such a chemical process can occur by itself or be caused by an outside force, and involves a chemical reaction of som ...

. It is an essential and core component of

process design In chemical engineering, process design is the choice and sequencing of units for desired physical and/or chemical transformation of materials. Process design is central to chemical engineering, and it can be considered to be the summit of tha ...

. The process design effort may be split into three basic steps *

Synthesis Synthesis or synthesize may refer to: Science Chemistry and biochemistry *Chemical synthesis, the execution of chemical reactions to form a more complex molecule from chemical precursors **Organic synthesis, the chemical synthesis of organi ...

Analysis Analysis (: analyses) is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts in order to gain a better understanding of it. The technique has been applied in the study of mathematics and logic since before Aristotle (38 ...

and *

Optimization Mathematical optimization (alternatively spelled ''optimisation'') or mathematical programming is the selection of a best element, with regard to some criteria, from some set of available alternatives. It is generally divided into two subfiel ...

Synthesis

Synthesis is the step where the structure of the flowsheet is chosen. It is also in this step that one initializes values for

variables Variable may refer to: Computer science * Variable (computer science), a symbolic name associated with a value and whose associated value may be changed Mathematics * Variable (mathematics), a symbol that represents a quantity in a mathemat ...

which one is free to set.

Analysis

Analysis is usually made up of three steps * Solving heat and material balances * Sizing and costing the equipment and * Evaluating the economic worth, safety, operability etc. of the chosen flow sheet

Optimization

Optimization involves both structural optimization of the flow sheet itself as well as optimization of parameters in a given flowsheet. In the former one may alter the equipment used and/or its connections with other equipment. In the latter one can change the values of parameters such as temperature and pressure. Parameter Optimization is a more advanced stage of theory than process flowsheet optimization.

Plant design project

The first step in the sequence leading to the construction of a process

plant Plants are the eukaryotes that form the Kingdom (biology), kingdom Plantae; they are predominantly Photosynthesis, photosynthetic. This means that they obtain their energy from sunlight, using chloroplasts derived from endosymbiosis with c ...

and its use in the manufacture of a product is the conception of a process. The concept is embodied in the form of a "flow sheet".

Process design In chemical engineering, process design is the choice and sequencing of units for desired physical and/or chemical transformation of materials. Process design is central to chemical engineering, and it can be considered to be the summit of tha ...

then proceeds on the basis of the flow sheet chosen.

Physical property A physical property is any property of a physical system that is measurable. The changes in the physical properties of a system can be used to describe its changes between momentary states. A quantifiable physical property is called ''physical ...

data are the other component needed for process design apart from a flow sheet. The result of process design is a

process flow diagram A process flow diagram (PFD) is a diagram commonly used in chemical and process engineering to indicate the general flow of plant processes and equipment. The PFD displays the relationship between ''major'' equipment of a plant facility and does ...

, PFD. Detailed

engineering Engineering is the practice of using natural science, mathematics, and the engineering design process to Problem solving#Engineering, solve problems within technology, increase efficiency and productivity, and improve Systems engineering, s ...

for the project and vessel specifications then begin. Process flowsheeting ends at the point of generation of a suitable PFD. General purpose flowsheeting programs became usable and reliable around 1965-1970.

References

* Westerberg A. W., Hutchinson H. P., Motard R. L., and Winter P., (1979), "Process Flowsheeting", Cambridge Universities Press, * Veverka V. V., and Madron, F. (1997), "Material and Energy balancing in the Process Industries", Elsevier, {{ISBN, 0-444-82409-X * Babu, B. V.(2004), "Process Plant Simulation", Oxford Universities Press, ISBN

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