EVALUATION OF MINIMUM UTILITY REQUIREMENT FOR PROCESS

Steps to be followed:
1. First determine the heat content of each stream with formula mcpT. 2. Draw temperature interval diagram (TI) with two scales, one for hot stream and other for cold streams. Generally hot stream scale is drawn on LHS of cold stream scale. Both temperature scales should be shifted by temperature equal to Tmin. i.e. if Tmin is x oC then starting temperature scale for hot stream scale should be more by x oC than that of cold stream scale. 3. Then draw the hot streams on hot temperature scale side and cold streams on cold temperature scale side. Draw all streams with head and tail. Draw hot streams with downside arrow and cold streams with upside arrow. Write the heat capacity flow rates for each stream near their heads. 4. Then draw horizontal lines through each head and tail. Count the temperature intervals (one temperature interval between two horizontal lines). 5. Find out the heat content of each temperature interval (for this calculation consider either hot stream scale or cold stream scale). 6. Draw a cascade diagram and find minimum hot utility (QH, min) and minimum cold utility (QC, min) requirement as well as Pinch temperature. 7. Pinch temperature is the temperature at which there is no any heat transfer takes place. 8. While drawing the cascade diagram, be sure that heat is being transferred from upper to lower interval only and no way in opposite direction. Proper determination of pinch temperature is important, so find out pinch very carefully.

How to calculate heat content of temperature interval in TI diagram?

For this use following formula: Qi = * (mcp)hot - (mcp)cold + Ti Where, Qi = Heat content of temperature interval; (mcp)hot = summation of heat capacity flow rates of hot streams lying in that TI; (mcp)cold = summation of heat capacity flow rates of cold streams lying in that TI; Ti = Temperature difference of that TI

Compiled By Prof. Prasad Parulekar

Finding pinch, QH, min and QC, Composite curves (GCC):

min

from Composite curves and Grand

Composite curves are nothing but these are Temperature-Enthalpy (TE) curves. These curves when drawn for both hot and cold streams, together they are called as Composite curves. For drawing composite curves, we need to draw TemperatureInterval(TI) diagram, cascade diagram and find pinch temperature.

Data finding for composite curves: (1) Hot TE curve: For plotting this curve, consider hot stream side part of TI diagram. Then make three columns, 1st for temperatures, 2nd for enthalpy related to that temperature and 3rd for cumulative enthalpy at that temperature. Select lowest temperature (T1) of TI interval diagram on hot stream side. Select enthalpy corresponding to this temperature as 0. (i.e. H1 = 0). Then go on writing further temperatures in increasing order in TI diagram on hot stream side, as T2, T3, T4, etc. Calculate enthalpies to corresponding temperatures, H2, H3, H4 etc. [H2 = (T2-T1) ( mcp), where mcp is the summation of mcp values of hot streams falling in Temperature range between T1 and T2]. Similarly calculate H3, H4 and so on. Then calculate cumulative enthalpies at corresponding temperatures as H1,cum = H1, H2,cum = H1+H2, H3,cum = H1+H2+H3 and so on. Then plot hot TE curve on x-y plot as T on y-axis and Hcum on x-axis. (2) Cold TE curve: Follow the same procedure as that used for hot TE curve with some differences and considering the cold stream part of TI diagram. Here, select enthalpy corresponding to lowest temperature, as equal to QC, min, then follow same procedure as above on cold stream side of TI diagram. Then plot cold Te curve Now these two curves together are called as Composite curves. From these composite curves also we can find out QH,min, QC,min and pinch temperature as below: (i) QH,min value from this diagram, is nothing but it is the difference between the Hcum values corresponding to the upper ends of hot and cold TE curves. (ii) Similarly QC,min value is the difference between Hcum values corresponding to lower ends of hot and cold TE curves. (iii) Pinch temperature is the temperature corresponding to the point on two curves at which they are close enough to each other. This will give hot and cold pinch temperature.

Compiled By Prof. Prasad Parulekar

(3) Grand composite curve (GCC): For plotting GCC, make two columns 1st for temperatures and second for Hcum. In 1st column, write temperatures which will be the average values of the temperatures starting from lowest to highest temperatures of hot and cold TE curves. Similarly calculate Hcum values to corresponding average temperatures by taking difference between Hcum values of hot and cold TE curve corresponding to these temperatures. Then plot these temperatures and Hcum on x-y plot as that of previous two plots: (i) (ii) QH,min and QC,min values w.r.t. to GCC are nothing but these are Hcum values corresponding to upper and lower end of GCC. Pinch temperature w.r.t. GCC is nothing but it is the temperature corresponding to the point on GCC at which it touches y-axis.

Observations related to composite curves: (1) As cold composite curve shifts to right, Tmin approach goes on increasingand here minimum utilities requirement will be increased. (2) The slopes of composite curves always decrease at the inlet T of a stream and increases at the outlet T of stream. (3) The points at which the slope decreases are candidate pinch points and furthermore, when a pinch T exists, one of the inlet T is always a pinch T. Hence to locate potential pinch T, one needs only to examine the inlet temperatures of the streams. (4) For some Tmin, no pinch temperature exists. In such cases, either hot or cold utilities (but not both) are required in an amount equal to the difference between the total energy to be removed from hot streams and that to be added to the cold streams. The Tmin at which the pinch disappears, is referred to as the threshold Tmin.

Compiled By Prof. Prasad Parulekar