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appendix 1

Typical organization and

contents of a Process Package
A1.1 General
This appendix is a detailed development of the concepts presented in Chapter 10. The typical process package described below should be prepared and
reviewed by the process development group. After approval by the project
manager, it is transmitted to the engineering company, the operating group,
and to anybody else concerned, as the essential basis for the design of the
plant. This procedure is often called the freezing of the process and
detailed verbal explanations and discussions accompany it. Some engineers
from the process department of the engineering company may have participated in the preparation of the process package as consultants or service
providers.
The principle of the process package is that, as far as possible, important
process items should not be decided under the day-to-day pressure of a large
project. All the decisions that could affect the process operation and results
should be well thought out by all the professionals who were concerned
with the process development and the project definition and who should be
well aware of the possible implications of such decisions. Of course, there
will always be changes and surprises and the need to consult further on
specific points but, in general, with the distribution of the approved process
package, the engineering design and plant preparation can proceed.
The typical content of a process package described below should be
considered more as a checklist, to be adapted to each project. Particular cases
or local situations may be different and justify a different content, with
omissions and additions.
The usual procedure is that an experienced engineering company, when
starting a new project, presents to the clients project manager for approval,
all their usual engineering design criteria for civil, mechanical, electrical,
instrumentation, material handling, etc. that they propose to use in their
detailed design. All these decisions may be seen as trivial to the process
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group, but some could be very substantial budget-wise. The review and
approval of all these takes a lot of time and could well distract the attention
of the project management from the process issues. Therefore, it is important
that the process package should be prepared and approved well in advance.

A1.2 Definition of black box objectives

The black box representation (see a typical example in Figure 10.3) is a
very useful tool, which defines the streams going into the plant (raw materials, streams and services from adjacent plants, chemicals and additives)
and the streams exiting from the plant (products, waste streams, gaseous
emissions). In other words, this is a definition of what is done inside the black
box, without describing how it is done. Why is it important?
First, the black box representation allows accurate description of the
nature and extent of the project to people who need not be concerned with
the technical details (such as those in higher corporate management levels:
financial, purchasing, and marketing managers), or to persons who are not
allowed access to the confidential aspects of the novel process (outside public
or statutory authorities). In addition, this has been found to be a good
introduction for personnel who will have to study the new process and work
on the new plant. It gives them an overall view of what is involved and of
the basic material changes, before they get too confused with the details.
The definition of all the streams in and out of the black box should
include all the significant components on a weight basis and in weight percentage. These figures derive directly from the design basis of the plant, as
this has been formally defined, or on an arbitrary round basis if the design
basis of the plant has not yet been finalized. This data also allows the
recipients to become familiarized with the orders of magnitude and to relate
to the main components and traces of impurities that could be critical. It also
provides for a quick check of the overall material balance; it is surprising
how many errors have been discovered at this stage, due to inconsistency
in the basic assumptions made by different people at the various points of
their interactions while the project was put together.
The essential quality requirements for each of the product streams should
be discussed in detail at this point, since this is one of the main objectives
to be achieved. These requirements could be in the chemical composition
(main components or maximum levels of specific impurities) or physical
properties (color of solution, crystal size, solid microstructure), or even the
final packaging. The importance of each of these items for marketing and
sales should be emphasized and understood.
The possible options and variations (random or seasonal) in the source
of each of the raw materials and of any fuel used should also be discussed,
to explain or justify the choice made in the basis of design. In many industrial
cases, important parameters in the raw materials composition change in the
two to three years that may have passed between the process freeze and the
plant start-up.
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The detailed description of each of the waste streams (if any), as it leaves
the plant, after any compulsory waste treatment included in the plants
scope, should be an important part of the process package. The temporary
level of objectionable impurities in such streams may possibly jump by
orders of magnitude due to operational errors, and such fluctuations should
be evaluated and taken into account. There should be at least one acceptable
form of disposal of each of the waste streams. If there are several disposal
options, the final choice is a matter to be worked out by the project team
during the detailed engineering phase, in relation to the local conditions and
regulations and to the associated costs.

A1.3 Division of the process into sections as illustrated in

a block diagram
The next step in the preparation of the process package is the division of the
black box into functional sections, connected by numbered streams. These
different sections and interconnecting streams can be usefully represented
in a block diagram (see typical example in Figure 5.1). Each section is also
given a formal name, defining its prevailing chemical mechanism (i.e.,
gasliquid reaction, liquidliquid extraction, evaporation, crystallization,
drying, etc.). These formal names will be used in all the project documents
and later by the plant staff for many years, so one should think carefully
before freezing them.
The exact definition of each section is important for efficient process
design, but this can be complex, as there may be different acceptable divisions.
In any case, a careful analysis is needed to arrive at a reasonable number of
sections, as many people may have to work with these definitions for many
years. In this context, a section is a definite part of the process in which the
flow-rates and compositions of the exit streams are determined uniquely by:
The flow-rates and compositions of the entering streams
The operating conditions controlled by the operator (i.e., the temperature, pressure, residence time, reflux ratio, circulation velocities, etc.)
Process streams do not always pass from one section to another in a
forward direction only. In many equilibrium-controlled processes, there are
great advantages to recycling some streams in the backward direction, and
sometimes this is an absolute necessity. A well-known example of this principle is the reflux stream from the condenser to the top of the rectification/distillation column, but the same principle can be applied effectively
to most equilibrium-controlled processes. The exact return point of each
recycle stream could be critical and could determine whether there needs to
be division into more sections.
In certain other processes, the black box does include an internal
stream circulating between the different sections, which hardly gets outside,
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except for unwanted losses. This is typical, for example, in solvent extraction
processes, in which a relatively large solvent stream circulates in a closed
loop. Other examples are the mercury loop in a chlorine-soda plant and the
mother-liquor loop in a salt purification plant.
A buffering tank volume may be needed for averaging the fluctuations
of certain streams passing from one section to another. In semibatch processes, which, despite their old-fashioned connotations, are still necessary
and useful in specific cases, some of the sections fluctuate on-off and require
buffering before and after, so that the other sections can be operated
continuously, in more or less steady state. In some other processes, the
composition of a raw material may fluctuate and despite all process control
efforts, the output streams from certain sections receiving such raw material
need to be blended and averaged before proceeding.
All these aspects should be discussed explicitly at this stage of the
process package preparation, in connection to the block diagram, to bridge
between the theoretical steady-state ideal and the real-life necessities.

A1.4 Separate discussions for each section

4.1 There should be a detailed description of the prevailing conditions,
successive and overall chemical reactions, and the physical changes
or separations obtained, with particular emphasis on the critical
items. In this description, it is important to convey exactly:
How each of these reactions or separations is controlled
Which are the controlling parameters (for example, temperature,
pressure, reactant ratio, velocity, residence time)
How a change in the magnitude of any of the controlling parameters would affect the final result
4.2 A process flow-sheet drawing, which is the most recent frozen revision of the preliminary flow-sheet discussed in Chapter 6 , with all
the numbered equipment, pipes, valves, and instruments essential
for the understanding of the operation of the section. This process
flow-sheet drawing is the translation of the process block diagram
(referred to above) and the chemical mechanisms concepts into the
usual chemical engineering methodology and into the chemical
plants practice. This document should be clear also to the nonchemical engineers and technicians who will be working on the
detailed design and plant construction and should include also the
systematic tag-numbering of all pieces of equipment and all main
streams, which will then be used as references for all future work.
4.3 A list of all the operating variables, which can be controlled by the
operator in order to obtain the desired results.
4.4 Any design data available, from tests, publications, or internal correlation, on the process behavior or equipment operation. This design data should also include the physical properties of each stream
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(specific gravity, specific heat, viscosity, vapor pressure) in the specific operating conditions and the kinetics of the reaction as a function of the operating variables.

A1.5 Material and heat balances

5.1 Following the discussion of the process design for all the sections,
any modeling that may have already been done should be presented
and discussed, together with all assumptions and data sources. Ideally, a computer model is available and can be readily used to deliver
reliable tabulated material and heat balances. But generally for a new
process under development as discussed above, the preparation of
such a model is generally not of the highest priority and it may be
available only if, by chance, a modeling specialist is on the team.
5.2 Preliminary material and heat balances of all the significant components
in all the streams should be prepared on spreadsheets by the usual
trial-and-error methods, and included in the process package (together with all assumptions and data sources), clearly marked as preliminary and placed on hold (in the professional jargon). It is very
important to emphasize that, due to the possible gap in the transfer
of the projects working leadership from the promoters to the engineering company, the inclusion of such numerical tables in the process package should be considered for illustration purposes mainly. It
will be the responsibility of the engineering company, and one of
their first tasks, to check and confirm the numerical accuracy of these
tables before making further use of them. The process modeling
effort, which is no longer on the critical path, should then be continued either by the engineering company (if it is within the scope of
their contract), or by a specialist consultant. The resulting comprehensive model will be used later in the final optimization of the
process operation.

A1.6 Equipment choices

6.1 A preliminary list of all major pieces of equipment, with their tagnumber, formal name, budget installed cost, and possible suppliers,
should be prepared on a suitable spreadsheet and included in the
process package (see typical example in Table 7.4). This preliminary
equipment list is a very important working tool, which is started
by the development team on the basis of the different sections of
the process flow-sheet, but which will have to be worked out by
the engineering company in many formats for many purposes:
For different types of equipment
For different suppliers
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6.2

6.3

6.4

6.5

For different geographical areas in the plant

For piping connections
For different materials of construction
As a basis for the investment cost sheet
To sum-up the electrical drives, etc. Note in this regard that a
separate list should be started for those electrical consumers that
need to be connected to the electrical emergency supply, as this
information becomes available.
The preliminary selection of the type, model, and sizing of each major
piece of equipment should be presented in the process package, based
on a functional analysis as quantified in the average material balances.
A specification sheet would be opened for each major piece of equipment, in which this selection should be recorded, together with all
the facts related to its function, a detailed explanation of all the
possible options for its type, model, size, and any other important
specification item, for the selection of the materials of construction,
and the estimated electrical requirement, and the reasons for the recommended choice.
A preliminary list of potential suppliers for the recommended equipment type. This list is by no means exhaustive at this stage. In certain
cases, when only one preferred supplier can be recommended for a
major piece of equipment, the situation will be simplified but also
more complicated: this creates a critical dependence and many corporations are opposed to such a situation, as a matter of principle.
In certain cases, the new process may require the development and
design of a new or modified type of reactor or separator that cannot
be procured readily from an established supplier. This requirement
has been identified before, but has constituted an additional load on
the development effort and has possibly already been dealt in a pilot
program. In this case, a large part of the process package should be
devoted to the analysis of:
The function of the new equipment
The pilot results
The design principles
The sizing calculations
The exact recommendations for the final industrial design
As an additional result of this presentation of the major equipment,
the plant space needed for the recommended choices (area and
height) can be indicated for the preliminary layout studies.

A1.7 Services
7.1 These services are essential and major cost factors, although they are
often considered by the R&D scientists as trivial. The options available for each service are not basically different for a new process
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than for a conventional one. However, the choices and the options
are much wider before the freezing of the novel process and/or
of the implementation site. Those generally needed in most chemical plants are:
Electricity for drives and sometimes also for heating
Cooling water
Saturated steam at several pressures (live or condensing)
Compressed air
Fuel of different kinds
Occasionally, heating oil, nitrogen and/or oxygen are also needed
Optimization studies to achieve the cheapest, most convenient solution could make a decisive difference for the economic value of the new
process. Often the development team is able to start such studies but
not complete them, as the economic factors have not been clarified
before the process package is presented. If there still are attractive
prospects, these should be described clearly in the process package.
7.2 The nominal consumption rate of each service needed for steady-state
operation can be calculated directly from the material and heat balances presented above, and from the equipment list in the previous
section for the electrical power. Those average consumption rates are
used for the (annual-basis) economic calculations, but higher design
quantities should be provided to cover the instantaneous rates (i.e.,
for starting or stopping, or for emergencies). The process package
can only provide general guidance on these design quantities, and
they may only be finalized after all the detailed information is obtained from the various equipment suppliers. So, one of the first
assumptions (placed on hold) in the detailed process engineering
would relate the maximum delivery rate needed for each service.
These assumptions are generally based on past experience and the
intuition of the leading process engineer, but they should be confirmed as soon of possible so that the services supply can be finalized.
7.3 Fuel could be needed either for direct use in a combustion device
incorporated into the process, or for the dedicated production of
steam or other heating medium in the new plant. Several types and
qualities of fuel can be considered, including coal, liquid petroleum
fractions, or natural methane gas. In addition to the obvious considerations of delivery cost and convenience, a decisive factor in the
choice of fuel will be the impurities in the flue gases discharged from
the stack (SO2/SO3, nitric oxides, metallic dust, and so on) and/or
of fly-ashes. If local ecological restrictions require intensive cleaning
installations, this may cancel the advantages of a cheaper fuel.
7.4 Condensable saturated steam (at different pressures), or another heating medium (oil) is used in heat exchangers. In some cases, it may
be purchased from the sites central services, or from an adjacent
producer. If not, a steam system should be installed with all the
ancillaries, such as the production of boiler-feed water. In many cases,
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7.5

7.6

7.7

7.8

7.9

when large quantities of lower temperature heating are needed, there

could be a decisive advantage in a synergetic combination with a
plant that has a large excess of waste heat. This is of course in addition
to any possible internal saving, for example by the use of multipleeffects evaporators or vapor recompression.
Cooling water is generally produced in the new plants own cooling
tower. The minimum supply temperature (usually of the order of 26 to
30C) depends on the climatic conditions of the location, and it could
be an important limitation in the basic design of the process. For example,
in many processes that include large-scale evaporation and condensation under vacuum, if the cooling water is not cold enough, it
becomes necessary to use much more expensive, artificially chilled
water, and this can make a significant difference. It may sometimes
be received from a nearby sea or river at a lower temperature and
this can be an important asset.
Electricity is generally purchased, unless the new demand will be large
enough to justify the purchase of a generator. Even then, a back-up
connection to the external grid will generally be needed. Some processes also require an emergency source of electric power for safety or
damage control, as mentioned in Section A1.9 below, on safety issues.
Process water is used in all plants in relatively small quantities and
in many different specifications (quality, purity). Generally this supply is not a significant consideration, but it could become very significant in certain hydrometallurgical or mineral projects, and in
desert areas. In most plants, a fire-fighting water supply and rig must
also be supplied from a reliable source, with an adequate back-up to
meet possible emergencies.
Compressed air is generally produced in the new plant at different
supply pressures. A small quantity is handled separately for pneumatic control at assured pressures, but the larger quantities are generally at a lower supply pressure for large aerobic fermentors, air
mixing of pulps, direct-contact drying in closed vessels, etc. In certain
processes, it could be a major consumption and production cost.
Oxygen and/or nitrogen as inert gas, if needed, can be purchased in
certain cases, or produced on site by an air separation installation.

A1.8 Materials of construction: options and preferences

The choice of the materials of construction that are in direct contact with each
of the process streams, which must resist any corrosion or erosion action, can
be critical to assure a long plant life. A large choice of sophisticated materials
is now available, i.e., different kinds of metallic alloys, polymers, glass, ceramics, refractory bricks, etc. One of the main considerations is that some of these
materials are quite expensive and involve a large investment.
Options for each of the streams should be indicated in the process package,
together with any relevant factual information (previous experience, tests, and
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experts recommendations). However, the choice of the least-expensive-butreliable option should be an essential part of the project managers responsibility and this should be indicated clearly in the process package, even in
those cases when it may be considered trivial and well known.
Should there be any doubt on choice of construction material for a
particular stream at the time of reviewing the process package, this reservation should be indicated (hold). Thus, the engineering company will not
make any binding commitment on this item, until it is further clarified and
confirmed with experts or by corrosion tests, and the hold removed by
the process manager.

A1.9 Safety aspects

Those who work in the chemical industry routinely encounter potential
safety hazards, including fire, explosion, burning, poisoning, radioactivity,
thermal or visual radiation, and air or water contamination.
Nevertheless, it is the responsibility of the process developers to indicate
clearly in the process package if there could be new or unusual hazards
in the novel process. They should also provide any available data relevant
to the evaluation of the extent of the known safety hazards, such as data
on the ignition point, flash point, explosive ratio, volatile components or
gaseous emissions, poisonous or carcinogenic effect on humans, for different streams.
Engineering companies that design chemical plants are generally experienced and have their own experts in this field. The design and specification
of the provisions needed for preventing such hazards (whether conventional or emphasized in the process package) in the new plant, and eventually for controlling them, is a definite part of the detailed engineering work.
This work may be guided by specialist consultants, within the framework
of external statutory regulations and insurance requirements. This specification is also generally linked to the ecological permitting procedures in effect
in the particular area.

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