Vessels: flash drums, surge tanks and accumulators

There are a variety of places that vessels are used in chemical plants and oil refineries, e.g.:

Flash drums. Vessels into which flow a mixture of liquid and vapor. The goal is to
separate the vapor and liquid. For design calculations it is normally assumed that the
vapor and liquid are in equilibrium with one another and that the vessel is adiabatic (no
heat lost or gained). One must simultaneously satisfy a material balance, a heat balance,
and equilibrium. In HYSYS/UniSim, this can be done using either a Separator or a
Tank.

Surge tanks. These are storage tanks between units, and can serve a variety of
purposes. They can dampen fluctuations in flow rate, composition or temperature.
They can allow one unit to be shut down for maintenance without shutting down the
entire plant. Use a Tank in HYSYS/UniSim.

Accumulators. These are storage tanks following distillation column condensers. For
partial condensers, this flow may be a mixture of vapor and liquid. The outlet flow may
be regulated by a level controller in order to avoid the tank either flooding (liquid out
the top) or going dry (vapor out the bottom). Use a Separator or Tank in
HYSYS/UniSim.

Sizing of vessels
Two classic works are accessible here: Vessels and Vessels2. These are the basis of the
HYSYS vessel sizing utility. There are two methods to access this. Double click on the vessel
icon in your pfd. On Rating Sizing click on Quick Size. This uses the vessel sizing utility
with the default settings of L/D = 3 and 5 minutes liquid residence time. (These are the
same as in the heuristics for process vessels.) Record the volume, diameter and height. Go
to Tools, Utilities, Vessel Sizing. Make any desired changes on Design Sizing and Design
Construction. The results are at Performance Sizing Results. This utility will also estimate
costs, at Design Costing. The "Chemical Engineering Index" shown at Design Construction
and Index & "CE Fab Index" at Design Costing, Cost Equation Help are the Chemical
Engineering Plant Cost Index (CEPCI). To update to present costs, you change the index
on the Design Construction page to the current CEPCI value in Chemical Engineering
magazine.

The following additional information is courtesy of Mohammad Kabir, Technical Support

Consultant at Aspen Technology in 2005:

In the Vessel Sizing utility in HYSYS, the maximum allowable velocity is estimated
based on the steady-state results, using the Souders- Brown equation. With this velocity
known plus other info, an adequate diameter, height and volume of the separating vessel
can then be obtained. To achieve an equilibrium between different phases, an adequate
residence time for both light liquid and heavy liquid is assumed and it is then achieved by
adjusting the vessel size. The droplet size is not a factor in the equations used in our Vessel
Sizing Utility.
The Vessel Sizing utility is based on the following references (linked above):

Evans, Frank L., "Equipment Design Handbook for refineries and chemical plants Volume 2", 2nd Edition, p. 154, Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, Texas, 1980.

Watkins, R.N., "Sizing Separators and Accumulators", Hydrocarbon Processing,

November 1967, p. 253.

LLSD is meant for Liquid level shut down. You can define that value in HYSYS by
yourself. Default calculation method should be found in above references.

Updated 20 July 2009. Please email questions, comments and suggestions to W.R. Wilcox