PROCESS FLOW DIAGRAM:

POLYETHYLENE

By: Cameron Shaw

Daniel Couto
Daniel LeClair
Leigh Bedford
Nicole Rich-Portelli
 Process Overview

Compressor: initial compression of ethylene feed to 1500 bar

Hyper-compressor: compensates for pressure loss in recycle
stream and outlet feeds to restore reactor inlet pressure to 2000
bar
Reactor: Plug Flow Reactor (PFR) inside a cooling jacket
T = 70C, P = 2000bar
Separator: main source of pressure loss
polymer solids fall to bottom and are sent to extruder
unreacted ethylene recycled back to reactor
PROCESS OVERVIEW
Major safety concerns are around the plug flow
reactor:
Free radical polymerization of ethylene to
polyethylene is a highly exothermic reaction
Converts gaseous ethylene into viscous
polyethylene melt
Thus many constraints must be taken for a
process that aims to be effective and safe:
reactor temperature (prevent unideal and
dangerous temperatures)
reactor pressure (prevent pressure increases and
decreases in reactor)
flow rate in reactor (prevent unideal flow rates)
HAZOP
HAZOP LOW TEMPERATURE
HAZOP HIGH TEMPERATURE
HAZOP LOW PRESSURE
HAZOP HIGH PRESSURE
HAZOP LOW FLOW
HAZOP HIGH FLOW
HAZOP REVERSE FLOW
HAZOP - FINAL
 CHEM ENG 4N04
SDL Project - The Production of
Formalin from Methanol

Group B4
Matt Galachiuk - 0752265
Kyle Kovacs - 0849889
Sana Shamsher - 0456846
Angela Zeinstra 0842631
Honorable Mention: Jervis Pereira
Process Overview and Principles
 Reaction Kinetics and Principles

CHOH + O2 CHO + HO H RXN = -156 kJ/mol

CHOH CHO + H H RXN = 85.0 kJ/mol

Operating temperature: 900 to 950K

- resulting selectivity?
- resulting conversion?

Operating pressure: atmospheric

Catalyst: silver

Figure: G. A. Bowmaker, G. I. N. Waterhouse, J. B. Metson.

Mechanism and active sites for the partial oxidation of
methanol to formaldehyde over an electrolytic silver
catalyst. Applied Catalysis A: General, vol. 265, no. 1,
pp.85-101, June 2004.
 Catalyst Regeneration

Frequency of replacement: every 3 years

Frequency of regeneration: every 1.5 years

Process to regenerate catalyst: flood with cesium salt solution

- catalyst remains in reactor

Volume of catalyst needed: 2 m3

- based on mass balances and a linearly deactivating catalyst

Mass of catalyst needed: 21 000 kg

- based on a density of 10 490 kg/ m3
 Production Losses

Two shut downs in a 3 year period (lifetime of catalyst)

Shutdowns last for 1-2 weeks each

1st shutdown: full maintenance, catalyst regeneration

2nd shutdown: full maintenance, catalyst replacement

ITEM FREQUENCY COST

Lost production Twice in 3 years $ 400 000
Maintenance Twice in 3 years $ 160 000
Replacing catalyst Once in 3 years $ 10 000 000
Regeneration Once in 3 years negligible
TOTAL $ 11 120 000
 Class Activity HAZOP Analysis

Guide Existing
Deviation Causes Consequences Recommendations
Word Protection

Level in separator
High
is too high

Level in separator
Low
is too low

There is no liquid
None
in the separator
Class Activity HAZOP Analysis
 Janine Ho
Jannany Srichandra
Claudia Chan
Kushlani Wijesekera
Chris Paslawski
November 22, 2012
[Diagram provided by the Burlington Water Purification Plant]
Overall Scope

[Simplified from P&IDs provided by the Burlington Water Purification Plant]

 Flocculation and Sedimentation
Sludge to waste treatment

Polymer

Recycled
microsand
Sulfuric
Acid

Alum To ozone contactor

Raw water
from low lift

Drain Drain Drain

Fresh microsand Drain

[Simplified from P&IDs provided by the Burlington Water Purification Plant]

 Ozone Contactors To Ozone
Destructors

Hydrogen Peroxide Sodium

Bisulphite

Ozone recycle

Settled water
(From Settling
tanks) To Filter

Ozone

Ozone Quenching
Ozone Contacting
[Simplified from P&IDs provided by the Burlington Water Purification Plant]
Operability:
Requirements:
90% of 113ML reservoir capacity
Water Quality constraints set by Ministry of
Environment of Ontario:
Turbidity
pH
Fluoride ion concentration
Colour
Ozone
Mircoorganisms: Crypto, Giarda, Choliform Bacteria
Operating Window-Turbidity
0.35

0.3

0.25
Turbidity [NTU]

0.2

0.15

0.1

0.05

0
0 50 100 150 200
Output Flow rate [ML/day]
Operating Window -[Fluoride]
1
Concentration of Fluoride [mg/L]

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0
0 50 100 150 200
Output Flow Rate [ML/day]
Reliability
Reliability =

Probability of failure =

Availability =
 Back-Up Equipment

Ozone contactors (4 total, 2 currently in use)

3 Pairs each of low and high-lift pumps

(55, 75, 97 ML/day)

By-pass valve for raw water

Diesel-run generator in case of power outage

Safety and Control
Operation is controlled by the SCADA (Supervisory
Control and Data Acquisition) system:
Centralized monitoring and control for multiple inputs
and outputs.
Collects field data, transfers this data to a central
computer through controllers (eg. PLC), and then
displays information to the operator on a screen.
 P&ID for Settling Section
Sludge to waste treatment

Polymer

LSHH
Recycled
microsand
Turb
pH

To ozone contactor

Raw water
from low lift

Drain Drain Sand Drain

Fresh microsand Drain

 Sludge to waste treatment

LSHH
Recycled
microsand
Turb
pH

To ozone contactor

LC
Raw water
from low lift LAH

Drain Drain Drain

FO

Fresh
microsand Drain
Polymer
 Sludge to waste treatment

LSHH
Recycled
microsand
Turb
pH

To ozone contactor
LC Turb
Raw water
from low lift LAH

Turb C

Drain Drain Drain

FO

Fresh
microsand Polymer Drain

Recycle Stream