Making and Importance of Process P & ID (Piping

& Instrumentation Diagram)

Introduction:
The successful conversion of a conceptual idea into actual execution of process industry is
the basic aim of any process engineer .Normally a project passes through various phases ,
viz., basic engineering , detailed engineering equipment fabrication /procurement ,
civil/structural work , erection and commissioning .The conceptual idea , either from the
process development cell (for new processes) of from the marketing engineer (as per the
customer) requirement , is converted to executable documents during basic engineering
stage , and thus governs the successful completion of the project.

Piping & Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID) is one of the important basic engineering
documents in the form of drawing , which truly represents the process plant It shows
pipelines interconnecting all equipment , instruments , control systems, valves , etc. for the
completeness of the process plant .Since detailed engineering work for any process plant
depends more on the P & ID , its correctness and completeness is very much essential .Any
wrong information provided in the P&ID at the initial stage may to a big disaster or may entail
heavy expenses later .Hence , great attention is required for the
preparation of error free P&ID .Good quality P& ID may deistically cut the engineering man
hour requirement for the successful completion of a project .In this article, the details for the
preparation of process P & ID are discussed.

Normally process plants have static equipment like storage tanks, columns , heat
exchangers, etc. and rotating equipment like pumps, blowers, etc. These equipment are
connected to each other by a complicated pipeline network for the completeness of the
process. Measuring instruments like thermocouple for temperature measurement , and
controlling devices like temperature control valve , are mounted on the equipment or
pipelines for operating the plant at desired conditions. Although a single step process like
blending of two compounds can be represented in a single Piping & Instrumentation Design
(P & ID) , a process having a large number of processing steps like reaction , filtration ,
drying , etc. would need to have many P & IDs for the complete representation of the
process plants .For ease of understanding , the complete process plant is functionally
divided into various units .For example a reactor with the other related equipment , pipelines
and instruments required for carrying out a reaction process may be covered in one unit
while filtration operation my be specified with another unit number accordingly the individual
units.

In a big chemical process industry, the processing units are spread over a large area
.Although two different units may be far away from each other they are connected by
pipelines or the continuous flow of fluid from one unit to another Interconnection between
two units is represented by “Interconnecting” P & IDs Similarly, another engineering
document, “Utility P & IDs , provides information regarding the distribution of utilities like
water ,steam fuel etc. in the required locations. This article deals only with preparation of
“Process P & ID” .
Process P & ID provides detailed information of the process plant like type of equipment ,
the details of pipelines , i.e. , size material , identification number, types of instruments and
controlling devices etc. Operation, start-up, maintenance, safety and aesthetic aspects
(discussed below ) are mainly considered during the preparation of process P & ID .

Operation
Process P & ID is prepared following the operational sequence of the process .For example ,
say a process needs step like chemical reaction , followed by filtration and drying of the
product .Process P & ID shows the corresponding equipment like reactor, filter and dryer in
the same order . All equipment is to be shown connected with pipelines, fittings and
instruments necessary to carry out the process . Clear understanding of the process is very
much essential for the preparation of a good quality process.

Process P & ID provides detailed information of the process plant like type of
equipment , the details of pipelines , i.e., size material , identification number , types
of instruments and controlling devices , etc.

P & ID Elevation of all equipment are normally are normally fixed in the prior stage
.Equipment in the Process P & ID are shown at different levels with marked elevations .For
example , head tank for reactant is shown above the reactor in Process P & ID for
representing the gravity flow of reactant from head tank to the reactor .Likewise , the other
equipment like critical pipelines , instruments , control valves etc., is shown at the
appropriate elevations .Normally , heavy rotating equipment like pumps , compressors etc.,
is located at , lower elevation i.e. ground floor .Therefore , rotating equipment is placed at a
lower in the Process P & ID also .

Start-up
Start-up of any process plant may need some additional steps which are not required for the
normal run. Special care should be taken for such steps at the initial stage of P & ID
preparation .For example safety seals in the critical gaseous lines need to be filled with liquid
before commissioning of the plant .Valve with hose connection is shown in the process P &
ID for liquid seal filling .Critical equipment is by passed using temporary pipeline connections
during water test run to avoid contamination .Process P & ID is marked with such types of
requirements for the plant start-up.

Maintenance
Maintenance is an important aspects to be looked into during the preparation of Process P &
ID .For example , electric hoist required for lifting heavy equipment is shown above it.
Bypass line with regulating valve for control valve is provided for talking it out for
maintenance without affecting the running plant. Some times it is marked in the P & ID to
provide sufficient room for cutout in the floor above the vertical tube bundle from the heat
exchanger body . If such type of information is not provided initially , it may be missed out in
the various engineering stages and may lead to problems at the later
stages . To avoid such possibilities, Process P &ID , should be critically examined from the
maintenance point of view during preparation stage .

Safety
For the safe operation of any process plant , safety measures cannot be overlooked .Hence ,
the preparation of Process P & ID needs the attention of safety aspects also .HAZOP study
is carried out keeping in view each and every safety and operation step .For example , the
exhaust of obnoxious gases near the plant operators is harmful to their health .Such gases
are diffused in the atmosphere at a higher elevation .These safe elevations are normally
marked in the process P & ID Safety interlocks are provided to ensure safe operation of the
process plant .For example, failure of a running pump for a critical operation may disturb the
complete process plant . To avoid this situation , the stand -by pump should be started
without any time lag .- Necessary interlock is shown in the process P & ID .Some metallic
pipelines and equipment handling hot fluids are insulated for body protection .Here heat
saving may not be an important criteria for the selection of insulating , but it is essential for
the operator’s safety .
Such safety requirements are clearly marked in the P & ID .Requirement of safety valves in
pressurized system, minimum flow lines for centrifugal pumps , high and low alarms etc. ,
are to be critically seen during the preparation of Process P & ID .

Aesthetics
Though it is not concerned with the plant operation, aesthetic look of process P & ID is
important for better presentation of the document and ease of understanding for the user
.Complex presentation of the pipelines, i.e., lots of cross-crossing , may even lead to wrong
pipeline routing and hence due attention should be paid to the aesthetic aspect during the
preparation of process P & ID.

Process P & ID Preparation

The following documents are essentially required for the preparation.
Making of any Process P & ID

1. Process Flow Diagram (PFD)

2. Equipment List

3. Fluid List

4. Equipment layout

5. Interlock Description

6. Vendor information (for related equipment).

Details of these documents are given in the Annexure. Checklists for vessel,pump, pipeline
and instrument are prepared and presented in figs1 to 4.These checklist are self-explanatory
and include all essential information to avoid any pitfalls during the preparation of process P
& ID.

Although experience plays a major role systematic approach is equally essential for
producing error-free process P & ID. Table 1 highlights the major steps for the preparation of
any process P & ID.

Typical Example

A hypothetical case is considered here for better understanding of the process P & ID
preparation .Before proceeding further , let us first understand about the overall process .

Process Description
Process flow sheet for the selected case is shown in fig.5 In this process the main products
is produced by reacting the reactants ‘A’ and ‘B’ in a batch reactor (jacketed) 03 R001
A/B/C/D (four numbers) fitted with agitator. Initially fixed amount of reactant ‘B’ is pumped
using transfer pump 02 P001 A/B (one operating + one standby) to the reactor from the
storage tank 01T001 .In parallel, reactant ‘A’ is pumped using transfer pump 01P001 A/B
(one operating + one standby) from storage tank 01T001 to the over head tank 03T001 .
Prefixed amount of reactant ‘A’ is fed to the reactor at a constant flow rate during the course
of the reaction . Exothermic heat of reaction is removed by cooling water circulating in the
jacket of the reactor to maintain the reaction temperature .Homogeneity of the reaction mass
is maintained by using an agitator .
Generated gases are continuously removed from the reactor and fed to the waste gas
scrubber (packed bed column) 05C001 .Solvent is fed counter currently to the scrubber for
absorbing the generated obnoxious gases .Once the batch reaction time is over , product
slurry after cooling is transferred to storage tank 04T001 . Later product slurry is pumped by
slurry is pumped by slurry pump 04P001A/B (one operating + one standby) to the filter unit
06F001 where the liquid is filtered out and filtered out and filter cake is washed with water
Reactant ‘A’ is recovered in the Recovery unit 07U001 from the filtered liquid and recycled
back to the process .Finally product cake is dried in dryer 08H001, pulverized 09A001 and
packed for shipment .

Process P & ID Preparation

The enclosed area marked in the process flow sheet (fig 5) has been considered for the
preparation of the Process P & ID .Process P & ID (fig.6) is developed based on the steps
discussed in table 1 and checklist presented in fig 1 to 4 Line sizing is done for the minimum
pressure drop at low cost piping, i.e. economic size of pipeline (this is beyond the scope of
this article) .All equipment, instruments and lines are numbered for their identification .For
example, 03R001 A represents .Reactor –A : 50-FA-03-05-XA1 represents line for reactant
‘A’ Intel to the reactor (where line size is 50 NB , fluid code is FA, unit number is 03, line
number is 05 and pipe class code is X A1). All instrument Society of America standards .