of a process 2. Choice of Process a.The choice o f process can be made at the library an or laboratory research level. b.Consultation among the designers, the research an development staff and the legal department Continuous vs. Batch Processing Selection based purely on economic reasons. By operation on a continuous 24-hr/day basis, smaller-size, less expensive processing equipment is used. Process operation is steady state and easier to control by automatic instrumentation than is batch operation. Thus, capital investment, fixed charges, and labor requirements are minimized. Batch operation is feasible in such cases as : 1. Small-volume output of relatively expensive products when sales demand is not steady, or when the same equipment can be used for several processes of this mixture.
2. When batch equipment from an abandoned process is available at a low transfer cost to the current project. 3. When continuous process equipment has not been satisfactorily developed and batch-process equipment has been satisfactorily demonstrated. 4. When yields and quality of products cannot be achieved bay continuous processing because of such things as very low reaction rates and correspondingly long residence times in the processing equipment.
Continuous vs. Batch Processing a. Around the clock operation : three shifts of operation per day, seven days a week, using four shifts of labor, with or without scheduled maintenance shutdown. b. Five-day operation : one, two, or three shifts of operation and labor; stand-by conditions on weekends and holidays; overtime if production demands must the temporarily increased; maintenance done during periods of non operation. c. Scheduled shutdown : periods up to 2 years or annually for 2 weeks (inspection, repair and replacement work on the plant). Shifts and Operating Time Schedules. Shifts and Operating Time Schedules. d. Unscheduled shutdowns : lack of raw materials, labor strikes, failure of utilities such, as power and water, fire and explosions, and extreme weather conditions, or most probably equipment failure. e.The names of shifts encountered in the chemical industry are : a. First or day shift (e.g. 7 A.M. to 3 P.M.) b. Second, evening or swing shift (e.g. 3 P.M. to 11 P.M.) c. Third, midnight or graveyard (e.g. 11 P.M. to 7 A.M.) a. Raw material specifications b. Reaction conditions c. Characteristics of product layer in reactor d. Characteristics of aqueous or gas from reactor e. Treatment conditions after reactor f. Solubility data g. Distribution coefficient h. Volatile relative or vapour pressure.
Process Design Project Required : Process Design Project Required : i. Specifications of product and by-product j. Heat of reaction (heat of formation, heat of combustion, heat of solubility, etc) k. Average specific heat data l. Vapor-pressure data m.Temperature at critical points n. Available stream-line temperature and pressure