Your Role: You are a manager for Rice

Utility Production, and you missed the

meeting with the consultants design team.
Youve been given their PowerPoint file.
You have to let the other two managers on
the committee know what you think of the
proposed design.
Sample Chemical Engineering
Student Team PowerPoint for
Analysis
Note: Throughout, orange slides like this
one will ask you questions to help you pick
out things you want to remember about
designing team PowerPoints.
For more help or background information: Making Logical Technical
Arguments PPT; Team Presentations in Chemical and Biomolecular
Engineering PPT
Sample Chemical Engineering
Student Team PowerPoint for
Analysis
Acetone Production Plant
Design

December 2, 20__

Student Team A
From Ace Consultants
Project Motivation

Rice UP - acetone requirement for
increased Anphal production

Maintain ROI at higher production rate

Project Goals

Increase Acetone Production by 30%

Minimize Plant Costs
Operating costs
Additional capital purchasing costs

1. Reactor and Stripping Column
1. Reactor and Stripping Column
1. Reactor and Stripping Column
Sample Chemical Engineering
Student Team PowerPoint for
Analysis
What was the point of the process
flow diagram you just saw? Is this
the teams recommended
design?
What is the team trying to tell you
about their work?
Are you impressed by their design
so far? Why is it good?
Go back for a second look.
What should the heading be?
In regard to the previous slide:

2. Acetone Purification

3. Isopropyl Alcohol Recovery Column
Process Specifications
99.9% Pure Acetone

90% Pure Hydrogen

TOC<50 ppm in Waste Water Stream

Cost Analysis

$243,000 /yr profit from given base case

~1 per pound of acetone product profit
margin

If these are the specifications, what
criteria will you be looking for in the
teams design?
What does the team need to show you
to convince you the design will do
what is needed?
Did the team meet these requirements
in its design solution? How do you
know?
In regard to the previous slide:
Modeling Issue
UNIFAC VLE Model does not accurately
predict x-y diagram at high acetone
concentrations

NRTL is best property package for
acetone/water binary system
Based on DeChema VLE data
Options
1) Use extractive distillation methods

2) Purchase 39MM lb acetone (open
market)

3) Produce 97.6% acetone
1) Extractive Distillation
3 Solvents
1,2 dimethoxyethane (Diglyme)
Acetonitrile
N-Methylpyrrolidone (NMP)

Case Study: Diglyme
Prohibitive Cost
$6.765 MM /yr to purchase Diglyme
Additional Column
How do you know the cost of extractive
distillation Is prohibitive?
Why is the Diglyme case of interest?
Is an additional column a solution or
part of the cost?
Is extractive distillation theh usual
method of making acetone?

In regard to the previous slide:
2) Purchase Acetone
Purchase 39 MM lb per year acetone for
$10.92 MM

Shut down acetone production

Minimize investment losses

How does the team know the cost will
be this much?

What has been the cost trend for
acetone in the past?

How much of a loss will be avoided?

How do you know?


In regard to the previous slide:
3) Produce 97.6% Acetone

Need to add 3 heat exchangers

Renegotiate deal?

Break-even point
In regard to the previous slide:

What about the break-even
point?
What would it cost to produce
acetone at this purity?
Is that purity acceptable?
What is this slide telling us about
the option?
What do these three bullet
points have in common?
Recommendations

Buy acetone off open market

Dissolve acetone production facility

Recover maximum amount of lost $$
Conclusions
Adjustment of property package identified
separation difficulty

Possible solutions
Extractive distillation
Purchase acetone on the open market
Renegotiate contract for lower acetone purity

Purchase acetone on open market is best






In regard to the previous slide:

Why put the conclusion after the
recommendation?
TAKE AWAY POINTS
After viewing this PowerPoint
What are your take-away lessons that
you will apply to your own PowerPoint
next time?
This team puts its conclusions at the end and did
not use informative headings on its process flow
diagrams. The headings do not outline the
argument.
A pitch that presented the recommendation first
and gave evidence of calculations to support
claims would have been more persuasive.
The PPT cant reinforce the oral message or
persuade readers on its own.
For more help: Making Logical Technical Arguments PPT; Team
Presentations in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering PPT
Notes