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Plant Operation

Contents
MINIATURE PLANT ......................................................................................................................... 2
Ammonia Circulation Section ......................................................................................................... 2
Steam Generation Section (Boiler) ................................................................................................. 4
Types of Boiler ............................................................................................................................. 4
Difference between Fire and Water Tube Boiler ........................................................................ 5
Boiler Characteristics................................................................................................................... 5
Scaling.......................................................................................................................................... 7
Permanent Hardness ................................................................................................................... 7
Treatment Methods .................................................................................................................... 8
Zeolite Method ............................................................................................................................ 8
Condensate Recovery.................................................................................................................. 8
Blow Down .................................................................................................................................. 8
Boiler Efficiency ........................................................................................................................... 9
Cooling Tower Section .................................................................................................................... 9
Main Components of Cooling Tower ........................................................................................ 10
Types of Cooling Tower ............................................................................................................. 11
Instrument Air Compressing Section ............................................................................................ 14
Function of Air Compressor ...................................................................................................... 14
Piping Model ................................................................................................................................. 16
Valves ............................................................................................................................................ 16
Gate Valve ................................................................................................................................. 16
Globe Valve ............................................................................................................................... 17
Check Valves .............................................................................................................................. 17
Ball Valve ................................................................................................................................... 17
Butterfly Valve ........................................................................................................................... 17
Safety Valve ............................................................................................................................... 17

Plant Operation

MINIATURE PLANT
Description of Miniature Plant:
It is a Plant having one sided operation. It does not produce anything. It is only a
closed circuit Plant. It has five major parts. This Plant involves:

Parts of Miniature Plant:


This is a Plant consisting on five major parts which are as under:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Ammonia Circulation Section


Steam generation Section
Cooling Tower Section
Instrument Air Compressing Section
Piping Model

Ammonia Circulation Section


Circulation of Ammonia in Miniature Plant consist of Steam Generation Section,
Cooling Tower Section, anti-pollution section, instrument air compressor and blow down
tank. Reaction taking place in Ammonia Circulation Section is as under

Circulation of Ammonical Solution:


First of all NH3 Gas comes from the cylinders. It is then entered into the absorber
which is filled with up to 60% water. This water comes from upper side of the tank from
packing. This gas makes a solution with water which is known as Ammonical solution.
This solution passes through a feed pump. In this pump it is pressurized up to 3kg/cm2.
After getting the pressure it is sent to a high pressure pump where it is again
pressurized up to 50kg/cm2. Then it is sent to a High pressure vessel where Nitrogen
(N2) is also injected through a inlet of the cylinder. From this section high pressure
ammonical solution is sent to the Stripping Tower. The reaction taking place in stripping
tower is as under:

Where its pressure lowers up to 3kg/cm2, due to low pressure expansion of gases takes
place and NH3 evolves from the Ammonical Solution of it with water. This evolved

Plant Operation

ammonia is returned towards the absorption unit. To low down the temperature of the
vessel cool water is introduced from the bottom of the vessel where it is used and then
sent to the cooling tower for its reprocessing. Because of the stripping of the NH3 gas
from the stripping section the remaining solution becomes very weak ammonical
solution which goes to the water cooler, where it is cooled with the cool water coming
from the cooling water section. After the cooling of this weak ammonical solution it goes
to the NH3 absorber. This cooled ammonical solution is sprayed at its top. Now NH3
gas and N2 coming from the top of the stripping tower is injected from the bottom of the
absorber tank. In case of incomplete absorption of NH3 gas then this is sent to
antipollution section where it is converted into N2 gas and sent into air. As NH3 is so
much injurious to health so thats why it is not discharged in the air. In short this section
is used for the safe and healthy circulation of Ammonia and its solution.

Plant Operation

Steam Generation Section (Boiler)


A close tank in which water is converted into Steam under high pressure is known as
Boiler.

Types of Boiler
There are two major types of boiler which are as under:
(a) Fire Tube Boiler
(b) Water Tube Boiler

(a).Fire Tube Boiler:


Fire tube boilers are low pressure, low capacity units used mainly in small Plants. A fire
Tube boiler consists of a large steel cylinder (shell) that contains a rest of small
diameter steel tubes. Hot Combustion gases pass through the tubes and transfer heat
to the water in the shell.

Plant Operation

(b).Water Tube Boiler:


A water tube boiler is a boiler in which water circulates in the tubes. This boiler differs
from fire tube boiler in the location of water and gas flow. The water circulates through
the tubes and the hot combustion gases known as flue gases flow through the furnace.
The hot gases contact the tube sand transfer heat to the water. The cross sectional
area of water tubes is much smaller than that the shell of five tubes boiler. Thus water
tubes boiler can handle higher steam pressure and temperature than fire tube boiler
When the fuel burns in the boiler following reactions take place:

(These reactions are of Complete Combustion of fuel. These gases are shifted towards
stack)

Incomplete Combustion:
Incomplete combustion of fuel causes due to the insufficient amount of air for fuel to
burn.

Fuel is wasted due to incomplete combustion.

Difference between Fire and Water Tube Boiler:


1. Fire tube Boiler Occupies less space than water tube boiler.
2. Fire tube Boiler is less costly to purchase and install.
3. Water tube boiler is more efficient than Fire tube boiler.
4. Water tube boiler is much safe than Fire tube boiler.
5. Explosion danger is more in water tube boiler because pressure is exerted on small
diameter tubes rather than on a large shell
.

Boiler Characteristics:
Capacity:
Capacity refers to the steam or heat output of a boiler. The term used to express
capacity depends on the size of the boiler. Boiler manufacture indicates the capacities

Plant Operation

of medium and large boilers in pounds of steam per hour (at a specified temperature
and pressure).Capacity of small boilers is expand in term of total square feet of heating.
One boiler horse power equals to a heat output of 33475 Btu/hr. If a boiler produces
more steam than the rated capacity can be given as percentage of rating percentage
equals the actual capacity divided by rated capacity
Pressure:
A boiler is classified by the pressure at which it operates. Fire tube boilers pressure
generally ranges between 50-250Psi.Water tube boiler pressures can be as high as
5000 Psi
Duty:
Duty is the steam demand made on a boiler by the heating process. The duty required
of a boiler determines the load it carries according to design capacity. A boiler can
operate at minimum normal or maximum load.
Economizers and Preheaters:
The devices increase the capacity and efficiency of a boiler by recovering heat from flue
gases. An economizer to a nest of small tubes placed at the flue gases outlet of
the boiler. Feed water at low temperature of the boiler flows through the tubes and
gases and absorb heat from the hot gases passing around the outside of the tubes.
Thus an economizer lowers steam cost because less fuel is needed to heat feed water
to its boiling point. An air pre heater uses the heat from the flue gases to warm
incoming air that will support combustion. A pre heater is usually placed between the
economizer at the stack.

Why Steam is Ideal for Carrying Heat Energy:


In heating water it takes 1 Kilocalorie to rise the temperature of 1 kg of water through it.
It takes an additional of 539 kilocalorie to change 1 kg of water to steam. This amount of
heat is then stored in the steam. When steam condenses the heat energy is given off.
Water is also used to carry heat energy because of following reasons:
1.It is easily available.
2. It is cheaper.
3. It has an ideal behavior.
4. It is found on earth in every state.

Sensible Heat:
The heat required to bring change in water is known as Sensible heat.

Plant Operation

Latent Heat:
The heat which does not rise the temperature but bring a change in the state of water is
known as Latent Heat
.Causes of Heat Loss:
Causes of heat loss are as under:
1.Scaling
2.Radiation
3.Decrease in diameter of tubes.
4. Presence of Salts in water
Water Treatment for Boiling:
A boiler requires a supply of purified feed water to produce the high quality steam. The
source is usually natural water from rivers. Water is an active solvent which means it
collects dissolve substances. Natural water therefore contains suspended solids
dissolved gases such as.

Scaling:
The impurities in water which it contains cause corrosion and stop the boiler efficiency
to work properly. It causes due to dissolved salts in water.
Scaling is due to following factors:
1.Process with untreated water .
2. Incomplete Composition due to imbalance ratio of fuel and air.
3. No preheat of air.
4. Overheating which melts the tubes of boiler.
Temporary Hardness:
Presence of bicarbonates of calcium and magnesium causes the hardness of
water which is known as temporary hardness. It can be removed by heating the hard
water.

Permanent Hardness:
Presence of chlorides and sulphates of Calcium (Ca) and Magnesium (Mg) causes
the permanent hardness of under processed water. This hardness cannot be removed
by heating.

Plant Operation

Treatment Methods:
The treatment of water can be done by the following methods:
1.Lime Soda Method
2.Zeolite Method
3.Demin Process
4.Reverse Osmosis Zeolite method
is used in the Miniature Plant for the treatment of water.
Zeolite method and Demin method are also termed as Ion Exchange method.

Zeolite Method:
This method is a type of Ion Exchange Method. In this method softening material
mostly used is called resins. Formula of Zeolite is as under:

The reactions taking place in the Sodium Zeolite chamber is as under:

After the reaction Sodium Zeolite (NaZe) is regenerated due to following reactions:

Condensate Recovery:
It is a good energy conservation method which improves the system efficiency and
reduces the fuel and water cost. A condensate recovery system returns condensed
steam to the boiler to become a portion steam to the boiler of the feed water supply.
The rest of the feed water supply comes from makeup water replaces water loss
through blow down. High quality water containing few minerals and treated with
chemicals thus condensate requires less treatment than raw make up water to make it
pure to use it as feed water. In this way energy is saved through this process.

Blow Down:
As the boiler generates steam, the condensation method that improves system of
minerals and treatment chemicals that remain in the boiler water increases large
amount of minerals which cause corrosion, boiler tube blockage and scaling. It is
actually a process which water is removed to decrease the concentration of salts.

Plant Operation

It is mainly of two types:


1.Periodic Blow down
2.Continuous Blow down
Periodic blow down of a boiler involves opening the main blow of valve regularly usually
when steam demand is low and when the solid concentration is so high. Continuous
blow down removes a small amount of water from a boiler continuously. Water drains
through a pipe beneath the water surface where the levels of impurities are highest.
This type of blow down is used in most of the plants. It makes a uniform level of solids in
the under processed water.

Boiler Efficiency:
The main factors that reduce the efficiency of boiler are the greatest loss of heat in
boiler operation. There are two causes of abnormal stack loss which are as under:
1: Excess Air in Combustion Area
2: High Exit temperature of Flue Gasses
Every fuel requires some excess air to burn completely. High flue gas exit temperature
reduces the efficiency of boiler because the heat released through the stack is wasted
heat. Economizer and air pre-heater can recover some of the heat to improve its
efficiency and it also lowers fuel cost. Radiation loss is the heat loss from the boiler and
high temperature piping through radiation to the surrounding air.

Use of Steam:
Steam is of two types:
1.Saturated Steam(Heating purpose)
2.Superheated Steam(turbine operation)
Steam is mainly used in the power generation purposes. Superheated steam carries
vapors in it. Thats why it is used to run Turbines.

Cooling Tower Section


Definition:
A mechanical arrangement assembling together the main components such as louvers,
drift elimination fan etc. dims to cool the hot returned processed water is referred as
cooling tower. In cooling tower 80% cooling is done due to evaporation whereas the20%
is due to temperature difference between hot water
.

Plant Operation

Evaporation:
Cooling occurs in the tower by the mechanisms of evaporative cooling and exchange of
sensible heat. The loss of heat by evaporation lowers the remaining water temperature.
The smaller amount of cooling also occurs when remaining water transfer heat to the
air. The rate of evaporation is about 1.2% of the rate of flow of there circulating water
passing through the tower for every 10ft. decrease in water temperature achieved by
the tower. The decrease in temperature will vary with the ambient dew point
temperature (DPT). Due to evaporation process 4-5% water is shifted towards the air. In
short evaporation causes cooling.

Main Components of Cooling Tower:


There are four major components which to make up a cooling tower namely the
Packing Drift elimination. Following are the components of a cooling tower:
1.Shell or Casing
2.Air inlet and outlet
3.Fans
4.Drift Eliminator
5.Warm water Inlet

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Plant Operation

6.Water distribution system


7.Packing
8.Louvers
9.Cold Water Basin/Tank
10.Cold water outlet

Types of Cooling Tower:


There are three classification of Cooling Tower:
1. Spray Pond Cooling Tower
2. Natural Draft Cooling Tower
(A)Atmospheric Circulation Type
(B). Chimney Type Cooling Tower
3. Mechanical Draft Cooling Tower
(A). Forced Draft Cooling Tower
(B). Induced Draft Cooling Tower

Description of Cooling Towers:


1: Spray Pond Cooling Tower:
Hot returned processed water that has to be cooled is sprayed through nozzles over the
pond surface in Spray pond. Greater water to air surfaces exposure is the main concept
taken in consideration. Thus evaporation rate enhances causing more water cooled in
same unit length of time. Prevailing wind indeed cause the rate of evaporation. These
spray pond cooling system are preferred either for small capacity or where ground is
inexpensive water loss and damage to nearby facility may result through wind. The rate
of evaporation is also decreased due to air.
2: Natural Draft Cooling Tower:
(A). Atmospheric Circulation Type:
In the atmospheric circulation type, the circulation of air through the tower is essentially
across it in a horizontal direction. Some of the wing entering the tower is carried upward
but most of the wind blows straight through it. The lower help it directly and also prevent
water loss from it. The hot air and water vapors leaving the top of the tower have to
pass through drift eliminators. The splash bars slow down the fall of water and breaks it
up into small drops. The large contact of water with air causes quicker evaporation and

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Plant Operation

faster cooling than in a spray pond. Due to evaporation and drift there is some water
loss which has to be replaced by make up water. In order to get maximum evaporation
from a cooling tower, the air should be provided in a large amount.

(B). Chimney Type Cooling Tower:


The chimney type cooling tower depends on the fact that air is warmed by the water and
therefore produces an upward draft. The top part of the tower is known as chimney or
stack. The hot water is sprayed in above the splash bars. The splash bars break the
flowing water into fine drops in order to provide better air to water for contact. Some of
the heat in water transfer to the air. As the air heats up it becomes lighter. Due to this air
rises in the chimney. The heated air is replaced with cold air heat enters the tower
through the air inlet. The temperature of the air inside the chimney is very much higher
than atmospheric temperature of the air. This temperature difference causes a constant
draft or flow towards the exit point.
3. Mechanical Draft Cooling Tower:
Mechanical graft cooling tower use fans for air circulation. They are usually called
Forced Draft and Induced Draft cooling towers. Induced tower pulls air towards
through the fans. Forced draft tower push air through it fans. Forced draft tower are
usually limited to smaller system due to need of high power to run it. Induced draft is
preferred because it avoids return of saturated air back towards to the tower.
(A).Forced Draft Cooling Tower:
In Forced Draft Cooling Tower the air flow through the falling water is produced by fans.
Motor driven fans force air into the tower through openings near the bottom of the tower.
The cooling of water in all towers depends mainly on the amount and humidity of air
passing through it. Fans used in forced draft cooling tower should produce a large
volume of air with a low velocity. Mechanical draft cooling tower s also provided with
Drift Eliminator to air velocity. If one or more of the fans is shutdown, the cooling rate
will be slow due to the less air to water contact. The degree of cooling tower can be
adjusted by controlling one or more of the fans and the rate of water flow.
(B).Induced Draft Cooling Tower:
In a forced draft cooling tower the fan push the air through the tower. In this type of
tower as the fans rotates it pulls the air through the tower. The air is driven upward from
the top of the tower where it can be carried away easily by the powered air. This
reduces the possibility of water air re-entering the cooling tower at the bottom. There
are types of induced draft cooling tower. The tower with its sides open the cross flow
type and in the counter flow type the target past of the tower or solid sides. In a tower

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Plant Operation

with solid sides the induced air travels most of the time in an opposite direction from
falling water. In both these towers the air volume flowing through the tower is controlled
by the speed of the fans and the amount of opening of side louvers with solid sides the
induced air travels most of the time in an opposite direction from falling water. In both
these towers the air volume flowing through the tower is controlled by the speed of the
fans and the amount of opening of side louvers.
Why We Use Water for Cooling:
The importance of water in industry is due to its specific heat. Specific Heat is the
measure of how well a substance can absorb heat. Water is so good at absorbing heat
as compared to all other substances. It has a specific heat value which is 1.0. We will
compare it with Methanol which has specific heat value 0.39 which is very less as
compared to the value of water. Outstanding ability to absorb and release heat of water
through evaporation makes it an ideal for the use in Industries for cooling. Water is used
in industries due to the following reasons
1. Plentiful
2.Readily available
3.Inexpensive
4. Easy Handling
5.It can carry heat
6.Does not decompose

Packing of Cooling Tower:


Timber was the traditional material which was used for packing but now it is usually
packed with plastics not ably PVC.
This packing has the following advantages:
1.Easily removable
2.Inert in any water whether acidic or alkaline
3.Scale growth Inhibitor
4.Non-flammable

Conditions affecting the Cooling Tower:


The most important factor in any type of cooling tower is how fast the water is being
evaporated by the tower. Therefore any condition which prevents water from
evaporating reduces the efficiency of cooling tower. If the air surrounding a cooling
tower is very humid, the water in the tower does not evaporate as much as it would if

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Plant Operation

the air is dry. In damp humid days a cooling tower works not as well as it work sin
usually dry season. A factor that affects the rate of evaporation is the amount
of humidity or moisture in the air in contact with the water.

Instrument Air Compressing Section


Definition:
The Instrument air compressor is the fourth important part of theMiniature Plant. The
basic work of an air compressor is to deliver air at a
maximum pressure.

Function of Air Compressor:


The function of compressor is to provide air at the pressure required for various plant
applications. In many plants compressed air is used as a power source. Some typical
uses of compressed air are as under:1.To provide power for pneumatic
instruments.2.To provide air for breathing apparatus.3.To provide air for pneumatic
control.In reciprocating air compressor the air is compressed by themovement of a
piston inside a cylinder. Air enters the cylinder through a suctionvalve that is designed
to allow air to flow in only one direction.This section increases the pressure of the air.
Compression takes place in the cylinder. The compressed air leaves the cylinder
through a dischargevalve. This valve is also designed to permit air to flow in only one

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Plant Operation

direction out of thecylinder. The power required to move the piston is usually supplied
by a motor. Themotor moves a crank shaft. There are two types of reciprocating air
compressor:
1.Single Acting Compressor
2.Double Acting Compressor

1. Single Acting Compressor:


In a single acting compressor the compression occurs only during the forward stroke of
the piston. This is called compression stroke. The backward stroke of the piston is
called the suction stroke. During this stroke the piston moves back and air is drawn in
through the suction valve. After this stroke the valve is closed and the piston moves
forward to start anew compression stroke. As the air is compressed its pressure
increases and causes the air to be forced out of the cylinder through discharge valve.

2. Double Acting Compressor:


In this type of compressor the compression occurs during the forward stroke and
backward stroke of the piston. This is accomplished by having suction and discharging
valves on each end of the cylinder. During the forward stroke of the piston air is
compressed on one end of the cylinder, while suction occurs on the other. During the
backward stroke these actions are reversed. As a result compression takes place during
each stroke.
Components of the Compressor:
Several components in a compressor are used to clean, dry and store the compressed
air. There are some components which are mostly used in the compressor:

Intake Filter:
This filter removes dirt from the air before it enters the compressor. Dirty air can result in
rapid valve wear and cylinder wear.

After Cooler:
Compression causes the air to get very hot. The air after cooler cools the compressed
air. Most after coolers are hot exchangers. They contain a network of tubes that have
cold water circulating through them. As the hot compressed air flows around the tubes it
is cooled by these tubes having cool water.

Moisture Separator:
This component removes moisture that condenses after the compressed air has cooled.

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Plant Operation

Moisture separator s usually has manual or automatic drain traps to remove the
collected moisture from the compressor.

Loading and Unloading System:


The unloading system is a series of valves and switches that reacts to feedback from
control point. The unloading system controls compressor output by causing compressor
operation to switch between two states loading and unloading. When a compressor is
loading compression takes place. Air enters the cylinder is compressed and sent to
receive. While a compressor is loading pressure in the receiver rises. Compression of
air also takes place when process of un-loading occurs

Piping Model
In a Chemical Plant piping has been installed for the transfer of fluid from one
equipment to the other. Following are the different parts of a piping model.Piping
Diagram:

Valves
Valves are the devices used to control the rate of flow of fluids in a pipeline. Several
valves are provided in the piping model valves are classified as given below:

Gate Valve
Gate valves are mostly used in plants. These valves are used to cut the flow of liquids
or to control its flow rate. In a gate valve diameter of the opening through which the fluid
passes is nearly the same as that of pipe. These valves are usually used to complete
cut of the pipeline liquid. The other end of the stem extends through the stuffing box in
the valve bonnets connects to the hand wheel. In a rising stem, gate valve is not
connected with the stem directly to its wheel. Instead of the stem is threaded through a

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fitting called stem bashing. In a non-rising stem gate valve the stem is directly attached
to the hand wheel.

Globe Valve
So called because in the earliest design the body of the valve was spherical. The globe
valve is mainly used for flow rate control. The opening increases almost linearly with
stem position and wear distributed around the disc. The fluid passes through a
restricted opening and changes direction several times. As a result the pressure drop in
this kind of valve is large.

Check Valves
Check valves are used when unidirectional flow is desired. They are automatic in
operation. It is opened by the pressure of the fluid in the desired direction, automatically
closes by gravity or by a spring pressing against a disk.
Common types of check valves are:
1.Lift Check
2.Swing Check

Ball Valve
The ball valve is used at a place where quick switch over from fully closing fully
opening or vice versa is required. This valve is used for fluids containing suspended
solids.

Butterfly Valve
It is used at a place where leakage of fluid with this fully closed does not matter much. It
can be fully closed does not matter much. It can be fully closed. These are used in low
pressure low temperature applications.

Safety Valve
The safety valve protects the equipment and piping from damage duet enters pressure
when pressure in equipment rises above a specified level. This valve opens
automatically to prevent equipment damage.

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