What is The Process Design in Chemical Engineering?
We do not doubt the role that chemical engineers play in today’s society, but what we have even clearer is that one of the areas in which a higher level of knowledge is necessary is in process design. It is a part of the functions of every chemical engineer that allows analyzing, developing and applying all kinds of processes that allow meeting the needs of today’s society.
That is why we dedicate these lines to talk about the importance that process design has in the discipline. The rapid advance of technology today means that we must pay special attention to the design of processes in plants and industries to adapt them to these changes.
Remember that a process will not make sense or will not be sustainable over time if its economic analysis is not viable. For any engineer, it is important to analyze the process to be implemented and the best way to approach it, but we cannot ignore the economic viability of the project. In every process design several stages can be summarized in the following:
Concept design
In this first stage, it is necessary to plant design how the process will be that will allow us to obtain the product we want. This stage is very important and requires the design of the workflow and the organization of the entire process to be as efficient as possible. Bad design in this phase can make in later stages of the process we get losses or problems that make it inefficient.
In this phase, many aspects not only of a technical nature but also of environmental impact and economic impact must be taken into account.
Basic or Main Design
This is the somewhat more detailed design of what are the elements, materials, sizes, and dimensions that the instruments that are part of the process must-have. It is a stage where the chemical engineer takes one more step in the concretion of the process he has designed since he must establish what size the pipes, connections and other elements will be and how they should be arranged in the process.
Detail design
This design is given by the concretion of all the information obtained in the previous stage in a system of electrical connections, mechanical and civil designs. As we know any error in the initial stages of the concept design can be a significant loss and damage in the industry. These consequences can range from serious environmental problems, to even public health problems.
Therefore, the chemical engineer must always support his design of processes in the experimentation and previous tests that allow them to design a process with greater security. Therefore, as chemical engineers, we must bear in mind the importance of our role in the industrial and the repercussions at all levels of our work. Knowing the ROI or the return that a given investment in a process can have for a given industry is one of these aspects that we cannot ignore.
