CDB3044 Process Plant Design

Semester Jan 2020

By: Dr. Oh Pei Ching / Dr. Mohd Hilmi Noh

General Plant Design Consideration

Plant Location and

Layout

1
 Lecture Learning Outcome

 By the end of this lecture, you are expected to:

• Propose suitable plant location based on

logical reasoning / arguments taking into
account the factors affecting the decision.

• Conceptually design site layout for a

proposed process.

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 2

Plant Location and Layout

LNG Facility
CDB3044 Process Plant Design 3
Plant Location and Layout

Oil Sand Extraction Plant in Fort McMurray, Canada

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 4

 Plant Location and Layout

Ammonia Fertilizer Plant

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 5

Plant Location and Layout

1. Raw materials availability

2. Markets
3. Energy availability
4. Climate
5. Transportation facilities
6. Water supply
7. Waste disposal
8. Labor supply
9. Taxation and legal restrictions
10. Site characteristics
11. Flood and fire protection
12. Community factors

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 6

Plant Location and Layout

Raw Materials Availability

• The source of raw materials is one of the most
important factors when large quantities are involved.
• Near location of the raw-materials source permits
considerable reduction in:
– Transportation
– Storage charges
• If requirement of large volumes of raw materials,
attention should be given to:
– Purchased price of the raw materials
– Distance from the source of supply
– Transportation expenses
– Availability and reliability of supply
– Purity of the raw materials
– Storage requirements

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 7

Plant Location and Layout

Markets

• The location of markets affects

– Cost of product distribution
– Time required for shipping

• Markets is an important consideration in the

selection of a plant site
– Advantageous to buyer

• Markets are needed for

by-products as well

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 8

Plant Location and Layout
Energy Availability
• High requirements of power and
steam in industries
• Fuel required for the power and steam
• For example:
– Electrolytic processes require a cheap source of
electricity
• Location must be near to large hydroelectric installations
– Power plant requires large quantities of coal or oil
• Location near a source of fuel

• Cost of power can help to determine

whether
– Power should be purchased
– or self-generated

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 9

Plant Location and Layout
Climate
• If the plant is located in a cold climate, costs
may increase
– Construction of protective shelters around the
equipment
• If the plant is located in hot climate
– Special cooling towers
– Air-conditioning equipment will be required
• If there is excessive humidity or extremes of
hot or cold weather
– e.g. For severe cold climate, may require
insultation/heating of pipe
– Serious effect on the economic operation of a plant
• Climate factors must be examined when
selecting a plant site, e.g. location with high
winds or earthquakes require stronger
structure
CDB3044 Process Plant Design 10
Plant Location and Layout
Transportation Facilities
• Rail tracks, roads, waterway or sea port
• Products and raw materials require transportation facilities
• Possibility of canal, river, lake, or ocean transport must be considered
• If possible, the plant site should have access to all three types of transportation
or at least two types should be available
– Water
– Road
– Rail
• Air transportation facilities between the plant and the main company
headquarters for movement of personnel and essential equipment and supplies.

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 11

Plant Location and Layout
Water Supply
• The process industries use large quantities of water for
– Cooling
– Washing
– Steam generation
– Raw material
• Plant must be located where water is available
• River or lake is preferable
• Deep wells are satisfactory if the amount of water required is not too high
– Try to drill several standby wells
• Factors considered during selection of water supply
– Temperature
– Mineral content
– Sand content
– Bacteriological content
– Cost for supply
– Purification

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 12

Plant Location and Layout
Waste Disposal
• Legal restrictions have been placed on the methods for
disposing waste materials from the process industries
• Site selected for a plant should have capacity and facilities for
correct waste disposal
• Attention should be given to potential requirements for
additional waste-treatment facilities

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 13

Plant Location and Layout
Labor Supply
• Labor is needed for construction of plant and
its operation

• Consideration should be given to

– Pay scales (local pay rates)

– Restrictions on number of hours worked per week

• Competing industries

• Productivity of the workers

• Welfare of workers
Avoid

• Turnover rates

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 14

Plant Location and Layout

Taxation & Legal Restrictions

• State and local tax rates
– Property income

– Unemployment insurance

• Local regulations on
– Zoning

– Building codes

– Required permits

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 15

Plant Location and Layout

Site Characteristics/Availability of Suitable Land

• Characteristics of the land at a proposed plant site should be
examined carefully
• Land effects on construction costs
• Cost of the land is important, as well as local building costs
and living conditions
• A new plant should be constructed at a location where
additional space is available
• Ideally, the land should be flat, well-
drained and have suitable load-
bearing characteristics
CDB3044 Process Plant Design 16
Plant Location and Layout
Flood and Fire Protection
• Many industrial plants are located along rivers and there are risks of flood

• Before selecting a plant site

– Regional history of natural events of this type should be examined

• Protection from losses by fire is another important factor

• In case of a major fire, assistance from outside fire departments should be

available

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 17

Plant Location and Layout
Community Factors
• Full consideration must be given to the safe location of the plant so that it does
not impose significant additional risk to local community
• Plant should be sited so as not to be upwind of residential areas under prevailing
wind
• Support and facilities of a community can affect the location of the plant
• Mosques, libraries, schools, banks, housing, colleges, theaters etc. are important
for plant personnel

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 18

Plant Location and Layout

Plant Layout

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 19

Plant Location and Layout
Plant Layout
Proper layout in each case include arrangement in efficient coordination of
 Processing areas
 Storage areas
 Handling areas
Also with regard to such factors as:
1. New site development or addition to previously developed site
2. Type and quantity of products to be produced
3. Type of process and product control
4. Operational convenience & accessibility
5. Economic distribution of utilities and services
6. Type of buildings and building-code requirements
7. Health and safety considerations
8. Waste-disposal requirements
9. Auxiliary equipment
10. Space available and space required
11. Roads and railroads
12. Possible future expansion
CDB3044 Process Plant Design 20
Plant Location and Layout

Site/Plant Layout

As with so many aspects of design, the layout of a process plant is not an

exact science but rather an art, as it embraces a high degree of experience
coupled with the need to anticipate the human elements in both
operation and maintenance. It is an important factor in that a carefully
planned, functional arrangement of equipment, buildings and pipework is
the key to economical construction and efficient operation.

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 21

Plant Location and Layout

Site/Plant Layout

• The process units and ancillary buildings should be laid out to give the most
economical flow of materials and personnel around the site

• Hazardous processes must be located at a safe distance from other buildings.

Consideration must also be given to the future expansion of the site

• The ancillary buildings and services required on a site, in addition to the main
processing units (buildings), will include:
a) Storages for raw materials and products, tank farms and warehouses
b) Shipping and receiving areas, i.e. road or rail tanker filing/unloading
facilities
c) Maintenance workshops
d) Stores, for maintenance and operating supplies
e) Laboratories for process quality control

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 22

Plant Location and Layout

• The ancillary buildings and services required on a site, in addition to the

main processing units (buildings), will include (cont)
f) Fire stations and other emergency services
g) Utilities: steam boilers, compressed air, power generation,
refrigeration, transformer stations
h) Effluent disposal plant, i.e. wastewater treatment, solid/liquid
waste collection etc.
i) Offices for general administration
j) Canteens and other amenity buildings, such as medical centers
k) Car parks

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 23

Plant Location and Layout

There are two general methods which plant equipment could be positioned

i. Group Pattern – vessels, exchangers, columns, pumps etc., are grouped

together in separate areas for ease of operation and maintenance

ii. Flowline Pattern -equipment is laid out as arranged on the process flowsheet

In larger plants, the first method is always used due to large numbers of similar
units being employed. However, in practice a compromise between the two
methods is normally used.

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 24

Plant Location and Layout

An example of a site/plant layout

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 25

Plant Location and Layout

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 26

Plant Location and Layout

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 27

Plant Location and Layout
Model of Plant Layout

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 28

Plant Location and Layout
Storage

• Storage facilities are essential for

– Raw materials
– Intermediate products
– Final products
– Recycle materials
– Off-grade materials
– Fuels
• Liquids is generally handled by closed spherical or cylindrical
tanks
• Gases are stored at atmospheric pressure in wet or dry seal gas
holders
• Solid products and raw materials are either stored in weather-
tight tanks with sloping floors or in outdoor bins and mounds

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 29

Plant Location and Layout
Storage

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 30

Plant Location and Layout
Material Handling
• Continuous or batch and types (Liquids, Solids, Gases)
• Liquids and gases are handled by means of pumps and blowers, pipes, ducts
and in containers such as drums, cylinders
• Solids may be handled by conveyors, bucket elevators, lift trucks, and
pneumatic systems
• The selection of materials-handling equipment depends upon the cost
• Factors that must be considered in selecting equipment include
1. Chemical and physical nature of material being handled
2. Type and distance of movement of material
3. Quantity of material moved per unit time
4. Nature of feed and discharge from materials-handling equipment
5. Continuous or batch nature of materials handling
• Materials-handling problems are:
– Corrosion
– Fire
– Heat damage
– Explosion
– Pollution
– Toxicity
CDB3044 Process Plant Design 31
Plant Location and Layout

The following guidelines may be employed in designing the site/plant layout

i. Minimum Labour Demands

• When labour cost is high, automation could result in significant reduction in
labour demands. Therefore, a central control room is required. Nevertheless,
some labour outside the control room is still required to perform certain manual
operation but is kept to a low number.
• For batch operation and start up/shut down operation of continuous plants
where labour demands are high, considerable savings could be made by
arranging the units in an integrated manner as much as possible. This will
minimize movements required over all the unit and thus could reduce the labour
required. This will also help in the case of maintenance provided proper spacing
is allocated for the all the units.

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 32

Plant Location and Layout

The following guidelines may be employed in designing the site/plant layout ;

ii. Elevation of Equipment

• Elevation of equipments is expensive and should only be kept to the absolutely
necessary ones to ensure efficient operation eg. units employing gravity flow.
There are cases where heavy and bulky items are elevated such as reactor but to
arrange it’s elevation with the rest of the process according to the process flow
will enable advantage to be taken on using the gravity as the flow ‘force’ this
eliminating pumps/compressors/conveyor belt thus cheaper on maintenance.
• In general, heavy and bulky unit should be placed on the ground with proper
support even at the expense of using pressure to force the flow unnaturally eg.
pressure in distillation unit pushes the vapor flow down to almost ground level
where condenser is located.

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 33

Plant Location and Layout

The following guidelines may be employed in designing the site/plant layout ;

iii. Operating Convenience

• Equipments requiring frequent attention should be grouped together to facilitate
operation and maintenance. However, the safety clearance between the units
have to be observed to ensure safest possible arrangement and the most hazard
prone equipment is placed at the location most convenient for it to be removed.
• A rectangular setup with a central over head pipe rack permits equipments to be
installed along both sides of the pipe way with ease of access.

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 34

Plant Location and Layout

The following guidelines may be employed in designing the site/plant layout ;

iv. Lay out of Specific Plant Equipments

• It is convenient to locate pumps in line along each side of an access way with the
motors aligned outwards for easy access – maintenance.
• Equipments requiring large cranes for services should be located at the
perimeter of the rectangular set up, adjacent to a main roadway.
• Compressors (expensive items) should be installed to allow for rapid dismantling
and reassembly thus avoiding from the needs to have a stand by unit. Use
compressors with bottom suction and discharge connections and supporting it
on a platform above ground level (approx 2.5 m or so)

v. Layout of Process Units

• Large individual process units should be separated for efficient operation and
maintenance and to avoid possible spread of fire and explosion.
• A master plan should be made for grouping these equipments together and for
future expansion.
CDB3044 Process Plant Design 35
Plant Location and Layout
Other useful factors to consider

• The cost of construction can be minimized by adopting a layout that gives the
shortest run of connecting pipe between equipment, and the least amount of
structural steel work. However, this will not necessarily be the best arrangement
for operation and maintenance.
• Valves, sample points, and instruments should be located at convenient positions
and heights.
• Heat exchangers need to be sited so that the tube bundles can be easily withdrawn
for cleaning and tube replacement.
• Vessels that require frequent replacement of catalyst or packing should be located
on the outside of buildings.
• Equipment that requires dismantling for maintenance, such as compressors and
large pumps, should be placed under cover.
• Blast walls may be needed to isolate potentially hazardous equipment, and confine
the effects of an explosion.
• Equipment should be located so that it can be conveniently tied in with any future
expansion of the process.
• Space should be left on pipe alleys for future needs, and service pipes over-sized to
allow for future requirements.
CDB3044 Process Plant Design 36
Plant Location and Layout
Other useful factors to consider  Services

• Buildings of an ancillary nature such as offices, workshops, canteen and

power supply should be located so as to afford maximum convenience
with minimum interference with operation of the plant.
• Relief devices that can vent inflammable and noxious fumes in an
emergency should be located down wind of the administrative facility.
• Storage areas should be positioned for ease of access from public roads
and railways and remote from hazardous areas.
• Facilities for generation and distribution of services (power supply, steam
& water supply) should be located in a completely safe area.
• For road used by all types of vehicles at all times, they should be surfaced
and main two-way road should be at least 20ft (6.1 m) width with 30 ft
(9.3 m) minimum centre line radius to permit the turning of 3-4 axle
vehicles.

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 37

Plant Location and Layout

Other useful factors to consider  Piping

• Overhead pipe network / yard piping which carries process materials and
main utilities are normally long and should be sited at or below ground level
using racks. In most cases, the power supply and instruments line are
carried on the same structure.
• Large pipes carrying process materials through the main process
equipments should be made as shortest possible but meeting all the
clearance required. This could be achieved by grouping the common
equipments together.

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 38

Plant Location and Layout

Summary

We have gone through a number of main factors governing

• The selection of site location which could have significant impact on the
construction and operation of the process plant

• The design of site layout which takes into account of operation and
maintenance requirement

• Above all, there is no clear / systematic guidelines or procedures for

designing site layout other than leveraging on ‘some common sense rules’
thus making it more of an art rather than scientific approach

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 39

 THANK YOU
• © 2017 INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY PETRONAS SDN BHD
• All rights reserved. No part of this document may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means
(electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise) without the permission of the copyright owner.

CDB3044 Process Plant Design 40