Page 9 - Applied Process Design For Chemical And Petrochemical Plants Volume III

66131_Ludwig_FM 5/30/2001 4:04 PM Page xi

Preface to the Third Edition

This volume of Applied Process Design is intended to be a form the process function for which it was designed. Con-
chemical engineering process design manual of methods siderable emphasis in this book is placed on the mechanical
and proven fundamentals with supplemental mechanical Codes and some of the requirements that can be so impor-
and related data and charts (some in the expanded appen- tant in the specifications as well as the actual specific design
dix). It will assist the engineer in examining and analyzing a details. Many of the mechanical and metallurgical specifics
problem and finding a design method and mechanical spec- that are important to good design practice are not usually
ifications to secure the proper mechanical hardware to found in standard mechanical engineering texts.
accomplish a particular process objective. An expanded The chapters are developed by design function and not in
chapter on safety requirements for chemical plants and accordance with previously suggested standards for unit
equipment design and application stresses the applicable operations. In fact, some of the chapters use the same prin-
codes, design methods, and the sources of important new ciples, but require different interpretations that take into
data. account the process and the function the equipment performs
This manual is not intended to be a handbook filled with in the process.
equations and various data with no explanation of applica- Because of the magnitude of the task of preparing the
tion. Rather, it is a guide for the engineer in applying chem- material for this new edition in proper detail, it has been
ical processes to the properly detailed hardware necessary to omit several important topics that were covered
(equipment), because without properly sized and internally in the previous edition. Topics such as corrosion and met-
detailed hardware, the process very likely will not accom- allurgy, cost estimating, and economics are now left to the
plish its unique objective. This book does not develop or more specialized works of several fine authors. The topic of
derive theoretical equations; instead, it provides direct appli- static electricity, however, is treated in the chapter on
cation of sound theory to applied equations useful in the process safety, and the topic of mechanical drivers, which
immediate design effort. Most of the recommended equa- includes electric motors, is covered in a separate chapter
tions have been used in actual plant equipment design and because many specific items of process equipment require
are considered to be some of the most reasonable available some type of electrical or mechanical driver. Even though
(excluding proprietary data and design methods), which some topics cannot be covered here, the author hopes that
can be handled by both the inexperienced as well as the the designer will find design techniques adaptable to 75 per-
experienced engineer. A conscious effort has been made to cent to 85+ percent of required applications and problems.
offer guidelines of judgment, decisions, and selections, and The techniques of applied chemical plant process design
some of this will also be found in the illustrative problems. continue to improve as the science of chemical engineering
My experience has shown that this approach at presentation develops new and better interpretations of the fundamen-
of design information serves well for troubleshooting plant tals for chemistry, physics, metallurgical, mechanical, and
operation problems and equipment/systems performance polymer/plastic sciences. Accordingly, this third edition pre-
analysis. This book also can serve as a classroom text for sents additional reliable design methods based on proven
senior and graduate level chemical plant design courses at techniques developed by individuals and groups considered
the university level. competent in their subjects and who are supported by per-
The text material assumes that the reader is an under- tinent data. Since the first and second editions, much
graduate engineer with one or two years of engineering fun- progress has been made in standardizing (which implies a
damentals or a graduate engineer with a sound knowledge certain amount of improvement) the hardware components
of the fundamentals of the profession. This book will pro- that are used in designing process equipment. Much of the
vide the reader with design techniques to actually design as important and basic standardization has been incorporated
well as mechanically detail and specify. It is the author’s phi- in this latest edition. Every chapter has been expanded and
losophy that the process engineer has not adequately per- updated with new material.
formed his or her function unless the results of a process All of the chapters have been carefully reviewed and older
calculation for equipment are specified in terms of some- (not necessarily obsolete) material removed and replaced by
thing that can be economically built or selected from the newer design techniques. It is important to appreciate that
special designs of manufacturers and can by visual or men- not all of the material has been replaced because much of
tal techniques be mechanically interpreted to actually per- the so-called “older” material is still the best there is today,

xi