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Experience is typically what turns a good engineer into a great engineer. An engineer that can look at
a pipe and a flowmeter and guess the pressure drop within 5%. Someone who can at least estimate the
size of a vessel without doing any calculations. When I think of such rules, two authors come to my
mind, Walas and Branan. Dr. Walas' book, Chemical Process Equipment: Selection and Design has
been widely used in the process industry and in chemical engineering education for years. Mr. Branan
has either helped write or edit numerous books concerning this topic. Perhaps his most popular is
Rules of Thumb for Chemical Engineers. Here, I'll share some of these rules with you along with some
of my own. Now, be aware that these rules are for estimation and are not necessary meant to replace
rigorous calculations when such calculations should be performed.
Physical Properties
0.57 @ 50 0C
0.28 @ 100 0C
0.14 @ 200 0C
Prandtl
1-15 10-1000 1.0 0.7 0.7-0.8
Number
Materials of Construction
Cooling Towers
A. With industrial cooling towers, cooling to 90% of the ambient air saturation level is possible.
B. Relative tower size is dependent on the water temperature approach to the wet bulb temperature:
Twater-Twb Relative Size
5 2.4
15 1.0
25 0.55
C. Water circulation rates are generally 2-4 GPM/sq. ft (81-162 L/min m2) and air velocities are usually 5-7 ft/s
(1.5-2.0 m/s)
D. Countercurrent induced draft towers are the most common. These towers are capable of cooling to within 2 F
(1.1 C) of the wet bulb temperature. A 5-10 F (2.8-5.5 C) approach is more common.
E. Evaporation losses are about 1% by mass of the circulation rate for every 10 F (5.5 C) of cooling. Drift losses
are around 0.25% of the circulation rate. A blowdown of about 3% of the circulation rate is needed to prevent salt and
chemical treatment buildup.
Conveyors
A. Pneumatic conveyors are best suited for high capacity applications over distances of up to about 400 ft. Pneumatic
conveying is also appropriate for multiple sources and destinations. Vacuum or low pressure (6-12 psig or 0.4 to 0.8
bar) is used for generate air velocities from 35 to 120 ft/s (10.7-36.6 m/s). Air requirements are usually in the range of
1 to 7 cubic feet of air per cubic foot of solids (0.03 to 0.5 cubic meters of air per cubic meter of solids).
B. Drag-type conveyors (Redler) are completed enclosed and suited to short distances. Sizes range from 3 to 19
inches square (75 to 480 mm). Travel velocities can be from 30 to 250 ft/min (10 to 75 meters/min). The power
requirements for these conveyors is higher than other types.
C. Bucket elevators are generally used for the vertical transport of sticky or abrasive materials. With a bucket
measuring 20 in x 20 in (500 mm x 500 mm), capacities of 1000 cubic feet/hr (28 cubic meters/hr) can be reached at
speeds of 100 ft/min (30 m/min). Speeds up to 300 ft/min (90 m/min) are possible.
D. Belt conveyors can be used for high capacity and long distance transports. Inclines up to 30 are possible. A 24 in
(635 mm) belt can transport 3000 cu. ft./h (85 cu m/h) at speeds of 100 ft/min (30.5 m/min). Speeds can be as high as
600 ft/min (183 m/min). Power consumption is relatively low.
E. Screw conveyors can be used for sticky or abrasive solids for transports up to 150 ft (46 m). Inclines can be up to
about 20. A 12 in (305 mm) diameter screw conveyor can transport 1000-3000 cu. ft./h (28-85 cu. m/h) at around 40-
60 rpm.
Crystallization
A. During most crystallizations, C/Csat (concentration/saturated concentration) is kept near 1.02 to 1.05
B. Crystal growth rates and crystal sizes are controlled by limiting the degree of supersaturation.
C. During crystallization by cooling, the temperature of the solution is kept 1-2 F (0.5-1.2 C) below the saturation
point at the given concentration.
D. A generally acceptable crystal growth rate is 0.10 - 0.80 mm/h
Drying of Solids
A. Spray dryer have drying times of a few seconds. Rotary dryers have drying times ranging from a few minutes to
up to an hour.
B. Continuous tray and belt dryers have drying times of 10-200 minutes for granular materials or 3-15 mm pellets.
C. Drum dryers used for highly viscous fluids use contact times of 3-12 seconds and produce flakes 1-3 mm thick.
Diameters are generally 1.5-5 ft (0.5 - 1.5 m). Rotation speeds are 2-10 rpm and the maximum evaporation capacity is
around 3000 lb/h (1363 kg/h).
D. Rotary cylindrical dryers operate with air velocities of 5-10 ft/s (1.5-3 m/s), up to 35 ft/s (10.5 m/s). Residence
times range from 5-90 min. For initial design purposes, an 85% free cross sectional area is used. Countercurrent
design should yield an exit gas temperature that is 18-35 F (10-20 C) above the solids temperature. Parallel flow
should yield an exiting solids temperature of 212 F (100 C). Rotation speeds of 4-5 rpm are common. The product
of rpm and diameter (in feet) should be 15-25.
E. Pneumatic conveying dryers are appropriate for particles 1-3 mm in diameter and in some cases up to 10 mm. Air
velocities are usually 33-100 ft/s (10-30 m/s). Single pass residence time is typically near one minute. Size range
from 0.6-1.0 ft (0.2-0.3 m) in diameter by 3.3-125 ft (1-38 m) in length.
F. Fluidized bed dryers work well with particles up to 4.0 mm in diameter. Designing for a gas velocity that is 1.7-2
times the minimum fluidization velocity is good practice. Normally, drying times of 1-2 minutes are sufficient in
continuous operation.
A. Liquid drums are usually horizontal. Gas/Liquid separators are usually vertical
C. Holdup time is 5 minutes for half full reflux drums and gas/liquid separators
Design for a 5-10 minute holdup for drums feeding another column
E. Knockout drum in front of compressors should be designed for a holdup of10 times the liquid volume
passing per minute.
H. A six inch mesh pad thickness is very popular for such vessels
I. For positive pressure separations, disengagement spaces of 6-18 inches before the mesh pad and 12 inches after the
pad are generally suitable.
A. Efficiencies range from 85-95% for electric motors, 42-78% for steam turbines28-38% for gas engines and turbines
B. For services under 75 kW (100 hp), electric motors are almost always used.
C. Turbines can be justified in services where they will yield several hundred horsepowers. Otherwise, throttle valves
are used to release pressure.
Evaporation
A. Most popular types are long tube vertical with natural or forced circulation. Tubes range from 3/4" to 2.5"
(19-63 mm) in diameter and 12-30 ft (3.6-9.1 m) in length.
B. Forced circulation tube velocities are generally in the 15-20 ft/s (4.5-6 m/s) range.
C. Boiling Point Elevation (BPE) as a result of having dissolved solids must be accounted for in the differences
between the solution temperature and the temperature of the saturated vapor.
D. BPE's greater than 7 F (3.9 C) usually result in 4-6 effects in series (feed-forward) as an economical solution.
With smaller BPE's, more effects in series are typically more economical, depending on the cost of steam.
E. Reverse feed results in the more concentrated solution being heated with the hottest steam to minimize surface
area. However, the solution must be pumped from one stage to the next.
F. Interstage steam pressures can be increased with ejectors (20-30% efficient) or mechanical compressors (70-75%
efficient).
Filtration
A. Initially, processes are classified according to their cake buildup in a laboratory vacuum leaf filter :
0.10 - 10.0 cm/s (rapid), 0.10-10.0 cm/min (medium), 0.10-10.0 cm/h (slow)
B. Continuous filtration methods should not be used if 0.35 sm of cake cannot be formed in less than 5 minutes.
C. Belts, top feed drums, and pusher-type centrifuges are best for rapid filtering.
D. Vacuum drums and disk or peeler-type centrifuges are best for medium filtering.
E. Pressure filters or sedimenting centrifuges are best for slow filtering.
F. Cartridges, precoat drums, and sand filters can be used for clarification duties with negligible buildup.
G. Finely ground mineral ores can utilize rotary drum rates of 1500 lb/dat ft2 (7335 kg/day m2) at 20 rev/h and 18-25
in Hg (457-635 mm Hg) vacuum.
H. Course solids and crystals can be filtered at rates of 6000 lb/day ft2 (29,340 kg/day m2) at 20 rev/h and 2-6 in Hg
(51-152 mm Hg) vacuum.
Pressure Vessels
A. Design Temperatures between -30 and 345 C (-22 to 653 F) is typically about
25 C (77 F) above maximum operating temperature, margins increase above this range
B. Design pressure is 10% or 0.69 to 1.7 bar (10 to 25 psi) above the maximum operating pressure, whichever is
greater. The maximum operating pressure is taken as 1.7 bar (25 psi) above the normal operation pressure.
C. For vacuum operations, design pressures are 1 barg (15 psig) to full vacuum
6.4 mm (0.25 in) for 1.07 m (42 in) diameter and under
E. Allowable working stresses are taken as 1/4 of the ultimate strength of the material
15650
CS SA203 18759 psi 9950 psi 2500 psi
psi
1070
1290 bar 686 bar 273 bar
bar
18750
302 SS 18750 psi 15950 psi 6250 psi
psi
1290
1290 bar 1100 bar 431 bar
bar
where pressure is in psig, radius in inches, stress in psi, corrosion allowance in inches.
**Weld Efficiency can usually be taken as 0.85 for initial design work
H. Guidelines for corrosion allowances are as follows: 0.35 in (9 mm) for known corrosive fluids, 0.15 in (4 mm) for non-
corrosive fluids, and 0.06 in (1.5 mm) for steam drums and air receivers.
Storage Vessels
I. For less than 3.8 m3 (1000 gallons) use vertical tanks on legs
J. Between 3.8 m3 and 38 m3 (1000 to 10,000 gallons) use horizontal tanks on concrete supports
L. Liquids with low vapor pressures, use tanks with floating roofs.
M. Raw material feed tanks are often specified for 30 days feed supplies
N. Storage tank capacity should be at 1.5 times the capacity of mobile supply vessels.
For example, 28.4 m3 (7500 gallon) tanker truck, 130 m3 (34,500 gallon) rail cars
Piping
A. Liquid lines should be sized for a velocity of (5+D/3) ft/s and a pressure drop of
At the pump suction, size for (1.3+D/6) ft/s and a pressure drop of 0.4 psi/100 ft of pipe
B. Steam or gas lines can be sized for 20D ft/s and pressure drops of 0.5 psi/100 ft of pipe
C. Limits on superheated, dry steam or gas line should be 61 m/s (200 ft/s) and a pressure drop of 0.1 bar/100 m or 0.5
psi/100 ft of pipe. Saturated steam lines should be limited to 37 m/s (120 ft/s) to avoid erosion.
E. For two phase flow, an estimate often used is Lockhart and Martinelli:
First, the pressure drops are calculated as if each phase exist alone in the pipe, then
F. Control valves require at least 0.69 bar (10 psi) pressure drop for sufficient control
G. Flange ratings include 10, 20, 40, 103, and 175 bar (150, 300, 600, 1500, and 2500 psig)
H. Globe valves are most commonly used for gases and when tight shutoff is required. Gate valves are common for
most other services.
I. Screwed fitting are generally used for line sizes 2 inches and smaller. Larger connections should utilize flanges or
welding to eliminate leakage.
J. Pipe Schedule Number = 1000P/S (approximate) where P is the internal pressure rating in psig and S is the
allowable working stress of the material is psi. Schedule 40 is the most common.
Pumps
C. An equation developed for efficiency based on the GPSA Engineering Data Book is:
Efficiency = 80-0.2855F+.000378FG-.000000238FG^2+.000539F^2-.000000639(F^2)G+
.0000000004(F^2)(G^2)
D. Centrifugal pumps: Single stage for 0.057-18.9 m3/min (15-5000 GPM), 152 m (500 ft)
maximum head; For flow of 0.076-41.6 m3/min (20-11,000 GPM) use multistage, 1675 m (5500 ft)
maximum head; Efficiencies of 45% at 0.378 m3/min (100 GPM), 70% at 1.89 m3/min (500 GPM),
80% at 37.8 m3/min (10,000 GPM).
E. Axial pumps can be used for flows of 0.076-378 m3/min (20-100,000 GPM)
F. Rotary pumps can be used for flows of 0.00378-18.9 m3/min (1-5000 GPM)
Efficiencies: 70% at 7.46 kW (10 hp), 85% at 37.3 kW (50 hp), and 90% at 373 kW (500 hp)
B. Fans should be used to raise pressure about 3% (12 in water), blowers to raise to less than 2.75 barg (40 psig),
where:
T1 is the inlet temperature, R is the gas constant, z1 is the compressibility, m is the molar flow rate,
F. For diatomic gases (Cp/Cv = 1.4) this corresponds to a compression ratio of about 4
G. Compression ratios should be about the same in each stage for a multistage unit,
I. Efficiencies of large centrifugal compressors handling 2.8 to 47 m3/s (6000-100,000 acfm) at suction is about 76-78%
J. Reciprocating piston vacuum pumps are generally capable of vacuum to 1 torr absolute, rotary piston types can achieve
vacuums of 0.001 torr.
K. Single stage jet ejectors are capable of vacuums to 100 torr absolute, two stage to 10 torr, three stage to 1 torr, and five
stage to 0.05 torr.
L. A three stage ejector requires about 100 lb steam/lb air to maintain a pressure of 1 torr.
M. Air leakage into vacuum equipment can be approximated as follows:
Leakage = k V(2/3)
where k =0.20 for P >90 torr, 0.08 for 3 < P < 20 torr, and 0.025 for P < 1 torr
V = equipment volume in cubic feet
Leakage = air leakage into equipment in lb/h
Heat Exchangers
A. For the heat exchanger equation, Q = UAF (LMTD), use F = 0.9 when charts for the LMTD correction
B. Most commonly used tubes are 3/4 in. (1.9 cm) in outer diameter on a 1 in triangular spacing at 16 ft (4.9 m) long.
C. A 1 ft (30 cm) shell will contains about 100 ft2 (9.3 m2)
A 2 ft (60 cm) shell will contain about 400 ft2 (37.2 m2)
A 3 ft (90 cm) shell will contain about 1100 ft2 (102 m2)
D. Typical velocities in the tubes should be 3-10 ft/s (1-3 m/s) for liquids and30-100 ft/s (9-30 m/s) for gases
E. Flows that are corrosive, fouling, scaling, or under high pressure are usually placed in the tubes
F. Viscous and condensing fluids are typically placed on the shell side.
G. Pressure drops are about 1.5 psi (0.1 bar) for vaporization and 3-10 psi (0.2-0.68 bar) for other services
H. The minimum approach temperature for shell and tube exchangers is about 20 F (10 C) for fluids and
10 F (5 C) for refrigerants.
I. Cooling tower water is typically available at a maximum temperature of 90 F (30 C) and should be
J. Shell and Tube heat transfer coefficient for estimation purposes can be found in many reference books
http://www.cheresources.com/uexchangers.shtml
http://www.processassociates.com/process/heat/uvalues1.htm
K. Double pipe heat exchangers may be a good choice for areas from 100 to 200 ft2 (9.3-18.6 m2)
L. Spiral heat exchangers are often used to slurry interchangers and other services containing solids
M. Plate heat exchanger with gaskets can be used up to 320 F (160 C) and are often used for interchanging
duties due to their high efficiencies and ability to "cross" temperatures. More about compact heat exchangers can be found at:
http://www.us.thermal.alfalaval.com/
Tray Towers
A. For ideal mixtures, relative volatility can be taken as the ratio of pure component vapor pressures
B. Tower operating pressure is most often determined by the cooling medium in condenser or the
1. Perform the easiest separation first (least trays and lowest reflux)
2. If relative volatility nor feed composition vary widely, take products off one at time
as the overhead
of decreasing volatility
4. If the concentrations of the feed vary significantly but the relative volatility do not,
D. The most economic reflux ratio usually is between 1.2Rmin and 1.5Rmin
E. The most economic number of trays is usually about twice the minimum number of trays.
The minimum number of trays is determined with the Fenske-Underwood Equation.
F. Typically, 10% more trays than are calculated are specified for a tower.
H. Peak tray efficiencies usually occur at linear vapor velocities of 2 ft/s (0.6 m/s) at moderate pressures,
J. Tray efficiencies for aqueous solutions are usually in the range of 60-90% while gas absorption and
K. The three most common types of trays are valve, sieve, and bubble cap. Bubble cap trays are
typically used when low-turn down is expected or a lower pressure drop than the valve or sieve
N. The most common weir heights are 2 and 3 in and the weir length is typically 75% of the tray diameter
P. The optimum Kremser absorption factor is usually in the range of 1.25 to 2.00
Q. Reflux drums are almost always horizontally mounted and designed for a 5 min holdup at half of the drum's capacity.
R. For towers that are at least 3 ft (0.9 m) is diameter, 4 ft (1.2 m) should be added to the top for vapor
release and 6 ft (1.8 m) should be added to the bottom to account for the liquid level and reboiler return
S. Limit tower heights to 175 ft (53 m) due to wind load and foundation considerations.
T. The Length/Diameter ratio of a tower should be no more than 30 and preferrably below 20
A. Packed towers almost always have lower pressure drop than comparable tray towers.
B. Packing is often retrofitted into existing tray towers to increase capacity or separation.
C. For gas flowrates of 500 ft3/min (14.2 m3/min) use 1 in (2.5 cm) packing, for gas flows
depth of 10-15 ft (3-4 m) while metallatic packing can withstand 20-25 ft (6-7.6 m)
F. Liquid distributor should be placed every 5-10 tower diameters (along the length) for pall rings
(0.4-0.56 m) for 1 in pall rings and 2.5-3.0 ft (0.76-0.90 m) for 2 in pall rings
Fume Scrubbers
Reactors
A. The rate of reaction must be established in the laboratory and the residence time or space velocity
will eventually have to be determined in a pilot plant.
B. Catalyst particle sizes: 0.10 mm for fluidized beds, 1 mm in slurry beds, and 2-5 mm in fixed beds.
C. For homogeneous stirred tank reactions, the agitor power input should be about
D. Ideal CSTR behavior is usually reached when the mean residence time is 5-10 times
E. Relatively slow reactions between liquids or slurries are usually conducted most
F. Tubular flow reactors are typically used for high productions rates and when the
residence times are short. Tubular reactors are also a good choice when significant
H. Typically the chemical reaction rate will double for a 18 F (10 C) increase in
temperature.
I. The reaction rate in a heterogeneous reaction is often controlled more by the rate of
A. A ton of refrigeration equals the removal of 12,000 Btu/h (12,700 kJ/h) of heat
B. For various refrigeration temperatures, the following are common refrigerants:
C. Cooling tower water is received from the tower between 80-90 F (27-32 C) and should be returned between
115-125 F (45-52 C) depending on the size of the tower. Seawater should be return no higher than 110 F (43
C)
D. Heat transfer fluids used: petroleum oils below 600 F (315 C), Dowtherms
or other synthetics below 750 F (400 C), molten salts below 1100 F (600 C)
E. Common compressed air pressures are: 45, 150, 300, and 450 psig
F. Instrument air is generally delivered around 45 psig with a dewpoint 30 F below the coldest expected ambient
temperature.