1.

0 Input and output Structure and Block Process Flow Diagram

Aluminium Oxide Aluminium Chloride

(Al2O3)

Sodium Hydroxide
(AlCl3)
(NaOH)

Reactor

Hydrochloric Acid Water

(HCl) (H20)

The block diagram for Polyaluminum Chloride (PAC) production is shown above figure.

The manufactured PAC is a chemical reaction between aluminium hydrate powder with sodium

hydroxide and hydrochloric acid at certain temperature and pressure. A specific amount of

hydrochloric acid which have a concentration of 32% by weight and specific amount of aluminium

hydroxide are mixed together by agitator. After reaction completed, the PAC product is fed to the

conditioning unit and water will be remove at the filter press unit while unreacted aluminium oxide

in form of solid cake is recycled back into the reactor. Hydrochloric acid gas is to be treated with

water scrubber and recycled back into the reactor.

 Water
Reactor Filter Press Conditioning
Scrubber

Figure 1 Block Process Flow Diagram for Production of Polyaluminium Chloride (PAC) via chemical reaction of Aluminium

Hydroxide and Hydrochloric Acid.

1.1 Reactor Feed Preparation Unit

The aluminium oxide powder is transferred by conveying belt into a hopper before

entering the reactor while a direct stream of liquid hydrochloric acid is fed directly into

the reactor. The aluminium oxide powder at first is mix with Sodium Hydroxide powder

with water before entering the reactor.

1.2 Reactor Unit

It consist of Continuous Stir Tank Reactor (CSTR), mixer and a cooling jacket. The

reaction take place at temperature 180C - 200C and 1 atm pressure.

1.3 Scrubber Unit

The unit consist of water spray to trap an escaped unreacted hydrochloric acid gas.

The leaving air into the atmosphere consist of very low concentration of hydrochloric

gas which is safe to environment. Water containing hydrochloride acid gas is recycled

back to the reactor.

1.4 Separation Unit

The separation unit consist of a filter press separator product in the form of slurry

containing liquid PAC, water and low concentration of hydrochloric acid will pass
 through the separation while the solid form (filtered cake) unreacted aluminium

hydroxide is collected and recycled back into the reactor.

1.5 Conditioning Unit

This unit consist of PAC product with a low basicity.

1.6 Heat-Exchanger Unit

This unit consist of 2 cooling units. The first unit is to cooled down the temperature in

the reactor while the second unit is to cooled down the temperature in the PAC

graphite cooler before enters into Crude PAC tank before filter.

1.7 Process Flow Diagram (PFD) and Plant Item Units.

The raw material are aluminium hydroxide powder, sodium hydroxide solution and

hydrochloric acid with a concentration of 32% by weight, fed up into PAC Reactor (R-101) at

180C-200C and 1 atm which heated up by low pressure steam. The aluminium hydroxide

powder is fed by conveying belt into a Hopper (T-101) and mix with sodium hydroxide solution in

the mixer while hydrochloric acid liquid is fed up directly into the reactor. The reaction occurred in

the reactor and convert the mixture into polyaluminium chloride (PAC) and water. The

temperature of the reactor is controlled by using cooler (E-101) which low down the temperature

of PAC product before entering PAC Graphite Cooler (T-102). Escaped unreacted hydrochloric

acid gas out of the reactor is collected and fed up into a Water Scrubber System (T-103) before

release to atmosphere while a Blow Down Tank (T-104) containing mixture of water, excess

aluminium hydroxide and hydrochloric gas are recycled back into the PAC Reactor (R-101). The

product mixture of PAC and water from PAC Graphite Cooler (T-102) is fed up into a Crude PAC

Tank (T-105) and pumped into Filter Press Separator (S-101) to separate liquid and solid

composition of the product which are liquid PAC, water and unreacted aluminium hydroxide (solid
filter cake). The unreacted aluminium hydroxide is recycled back into the Reactor (R-101). The

product is then accumulated in PAC Tank (T-106) and pumped into Conditioning Tank (T-107).

Basicity of the PAC product is altered by addition of specific amount of Sodium Hydroxide liquid

(NaOH) thus producing two lines of PAC with a higher basicity and low basicity.

1.8 Stream Information

The major stream installed in PFD are product and recycle stream. The recycle streams

are divided into two streams which are mixture of water and unreacted hydrochloric acid from

scrubber unit and unreated aluminium hydroxide from filter press. The product stream produced

PAC and water as the main product. Table 1 showed the description for product stream and

recycle stream.

Table 1 Stream and Process Descriptions

Stream Process Description

RE-HCl + H20 Mixture of unreacted hydrochloric acid and

water from Water Scrubber Unit (T-103) is

fed up back into the PAC Reactor (R-101)

RE-AlOH Unreacted aluminium hydroxide from Filter

Press Separator (S-101) is fed up back into

the PAC Reactor (R-101)

PDT- PAC PAC product form Filter Press Separator (S-

101) is fed up into Conditioning Tank (T-107)

1.9 Equipment

The equipment involved in the process are CSTR reactor, one heater, two cooler, water

scrubber, collection tanks, and filter press separator. Each equipment being used in PAC

production are briefly described in Table 2.

Table 2 Equipment involved in Production of PAC

Equipment Description

Belt Conveyor (B-101) To transport raw material of AlOH powder

into a hopper (T-101)

Mixer (M-101) To mix aluminium hydroxide powder, sodium

hydroxide powder and water before entering

the reactor (R-101)

Hopper (T-101) To contain the raw material of AlOH powder

and to control the mass flow rate fed into the

reactor (R-101)

Cooler 1 (E-101) To reduce the temperature of the reactor

Cooler 2 (E-102) To reduce the temperature of PAC product

from the reactor (R-101) before enter Crude

PAC Tank (T-105)

Heater (E-103) To increase the temperature of the reactor to

100C and by using low pressure steam.

Pump 1 (P-101) To pump the coolant into the Reactor (R-101)

 Pump 2 (P-102) To pump the coolant into PAC Graphite (T-

102)

Pump 3 (P-103) To pump PAC product from Crude PAC Tank

(T-105) to Filter Press Separator (S-101)

Pump 4 (P-104) To pump PAC product from PAC Tank (T-

106) to the Conditioning Tank(T-107)

Filter Press Separator (S-101) To separate the liquid and solid component of

PAC product, water and unreacted aluminium

hydroxide.

Water Scrubber (T-103) To absorb the unreacted HCl gas in water

Blow Down Tank (T-104) To collect excess unreacted raw material will

then be flow back to reactor.

Conditioning Tank (T-107) To increase the basicity of PAC product by

addition of Sodium Hydroxide.

Reactor (R-101) AlOH react with HCl to at 100C and 1 atm to

produce PAC and water.

Crude PAC Tank (T-105) To contain the cooled PAC product from PAC

Graphite Tank (T-102)

PAC Tank (T-106) To contain separated component of PAC

product from Filter Press Separator (S-101)

Boiler (B-101) To supply high temperature of steam into the

reactor