Transcript Product Design Development (cont.)

Chemical Engineering Economics
and Strategy
(Modified version for 1st year
students, October 2009)
Instructor: L-S Fan
Presented at National Taiwan University
September 19, 2008
Introduction

Chemical Engineering Traditional Plant design
involves:
 Developing new or modifying existing processes in
a chemical or biochemical plant
 Chemical Engineer also referred to as Design
Engineer or Process Engineer
Chemical Engineering Modern
Plant design requires to consider:
Product Engineering and
Sustainability
Ethylene Process
Reactions/reactors for
intermediate and final
products, T,P,
Catalysts,
Separation/separator
for pollutants and
products, and process
integration.
Thermal
Cracking
HydroCracking
MAPD-methyl
acetylene and
propadiene

Chemical product design consideration:

Synthesis of new molecular structure or product is
often motivated by the need to improve capability
and performance of an existing product.

The first step in the design of a Chemical Product
commences with the identification and/or creation of
potential opportunities to satisfy societal needs (and of
course to generate profit)
Product Design Development (cont.)
 Chemical Industry is now changing rapidly
 Evident from employment history over the past decade
Classified as: Chemical, Fuel, Electronics, Food and Bio
Traditional versus non-Traditional fields
Bachelor level
Doctoral level
Cussler, E. L. and Wei J. AIChE J., 49(5), 1072-1075 (2003)
Product Design Development (cont.)
 50 years ago Chemical engineering was very broad
 Basically two main categories of products
 Commodity Chemicals: gasoline, aspirin and sulfuric
acid
 Specialty Chemicals: paints, antibiotics and missile fuels
 For commodity chemicals: goal was to manufacture
product at minimum cost, with safety and environmental
considerations
 For specialty chemicals: goal was NOT low cost or efficient
operation but rapid way to reach the market
 The industry was based largely on petroleum feed stocks
Cussler, E. L. and Wei J. AIChE J., 49(5), 1072-1075 (2003)
Product Design Development (cont.)
 The change is summarized by two fundamental questions
1. How will we make the product?
2. What product will we make?
 Part of the answer to the 2nd question includes (entire)
answer to the 1st question
 So the change is from an emphasis on process design to
that on product design
 This will alter chemical engineering education and
research
Cussler, E. L. and Wei J. AIChE J., 49(5), 1072-1075 (2003)
Product Design Development (cont.)
 Product discoveries classified as
 Technology-push
 Market-pull
 Technology push: Wallace Carother’s (a DuPont scientist
who also invented Polylactic Acid (PLA) ) invention of nylon
in 1920s: Took 10 years for DuPont to commercialize a
polymer from lab beaker and sell it in the open market
 Market-pull: Taxol, a natural source based cure for cancer:
Took 30 years of R&D efforts from lab scale to commercial
stage
Cussler, E. L. and Wei J. AIChE J., 49(5), 1072-1075 (2003)
Product Design Development (cont.)
There are four main steps towards a product design
(1) Identify Customer Needs:
 Engineering rather than marketing is important
 How large a product improvement is feasible and can be
achieved
(2) Generate Ideas to meet Needs:
 For one successful idea we need numerous ideas :
Brainstorming
 DuPont: 300 ideas for 1 success (for commodities)
 3M: about 20 ideas for 1 success (for specialties)
 Generally : ~ 100 ideas for 1 product success
(3) Select among Ideas: very difficult to select 2-3 best ideas
(4) Manufacture Product: generally steps for process design
Cussler, E. L. and Wei J. AIChE J., 49(5), 1072-1075 (2003)
Product Design Development (cont.)
 Lighter products with improved strength, products that
are biodegradable, safer to manufacture, less toxic and
overall environmental friendly are some of the common
objectives.
 Once the molecule has been identified the next step
would be to identify the pathway for its synthesis
 The bonds that attach the atoms of a molecule form the
basis for its principal properties that signify the molecule
 It is not possible to synthesize molecules by assembly of
atoms and bonds together. Instead, a series of reactions,
called as reaction train, must be used to achieve the
desired product.
 It is not necessarily clear what feed materials to be used.
In some cases, it is possible to start with simple
molecules like CO and H2 and to build complex species
from them via Fischer Tropsch processes
Product Design Development (cont.)
Heuristic considerations for product design
Reaction engineering: focus on near isothermal batch
designs
2-3 phases reactions
Catalysis will be mainly homogeneous
Reactions may need low temp (- 40oC) and high pressures
(~ 10 atm)
Separations will emphasize crystallization and adsorption
More interest in adsorption selectivity
Cussler, E. L. and Wei J. AIChE J., 49(5), 1072-1075 (2003)
Product Design Development (cont.)
Chemical product design examples:
 Gasoline additives: Anti-knocking agents
lead, MTBE (methyl tertiary-butyl
ether)…
 Novel Refrigerants: Ozone depletion - freon 11, 12
Ozone benign freon 21(CHCl2F),HFC-134a
(CFH2CF3)
Cussler, E. L. and Wei J. AIChE J., 49(5), 1072-1075 (2003)
Product Design Development (cont.)
Bioproduct design examples:
 Controlled drug delivery: effective dosage and sustained
delivery
 Aerosol drug particle design: target delivery based on
aerodynamic equivalence and sustained effect
Cussler, E. L. and Wei J. AIChE J., 49(5), 1072-1075 (2003)
Multiple modes of drug delivery
from David Edwards webpage
April 2000
Modern Drug Discovery, 2000, 3(3) 30–32, 34.
© 2000 American Chemical Society.
Technologies such as microchips and microspheres are enabling the
therapeutic use of proteins.
BY MONA MORT
Imagine particles gliding through your bloodstream, particles in which tiny
computers reside—microchips programmed to release several drugs
at just the right rate for maximum therapeutic effect. Or better yet, the
microchip-containing particle is implanted directly into a target tissue or
organ and programmed to release drugs in response to biofeedback.
Such drug delivery technologies, because of their convenience,
efficiency, and decreased side effects, would quickly replace today’s
usual modes of drug delivery—taking several pills several times a day
or, even more unappealing to some people, visiting an office to get an
injection. And it is not only a matter of convenience and reduced
anxiety. In some cases, sustained release is also a more effective way
to deliver the drugs—at a slow, steady pace instead of dumping them
into the patient’s system with periodic doses of pills or injections.
Industrial Example: Novel Product Design
 Synthesis of new molecular structure or product is often
motivated by the need to improve capability and performance of
an existing product
 We shall now see the Cargill Dow’s novel process to synthesize
a proprietary polylactide polymer called NatureWorksTM PLA
which is based on fermentation, distillation and polymerization
of a simple plant sugar, corn dextrose
 Thus one can utilize the carbon stored in sugar and make a
polymer that has similar characteristics to traditional
thermoplastics
 Corn is one of the most abundant crops and it is now gaining
attention as one of the most pursued solutions for man-made
fibers and packaging
 This technology thus uses a naturally renewable resource (corn)
instead of depending of the traditional petroleum feedstock
 The major challenges for the new product must be able to
compete with the “conventional” polymers based on
performance and commercial viability. However it should be
based on renewable resources and bio-degradable.
Copyrights: Cargill Dow LLC
Novel Product Design (cont.)
The revolutionary process involves converting the carbon stored
in plant starches to natural plant sugars by photosynthesis. These
sugars are then used to make lactide which is then polymerized to
give polylactic acid. The process primarily relies on fermentation
and distillation as the major steps to synthesize PLA.
(60%-70% starch)
Lactic acid:2-hydroypropanoic acid
Lactide:cyclic di-ester of lactic acid
Copyrights: Cargill Dow LLC
Novel Product Design (cont.)
 The market opportunity for
NaureWorks PLA is estimated to
be about 1 billion pounds per
year
 The first small scale plant by
Cargill was built in 1994 with 8
million pounds per year
 In Nov 2001, Cargill Dow built a
new production facility at Balir,
Nebraska. The plant capacity is
about 300 million lbs per year.
 This will supply products to the
global markets in North
America, Europe and Asia
 This plant will use at least
40,000 bushels of corn per day
employing at least 100 workers
Copyrights: Cargill Dow LLC
Process Design Development
Developing a Preliminary Process Database
Perform a thorough literature review for kinetic,
thermophysical property and other process data
Detailed Patent search:
 especially from US, Germany and Japan.
 expired patents also provide a good idea to develop
similar processes. Many patents are now available over
the internet.
Process Design Development (cont.)
 Chemical Abstracts Service database:
 SciFinder Scholar© 2004 (a scientific search engine
for patents, journals … ).
 A very comprehensive, scientific indexing and
abstracting service in biochemistry, organic
chemistry, physical/analytical/applied chemistry,
chemical engineering, etc. since 1907.
 Engineering Index, Applied Science and Technology
Index, Science Citation Index, etc. provide electronic
access to thousands of journals
 ISI Web of Science – citation index, h - index
Process Design Development (cont.)
Encyclopedias:
 Kirk-Othmer Encyclopedia of Chemical Technology
 Ullman’s Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry
 McKetta - Encyclopedia of Chemical Processing and
Design
Handbooks:
 Perry’s Chemical Engineering Handbook,
 CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics, etc
Process Simulators:
 AspenPlus, BatchPlus, HysysPlant (Aspen
Technologies Inc.), ChemCad (Chemstations, Inc.), ProII (Simulation Sciences, Inc), SuperPro Designer
(Intelligen, Inc.), etc
Process Design Development (cont.)
Mathematical Packages
Matlab, Maple, Mathematica, Mathcad,
Non linear programs (NLPs),
Mixed integer linear programs (MILPs),
Mixed integer non-linear programs (MINLPs), etc
Other softwares for thermodynamic calculations:
 HSC chemistry
 Process Simulators can perform these computations
 ASPEN
 Other specific softwares
Process Design Development (cont.)
Chemical prices and other costing
 Chemical Market Reporter
(www.chemicalmarketreporter.com)
 Articles on chemicals of commerce and trade
www.findarticles.com
 Appendix B in the textbook page 890 – utilities,
instrumentation and other auxiliary costs
 Equipment costing: www.matche.com; capcost
software, Apsen Icarus Process Evaluator
 Environmental and Safety: toxicity data, MSDS, etc.
 MSDS: http://www.ehs.ohio-state.edu
 Toxicity: http://www.epa.gov/tri/chemical/index.htm
Aspen Modeling – Calcium Looping Gasification Process
Shell Gasifier
Coal
Q-DECOMP
DRY -COAL
Steam Generation
DECOMP
GASIFIER
INBURNER
RYIELD
STEA M3
RGIBBS
32
A IR
1
B12
B7
HOTSEQCO
ASU
CAO
9
A SU
O2C
2
CO2H2S-O
25
13
Integrated
Reactor
Calciner
CACO3SOL
23
N23
P1
CALC
B10
COOL
2
CAO,CO2
Q
W
CYCCO2
14
26
B20
20
22
B2
B13
SOLMA KUP
CALCSY NG
24
11
Q
M I XER
29
B11
4
HOTOFFGA
FSPLI T
33
CACO3
PUREH2
19
B9
COMBUSTO
Q
1
B15
PSA
PSA
10
B16
18
TAILGA S
B14
B8
6
34
B6
B3
30
53
H2 at 20 bar
COMPCO2





SYNGA S
CYCH2
B4
CO2
B1
8
5
B5
SOLPURGE
3
COMPA IRO
15
CARB
31
35
285 tons/day H2 production with CO2 capture
Shell Gasifier with ASU
Pure CO2 – sequestration ready
In situ CO2, Sulfur and halide capture
Process Efficiency 62.3 %
 H2 purity 99.999% w PSA
Process Design Development
There are thee main approaches for establishing a basis for a
potential chemical process
1. Use of existing process designs
2. Use of a part of an existing design with suitable
modifications
3. Generation of a completely new design
The first two methods require a thorough literature review
from various sources like patents, published literature,
books, encyclopedias etc (as discussed earlier) and thus one
can get an idea of the existing technologies.
However, for the generation of a new process design for an
existing product or to synthesize a completely new molecule
(or product) various factors have to be considered in detail
for the chemical synthesis.
Process Design Development
For the generation of new processes for an existing product some
of the important factors are
 Environmental factors: is the new process able to meet the
challenges of the stringent and ever increasing emission
regulation standards
 Energy requirements: does the new process require less
energy, does it depend on fossil energy or renewable
sources of energy like biomass, solar, wind etc
 Safety aspects: does the process avoid the use any
hazardous, toxic or carcinogenic raw materials or
intermediates, are any highly flammable or explosive
materials involved, does it require very high pressure and
temperature as compared to the existing process.
 Product cost: is the process economically feasible
Everything is governed by economics!!
Industrial Example: Novel Process for Ethyl Acetate
 Ethyl acetate is a bulk or a commodity chemical in large demand
 World production capacity is about 1.5 million tons/year
 Production capacity in the U.S. ~ 134,000 tons/year
 It is a highly volatile ester with a fruity, aromatic odor
 About 60% of ethyl acetate produced is used in coating and
paints applications
 Remainder applications include that of solvents for printings
inks, plastics, adhesives, cosmetics, packaging & lamination,
pharmaceutical and electronics
 Ethyl acetate is manufactured in continuous mode due the large
volume of production
 Typical plant capacities in the U.S. range from 11-60 tons/year
 Largest producer is BP Chemicals, Hulls, U.K. ~ 220 tons/year
Copyrights: Davy Process Technology
Conventional Processes for Ethyl Acetate
Copyrights: Davy Process Technology
Example: Novel Process for Ethyl Acetate
 The process consists of two reaction steps
 In the first step part of the ethanol is dehydrogenated to
acetaldehyde and hydrogen
 In the second step the acetaldehyde reacts with ethanol to give
ethyl acetate and one more hydrogen
Copyrights: Davy Process Technology
Novel Process for Ethyl Acetate (cont.)
The first commercial plant has been
built at Sassol’s Secunda sight in
South Africa and was
commissioned in April 2001 with a
capacity of about 50,000 tons/year.
Ethyl acetate of ~99.95% purity was
achieved in this plant.
Process development from bench
top to first commercial plant took
about 5 years only!
Copyrights: Davy Process Technology