Preliminary Chemical Process Design and Economics

Chemical engineering design and economics are usually taught as senior-level courses at universities offering this degree. This textbook is derived from notes developed by the author while teaching such courses at the Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta, GA. Topics include general discussions of process synthesis, product and reaction path selection strategies, engineering economics, and capital cost estimation based on Guthrie, and Allen and Page. Heuristics for the selection of materials of construction are discussed as well as techniques for estimating operating and manufacturing costs such as labor, energy, and utilities based on internal pricing. Cash flow examples are presented, along with alternative criteria for economic optimization, and the design of a base case using process flow diagrams. Strategies for time management and team skills are summarized, as well as preliminary safety, equipment design, and process synthesis heuristics. Heat exchanger matching is described using the Linhoff method. Appendices include sections on approximate physical property estimation and the use of composition-nodes in estimating material and energy balances, particularly in countercurrent systems.