Project Synopsis
Evaluate the required duty load and potential alternatives for the replacement of a chilled water system at a batch specialty chemical manufacturing plant.
Project Summary
CHILLED WATER REPLACEMENT SYSTEM TECHNICAL EVALUATION
Process Engineering Associates, LLC (PROCESS) was contracted by the client, a multi-national chemical manufacturer, to evaluate one of their U.S. facility’s chiller needs. The work had three major objectives. First, calculate the maximum cooling load for multiple vessels cooled by jackets and/or internal cooling coils. Next, determine the maximum “instantaneous” cooling load based on the current equipment usage and required chiller usage for the facility unit operations. This value would represent the maximum chiller “operating” load for the current process equipment configuration. And lastly, evaluate the benefit of using available tanks to store chilled water, which could be generated during non-peak operation, potentially reducing the chiller size.
Heat transfer calculations on the specified vessels were performed using TankJkt (Chemeng) software. This computer software calculates the heat transfer rate over time for batch systems. Using the calculated results, as well as data supplied by the client (current cooling rates for various vessels outside PROCESS‘ scope), cycle time of operation for the various units and the maximum duty for the facility on each day of a scheduled weekly operation was calculated. The client used this sizing data to identify a chiller for purchase.
The client had some available free tank volume for chilled water storage situated close to the expected location of the proposed chiller. Calculations were performed to evaluate if the size of the chiller unit could be decreased by augmenting peak load with stored chilled water. The calculations showed minimal impact on chiller size and this option was abandoned.
Industry Type
- Batch Specialty Chemical Production
Utilized Skills
- Process alternatives evaluation
- Process utility requirements evaluation