Chemical Engineering Interview Preparation Guide

Check / consider the following:

► The upper pressure range and /or the smaller pipe diameters prompts me to investigate the possibility that the gas is reaching critical flow somewhere downstream within the pipe. When a gas gets to critical flow, sonic booms (producing vibration) are expected. In fact, one of the main means by which the additional pressure in the pipe is lost.

► If the source is a compressor, look for surging.

► If the source is a tower, look for pressure cycling in the tower

► Look at critical flow through any control valve that may be in the line.

► Are there any vapors in the line, which can condense and produce two-phase flow? Two-phase flow can cause vibration.

In chemical plant design, if we suspect two-phase flow, we instruct the piping designers to provide special anchoring.

The RheoVac air in-leak monitor by Intek, Inc. in Westerville, OH is a viable meter that gives the actual air in-leakage flow rate. It also gives you exhauster capacity and a vacuum quality reading. If you want to find more information, you can view their web site below.

A 600 psig, 3" steam line is experiencing "passing" or internal leakage. If you order to replace the valve, the process would have to be taken offline. A temporary solution to the problem is sought to get the plant to their next scheduled shut down ANSWER Research on-stream leak sealing services. This problem is quite common. What they would do in this case is drill a hole into the bypass valve on the upstream side but not completely into the line. They would then tap the hole and install one of your injection fittings, which is like a small plug valve. They would then take a long 1/8" drill bit and drill through the open injection fitting and into the pressurized line. The drill bit is then removed and our injection equipment is then attached. Sealant (heavy fibers and grease) is pumped into the line and caught in the flow, which will bind up against the leaking seat on the bypass valve. If done properly, this technique can be both effective and safe.

A rule of thumb is to turn the tank over three (3) times and then sample the tank for mixture properties. By "turn the tank over”, we mean to force the entire volume of the tank through the pump at least three times. More turnovers may be necessary, but three times is a good starting point.

There are various traditional methods to employ waste steam in an operating plant:

1. You can generate electricity through a steam turbine-generator set. The electricity is usually put back in the line; this is the idea behind the "Co-Gen" concept used today in many USA plants. Steam turbines can effectively use saturated steam supply down to 75 - 100 psig. In special conditions, they have used down to 50 psig as a turbine steam supply. I have used steam as low as 100 psig.

2. You can pre-heat process streams that require pre-heating; this is done by applying heat exchangers.

3. You can employ the waste steam as a refrigeration source by employing it in vacuum jet ejectors and producing 50 of cooling water.

You have to consider these as viable options if you can identify the heating, cooling and energy conservation requirements. An economic analysis is required to identify the most attractive option. You usually utilize a Discounted Cash Flow analysis to base your decision and that means you must study each case as to savings generated. A fourth method might be that you can use the steam for environmental heating (if you live in a cold climate).

It is unclear as to whether or not you know the total steam consumption. If you do not, one way to get it is to take the nominal capacity of the boiler in terms of heat, i.e. the total rated Btu/hr. This is usually available either through the documentation you have for the boiler or even on the nameplate. You also must know the steam pressure you are producing. Using the steam tables, get the enthalpy of the steam and divide it into the nominal boiler capacity to get the total rate. I hope that you also know how much of the capacity you are using, 50%, 75% etc. Multiply this by the total lb/hr to get your rate. Another way to get the capacity is by using the amount of boiler feed water you are sending to the boiler and the known level of steam you are producing. Do not forget to include the blow down in your heat & mass balance. Getting the rate to each plant is more difficult if you are lacking in instrumentation. Use as much plant instrumentation as possible; flow meters, pressure and temperature indicators. If you do not have a meter in each header to each plant, then see if you have them in sections or to pieces of equipment using the steam. Another way is to measure the amount of condensate you are returning to the boiler. If you are dumping the condensate, you may be able to collect and measure the amount in a pail from each source. Another way is to use the process instrumentation and do some mass and energy balances around the steam users.

Slurry lines should be flushed with a minimum fluid velocity of 10 ft/s and the total flushing liquid volume should equal 3-6 times the total piping volume.

Design of slurry piping systems should follow ANSI/ASME B31.1 and B31.11 Codes. A simple equation for this calculation is as follows: t = (PD) / (2S) + C where: t = pipe wall thickness, in. P = maximum design pressure of the pipe, psig S = maximum allowable design stress, psig C = corrosion or erosion allowance, in.

Even long radius elbows should be avoided in slurry pipes and lines. They are often the site of severe erosion or solid/liquid separation. Only gentle pipe bends or sweeps should be used to turn a slurry line. Industrial experience has shown that a bend-radius-to-pipe-diameter ratio of 3-5 is recommended.

Manufacturers of these systems recommend bin agitation or blowing air into the top of the feeding bin. These methods can prevent fine particle from bridging near the rotators valve. Two types of particles that are especially prone to bridging include titanium dioxide and calcined- kaolin clay.