The five-minute chemical engineer
- Honeywell Profimatics, Thousand Oaks, CA (United States)
Engineering offices are filled with computers and state-of-the-art software. Given the right set of circumstances, refinery engineers are delighted to use all of this stuff: technology is at their fingertips and, if time permits, one can grind out an answer to full machine precision. But, many really useful refinery calculations can be simplified using miscellaneous bits of information and a few rules. These calculation techniques provide a quick way to evaluate whether something is worth pursuing in more detail, or whether time would be better spent performing other activities. These estimates also provide reasonable answers in a timely manner, when engineers do not have access to all of the high-tech tools on their desktop. In most cases all that is required is an inexpensive calculator and five minutes of your time. Only a few really important constants are needed to do most quick-and-dirty refining calculations. These constants are summarized in four tables along with a set of commonly used equations. Examples are provided that illustrate use of the constants and equations. Some examples may be familiar: can a heat exchanger be used in a particular service; what size driver would be needed to compress a stream from one pressure to the next; how much fuel is being used by a boiler or process heater; how much energy can be saved by cutting reflux? The intent is to provide the tools to quickly estimate answers to these questions.
- OSTI ID:
- 178365
- Journal Information:
- Hydrocarbon Processing, Vol. 75, Issue 1; Other Information: PBD: Jan 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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