Drums, Vessels,

& Storage Tanks

Design Considerations

The Equipment List

Vessels, including Reactors
VESSELS
Equip #

Name

Type

Diameter
m
ft

Length or Height Op. Pressure

Max Op. Pressure
OrientationMat'ls of Construction CAPCOSTBase
m
ft
KPA
bar (guage)
horiz/vert vessel
demister Equip#
Cost

Towers
Equip #

Type

Tray Dia
mm

Tower Dia
ft

Tray Spacing Ideal Trays Real Trays Length or Height

mm
number
number
m
ft

TOWERS

Storage Tanks
See User Added Equipment

Op. Pressure Max Op. Pressure

KPA
bar (guage)

Vessels - General
Wall Thickness
determined by required pressure
Process Engineer Determines Design Pressure
See Web Notes
Fab Shop
Process Engineer

Maximum Allowable Working Pressure

(MAWP)- Actual Metal Thickness Used
Design Pressure (Relief Valve Set Pressures,
Minimum Required Metal Thickness)
Maximum Op. Pressure (Controls, S/U , S/D ...)
Normal Op. Pressure (Pro II)

Design Pressure
Excessive design pressure causes equipment
to be more expensive than is required
for cylindrical shells

P ri

Cc
S EJ P

t = metal thickness, P = Design Pressure

Cc = Corrosion Allowance, Ej = Joint
Efficiency

Vessels - General

General - Design
Temperatures
Allowable Stress Values are dependant on
Temperature
Temperature at Design Pressure must be
stated
Materials become brittle below certain
temperatures - minimum design metal
temperature

Reflux Drums

Reflux Drum Sizing

Assume a length to diameter Ratio of 3
Therefore:

dia

( 3 dia )
2
Solve for diameter
vol

vol 4
dia

3

Reflux Drums (PRO II)

The Volume - Method 1
Determine Liquid Rate Into the Drum Careful of your simulator flows
Give 20% excess for start-up
Size for 5 to 10 min @ half full
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General - Tanks/Vessels
Method 2 - Hold Up Time (at half full)
2 to 32 minutes depending on quality of control
for each outgoing stream
5 to 10 minutes is sufficient with modern control
systems to handle minor upsets
30 minutes provides a 99% probability that an
operator can determine cause of failure
Engineering Judgement !
11

Vessels - Safety
Vessel that can be isolated require
Relief Valves

Vessels - Relief Valves

Vessels (Reactor)
Sized on processing
requirements
Agitated vessels usually
have L/D ~ 1
Non agitated L/D ~ 3
Superficial velocities
important?
Fluidization of contents?
Internal coils, external
jackets

Vessels (Reactor)
Plug Flow Reactor Issues
Residence Time / Volume - Pro II
Pressure Drop - packed beds - ergun eqt.
(Perrys)
Back Mixing - Testing, CFD - L/D > 5

General - Tanks/Vessels
Horizontal vs. Vertical
Vertical preferred when:
small liquid load
limited plot space
ease of level control is desired
Horizontal preferred when:
large liquid loads are involved, consequently holdup will set the size
three phases are present
12

General - Tanks/Vessels
36 + 1/2
feed nozzle
OD (48
min)

Mesh
Entrainment
Separator

12 + 1/2
feed nozzle
OD (18
min)

Vertical Separator
13

General - Tanks/Vessels
Liquid levels
norm liq level at 50%
show low liq level at 25%
provide low, low liq level for pump shut offs
Vapour Disengagement (vertical flash vessel)
Diameter Calcs; v = ft/ sec; density = lb/ft3
Val lowable k

L v
v

Vdesign (75 %) Vallowable

No Mesh k=0.16; Mesh Separators k = 0.35

Length to Diameter Ratio - 3 to 5 for Economical
Design - but not a necessity

13

Mesh Separator

Codes Stds - ASME

ASME - American Society of Mechanical
Engineers
Section I - Fired Heaters
Section VIII - Pressure Vessels
Other Sections (Plastic / Fiberglass /
nuclear)

14

Auxiliaries
Manholes / inspection ports
ASME Code has minimum requirements for
these based on vessel size - See Section 8
UG-46
Nozzles - velocities
max v=100/ , ft/sec
min v= 60/ , ft/sec
Non-tangential inlet for easier level control
14

Auxiliaries
Thermowells
Steamouts
Maintenance blinds
Drains
Level Gauges

High Liq Level = 18

Norm Liq Level = 12
36 in

Low Liq Level= 6

M
Y
D
12 ft

Towers
Diameter - Pro II
Tray Section Height
Number of Real Trays
Ideal Trays / 0.6 * 1.1

Height = 24 x # trays
Remember - subtract condenser & Reboiler
Additional Height for Reboiler
Additional Height for V/L Separation at top
Double Tray Spacing at Feed

Towers

4 ft

Double Tray
Space

6 ft

Towers - Diag

Valve Trays

Towers
Tray Flows

VIDEO

Towers
Packing
Random
Structured

Field Fabricated Vessels/Tanks

Fabricate in field if shipping is impractical
Typically large atmospheric tanks
Tank Types
Cone,
floating roof,
sphere,
hemispheroid
Codes & Stds API, ASME

Storage Tanks
Design Pressures < 15 psig

Tank Farm

Tanks - Cone Roof

Typically Design Pressure < 2 psig, but
usually 2.5 Inches Water gauge
Ensure Vapour Pressure of Liquid is
sufficiently low (suggest < half D.P.)

Storage Tanks - Cone Roof

Conservation Vent

Tanks - Floating Roof

Suitable for fluids with vapour pressures up
to about 8 psig

Floating Roof

pontoons
Edge Seal

Tanks - Spheres
Suitable for Design Pressures of
2 to 15 psig
30 to 220 psig (Ludwig)

Tanks - Bullet Tanks

Any Pressure

Workshop
Size the Flasher
36 + 1/2 feed
nozzle OD (48
min)

Vap Rate:
Liq Rate:
Vap Density:
Liq Density:
L v

Val lowable k

Vdesign (75 %) Vallowable

Size 50% Liq Hold-up for 10 min

2

12 + 1/2
feed
nozzle OD
(18 min)

dia

vol
( 3 dia )
2 1

vol 4
dia

3

end

questions
types of trays
horiz vs vertical reactors
lifter roof?
Margin of error on flows

Reflux Drums (HYSYS)

The Volume
Liquid Rate Into the Drum - Careful of your
simulator flows
Give 20% excess for start-up