Furnaces

[Tip Number 15 ] This tip about Furnaces is for Layout personnel:

When setting the elevation of a furnace a key consideration is the location of the burners.
When the burners are floor mounted, the elevation of the furnace shall be set high enough
to allow maintenance personnel to walk freely under the furnace. It is not necessary for
personnel to be able to walk freely under all the burner piping. A clearance from grade to
the bottom of the furnace or preheat ducting (if applicable) of around 8 feet is typical.
[Tip Number 16 ] This tip about Furnaces is for Layout personnel:
When you have a group of furnaces in the same design area in a unit, consider using a
common stack for the group.
Drums
[Tip Number 28 ] This tip about Drums is for Layout personnel:
When locating drums, position them to minimize the interconnecting piping length between
the pieces of equipment involved in the process. Generally drums are located at grade on
the sides of the pipe rack, but in certain cases can be located on top of the pipe rack (for
example, for deaerators). In chemical plants it is common to locate drums inside of vertical
structures to leverage gravity flow between the process equipment components located on
different floors of the structure.

Reactors
[Tip Number 27] This tip about Reactors is for Layout personnel:
When locating Reactors in a plant, here are some items to consider. The general objectives
are to locate the reactor such that the reactor inlet line (typically coming from a furnace) is
at a minimum length. At the same time, maintenance access to the reactor for catalyst
loading and unloading must be carefully considered since this maintenance activity has a
direct bearing on the profitability of the plant. Some specific objectives in locating a reactor
are to assure that the reactor elevation is set such that the client has clearance for the
outlet piping and the client can access the catalyst unloading nozzle with the equipment
they intend to use for catalyst unloading. For example, the client may be removing catalyst
with a truck (which typically requires 12-15 feet of clearance), or they may be removing
catalyst with a conveyer (which may require 4-6 feet clearance).
Definitions relevant to this design topic
Catalyst loading and regeneration: Designing for the operation management of the
catalyst is the principal layout feature of Reactor areas. Catalysts promote a reaction but do
not react in any way themselves. Some typical catalyst materials are alumina, zinc oxide, or
platinum. Since catalyst is used up during the process, it either has to be replaced in bulk

or it has to be regenerated (which usually means the catalyst is subjected to very high
temperatures.)

Reactors: The purpose of reactors is to change the chemical composition of the process
fluid; or, to remove undesirable agents from the process fluid, by exposing the fluid to a
combination of catalyst, pressure, and temperature. Most reactors are vertically mounted
vessels with elliptical heads. There are fewer connections than typical vertical vessels.
Generally, connections are limited to inlet and outlet, maintenance access, unloading,
sample, and temperature. Internally, reactors are furnished with bed supports, screens,
inlet baffles, outlet collectors, catalysts, and inert materials.
Compressors
[Tip Number 3] This tip about Compressors is for Layout personnel:
When estimating the width of a rack (sleepers) in a reciprocating
compressor area, do not use the minimum spacing requirements between
piping lines for a typical pipe rack. Straps are almost always
required on reciprocating compressor piping. Room will be needed
between pipelines in the rack to attach the ears of the straps to
steel inserts on the concrete piers (sleepers). Also, the straps are
often adjustable and room will be needed to reach the adjusting
nuts.
[Tip Number 2] This tip about Compressors is for Layout personnel:
Reciprocating Compressors: During the bid phase of the compressor,
determine who is responsible for the adjustable surge bottle
supports and what the design is. Be sure to allow clearance for
these supports as they are often large.
[Tip Number 1] This tip about Compressors is for Layout personnel:
Lube oil consoles are typically a vendor supplied skid that will
have required clearances for maintenance defined by the compressor
manufacturer. Be sure that a) there is room to service the cooler
bundle, b) that the filters can be serviced; and, c) heating coils
located under the skid can be pulled (heating coils are often found
in cold climates).
[Tip Number 5] This tip about Compressors is for Stress and Supports
personnel:
In a reciprocating compressor area, typically the mechanical study
(the calculation of the natural frequency response of the piping
systems) is done in-house (this is a different study than the
acoustic study which is typically done by the reciprocating
compressor vendor or else the acoustic study is done by an outside
subcontractor such as Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio,

Texas, USA.) Hopefully the project team has successfully negotiated

a reasonable acceptable minimum natural frequency requirement with
the compressor vendor during the bidding phase (for a 360 rpm
reciprocating compressor, a piping system fundamental natural
frequency of around 12-15 cycles per second is often used). Have
this mechanical frequency check completed prior to submitting analog
isos to the analog sub-contractor.
[Tip Number 4] This tip about Compressors is for Stress and Supports
personnel:
In reciprocating compressor areas analog studies of the piping
systems are often done to determine the impact of acoustic pressure
echos in the system. Find out who is responsible for the analog
study and what their schedule is. Be sure the time for the analog
study fits into the project schedule. Once the analog study is
complete, revisions to the equipment layout or piping layout are
costly.
[Tip Number 6] This tip about Compressors is for Stress and Supports
personnel:
In a reciprocating compressor area, if the in-house project team is
responsible for the pipe support design, be sure any pipe support
standards comply with the minimum requirements for stiffness and
mass required by the analog analysis sub-contractor.
Definitions relevant to this design topic

Compressor: Compressors force the flow of gas through piping systems.

Compressors do this by adding energy to the gas which increases the
pressure of the gas. The high pressure gas then flows through the piping
systems to areas of low pressure. Compressors have a variety of ways to
add energy to gas which increases the pressure of the gas. The two most
common ways to do this are by a reciprocating action and by a spinning or
centrifugal action.
Compressor, Centrifugal: A centrifugal compressor has impellers which spin
about their axis at a high rate of speed. The impeller 'scoops' up the low
pressure gas as it enters the impeller chamber, spins the gas around the
impeller axis, and throws the gas out the high pressure end of the
impeller chamber. The energy added to the gas by the spinning action
results in an increased pressure of the gas. Sometimes multiple stages are
used to incrementally add pressure to the gas. Centrifugal compressors are
used when it is necessary to moderately increase the pressure of the gas
to large volumes of gas. In a compressor area, you will typically see
large pipes that can accommodate large volumes of gas. Since we are adding
only moderate amounts of additional pressure to the gas, pressure losses
due to elbows and pipe lengths become more important. To try to minimize
these pressure losses, and to minimize the costs associated with large
diameter piping, minimizing the number of elbows and length of suction and

discharge piping is important. Minimal pipe lengths often result in

expansion joints being used to ease the loads on the compressor nozzles
Compressor, Reciprocating: A reciprocating compressor has pistons which
draw in low pressure gas on the back stroke and force out high pressure
gas on the forward stroke. Reciprocating compressors have multiple stages
- each stage having a piston action - and each stage adding more energy
and more pressure to the gas. Reciprocating compressors are used when it
is necessary to take a low pressure gas to a much larger pressure. Due to
the piston action of the compressors, the flow of gas in the piping
systems is characterized by pressure pulses which travel in the pipe like
waves. These pressure pulses can cause vibration problems.
Towers
[Tip Number 32] This tip about Towers is for Layout personnel:
Platform arrangements on towers involve the setting of the platform
elevations and widths, plus the location of ladders. Typically the
width of a platform must include at least 3 feet of clear room for
operator mobility. Platform elevations are set by the items that
will need maintenance and by a maximum ladder length of 30 feet. The
location of ladders is reserved for both sides of the tower that are
not the sides of the tower being utilized for the vertical piping or
the maintenance area for the tower. Since the vertical piping of the
tower is typically located on the side of the tower closest to the
pipe rack, and the maintenance area for the tower is typically
located on the side of the tower opposite or furthest from the
piperack, the ladders are typically located on the two remaining
sides of the tower. Here are some further rules of thumb regarding
setting tower platform elevations (be sure to follow any client or
design guide requirements first - the following tips are for
guidance only). Keep the minimum elevation between platforms no less
the 8 feet. Have platforms for maintenance access to the tower
between 3 feet and 5 feet as measured from the top of platform to
the centerline of the maintenance hatch. Have at least 10 inches
minimum between the top vapor outlet platform elevation and the top
of the head of the tower. Valve handwheel access should be between
18 inches and 80 inches from the top of platform elevation. The
bottom of level gages or bridles should be no less than 12 inches
from the top of the platform. In the absence of client or design
guide criteria, level temperature, and pressure gauge access can be
by either platform or ladder.
[Tip Number 31] This tip about Towers is for Layout personnel:
Setting the tower elevation is one of the first steps in tower
layout. The objective is to set the elevation of the lower tangent
line of the tower as low as possible. This minimum elevation is set

by some combination of the following constraints: a) Net Positive

Suction Head (NPSH) as defined by the process group and measured
from the bottom of the vessel to the centerline of the pump impeller
(assuming an end suction horizontal centrifugal pump); b) operator
access allowing the operater to freely move between the tower and
connected equipment such as the liquid outlet suction pump c)
maintenance access providing room for equipment to move under the
liquid outlet piping; d) minimum clearance allowing pipe supports to
be placed under the liquid outlet piping; e) vertical reboiler
elevation including the amount of elevation needed for bonnet
removal and reboiler maintenance activities from grade; and, f)
common access elevation if common platforms are being used across
multiple towers. The most common constraint that sets elevation is
operator access around the tower vessel.
[Tip Number 30] This tip about Towers is for Layout personnel:
Although tray configurations and dimensions are supplied by the
process people, the orientation of the trays is typically the
purview of the Plant Design group. The orientation of the trays
involves the location of the downcomers. The downcomers can be
located in any direction provided that alternate tray downcomers (in
the case of single pass trays) are located opposite each other.
Also, once the downcomers are oriented, they should retain that
orientation throughout the tower (note that exceptions to this tip
are common, such as in towers with chimney trays or towers with
varying diameters that trays that change from single pass to double
pass). Two primary considerations when orienting trays are
maintenance access ways and reboilers. Maintenance access ways are
preferred on the side of the tower away from the pipe rack and
closest to the access road. Maintenance access ways are NOT to be
located on the same side of the tower as a downcomer. Conversely, a
reboiler nozzle draw-off IS typically located under the downcomers.
The reboiler nozzle is often on the same side of the tower as the
reboiler. These two criteria, location of the maintenance hatches
and location of the reboiler draw-off nozzle usually set the tray
orientation.
[Tip Number 29] This tip about Towers is for Layout personnel:
Here are some tips on orienting tower nozzles and setting their
elevation. For maintenance accesses, locate the openings away from
downcomer sections and make sure that tower internal piping does not
block the maintenance access. You will typically locate reboiler
nozzles at the bottom portion of the tower. For example, for a
thermosiphon reboiler the tower outlet nozzle is located below the
bottom tray. Reboiler return nozzles are located above the liquid
level. Vapor outlet nozzle(s) are located on the top head. The

tower's liquid outlet nozzle is located on the bottom head and can
be oriented in any direction but is usually driven by the stress
analysis of the suction pump lines. Nozzles for temperature and
pressure probes are located throughout the tower as described by the
instrument sketch supplied by the Instrument group. Temperature
probes will be located in a liquid space while the pressure probes
will be located in a vapor space. Nozzles for level instruments are
located in a liquid space usually at the bottom of the tower. When
setting the elevation and location of any nozzle on a tower, make
sure your nozzle and associated internal piping (if any) are clear
of tray support beams. If the beam depths are unknown, a rule of
thumb is: the depth of the tray support beam (in inches) is equal to
the diameter of the vessel (in feet) divided by 2, then add 2".
Definitions relevant to this design topic
Towers: Towers, also referred to as columns, are one of the principal
pieces of equipment of any processing facility. Towers are a combination
of multiple stills where a feedstock is separated into its hydrocarbon
components, then drawn off from the side of the tower at the appropriate
elevation for the product.
Towers, packed: In a packed tower, instead of having trays, the units are
packed with beds of metal rings. On entering the tower, the liquid passes
through a distributor that routes the liquid evenly down through the
packed beds of metal rings. Rising vapors passing through the beds come
into contact with the descending liquid. In a manner similar to trayed
tower operation, the liquid is partially vaporized by the heat from the
vapors and the vapors are condensed by the cooler liquid.
Towers, trayed: This type of tower has internals that are trays.