- Process flow diagram
A process flow diagram (PFD) is a diagram commonly used in chemical and
process engineering to indicate the general flow of plant processes and equipment. The PFD displays the relationship between "major" equipment of a plant facility and does not show minor details such as piping details and designations. Another commonly-used term for a PFD is a "flowsheet".Typical content of a process flow diagram
Typically, process flow diagrams of a single
unit process will include the following:
* Processpiping
* Major equipment items
*Control valves and other majorvalves
* Connections with other systems
* Major bypass and recirculation streams
* Operational data (temperature ,pressure ,mass flow rate ,density , etc.), often by stream references to amass balance .
* Process stream namesProcess flow diagrams generally do not include:
* Pipe classes or piping line numbers
* Process control instrumentation (sensors and final elements)
* Minor bypass lines
* Isolation and shutoff valves
* Maintenance vents and drains
* Relief andsafety valve s
* FlangesProcess flow diagrams of multiple process units within a large industrial plant will usually contain less detail and may be called "block flow diagrams" or "schematic flow diagrams".
Process flow diagram examples
Single process unit
The process flow diagram below depicts a single chemical engineering unit process known as an amine treating plant:
Multiple process units within an industrial plant
The process flow diagram below is an example of a schematic or block flow diagram and depicts the various unit processes within a typical
oil refinery :Other items of interest
A PFD can be computer generated from process simulators (see
List of Chemical Process Simulators ), CAD packages, or flow chart software using a library of chemical engineering symbols. Rules and symbols are available from standardization organizations such asDIN ,ISO orANSI . Often PFDs are produced on large sheets of paper.PFDs of many commercial processes can be found in the literature, specifically in encyclopedias of chemical technology, although some might be outdated. To find recent ones, patent databases such as those available from the
United States Patent and Trademark Office can be useful.tandards
* ISO 10628: Flow Diagrams For Process Plants - General Rules
* ANSI Y32.11: Graphical Symbols For Process Flow Diagrams (withdrawn 2003)
* SAA AS 1109: Graphical Symbols For Process Flow Diagrams For The Food IndustryFurther reading
*
*cite book|author=M.S. Ray and M.G. Sneesby|title=Chemical Engineering Design Project: A Case Study Approach|edition=2nd Edition|publisher=Gordan and Breach Science Publishers|year=1998|id=ISBN 9056991361
*cite book|author=R. Turton, R.C. Bailie, W.B. Whiting and J.S. Shaeiwitz|title=Analysis, Synthesis, and Design of Chemical Processes|edition=2nd Edition|publisher=Prentice Hall|year=2002|id=ISBN 0-13-064792-6
*
External links
* [http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/pfd-process-flow-diagram-d_465.html The PFD at The Engineering Tool Box]
* [http://epb.lbl.gov/xfig/libraries/ProcessFlowsheet/index.html Library of PFD symbols for the xfig program] Dead link|date=February 2008
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