A Framework to Systematize Technology of Preliminary Process Design for Plant Lifecycle Engineering

Abstract

The process and plant design stages, in particular the preliminary process design (PPD) stage, are performed repeatedly to cope with environmental changes at a plant during its lifecycle. The stages after the original design are called revamp design stages. As the PPD is repeated, operational flexibility is decreased. As a result, slight deviations from the intended critical process conditions during operation can lead to problems. However, in many cases, the causes of an operational problem are not identified, leading to safety issues. To overcome this, a framework including two Business Process Models (BPMs) is developed and modeled using IDEF0 with a hierarchical nature and ability to describe the PDCA engineering cycle. One BPM is developed to acquire the information on critical process conditions generated in the PPD stage. The other BPM is developed to systematize the acquired generated information into technology for the PPD by associating the information with design variables. The former BPM must first be developed as a reference model for the latter as a requirement. Furthermore, the framework is clearly divided into the above-mentioned two BPMs to manage the technology throughout the plant lifecycle while keeping consistent linkage to each other. Finally, it is confirmed that the developed framework has the necessary structure to systematize the technology of the PPD throughout the plant lifecycle by tracing a practical example problem of a distillation column in the framework.