Plant Location and Site Selection

Plant Location
and Site Selection
Plant Location and Site Selection

The location of the plant can have a crucial effect on
the profitability of a project, and the scope for future
expansion.
Many factors must be considered when selecting a
suitable site.
Site selection for chemical process plants is discussed
in more detail by Vilbrandt and Dryden (1959), Rase
and Barrow (1964), Merims (1966) and Mecklenburgh
(1985).
The principal factors to consider are:
2

1. Location, with respect to the marketing area.
2. Raw material supply.
3. Transport facilities.
4. Availability of labor.
5. Availability of utilities: water, fuel, power.
6. Availability of suitable land.
7. Environmental impact, and effluent disposal.
8. Local community considerations.
9. Climate.
10.Political and strategic considerations.

Marketing area
For materials that are produced in bulk quantities;
such as cement, mineral acids, and fertilisers, where
the cost of the product per tonne is relatively low and
the cost of transport a significant fraction of the sales
price, the plant should be located close to the
primary market.
This consideration will be less important for low
volume production, high-priced products; such as
Pharmaceuticals.

Raw materials
The availability and price of suitable raw materials will
often determine the site location.
Plants producing bulk chemicals are best located
close to the source of the major raw material; where
this is also close to the marketing area.

Transport
The transport of materials and products to and from the plant will
be an overriding consideration in site selection.
If practicable, a site should be selected that is close to at least two
major forms of transport: road, rail, waterway (canal or river), or a
sea port.
Road transport is being increasingly used, and is suitable for local
distribution from a central warehouse.
Rail transport will be cheaper for the long-distance transport of
bulk chemicals.
Air transport is convenient and efficient for the movement of
personnel and essential equipment and supplies, and the proximity
of the site to a major airport should be considered.
6

Availability of labour
Labour will be needed for construction of the plant
and its operation.
Skilled construction workers will usually be brought in
from outside the site area, but there should be an
adequate pool of unskilled labour available locally;
and labour suitable for training to operate the plant.
Skilled tradesmen will be needed for plant
maintenance. Local trade union customs and
restrictive practices will have to be considered when
assessing the availability and suitability of the local
labour for recruitment and training
7

Utilities (services)
Chemical processes invariably require large quantities of water for
cooling and general process use, and the plant must be located near
a source of water of suitable quality.
Process water may be drawn from a river, from wells, or purchased
from a local authority.
At some sites, the cooling water required can be taken from a river or
lake, or from the sea; at other locations cooling towers will be needed.
Electrical power will be needed at all sites. Electrochemical processes
that require large quantities of power; for example, aluminium
smelters, need to be located close to a cheap source of power.
A competitively priced fuel must be available on site for steam and
power generation.

Environmental impact, and effluent disposal
All industrial processes produce waste products, and
full consideration must be given to the difficulties and
cost of their disposal.
The disposal of toxic and harmful effluents will be
covered by local regulations, and the appropriate
authorities must be consulted during the initial site
survey to determine the standards that must be met.
An environmental impact assessment should be made
for each new project, or major modification or
addition to an existing process
9

Local community considerations
The proposed plant must fit in with and be acceptable
to the local community.
Full consideration must be given to the safe location
of the plant so that it does not impose a significant
additional risk to the community.
On a new site, the local community must be able to
provide adequate facilities for the plant personnel:
schools, banks, housing, and recreational and cultural
facilities.
10

Climate
Adverse climatic conditions at a site will increase costs.
Abnormally low temperatures will require the provision of
additional insulation and special heating for equipment and
pipe runs.
Stronger structures will be needed at locations subject to high
winds (cyclone/hurricane areas) or earthquakes.
Political and strategic considerations
Capital grants, tax concessions, and other inducements are
often given by governments to direct new investment to
preferred locations; such as areas of high unemployment.
The availability of such grants
consideration in site selection.
can
be
the
overriding
11

SITE LAYOUT
The process units and ancillary buildings should be
laid out to give the most economical flow of materials
and personnel around the site.
Hazardous processes must be located at a safe
distance from other buildings. Consideration must
also be given to the future expansion of the site.
The ancillary buildings and services required on a site,
in addition to the main processing units (buildings),
will include:
12

1. Storages for raw materials and products: tank
farms and warehouses.
2. Maintenance workshops.
3. Stores, for maintenance and operating supplies.
4. Laboratories for process control.
5. Fire stations and other emergency services.
6. Utilities: steam boilers, compressed air, power
generation, refrigeration, transformer stations.
7. Effluent disposal plant.
8. Offices for general administration.
9. Canteens and other amenity buildings, such as
medical centres.
10. Car parks.
13

When roughing out the preliminary site layout, the
process units will normally be sited first and arranged to
give a smooth flow of materials through the various
processing steps, from raw material to final product
storage.
Process units are normally spaced at least 30 m apart;
greater spacing may be needed for hazardous processes.
The siting of the main process units will determine the
layout of the plant roads, pipe alleys and drains.
Access roads will be needed to each building for
construction, and for operation and maintenance.
14

Cooling towers should be sited so that under the
prevailing wind the plume of condensate spray drifts
away from the plant area and adjacent properties.
The main storage areas should be placed between the

loading and unloading facilities and the process units
they serve.
Storage tanks containing hazardous materials should
be sited at least 70 m (200 ft) from the site boundary.
15
16

PLANT LAYOUT
The economic construction and efficient operation of a process unit will
depend on how well the plant and equipment specified on the process
flow-sheet is laid out.
A detailed account of plant layout techniques cannot be given in this
short section. A fuller discussion can be found in the book edited by
Mecklenburg (1985) and in articles by Kern (1977, 1978), Meissner and
Shelton (1992), Brandt et al. (1992), and Russo and Tortorclla (1992).
The principal factors to be considered are:
1. Economic considerations: construction and operating costs.
2. The process requirements.
3. Convenience of operation.
4. Convenience of maintenance.
5. Safety.
6. Future expansion.
7. Modular construction.
17

Costs
The cost of construction can be minimised by adopting a
layout that gives the shortest ran of connecting pipe
between equipment, and the least amount of structural
steel work.
However, this will not necessarily be
arrangement for operation and maintenance.
the
best
Process requirements
An example of the need to take into account process
considerations is the need to elevate the base of columns
to provide the necessary net positive suction head to a
pump or the operating head for a thermosyphon reboiler
18

Operation
Equipment that needs to have frequent operator attention should be
located convenient to the control room. Valves, sample points, and
instruments should be located at convenient positions and heights.
Sufficient working space and headroom must be provided to allow
easy access to equipment.
Maintenance
Heat exchangers need to be sited so that the tube bundles can be
easily withdrawn for cleaning and tube replacement.
Vessels that require frequent replacement of catalyst or packing
should be located on the outside of buildings.
Equipment that requires dismantling for maintenance, such as
compressors and large pumps, should be placed under cover.
19

Safety
Blast walls may be needed to isolate potentially hazardous
equipment, and confine the effects of an explosion.
At least two escape routes for operators must be provided
from each level in process buildings.
Plant expansion
Equipment should be located so that it can be
conveniently tied in with any future expansion of the
process.
Space should be left on pipe alleys for future needs, and
service pipes over-sized to allow for future requirements.
20

Modular construction
In recent years there has been a move to assemble sections of plant at the
plant manufacturer's site.
These modules will include the equipment, structural steel, piping
and instrumentation. The modules are then transported to the plant site,
by road or sea.
The advantages of modular construction are:
1. Improved quality control.
2. Reduced construction cost.
3. Less need for skilled labour on site.
4. Less need for skilled personnel on overseas sites.
Some of the disadvantages are:
1. Higher design costs.
2. More structural steel work.
3. More flanged connections.
4. Possible problems with assembly, on site.
21

General considerations
Open, structural steelwork, buildings are normally
used for process equipment; closed buildings are only
used for process operations that require protection
from the weather.
The arrangement of the major items of equipment will
usually follow the sequence given on the process
flow-sheet: with the columns and vessels arranged in
rows and the ancillary equipment, such as heat
exchangers and pumps, positioned along the outside.
A typical preliminary layout is shown in figure below.
22
23

Several proprietary programs
are available for the generation of 3-dimensional
models of plant layout and piping.
Present systems allow designers to zoom in on a
section of plant and view it from various angles.
24
25

ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS
All individuals and companies have a duty of care to
their neighbours, and to the environment in general.
In addition to this moral duty, stringent controls over
the environment are being introduced in the all
industrially developed
countries and developing
countries.
Vigilance is required in both the design and operation
of process plant to ensure that legal standards are
met and that no harm is done to the environment.
26

Consideration must be given to:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
All emissions to land, air, water.

Waste management.
Smells.
Noise.
The visual impact.
Any other nuisances.
The environmental friendliness of the products.
27

Waste arises mainly as byproducts or unused reactants
from the process, or as off specification product produced
through mis-operation.
There will also be fugitive emissions from leaking seals
and flanges, and inadvertent spills and discharges
through mis-operation.
In emergency situations, material may be discharged to
the atmosphere through vents normally protected by
bursting discs and relief values.
The designer must consider all possible sources of
pollution and, where practicable, select processes that
will eliminate or reduce (minimize) waste generation.
28

Unused reactants can be recycled and off-specification product
reprocessed.
Integrated processes can be selected: the waste from one process
becoming the raw material for another.
Processes and equipment should be designed to reduce the chances of
mis-operation; by providing tight control systems, alarms and
interlocks.
Sample points, process equipment drains, and pumps should be sited
so that any leaks flow into the plant effluent collection system, not
directly to sewers.
Hold-up systems, tanks and ponds, should be provided to retain spills
for treatment. Flanged joints should be kept to the minimum needed
for the
assembly and maintenance of equipment.
29

When waste is produced, processes must be incorporated in
the design for its treatment and safe disposal. The following
techniques can be considered:
1. Dilution and dispersion.
2. Discharge to foul water sewer (with the agreement of the
appropriate authority).
3. Physical treatments: scrubbing, settling, absorption and
adsorption.
4. Chemical treatment: precipitation (for example, of heavy
metals), neutralization.
5. Biological treatment: activated sludge and other processes.
6. Incineration on land, or at sea.
7. Landfill at controlled sites.
8. Sea dumping - (now subject to tight international control).
30

Three Type of Waste are generated from the process
sections are:
Gaseous Waste
Liquid/ Aqueous Waste
Solid Waste
31

Noise
Noise can cause a serious
neighbourhood of a process plant.
nuisance
in
the
Care needs to be taken when selecting and specifying

equipment such as compressors, air-cooler fans,
induced and forced draught fans for furnaces, and
other noisy plant.
Noisy equipment should, as far as practicable, be sited
well away from the site boundary.
Mud banks and screens of trees can be used to reduce
the noise level perceived outside the site.
32

Environmental auditing
An environmental audit is a systematic examination
of how a business operation affects the environment.
It will include all emissions to air, land, and water; and
cover the legal constraints, the effect on community,
the landscape, and the ecology.
Products will be considered, as well as processes.
When applied at the design stage of a new
development it is more correctly called an
environmental impact assessment.
33

The aim of the audit or assessment is to:
1. Identify environmental problems associated with
manufacturing process and the use of the
products, before they become liabilities.
2. To develop standards for good working practices.
3. To provide a environmental basis for company
policy.
4. To
ensure
compliance
with
environmental
legislation.
5. To satisfy requirements of insurers.
6. To minimize the production of waste: an economic
factor.
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