CPE 613 Process Engineering Communications and Design Packages

Overview of Process Engineering Communications

  • Definition and Scope of CPE 613: Process Engineering Communications encompasses critical documentation and interaction phases in engineering, including:     * Conceptual Process Design: Developed for a new product or process.     * Basic Design Package: Authored by an engineering contractor.     * Design Report: The formal documentation concluding the design phase.

Conceptual Process Design

  • Primary Objective: To determine the economic feasibility of a new product or process and to serve as a guide for the research and development (R&D) process.

  • Communication Network: Conceptual design involves iterative communication between the following entities:     * Marketing     * Research and Development (R&D)     * Operations     * Process Engineering

Information Requirements for Conceptual Design

  • Information from Research and Development (R&D):     * Identification and specifications of feed materials.     * Detailed chemical reactions and associated kinetics.     * Information regarding separations processes.     * Physical property data, specifically Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium (VLE) data.

  • Information from Marketing:     * Definition of the end use for the product (especially critical for new products).     * Standardized physical property requirements.     * Required product purity levels.     * Market demand data, which directly dictates the plant size.     * Pricing requirements to ensure market competitiveness.

  • Information from Operations:     * Feedback regarding the operability of the proposed process.     * Identification of possible waste or byproduct streams that can be utilized as feedstock.

Outcomes and Deliverables of Conceptual Process Design

  • Technical Deliverables:     * Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs): Visual representations of the process steps.     * Heat and Material Balances (HMB): Quantitative accounting of energy and mass throughout the system.     * Sized Equipment List: A preliminary list identifying the dimensions and capacities of necessary equipment.     * Capital and Operating Cost Estimate: Initial financial projections for construction and running the plant.     * Economic Evaluation: A comprehensive analysis of the project's financial viability.

  • Strategic Communications from Process Engineering:     * Presentation of preliminary economic feasibility.     * Assessment of economic risk.     * Identification of "holes" in research data (missing information).     * Requests for additional reaction data.     * Requests for additional physical property data.     * Suggested improvements to the proposed process.

  • Communication Methods:     * Face-to-face discussions and structured meetings.     * Emails.     * Video conferencing.     * Electronic transfer of information/data.

The Basic Design Package (BDP)

  • Primary Objective: To produce a process design package intended to serve as the definitive starting point for detailed design work.

  • Entity Responsible: Typically produced by an engineering contractor.

  • Core Stakeholders and Communication Flows:     * Project Management.     * Owner Operations.     * Owner Process Engineering.     * Piping Design.     * Mechanical Engineering.     * Cost Estimating.     * Electrical Group.     * Instrumentation Group.

Multidisciplinary Coordination in Basic Design

  • Information Supplied BY Process Engineering:     * To Mechanical Group: Equipment data sheets.     * To Piping Design: Plot plan, Process Flow Diagrams (PFD), line list, Piping and Instrument Diagrams (P&ID), and general layout.     * To Instrumentation: Data sheets for general instruments, control valves, and relief valves.     * To Electrical Group: Documentation of electrical loads.     * To Cost Estimating: A list of sized equipment.

  • Information Received FROM Mechanical Engineering:     * Sized mechanical equipment specifications.     * Mechanical specifications and standards.     * Vessel details.

  • Information Received FROM Piping Design:     * Guidance on plant layout.     * Piping layout designs.     * Utility layout designs.

  • Information Received FROM Instrumentation:     * Specifications for sized control valves and relief valves.     * Completed and finalized instrument data sheets.

  • Information Received FROM Estimating:     * Calculated equipment costs.     * Total plant capital cost estimate.

  • Information from Owner (Process Engineers and Operations):     * Ongoing review of the process design as it evolves.     * Input Regarding owner-specific company specifications.     * Input and feedback on the operability of the design.     * Conducting preliminary hazards reviews.

Project Management and Communication Logistics

  • Project Management Oversight:     * Responsibility for the schedule and the engineering cost for the basic design phase.     * Acting as the primary communicator with the owner.     * Arranging formal meetings with owner representatives.

  • Communication Infrastructures:     * Face-to-Face Communication: Facilitated by locating the design team in a single physical area (co-location).     * Centralized Database: All project information is consolidated into a single database to ensure consistency.     * Digital Tools: Emails, Process engineering communications

    This lecture is about the professional communication structure around process design — who talks to whom, what information flows where, and what gets documented. There are three major phases:

    Phase 1

    Conceptual Process Design

    Determine economic feasibility; guide R&D. Involves marketing, R&D, operations, and process engineering.

    Phase 2

    Basic Design Package

    Produced by an engineering contractor. Starting point for detailed design. Involves many more disciplines.

    Phase 3

    Design Report

    Formal documentation of the design. Contents differ depending on whether it covers Conceptual Design or BDP.

    Key theme of this lectureProcess engineers don't work in isolation. At every stage, you're sending information to and receiving it from other disciplines — R&D, marketing, operations, piping, instrumentation, mechanical, electrical, cost estimating, and project management.

    Communication methods (both phases)Face-to-face meetings, email, video conferencing, and electronic data transfer. For the Basic Design Package, co-location of the design team in a single area and a single shared project database are especially important.video conferencing, and the electronic transfer of information.

Structure of the Design Report

  • Standard Components (All Reports):     * Letter of Transmittal.     * Executive Summary.     * Basis of Design.     * Process Description.     * Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs).     * Heat and Material Balances (HMB).     * Plot Plan.

  • Components Exclusive to the Basic Design Package:     * Piping and Instrument Diagrams (P&IDs).     * Line List.     * Instrument Data Sheets.     * Control Valve Data Sheets.     * Relief Valve Data Sheets.     * Electrical Load and Motor List.

  • Components Exclusive to Conceptual Design:     * Economic Evaluation.

What process engineering receives

Three groups feed information into the conceptual design process:

R&D

Provides →

Feed materials · Chemical reactions & kinetics · Separations information · Physical property / VLE data

Marketing

Provides →

End use of product · Physical property requirements · Required product purity · Market demand (→ plant size) · Pricing requirements

Operations

Provides →

Feedback on operability · Possible feedstock streams from existing plant

Process engineering sends back

Communicates →

Preliminary economic feasibility · Economic risk · Gaps in R&D data · What additional reaction or property data is needed · Suggested process improvements

Why this loop mattersThe conceptual design phase is explicitly designed to identify holes in the research data and guide R&D priorities. Process engineering isn't a passive recipient — it feeds back to shape what experiments get done next.

What process engineering produces

The conceptual design deliverable set is a set of documents sufficient to judge economic feasibility — not a full engineering package:

  • Process flow diagrams (PFDs)

  • Heat and material balances

  • Sized equipment list

  • Capital and operating cost estimate

  • Economic evaluation (IRR, NPV, payback period)

Objective of conceptual designDetermine economic feasibility and guide R&D — not to produce a construction-ready design. This is why the deliverable list is shorter than the Basic Design Package.

Connection to your capstone (CPE 613)Your capstone project IS a conceptual process design. The PFDs, H&M balances, sized equipment list, cost estimates, and economic evaluation you've been building all semester map directly onto this deliverable set.

The Basic Design Package stakeholder web

The BDP involves far more disciplines than conceptual design. Process engineering sits at the center, exchanging information with all of the following:

Mechanical engineering

PE sends →

Equipment data sheets

← Receives

Sized mechanical equipment & specs · Vessel details

Piping design

PE sends →

Plot plan · PFD · Line list · P&ID · Layout

← Receives

Plant layout guidance · Piping layout · Utility layout

Instrumentation

PE sends →

Instrument, control valve & relief valve data sheets

← Receives

Sized control valves & relief valves · Completed instrument data sheets

Electrical

PE sends →

Electrical loads list

← Receives

(Electrical design in return)

Cost estimating

PE sends →

Sized equipment list

← Receives

Equipment costs · Total plant capital cost estimate

Owner process engineers & operations

PE receives →

Review of design as it progresses · Input to company specs · Operability input · Preliminary hazards review

Key information flows — what goes where

Process engineering is the hub of the BDP. Here's a summary of the critical document flows:

Process engineering → other groups

  • → Mechanical: Equipment data sheets (for each major piece of equipment)

  • → Piping design: Plot plan, PFD, line list, P&ID, and plant layout

  • → Instrumentation: Instrument data sheets, control valve data sheets, relief valve data sheets

  • → Electrical: Electrical load list and motor list

  • → Cost estimating: Sized equipment (for CAPEX estimate)

Other groups → process engineering

  • Mechanical →: Sized equipment with mechanical specs; vessel details

  • Piping design →: Plant layout guidance; piping and utility layout

  • Instrumentation →: Sized control valves and relief valves; completed data sheets

  • Cost estimating →: Equipment costs; total plant capital cost estimate

  • Owner/operations →: Design review, specs input, operability feedback, preliminary hazards review

Exam note — P&ID appears hereP&IDs are a BDP deliverable (not conceptual design). In the design report, items marked with * are BDP only. Keep this distinction clear — you've built P&IDs in lab, which is BDP-level work.

Project management in the BDP

Project management plays a distinct role in the BDP that it doesn't play in conceptual design:

  • Oversees the schedule for the entire basic design effort.

  • Manages engineering cost — the BDP itself is a major expenditure before construction begins.

  • Acts as the primary communicator with the owner — the contractor (doing the BDP) reports progress and issues through PM.

  • Arranges formal review meetings with owner representatives at key milestones.

Co-location principleBecause so many disciplines must exchange information rapidly, the BDP design team is ideally located in a single physical area (or shared digital workspace). All project information lives in a single database — no siloed spreadsheets.

Contractor vs. owner distinctionThe BDP is produced by an engineering contractor, not the owner company. The owner's process engineers and operations people provide review and input — but the contractor's process engineering team drives the work. Project management bridges these two organizations.

Design report contents

The design report is the formal deliverable that documents the design. Its contents differ by phase — some items appear in both, some only in the BDP, and one only in the conceptual design:

  • Letter of transmittalBoth

  • Executive summaryBoth

  • Basis of designBoth

  • Process descriptionBoth

  • Process flow diagrams (PFDs)Both

  • Heat and material balancesBoth

  • Plot planBoth

  • Piping and instrument diagrams (P&IDs)BDP only

  • Line listBDP only

  • Instrument data sheetsBDP only

  • Control valve data sheetsBDP only

  • Relief valve data sheetsBDP only

  • Electrical load and motor listBDP only

  • Economic evaluationConceptual only

Key distinction to memorizeP&IDs, line list, instrument/control valve/relief valve data sheets, and the electrical load list are BDP only — they require detailed design work. The economic evaluation is conceptual design only — by the BDP stage, feasibility is already established