The production of methyl ethyl ketone (MEK) is described in Appendix F, problem F.3. A preliminary design has been made for a plant to produce 10,000 metric tons per year. The major equipment items required are listed below. The plant operating rate will be 8000 hours per year.

Estimate the capital required for this project, and the cash cost of production. The plant will be built on an existing site with adequate infrastructure to provide the ancillary requirements of the new plant (no offsite investment is needed).

Major equipment items:

1. Butanol vaporizer: shell and tube heat exchanger, kettle type, heat transfer area 15 m², design pressure 5 bar, material carbon steel.

2. Reactor feed heaters, (two): shell and tube, fixed head, heat transfer area 25 m², design pressure 5 bar, material stainless steel.

3. Reactors, (three): shell and tube construction, fixed tube sheets, heat transfer area 50 m², design pressure 5 bar, material stainless steel.

4. Condenser: shell and tube heat exchanger, fixed tube sheets, heat transfer area 25 m², design pressure 2 bar, material stainless steel.

5. Absorption column: packed column, diameter 0.5 m, height 6.0 m, packing height 4.5 m, packing 25 mm ceramic saddles, design pressure 2 bar, material carbon steel.

6. Extraction column: packed column, diameter 0.5 m, height 4 m, packed height 3 m, packing 25 mm stainless steel pall rings, design pressure 2 bar, material carbon steel.

7. Solvent recovery column: plate column, diameter 0.6 m, height 6 m, 10 stainless steel sieve plates, design pressure 2 bar, column material carbon steel.

8. Recovery column reboiler: thermosyphon, shell and tube, fixed tube sheets, heat transfer area 4 m², design pressure 2 bar, material carbon steel.

9. Recovery column condenser: double-pipe, heat transfer area 1.5 m², design pressure 2 bar,
material carbon steel.

10. Solvent cooler: double pipe exchanger, heat transfer area 2 m², material stainless steel.

11. Product purification column: plate column, diameter 1 m², height 20 m, 15 sieve plates, design pressure 2 bar, material stainless steel.

12. Product column reboiler: kettle type, heat transfer area 4m², design pressure 2 bar, material stainless steel.

13. Product column condenser: shell and tube, floating head, heat transfer area 15 m², design pressure 2 bar, material stainless steel.

14. Feed compressor: centrifugal, rating 750 kW.

15. Butanol storage tank: cone roof, capacity 400 m³, material carbon steel.

16. Solvent storage tank: horizontal, diameter 1.5 m, length 5 m, material carbon steel.

17. Product storage tank: cone roof, capacity 400 m3, material carbon steel.

Raw materials
1. 2-butanol, 1.045 kg per kg of MEK, price $800 per metric ton.
2. Solvent (trichloroethane) make-up 7000 kg per year, price $1.0/kg.
Utilities
1. Fuel oil, 3000 metric tons per year, heating value 45 GJ/metric ton.
2. Cooling water, 120 metric tons per hour.
3. Steam, low pressure, 1.2 metric tons per hour.
4. Electrical power, 1 MW.
The fuel oil is burnt to provide flue gases for heating the reactor feed and the reactor. Some of
the fuel requirements could be provided by using the by-product hydrogen. Also, the exhaust
flue gases could be used to generate steam. The economics of these possibilities need not be
considered.