Nivaar worked solution (AI-drafted; not reviewed by a licensed engineer)
National Exams — December 2015 — 04-Chem-A5 Chemical Plant Design and Economics. Three-hour, closed-book exam; one two-sided aid sheet and an approved calculator permitted. Six equally weighted (20-mark) questions are posed and the candidate answers any five; only the first five are marked. All six are answered below for completeness. Question 1 is a conceptual flowsheet-synthesis question (hydrodealkylation of toluene to benzene) answered with a process flow sheet and organised prose; questions 2, 3 and 6 are numerical (capacity-scaled and index-escalated plant cost, yield-improvement rate of return, and evaporator heat-transfer area); questions 4 and 5 are qualitative essays on materials selection against the common corrosion mechanisms and on process-hazard classification.
Reference texts: M.S. Peters, K.D. Timmerhaus & R.E. West, Plant Design and Economics for Chemical Engineers (5th ed., McGraw-Hill) — the exam's named primary text (cost estimation Ch. 6, interest and profitability Ch. 7–10, materials of construction Ch. 12, plant safety and loss prevention Ch. 3); J.M. Douglas, Conceptual Design of Chemical Processes (McGraw-Hill) — the hydrodealkylation (HDA) flowsheet-synthesis case study used in Question 1; R. Turton et al., Analysis, Synthesis, and Design of Chemical Processes (4th ed., Prentice Hall) — flowsheet synthesis and equipment cost correlations; AIChE, Dow’s Fire & Explosion Index Hazard Classification Guide (7th ed.) — the process-hazard checklist behind Question 5; supporting Canadian practice from CCOHS/WHMIS 2015, the Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA), and CSA/ASME materials and pressure-vessel codes.
