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scaling, to an extent. Piping size and identification are noted, yet piping length is omitted inmost situations. Scaling between different unit operations and piping length are factors ofsafety and accessibility analyses, separate of piping and instrumentation diagrams. Piping andinstrumentation diagrams are physically implemented as depicted on the diagram; e.g., a valveshould be correctly rotated based on its positioning on the P&ID; a storage vessel should becorrectly aligned based on the positioning of the P&ID and a piping inlet into a unit operationshould not be constructed in an outlet. “It is noted that the P&IDs are to be suitable for a takeoff of the valves, reducers, branches, and instruments, but not for the take-off of piping andelbows” 5 With that being said, P&IDs cannot be “relied on as real models” due to their lack ofgeometric and scaling accuracy. 6 P&IDs often vary in design from creator to creator due to thelack of universal guideline. It is also customary to avoid the flow qualifications and extendeddisclaimers regarding the process in such a diagram.The usage of piping and instrumentation diagrams can assure safety protocol is being followedvia operation guidelines, as well as assure costs of maintenance and construction. Bydeveloping a standard operation guideline, a community of process employees can rightfullyadhere to provided rule parameters. P&IDs can yield an accurate feel of pricing with theplanning of all piping and unit operations. Despite inherent inconsistencies, piping andinstrumentation diagrams deliver measures of operation security, proper usage, as well as strictmaintenance and construction policy.2.0.3 Process Flow Diagrams versus Piping and Instrumentation DiagramsPiping and instrumentation diagrams diverge from process flow diagrams (PFD) through manyfacets. Provided by the International Society of Automation, “[A process flow diagram is a]drawing the shows the general process flow between major pieces of equipment of a plant andthe expected operating conditions at the target production rate.” 7 Containing supplementarydetail, P&IDs are considered to be a more advanced step into the design process, whereas PFDsare referred to as a bird’s eye view. Process flow diagrams show the interconnectivity of main5Unica Instrument Engineer’s Handbook – Process Measurement and AnalysisLucid – What are Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams?7 ISA – Control and Field Instrumentation Documentation611

equipment operations, yet omit detail further, as opposed to P&IDs. In addition, PFDs do notinclude ISA symbols, but are the evolution of most P&ID schematics.2.0.4 Intelligent Piping and Instrumentation DiagramsIn 1985 Intergraph introduced the first SmartPlant P&ID systems. 8 Intelligent P&IDs, or SmartP&IDs, are data driven CAD drawings with a back-end database. This database bridges otherapplications, which populate information and extract them from the drawings. It also allows thedesigner to manage the P&ID while focusing on the plant asset rather than the documentrepresentation. The information stored with each intelligent P&ID consists of the minimumrequired attributes for design, analysis, procurement, and maintenance. 9 The inputs areretrieved from process flow sheets, instrumentation schematics, equipment data sheets, valveand instrumentation specification sheets, and piping material specifications. It can be providedin the form of drawings and documents. A variety of software allows for visual representationof a given P&ID, as AutoCAD would provide, yet enables interactivity. Identification, physicalproperties, process responsibilities, utilities, current statuses, and miscellaneous informationcan be accessed through to touch of the computer mouse of the corresponding portion of theP&ID. Quoted from the producers of SmartPlant P&IDs, Intergraph describes the software as ameans to “help you develop and manage your P&IDs with a focus on the plant asset.helpingyou save money without compromising design quality or integrity.” 10 The hopeful outcome ofintelligent P&IDs is that it will save money, time, and reduce risk for the longevity of theconstruction and operation of the process.2.0.5 Biodiesel ProductionAs energy demands increase, and fossil fuels are limited, research is directed towardsalternative renewable fuels. Biodiesel is a favorable liquid biofuel alternative because it is made8Intergraph News – SmartPlant EnterpriseAll About CAD Conversion – What are Intelligent P&IDs10 Intergraph News – SmartPlant Enterprise912

from renewable resources, vegetable oil and methanol, and has lower emissions. 11 It is lesstoxic than table salt and biodegrades as fast as sugar. Produced domestically with naturalresources, its use decreases universal dependence on imported fuel and contributes toeconomic development. The increase of research on reducing biodiesel production costs hasstrengthened the industry, making it a strong competitor of petroleum based fuels.The production of biodiesel fuel is a multi-reaction process involving complex set of conditionsand controls. A preliminary step to biodiesel production is the chemical process known astransesterification, where glycerol is separated from oil with the use of methanol and a basecatalyst (KOH). The process leaves behind two products consisting of methyl esters andglycerol. Vegetable oil has an extremely high viscosity so it is not the most efficient whenburned, however transesterification converts the vegetable oil to biodiesel molecules that havesimilar properties to petroleum diesel fuel. Due to the great molecular similarities, thisalternative fuel has a chance of fulfilling the demands that diesel engine makes of its fuel. Thescope of this reporting of the biodiesel production process is limited to the transesterificationreaction noted above for the sake of creating an intelligent P&ID system.Figure 1: Biodiesel Transesterification ProcessAbove is the chemical reaction for the production of biodiesel from vegetable oil usingmethanol. Ethanol is an available substitute for methanol. When utilized, three methanol or11Biodiesel Basics – Biodiesel.org13

ethanol molecules react with triglyceride to form three molecules of ethyl esters. These methylor ethyl esters are the biodiesel products sought.2.0.6 The Biodiesel Unit OperationThe piping and instrumentation diagram generated replicates the biodiesel production unitoperation within the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Goddard Hall second floor unit operationslaboratory. The diagram was computer emulated on AutoCAD to retrieve a schematic of theentire process.The biodiesel production process of interest encompasses a 500 milliliter Globe ChemicalReactor, with a glass jacket, used as a catalyst preparation reactor. The production unitoperations follow to a 500 milliliter Globe Chemical Reactor, with a glass jacket, used as aprocess reactor. Each reactor contains a pitched polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) blade propellerfor mixing purposes as well as a spring loaded valve which provides leak free sealing. The3reactors are connected via 16” ChemDurance Bio tubing, from the preparatory reactor lowermanual valve to the top of the process reactor. Each reactor has a respective temperatureelement (TE) and temperature transmitter (TT). Connected to each jacketed reactor is a1condenser loop. The 2” rubber tubing of the condenser loop carries sewer water to each HuberMiniStat temperature regulator from the jacket of each reactor and back to the jacket in orderto respectively control the designated process temperature. This process is regulated by thetemperature control unit (TCU) self-optimizing temperature element control (TEC) with atemperature error stability rate of 0.02 degrees Celsius. Heating capacity of the condenserreaches 1.5 kW and cooling capacity ranges from 0.42 to 0.05 kW.The stored process materials are held within 2000 milliliter Nalgene Erlenmeyer PolypropyleneFlasks. These stored process materials include methanol, ethano0l and vegetable oil. It is, again,worth noting that either methanol or ethanol is used during the process, not in conjunction.The potassium hydroxide (KOH) catalyst is manually inputted into the catalyst preparationreactor with the methanol or ethanol. The vegetable oil mixes with the catalytic reactor mixture14

in the process reactor. Generic weigh scales are used to track the weight of each stored processmaterial (aside from the catalyst) to regulate the input into the corresponding reactor.Regulation is completed by means of gravimetric dosing from the feed vessels on electronicbalances, utilizing a weight element (WE) and a weight transmitter (WT). Stored materials are3transferred from their respective flask to the designated reactor by 16” ChemDurance Biotubing.Watson Marlow SCI 323 peristaltic pumps transfer the contents of each piece of ChemDuranceBio tubing to their obligated location. There are three peristaltic pumps located in the unitoperation: one for the feed pumping of methanol or ethanol, one for the feed pumping ofvegetable oil, and one for the transfer of contents from the catalytic reactor to the processreactor. Each pump is associated with a speed element control (SEC) and a hand switch (HS). An3equivalent 16” piece of ChemDurance Bio tubing is attached to the manual spring valve at thebottom of the process reactor, in which a mixture of glycerol and biodiesel are gravimetricallytransferred to and separated in a Justrite Polyethylene 5 Gallon Quick-Disconnect DisposalSafety Can.Research Questions and Methodology3.0.1 Project Objectives and GoalsThe goal of our project was to work alongside DPS Engineering to determine if incorporatingintelligent P&IDs in process engineering is efficient and scalable. In order to accomplish thisgoal we pursued four objectives:1. Create an operation piping and instrumentation diagram that accurately depicts thebiodiesel transesterification operation in the Unit Operation Laboratory of GoddardHall.2. Replicate the piping and instrumentation diagram in CADWorx. Retrieve Excel databaseof equipment lists and specifications.15

3. Determine the plausibility of scale up with regards to the biodiesel transesterificationoperation and other Intelligent P&ID implemented projects utilizing CADWorx andprofessional opinion.4. Assess the efficiency of Intelligent P&ID technology.In this section, elaboration on these objectives and explanations regarding the necessaryprocess to complete these objectives will be discussed.3.0.2 Project Objective Number OneObjective One: Create an operation piping and instrumentation diagram, in AutoCAD, thataccurately depicts the biodiesel transesterification operation in the Unit Operation Laboratoryof Goddard Hall.Preliminary ResearchThe preliminary research conducted prior to the production of the process and instrumentationdiagram of the biodiesel transesterification process began with the familiarization withAutoCAD. As two novice CAD operators, adaptation to the program proved difficult, with plentyof hours of introductory practice being conducted. A thorough examination of features of theGoddard Laboratory biodiesel pilot plant was conducted. A rough PFD was conceptualized andsketched in order to further understand flow patterns and the major pieces of equipment.Tubing and equipment models and serial numbers were taken into account to determine exactspecifications of the entire process. Additionally, piping and instrumentation diagrams consistof several different detailed figures representing unit operations of a given operation. Withoutlicenses to obtain premade instruments, we had to examine pre-existing and industrystandardized P&ID symbols for unit operations.MethodThe piping and instrumentation diagram was completed in AutoCAD. Many drafts were made,due to uncertainty of various pieces of equipment. Re-creation of representational unitoperations as our own was conducted via our AutoCAD drawings. Once the major operations16

such as reactors, heat exchangers, pumps, and valves were drawn, we then connected them bypiping. Level and temperature controls were followed by the piping in order to place them in amore comprehensible manner. Arrows were also added to provide a direction in the processflow. Finally, we labeled the equipment with proper nomenclature to elaborate on the sizingand material of piping, as well as differentiate the duplicate instruments.Limitations and ObstaclesNot all information regarding the piping was at our exposure. Even with research, the exactmake and size of the condenser loop tubing was not apparent due to a language barrier of theproducer and us. With consulting from Professor William Clark, an estimate of the pipingdiameter and material was completed of said tubing line.We were exposed to many different alternate standardized drawings of specific instrumentswhen completing prior research. There is no one method in drawing a peristaltic pump;however there are abundant alternatives. The drawings we made were based off of theresemblance to the actual equipment.3.0.3 Project Objective Number TwoObjective Two: Replicate the piping and instrumentation diagram in CADWorx. Retrieve Exceldatabase of equipment lists and specifications.Preliminary ResearchPrior to utilizing CADWorx, there had to be a strong understanding of the program itself. DPSprovided us with a manual on operating and maneuvering through CADWorx. In order tosuccessfully complete this step, with the least amount of hiccups and errors, many questionswere asked. Approximately twenty hours were spent reading the manual, and speaking toemployees about instruction and applicable tips. Background research on the equipmentspecifications was also completed in order to maximize the advantage of intelligent P&IDs.17

MethodThe P&ID produced in AutoCAD was first uploaded through CADWorx. Once it was displayed,edits had to be made in order for the program to better understand the functions of thep

2 AutoDesk – CAD Software 3 Lucid – What are Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams? 4 Engineering ToolBox – P&IDs. 11 scaling, to an extent. Piping size and identification are noted, yet piping length is omitted in most situations. Scaling between different unit ope