Model Potash Plant Design

PRODUCTION OF POTASSIUM CARBONATE FROM COCOA HUSK ASH
A Process Engineering Project Report
Presented to the
Department of Chemical Engineering
Faculty of Chemical and Materials Engineering
College of Engineering
Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi
By
AMANING OSEI EMMANUEL
ATTIPOE EDEM KODZO
BOAKYE KWAME
JUWAH CHUKWUJINDU AWELE
OMENOGOR ANWULI ROSEMARY in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the course
Process Engineering Project
April 2013.

TABLE OF CONTENTS 1 CHAPTER ONE - INTRODUCTION 9 1.1 MAIN OBJECTIVE 9 1.2 SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES 9 2 CHAPTER TWO -LITERATURE REVIEW 10 2.1 PRODUCTION OF POTASSIUM CARBONATE 10 2.1.1 PRODUCTION FROM POTASSIUM CHLORIDE 10 2.1.2 PRODUCTION FROM WOOD ASH (COCOA POD ASH) 10 2.2 STORAGE AND HANDLING 11 2.3 DANGERS 11 2.4 CAUTIONS 11 2.5 USES OF POTASSIUM CARBONATE 11 2.5.1 INDUSTRIAL USES 11 2.5.2 USES IN FOOD PROCESSING 12 2.6 CHEMISTRY OF POTASSIUM CARBONATE 13 2.6.1 PHYSICALPROPERTIES 13 2.6.2 CHEMICAL PROPERTIES 13 3 CHAPTER THREE – PROCESS SELECTION AND DESCRIPTION 14 3.1 INTRODUCTION 14 3.2 LEACHER 14 3.3 CLARIFIER 15 3.4 EVAPORATOR 15 3.5 CRYSTALLIZER 16 CALCINER 16 4 CHAPTER FOUR – MATERIALAND ENERGY BALANCES 17 4.1 MATERIAL BALANCE 17 4.2 ENERGY BALANCES 23 5 CHAPTER FIVE - EQUIPMENT SPECIFICATION AND PIPING 28 5.1 PIPELINE SPECIFICATIONS 28 6 CHAPTER SIX - DESIGN OF A LEACHING VESSEL 32 6.1 PROBLEM STATEMENT 32 6.2 INTRODUCTION 32 6.3 DESCRIPTION OF EQUIPMENT 33 6.4 JUSTIFICATION 34 6.5 CHEMICAL ENGINEERING DESIGN 35 6.5.1 VISCOSITY AND DENSITY OF THE MIXTURE 35 6.5.2 DETERMINATION OF LEACHER DIMENSIONS 36 6.5.3 POWER AND SPEED OF IMPELLER REQUIRED 40 6.6 MECHANICAL ENGINEERING DESIGN 44 6.6.1 MATERIAL OF CONSTRUCTION 44 6.6.2 SHAFT DESIGN 45 6.6.3 DESIGN PRESSURE 47 6.6.4 DETERMINATION OF VESSEL THICKNESS 48 6.6.5 DEADWEIGHTAND CONTENT WEIGHT 49