Chapter 1 Process Industry Systems: Components and Classifications

• Facilities in the process industry are divided into systems.
• Understanding the concept of systems is crucial in learning process technology and ensuring safe plant operation.
• Diagrams are essential for technicians to understand and operate systems.
• Process control and control diagrams illustrate how systems are managed.
• A system involves a group of components that work together to perform a function.
• Knowledge of systems is important to understand how the plant functions.
• Understanding systems is fundamental to quickly identify and resolve issues.
• Plant systems fall into three categories: utility, auxiliary, and process systems.
• Process systems include both separation and reaction systems.

NAPTA Curriculum and Systems

• Equipment and instrumentation are components of a system.
• Systems show how these components interact to create different types of systems.
• An introduction to processes provides an overview of field process technology.
• Chemistry and physics give the basic concepts needed to understand equipment and plant systems.
• Safety, health, and the environment emphasize issues in job tasks, compliance, and regulations.
• Quality includes topics such as team skills, quality tools, economics, and continuous improvement.

System Diagrams

• Block flow diagrams: Simplified diagrams show major sections of a system using blocks connected by lines.
• Process flow diagrams: Show main lines connecting major equipment, process lines, equipment, valves, and controls, including mass and energy balance.
• Piping and instrumentation diagrams: Detailed drawings include equipment, process piping, instrumentation, control loops, and pipe specifications with assigned line numbers.
• Control diagrams: Similar to process flow diagrams but typically have abbreviated control loops and display current process variables.

System Controls

• Process variables include flow, level, temperature, pressure, and analytical composition.
• Closed loops use feedback from the level transmitter.
• Cascade control is an advanced control method using primary and secondary controllers.

Quiz Questions

• Sub-systems are interdependent and rely on each other in a larger system.
• Understanding sub-systems is important for identifying potential issues, improving overall efficiency, and easier troubleshooting.
• Process technicians should learn the terminology and process technology of each sub-system.
• The system concept defines a way to understand a work process.
• Breaking a system down into sub-systems makes the overall system easier to understand and identify potential issues.
• A system is defined as a collection of interrelated equipment and processes.
• Put all the sub-systems together to understand the total system.
• Process Technicians should break the system down into smaller sub-systems when faced with a complex system.

Explore systems in the process industry, their importance in plant operation, and understanding diagrams. Learn about the three categories of plant systems: utility, auxiliary, and process systems. Understand the crucial role of systems in identifying and resolving issues.