Your Role: You are a manager for Rice Utility Production, and you missed the meeting with the consultants design team. You’ve been given their PowerPoint file. You have to let the other two managers on the committee know what you think of the proposed design.

Sample Chemical Engineering Student Team PowerPoint for Analysis

Note: Throughout, orange slides like this one will ask you questions to help you pick out things you want to remember about designing team PowerPoints. For more help or background information: Making Logical Technical Arguments PPT; Team Presentations in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering PPT

Sample Chemical Engineering Student Team PowerPoint for Analysis

Acetone Production Plant Design

December 2, 20__

Student Team A

From Ace Consultants

Project Motivation

Rice UP - acetone requirement for increased Anphal production

Maintain ROI at higher production rate

Project Goals

Increase Acetone Production by 30%

Minimize Plant Costs Operating costs Additional capital purchasing costs

1. Reactor and Stripping Column1. Reactor and Stripping Column

1. Reactor and Stripping Column

Sample Chemical Engineering Student Team PowerPoint for Analysis

What was the point of the process flow diagram you just saw? Is this the team’s recommended design?

What is the team trying to tell you about their work?

Are you impressed by their design so far? Why is it good?

Go back for a second look.

What should the heading be?

In regard to the previous slide:

2. Acetone Purification

3. Isopropyl Alcohol Recovery Column

Process Specifications99.9% Pure Acetone

90% Pure Hydrogen

TOC<50 ppm in Waste Water Stream

Cost Analysis

$243,000 /yr profit from given base case

~1¢ per pound of acetone product profit margin

If these are the specifications, what criteria will you be looking for in the team’s design?

What does the team need to show you to convince you the design will do what is needed?

Did the team meet these requirements in its design solution? How do you know?

In regard to the previous slide:

Modeling IssueUNIFAC VLE Model does not

accurately predict x-y diagram at high acetone concentrations

NRTL is best property package for acetone/water binary system Based on DeChema VLE data

Options1) Use extractive distillation methods

2) Purchase 39MM lb acetone (open market)

3) Produce 97.6% acetone

1) Extractive Distillation 3 Solvents

1,2 dimethoxyethane (Diglyme) Acetonitrile N-Methylpyrrolidone (NMP)

Case Study: Diglyme

Prohibitive Cost $6.765 MM /yr to purchase Diglyme Additional Column

•How do you know the cost of extractive distillation Is prohibitive?

•Why is the Diglyme case of interest?

•Is an additional column a solution or part of the cost?

•Is extractive distillation theh usual method of making acetone?

In regard to the previous slide:

2) Purchase AcetonePurchase 39 MM lb per year acetone for

$10.92 MM

Shut down acetone production

Minimize investment losses

• How does the team know the cost will be this much?

• What has been the cost trend for acetone in the past?

•  How much of a “loss” will be avoided?

•  How do you know?

In regard to the previous slide:

3) Produce 97.6% Acetone

Need to add 3 heat exchangers

Renegotiate deal?

Break-even point

In regard to the previous slide:

•What about the break-even point? •What would it cost to produce

acetone at this purity? •Is that purity acceptable? •What is this slide telling us

about the option? •What do these three bullet

points have in common?

Recommendations

Buy acetone off open market

Dissolve acetone production facility

Recover maximum amount of lost $$

Conclusions Adjustment of property package identified

separation difficulty

Possible solutions Extractive distillation Purchase acetone on the open market Renegotiate contract for lower acetone purity

Purchase acetone on open market is best

In regard to the previous slide:

Why put the conclusion after the recommendation?

TAKE AWAY POINTSAfter viewing this PowerPoint

What are your “take-away” lessons that you will apply to your own PowerPoint next time?

This team puts its conclusions at the end and did not use informative headings on its process flow diagrams. The headings do not outline the argument.

A pitch that presented the recommendation first and gave evidence of calculations to support claims would have been more persuasive.

The PPT can’t reinforce the oral message or persuade readers on its own. For more help: Making Logical Technical Arguments PPT; Team Presentations in Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering PPT

Notes