Process and Instrumentation Diagram Development In Water and Waste Water Treatment Plants Steven J. Marrano, P.E.

Instrumentation and Controls Engineer

how detailed or general the process and instrumentation diagram will become. Different industries tend to use different terminology and presentation of technical information. In the chemical or pharmaceutical sectors of process control, it is common to have mechanical (or Engineering Flow) diagrams to show major pieces of equipment and associated ratings, and separate process and instrumentation diagrams that show how the instruments connect to the process. The water and wastewater industry tends to favor a hybrid presentation of mechanical and instrumentation information on the same drawing. Process and Instrumentation Diagrams We should begin by reviewing the P&IDs purpose and what information it depicts. One set of authors1 describes the P&ID as a roadmap to the facilitys design. If we compare the main flow through the plant as the highway and the various unit processes as secondary roads, we can see that a well thought out P&ID conveys a great deal of information to the various members of the design and operations teams. The engineering team developing the design of a new facility or an upgrade to an existing plant selects unit processes that best suit the economic, regulatory, safety, and convenience criteria set forth by the plant owner and regulatory agencies. This may be done via a process pilot model and jar testing.
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The process and instrumentation diagram (P&ID as it often called) represents a document that can take on many different forms depending upon the following factors: 1) Nature of the process being depicted. The more complicated the process, or the more one process is interconnected to other portions of the P&ID, the more complex the P&ID will become. 2) The individual or firm performing the design work. Some firms do not feel the need to develop P&IDs. This approach is used to achieve economies on system design. 3) Design philosophy. Some design philosophies include P&IDs as an item issued with the instrumentation or electrical design (developed at the middle or end of the project). Other design philosophies allow the P&IDs to be used as the basis for all other design disciplines. In this philosophy, the electrical, mechanical, and piping engineers on a project would start their work once the P&IDs are complete. 4) Intended audience once the design is complete. Among the several design engineers I have spoken to, these factors dominate

Luckiewicz, E., Sandler H: Practical Process Engineering: A Working Approach to Plant Design, Ximix, Philadelphia, PA 1986, pg. 35

The P&ID is a specialized document that is shown on a side view. P&IDs are a side view representation of a side view of all equipment. P&IDs normally do not attempt to provide any form of scale on their drawings because this is handled on the piping, electrical, mechanical, etc. plan drawings. It should be noted that P&IDs sometimes distinguish between equipment located in different portions of the plant. An example here would be a control panel located on the outside of a building and how it may be interfaced via instrumentation to a mechanical component (such as a pump) inside the building. As stated above, P&IDs are broken out by the unit process operation to allow sufficient detail to be presented on drawings. The P&ID will depict the following items2. (Note that this list cannot be allinclusive as no two plants or processes are alike): a) Material flow- for a water or wastewater facility, this is normally the fluid being treated. b) Unit process operations- when the project has been given further definition, the plant is normally broken down into several portions. Some typical portions of a plant may include the influent/intake section, initial treatment (sometimes called pre-treatment), chemical additions, settling, filtration, flocculation, agitation, mixing, waste treatment/recycle, storage, etc. c) Piping between the various sections of the plant and process equipment. Piping on a P&ID may include instrument connections or heat
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d)

e) f)

g)

h)

tracing depending upon the size of the project. Major pieces of mechanical equipment (pumps, vendor packages, filters, clarification equipment, tanks, etc.). Some designers will also show installed spare equipment on the P&ID. Valves and directions of process flow Field Mounted InstrumentsDifferent designers show different levels of detail on their P&IDs. The reader should review the discussion below for more information Electrical equipment- The P&ID often shows major pieces of equipment that require either signal or power wiring. The reader should see the discussion below for more information. Communications links- The P&ID sometimes shows communications links (software or hard-wired) to the distributed control system depending upon the level of detail and space available on the drawings.

P&IDs and the Design Process What a P&ID shows depends on the design process to be followed and when P&IDs are developed. Two approaches to P&ID layout will be considered here. In the first approach, the P&ID is used by all of the disciplines to detail the components needed to make the process operate as intended. Under this approach, the process designers develop all of the routing for pipes, pumps, valves, etc. The equipment (mechanical) engineer then selects his/her equipment in consultation with the process and piping engineers to ensure that process objectives can be met. Once these items

Koslov, J. Schwartz, M: Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams, Chemical Engineering Magazine, pp. 85-90, Mc GrawHill, New York, July 9, 1984

have been developed, the instrumentation engineer develops how the process is to be monitored/controlled. This task requires some overlap with the process engineer and the piping designer. As an example, chlorine residual data of water leaving a filter is a state and national monitoring requirement to ensure proper treatment. In this situation, the process engineer normally determines that some form of chlorine residual measurement is needed, while the instrumentation engineer determines what method of analyzer will be used. The piping designer will develop input for the location of sample piping, where the sample will be drained to after it is taken, the valves on the analyzer for isolation and maintenance and other items (such as pressure regulators or gages) to facilitate proper operation. The electrical engineer is concerned with power and process control wiring for the various pieces of equipment in the facility. In the chlorine residual example, the electrical engineer would want to know if the transmitter requires 120VAC (or if it is a loop powered device) and he/she would want to know where the signal is wired to (distributed control system or a local control panel). All of this information is then depicted on the P&ID. This approach allows a great deal of input from the various design disciplines before all of the details have been worked out. It forces the members of the design team to consider all of the issues involving successful instrumentation operation. The principle limitation to the detailed design of P&IDs before detailed design is complete is that the P&IDs must mirror the electrical, process, instrumentation

and piping requirements as closely as possible. If there are major revisions to the project during detailed P&ID development, the P&IDs must be modified. This adds time and cost to a design. One other limitation to this approach is the project schedule and coordination amongst the design team members. If the P&IDs are not synchronized with the work of the various disciplines, design team members may use inaccurate information. The second approach to P&ID development allows the P&IDs to show the instrumentation connections only. This approach is used when P&IDs are only used among the instrumentation designers and engineers (and possibly the electrical engineers to double check instrumentation wiring requirements). These diagrams do not illustrate the same level of detail as the first approach. They are intended to show how instrumentation relates to the process and possibly show the electrical requirements. The advantage to the second approach is that the documents are less dependent on the other disciplines for information. This leads to simpler drawings that can be changed without impact to the other members of the design team. The principle limitation to this approach is that the instrumentation, piping, and electrical engineers tend to work more independently of the process engineers. This could lead to situations where critical interfaces are not adequately developed. An example can be seen if one looks at vendor furnished packages (such as a chemical feed package for a polymer of lime system). If the P&ID only shows instrumentation, it is harder

to tell what piping, electrical, and mechanical interfaces may be required. Interface Considerations3 The detailed design approach requires the instrumentation, process, electrical, and mechanical (equipment engineers) to supply each other with a great deal of data. Listed below is a partial interface checklist for the instrumentation engineer developing a P&ID: Environmental (Process) Engineers Define the types of unit process operations in the facility throughout the project. Develop the process parameters (normally pressures and flows) Define equipment scope (vendor furnished package versus individual components) Develop a general control strategy and components to be measured, interlocked, or trended Define (with mechanical engineers) configurations of chemical feed systems and other systems related to treatment Develop the necessary utilities (with the mechanical engineers) such as air for valves or water for samples, etc.

Develop the type of mechanical equipment to be used on the project such as metering pumps, distributive pumps, compressors, valves, agitators, mixers, fans/blowers, etc. Develop details associated with chemical feed systems such as tubing, valves for flow and isolation, etc. Selection and layout of piping. Critical parameters include the materials of construction for the pipe, the location of valves/tees/fittings, heat trace requirements, insulation, pipeline sizes, etc. Develop mechanical equipment numbering system Develop piping numbering system Develop material handling schemes (for items such as cranes to allow hoists to move pumps, etc.) Develop special piping for analytical instruments such as sample and waste piping Develop special piping for large valves to allow for mechanical isolation of the valve from the line to allow for maintenance.

Electrical Engineers After the piping and mechanical groups have finalized most of their design, the electrical engineers and instrumentation engineers can begin their work. The electrical engineer will have to select and develop power distribution schemes for all equipment (when the P&ID shows equipment horsepower or kW ratings). Depending upon the design firms philosophy, the electrical engineer may participate in the wiring of instrumentation interlocks and may also run control wiring from field equipment

Piping/Mechanical Engineers Once the unit operations for the facility have been decided, the piping and mechanical engineers can begin their work. This involves selection and layout of all equipment and piping.
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Luckiewicz, E., Sandler H: Practical Process Engineering: A Working Approach to Planrt Design, Ximix, Philadelphia, PA 1986, pp. 36-63

to the distributed control system (DCS) or to the programmable logic controller (PLC). Because the electrical engineers work is dependent upon the equipment being specified, it is important that the P&IDs be kept up to date to ensure that the quantity, horsepower and control method are adequately shown on these drawings. In some cases, P&IDs may also show the following information: - Type of control required for a given piece of equipment (selector switches, start/stop pushbuttons, indicating lights for run/failure conditions, alarms, etc). - Interlocks between mechanical components - Types of communications links required between components (the electrical engineer will be concerned with the routing and possibly the termination of this wiring) Instrument Engineers Instrumentation and controls engineers have the difficult task of pulling together all of the information developed by the process, piping/mechanical, and electrical into a cohesive representation of the process. On any project, it is recommended that the process engineer get the instrumentation and controls engineer involved in P&ID development as early as possible to ensure that all of the process goals can be accomplished. The critical interface points that would be shown on the detailed P&ID are: The location of the various measurements on equipment.

Example, an ultrasonic level transmitter may have a level element that is interfaced by a cable to an indicating transmitter. Both items should be shown on the drawings. The method of signal transmission (via an electrical, pneumatic, or digital interface). An example of a digital interface would be RS-485 or the Fieldbus protocol. The measured signals location (local control panel, distributed control system, vendor furnished mechanical package, motor control center, etc.) Status inputs from each measured signal (analog input, digital input) Signals from vendor mechanical packages (such as running or failure status signals) Digital and analog outputs to equipment (valves, pumps, fans/blowers, mixers, agitators, etc.) for control by the PLC or DCS

Structural/Civil Engineers P&IDs (coupled with a mechanical plan drawing) provide a general picture for structural requirements associated with piping support, equipment housekeeping pads (quantity), supports or pads for vessels (such as chemical bulk tanks in large water/waste water treatment facilities). Sometimes, P&IDs also show items like containment areas for chemicals. These types of details are important for the civil/structural engineer so that the engineer can plan their concrete drawings.

Checklists for Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams 1) General Documentation Practices

a) At the beginning of the project, some form of agreed to set of abbreviations should be developed for every piece of process, mechanical, and electrical device Examples: A- Agitator P- Pump M- Mixer (or motor) F- Filter FL- Flocculator b) An agreed to pipe numbering scheme should be developed. Example: some companies may list a pipes unique tag by where the pipe comes from, where it goes to, the line size of the pipe, and materials of construction. This ensures that all parties know where components are to be placed in the piping system. c) Some form of instrument numbering system should be employed on the project so that engineers, designers, and installers can understand where a piece of equipment goes. It is important to recognize that this instrument tag number should be stamped on a tag when the instrument is installed in the field to allow for some form of record keeping during construction and installation. Examples (applicable to a surface water treatment plant): Area 100- Intake Structure Area 200- Mixing Area 300- Flocculation Area 400- Pre- Treatment Area 500- Filtration Area 600- Post Chemical Treatment Area 700- Distributive Pumping

Area 800- Clearwell/Storage Area 900- Utilities (such as electrical equipment) After these general numbering systems are established, the subsequent numbers in the tag can be selected sequentially, based on an equipment number, or by any other scheme that the mechanical, electrical, and instrumentation design team members decide to use. We note that there is really no right or wrong way to number instruments. Consistency amongst the instrument tags is of primary importance. Once a convention is selected, the user should ensure that everyone understands and uses the numbering convention. d) Some form of standard symbols should be selected and presented on the cover page for: i) Valves ii) Piping iii) Fittings on pipe iv) Motors v) Pumps vi) Vendor furnished packaged equipment vii) Tanks e) The design team should pick what level of detail will be shown on the P&ID as far as interlocks, connections to the DCS/PLC system, and other items are concerned. This choice can effect the level of detail to be shown on the P&IDs. When a design team places all the interlocks between devices on the

P&ID, the interconnection between devices is clearly defined. This approach has the limitation that drawings can quickly become crowded and difficult to read. A drawing showing all the interlocks also has the tendency to be difficult to change once drafted. This leads to increase drafting and design time. The other approach sometimes used by design teams involves showing the quantity and type of I/O that go from a device back to the DCS or PLC. This approach simplifies the drawing presentation. Its principle limitation is that the interconnection between devices (for interlocking, alarm conditions, etc.) is not defined. Another document (such as a loop drawing or interconnection diagram) must be provided to illustrate how all of the components are connected. Another limitation of this approach stems from the large amounts of coordination between P&ID, loop drawings, electrical drawings, and mechanical equipment specifications. Because all of these drawings involve different components of the project team, an uncoordinated change by any group can lead to confusion and equipment mismatch. Therefore this approach requires more coordination than the other form of P&ID presentation. f) Some form of symbol for the measurement and the associated destination must be shown. For example, if an instrument consists of a transmitter that is

panel mounted, a certain symbol is used to denote this. Functions developed in the distributed control or PLC system are based on whether or not the signal is software generated and whether or not a human operator can adjust or display the value. g) Some form of convention should be chosen as to the line types for signal transmission. Example, ISA has standards for pneumatic, electric (discrete or analog), and distributed control signal wiring. These different line types enable the reader to understand when a signal is generated by a physical device (transducer, converter, transmitter, switch, relay, function module, etc.) or is generated by the distributed control or programmable logic control system (via a software function). A simple example of this representation can be seen when one examines a level transmitter interfaced to an analog input on a distributed control system. The signal is normally electrical (from the field back to the analog input) in the form of a twisted shielded pair cable. We would then note that we may use the distributed control system to develop calculations for high, low, highhigh, or low-low alarm states. This is normally accomplished in software. h) Some form of convention should be developed when a process flow stream affects different portions of the process appearing on different P&IDs.

i) Some way to ensure that additional space is left between the components must be addressed. It is common practice to leave a minimum of 3/8 of space around pieces of equipment j) If drawings are done on some form of CAD program, some form of layering system should be developed to make the drawings more "intelligent" by allowing different users to find different pieces of information quickly. Some sub-classes of layers may include, but not be limited to: I) Equipment (distinguish between process and nonprocess equipment with unique layer numbers). Examples include tanks, pumps, mixers, agitators, etc. A layer for all piping A layer for all valvescare should be taken to ensure that electrically operated valves (motor operated valves) are distinguished from pneumatic valves or manual valves. A layer for process text A layer for field mounted instrumentation. It is often useful to segregate input and output types by layer. For example, a separate layer for analog inputs and outputs should be used to allow the instrumentation engineer

VI)

VII)

an easy way to verify the quantity and type of I/O. A layer for signal type (pneumatic, software, electrical, etc.) to allow the reader to distinguish between the various signal types. A layer for items such as control panels (if these items are found on a P&ID). Control panels are commonly used on items like chemical systems where the amount of product in a tank must be known by the plant maintenance person and the signal is sent to the distributed control or PLC system for inventory control and monitoring.

II) III)

IV) V)

2) After documentation procedures have been established, a structured presentation for information flow must be developed. In this instance information flow refers to data associated with how one signal or alarm affects another piece of equipment in addition to data associated with device wiring (type of I/O, which PLC the device is wired to, etc). Many design teams prefer to break out the wiring information into a loop style drawing. The term loop drawing is somewhat misleading because it tends to imply the current loop found in analog instrumentation. Many loop drawings also show discrete instrumentation (such as a switch or contact closure) for completeness. A complete loop drawing will illustrate how various devices are

interconnected. For example, it is possible that an analog transmitter may be given an adjustable contact designed to open or close at some alarm point. For safety reasons, we may wish to connect this contact directly from the transmitter to the mechanical equipment it affects (say a motor starter connected to a pump). In this instance, the loop drawing should not only show the twisted shielded wiring from the 4-20mA transmitter back to the analog input in the DCS, but that a contact closure is interfaced to a motor starter as well. Note that this same information can be shown on a P&ID by using some form of symbol (typically a diamond) to denote an interlock. Interlocks on a P&ID should be labeled for additional clarity and a brief description should be given. 3) On larger projects where a distributed control or PLC system performs a great deal of the interlocks via software generated calculations, it is sometimes helpful to separate out the wiring information shown on a loop drawing from the functional software manipulations done in a distributed control system. The principle limitation here stems from the additional coordination between wiring and interlock requirements. 4) Critical pieces of equipment to show on a P&ID: (assumes the P&ID will be used for other detailed design work: a) Agitators/Mixers/FlocculatorsShow some form of start and stop control, some form of speed control. Some installations show the available local controls such as start and stop plus speed

control. These should be shown on either the P&ID or the loop drawing. In addition some form of running status feedback should be shown. b) Distributive Pumps- Show some form of start and stop control, interlocks to other equipment or instrumentation, and some form of speed control where the pump is used in a variable speed application. Where multiple sources of control are available (such as local start stop at the equipment, start/stop at a motor control center or switch board, and start stop from the distributed control system), the P&ID may illustrate all of these functions. Some design firms prefer to use the loop drawing with interconnection information. The P&ID should also show some form of running or failure status (developed at the local pump controls or sent to the distributed control system for further action). On pumping installations, all of the suction and discharge piping should be shown. If there are interlocks between the pumps and the valves, the designer should decide if the pump interlocks will be shown on the P&ID or will be shown on the loop drawings. c) Tanks- Show some form of level instrumentation, all valves (electrically operated, pneumatic, and manual). Agitators or mixers should be shown on a tank if this is how they are to be used in the field. d) Pipes- Show heat tracing, pressure gages, all valves, flow meters, direction of material flow

throughout the facility, pipe line size, pipe line number (see discussion above), and pipe material (if applicable). If the pipe continue on another P&ID some form of connector should be used to tell the user where the pipe is picked up elsewhere. It is also important to show items like spool pieces if they will effect items such as flow instrumentation for upstream and downstream runs of pipe. e) Valves- Show the various types of control available from the valve. This includes the hand switches on the valve allowing it to be opened and closed at the valve and connections to a distributed control or PLC system to allow for remote opening and closing. In some plants, the open/close status of the valve is shown both in the field and in the distributed control room. Some P&ID designs also incorporate items such as an intermediate position switch on the valve to indicate that the valve is travelling. The user should determine if valve interlocks to other equipment will be shown on the P&ID or will be shown on the loop drawing. On larger valves (such as an intake above 16 inches), some form of bypass manifold should be provided to allow the valve to be removed from the line for maintenance. If the valve is of the modulating type, some form of position status should be shown on the P&ID in addition to the ability to control the valve position (either by an

analog or digital signal ) from the DCS or PLC. f) Flowmeters- The P&ID should show the size of the meter, the type of meter to be used (such as a magmeter, venturi, or turbine meter). The P&ID should illustrate strainers to ensure that debris cannot enter the flowmeter. On large flowmeters (above 16 inches) it is common practice to have some sort of bypass piping around the meter to allow it to be removed from service without shutting the station down. In many instances the flow device and the transmitter are not mounted in the same housing. A good example of this is the venturi meter. The venturi should be treated as a flow element because a differential pressure is developed from the incoming flow. This differential pressure is supplied to a transmitter for status, remote monitoring, and remote control as required. The transmitter would be treated as a separate bubble on the P&ID. g) Pressure or Differential Pressure Instruments- The P&ID should show the location of these instruments. For deep buried wells where a pressure transducer is used, some form of pressure element should be shown on the P&ID in addition to some form of indicator. Note that the pressure element (also called the pressure transducer) is treated as a different instrument bubble on the P&ID (as described with the flowmeter above). Interlocks to other items in the plant should be properly documented on the

P&ID or on the instrument loop drawings. The P&ID should illustrate some form of block and bleed valve to allow the instrument to be calibrated or removed from service for maintenance without disturbing the plant or the process. Note that a pressure gage should be shown with some form of snubber and some form of isolating device to allow it to be removed from the line without shutting down the process. h) Metering Pumps- Some form of speed control should be shown to every metering pump that is run based on some other process variable (an analyzer or flow for example). The P&ID should show which forms of local and remote control to allow the metering pump to be started, stopped, or remotely controlled from a DCS or PLC. Some P&IDs also illustrate the metering pump running status (if available from the metering pump manufacturer). i) Packaged Equipment- Show all of the status points (both analog and digital values) connected to a local control panel and sent back to the distributed control system. If there are special valve manifolds or interlocks to other pieces of process equipment, the designer must decide what level of detail is to be shown on the P&ID and what level of detail is to be shown on the loop drawing. An Illustrative Example It is best to start with some form of example to show one possible

representation of a P&ID and the appropriate functions. First, we will use a simple well station design to illustrate a case where all control design information is shown on the P&ID (useful for a small project). Next, we will show a possible interface between the P&ID and the loop drawing for part of a process.

control and use an analyzer to "trim"

the amount of material that the metering pump is allowed to

Figure 1- Typical P&ID for Small Plant

Note that in this example, most of the interlocking is shown. In some cases, this will not be possible because of the number of process units involved, the number of interlocks required, or the drawing legibility/pace constraints. Because this involves only one well, no piping line numbers were assigned. As an example, let us assume that there are multiple chemical systems in a plant and we wish to develop a strategy for controlling the metering pumps. It is decided that we will make flow the primary variable for

dispense.

Note that the various letters show various functions performed by either the DCS or the field instrument. ISA Standard S-5.1 allows each letter to have a different meaning depending upon its position in the instrument tag. For example, when the letter "S" is used in the first position, it is assumed that we are measuring frequency or speed. When the letter "S" is used in the second position, we are designating a switch (such as FS for flow switch). The same for a letter like L. When used in the first position of an instrument tag, it is understood we are measuring level. In latter positions of a tag, such as FSL, it is understood that "L" is being used as a modifier for the LOW state. In the case of FSL, we mean that the flow switch will become energized when flow is low.

References ANSI/ISA Standard S-5.01 "instrumentation Symbols and Identification"