Pilot Plants: Principles of Design, Operation and Maintenance

After participating in this course, you will be able to:
• improve your knowledge of common types of pilot plants in various branches of industry
• familiarize yourself with main design principles of pilot plants, their construction and efficient operation
• apply updated information on how to follow the start-up procedures and data acquisition
• recognize the need for systematic analysis of capital and operation costs of pilot plants operating in
   batch or continuous operation mode
• acquire an awareness of safety associated with operation of pilot plants and protection of personnel
   and environment
• make your company products more profitable by increasing the reliability of design procedure and data
   validation

Description
The design of a commercial plant can be rather risky and prohibitively expensive if the available experience is not extensive enough to scale up the information from bench scale laboratory tests. Unless one has extensive experience with similar materials and products, it is advisable to verify the laboratory results in a pilot plant.

An old saying: "Make your mistakes on a small scale and make your profit on a large scale", can be applied to the situations where the pilot plant represents an intermediate stage between the laboratory studies and the industrial plant.

The pilot plant is understood as a small scale simulation of the future industrial operations. Based on the experience with a pilot plant, the decision to proceed with the full scale plant project will be based on a proven process, and on a more reliable economic estimate.

This course will cover all aspects of the consideration of pilot plants, including design, construction and operation. It will explain the main design principles of pilot plants, selection of appropriate materials for fabrication and selection and installation of the vital components of equipment. 

Discussed will be the elements of financial aspects of pilot plants: systematic analysis of capital and operation costs of pilot plants will be provided.
Substantial attention in the course will be devoted to instrumentation and control system as well as to all important aspects related to the safety of personnel and environment

Objectives
• To provide criteria for selection of the most appropriate pilot plant for given technological requirements
• To assist in understanding of the principles and methods of the pilot plant design and construction
• To provide guidelines for selection of the appropriate equipment, utility needs instrumentation and control system
• To describe the procedure for efficient start-up and the safe operation of all elements of pilot plants
• To stress an importance of recognizing of all safety issues during operation
• To discuss the need for the cost-benefit analysis in the process of final decision making

Who Should Attend 
The course will be of benefit to engineers, technicians, supervisors and plant managers who need to be familiar with design, construction and operation of pilot plats in variety of industries: chemical, petrochemical, metallurgical, biochemical, pharmaceutical, agrochemical and others. It will also be valuable for engineers, consultants and contractors who are in charge of making decisions about overall costs of construction of pilot plants and supervising the costs of their continuous operation, as well as for technical managers responsible for interdisciplinary engineering projects who are interested in analyzing cost-effectiveness.

Program Outline

Instructor: Mike Ivanovic, Ph.D., UBAMIP Consulting

Day 1

Welcome, Introduction, Workshop Preview, Learning Outcomes and the Assessment Method

Importance of Pilot Plants
• Demonstration of technical feasibility
• Process and product development
• Development of marketing values

Pilot Plant Concept and Objectives
• Pilot plant  prerequisites and size selection
• Preliminary mass and energy balances
• Planning of testing and laboratory experiments

Relationship with Laboratory Investigations
• Method of scaling up
• Analysis of prototype
• Prototype implications

Classification of Pilot Plants
• Classification by size
• Classification by purpose
• Classification by number of units

Technical Factors and Equipment 
• Selection of equipment based on nature of fluids 
• Material selection and protection
• Equipment layout and dimensions

Cost-Effective Economical Factors 
• Estimate of costs of design, construction and operation
• Economic issues and cost minimization
• Budget constraints consideration
 
Pilot Plant Project Administration: Management and Planning
• Role  of pilot plant management 
• Action planning and support services
• Operating manuals and data recording

Day II

Design of Pilot Plants
• Size selection 
• Preparation of block diagrams
• Initial mass and flow balances

Overview of Design Approaches: Site and Plant Layouts
• Types of space for housing pilot plants
• Estimate of space requirements
• Site selection and environmental issues

Selection and Installation of Process Equipment and Piping Systems
• Selection of equipment size and performance
• Piping systems and accessories
• Equipment installation and protection

Selection of Instrumentation and Control System
• Velocity, pressure, flow rate and other measurements 
• Calibration of instruments and results validation
• Control system requirement

Connection to Utilities
• Requirements for: Electricity, Water, Steam, Compressed Air
• Best options for supply
• Technical and economic issues

Effluent Treatment and Waste Disposal
• Treatment of liquid effluent
• Disposal of solid waste
• Environmental Protection Aspects

Day III

Operation of Pilot Plants 
• Batch or continuous operation 
• Advantages and disadvantages: limitations
• Monitoring system requirements

Pilot Plant Control Systems
• Typical control system requirements
• Automation and control
• Types of computer control systems

Start-Up Procedures
• Optimizing startup procedures and resources
• Verification of equipment and calibration 
• Inspection and leak detection

Operating Data Acquisition and Recording
• Instruments and devices required
• Backup systems
• Distributed control systems

Safety Issues in Operation
• Hazard evaluation and analysis
• Safety inspections and safety standards
• Specific safety problems

Maintenance Organization
• Predictive vs. reactive maintenance
• Aspects of good planning
• Guidelines to reduce downtime and costs

Questions and Answers and Feedback to Participants on Achievement of Learning Outcomes

Concluding Remarks and Final Adjournment

Daily Schedule:
8:00   Registration and coffee (first day only)
8:30   Session begins
12:00 Lunch 
4:30   Adjournment

There will be a one-hour lunch break each day in addition to a refreshment and networking break during each morning and afternoon session.