Good operating procedure

There is no reason why a solvent recovery operation, whether independent or in-house, should not achieve the same high standard of safety and good housekeeping as any other chemical plant. There are, however, problems and potential hazards that are more commonly found in reprocessing solvents than in the generality of chemical manufacture and they warrant special consideration in the design and management of such facilities. 

While the solvents used in industry are documented and information is available on the dangers involved in their use, this cannot necessarily be assumed to be true of solvent mixtures and is certainly not true of the mother liquors which are frequently worked on to recoup their solvent content. 

It is useful, however, to consider the problems in a methodical way particularly if one has the luxury of building an operation from scratch. Such a consideration will form the basis for standard operating procedures. 

A general code of practice for solvent recovery, except in the case of a very large commercial solvent recovery organization, will contain much that is not applicable to individual sites or firms. 

The headings for consideration are not necessarily listed here in order of importance, although the requirement for an able and well-trained staff supported by adequate laboratory facilities cannot be stressed too highly. 

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Implement effective quality control program Employ good operating procedures... 

Responsible disposal of chemicals, samples and consumables is likewise an important aspect of good operating procedures in the laboratory. Regulations are fairly strict in terms of what may be disposed of into the drainage system. It may be permissible to dispose of some chemicals directly down the drain, flushed down with copious volumes of water. For other chemicals, specific disposal instructions, where available, must be followed. These will include collection of specific types of chemical waste in containers for disposal by incineration, landfill, etc. 

Poor litter control can result in widespread contamination of the surrounding area in a way that can be offensive to all those in the neighbouihood. Problems associated with windblown litter can be minimised by the use of good operational procedures, such as the use of daily soil cover, and litter screens, while the effective sheeting of vehicles will limit problems associated with litter on the highways. Various proprietary cover materials are now available that may be used as alternatives to soil cover, and include paper-pulp preparations that may be sprayed onto the waste as a slurry, and which will, in theory, degrade when covered so that the potential for perched water tables, and preferential gas... 

An organization s culture is translated into a system of expected performance. Management commitment or noncommitment to safety is an expression of the culture. All aspects of safety, favorable or unfavorable, derive from that commitment or noncommitment. When an organization s culture is less than adequate, it commonly occurs that the reality of the system of expected performance deviates from good operation procedures—deviates from an entity s own internally established standard operating procedures. 

Consult the manufacturer s instructions for the operation of the atomic absorption spectrophotometer. The present test method assumes that good operating procedures are followed. Design differences between spectrophotometers make it impractical to specify the required manipulations in detail here. 

Catalyst life must be predictable to avoid unexpected shut down and lost production. It is necessary therefore to establish good operating procedures that achieve... 

The accident happened a long time ago, and it is not known now if the drill crew had been provided with good operating procedures. However, the fact that they did not follow correct procedures as prescribed by law suggests that either the procedures had not been written or they were not followed. 

Use In actual use, the specific concentration of COSAN PCMC will vary with the composition to be protected. COSAN PCMC will protect and preserve raw materials and finished products at use concentrations of 0.05% to 0.25% based on the total weight of the composition. When used at recommended levels, COSAN PCMC will remain effective in the unopened can or package and throughout the formulations useful service life. Good operating procedures should require the incorporation of this preservative early in the manufacturing process. 

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