Licensors

As an inducement to Licensor to enter into this Agreement, Licensee agrees to use all reasonable efforts and... 

Licensor Weak acid Direct strong nitric (DSN) Nitric acid concentration (NAC)... 

Process Licensors. Some of the well-known nitric acid technology licensors are fisted in Table 3. Espindesa, Grande Paroisse, Humphreys and Glasgow, Rhfyne Poulenc, Uhde, and Weatherly are all reported to be licensors of weak acid technology. Most weak acid plant licensors offer extended absorption for NO abatement. Espindesa, Rhfyne Poulenc, Weatherly, and Uhde are also reported (53,57) to offer selective catalytic reduction (SCR) technology. 

In this study phase, we determine exactly what the licensor is proposing, validate his claims, and do major side studies for decisions on process changes or additions. The necessity to complete this phase prior to detailed equipment specification is self-evident. 

The gap must be bridged between the licensor s standard proposal package and the operating company s specific needs. The operating company must also make sure, however, that the basics are included in the standard package. The licensor may have already included site specific items with his standard package, but loose ends will often remain. 

Site Conditions. If the licensor s package is at the custom design stage, it is important to review the site conditions to be used in the calculations. Weather data is available for most proposed sites or at least for areas not far away. Decisions are necessary as to how to apply the weather data for example, w hether to use 95% or 99%... 

Since the studies under discussion have cost estimates factored from major material, secondary systems at this stage have relatively smaller impact than later when more definitive cost estimates are done. At this stage, it is well to gain a feel for the completeness of the licensor s design with respect to secondary systems. 

Safety Systems. Major expenditures here include the flare system (the flare structures and large lines extending throughout the plant) and the iirevvater system (high-capacity pumps and extensive piping). Safety systems, fortunately, are usually given particular attention. At this study phase, the main thrust should be to check the completeness of licensor equipment lists for cost estimation purposes. 

Having extracted a full disclosure from the licensor, the operating company owes it to itself to spend some time sharpshooting major claims and specifications. Even if everything is perfect, a better understanding of the process is developed. 

If the yields are accepted without full-scale testing, questions can and should arise as to how much contingency exists in the yields (since after all, they were obtained by correlations of similar coals, or perhaps by small-scale tests for your coal, for example). For at least one study, initially presented yields of this sort were found to represent a conservative case and upon request, yields were revealed that were closer to licensor expectations with no contingency. Some design contingency must be provided, but to do this intelligently, any yield contingency must be identified. 

For a new process, the basis used for reactor scaleup should be discussed with the licensor. Scaleup of other equipment may also require discussions. 

Commercial computer services are available to do rigorous distillation calculations. Perhaps the licensor will provide copies of rigorous computer runs to validate his balances. Alternately, the operating company can make such runs. For highly non-ideal systems, literature data for binary pairs may have to be sought. In some cases, laboratory equilibrium data may have to be obtained in-house or contracted out to one of several organizations or universities that are in this business. 

A check should be made to be sure that the licensor has not included any temperature cross situations in shell and tube heat exchanger design. In Figure 1, the colder fluid being heated emerges hotter than the outlet temperature of the other fluid. This is an impossible real world situation, or close enough to impossible to be undesirable for the plant design. 

Trays versus packing for fractionation can be a standoff if large numbers of tray passes are allowed for large fractionation towers by the operating company. Often, company preferences will decide. The licensor may also have preferences based on field experience. 

The total plant or train main process bottleneck will probably be identified by the licensor, such as the gasifier for a coal gasification train, the main exchanger for a mixed refrigerant LNG plant train, or the cracked gas compressors for an olefin plant. First and foremost, be sure that the licensor has not made the utility area a bottleneck. This can never be allowed since overloaded utilities could repeatedly shut the entire complex down on a crash basis, adversely impacting economics. 

The licensor s basis for sizing has already been discussed and agreed to or changed. For an olefin plant, the number of steam crackers of the licensor s standard size is firm. For a new process, reactor scaleup methods have been agreed to. For a coal gasification plant, gasifier size. 

Buildings. Company philosophies on operating and maintenance as well as control and satellite laboratory operations and administrative requirements will set building requirements. The licensor will make suggestions, but the operating company will have to take the lead in setting up these requirements. 

The amount of raw materials needed is supplied by the licensor or process developer. However, unless similar plants are in operation, allowances for unforeseen... 

The refiner should identify economic opportunities internally before approaching a technology licensor. For example, what is the primary consideration more conversion, higher throughput, or both At times, a refiner may prefer to do the work internally, as opposed to hiring external resources, but all possible options should be explored. 

Since the mid-1980s, FCC technology licensors and a number of oil companies have employed a number of RTD s to reduce non-selective post-riser cracking reactions. Two general approaches have been used to reduce post riser cracking. The most widely used approach is direct connection of the cyclones to the riser and on to the reactor vapor line. The second approach is quenching the reactor vapors downstream of the riser-cyclones (rough-cut cyclones). 

A vast majority of stractured catalysts and reactors are used in flue gas cleaning. However, due to proprietary reasons, not much information is provided. Babcock Power Environmental reported [65] that in the United States they have over 30000 MWs of SCRs commissioned, in design or evaluation, and under construction. BP s licensor has over 26000 MWs of SCRs operating in Europe. The German company EON operates 44 SCR systems, totaling 12 300 MWs. It should be noted that not all SCRs plants are based upon structured catalysts. 

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