Multi purpose plant

The realization of complete bench-scale micro reactor set-ups is certainly still in its infancy. Nevertheless, the first investigations and proposals point at different generic concepts. First, this stems from the choice of the constructing elements for such set-ups. Either microfluidic components can be exclusively employed (the so-caUed monolithic concept) or mixed with conventional components (the so-called hybrid or multi-scale concept). Secondly, differences concerning the task of a micro-reactor plant exist. The design can be tailor-made for a specific reaction or process (specialty plant) or be designated for various processing tasks (multi-purpose plant). 

MPP Multi Product Plant or Multi Purpose Plant ... 

The maximum boiling temperature of the solvent at atmospheric pressure will limit the maximum operating temperature. (1 atm abs. is the normal operating pressure for most multi purpose plant in the pharmaceutical sector). 

PET is produced continuously on a large scale as well as in small-sized batch plants. Currently, batch plants are mainly used for specialities and niche products. Batch plant capacities span the range from 20 to 60 t/d. Depending on process conditions, process technology and the desired PET grade, six to ten batches per day are commonly manufactured, each with a capacity of between 1.5 and 9.01. Batch plants are often designed as multi-purpose plants in which also PBT, PEN and different co-polyesters are produced. 

Figure 6.6-5. Investment cost for multi-purpose plants designed for 550 bar...

With CO2 extraction it is possible to produce colour extracts up to 3,000 AST A from Indian chili. These extracts still contain 2 to 2.5 wt.% capsaicin, which can be removed in a second CO2 extraction step, if desired. The result is a high concentrated colour extract with a colour value up to 5,000 AST A and more, and a highly pungent fraction containing capsaicin up to 20 wt.%. Such extracts are produced, for example, in a multi-purpose plant at Novo Agritech near Hyderabad, India. 

Multi-purpose plants combine different equipment units with flexible piping systems. They allow production of a broad range of products that vary considerably with respect to number and type of synthesis steps. 

Within each plant class to be considered the production process consists of a number of chemical and/or physical tasks. While the type and/or quantity of input factors such as raw materials and utilities might differ significantly between products, the characteristics of the production process within a single plant class are usually similar (except for multi-purpose plants). Therefore, the activities taking place within a single plant class can normally be combined for strategic planning purposes. The overall capacity of a plant is then determined based on the "bottleneck" (usually the ma-... 

This type of incident is difficult to predict. Nevertheless, by using a systematic approach to hazard identification it should become clear that any water entering the reactor could lead to an explosion. Therefore when changing some parts of the equipment, even if they are not directly involved in a given process, especially in multi-purpose plants, one should at least consider possible consequences on the safety parameters of the process. 

In this section, a safety dataset, resulting from over 20 years of practical experience with risk analysis of chemical processes, is presented. These data build the base of risk analysis in the fine chemicals and pharmaceutical industries, essentially in multi-purpose plants. Therefore, the dataset introduces plant considerations only at its end. This allows exchanging them without any need for recollecting the whole dataset, in cases where the process is transferred from one plant unit to another. Moreover, this dataset may be used in the frame of different risk analysis methods. 

The check list method is based on past experience. The process description, the operating mode, is screened using a list of possible failures or deviations from this particular operating mode. Thus, it is obvious that the quality and comprehensiveness of the check list directly govern its efficiency. Indeed, the experience of the authors confirms that the check list is essential. This method is well adapted to discontinuous processes as practised in the fine chemicals and pharmaceutical industries, where processes are often performed in multi-purpose plants. The basic document for the hazard identification is the process description, also called operating mode. Each step of the process is analysed with the check list. 

In this way, the fault tree can be quantified, which makes this technique very powerful for the reliability analysis of protection systems. The prerequisite is the availability of statistical reliability data of the different devices and instruments that is often difficult to obtain for multi-purpose plants, where devices can be exposed to very different conditions when changing from one process to another. Nevertheless, if the objective is to compare different designs, semi-quantitative data are sufficient. 

A New Design of a Multi-Purpose Plant for Extraction of Liquids with Supercritical Fluids... 

The advantages of ammonolysis over ammoxidation are safer operation and higher selectivities, but fixed capital and running costs are higher and, furthermore, the process may be adapted only with difficulty to multi-purpose plants that require easy catalyst loading/unloading operations. 

High olefin yields due to the very small (less than 0.1 second) reaction times in the pyrolysis furnace unit. Process handles feeds ranging from ethane to vacuum gas oils. Provides ultra-purified hydrogen stream for catalytic conversion. Generates excess high pressure steam for use elsewhere in a multi-purpose plant. 

We have noted earlier that a refiner or fuel processor must live in an uncertain environment. He is subject to the vagaries of the supply of crude, the requirements of the market, and the perpetual question of the future markets for residual fuel. We have developed a processing approach—using the H-Oil process— which provides the degree of flexibility necessary to cope with this uncertain environment. A schematic flow diagram of such a multi-purpose plant is shown in Figure 8. The basic feature of this plant, which has been designed for the production of 0.3% sulfur fuel oil from various atmospheric residues, is its flexibility with respect to feedstock, product specifications, and future alternative uses of the plant. 

The design of a multi-purpose plant for the continuous extraction of liquids with supercritical fluids is presented. To provide flexibility in order to treat different feedstocks, a modular concept was developed based on experience gained in the operation of bench-scale and pilot plants. Four test systems were chosen in order to determine the proper dimensions for the equipment. Based on experimental data, e.g. measurements of flooding points and maximum flows for various column internals, the design pressure and temperature and heat exchange requirements were determined. The plant was built by a German manufacturer and was operated successfully by a Canadian company in Edmonton, Alberta. 

In general, a multi-purpose plant should be able to treat many kinds of different feedstocks. In order to achieve this requirement, a flexible design of the mechanical and electrical parts is required. Nevertheless it is not possible to run every feedstock with a fixed arrangement of apparatus and control units. Thwefore a modular... 

Packings and Flooding As pointed out above, optimized mass and heat balances have been derived from a combination of experimental results with a con uter simulation of the process. The optimized balances can be used for the layout of a production plant A multi-purpose plant should be able not only to produce samples, but also to determine scaleup parameters. The scaleup parameters depend on the type of packing and its specific flooding point The ability to measure flooding points or to test different packings is restricted mainly by the range of flow rates. 

Different feedstocks and/or solvents require different solvent to feed ratios. Each packing has a specific flooding point These two effects can lead to a great difference in mass flow. Because of this, pressures and temperatures should be controlled automatically. The flow must be measured exactly, preferably with a mass flow meter, but automatic flow control is not suitable for a multi-purpose plant The valves which are used for pressure and temperature control should be installed so that they can be replaced easily or adapted to new conditions. A very important requirement for the continuous operation of the plant is liquid level indication and control in the extractor and regenerator. Therefore the plant is equipped with capacitive level sensors which are part of a control circuit. The suitability of these sensors for measuring the level of oily products, vitamins and some type of hydrocarbons in supercritical systems have been tested in the lab previously. 

Figure 3. Process flow diagramm of multi-purpose plant.

Recommended for High performance, dedicated plant Multi purpose plant... 

Design For Multi-Purpose Plants - A Special Problem... 

In the following a procedure is presented which leads a way out of this problem and allows the necessary design of multi-purpose plants without an exact knowledge of the chemistry to be performed later on this plant. 

Final chemical products are typically produced on multi-purpose plants which are designed for a specific product family. Such production processes are usually convergent. The composition of raw materials to produce a final chemical is called a recipe. Multipurpose plants are capable to handle multiple recipes, i.e. reactants and products handled vary in both type and quantity. These processes can be mainly categorized as MISO or MIMO processes. 

Another characteristic is whether a processor conserves the inflowing quantity or not. If non-usable or invaluable materials are produced during a transformation process, these can be dropped from the simulation model for the sake of brevity such that a total loss of material is modelled. Examples of such losses are off-spec materials produced after a mode changeover in a multi-purpose plant and interfaces in multi-product pipeline operation. 

In a dedicated plant, the surface of packing can be conditioned so that it will be wetted by the product it has to handle. A packing that must handle aqueous material, for instance, should be free from grease or oil and may with advantage be slightly etched with acid. As is likely to happen on a multi-purpose plant, the result of processing solvents of different... 

Features common to many operating units are batch or semi-batch operations multi-purpose plant ... 

---