Pilot Plant Operations

A rack and frame press uses heavy nylon cloth positioned in a wooden frame inside a rack. A measured amount of apple or other fmit mash is added from a hopper above the frame. The mash is leveled with a hand trowel and the edges of the nylon cloth are folded over the mash to encase it and create a cheese. The frame is removed, and a second rack is placed on top of the first cheese the process is repeated until a stack of cheeses is prepared. A hydrauhc ram then appHes gradually increa sing pressure on the stack and expresses the juice. A high yield of juice (80%) is obtained and no press aid is required. Because this process is labor intensive (17), it is mostly used for small farm and pilot-plant operations. 

Defining the requirements for a pilot-plant control system is often difficult because process plant experience for comparison and evaluation is commonly lacking and the design is frequentiy performed by personnel inexperienced in either instmmentation systems or pilot-plant operations. The isolated and often intermittent nature of pilot-plant operations also inhibits evolution and promotes individual unique installations. This compHcates the selection process. 

Pilot plants are often more hazardous than process plants, even though they are smaller ia size, for many reasons. These iaclude a tendency to relax standard safety review procedures based on the small scale, exceptionally qualified personnel iavolved, and the experimental nature of the research operations the lack of estabhshed operational practice and experience lack of information regarding new materials or processes and lack of effective automatic iatedocks due to the frequendy changing nature of pilot-plant operations, the desire for wide latitude in operating conditions, and the lack of hill-time maintenance personnel. 

The Athabasca deposits have been known since the early 1800s. The first scientific iaterest ia tar sands was taken by the Canadian government ia 1890, and ia 1897—1898, the sands were first drilled at PeHcan Rapids on the Athabasca River. Up until 1960, many small-scale commercial enterprises were attempted but not sustained. Between 1957 and 1967, three extensive pilot-plant operations were conducted ia the Athabasca region, each leading to a proposal for a commercial venture, eg, Suncor and Syncmde. 

In the Premier Mill the rotor is shaped hke the frustrum of a cone, similar to that in Fig. 20-53. Surfaces are smooth, and adjustment of the clearance can be made from 25 [Lm (0.001 in) upward. A small impeller helps to feed material into the rotor gap. The mill is jacketed for temperature control. Direct-connected hquid-type mills are available with 15- to 38-cm (6- to 15-in) rotors. These mills operate at 3600 r/min at capacities up to 2 mVh (500 gal/h). They are powered with up to 28 kW (40 hp). Working parts are made of Invar alloy, which does not expand enough to change the grinding gap if heating occurs. The rotor is faced with Stellite or silicon carbide tor wear resistance. For pilot-plant operations, the Premier Mill is available with 7.5- and 10-cm (3- and 4-in) rotors. These mills are belt-driven and operate at 7200 to 17,000 r/min with capacities of 0,02 to 2 mVh (5 to 50 gal/h). 

With the addition of appropriate additives as needed, the flotation of refineiy wastewaters reduced their oil content to less than 10 mg/L in pilot-plant operation [Steiner, Bennett, Mohler, and Clere, Chem. Eng. Frog., 74(12), 39 (1978)] and full-scale operation (Simouseu, Hydrocaih. Froce.ss. Fet. Refiner, 41(5), 145, 1962]. Experiments with a cationic collector to remove oils reportedly confirmed theoiy [Angehdon, Keskavarz, Richardson, and Jameson, Jnd. Eng. Chem. Frocess Des. Dev., 16, 436 (1977)]. 

For other CERCLA sites the proeess ean be very different from the typieal DOE site. The proeess may start with various phases of site assessments. The intermediate step may be a pilot study, followed by a pilot plant operation, or possibly a removal aetion or other alternative. The final steps may vary widely. However, just as in DOE sites, the appropriate rule or requirement depends on the site-speeifie faeility or operation, the assoeiated hazards, and the potential for worker exposure to the hazards. For the Army Corps of Engineers eleanup or oversight, the rules will most likely be even more stringent than for OSHA or DOE. 

Scaling up Ionic Liquid Technology from Laboratory to Continuous Pilot Plant Operation... 

The use of acidic chloroaluminates as alternative liquid acid catalysts for the allcy-lation of light olefins with isobutane, for the production of high octane number gasoline blending components, is also a challenge. This reaction has been performed in a continuous flow pilot plant operation at IFP [44] in a reactor vessel similar to that used for dimerization. The feed, a mixture of olefin and isobutane, is pumped continuously into the well stirred reactor containing the ionic liquid catalyst. In the case of ethene, which is less reactive than butene, [pyridinium]Cl/AlCl3 (1 2 molar ratio) ionic liquid proved to be the best candidate (Table 5.3-4). 

Feed gases to most, if not all, methanation systems for substitute natural gas (SNG) production are theoretically capable of forming carbon. This potential also exists for feed gases to all first-stage shift converters operating in ammonia plants and in hydrogen production plants. However, it has been demonstrated commercially over a period of many years that carbon formation at inlet temperatures in shift converters is a relatively slow reaction and that, once shifted, the gas loses its potential for carbon formation. Carbon formation has not been a common problem at the inlet to shift converters. It has been no problem at all in our bench-scale work, and it is not expected to be a problem in our pilot plant operations. 

The Ordnance Corps sensitivity to the urgent demand for war material kept pace with the swift-moving, events in Europe. Thus, most of the pilot plant operations at Picatinny were expanded to all-out assembly line production before Hitler overran the Low Countries... 

Support for this work by 3M Company and permission to publish is gratefully acknowledged. We thank Dave Lindemann for the finite-element modeling and 3M s Division Engineering, especially Don Peacock, for all their work. Bob Maline of 3M s Specialty Materials Division was supervisor of pilot plant operations. 

Hollow fiber UF membrane specifications UF pilot plant operation conditions ... 

An account is given of the Reeopet proeess for the chemical recycling of PETP and its use in a pilot plant operated by Tredi and Polyphenix Franee at Tessenderlo... 

Hoechst has developed a ehemieal reeyeling plastie for Hostaform, a polyaeetal engineering material. Post-use engineering parts and produetion serap are recovered and converted back into the original monomers by depolymerisation. They are then repolymerised to form plastics with the same molecular structure as before, without loss of quality. The process at Hoechst s laboratory and pilot plant operations is outlined. EUROPEAN COMMUNITY GERMANY WESTERN EUROPE Accession no.497548... 

Keywords snow, cooling, energy storage, renewable energy, pilot plant, operation... 

Many pilot plant operations have been conducted by KEC through Krofta Apparatebau G.M.B.H., Germany, under direct supervision of Mrs Elisabeth Hurst-Gaul, Manager. The use of a Krofta Supracell DAF clarifier for secondary clarification in the activated sludge treatment plant has been concluded to be feasible. This chapter summarizes the results of her investigation. 

It is well known that during liquefaction there is always some amount of material which appears as insoluble, residual solids (65,71). These materials are composed of mixtures of coal-related minerals, unreacted (or partially reacted) macerals and a diverse range of solids that are formed during processing. Practical experience obtained in liquefaction pilot plant operations has frequently shown that these materials are not completely eluted out of reaction vessels. Thus, there is a net accumulation of solids within vessels and fluid transfer lines in the form of agglomerated masses and wall deposits. These materials are often referred to as reactor solids. It is important to understand the phenomena involved in reactor solids retention for several reasons. Firstly, they can be detrimental to the successful operation of a plant because extensive accumulation can lead to reduced conversion, enhanced abrasion rates, poor heat transfer and, in severe cases, reactor plugging. Secondly, some retention of minerals, especially pyrrhotites, may be desirable because of their potential catalytic activity. 

It has been suggested that a pilot plant operation to determine the feasibility of developing this process be carried out in a tubular flow reactor with a volume of 0.15 m3. It is suggested that the reactor operate at 450 °C and 1 atm with a feed flow rate of 41.7 moles of pure tetra-chloroethane per kilosecond. Will the catalyst be susceptible to poisoning under these operating conditions ... 

The metallurgical results obtained in a continuous pilot plant operation are presented in Table 25.7. 

Over the past 10 years, new technology has been developed that allows flotation of rutile from complex hard rock ores. This new technology has been confirmed in continuous pilot plant operation. During the development testwork, ores from Mexico, Chile and Australia were studied. 

Research Development Conceptual Design Pilot Plant Operation Detailed Engineering Construction/Start-up... 

Process development small-scale or pilot plant operations... 

Company D is a large pharmaceutical manufacturer with worldwide operations. CSB staff visited a pilot-plant facility and thermal hazards laboratory. Pilot-plant operations included the use of several batch chemical reactors. Like Company A, this company also frequently changes chemicals handled and manufacturing techniques. 

Each major company site has a hazard review committee to administer the standard and guideline. The committee includes representatives from process safety, chemistry, reactive chemistry, manufacturing, process engineering, pilot-plant operations, and the technology center. 

The first edition1 of this book was published approximately 13 years ago. Its primary objective was to present an overview and a "roadmap" of the process of new drug discovery and development, particularly oriented to individuals or companies entering the pharmaceutical field. It was written by one of the authors (Smith), with no contributors, and drawn on Smith s experiences in the industry and field over the course of nearly 40 years. In the second edition, the scope of the first book has been expanded and technical details in the form of hard data have been included. In addition to the editors own commentary and contributions, the major part of the book is the result of contributions of experts in the industry. New chapters on risk assessment, international harmonization of drug development and regulation, dietary supplements, patent law, and entrepreneurial startup of a new pharmaceutical company have been added. Some of the important, basic operational aspects of drug discovery and development (e.g., organizational matters, staff requirements, pilot plant operations, etc.) are not repeated in this book but can be found in the first edition. 

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