Plant services/utilities

The capital cost required for the provision of utilities and other plant services will depend on whether a new (green field) site is being developed, or if the plant is to be built on an existing site and will make use of some of the existing facilities. The term... 

Had the new heat exchanger been an addition to an existing plant that did not require investment in electrical services, utilities, offsites, buildings, site preparation or working capital, then the cost would be estimated from ... 

Some of these government agencies and private companies, because of the nature of their business, will utilize the services of an analytical chemistry laboratory as part of their overall need to assure the required quality operation. For example, municipal governments will employ the use of an analytical chemistry laboratory to test their water supply on a regular basis to make sure it is free of toxic chemicals. The pharmaceutical company will house an analytical chemistry laboratory within its facility to routinely test the products it produces and the raw materials that go into these products to make certain that they meet the required specifications. A fertilizer plant will utilize an analytical chemistry laboratory to confirm that the composition of its product meets the specifications indicated on the individual bags of fertilizer. Companies that produce a food product, such as snack chips, cheese, cereal, or meat products, will have an analytical chemistry laboratory as part of their operation because they want to have the assurance that the... 

The capital cost required for the provision of utilities and other plant services will depend on whether a new (green field) site is being developed, or if the plant is to be built on an existing site and will make use of some of the existing facilities. The term battery limits is used to define a contractor s responsibility. The main processing plant, within the battery limits, would normally be built by one contractor. The utilities and other ancillary equipment would often be the responsibility of other contractors and would be said to be outside the battery limits. They are often also referred to as off-sites . 

Ammonification is the process by which the organically bound nitrogen of microbial, plant, and animal biomass is recycled after their death. Ammonification is carried out by a diverse array of microorganisms that perform ecological decay services, and its product is ammonia or ammonium ion. Ammonium is a suitable source of nutrition for many species of plants, especially those living in acidic soils. However, most plants cannot utilize ammonium effectively, and they require nitrate as their essential source of nitrogen nutrition. 

Extensive literature is available on various water services. Whenever possible, start with plant history, utilizing the same or similar water chemistries. Up to about 200°F (93°C), paint coatings may control corrosion in immersion service. 

Some plants also produce their own potable water by treating a well or groundwater supply. This is not a common situation, and it is a specialized subject that will not be covered here. Most plants receive potable water from a local supplier or municipality. This water is used for drinking and sanitary use and usually in safety shower/eye wash systems. In some cases, the municipal potable water supply also serves as a general plant utility. Drinking water systems must always be kept separate from plant service systems. The method of separation is often prescribed by local regulations. Backflow preventers are a standard, but dedicated tanks that provide physical breaks are more positive and in many locations are required. These are discussed in Section 12.7.2. 

Survey respondents represented a range of facilities, small and large, including water utilities, manufacturers, power plants, service companies, waste management facilities, and agricultural chemical suppliers. 

Utilities and yard services (boiler plant, refrigeration, compressed air, water supply and treatment, effluents, fire protection, yard piping, yard electrical, yard materials handling, raw and finished-product storage)... 

Auxiliaries Estimation Cmemical-plant auxiliaries normally include all structures, equipment, and services which are not direc tly involved in the process. Within this broad range there are two major classifications, utilities and service facilities. 

To have a modular construction with a wide choice of module sizes for optimum utilization of the usable area in each vertical panel, which is normally 1800 mm as illustrated in Figure 13,32, The general practice is to have the module sizes in the ratio of 1/6 (300 mm), 1/4 (450 mm), 1/3 (600 mm) and 1/2 (900 mm), etc. Some manufacturers, however, supply 1/8 (225 mm) and 1/9 (200 mm) size of modules when the sizes and number of components for a module are less and can be accommodated in such a small module size. For critical installations, however, such as for a refinery or a petrochemical plant or for the essential services of a powergenerating station or installations that are in humid conditions or are contaminated, it is advisable to have a module size no smaller than 1/6 (300 mm)... 

On chemical plants and oil refineries, steam, nitrogen, compressed air. lubricating oil, and other utility systems are responsible for a disproportionately large number of accidents. Flammable oils are recognized as a hazard, but services are given less attention. If the modification to the lubricating system had been systematically studied before it was made, as recommended in Chapter 2, a larger vent could have been installed, or a pipe-break and funnel could have been installed at the inlet to the sump. 

Adequate water supplies for fire protection arc vital. Otlier utility services, such as electricity, must be reliable and well maintained during emergencies. Plants depending on outside electricity should liave two separate feeder circuits whenever possible, and possible failures of tlrese utilities should be evaluated before construction. When one system fails, tlie other system must provide suitable switching or shutdown to prevent serious hazards. 

Many s)mbols are pictorial which is helpful in representing process as well as control and mechanical operations. In general, experience indicates that the better the representation including relative locating of connections, key controls and even utility connections, and service systems, the more useful will be the flowsheets for detailed project engineering and plant design. 

Heat transfer is perhaps the most important, as well as the most applied process, in chemical and petrochemical plants. Economics of plant operation often are controlled hy the effectiveness of the use and recovery of heat or cold (refrigeration). The service functions of steam, power, refrigeration supply, and the like are dictated hy how these services or utilities are used within the process to produce an efficient conversion and recovery of heat. 

For locations in the Middle East subject to wide fluctuations in ambient temperature it has been common to utilize multiple gas turbines which are sized to meet the plant demands during the hot summer months and the cold winter. As the gas turbine output increases substantially, there is sufficient spare capacity to allow for outage of machines without affecting the electrical power export. However, this situation is unique to the environmental conditions and type of equipment in service. 

This development has for some time involved many aspects of the boiler water treatment market but has recently extended further into the overall utilities sector. There are perhaps three levels of extended services now available the water treatment full-service program, the provision of contract labor to run a company s boiler plant, and the outsourcing of utility components or the entire facilities. 

Utilities plant contract labor Today these chemical water treatment-based full-service programs may be further enhanced by the supply of various boiler plant mechanical and electrical maintenance and repair work, plus energy management services, all from a single supplier source. In fact, many customers are now replacing their entire utilities staff with contract labor under a utilities service contract. The utilities plant contractor usually subcontracts the water treatment full-service component to a specialist water treatment and environmental services company. 

The latest outsourcing development is for giant services companies to bundle their services together to provide a one-stop shop. A services contractor may provide some form of permanently installed utilities plant under a build, own, operate, maintain program (BOOM), so that the customer merely pays a contract fee to receive water, steam, electricity, and other services. Thus, the entire responsibility for the provision of utilities can be passed to a contractor, and not merely at one facility, but globally ... 

However, for most smaller industrial and commercial or institutional facilities around the world today, the concept of outsourcing just about every aspect of the requirement for utilities is not on the agenda, but it undoubtedly will come when the time is right. In fact, the added cost of full services is often prohibitive in those countries where in-house labor rates are low thus, much of the boiler plant preventative... 

Utilities (Services), provision of plant for steam, water, air, firefighting services (if not costed separately). 

---