vendredi 14 décembre 2018

Useful And Essential Facts About Pilot Plants

By Mary Lewis


There has always been a change in technology since the technological era began. There is normally a way used to tell if the new technology is ready to be used in the state it is in or if it requires to be modified. It is at this juncture that pilot plants come in handy. A pilot plant is a pre-commercial production system which uses new production technology to provide a chance for extensive studies to be conducted about the new technology.

Apart from obtaining knowledge, a trial plant is constructed and operated for several other reasons. For example, in already active commercial production units, it offers a chance of investigating the influence of changing conditions during operation. In addition, engineers or anyone involved gets a chance to examine aspects like construction materials and recycle operations among others.

Another importance of trial plants that cannot be overlooked is safety. One person must be convinced that their new proposal or process is sound before presenting it to the top management or any other body concerned with funding and safety. Building and operating a pilot plant helps reduce chances of making costly mistakes in the final large scale equipment. Financers feel safer making financial commitments on investments that have the potential of succeeding.

The plants are also helpful for conforming to regulations set by the government or changing them. They also play the role of trying to get public support for the new technology in question before it is allowed to operate. A pilot plant is a miniature version of a full scale production plant. They capture all the aspects of full scale plants. Depending on the technology in question, they normally exist in different sizes.

Building can be done in laboratories with the use of simple stock laboratory apparatus while paying attention to the sizes. Nevertheless, in certain instances the plants may be a lot more expensive on engineering works because the assembling is done right from process equipment instrumentation and piping together with being custom fabricated. Their usage in teaching employees in preparation for operations in full-size production units is another major use associated with them.

Other layout design goals that a pilot plant achieves are minimized maintenance costs and minimize space requirements. During this phase the concerned people must make sure that components which need to be accessed easily for replacement and maintenance are located in the right place. Generally, the final unit must be well-laid for easier building and modification.

Crowded and poorly laid units have a high cost of repair efforts and takes longer time to maintain. Well-laid facilities which are constructed after piloting utilize the space available without underusing or exceeding it. The space should be maintained because if it is reduced or increased significantly, it leads to extra expenses which are not necessary.

In conclusion, when an individual has to come up with the layout of the unit, skills and experience come in handy. A number of the well-known layout techniques used are inspired guesswork, detailed design, and less-detailed design. Each method has its advantages and limitations. The shortcomings and advantages of each method are evident in time, cost, and actual space required.




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