Friday, December 14, 2018

Useful And Essential Facts About Pilot Plants

By Mary Lewis


Technology is always changing since the beginning of the technological era. As such, there must be a way of telling whether the new technology is ready for use in its current state or requires further modification. There is where pilot plants come in handy. A pilot plant can be defined as a pre-commercial production system which utilizes new production technology so that it provides a chance for further studies being done about the new technology.

Apart from obtaining knowledge, the pilot plant gets operated for various reasons. It offers a chance of finding out the effects of the changing operating conditions within commercial production units which are already in existence. In addition, it is also possible for any concerned person or engineers to examine aspects like construction materials and recycle operations among others.

Safety is another advantage presented by trial plants, which cannot be ignored. Before handing a proposal or project to the uppermost management or bodies associated with safety and funding, one must ensure the proposal is effective and safe. Constructing and operating a trial plant decreases the possibility of making mistakes that may be costly in the final large-scale plant. Financers feel more convinced to provide funds for proposals that have a higher chance of succeeding.

A pilot plant is also necessary for the purposes of conforming to government regulations or changing them. Another non-technical purpose is to try and get the public to support the new technology in question before it goes into full operation. Typical pilot plant is a miniature version of a full-scale production plant. Every aspect of the full-scale plant is captured in a pilot plant. They are built in various sizes depending on the technology being tested.

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.

The plant also achieves other layout design goals like low maintenance costs and low space requirement. In this phase, the involved personnel must ensure that the components they require for maintenance and replacement are located in a place where they can be accessed easily. For easier modification and building, the final unit must be properly laid.

What most people do not realize is that crowded and poorly laid units cost more in repair works and time on maintenance. After piloting phase, operating facilities that are well-laid benefit from the space available without underusing or exceeding it. Space is used well while avoiding the costs associated with increasing or reducing its use.

To finalize, experience and skill comes to play when a person has to design the layout of the unit. Some of the commonest layout techniques used includes detailed design, inspired guesswork, and less-detailed design. Every approach has its shortcomings and advantages. The benefits and disadvantages are realized on areas such cost, the real space required, and time.




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