Project Synopsis
Develop an FEL-2/3 design package for a new upgraded pigment reactor system for a multi-national operating company corporate engineering group.
Project Summary
The client is a world-wide producer of pigments and chemicals and need assistance at one of their manufacturing facilities in the US. Process Engineering Associates, LLC (PROCESS) was contracted by the client’s corporate office to develop an FEL-2/3 design package for a new upgraded pigment reactor system, to become the standard for the facility.
Project tasks included:
- Process Design Basis preparation, which involved development of the equipment design and sizing requirements for the new upgraded systems.
- Evaluation of heating methods for the process, which involved identifying multiple methods of heating including direct steam injection and external heating systems. Process simulations were developed to evaluate the heating rate and capital and operating costs required for each system.
- Preparation of a heat and mass balances (HMBs) and PFD, which involved the simulation of multi-step batch processes based on client operating data and procedures. The HMB was developed to provide assessments of cycle time, equipment capacity requirements including the vent system, and utility requirements. A PFD was then generated to depict the design basis case for the new reactor system.
- Evaluation of reactor conditions including mixing, heating, and gas dispersion using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling for both the existing and proposed system changes.
- Preparation of equipment specifications issued to vendors for quotes including reactor, agitator, instrumentation, and steam sparge nozzles. A bid tab was developed from quotes received to support vendor selection. PROCESS worked with the client and selected vendor to develop the final drawings for fabrication.
- Preparation of P&IDs for the reactor system, which involved sizing all piping and selection of instrumentation as well as materials of construction. PROCESS worked with the client to develop a new standard for the P&IDs at the facility.
- Preparation of a Control System Functional Specifications document detailing startup, normal operating, and shutdown sequence of operations and alarm and interlocks required for safe and efficient operations. This document was used to solicit pricing for a systems programmer to complete the control system programming.
PROCESS interfaced with the client’s selected detail design firm during the course of the FEL-2/3 design to support development of a 3D model and for mechanical specifications issued for purchase for all major equipment.
Industry Type
Pigment Manufacturing
Utilized Skills
- FEL-2/3 process design package development
- Computational fluid dynamics modeling