size and structure of the pilot plant

7/28/2019 Size and Structure of the Pilot Plant

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EXPERIMENTATION

IN PILOT PLANT

By : Sri Kumalaningsih


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INTRODUCTION

Pilot plant studies are physicalsimulation studies

The pilot plant is a physical model and

should be a copy of the correspondingindustrial unit, with equipment scaleddown in size to approximately 1/100

1/10 of the modeled unit


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1. Market Survey A determined new product amount can be

produced in the pilot plant, to test its acceptanceand to decide whether it would be economicallyprofitable

2. Design Data

A pilot plant permits the acquisition of accuratedata on processing system energy and massbalances

3. Products and Raw Material

Usually needed to characterize food products andto evaluate the development of certain rawmaterials into spesific products

4. Optimization data of a Running Plant

Can be used to optimize running of equipment andfood plants, in order to study possible

modifications of the original food processings stem deemed im racticable or uneconomical at

Pilot plant experiments serve toobtain more information and datain the following areas :


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Basic Principles of Scaling

If fluids are handled in the pilot plant,three types of similarities involved influid dynamics must be included :

1. Geometric similarity

2. Kinematic similarity

3. Dynamic similarity


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1. Geometric Similarity

Both the pilot plant and food processing plantshould have the same physical form or atleast the same geometric dimensionrelationships.

This similarity can be partial

2. Kinematic SimilarityThe same velocity relationships should exist

in both the pilot and food processing plants

3. Dynamic Similarity In both the pilot and food processing plants,

the same force relationships should exist. For example, the turbulence regime should be

similar on both scales when fluids are handled


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If the process simulated in a pilot plantinvolves chemical or biochemical reactions,as frequently occurs in food processing

systems, the following similarities apply :a.Thermal similarity

In addition to geometric and kinematicsimilarity, the pilot and processing plant

should present similar temperaturedifferences among the various points in thesystem, simulated at both plant and industriallevels


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b. Chemical and biochemical similarity

There should be parallel differences in concentration(of products or components in the studied system) inthe pilot plant and food processing plant.

In addition, the chemical and biochemical kineticsmust be similar on both scales

Generally, the thermal, chemical and biochemical

similarities (including kinetics) are complete at bothpilot plant and industrial level (with scale factor = 1)


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Minimum and MaximumSize The minimum size is set by the minimum

product amount required for quality analiticalcontrol

Ex : if the aim of pilot plant experimentation isto study the influence of process conditions onproduct quality, the minimum amount ofprocessed product in the pilot plant shouldpermit the necessary physical-chemicalanalysis to evaluate product quality

The maximum size is set by the amount ofprocessed product needed in order to testmarket acceptance


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Types and Applications

When product production in amounts large enoughto conduct market acceptance tests is required, thepilot plant is called a semicommercial plant

In any case, reduced-scale pilot plant studies arethe most often employed studies used to obtaininformation and data on production engineering(running of food processing plants) and design

engineering (new food processing plants)


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1. Product Studies

Quality characterization

Influence of process conditions on productquality Development of new product Studies of market acceptance2. Raw Material Studies

Raw material characterization Evaluation of aptitude for industrializatio

of diferent raw material

The most common applications of a pilot plant are as follow :


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3. Process Technology andEngineering Studies Setting the most suitable process conditions

from an economic point of view Study of process equipment alterntives to

carry out given food processing steps or unit

operations Development of new process technology and

new process engineering/process equipmentAuxiliary system requirement studies

Reliable evaluation of mass and energy

balances and food physical properties Study of energy recovery possibilities in

process systems Improvement and evaluation of alternatives

for control systems


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PILOT PLANT DESIGN

An appropriate pilot plant design isessential in order to achieve reliableresults during pilot plant experimental

programsTaking into consideration the similarity

principles, the factors that will becontrolled or changed duringexperimentation are evaluated first


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Example :

A study on drying fruits and vegetables with hot aircrossing over the drying bed.

Controlled factors are :

- Air velocity between 0,2 and 3 m/s

- Air temperature between 50 and 100C

- Load density of drying bed between 40 and 50 kg/m

- Air relative humidity between 20 and 100%

- Hot air recycling between 0% and 100%


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Thus, the controlled factors are established aswell as the interval of variation considered

Other aspects to take into account in the

design of a pilot plant are availability ofauxiliary systems, raw materials andspesifications of the product

The location of the pilot plant usually depends

on plant size, utilities and laboratoryrequirements to assist in pilot plant operation


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ExperimentationStrategiesThe profits from experimentation in the pilot plant

should be greater than the costsThus, it is very important to establish an appropriate

experimental design for the pilot plant, since it will save

time and money All controlled process parameters (experimental

variables) are usually known as factorsThe value of each factor is the variation level of the

factor A combination of factors used in a particular

experimental run is called the treatment


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The result of factor variation in an experimentalrun is designated as the effect

If the raw material used in experiments is

limited in quantity, it may be necessary to useseveral batches of raw material that are similarbut not identical in characteristics

Each batch is called a block and repetitions of

the same experiment are known as replications


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Factorial design requires an appropriateexperimental design procedure in the pilotplant.

It is useful in discovering the influence ofdifferent factors on process development orfinal quality of the product

Once the effects of the different factors have

been studied, a regression analysis can becompleted to develop quantitative relationshipsamong the different factors, processparameters, or product quality parameters


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Capital Investment and Operation Cost

The cost of experimentation in the pilotplants is determined as follows :

a. Capital investment costs for process

equipment and auxiliary systems inthe pilot plant, as well as unexpectedexpenses common duringconstruction

b. Cost of buildings and structures toconstruct and operate pilot plant

c. Cost of raw materials and

consumptions of auxiliary systems


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d. Cost of staff during experimentation,considering direct labor as well assupervision, analysis and interpretation of

resultse. Cost of laboratory fungible material to

control product quality and process

f. Estimated cost of instrumental equipment

use, needed to control process, productquality and raw materials.


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Thank You

size and structure of the pilot plant

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