The Business Case: PI

– Why should I use it?

Ian Henderson FIChemE

PROTENSIVE

PROCESS INTENSIFICATIONMeeting the Business and Technical Challenges,

Gaining Competitive Advantage

The Royal Institution of Great Britain, London: 19th November 2003

PROTENSIVE

Agenda

Understanding the current situation.

Why do chemical plants look like they do?What are the historical drivers?

What, if anything is wrong with them?

And from that understanding, how can we identify and implement step change?

PROTENSIVE

The heart of Chemical Processing; the reactor

And what do they have in common….. What shape do you see most?

PROTENSIVE

The heart of Chemical Processing; the reactor

THE CIRCLE! Vessels and pipes

Circles are perfect. Maximum area per circumference and excellent for mechanical performance especially pressure. Easy to make!

The beauty of the circular section is reflected in most processing equipment

PROTENSIVE

Mechanical Engineers rule…OK?

Our equipment is as it is because of mechanical engineering, boilermaking and metallurgical considerations such as strength, manufacturing capability, design codes and cost.

Chemical Engineers are about adapting such tools to carry out the processing we do

But not always…..

PROTENSIVE

The heat transfer (and reactor) revolution started here...

The plate heat exchanger. Start with the heat transfer requirements and build a device to satisfy those requirements

PROTENSIVE

Chemistry; Underpinning most of what we do.

A+B=C

C+A=D etc etc

Rates depend on materials, temperature, degree of plug flow, concentration (including homogeneity). If we had perfect kinetic data for all reactions involved we could predict perfectly. We don’t, so we do experimental work. Using surprise surprise pipes and glass vessels

PROTENSIVE

The tools that Chemists classically use limit their experimental options. The tools reflect material, mechanical and manufacturing capabilities of boilermakers, mechanical engineers and glassblowers

Chemistry; Underpinning most of what we do.

PROTENSIVE

The chemistry revolution?

The Spinning disc reactor. Start with specific chemistry requirements and build a device to satisfy those requirements

PROTENSIVE

Key message!

Chemists and Chemical Engineers have adopted and adapted “machines” from other disciplines. What we need to do is to understand our process and to specify a machine that will achieve the right change.

We need to precisely match the process and the tool. We need Precision Processing.

PROTENSIVE

Key message… continued!

And there’s more. The plants built from this mechanism can control the way a business is run. For example a batch reactor has minimum make quantities and is often difficult to clean between batches. The business therefore has warehouses, stock levels etc. Now with a precision processor JIT might be an option

PROTENSIVE

Precision Processing is about;

Exactly matching the machine to the process.Giving every molecule the same experienceGenerating the precise environment to achieve the desired change.

That generally results in smaller machines, intensified machines, but that’s a secondary effect.

PROTENSIVE

So how does an intensified, a precision, a matching process benefit the industry?

* Better products or even novel products

* Improved yields

* Improved safety

* Enhanced manufacture ie JIT* Additional Business options ie distributed manufacture

PROTENSIVE

And capital costs?

The capital cost of a plant is often not critical compared with margin, volume and timing

Why take the risk!!!!

Justifying PI in terms of capital is difficult. Need factors (preferably an order of magnitude) rather than percentages.

Variable cost reduction justification; energy

* How big a contribution are energy costs anyway?

* A change from batch to continuous (PI or not) enables classic energy reduction systems ie pinch methodology to be used.

* PI does not give inherent lower energy costs

* Simplistic Company policy might be a justification for any energy reduction

Variable cost reduction justification; chemistry yield

* Improvement in yield can be a multi whammy;

Lower raw material costs, less effluents to be disposed, real reductions in energy costs, less recycle, purer product

* Obviously need to do the specific sums, but can offer a good justification

Safety justification; the wild card

* At one level PI, safety and lower inventories is a capital issue

* At another level it might about Corporate strategies

* At another level it might influence manufacturing opportunities.

Improved Manufacture

* An intensified process can lead to a change to JIT type manufacture through fast grade changes, easy clean, rapid attainment of set points. No stocks, no warehouses. Day rather than shift operation if required.

* Fast development, easy scale up, small flexible plants behind tariff barriers, at customers works.

* BUT failure would be dramatic, unless PI used as a “add on”

Justification through novel or much improved product

* If PI plant enables a company to produce a novel or improved product then that represents a real money making opportunity

* Failure does not damage the core business ie existing products continue to be made.

In summary the best levers for an initial PI break through are often;

1 Novel or enhanced products (including JIT range)

2 Improved yield

3 Opportunities through a Corporate strategy

Once established then risk is reduced and capital cost and other manufacturing benefits can be realised.

PROTENSIVE

In summary

We have a history of being adapters. We need to become innovators and to recognise the requirement for machines to provide the exact environment needed to produce the precise change required.

Let the revolution start