HOW DOES THE PILOT PLANT WORK AND HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?

Operating a new project plant always involves risks that customers may not even be aware of. According to McKinsey experts, the most common problems in the implementation of any large technology project are deadlines or budget overruns.

The key mistake in the general case is the lack of detailed plans for the implementation of the project and imperfect design methods. This leads to an underestimation of the complexity of the project, expensive or even unrealizable technical and technological solutions, the inability to correctly identify, recognize and reduce risks.

Front-end engineering (FEE) significantly reduces these risks in the early stages of any major technology project.

A common situation is when the customer does not have a clear idea of the timing of the project or the cost of equipment.

At the pre-project design stage, he will be able to find all the answers to the most head-breaking questions that are required for the successful completion of the project.

Properly implemented FEED activities allow both the client and the contractor to stay on the optimal track. The time schedule for the project, developed at the preliminary design stage, shows exactly how long the project will take, what are its main stages, bottlenecks and keypoints. Front End Engineering also helps the contractor (design or construction firm) gain a clear understanding of the project before major resources are invested.

Planning for the cost, timing and expectations eliminates speed problems in the future. Pre-design study is the first important step in the design and creation process of any chemical technology project and is the key to reducing risks. The resulting master plan of work displays the success criteria for each stage and ensures that all unknown parts of the project have been studied and accounted for.

ECT Center is an integrator company, and we are able to take responsibility for the project, from the preliminary design stage to the launch and commissioning of a pilot plant, as well as we can perform the development of initial data for the design of production plant.

In other words, we take on turnkey responsibility, which allows us to ensure the success of the project through the coordination of each element of the technological system, including the purchase of equipment, manufacturing of reactor modules, working programs, etc.

There is a lot at stake when scaling a new process. Even if you have a well-developed laboratory scale process and you have all the reaction data and theoretical models that describe every aspect of the process, transfer from the laboratory scale directly to the commercial track puts you and your investors at risk.

It is almost guaranteed that you will have to make certain tuning for raw materials and operating modes, adjust technological equipment at the production site, and control a whole bunch of subtleties. All these are necessary measures for the safe and effective introduction of a technology or product to the market.

Let's try to look at the problem and talk about the role that the pilot setup plays in these processes. It provides additional benefits even after your process or technology has proven to be effective.

Let's highlight four main advantages of a pilot plant.

If you are planning to raise a pilot plant, you probably have a lot of questions. Most of them relate to how to determine the technical scope of works and their cost. This often requires contacting a professional company (yes, that's somebody like us) or other resources. Before you start talking to the pros, what information should you already have?

The engineering company will want to know as much as possible about your project in order to give you the most accurate estimate of the resources required. The three main types of information you should have are business information, process operating parameters, and additional options for the process you are considering as a candidate for scaling. Below are some examples for each of them:

When contacting a contractor regarding the construction of a pilot plant, it is necessary to detail the basic technology as much as possible. This includes following data:

Once you know that all of this information is there, it's time to get in touch with a company that is an expert in scaling the process:

Once you find an engineering company who is ready to help you, be sure to remember to sign an appropriate non-disclosure agreement (NDA) before disclosing details about your process.

The answer to this question depends on a combination of capital cost factors and the internal capabilities of the pilot plant manufacturer selected to implement the project.

"How much will my pilot plant cost?" Is the very first question that everyone wants an answer to (and which we often have to answer). Experience dictates that while some companies are willing to provide quick blanks in this complex and delicate area, it pays to be careful with quick estimates without too much effort. They are often based on general assumptions that are not project specific and are often not an accurate way to budget for the final project.

The best option is to find a contractor who is ready to carry out preliminary engineering designs (the abovementioned FEED study) in order to determine the final and accurate cost. FEED work is usually a fraction of the cost of the entire pilot, and it is an engineering work that must be done anyway.

How is the cost of designing a pilot plant determined?

Depending on the scale of the project, an individual project of a pilot plant can cost from units to hundreds of millions of rubles. There are several factors that affect the overall value.

If you need a pilot plant design and installation, our company is always ready to help. We have a lot of experience in this kind of work: from applied R&D management to calculations, mathematical modeling and design. And of course large positive background of pilot setups for various customers.

Our own pilot site, equipped with all the necessary equipment, communications, specialists in the field of chemical technologies of the highest competence - all this allows us to say that we are ready to take on almost any task in the field of piloting and scaling of chemical technologies.

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