When talking about refinery, we need to be able to differentiate and identify an oil refinery from the edible oil refinery. Basically, the oil refinery (or petroleum refinery) is an industrial process plant where crude oil (from crude petroleum) is processed and refined into more useful petroleum products, such as gasoline, diesel fuel, asphalt base, heating oil, kerosene, and liquefied petroleum gas. This is the type of refinery mentioned in the 13 Days: Pythagoras Conspiracy Novel. An edible oil plant in the other hand, is almost similar to the earlier refinery accept it processes edible oil and involves the removal of fatty acid and a few more unwanted impurities. The edible oils are obtained from the likes of palm oil, soya bean oil, canola oil, corn oil, rape seed oil and others. In other words, the oil refinery process oil that cannot be consumed by human being while the edible oil refinery process oil that is edible (can be consumed by human beings).
I have no direct involvement in the oil refinery. However, I was a process engineer in an edible refinery plant before for quite some time. I had a really good taste of experience working in the refinery plant before. I strongly believe that if a chemical engineering student or a new chemical engineer wants to gain experience, he or she should work in a refinery. This is mainly because they will learn and apply all that they have learn in chemical engineering.
Edible Oil Refinery
Edible oil originates from crude oil such as crude palm oil (CPO), crude soya bean oil (CSBO), crude rape seed oil (CRSO), crude coconut oil (CCO) and so on. Edible oils have very high content of free fatty acids (FFA) and needs to be refined before using as cooking oil. However, the refinery process isn't only limited to remove FFA, it also removes the undesired components such as moisture, color and odour which may trigger negative impact on the final taste, odour and appearance of the oil product. The resultant oil is thinner without fatty acids, colorless and odorless.
It is imperative to note that the edible oil refinery can be divided into 2 primary types namely, chemical refining and physical refining. This time, I'll explain about the chemical refining plant. Chemical Refining Plant
Chemical refining plant involve neutralization of crude oil by removing fatty acids. This is always referred to as chemical refining or sometimes Neutralizing process and its plant referred as Neutralizing Plant (NP). In this process the oil is neutralized in the neutralizer to remove the fatty acids by mixing with caustic soda (sodium hydroxide). Oil is heated up to roughly 60oC by and oil is stirred by stirrer. The fatty acids are settled at the bottom as alkali soaps which is called soapstock from where it is taken out into soap tank .
Typical Neutralizing Plant. Image credited to Oiltek Sdn Bhd, a Malaysian company that manufactures edible oil equipments.Click on the photo to enlarge it.
Removal of impurities and color
Neutralized oil is passed through the second vessel called bleacher where color of oil is removed by bleaching process with the help of chemicals such as carbon black and bleaching clay. Oil is usually heated up to 110oC. Stirring is also carried on. Bleaching process is done under vacuum. Bleached oil then goes to filtration process where bleaching clay and chemicals are removed and cleaned.
Removal of unpleasant smell
Bleached oil is then passed through deodorizer where oil is heated above 110C and then live steam clean is used to the oil from the bottom steam nozzles. The temperature of oil is raised up to 200 to 220C through thermic fluid coils. Entire process is done under high vacuum. Thus smell is removed from the oil in the deodorizer. Then it goes to cooler where cold water circulating coils take away heat and oil is cooled.
Final Filtration
Final filtration is performed after cooling down the oil. This operation is carried out in a micro filter closet or filter bag/filter cartridge which makes the final edible oil termed as refined edible oil. This final filtration process is designed for more effective filtration and best quality of final refined edible oil. There are certain refineries that adopted Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP) to completely ensure that the oil is free and safe to be consumed.
This is a typical physical refinery plant. The image is also credited to Oiltek. Click the image to enlarge it.
In the next post, I'll describe more about the Physical Refinery. This is where I gained the most of my hands on chemical engineering experiences. This is where I learned more about important unit operations such as heat exchanger, cooling tower, deodoriser, pack coloumn etc.
Update: As a process engineer or production engineer in a plant (such as this chemical / physical refining plant), you need to know, be prepared and keep stock of all spare parts and engineering equipments (especially during shut downs or turn around). WDS Component Parts has been quite helpful in that area. They supply a vast array of top quality parts, and their website is really cool because it is easy to navigate – which is especially useful when you’re looking for something particularly obscure.
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Since I have written my experience visiting a boiler manufacturing company recently, I think it is good if I follow up with another article related to boiler. This time, it is about the importance of boiler water treatment chemicals. I remembered monitoring the boiler man blended and poured some chemicals (from Nalco) to be injected into the boilers.
Do you know that like cooling tower, a boiler also requires chemical treatment for various reasons. When I was a process engineer, I got the opportunity to learn about the chemical water treatments for utility boiler and cooling tower. There are various chemicals with specific functions. The chemicals, which I will explain below will imperatively preserve the life of a utility boiler (in this case a low pressure boiler). A low pressure boiler in this case is one which is less then 200 psi. We shall look upon several chemical parameters, namelu the amines, alkalinity, sulfites and phosphates or polymers of the boiler water.
Amines are used to increase the condensate pH to a range of 7.8 to 8.7. When generating steam, carbonic acid forms and as a result your steam pH is low. Amines are volatile and when introduced into the steam header or boiler water, amines will increase the condensate pH. A low pH will lead to excessive condensate pipe corrosion.
Alkalinity is used to increase the boiler water pH to above 10.5. This serves three purposes. pH above 10.5 will decrease your overall corrosion rates, it will keep a 3:1 ratio of total alkalinity to silica, and it allows the polymer to react with calcium. A 3:1 ratio keeps silica from plating in the boiler. A low pH will result in an over general corrosion appearance on your boiler tubes.
Sulfites are used to remove any dissolved oxygen from the water. Dissolved oxygen enters the boiler in make up water or as air is sucked into the system. Dissolved oxygen is extremely corrosive to your tubes and localized pits will form, ultimately resulting in premature tube failure. Maintain a 20 to 40 ppm residual of sulfite in your boiler water.
Phosphates and polymers are used to react with any calcium in the water. The polymer attaches itself to the calcium. The polymer and calcium then is able to exit the boiler through the surface or bottom blowdown. Phosphate reacts with the calcium and sinks the calcium to the bottom of the boiler. When using phosphates you must perform boiler blowdown daily to release the phosphate and calcium. Failure to use a polymer or phosphate will result in calcium build up on the tubes or as some call it boiler scale. This will decrease the over boiler efficiency and will drastically increase your fuel cost.
It is vital to note that water expands 100,000 times when it change from a liquid to vapor phase. A typical home water boiler 30 gallon system has enough energy to throw a 2,000 pound car over 100 feet in the air if catastrophically failed.
First Image credited to: www.johnstonboiler.com. Second Image credited to http://www.indiamart.com (Example of Nalco Chemical for boiler water treatment).
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I was approach by Mr Chikezie Nwaoha, a friend from Nigeria and also a Downstream Correspondent of Petroleum Africa Magazine. He is also a Contributing Editor for Control Engineering Asia Magazine and Contributing Editor for PetroMin. Somewhere last year, if I'm not mistaken in July 2011, he emailed me with intention to interview me about cooling tower. The reason for this is because previously I have co-written a book chapter with him about Cooling Towers which will published in a book titled 'Process Plant Equipment Operation, Reliability and Control'. The book which is published by John Wiley will be ready this coming May 2012. I'm so excited and cannot wait to get my hands on this new book. My contribution is in Chapter 5.
Instead of the topic cooling tower, I said why not you interview me about Plate Heat Exchanger because it is my favourite equipment. Well, he said yes. He can interview me about Plate Heat Exchanger. Well, the interview when well and it was published soon in November 2011 in the Downstream Focus section in Petroleum Africa Magazine page 30-33 (4 pages).
- Please click the photo to enlarge -
I'm not sure if I'm allowed to place the interview article here. If I have the permission, I'll make it available for download.
Here is a partial shot from the 3rd page.
- Please click the photo to enlarge - I hope I can contribute more like this in future. If you want to read Petroleum Africa Magazine, you can try it out and subscribe it here.
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Today, one of my colleague, Fawzi from Libya defended his Ph.D thesis. If my calculation is correct he submitted his draft thesis to our supervisor after 2 years and 7 months. In general that is very fast duration for a Ph.D student. I'm so proud of him and his success kind of boosted my motivation. Few months before that (last year) another Ph.D student in my research group, Jawaid Akhtar from Pakistan also successfully defended his thesis and earned the title "Dr". So, within a space of 6 months, 2 Ph.D students in Chemical Reaction Engineering Group (CREG) graduated and earned their doctorate degree. Once again I would like to humbly congratulate them.
Recently, I met a lecturer while servicing my MPV. We chatted about his experience doing his Ph.D knowing I'm still in the battle. I know him and he is not the boosting or snobbish type of person. He told me that, he managed to publish 8 journals while doing his Ph.D. Yep, you heard that right. 8 journals and not 8 conference papers. Wow! I was impressed. I asked him, "How long did you take to do your Ph.D?". He responded, "I took 2 and a half years". Once again...Wow!!! That is very impressive. His VIVA took a mere 15 minutes only. The examiners just asked him some very general questions. The reason for that is because there is nothing more to be asked as he has already published massively. Indeed so good. That reminded on another ex-CREG member, my colleague, Dr. Istadi whom if I'm not mistaken published 6 or 7 journals while doing his Ph.D. But he took 4 years to complete his study. This guy, sitting next to me in the workshop, published 8 journals (with impact factor) in 2.5 years!!!
I asked him, "How did you manage to do it?" His answer was simple. He met his supervisor each week and reported whatever work he has done. In another angle, he said that his supervisor is very strict and ordered him to meet him on a weekly basis. He added that his supervisor asked him to produce 1 journal every quarterly. That answered how he can produced 8 journals in 2.5 years.
2 days ago, I met another colleague who is currently doing Ph.D in Korea. He is also a staff in the UTM. He has basically completed his Ph.D. However, he has not defended his research yet because the university in Korea only allow students to have VIVA after he or she managed to publish 3 journal papers. So far he has managed to complete his thesis and published 2 journal papers within a period of 2 years and 9 months. Another impressive record. I asked him how he did it. How he managed to complete so fast? He said that he has to work from morning till night each and everyday. He walked to the university with his wife (who has completed her Ph.D) every morning and returned together at night. They have 3 daughters who are staying in Malaysia. Since the cost of living is extremely high in Korea, they have to school their daughters in Malaysia. That means they are separated from their kids. Both of them has the drive and goal to finish the Ph.D as fast as possible so that they can be united back with their 3 beautiful daughters. Well, that's another amazing Ph.D success story.
What about me? It has been already 2.5 years for me. I'm still working and struggling on my Ph.D. One of my journal is under review. Another one is on the way. There are another 3 journals that I have to publish but they are not ready yet. I have 3 conference papers published already and 1 scopus journal in hand. I have another 1 month of experimental work to do. I have some thermodynamic modelling to work on. Comparing myself with the stories above, I'm no where yet. Nevertheless, I'm not giving up. I'm fighting to end this battle by this year, if God will. Please pray for me.
For those of you who are is currently doing Ph.D, keep up the believe and spirit. Planning is very crucial. Remember the saying, "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail". For those who are in the 4th or 5th year or more (some of you are my colleagues), don't worry. Just do it. Be persistent and put in more effort. We know Ph.D is full of unexpected problems. The challenge is how we act to the test.
So, in conclusion, some aspects that are very crucial in ensuring success and speed in our Ph.D are as follows:
Always meet and report your work to your supervisor. At least once a week.
Set a goal and reason why you want to complete your Ph.D. That will drive and motivate you to finish your study.
Publish your work in reputable journals with impact factors. That's like an insurance policy during the VIVA.
I'm trying to fulfill all there imperative points above. Let's do it.
I strongly believe this story is motivating and inspiring although it is short. If you like it, I appreciate it very much if you can share it by LIKE it below (with Facebook).
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A friend of mine (Dr. Mohanad El-Harbawi) from Universiti Teknologi Petronas has some research student vacancies. He is looking for 1 master and 1 PhD student with strong background in molecular chemistry, biology, quantitative structure activity relationship (QSAR) and MATLAB. Anyone interested in the project can send your CV to his email below. You can find out some details below:
Project’s title: Development of Ecotoxicity Relationships to Enhance Ionic Liquids Commercialization using Green Chemistry Approach
Location: Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Chemical Engineering Department, Bandar Seri Iskandar, Perak, Malaysia
Salary: 1650 RM (525 US$)/month for master (max. 1.5 years) and 2250 RM (715 US$)/month for PhD. (max. 2.5 years)
If you are interested or would like to ask further details, please contact the following:
Dr. Mohanad El-Harbawi, Senior Lecturer, Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Chemical Engineering Department, Bandar Seri Iskandar, 31750 Tronoh, Perak, Malaysia HP: 0122398415 | Office: 605-3687581 | Fax: 605-3656176 Email: mohanad_elharbawi@petronas.com.my | mohanad_75@yahoo.com
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I have came across a very amazing laser technology business last year which is called Northeast Laser & Electropolish. This is without doubt a really impressive company, the one which has one stop solution for all laser related technology. It can easily solve your laser welding, laser marking, laser cutting and laser engraving. I must admit that my favourite part when viewing the video below is how simple and cool the laser engraving process was carried on. Oh...I wish I can have own or be part of this fantastic company here in my country, perhaps opening a Northeast Laser & Electropolish branch here in Malaysia. Will that be super cool stuff?
Maybe this is not really directly related to Chemical Engineering, but if we want to be a rich chemical engineer, I strongly believe, we must have the desire and start our very own business (anything from small manufacturing product up to becoming a consultant or expert in some technical areas). A laser related business may require a high capital but I believe, our technical engineering knowledge can cope well with the laser industry. Despite of this is a laser tech business, we still can apply some of our chemical engineering skill and knowledge such as the environmental, safety and health, technical drawing an calculation etc.
Common, check out the video below. Tell me if this is cool or not... :)
If you are interested to explore further about the technical and business stuffs that Northeast Laser & Electropolish offering, check out their official site at:www.northeastlaser.com.
.............................................................................................................................. Regarding the recent survey...
Ops...If you have not answered the short survey that I published few days ago, here is the link. I hope you can kindly assist me answer just 10 simple very basic question in my quest to prepare a good Professional Engineer guide. I can't say how thankful I am for your sincere help. Thanks...
After the previous Professional Interview (PI) and writing examination conducted by Institution of Engineers Malaysia (IEM) last April, I sat for another interview which is the Chartered Engineering interview by IChemE. The interview was carried out by 2 Fellow IChemE members yesterday morning in Dayabumi, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia. I was accompanied by my beloved wife to drive to Kuala Lumpur as early as 4.30 am.
The purpose of this interview is to assess my training and experience whether I am fit to be a member of IChemE and chartered engineer. Before this, under IChemE, I am an Associate Member (which I can use the AMIChemE designation after my name). If my interview yesterday is successful, I will be upgraded to Member and Chartered engineer. With that after my name, I can use the designation of MIChemE and CEng.
This is the meeting room where my chartered engineer interview was held (at level 5 Dayabumi building)
The interview was scheduled at 9.30 am but it actually started at 9.50am. The interview was relatively tougher compared to my IEM previous interview (which took about 50 minutes). Among the points that the interviewers were seeking for are some proof of chemical engineering application that I practiced in my previous jobs. They also look for some elements on creativity, innovation, leadership and contribution to society. The interview hoovers around discussing the information that I had provided earlier in Form C - Competence and Commitment Report.
Myself before the interview. Luckily we arrived early in KL and the building. I can relaxed and stabilized myself before the interview. Do I look nervous? haha....
The interview ended after about 2 hours. It was really a mental challenge to answer all the questions threw by the lead interview who is a very experienced lady chemical engineer. Nevertheless I'm glad that the interview went smooth and I believed I managed to answer all the questions. For now, I just hope to receive a favourable result. From the information that I have, the result is very fast which is about roughly 10 days.
After the interview, we immediately travel south back to Johor Bahru. Yes, we purposely drove to KL for my interview. It was very tiring but at the same time, I'm glad that I managed to complete both IEM and IChemE interviews this year.
What about you? If you are not yet a member of IChemE, you can begin now. Seek for more information on how and why to get chartered from IChemE website.
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As some of you know, I am currently a Ph.D student in my final year and at this moment I can say I am working very hard running my experiments. Why do I say so? Well, part of the reason is because I'm the earliest person to reach the lab and the last person to leave the lab for any single day (accept if I have something urgent going on). I run 1 to 3 experiments per day depending on the situation that day. Why I say this, you'll know when I list down some of the problems I face when I run my experiments.
The experiments that I or other Ph.D students run are no ordinary experiments. The experiments are not at all similar to those that the undergraduates carry out in the lab. We are running our own individual experiments for research and discovery purpose. We are seeking for new information, new knowledge, new theory, new discovery. We want to find out about something. We want to see whether this and this works or not. We want to see what will happen when we do this and this and so on. Of course, this will be based on our literature review and hypothesis. Our experimental set-up is in most case unique and not similar to others. If it is similar though, there will be perhaps 2, 3 or 4 almost similar experimental set-up. I'm referring to the experimental set-up that we create ourselves.
OK, the main thing I want to share here is the list of problems, challenges, hurdles that interrupt the process of me running my experiment. Some of the problems are as stated below.
process tubing leaks
fitting leaks
o-ring burst
gas suddenly finish
furnace suddenly cannot operate
heating tape spoil
heating tape controller spoil
reactor easily broken (quartz)
support for catalyst broken
Not enough or no liquid to collect for analysis
Gas that is collected in a container could not be analyzed
Dirty GC column
Column not suitable for our products
GC need to be calibrated
No gaseous available, need to order gaseous from company
Rota flow meter not reliable, cannot control flow of carrier gas
No mass flow controller
Vacuum fitting cannot be tightened
Data logger for temperature monitoring software has problem
thermocouple seal leak and fluid penetrate through wire and flooded the data logger
Quartz tube after experiment are very dirty and difficult to clean
No water bath, so I have to used my own condenser.
Sabotage (this happen to my colleague. Her gas tank tubings were cut).
Please be informed that I'm not listing all these problems to discourage or demotivate some of you who may consider to pursue your Ph.D with experimental work. What I'm trying to highlight here is that if you are running experiments for your research work, you will face with tonnes of challenges. You need to stay strong and motivated. You need to focus at the end result. Of course there will be some obstacles, problems, delays and many other things that will result to you feeling down. I will be lying if I say I'm always motivated. I faced numerous expected and unexpected challenges. It's really up to me to react on the problem and overcome those challenges.
In addition, during this critical time, we need to always be positive and pray to God for assistance. On top of that, when ever we have experimental problems or delays, we need to have plan A, B, C and so on which means we can do other things such as drafting technical papers, search for latest literature review, learn related softwares etc.
If any of you have some good experience to share, feel free to contact me. I would love to hear from you as well. Cheers...
OK, that's enough for now. I'll share later updates with you soon. For my fellow Muslim chemical engineers (student or practicing), I wish you Happy Ramadhan and hope all of us can be fasting with peace.
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I have wanted to write and publish about this since few weeks ago. Unfortunately I was hooked up with my Ph.D study. I'm presently running my experiments in the lab.
Well here how the story goes on my quest to be a professional engineer under the Institution of Engineers, Malaysia (IEM).
2007
I registered with IEM as a graduate member. After officially becoming a graduate member, I searched for a mentor to help and guide me to be a professional engineer. Unfortunately, I could not find any professional chemical engineer that is available to be my mentor in Johor (the state that I live and work in). So, I decided to search for any mentor in Klang Valley area. Take note that I got the list of chemical engineering mentor from IEM. To cut the story short I found a mentor which I'm attracted to and contacted him. He is Hj. Ir. Tunai Shamsidi Ahmad, a very experienced chemical engineering consultant. He agreed to mentor me and I started recording my training and experience report. My training reports were all about my activities in the plant plus several projects that I was involved in. That time I was a process engineer working in a physical refinery plant. According to my mentor, my working experiences keep repeating month after month. That, according to him is not good enough for me. I need to get involved with more projects and tasks.
2008
I resigned as a process engineer in early 3rd quarter this year and began my career as a lecturer. As a lecturer, I strongly believe I have better control of my career direction. I'm not only involved in lecturing but also research, consultancy, writing, publication and many more. It's quite an interesting experience.
My mentor was very delighted after he knew that I become a lecturer. He said by becoming a lecturer, I will have more diversified projects that I can be involved in. As a result, my training reports became more interesting. Earlier on, my training reports dwell on activities in the plant/factory. But now, I have totally new experiences that I can record in my training report.
2010
After 3 years recording my engineering training report and completed attending all mandatory trainings required by the Board of Engineers Malaysia (BEM), finally I'm qualified for the professional interview (PI) which is to be conducted by IEM. I then filled up the required forms, paid the fees and standby for the PI. While waiting for the PI, I have to prepare 2 more detail reports which are (1) Project Technical Report and (2) Training and Experience Report.
Earlier on, I had a headache thinking of what project I should write for my Project Technical Report. However, after a while I considered the Plate Heat Exchanger Installation in my plant. The project really fits all requirement and elements for the report such as design, engineering, economic, planning, project management etc.
2011
I was informed by IEM secretarial in January that my interview will take place in IEM head quarters in Petaling Jaya. Later in April, I received a call and email informing about my Professional Interview. I prepared for the interview like mad. The interview will consists of (1) oral session and (2) Essay questions which is related to our own technical project and engineering ethics.
Finally, in late June, I received a notification email from IEM confirming that I have passed my Professional Interview. Hence, my membership is upgraded to corporate member which will then be awarded the title IR (Ingeniur) by BEM (after I completed necessary paper works). Thank God I passed this Professional Interview. All the hard work has finally paid off. It was very tough to prepare the project technical report. It was like doing the final year design project alone (not in a group). But now, the project must be a real project that I have handled before. I must also thank many people for assisting me on creating my project technical report.
What about IChemE (Institution of Chemical Engineer) membership?
At the same time of preparing my project technical report, I also prepared myself to be a chartered engineer under IChemE. At this moment, IChemE representative has already emailed me and ask me to standby for the interview which will take place anytime from now. Deep inside I hope I can also make it for the interview. Wish me luck... :)
My 2 cents:- If you are not yet a professional engineer, don't wait!!! Register yourself with the engineering professional body in your country, follow the training program and record your engineering training experiences. I'm saying this because I wish somebody have advise me earlier to be a professional engineer while I'm still younger (I mean just after graduating). So, if you are in Malaysia, register with IEM. If you are in UK, register with IChemE. If you are in USA, register with AIChE. The same goes to the other countries... Good luck :)
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Once upon a time in the Chemical Reaction Engineering Research Laboratory
On a sweet Thursday afternoon (today) when I just started my experiment, a sudden power failure occurred without warning. I was actually in the toilet when the power cut off took place. My wife called and asked, "Do you have electricity there in the lab?". I answered, "We have power here in the lab and I just started my experiment". Then 2 lab assistants walk out from the polymer lab (which is next to the reaction engineering lab) and informed me that the power failure just happened. I was surprised.
Immediately I ran into the lab and discovered that the lab black out. Oh my God!!! This is not good. It's not really about my experiment. It's the Gas Chromatography (GC) which I'm more worried about. The GC is such an important equipment for me and the rest of the students as we use it to identify and quantify our products from the reactor. The GC is very sensitive and frequent power cut-off can jeopardize the equipment and interrupt our research activities. Repairing the GC cost huge amount of money and with limited research budget, we need to do everything to avoid the GC from malfunctioning.
After about 15 to 20 minutes the electrical power resumed. Thank God. I switched it on. I then checked the GC and its PC hoping that nothing will go wrong. When the power failure occurred just now, the oven temperature (of the GC) was 250oC. The standard operating procedure to switch off the GC is when the oven temperature is below 40oC. Sudden GC shut down is not recommended at all. It is strictly a big NO. Luckily the GC works well and nothing seems to be wrong. I restarted my experiment and completed it 3 hours later.
Power Failure in the Plant
The incident reminded me on the power failure that once in a while also occurred in the physical refinery plant I worked in several years ago. Such unavoidable power cut-off from the Electricity Company will firstly trigger chaos within the control room and the entire plant. The supervisor, shift leader and plant operators have to act fast to close all main valves manually from various sections. The flow, temperature and pressure from numerous unit operation equipment such as Niagara filter (filter leaves), deodoriser, packed column, heat exchanger need to be controlled until power resumed. The huge 3000 tonnes per day plant can only be minimally controlled via the PLC which was temporarily powered with UPS (uninterupted power supply) - which provided a few minutes power back up.
Secondly, the power cut off will result in substantial lost and I have to assess and make report about it. Even a milisecond power failure will result in vacuum drop in the plant in result to oil rejection (due to quality off-spec). That also will cost massive lost to the company.
What can we do?
As for my case, in the lab... nothing much can be done. I rest my faith to the God. It's good to install UPS for the GC. If UPS is the answer, then we must have 4 UPS unit in the lab as there are all together 3 GC's and 1 GCMS. However, having UPS alone will not entirely protect this expansive machines. For me, the power company (electricity supplier) must be responsible in providing smooth and reliable power for us (the customers). They should pay all the damage and losses that hit us. Maybe this does not sound like an engineer's solution...
Other option?
A more interesting option is to create and manage our own power system...but can we do it with our resources? I'm referring to solar, wind and frequency (Tesla) energy. I would love to develop one of this power sources AFTER I complete my study. I'll try and do it at my home first... :)
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Have you downloaded my free "Choosing Alternative Fuel" Ebook? If not, then please download it here. It's Free and on top of getting the free ebook, you'll get eCourse on Alternative Fuel. It's a good and easy way to add more valuable information to yourself. Image #1 credited to: http://www.wkow.com/Global/story.asp?S=14691294&clienttype=printable Image #2 credited to: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42761336/ns/us_news-life/t/refinery-warnings-way-life-texas-city/
I’m Zaki. I used to be a project, process and chemical engineer. Few years ago I successfully became a Chartered Engineer (IChemE) and Professional Engineer (BEM). I'm now employed as a chemical engineering educator/researcher/consultant. Hope you like reading my blog. I welcome any feedback from you. My email: zaki.yz[alias]gmail.com. TQ!
Get this powerful 80-page ebook on various alternative energy that can save our environment and save your money. On top of that, you'll get a FREE eCourse on alternative energy from me.
Have you downloaded my free "Choosing Alternative Fuel" Ebook? If not, then please download it here. It's Free and on top of getting the free ebook, you'll get eCourse on Alternative Fuel. It's a good and easy way to add more valuable information to yourself.
