PILOT PLANTS
In essence, a pilot plant is a small-scale working replica of a commercial process which can be used to evaluate technologies ranging from a single unit operation to an entire flow sheet. Pilot plants can be particularly effective in examining technologies that integrate several complex unit processes. Pilot plants are usually run for one or more of the following reasons:
Fluidized Bed Coal Gasification Pilot Plant
- to establish process operability
- to identify potential operating or maintenance problems
- to validate the selection of operating parameters
- to develop engineering data leading to commercial plant design
- to secure product samples for customer evaluation and acceptance testing
Making a business of constructing and successfully operating pilot plants requires a blend of education, experience, and skill, as well as a large inventory of well-maintained process equipment. Hazen's professional staff has more than 1,000 years of combined experience and includes over 75 professionals with education and training in diverse chemical and metallurgical engineering fields. Their technical expertise can be called on to respond to the technical challenges that arise during any pilot plant operation. In addition to competent technical guidance, talented technicians and maintenance personnel are vital to any pilot plant venture. Hazen's staff also features highly experienced plant operators, skilled machinists, and repair mechanics needed to competently operate our pilot plants on an around-the-clock basis for extended campaigns. Hazen has an unparalleled collection of equipment available for pilot plant service. Our basic capabilities include minerals beneficiation and physical separations, thermal processing, and hydrometallurgy. Most of our process equipment is modular, which facilitates pilot plant construction and decommissioning. Successful plant operation at any scale requires the ability to recognize and quickly resolve materials- handling issues. For example, special pumps may be required to deliver a mineral slurry at high pressure and temperature through small piping, or agitators must be appropriately sized to provide a mixing intensity comparable to that achievable on a large scale. Our breadth and depth of experience is instrumental to our ability to make such assessments on a routine basis.