EXPERIMENTATION IN PILOT PLANT

By : Sri Kumalaningsih

INTRODUCTION

Pilot plant studies are physical simulation studies The pilot plant is a physical model and should be a copy of the corresponding industrial unit, with equipment scaled down in size to approximately 1/100 1/10 of the modeled unit

Pilot plant experiments serve to obtain more information and data in the following areas : 1. Market Survey
A determined new product amount can be produced in the pilot plant, to test its acceptance and to decide whether it would be economically 2. profitable Design Data A pilot plant permits the acquisition of accurate data on processing system energy and mass 3. balances Products and Raw Material Usually needed to characterize food products and to evaluate the development of certain raw into data spesific products 4. materials Optimization of a Running Plant Can be used to optimize running of equipment and food plants, in order to study possible modifications of the original food processing system deemed impracticable or uneconomical at

Basic Principles of Scaling

If fluids are handled in the pilot plant, three types of similarities involved in fluid dynamics must be included : 1. Geometric similarity 2. Kinematic similarity 3. Dynamic similarity

1. Geometric Similarity
Both the pilot plant and food processing plant should have the same physical form or at least the same geometric dimension relationships. This similarity can be partial The same velocity relationships should exist in both the pilot and food processing plants

2. Kinematic Similarity 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

If the process simulated in a pilot plant involves chemical or biochemical reactions, as frequently occurs in food processing systems, the following similarities apply : a.Thermal similarity In addition to geometric and kinematic similarity, the pilot and processing plant should present similar temperature differences among the various points in the system, simulated at both plant and industrial levels

b. Chemical and biochemical similarity There should be parallel differences in concentration (of products or components in the studied system) in the pilot plant and food processing plant. In addition, the chemical and biochemical kinetics must be similar on both scales

Generally, the thermal, chemical and biochemical similarities (including kinetics) are complete at both pilot plant and industrial level (with scale factor = 1)

Minimum and Maximum Size

The minimum size is set by the minimum product amount required for quality analitical control Ex : if the aim of pilot plant experimentation is to study the influence of process conditions on product quality, the minimum amount of processed product in the pilot plant should permit the necessary physical-chemical analysis to evaluate product quality The maximum size is set by the amount of processed product needed in order to test market acceptance

Types and Applications

When product production in amounts large enough to conduct market acceptance tests is required, the pilot plant is called a semicommercial plant In any case, reduced-scale pilot plant studies are the most often employed studies used to obtain information and data on production engineering (running of food processing plants) and design engineering (new food processing plants)

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

1. Product Studies
Quality characterization Influence of process conditions on product quality Development of new product Studies of market acceptance Raw material characterization Evaluation of aptitude for industrializatio of diferent raw material

2. Raw Material Studies

3. Process Technology and Engineering 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 equipment Auxiliary 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

PILOT PLANT DESIGN

An appropriate pilot plant design is essential in order to achieve reliable results during pilot plant experimental programs Taking into consideration the similarity principles, the factors that will be controlled or changed during experimentation are evaluated first

Example :

A study on drying fruits and vegetables with hot air crossing 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%

Thus, the controlled factors are established as well as the interval of variation considered Other aspects to take into account in the design of a pilot plant are availability of auxiliary systems, raw materials and spesifications of the product The location of the pilot plant usually depends on plant size, utilities and laboratory requirements to assist in pilot plant operation

Experimentation Strategies

The profits from experimentation in the pilot plant should be greater than the costs Thus, 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 factors The 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

The result of factor variation in an experimental run is designated as the effect If the raw material used in experiments is limited in quantity, it may be necessary to use several batches of raw material that are similar but not identical in characteristics Each batch is called a block and repetitions of the same experiment are known as replications

Factorial design requires an appropriate experimental design procedure in the pilot plant. It is useful in discovering the influence of different factors on process development or final quality of the product Once the effects of the different factors have been studied, a regression analysis can be completed to develop quantitative relationships among the different factors, process parameters, or product quality parameters

Capital Investment and Operation Cost

The cost of experimentation in the pilot plants is determined as follows : a. Capital investment costs for process equipment and auxiliary systems in the pilot plant, as well as unexpected expenses common during construction b. Cost of buildings and structures to construct and operate pilot plant c. Cost of raw materials and consumptions of auxiliary systems

d. Cost of staff during experimentation, considering direct labor as well as supervision, analysis and interpretation of results e. Cost of laboratory fungible material to control product quality and process f. Estimated cost of instrumental equipment use, needed to control process, product quality and raw materials.

Thank You