Batch Plant Expansion - Phase I Nitrile and Amine Production
Batch Plant Expansion - Phase II Municipal Utility District
Raw Material Tank Farm Batch Specialty Chemical Plant
Instrumentation Upgrade  

BATCH PLANT EXPANSION - PHASE I

TIC: Confidential Engineering Man-hours: 10,000
Client: Confidential Dates: 1994
Location: Texas Gulf Coast

Scope of Services:
Preliminary engineering; P&ID development; capital cost estimate; detailed engineering and design services; procurement assistance; pre-commissioning and start-up assistance.


Project Description:
This project focused on the addition of the client's existing facility of a stirred tank reactor and ancillary systems. The work included:


A new process building and structural mezzanine for new and future reactors and blend facilities.
Addition of reagent storage facilities
Addition of raw materials and finished product storage tank farm
Piperack and pipebridge additions for new facilities
Revise existing piperacks for piping additions
New Control/MCC building
Modifications to process waste water collection/distribution systems
Upgrade CWS and CWR systems for increased demands
Fire protection system upgrade
Electrical service and motor control upgrade
Process spill and storm water containment
Site drainage.

A unique issue of this project was increasing measurement repeatability of batch quantities. Demar Engineering gave special attention to piping flexibility and loads imposed by thermal expansion. The wide range of operating temperature during the batch cycle created a special challenge to confirm Code compliance as well as predict inherent measurement error due to thermal expansion. The system was modeled with Caesar II software. Resulting piping and load cell design limited the error to the tolerance of the load cell manufacturer.

Engineering, design and configuration for a plant wide DCS system was done by Demar's automation group.

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BATCH PLANT EXPANSION - PHASE II

TIC: Confidential Engineering Man-hours: 8000
Client: Confidential Dates: 1996/1997
Location: Texas Gulf Coast  

Scope of Services:
Preliminary engineering; P&ID development; capital cost estimate; detailed engineering and design services; procurement assistance; pre-commissioning and start-up assistance.

 

Project Description:
This project was a second expansion to the client's existing facility over a 5-year period. The process centered on addition of a new stirred-tank reactor in an existing process building. During the previous expansion, Demar Engineering anticipated infrastructure requirements and demands on utilities. With exception of piperack revisions and mezzanine additions for the new reactor, most structural and civil demands had also been addressed in the previous expansion. The new reactor was installed in an existing process building that had been designed to accommodate future expansions. New building structures included bulk catalyst handling and transfer enclosure and addition to the hot oil heater building. Raw materials and product storage tanks were added to existing tank farm storage areas. Again, these facilities had been designed earlier for expansion flexibility. A new catalyst system and hot oil system were added for this process.

Engineering, design and configuration for addition of the new process to an existing plant wide DCS system was done by Demar Automation.

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RAW MATERIAL TANK FARM

TIC: $1,500,000 Engineering Man-hours: 5200
Client: Pilot Chemical Co. Dates: 2/99 through 5/00
Location: Houston, TX  


Scope of Services:
Preliminary engineering; P&ID development; capital cost appropriation estimate; detailed engineering and design services; purchasing and construction management assistance.

 


Project Description:
Demar Engineering provided design services for a plant raw material tank farm. This storage facility contains 144,000 gallons of NFPA Class I liquids in five tanks, 200,000 gallons storage of NFPA Class II liquids in six tanks and one 230,000 gallon process stormwater storage tank. The complete facility includes a tertiary HDPE liner, spill containment, spill segregation and recovery, transfer pumps, piperacks, new lighting, grounding and electrical motor control centers.

Product levels and temperatures are monitored by a Distributed Control System. Discrete high-level alarm switches offer alarm redundancy and are part of the spill management plan. Critical valves and steam heating coils are controlled by the DCS system.

With exception of the process stormwater storage tank, all tanks were existing on site and had to be decommissioned, moved and re-commissioned. Several of the tanks had to be structurally upgraded to meet increased operating pressures imposed by addition of these tanks to the existing vapor recovery header system. This created special challenges in coordinating the engineering and construction work with on-going production schedules.

The work was completed on schedule and below budget.


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INSTRUMENTATION UPGRADE

TIC: $300,000 Engineering Man-hours: 1000
Client: Pilot Chemical Co. Dates: 8/99 through 11/99
Location: Houston, TX  

Scope of Services:
Preliminary engineering; P&ID revision; capital cost appropriation estimate; detailed engineering and design services; purchasing and construction management assistance; pre-commissioning and start-up assistance.

Project Description:
Demar Engineering provided professional services for plant-wide upgrade of process controls, and emergency shutdown systems. Work included conversion of pneumatic systems to electronic, control room revisions, as well as addition of new field devices for enhanced process control and process alarms.

The work was completed on schedule and within budget.

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NITRILE AND AMINE PRODUCTION

TIC: $3,500,000 Engineering Man-hours: 4500
Client: Confidential Dates: 11/97 through 5/99
Location: Dallas, TX Area  

Scope of Services:
Detailed engineering and design services; purchasing and construction management assistance

Project Description:
Demar Engineering provided design and engineering services for refurbishing and recommissioning existing batch reactors, storage facilities and process equipment for nitrile and amine production in an existing chemical processing plant.

A significant part of the process was a complete redesign of anhydrous ammonia storage and distribution systems and addition of an activated catalyst system including a new catalyst filtering and reclaim building. Demar Engineering was responsible for building design, specification, permitting by local authorities, contractor bids, bid tabulations and purchase requisitions for the building and related facilities.


The project was particularly challenging due to the client's desire to re-use existing process controls and mothballed equipment wherever possible. Since the facilities were spread across a plant that had evolved over more than 20 years and involved at least three separate operating units, there was little standardization. Some of the equipment had been shut down for several years. Existing motor control centers (MCC) were modified using parts cannibalized from out-of-service MCC's in the plant.

The client performed all process and piping work in-house. During construction and commissioning our on-site manager assisted the client with pricing, purchase requisitions and expediting of bulk materials and process instruments. Much of the work involved searching the on-site salvage yard for control valves and pumps that could be re-furbished and incorporated into the project. Demar Engineering coordinated these efforts.

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MUNICIPAL UTILITY DISTRICT

TIC: $3,500,000 Engineering Man-hours: 10,000
Client: Harris County MUD 366 Dates: 1995 to 2000
Location: Houston, TX  

Scope of Services:
Construction cost estimate, creation report, bond application, preliminary and detailed engineering and design; bid documentation, tabulation; construction documents; construction inspection

Project Description:
In the mid-eighties the City of Houston annexed an unincorporated industrial area bordering Northwest Houston. The annexation of more than 400 acres had a huge tax base but no sanitary sewerage or potable water systems, other than privately owned. Demar Engineering has long term relationships with several of the businesses in this annexed area. Increasing pressure from the TNRCC on compliance issues led us to explore the possibility of City-supplied utilities.

Demar Engineering spearheaded a grass-roots effort to provide sanitary sewerage and potable water systems for the entire 400-acre site by selling tax-exempt bonds. Demar Engineering conducted a utility survey to show existing use and to predict future utility demands and impact. City council members were contacted along with the appropriate City utility department directors.

Development costs were required to perform surveys, preliminary engineering, provide bond council and cost estimates for a Utility District Creation Report. We sought out and acquired participation of three of the largest companies in the proposed district. The costs were reimbursed when bonds were sold.

Demar Engineering provided all detailed engineering and construction inspection. The completed facilities will consist of a 100 thousand gallons per day sewage treatment plant (expandable to 300 thousand gpd), two lift stations, 15,000 feet of 8-inch and 10-inch sanitary sewer collection lines, and 17,000 feet of 8-inch and 12-inch water main.

By year end 2000 this project was substantially complete. At current projections and based on work in place, the project will be ahead of schedule and within budget.

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BATCH SPECIALTY CHEMICAL PLANT

TIC: $1,500,000 Engineering Man-hours: 4500
Client: Confidential Dates: 1999 through 2000
Location: Houston, TX  

Scope of Services:
Preliminary engineering; P&ID development, capital cost estimate; detailed engineering and design services; purchasing and pre-commissioning assistance.

Project Description:
Demar Engineering was responsible for design of a fully automated, state-of-the-art batch specialty chemical plant. Facilities included:

Unloading and storage of raw materials and reagents
Reaction with reagents including corrosives and aromatic hydrocarbons
Neutralization and evaporative concentration of the finished product
Product storage and loadout.

Because of corrosive process conditions, construction materials included stainless steel and glass-lined equipment and piping as well as graphite heat exchangers.

Demar Engineering also modified the plant's existing utility distribution and wastewater collection systems, integrated a state-of-the-art process automation system for the new unit with the plant's existing computer control system, reviewed local building code requirements, and submitted necessary permit applications.

The process area piping was designed using 3-dimensional modeling techniques (AutoCAD 2000 and CADWorx/PIPE).

Engineering and design services were completed on schedule and within budget.

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