MAJOR ENGINEERING & EXECUTION ACTIVITIES FOR SETTING UP NEW CHEMICAL INDUSTRIES

Hi Friends,

Before going through the current article, you will like to have a look at "Caustic embrittlement in Alumina Refinery". This will help you to know the impact of caustic at high temperature.

As such it is difficult to list out major engineering and execution activities, however all out efforts have been made to assimilate the information in systematic manner for guiding the young professionals engaged in engineering of Mineral processing / Specialized Chemical Industries as outlined here under-

A.      Pre-Project Activities

1.       Finalization of Product mix

2.       Quality specifications of products

3.       Preparation of Conceptual Report

4.       Technological testing of  input materials

5.       Site selection and land acquisition

6.       Identification of available infrastructure like roads, rails, rivers and port facilities

7.       Estimation of Raw material consumption factors

8.       Estimation of utilities requirement like steam, power, chilled water & compressed air

9.       List of major equipment with broad specifications

10.   Estimation of Capex and Opex

11.   Development of Plot plan

12.   Preparation of Feasibility Report

13.   EIA / EMP Report

14.   Statutory clearances for site

15.   Receipt of Consent to Establish (CTE)

B.      Basic Engineering

1.       Process Design Basis

2.       Fixing the process & operating parameters

3.       Material flow balance

4.       Thermal energy balance

5.       Water Balance

6.       Caustic Balance

7.       Alumina Balance

8.       Condensate balance

9.       Development of  Overall Process Flow Diagram

10.   PFDs for All Units

11.   P&IDs for All Units

12.   Broad specifications of major technological equipment

                                                 i.       Primary & secondary crusher

                                                ii.      Conveyors

                                              iii.      Vibro-pulse screens

                                              iv.      Ball mills

                                                v.       Slurry pumps

                                              vi.      Heat Exchangers

                                            vii.       Autoclaves / Digesters

                                           viii.      Flash Tanks

                                              ix.       Evaporators

                                                x.      PHEs

                                              xi.       Boilers

                                             xii.      Compressors

                                           xiii.       Cooling Towers

                                           xiv.      Rotary Disc Filters

                                             xv.      Rotary Drum Filters

                                           xvi.      Calciners

13.   List of major equipment with motor ratings

14.   Specifications of other process equipment

15.   Instrumentation and control philosophy

16.   List of cranes and hoists

17.   Sizing of heat exchangers

18.   Sizing of Desilicators

19.   Sizing of Liquor decanters & washers

20.   Sizing of Precipitators

21.   Sizing of condensate & other liquid storages tanks

22.   Specifications for liquor and water pumps

23.   Sizing of pipelines

24.   Sizing of valves

25.    Acid cleaning system for heat exchangers

26.   Chemical cleaning system for precipitators

C.      Detailed engineering

1.       Preparation of tender documents

2.       Development of General layout of the plant

3.       Preparation of shop layout

4.       Assistance in evaluation of offers

5.       Assistance in inspection of equipment

6.       Assistance in procurement of plant & equipment

7.       SLD for Power Control Centre (PCC)

8.       SLDs for Motor Control Centre (MCC)

9.       Design of Digesters

10.   Design of Flash tanks

11.   Design drawings for tanks and vessels

12.   Inspection and expediting activities

13.   Drawings for process & utility piping network

14.   Design drawings for Civil & Structural Buildings

15.   Foundation drawings for all equipment & facilities

16.   Certification of bills payable to contractors and suppliers

D.      Construction activities

1.       Preparation of schedule of activities

2.       Planning for materials, machines and manpower

3.       Planning of construction activities

4.       Appointment of Competent Contractors

5.       Supervision of construction at site

6.       Cost & quality control during erection

E.       Assistance in Testing & Commissioning

1.       Checking Mechanical completion

2.       Cold trial run

3.       Hot trial run

4.       Commissioning of equipment

5.       Plant commissioning procedure

6.       Performance guarantee test

F.       Stabilization of plant

1.       Finalization of  process and operating parameters

2.       Guiding the team for steady  plant operation

G.      Quality control methodology

H.      Safety and Environmental Management & Control Techniques

I.        Preparation of As-Built Drawings.

The above list clearly indicates the volume of engineering and execution activities involved in putting up any new chemical industries in any geographical location across the globe. 

Also, you may be interested to read our paper on "Systematic approach on testing and commissioning of Newly Constructed Alumina Refinery" .

We  will welcome your feedback and suggestions for further improvement. 

For any assignment related to design and engineering activities, we may be contacted at rajendra@ceti.co.in. Details of services are available at our website.
Best regards.

Rajendra Kunwar
India
www.ceti.co.in

Scope Matrix for Execution of Alumina Refinery Projects on EPC Contract Methodology

Hi Friends,

All of us are aware that each and every Alumina refinery is tailor made because of changes in processes, equipment and facilities because of variation in quality of basic input raw materials. Thus, generally Basic engineering & Process technology supplier, Detailed engineering consultants, equipment suppliers and of course the Project owners are involved in execution of Alumina refinery projects. In the recent past, some changes in execution methodology for Alumina refinery projects have been distinctly observed. 

These days, project owners across the globe are approaching various design, engineering and construction agencies to carry out execution of Alumina refinery projects on EPC basis. This methodology has its own advantages like single point responsibility, less involvement of project owner and remote chances of schedule & cost over run for the project. But capex may be little high because of loading on prices by EPC Contractor for their efforts in execution of project such as procurement of equipment & facilities from different sources and appointment of various agencies for inspection, quality control, safety, security and other associated activities within as well as outside the premises of project site. 

In present post, we are presenting the major responsibility matrix with indicative scope of services of EPC Contractor and The Project Owner for successful execution of green-field Alumina refinery project as tabulated here under-

  RESPONSIBILITY MATRIX FOR EXECUTION OF ALUMINA PROJECT ON EPC BASIS

S.No.	Activity Description	EPC Contractor	Project Owner	Remarks
1	Feasibility Study Report		√	Owner to provide data pertaining to hydrological, meteorological, geological, estimated ore reserves, bauxite quality specifications with range including available infrastructure in the vicinity of proposed site.
2	Technological Testing Report for characterization of Bauxite		√	Owner to provide, hard groove index of bauxite, digestion conditions, residue settling characteristics and other associated figures derived from quality specifications with detailed test results and conclusions.
3	Project Clearances		√	Owner to provide land acquisition status, site details with topography, EIA / EMP reports, consent for establishment, safety assessment and fire rating.
4	Geological Survey Report		√	Preliminary exploration and Detailed exploration reports.
5	Basic Engineering	√		Design basis, process description, PFDs, P&IDs, equipment List, motor list, data Sheets, MSDS, utility requirement, plot plan, SLD, list of packages, details of DCS with control philosophy, design drawings for tailor made equipment and tankages, list of instruments & controls, specifications for critical equipment, pollution control equipment, 3D piping drawing upto pipe size of 50 mm and more including instruments and other details as per scope for Basic Engineering.
6	Detailed Engineering	√		Development of general layout of plant, area-wise equipment arrangement drawings, technical specifications for equipment & facilities including utilities & services, SLD for MRDS & MCCs, construction drawings for civil, architectural & structural buildings, pipe & cable racks, roads, drains, environment & safety equipment, all foundation drawings, cable routing diagrams, firefighting system, 3D piping drawings incorporating utilities & services, equipment for maintenance workshop, water supply & distribution network, erection tenders for civil, architectural, structural, electrical, instrumentation and control work and other LSTK packages plus other work as per scope for detailed engineering.
7	Development of General Layout of Plant.	√		Starting from raw material unloading, handling & storage to storage and loading of products including all processing, utility & services facilities and Land escaping.
8	Construction Drawings	√		Construction drawings for all civil buildings including boundary wall, Main gates, foundations for footings of Pipe racks, footings for PEBs and operating platforms.
9	Site Preparation	√		Marking location of plant units and offices depending on topography of land, geotechnical study reports.
10	Temporary Construction Facilities	√		Temporary office space for Client as well as Contractor officials, communication equipment, arrangement for supply of construction power and construction water, Labour sheds and stores.
11	Fabrication drawings	√		Fabrication drawings of tanks with nozzle orientation and Fabrication drawings for pipe racks.
12	Structural buildings	√		Fabrication and erection drawings for Structural buildings and ware houses.
13	Cogeneration Plant	√	√	Only system design drawings to be provided by Owner and detail drawings to be developed by contractor.
14	Design, Fabrication and erection of non-standard equipment	√
15	Installation of Piping network	√
16	Design for electrical power receiving and distribution system.	√
17	Erection of PCC & MCCs	√
18	Electrical and Control Cables	√
19	Distributed Control System	√
20	Installation of all instruments & controls	√
21	Laboratory Equipment	√
22	Effluent Treatment Plant		√
23	Sewage Treatment Plant		√
24	Construction of Office buildings		√
25	Fire Fighting System		√
26	Plantation and development of greeneries		√
27	Preparation of Operation manuals		√
28	Preparation of Maintenance Manuals		√
29	Supervision during testing & Commissioning		√
30	Stabilization of plant operation		√
31	Supply of Commissioning Spares		√
32	Establishing plant performance guarantee parameters		√
33	Submission of ‘As Built’ drawings		√	‘As built’ drawings for entire plant within the premises to be prepared and submitted by contractor.

The above stated scope matrix is for reference only which is also applicable for brown-field expansion of Alumina refinery and other industrial projects to be executed on EPC basis. These are just the guidelines and the same may be further elaborated on case to case basis.

Trust, our friends of Bauxite-alumina-aluminium fraternity will find this article useful more specifically while freezing & finalizing the scope of EPC contract. We will welcome your remarks and comments for further improvement by incorporating your valued suggestions, if any, at our end. Please feel free to put your remarks under "Comments" provided below each article published on this unique technical blog.

Regards.

Rajendra Kunwar
rajendra@ceti.co.in
www.ceti.co.in