Technology advances in engineering design and construction
The engineering design and construction industry is characterised by its innovative use of design and technology together with the best safety and environmental practices. Technology enables the industry to create new designs, increase yields, improve safety, reduce environmental impact and operate in remote and extreme locations – an increasing feature of work in this industry. But technology innovation and employment of new processes is always accompanied by commercial awareness.
Clients continually raise the bar of what they want to achieve and, quite typically, they want more for less! Contractors combine technology and process development expertise with commercial awareness to design and build the best possible plant, while maximising the profit they make on the project – innovation is about working smart as well as developing fresh technologies and processes.
Your taste of the innovation action
It’s an exciting time in the industry with a high demand for new projects around the world, and the UK industry isn’t resting on its laurels in this boom time. Engineering contractors know that this is an opportunity to innovate and make sure that they take a lead in new developments. While you explore careers in this industry, keep your eyes on the main themes of development and be inspired by the potential of what is possible. From the start of your career, you’ll work alongside experienced engineers and get a taste of the innovation action too. Follow our three themes to find out more...
Sustainability is the buzzword
Events such as the explosion at Buncefield oil storage depot on 11 December 2005 bring home the importance of an engineering contractor’s HSE (health, safety and environment) design activities. HSE is integral to all aspects of the design, construction and operation of the plants we build, wherever they are in the world.
Sustainability is the current buzzword. The Institution of Chemical Engineers defines this as engineering that ‘provides for human needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs’. But we have to deliver enhanced safety and environmental performance in a competitive environment, and that’s the main challenge.
‘Concept safety’ and ‘initial environmental impact’ studies begin the structured assessment of potential hazards and risks. We aim to design out problems at source rather than incorporate measures to deal with a problem. Significant developments in computer-based techniques provide design engineers with powerful analytical tools that can be used to model the behaviour of fires and explosions, or the dispersion of gas releases to atmosphere. Plant layout is designed to prevent a potential incident in one section escalating and spreading to another.
Developments in processes and equipment enable designers to implement the best available technology (BAT) within their designs; technology that supports future safe operation and sustainability through minimising energy use, reducing consumable use, recovering heat and avoiding land contamination, among other things.
Thankfully, the majority of the time our HSE efforts go unnoticed: plants operate to plan, nothing dramatic happens and the general public goes safely about its business generally unaware of their existence.
Eric Kinder is a principal process engineer for Costain Oil, Gas & Process Limited.
Process technology development takes a fast-track
Progressing from the discovery of a novel chemical reaction concept to an operating industrial-scale production plant entails a number of stages. The first is close co-operation between research chemists and chemical engineers who construct mathematical models of the process to approximate capital and operating costs. Next, benchscale equipment is fabricated to test parts of the process to establish optimum operating conditions and to test candidate catalysts. If positive results come from these early investigations it is possible to proceed to the next development stage.
The conventional approach is to construct a series of test units, one for each process stage. Typically, this takes two or three years and construction of a pilot plant can take as long. Even then, the pilot plant must be operated for up to a year before a decision to invest hundreds of million pounds in a production plant is justified. This systematic approach can result in a programme that lasts typically 15 years.
However, development cycles and costs can be reduced to around a quarter of the conventional approach by working with the Mini-Plant concept, which we have developed. Here, a complete process plant is built at bench scale but operated continuously just like a full-scale plant. A good example of this fast-track development technique is a process to convert bio-ethanol to ethyl acetate. This process was taken from concept to a 50,000 tonne/year plant in five years. It is exciting that, in just a few years, one can experience design from first principles to plant commissioning.
Helen Hill is a senior process engineer at Davy Process Technology.
LNG challenges and opportunities
While liquefied natural gas (LNG) isn’t new, worldwide demand for cleaner fuels has been driving rapid market expansion. LNG is natural gas taken from oil and gas fields and liquefied by cooling to minus 160 degrees C. In this form its volume decreases by 600 times facilitating easier transport and storage. Before liquefaction, impurities such as sulphur and mercury are removed making it significantly cleaner than other fossil fuels. Importers receive LNG at storage and regasification terminals where it is converted back to gas and piped to industry and domestic consumers.
Developments in cryogenic processing and storage have made it possible to build the large plants in which investment is now viable due to high oil and energy prices. While the process for liquefaction is simple, the scale of the equipment makes LNG work challenging. Designers are up against the limits of what is possible for large compressors and vessels, and transportation of large equipment to remote locations is difficult.
UK engineering contractors are engaged in a large number of global LNG projects, including new terminals in the UK; the first is under construction in Pembroke, with many more terminals being planned as offshore reserves decline. Hence, LNG is an important issue as the government assesses how future energy demands will be met. Moreover, the UK is one of the foremost design centres for LNG engineering, so with the steady growth in this area, significant opportunities should continue for years to come.
Andrew Shaw is a process manager for M.W. Kellogg Limited.
