Description
The plant includes a pre-treating raw material area and a reaction area consisting of two reactor vessels. PID Eng&Tech computerized process control system allows a direct control of temperature, level, pressure and gas composition in the reactors. Micro-Pilot Plant is fully automatized and all of the process parameters, as gas and liquid flows, operating pressure and temperature, residence time per reactor, etc., can be selected by user, or modified in a wide range.
PID Eng&Tech has developed in collaboration with ICP (Catalyst and Petrochemical Institute of CSIC, Spain) systems and devices for solid addition and for catalyst and polymer slurry driving between different reaction steps. These mechanisms have been specifically designed for performing the process at microscale.
Feed and conditioning of gas and liquid feed stocks
- Gas lines: monomers and comonomers feed streams and nitrogen lines for inertization purposes.
- Solvent lines: Catalyst and cocatalyst feed line.
Reactors and flashes
The plant comprises three SS316 stirred tanks with high pressure closure system. Each one is provided with a magnetically coupled stirred head, a heating jacket, cooling coil, valves and accessories. In addition to temperature, pressure and agitation speed control, composition relations are measure continuously, near-real time.
In this way, the integrated control pressure/relation loop allows the user to work holding simultaneously a stable desired pressure and a stable desired relations during the reaction time.
Distributed control system
All the process variables are controlled by distributed PID controllers. The control system modules are linked with PC by means of a Process@ software for remote control by digital communications. Remote control will be mean Ethernet way. The system can be controlled manually or automatically, locally or remotely.
All the process and control variables and parameters are registered in only one software application. In addition, software allows the operator to design automatic procedures for design and automate the run.
Safety system
Plant has several independent safety levels: automatic switch off in case of any problem, pressure, level and temperature security systems; all of that based on a Programmable logic controller (PLC) device independent of PC. PLC manages the alarm signals from controllers. In addition, actuated valves are configured according to good safety practices.
