Wednesday, May 30, 2018

This Is Reason Pilot Plants Are Of Importance In Production

By Elizabeth Cox


A pilot plant refers to a pre-commercial production system that is used in the production industry for various reasons. This system is used to produce a product on a small scale before full-scale production can be started. This is usually necessary when employing new production technology. With this system, it is possible to learn more about the new production system before it can be deployed on a large scale in the real world. This makes pilot plants vital in production.

The learning period allows for the collection of important data. The data collected can then be used to design full-scale production systems and products on a commercial scale. The plants are also used to help in identifying further research objectives. Also, they help to offer support to investors in making investment decisions. Investors usually want to be sure that they are making the right investment decision and these systems help them in making that decision.

Such plants assist in achievement of public support. Through small scale production and exhibition to the public one can learn about public reaction. The response retrieved from the people will tell if the product or the new technology is preferred by public. Therefore, one can choose large scale production.

A full-scale production plant is usually bigger in size than a pilot plant. However, what is needed to be produced determines the size range of a pilot plant. These plants are highly flexible apart from being small in size. Therefore, the alternation can be made with great ease to meet varying conditions.

In their simplest form, these facilities can be built in a laboratory suing simple construction materials such as stock lab equipment. Such facilities do not require extensive engineering effort and they cost low. However, these facilities can also be very large and sophisticated. They could cost millions of dollars of money and require extensive engineering work to design and implement. The materials used for construction could also be special and not easy to produce.

These facilities act as a good risk management. They help a company to reduce the risks that come with the construction of a big production plant. Most companies do not utilize these plants despite this process being a good risk manager. A good case is a company intending to improve their capacity of production, such a company may decide to either build a process plant directly or use a pilot plant.

The need for these facilities is also reducing gradually due to the development of more advanced process simulation on computer systems. More advanced process simulation increases the confidence of process designers, which in essence reduces the need for pilot systems. However, it is still possible to use both pilot systems as well as process simulation.

Designing these systems can be a very complex process. It takes a lot of engineering and knowledge to produce a plant that achieves optimal results. Companies invest huge amounts of money to achieve success with these facilities.




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