Production Capacity Of Plant Research Articles

Retrofitting and enlargement of the Palmahim SWRO desalination plant (150,000 m3d−1)

Abstract The Palmahim Sea Water Desalination plant supplies to the Israeli water net potable water in accordance with all contractual requirements of water quality and quantity. The plant was commissioned on 2007 and produced 110,000 m3 d−1 (30 million m3 per year). Recently, the plant production capacity was enlarged to 150,000 m3 d−1 (45 million m3 per year). Plant enlargement was performed without interrupting the potable water supply while minimizing capital cost investments. The plant original relatively small footprint (3.2 Hectare) and the high degree of operation flexibility remained the same. The enlargement involved the addition of energy recovery devices, membranes and pressure vessels and the modification of the filtration media. As a result of the enlargement, the specific energy consumption of the plant was reduced by 0.2 kWh m−3.

Evaluation of solar thermal storage for base load electricity generation

In order to stabilize solar electric power production during the day and prolong the daily operating cycle for several hours in the nighttime, solar thermal power plants have the options of using either or both solar thermal storage and fossil fuel hybridization. The share of solar energy in the annual electricity production capacity of hybrid solar-fossil power plants without energy storage is only about 20%. As it follows from the computer simulations performed for base load electricity demand, a solar annual capacity as high as 70% can be attained by use of a reasonably large thermal storage capacity of 22 full load operating hours. In this study, the overall power system performance is analyzed with emphasis on energy storage characteristics promoting a high level of sustainability for solar termal electricity production. The basic system parameters, including thermal storage capacity, solar collector size, and annual average daily discharge time, are presented and discussed.

The Operating experience of Nitrophosphate Plant

Abstract Pak Arab fertilizers private Limited has been operating its nitrophosphate plant based on the ODDA process since 1978. The technology has been supplied by Stamicarbon Holland and engineering by Udhe Germany. Nitrophosphate route provides an interesting avenue for producing an agronomically balanced complex fertilizer. Numbers of improvements are made in original design since after installation to meet the performance guarantees. Rock Phosphate is the main raw material for NP production. Plant was designed on Jordan rock and later Morocco, Egyptian and Algerian rock phosphates and their blends are tested. The other bottle neck was CN separation centrifuges. Failure of this equipment kept the plant operation on low rate hence these were replaced with Filter drums a slow moving unit. This helped to improved production quality and service period. To improve environment, NOx abatement Urea solution is added to Dissolving reactor. Two new reactors added to system to control reaction rate and anti foaming consumption was reduced drastically and it also helps in increasing production capacity of plant. The main thrust of this paper is to present the operating experience of nitrophosphate plant, improvements made at this complex to improve reliability of complex.

Optimisation of biogas production by infrared spectroscopy-based process control

Biomethane being a storable and base load capable energy carrier has an important role in the energy policy of the German government. The high targets for future production levels require an efficient production of biogas to yield the most biogas from either energy crops or organic waste, and to fully utilise the gas production capacity of biogas plants. Both processes can yet be optimised, and the two novel measuring technologies presented here may play an important part in this. The continuous analysis of biomass as input for a biogas plant and of the media inside the digesters was conducted by near infrared-based spectroscopy. First results indicate a high degree of accuracy for key process parameters compared to laboratory analyses. The measurement of the volumetric flow of raw biogas in the different stages of the process was performed with ultrasonic biogas meters. First results show a high degree of precision. The results will be used to develop a model towards process automation.

Production Scheduling in Multiproduct Multistage Semicontinuous Food Processes

This works presents a novel mixed-integer programming framework and a solution strategy for the optimal production scheduling of multiproduct and multistage food process industries, such as ice-cream production facilities, studied in detail. The overall mathematical framework relies on an efficient modeling approach of the sequencing decisions, the integrated modeling of all production stages, and the inclusion of strong valid integer cuts in the formulation. The simultaneous optimization of all processing stages increases the plant production capacity, reduces the production cost for final products, and facilitates interaction among the different departments of the production facility. Several instances of a real-life industrial case study concerning ice-cream production have been solved to optimality to illustrate the applicability and efficiency of the overall modeling and solution approach.

Detection and diagnosis of blockage in parallelized microreactors

Microreactors engage the attention of researchers and engineers in the pharmaceutical and chemical industries as well as universities. When the production capacity of micro chemical plants is increased by numbering-up approach, it is important to realize the uniform flow distribution among the parallelized microreactors. In addition, a blocked microreactor needs to be identified as early as possible to achieve the stable long-term operation of micro chemical plants. However, it is not practical to install the sensors in all the microreactors from the viewpoint of cost or space. In this research, a system that can detect and diagnose a blocked microreactor by using just two flow sensors is developed. The effectiveness of the developed system is demonstrated by numerical and experimental investigations, and it is clarified that the developed method has high robustness to changes in the fluid properties and the microreactor characteristics such as pressure drop. The developed system will be applicable to various types of micro chemical plants with parallelized microreactors.

Multi-period quarry production planning through sequencing techniques and sequencing algorithm

This paper presents a new methodology in form of three sequencing techniques for the development of alternative quarry plans using cement quarry production-sequencing algorithm. The algorithm generates multi-period quarry plans, satisfying geometric (slope) and cement plant production capacity constraints. The benefits of the approach are demonstrated through application on an existing cement manufacturing operation in Midwestern USA.

Two-echelon distribution-inventory supply chain model for the bread industry using genetic algorithm

The core issue in achieving a focused approach for the improvement of supply chain distribution inventory management is the optimisation of the inventory level adopted by various supply chain entities. This paper presents an approach of optimising the inventory level for a two-echelon supply chain by considering the distribution costs and various production related costs in meeting the customer demand. This methodology is devised for a single product based on the assumption that the total demand of customers for all periods should be less than the limited production capacity and inventory level of plant and warehouse. The focus is to determine the optimal production rate and cost of the plant, the optimal inventory level of the plant and warehouse and the distribution costs for two-echelon in each period by optimising the entire supply chain using genetic algorithm based distribution inventory model (GADIM).

Options for maintaining the production capacity of coke oven plants

Apart from installation of new batteries, there exist other options for keeping respectively increasing the production capacity of a coke piant. Economic and environmental requirements have to be taken into consideration ieading to very simple solutions such as heating up of old batteries which have been cooled down followed by partial hot repairs, through-wall repairs and pas up rebuilds. Modernizations with regard to anchoring systems, heating conditions and reduction of typical emissions may be implemented in most cases.

Seawater RO plant operation and maintenance experience: addur desalination plant operation assessment1

One of the largest seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plants in the world commissioned at Addur, Kingdom of Bahrain survived the numerous obstacles that brought down the plant's production capacity to its lowest level. The drastic production loss, ever increasing heavy chemical cleaning programs, fouling of RO membranes and subsequent replacement within a short period of commissioning mystified the desalination world and drew the attention of experts in this field. Experiments and trials were conducted to identify the problems and rectify them. Ultrafiltration membrane technology emerged as the best viable alternative and was selected to improve the quality of the feedwater thereby to restore productivity. Based on that, the rehabilitation program was implemented with major changes in the infrastructure of the pretreatment section of the plant and ultrafiltration membranes were installed and operated. Soon, it became evident that the UF needed further refinement. A number of shortfalls in the UF system affected the operation and reduced the production capacity of the plant letting the operating cost to soar high. Under ‘The Addur SWRO desalination plant rehabilitation —production improvement works’ project, a team of experts investigated the probable methods to improve the production of the plant and suggested improvements with an enhanced model of UF membranes and entirely different type of RO membranes. The trials for this project were conducted at the pilot plant level; the tests were successful and the results were hopeful. With all positive expectations, ‘the production improvement works’ would be executed soon in the coming months with the improved UF membranes and use of cellulose acetate membrane type in one RO desalination production train. This paper attempts to describe the operational and mechanical problems encountered in the plant from the commissioning period till date and analyses them in view of before and after rehabilitation and sheds light on the reasons that lead to ‘the rehabilitation — the production improvement works’. The current status of the plant also is touched upon.

Seawater RO plant operation and maintenance experience: addur desalination plant operation assessment

One of the largest seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) desalination plants in the world commissioned at Addur, Kingdom of Bahrain survived the numerous obstacles that brought down the plant's production capacity to its lowest level. The drastic production loss, ever increasing heavy chemical cleaning programs, fouling of RO membranes and subsequent replacement within a short period of commissioning mystified the desalination world and drew the attention of experts in this field. Experiments and trials were conducted to identify the problems and rectify them. Ultrafiltration membrane technology emerged as the best viable alternative and was selected to improve the quality of the feedwater thereby to restore productivity. Based on that, the rehabilitation program was implemented with major changes in the infrastructure of the pretreatment section of the plant and ultrafiltration membranes were installed and operated. Soon, it became evident that the UF needed further refinement. A number of shortfalls in the UF system affected the operation and reduced the production capacity of the plant letting the operating cost to soar high. Under ‘The Addur SWRO desalination plant rehabilitation —production improvement works’ project, a team of experts investigated the probable methods to improve the production of the plant and suggested improvements with an enhanced model of UF membranes and entirely different type of RO membranes. The trials for this project were conducted at the pilot plant level; the tests were successful and the results were hopeful. With all positive expectations, ‘the production improvement works’ would be executed soon in the coming months with the improved UF membranes and use of cellulose acetate membrane type in one RO desalination production train. This paper attempts to describe the operational and mechanical problems encountered in the plant from the commissioning period till date and analyses them in view of before and after rehabilitation and sheds light on the reasons that lead to ‘the rehabilitation — the production improvement works’. The current status of the plant also is touched upon.

Effect of parental genotypes and colchicine treatment on the androgenic response of wheat F1 hybrids

AbstractThe effect of the parental genotypes and colchicine treatment on the androgenic response of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) F1 hybrids was studied. For this, anthers from three F1 hybrids and their parents were cultured on W14 initiation medium and W14 supplemented with 0.03% colchicine. The number of responding anthers, microspore‐derived structures/100 anthers, green plants/embryos cultured, green plants/100 anthers and albino plants/100 anthers were recorded. It was observed that embryo formation and plant regeneration ability were genetically controlled and genotype dependent. In both treatments the variety Kavkaz had a significantly higher percentage of responding anthers, microspore‐derived structures and green plants/100 anthers than the other genotypes. On the other hand, the variety Myconos also demonstrated high microspore‐derived structure production and green plant regeneration when treated with colchicine. The good response observed in these two varieties indicates the importance of colchicine treatment only for certain genotypes. Green plant production capacity of the hybrids was intermediate to that of the parental varieties. As one parent with a high or even an intermediate response to anther culture could lead to the production of sufficient (for breeding purposes) green plants from the F1 hybrids, it was concluded that screening the inbred lines for the response to anther culture with and without colchicine treatment could contribute to utilization of breeding material with a low response to anther culture via the proper hybrid combinations.

Development and optimization of power plant concepts for local wet fuels

Many changes in business drivers are now affecting power-producing companies. The power market has been opened up and the number of locally operating companies has increased. At the same time the need to utilize locally produced biofuels is increasing because of environmental benefits and regulations. In this situation, power-producing companies have on focus their in-house skills for generating a competitive edge over their rivals, such as the skills needed for developing the most economical energy investments for the best-paying customer for the local biomass producers. This paper explores the role of optimization in the development of small-sized energy investments. The paper provides an overview on a new design process for power companies for improved use of in-house technical and business expertise. As an example, illustrative design and optimization of local wet peat-based power investment is presented. Three concept alternatives are generated. Only power plant production capacity and peat moisture content are optimized for all alternatives. Long commercial experience of using peat as a power plant fuel in Finland can be transferred to bioenergy investments. In this paper, it is shown that conventional technology can be feasible for bioenergy production even in quite small size (below 10 MW ). It is important to optimize simultaneously both the technology and the two businesses, power production and fuel production. Further, such high moisture content biomass as sludge, seaweed, grass, etc. can be economical fuels, if advanced drying systems are adopted in a power plant.

Das Scaling-Down-Problem bei der Zweistoff-Gaszerstäubung von Metallschmelzen

The production capacities of plants for metal pulverisation are frequently rated according to the minimum throughput of melt flowing from the distributor crucible to pulverisation. Especially in the case of high-melting point metals and their alloys deficiencies occur in the thermal balance of the crucible in the exit section as a result of gas expansion at the pulverisation gas jets, which act as heat sinks. Minimum throughputs and associated limiting values of the convective heat transfer of the melt are stipulated in order to prevent freezing (solidification of the melt) in the crucible. The pertinent situation is illustrated for copper and steel melts and technical possibilities for compensating for heat deficiencies by inductive heating of the distributor exit are presented. In addition, the demand for minimum throughputs can be abandoned, and there result possibilities of scaling-down and energy conservation as well as improvement of powder discharge.

Kansas City's Bottled Water Experiences

This article describes the Kansas City (MO) Water Services Department experience with bottling and selling its own water. The reasons for doing this included the city's extensive strategic planning process during the 1990s, emphasizing customer service and additional income sources, and an excess of treatment plant production capacity of 240 mgd because of less‐than‐expected growth in industrial usage. The process covers such issues as working with a marketing consultant, benchmarking decisions, marketing techniques, startup costs, management issues, and goal fulfillment.

Red Clover Seed Production: V. Root Health and Crop Productivity

Red clover (Trifolium pratense L.) is an important forage legume that is primarily grown for seed in western Oregon, but the effects of root health on red clover seed production systems are not well defined. This study was conducted to determine the effects of root health on red clover seed production. Thirty‐one seed fields were selected in spring 1992 and their cultivar identity, age of stand, and seed certification status (seed source groupings) determined by grower interviews and DNA analyses. Two herbage removal time treatments (early May and late June) were applied and the number of flowers and soil water content measured during the period of flowering and seed production. Root rot [Fusarium solani (Kuhn)] and root borer [Hylastinus obscurus (Marsham)] infestation were measured at early herbage removal time and seed harvest. The percentage of plants infested with root borers was the greatest root health determinate of seed yield, regardless of early or late herbage removal time. Seed yield was also correlated with the regrowth and flower production capacity of plants following herbage removal. For both herbage removal times, regrowth after removal was affected by the plant capacity to deplete soil water. Season‐end root borer infestation and soil water depletion amount were inversely related, indicating root integrity affected water utilization. Second‐year seed crops had greater disease and root borer damage than first‐year crops. Late herbage removal time treatments reduced flower density, seed yield, and season‐end phytomass compared with early removal. Genetic selection for improved root borer resistance may be a useful alternative selection strategy to root rot resistance for increasing red clover seed yields.

Effect of prolonged cold storage on the production capacity of strawberry plants

After cold storage for various periods (42, 99, 155, 189, 227 and 259 days) strawberry waiting-bed plants cultivar ‘Elsanta’ were planted on six dates between January and August. Plant performance was evaluated simultaneously in a growth chamber under controlled environmental conditions and in a greenhouse. Starch content in the crown tissue was clearly reduced during the cold storage period. In the greenhouse trials a variable decline in fruit number and yield per plant was found in relation to the length of cold storage and the temperature conditions during the growth and harvest period. Also in the growth chamber, under a constant temperature regime, a significant decline in the number of flowers per plant developing up to anthesis was observed after increasing periods of storage. This indicates that it is not only stressing climatical conditions after planting which are influencing the performance of cold stored plants. Also, the length of cold storage strongly affects plant vigour and productivity. This is related to the carbohydrate status of the plants after cold storage.

Technoeconomic analysis of the production of biocrude from wood

The production of biomass-derived oil (biocrude) has been studied to determine the technoeconomic characteristics of the process. A detailed process model was developed for the production of biocrude from wood chips. The process consists of a silo dryer for the removal of water from the feed wood, a vortex reactor for the pyrolysis of the wood, a furnace to provide the required sensible heat and heat of reaction for the pyrolysis reaction, a steam turbine to convert excess thermal energy into electric power, and a biocrude recovery section. Results of the simulation were used to size and cost major equipment items. Technoeconomic evaluation of the process was conducted to develop an understanding of the important parameters and to identify missing or incomplete data. Studies were conducted to illustrate the importance of economic parameters on the perceived viability of a process. Plant size and production capacity were examined, as were a number of process development strategies.

Desalination technology in the Canary Islands, 1990

The total production capacity of desalination plants in the Canary Islands is 212,000 m 3/d. Brackish water plants, with 39,000 m 3/d capacity, use membrane units of different sizes. Sea water plants include MSF, VC and RO units. Sizes range from small units for tourist resorts to large plants for urban water supply. New sea water plants, being built under a Regional Desalination Scheme, will mainly use RO or VC technologies due to their small to medium size.

Competition between Clare and Seaton Park, and Clare and Daliak subterranean clovers in replacement series mixtures in the field.

Binary mixtures of Clare and Seaton Park, and Clare and Daliak subterranean clovers were grown for three years in de Wit replacement series in the field and defoliated at approximately 4-week intervals between mid-winter and the end of October. For the most part both mixtures exhibited competition for the same resources with Clare dominant, and progressively excluding the other cultivars; this exclusion was more rapid with Daliak than with Seaton Park. Seed production of both Seaton Park and Daliak was depressed in mixtures, and seed reserves were reduced to virtually zero by the third year, although significant growth and seed reserves remained in the monocultures. Seed production from Clare was much less dependent on plant population than was seed production from Seaton Park and Daliak. Variation between replicates and spatial heterogeneity of sward composition was greater in the Daliak experiment on a heavy clay than in the Seaton Park experiment on a lighter soil. In both experiments, large quantities of seed could not be accounted for in germinations and residual seed reserves-80% in 1986 and 33% in 1987. Significant seed losses may be characteristic of the ecology of subterranean clover in summer rainfall zones. The success of Clare in northern New South Wales may be due mainly to the vigour and high seed production capacity of individual plants.