Equipment Installation in the Chemical Industry
Production equipment installation in the chemical industry is an area of particularly high liability, as mistakes in the assembly can not only cause a local factory accident but also lead to serious environmental consequences. Due to stringent requirements to assembly quality and a complex interconnection of production equipment, installation operations can take up to 40-50% in the general scope of work.
Equipment Installation in Chemical Industry. Special Nature of the Process
The special nature and range of mounting technologies are connected with a broad variety of equipment to be installed and associated pipelines. The most important factor affecting the mounting technology is the end position of the equipment on site. Characteristics of the equipment location factor into it as well, namely, whether the equipment is located at ground level, on the foundation, on a postament or a metal structure, outside, under a coverage or a postament, what the operating conditions, intended use and peculiarities of operation are.
What Is the Process of Equipment Installation in Chemical Industry?
Most heat exchangers, heating elements, crystallizing pans, pumps and compressors, drum vacuum filters, catchers are delivered completely assembled, which includes rail transportation. First assembly is usually not necessary. Installation on the foundation is typically done with mobile telescopic cranes. After the equipment has been installed in the final position, it has to undergo tests.
Reaction cells, certain types of heat exchangers and compressors, fractional columns and exhaust stacks come in dismantled as assembly elements, nodes, blocks and units. Installation of vertical equipment in the final position can be done both in the completely assembled condition (it is then necessary to test its operability on ground after assembly before installation) and in separate units (in this case, equipment can only be tested after final installation and activation). Installation requires fixed jib cranes, gantries, hoisting machines and pillars due to large weight and dimensions of the equipment.
Transporting equipment of conveyor and elevator types, rotating furnaces, certain kinds of drying machines come in both assembled and non-assembled. The presence of mechanisms requires thorough alignment of mounted units. Installation involves all types of hoisting machines selected on the basis of load-lifting characteristics of each specific type of the machine.
Gas holders, tube-type furnaces, box coolers, air cooling blocks, various metal structures and tanks usually come in as nodes to be assembled into mounting blocks on site and are usually installed with mobile telescopic cranes.
A significant part of operations is connected with installation of electric and heating systems, control and instrumentation, and isolation of the equipment surfaces with anticorrosive protection and lining
How Is Equipment Installation Tested?
Since production equipment in chemical industry works under excess pressure that exceeds 0.07 mPa, verification, acceptance and operation of equipment are carried out in accordance with the rules set out by Gosgortekhnadzor. Pressure quantity affects the technology and methods of welding control and testing pressure quantity.
As the equipment can operate at various temperature ranges, it is essential to control the quality of welded seams, carefully select the material of gaskets, fillers, fasteners, and take into account thermal expansion of the structures.
Corrossiveness, toxicity and physical form of the chemical environment requires appropriate use of materials for protective lining from alloy steel and determine special requirements to welding seams and material of gaskets and fillers.
Hazardous environments have special requirements to density of connections as well as the need for earthing devices to withdraw static electricity.
In addition to official nationwide requirements, some large chemical companies, such as PAO Akron, UralKhim, AO MKhK EvroKhim, OAO Fosagro, and others establish additional requirements to technological equipment and its installation during technical upgrade of existing enterprises or construction of new ones.
