PROCESS DESIGN & SIMULATION
Troubleshoot & Mitigate Processing Obstacles
Do you know how a new process or facility changeover will affect existing equipment and pressure relieving systems (PRSs)? One misstep could cause a catastrophic equipment failure, a costly unplanned shutdown, or personnel injuries.
At Equity, our team will simulate the current process and proposed changes to determine processing bottlenecks and limitations, relieving requirements, and perform pressure drop calculations. By proactively simulating the proposed changes, you will save money, improve safety process, and increase equipment reliability.
Process Equipment Design & Simulation
Our team of process technology experts use third-party software to provide technical recommendations to improve the safety and efficiency of industrial processing facilities. Equity’s process will:
- Verify or generate heat and material balances
- Simulate proposed changes to the process design to determine impact on existing equipment
- Troubleshoot or determine processing bottlenecks and limitations
- Determine relieving requirements for complex overpressure protection systems
- Perform pressure drop calculations, including two-phase flow
- Perform vibration analysis to determine the likelihood of a tube rupture
- Troubleshoot heat exchanger performance problems
- Apply third-party software: Aspen HYSYS process simulation software and HTRI heat exchanger analysis software
Process Piping Analysis
Does your piping system meet code requirements? Our team will perform a detailed piping flexibility analysis on the existing piping configuration to support fitness-for-service (FFS) assessments, mechanical integrity audits, or meet regulatory compliance.
Our experts will:
- Review thermal expansion loading conditions
- Recommend support or layout modifications to prevent excess reaction loads
- Complete field walk-downs and generate isometric layout sketches
Process Safety Management (PSM)
The PSM requirements (OSHA 1910.119) are a comprehensive guide to prevent the release of hazardous chemicals including toxic, reactive, explosive, and highly flammable liquids and gases into the environment. Properly designed, installed, and maintained pressure relieving systems are a critical part of all mechanical integrity programs. We will document the relief system design basis, retrofit PRD installations, and develop an inspection plan for testing and overhaul of relief devices.
Process Hazard Analyses (PHAs)
For individual projects, facilities, or five-year cyclic reviews, Equity provides PHAs to help meet OSHA PSM requirements. Services include HAZOPs, what-if checklists, and fault-tree analyses.
Layers of Protection Analyses (LOPAs)
LOPAs are designed to help you determine if existing safeguards are adequate or if additional safeguards are required. Conducting an LOPA will improve the safety of a facility and reduce hazards to personnel and the public.
Equipment Design Validation
If your facility is considering repurposing existing facility equipment to process new feedstock or biofuels, you need to take a multi-disciplinary approach to find the right balance of reliability in design and materials with profitability and speed to market. At Equity, we help you identify the most cost and time-effective changes to existing equipment to allow reliable processing and will provide practical inspection strategies after the equipment is repurposed.
Corporate Best Practices
Once the PHAs and LOPAs are completed, it’s important to proactively improve safety and compliance by combining equipment design and process optimization services with standardized corporate best practices. The Equity Engineering Practices (EEPs) help facilities make informed design and maintenance decisions, minimize deviations, and promote safety and reliability.
Recommended Reading
Pressure Relieving Systems Expertise
The process technology team provides technical input regarding the design and operation of process design, pressure relief system design, optimization, and installation to improve safety and increase equipment reliability.
Our experts:
- Have 100+ years of experience
- Have served as API 520 task force chairman for more than 25 years
- Are the primary authors of WRC 528 and WRC 562
- Serve as the lead investigators on API 579 and API 571
