(115e) Safer Pilot Plant Operation for New Process Developments

Although pilot plants are typically orders of magnitude smaller than the commercial process counterparts, their safe operation is nonetheless extremely important to the viability and wellbeing of those operating the equipment. Following stringent safety practices, the pilot plant group at BP's Naperville laboratory facilities has successfully commissioned and started up numerous pilot plants in support of refining processes over the last couple of years. The use of ?Process Safety Reviews (PSR)? and ?Management of Change (MOC)? procedures are considered to be critical in supporting safe commissioning, startup and operations. An ?Inherently Safer Design? is at the heart of a new pilot plant during the conceptual design phase. Pilot plants face unusual challenges in terms of obtaining small size equipment that are still as safe as their commercial counterparts. This presentation will highlight the PSR and MOC processes as practiced at the pilot plant level. The attention to ?Operating within the Design Envelope? while utilizing Task Hazard Risk Evaluations and Mitigations is important for safe operation with zero incidents. The pilot plant designers, operators & engineers need to appreciate the differences between pilot plant and commercial scale in order to fine tune the standard practices for safe operation. All these aspects are an integral part of the overarching Operations Management System. The risk management approach will be explained with a few non-confidential examples within the pilot plant context. The safe practices developed are applicable to all types of equipment including small-scale catalyst screening reactors, small-medium autoclave reactors, distillation apparatus, and large pilot plant and demonstration reactors handling a broad range of hydrocarbon feedstocks.