1360_Ch03

chapter 3

Essential resources needed for the development project: preceding implementation

3.1 Introduction

A new industrial chemical process is concerned, in the final analysis, withchemistry and technology, plants and products, and markets and finances.But the successful development and implementation of a project dependsmostly on the interaction and cooperation between

many critically importanthuman factors

. This basic statement was not realized at the onset by allconcerned. When this author suggested it in a paper in 1972

1

after a year ofstruggling with a very difficult new plant start-up and after long nightsthinking why it went wrong, the thesis apparently touched a nerve, as anoverwhelming number of colleagues from around the world responded tothe idea.

Academic research

is done mostly in small groups at universities andinstitutes. Until the final product (the thesis, the paper) is sent out, anyinteraction with other colleagues on the subject of research is done purelyon a

voluntary

basis. Apart from his/her personal scientific curiosity anddrive, the external interests of each of the researchers are also obvious, i.e.,personal advancement and recognition, or the next research grant. (At leastit was so before the epidemic of start-up ventures.)

Applied

R&D

toward a new industrial process is very different, as the

timely contribution

of many professional specialties is

essential

and

critical

toits success (after the first inventive steps). In many cases, this interaction isnot well understood by some professionals coming from academic researchand this has often been a major source of problems. Therefore, it is importantto discuss this fact-of-life in detail in this chapter, together with the essen-tial resources needed for the process development, up to the decision tobuild a new plant.

1360_frame_C03 Page 23 Monday, April 29, 2002 3:35 PM

Copyright 2002 by CRC Press LLC

3.2 Specific managerial skills

A qualified and efficient

manager

for a

process development

project

incorpo-rates certain personal qualities and professional experience, since he/she hasto deal with a different and special management challenge. The manager ofsuch a

process development

project needs to:

Mediate

the essential

work

and the

temperamental egos

of individualpersonalities (inventors, promoters, experts), as well as the orderlycoordination and interaction between many different disciplines andfunctions, and of proper formalities, records, and communication.

Report upwards and find his way through the internal politics of alarge corporation, in which every director may have his own vision.

Have an

extensive

and

diversified background

in the

basic sciences

, in the

engineering disciplines

, in

project

control, and in

plant operations

. Be willing to learn something new every day from every new situation. Assume his first project management responsibility preferably after

his participation in several similar projects, as a professional engineerand as assistant project manager.

Managing a project long term is generally an exhausting experience,so a successful project manager expects after that and generally gets apromotion to a less-demanding job. The scarcity of qualified managers isgenerally recognized as a critical bottleneck in many organizations. A not-so-qualified individual also may succeed, but he/she should be ready toask for advice when needed and have adequate support from managementand external consultants.

3.3 Core project team

The core project team consists of all the members reporting directly to theproject manager and working full time (or at least most of their time) on theproject. This core team generally includes, in addition to the project man-agers executive assistants, people from other departments and organiza-tions who are temporarily delegated and integrated into the project team forthis particular project. For example:

Inventors and researchers from the R&D promoting team who arecontinuing to work with the project team as long as they are needed,bringing with them their scientific knowledge of the subject and help-ing in the coordination of future R&D activities, along with the processengineers who are taking over the continuation of the process design.

A specialist from the products marketing organization who is assistingin pinpointing the market needs and supervising the products testing.

A number of process chemical engineers from the engineering de-partment (or division or selected company) who are in the interim



delegated to lay down the essential process flowsheets, prepare bal-ances and economic spreadsheets, equipment comparison, engineer-ing and optimization studies, budgets, etc.

This group is

expected to work as a team

so that all its members have accessto

all

the documents and are aware of

all

the facts, and each can contributehis opinion

freely

inside the team. (Communications outside the team are, ofcourse, subject to the managers instruction.) Therefore, it is important andit should be accepted that external credits are given to the team as a wholeand not to individual members contributions. All of the teams outgoingdocuments are approved and signed by the project manager or by his func-tional representative.

3.4 R&D laboratories and pilot installations

3.4.1 Companys own laboratory and pilot installations

In many industrial companies, the promoters and project manager have touse mostly the

companys own laboratory and pilot installations

in order todecrease costs and preserve confidentiality. This may be helpful on one handsince these laboratories should be generally familiar with the materials,analytical methods, and modes of reporting. On the other hand, this couldalso be a limiting factor in that conflicting lines of duty and priorities areplaced before the laboratory managers with the representatives of severalprojects putting pressure on them.

3.4.2 Outside laboratories and pilot installations

In other cases, the promoters and the project manager are allowed to contractparts of the testing program to outside laboratories and pilot installations,i.e., universities, public institutions, or private specialists. As such laborato-ries are generally limited in their specialization, each would be doing onlya

specific part

of the overall job. Another fact of life is that the better labs tendto be over-booked and may not always be available when needed. Thus, thechoice,

motivation,

and efficient use of these laboratories require

experiencedcoordination

and

complex planning of all details

so that results will be receivedin time and be relevant to the specific conditions. Unfortunately, the impor-tance of this detailed coordination job is not always appreciated and is oftendelegated to the younger, less experienced engineers on the team.

3.4.3 Analytical laboratories

The

larger part

of the man-hours (and cost) of an R&D program is generallydevoted to the performance of the chemical and physical analyses. Yet, inmany cases, it has been seen that some researchers and engineers relate tothe analytical laboratories as they would to automatic machines bring in



the samples, press a button, and collect the results. This approach is mostunfortunate and often backfires.

Any analytical test work, and in particular for R&D, involves complexdecisions and good judgment. The managing and principal chemists of theanalytical laboratories are, in most cases, highly trained professionals withextensive and varied experience and interests. It is strongly advisable to seektheir cooperation at the onset by telling them about the aims and scope ofthe project, inviting them to meetings and reviews, and discussing with themthe significance of the results. The contribution of these chemists has beenfound to be very fruitful in many cases.

The exact definition and limitations of the analytical methods oftenpresent a difficult area, since there is generally a direct link between the

accuracy of the results

and their

unit cost and time delay

. The highest level ofaccuracy is not always justified and affordable, especially in the

exploratorystages

of the R&D where a

fast procedure

is preferable.For example, the early process development and promotion of the trans-

formation of solid potassium chloride into solid potassium nitrate was basedon the direct examination under a microscope with polarized light. The blackpotassium chloride (cubic crystals) could be seen as they transformed intobrightly colored product (monoclinic crystals) when subjected to a specificsolution. Thus, many different compositions of such solutions could bescreened rapidly. This was also an impressive demonstration to visitingdignitaries to the laboratory, which helped promote the sale of the process.

It should also be noted that the accuracy and significance of the resultfrom any chemical analysis could not be any better than the sampling pro-cedure that was used to procure the sample for analysis. Sampling of mul-tiple-phases from small test vessels can often be a complicated task requiringa delicate touch.

3.5 Experts on marketing and on potential users

3.5.1 Particular terminology

A contribution of experts could start with the trivial aspect of the

particularterminology and the sets of units

used for centuries in certain market segments,for example, P

2

0

5

, Baume, Avoirdupoid, grains, ounces per metric ton. Thereare also specific analytical tests, such as the

citric soluble P205

used in fertil-izer, which is supposed to quantify the process in which phosphates areabsorbed by the plants roots, and also some very particular wording ofspecifications and legal references.

These

arbitrary, often nonsensible

names and units can be infuriating forscientists who are newly exposed to them, but they cannot be changed inpractice, so one should accept them and make use of a translation sheet orprogram. Before being accepted into the family, the project team is often

instructed

to demonstrate a

thorough familiarity

with these terms in all contactswith potential partners and clients.



3.5.2 Clients needs

On the more substantial level, the process development team should under-stand from these marketing experts which details and features of the prod-ucts under consideration are

really

desirable and important to their finalusers from their point of view, and

what these final

users would be

ready topay for these

results, if they were given the choice between different qualities.(Consider the classical example of instant coffee. Should one pay more forfreeze-dried than for spray-dried? Its a matter of taste.)

In many real cases, the most desired features can be technically achiev-able, but this result can increase the final production cost too much, therefore,a compromise should be reached. So, the

practical sale price structure

of theparticular products line must be well understood at an early stage, althoughthe preferred marketing aims may not always be explicitly announced

outsidethe core team

in order not to alert the competition.

3.5.3 Competition

In other cases, existing competitors operating in this market may appearto be closer to approaching these final users needs. Such a disturbingsituation should be recognized and extrapolated by marketing expertsfrom their sources of information in the markets, so that the project teamcan focus on their work and possibly supply attractive improvements

intime.

3.6 Support from experts on hardware

3.6.1. Plant engineering and operation

When implementing the new process at an

existing

plant site,

cooperation

between the process developing team and the senior technical staff of theplant should be established early. This will be beneficial to both sides. Admit-tedly, such cooperation may often cause personal problems, mostly due tothe

differences in priorities, point of view,

and

style of communication

betweenthe two groups (i.e., what do they know about running

a plant and aboutR&D science?). Here, the personality of the project manager should bridgethese differences, and it is always better to address and solve them calmlyand in a timely manner than under decision-making pressure. The plantsmanagement also can

contribute some very good ideas and propose effective andpractical design solutions

from their point of view, and should be

given credit

for that

.

This cooperation can become critical anyway if it is decided to installand run a pilot plant at the plants site and connect it with live streams.

On the other hand, several cases have been known of new processes thathave been developed in secret in the corporate R&D facilities and thatwere later bluntly opposed and rejected by the plants operating manage-ment who felt that it was

forced on them

without their consultation.



Whenever possible, the process developing team should get a clear

andearly

picture of the

eventual implementation

conditions of the new process inconnection with an existing facility, including its infrastructure, existingservices, and waste disposal possibilities. These specific conditions can pose

objective limitations

that have to be taken into account in the early stage ofdevelopment, rather than making changes later. For example, the designtemperature of the cooling water supply depends on the average climaticconditions in the area and can be critical when designing an installation forevaporation/condensation under high vacuum.

3.6.2 Equipment design

In many cases, the design of a novel process section

can be criticallylinked to one

particular piece of equipment

or

specific technology.

Thus, theprocess results will depend not only on the process chemistry, but alsoon a particular combination of equipment design factors and operatingconditions.

Furthermore, it may be that this particular piece of equipment or specifictechnology can be supplied only by a

very small number

of specialized com-panies, each of them with their particular know-how, or at least their claimsof such know-how. For example, this situation can apply to industrial crys-tallizers, special dryers for hygroscopic solids, industrial plasma heat torch,and the like. The process developing team may be feeling cornered if theyare operating in a corporation committed to the purchase-by-bid-onlyprocedure, since such formal link with a specialized supplier may cause thefollowing problems.

From the beginning, in order to get enough information from anywould

-

be supplier for evaluation and preselection, a mutually bind-ing secrecy agreement should be negotiated. This is not a simpleproposition, but requires at least that the novel process has alreadypassed the patent application stage and that the equipment supplieris not already signed up with competing corporations.

The pilot tests should be done with

one particular supplier

in mind(most probably with his pilot equipment) and the cooperation of hisstaff after a basic commercial framework has been established.

This procedure would give the selected equipment supplier a clearadvantage in the final price negotiations, which would include someremuneration for his know-how and past experience, and for hisguarantees and assistance in start-up.

It would be logical to include the engineering company staff at thisstage of prepilot equipment survey and contract negotiations, anduse their experience and services also in the pilot testing. However,this participation would need to advance the decision on the contractbid for the choice of the engineering company more than it wouldbe generally anticipated.



3.6.3 Corrosion in construction materials

In many cases, the novel chemical process conditions can introduce

unknown

corrosion aspects, which have to be clarified

as early as possible. Theseaspects relate to the reliability of the materials of construction that will beused for the equipment and for the piping. This reliability bears first on

safetyconsiderations

deriving from a possible accidental failure (particularly in pres-surized and/or high-temperature systems

),

but also on the

estimate of thelifetime, supply cost, maintenance schedule of each piece of equipment, orthe possibility of contamination of the product with metallic traces.

The orderly and reliable testing of the corrosion rate for

each combination

of one particular choice of construction material and one particular set ofprocess conditions is a relatively

long procedure

of many months, starting withobtaining reliable samples of unusual materials of construction. Furthermore,the

exact and final

conditions for such a corrosion test might be known onlyafter the process development has firmed up (compositions, additions, temper-atures, etc.). Therefore, the tendency is to be

safe

and to test the worse possibleconditions. But this choice can also lead to an

expensive overshooting

. Even if thechoice of just-in-case better/safer materials is available, it may result in a sig-nificant increase in investment costs and reduce the calculated profitability.

The presence of certain trace elements impurities in certain streamscan affect seriously the corrosion properties. A classical example is the pres-ence of copper cations in a solution, which can cement on a steel surface,create a corrosion cell, and (quite surely) a hole. When such possibility isdefined and confirmed, the need for certain pretreatments or a side-streamtreatment becomes an essential part of the process or, in certain cases, theneed for bleed streams to avoid accumulation of such impurities.

This is a highly specialized field, and it is advisable to engage, from anearly stage, the support of an expert consultant with relevant industrialexperience, who can recommend the options and procedures to arrive

in time

at the optimum specifications for materials of construction. Furthermore, thepublic authorities and the insurance company representatives often insist onreceiving written recommendations from an expert, at least in relation to therisks and damages that could result from a possible accidental failure.

3.6.4 Operation and process control

Nowadays, automatic process operation and control are taken for grantedfor nearly every new chemical plant. The design techniques and the hard-ware selection are well advanced; however, the correct design is criticallydependant on the input of

process experts with industrial experience

on thefollowing issues.

What are the more efficient procedures for

starting

and

stopping

ofthe plant? These transient procedures are not obvious, and they arenot always well covered in the basic designs. They have to be care-



fully thought out for every new process and for every installation inparticular, as they determine the internal inventories of the bufferingtanks, or the need for recycling certain streams, or for reprocessingsome bulky intermediate streams. These transient procedures arebased mostly on

kinetic response data

, which may have to be measuredexperimentally, or inferred from previous reliable industrial experi-ence in similar situations.

How to assure a safe response to

any possible failure

of some equip-ment or a possible error in the action of an operator, limiting the risksand damages.

What is the better choice for reliable probes and instruments in

directcontact

with the process streams, which are made of suitable materialsand can be available and supplied off-the-shelf?

3.7 Support from experts in software

3.7.1 Publication search and analysis

Obviously, the cheapest and fastest part of the R&D effort is to retrieve practicallyeverything that has been published on all the different factors relevant to theproposed process. This publications search can be subcontracted to specialistsor academic libraries where it is done by computer screening of large databases,according to agreed

key words.

The search output is a long list of published itemswith titles, address, and, in some cases, abstracts. In order to keep this outputin a manageable volume, one should be careful in the choice of these key wordsor, preferably, start exploring with a trial-and-error iterative procedure.

The resulting references can be first sorted and divided by the R&D teaminto two categories: those that were published because the authors consid-ered the new information to be of considerable scientific interest (of course),but with no commercial value, and those that were patented.

The collection of workable copies of the preselected publications can besubcontracted to specialized organizations, and sometimes can be lengthyand expensive, since most of the

comprehensive

experimental data was pub-lished long ago when the competition for journal space was not so intense.Unfortunately, in more recent publications, new experimental data are moreoften presented as

small

figures

that can hardly be used as sources for numer-ical data correlation. If a set of such data appears to be important enough,one could try to locate the authors and ask them for a copy of their originalnumerical data. It was observed that most authors were more responsivewhen such a request came from an academic researcher than from a com-mercial company. Some publications also need to be translated.

The senior R&D team should devote an analytical effort to the study ofthese publications and of their results, and possibly to the numerical corre-lation of the included experimental data, if needed. In addition to the factualinformation on the data, such analysis may give the senior R&D team someinteresting hints about:



Reasons that initiated such previous research work

Strategic aim

s of the authors and their supporters Why they didnt succeed in this aim on the industrial scale up until now

After the distribution of this survey and analysis to the core team andtheir relevant consultants, a

thorough discussion

can be very useful

before

deciding and starting on any significant experimental program.

3.7.2 Intellectual property and secrecy

If one accepts for a fact that the novel industrial process under

considerationis important and needed on the market, one must also assume that the com-petition is also looking at new processes of their own, which could be quiteclose to the one proposed in this project.

Everyone in this activity is trying to keep his own programs secret foras long as possible. (Confidential may be a nicer word) Every corporationhas its own secrecy procedures and all its employees, consultants, and con-tractors are generally signed to extensive formal secrecy obligations. But itshould be recognized that such signed undertaking is mostly of a moralnature, since it would be practically impossible to enforce, particularly withdissatisfied participants.

Thus, some corporations sometimes add restrictions on the internal flowof process information, on a need-to-know basis (limited distribution lists),which is a normal practice in certain business departments. Such restrictionshave been shown to be very detrimental to a process development team, whereall members should be talking freely among themselves while contributingto a common goal. These limited distribution lists can have clearly negativeeffects on the motivations and efficiency of certain members who may feelpersonally insulted, such as, they dont trust me.

In the final instance, there is no alternative in this kind of activity butto work with reliable, well-motivated, and satisfied individuals.

3.7.3 Patent application

If another corporation has already filed a patent application that could pre-vent the implementation of the proposed process, this should be known asearly as possible, so that the claims of such an application can be avoidedand possibly by-passed. The real problem is that patent applications aremade public only 2 to 3 years after their filing date, and most patent attorneyscan use perfectly legal tactics to extend this period.

The issues affecting the patent filing strategy are complex and all derivefrom the potential menace of the competition:

1. The promoters (inventors) need the patent award as proof of the noveltyof their proposed process and of their intellectual property, partly fortheir self-satisfaction, but mostly as a necessary condition and instru-



ment which will allow them to sell and transmit the process to theimplementing corporation. Note that the patent offices checking andawarding means only that no public information or previous patentclaim has been recorded, but it does not state that the process willwork as claimed or that it has any practical usefulness.The filing dateof the application is an important asset, but it is also a limitation,since it sets the procedural mechanism in motion. When the patentis awarded, the inventors have to decide within a short fixed periodabout the other countries where they need to apply for and record theapplication at their own significant expenses. Most importantly, apatent application represents the best extrapolation of what wasknown to the inventors at that particular filing date. Such extrapo-lation includes the purposeful addition, into the claims, of conditionsthat have not yet been proven, but are expected to give, more or less,similar results, e.g., a larger group of reagents or solvents, a widerrange of operating conditions, and so forth. As the inventors willprobably continue to work after filing their application and couldarrive at better claims later, they would have to decide whether itis worthwhile to cancel the previous application (and lose their pri-ority date) and file a new application with the better claims.

2. The management of the implementing corporation needs a strong patentto justify and protect the companys significant investment. They alsoare interested in securing the widest possible coverage, both in substanceand in countries worldwide. But if the corporation managers were notpart of the decision-making on this subject at an early enough stage,they will have a complex choice when they take over, between filingan additional patent application, or canceling the previous applicationand reapplying, or accepting what has already been done.

3. The consultations with expert patent attorneys are concentrated mostlyaround the legal procedural options and the exact wording in theapplication. There is a specific professional jargon which is appar-ently mandatory in all relations with patent offices. However, thereis an element of risk as to the extent of coverage in the claims, which isthe exact definition of what is claimed to be new and exclusive tothis patent. A larger coverage in the claims may weaken their exclu-sivity position and could be more difficult to secure (that is to con-vince the patent examiner). A narrower coverage may be held stron-ger, but could be easier to by-pass. This coverage has to be decidedby the inventors, possibly with the input of the project management(if there is any at this point) with respect to the possible competition.

3.7.4 Process modeling

Process mathematical modeling has been one of the main advance fronts inchemical engineering research and development since the 1980s, with excellenttheoretical books and computer programs available. Today, this mathematical



modeling can be a useful tool in process development in many cases. Morespecifically, it can be useful if the relevant numerical data can be made avail-able or can be reasonably inferred from precedents. This possibility can makea lot of difference in the entire program.

Thus, the contribution of an expert in this field is needed, at an earlystage, to draft a model from the principal elements of the process definitionand to define exactly which numerical data will be required to make theperformance and results of such a model significant. (This is discussedfurther in Chapter 9, Section 9.5.)

3.8 Safety, public regulations, and waste disposal support3.8.1 Safety

Most chemical plants present some form of known safety hazards which arekept well under control. All of the chemical industry is living with this inher-ent characteristic. The implementation of a new industrial chemical processcan introduce a different safety hazard that was not previously known in theoperation practice of this particular corporation, although it is probablyfamiliar to other parts of the chemical industry. This potential safety hazardcan be due to the composition of the raw materials or of the reagents (i.e.,metallic impurities, organic solvent, and acids) or to the operation conditions(i.e., flash point, pressure, etc.). For example, an engineering requirement inthe early large-scale implementation of solvent extraction processes in thechemical, mineral, hydro-metallurgy, and food industries specified theexplosion-proof safety standards, which were already well developed andused in the petrochemical industry for years.

There are very experienced safety consultants around who are availableto inform and reassure the project team in this field and to prepare the differentmanuals needed for the lab, the pilot operation, and the full-scale plant. Sys-tematic surveys and consultations with one of these safety experts are neededto identify such potential safety issues early in the development program andto document them in detail. Any public regulations relevant to such hazardsin the area of implementation should also be well understood.

This information should allow to include any necessary requirement intothe process definition and the plants future design and control, and to assurea safe operation. For instance, certain parts of the process and of the plantcan be declared as explosion-proof areas, separated and designed/operatedaccordingly, while other parts can be located far enough and avoid suchadditional expenses. Needless to say, the insurance company will also beinquiring as to when an investment will be decided.

3.8.2. Public regulations

In present days, any industrial or commercial activity is subject to a score ofpublic regulations (laws, taxes, custom duties, permits, etc.) which are changing



quite often, particularly in the democratic countries. A manager in industrialR&D cannot expect to know all of these regulations just from reading thenewspapers or from personal experience. Lawyers and specialists should becommissioned for the task of collecting up-to-date information that is relevantto the project and organizing it into different files from which project manage-ment can decide what needs to be included into the working program.

3.8.3 Waste disposal

A critical aspect of any chemical project is the definition and quantification ofall the possible waste streams and of the general options for their disposal withinthe framework of the particular region considered. This should be addressedquite early in any development program. This is again a specialized activityincluding technical, commercial, and legal aspects. This should be dealt with incollaboration with suitable consultants to find at least one (but preferably more)acceptable and affordable disposal procedures for each waste stream.

3.9 Support of specific codes relevant to plant design and operation, and product quality

Many products have to conform to a clients own purchasing specifications.However, certain groups of clients are buying on express condition that theproduct is fulfilling the requirements of specific official codes controlledby a suitable governmental regulation, e.g., a food-grade, reagent-grade, orpharmaceutical-grade product (i.e., the FDA in the U.S. sphere of influence).

Such codes are issued, controlled, and maintained generally by publicorganizations (mostly manufacturers, but also consumers), and they regulatenot only the final composition and packing of the product, but also the rawmaterials and additives used, and the conditions prevailing in the executionof most stages of the production.

For instance, the food-grade code specification dictates not only that allthe raw materials and additives introduced in the process should be of food-grade quality, but also that the conditions in every process stage should bedesigned and controlled to prevent contamination, oxidation, microbialactivity, etc. This code also details the routine quality control with verydetailed analyses and formal reporting and recording. External quality con-trol also is often required.

If such specific code can be relevant to the new process and/or to thenew product, it should be studied from the beginning by the marketing andanalytical professionals and well understood by the core team. In addition tothe general principles of the code, its practical implications may relate insome detail to the selection of raw materials, the plant design, or the analyticalcontrol. For example, it took one producer of food-grade phosphoric acidmany years to drop from 2 ppm arsenic in the product to less than l ppm,as required by the food-grade code.



3.10 EconomicsThe ability to do economic evaluations of investment and of operation costson the whole process or on a defined part of it is needed from the beginningin order to assist in the choice between alternative options. These economicevaluations can start with simple order of magnitude calculations, but canbecome increasingly complex as the projects scope gains substance.

Therefore, one should assure from the onset of the project the contribu-tion of a specialized cost engineer, who will lay down standardized spread-sheets adapted to the particular framework of the project and collect theexact unit costs that should be used by the corporation at the intended site.

As the process and the implementation framework begins to firm up,the standard tools and the experienced staff of an engineering companyshould produce investment budgets and operating cost estimates with anaccuracy (plus/minus) margin starting at 30%. This can be progressivelyreduced to 15% in the final report.

3.11 Development expense budgetLast but not least in the list of essential resources needed is an expense budgetto cover all the development costs (salaries, transfers, suppliers, consultants,materials, patents, special equipment, etc.).

At the beginning, this budget has to come from the promoters ownsources. At a later stage, if the project can be incorporated in the form of alimited responsibility shares company, those investing in risk capital fundscan possibly be convinced to buy a certain portion if it looks promising andif the promoters have good personal records.

In certain countries, public funds can be procured as a partial contributionto specific industrial or scientific developments, mostly in the form of loansrepayable in case of economic success, with many conditions attached. This isgenerally a very lengthy procedure as always with public funds.

When an implementing corporation takes over the project, it covers thepast and future costs from its own financial resources, through one of manydifferent financial formulas. However, as every project is different and pastrecords can only be indicative, the future is no longer what it used to be. Theability to predict logically a future process development budget has always beena weak point, although this fact of life is not always admitted or even recog-nized. Most promoters naturally tend to be rather optimistic in that regard.

The only practical method, while consulting with all experienced partici-pants around, is to:

Divide the development program into a number of functional periodswith specific aims.

Define and estimate separately every possible cost item in each period. Draw up a detailed list of every possible cost item. Then add generous safety factors.



3.12 Worth another thought

The success of the development and implementation of a new chem-ical process depends mostly on the interactions and cooperation be-tween many critically important human factors.

The core project group is expected to work as a team, so that all itsmembers have access to all the documents and are aware of all thefacts, and each can contribute his opinion freely inside the team.

There is generally a direct link between the accuracy of the resultsfrom analyses and the unit cost and time delay. The highest level ofaccuracy is not always justified and affordable for all results, partic-ularly in the exploratory stages of the R&D where a fast procedureis preferable.

The accuracy and significance of the result from any chemical anal-ysis cannot be any better than the sampling procedure used to pro-cure the sample.

The process development team should understand which features ofthe product are really important to the final users and what the finalusers would be ready to pay for these results if they were given thechoice between different qualities.

The process developing team should get a clear and early picture ofthe eventual implementation conditions in an existing facility, whichcould impose objective limitations that need to be taken into account.

In many cases, the design of a novel process section may be criticallylinked to one particular piece of equipment or specific technology,and the process results will depend not only on the process chemistry,but also on a particular combination of equipment design factors andof operating conditions.

References1. Mizrahi, J., People, organization, and process implementation, Chem. Tech.,

459464, 1972.



Developing an Industrial Chemical Process, An Integrated ApproachTable of ContentsChapter 03: Essential resources needed for the development project: preceding implentation3.1 Introduction3.2 Specific managerial skills3.3 Core project team3.4 R&D laboratories and pilot installations3.4.1 Companys own laboratory and pilot installations3.4.2 Outside laboratories and pilot installations3.4.3 Analytical laboratories

3.5 Experts on marketing and on potential users3.5.1 Particular terminology3.5.2 Clients needs3.5.3 Competition

3.6 Support from experts on hardware3.6.1. Plant engineering and operation3.6.2 Equipment design3.6.3 Corrosion in construction materials3.6.4 Operation and process control

3.7 Support from experts in software3.7.1 Publication search and analysis3.7.2 Intellectual property and secrecy3.7.3 Patent application3.7.4 Process modeling

3.8 Safety, public regulations, and waste disposal support3.8.1 Safety3.8.2. Public regulations3.8.3 Waste disposal

3.9 Support of specific codes relevant to plant design and operation, and product quality3.10 Economics3.11 Development expense budget3.12 Worth another thoughtReferences

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1360_Ch03