I've done a fair bit of process development and system design in my time, along with plant troubleshooting. I would amplify and add the following points.
1. The pilot plant is the place to make all your mistakes. Take as much time as you can. Don't be afraid to do your mistakes. Define the design parameters, but also its envelope by pushing you system to its (lowest and highest) limits. Test for at least one year, preferably two, to assess seasonal effects in temperate and northern climates.
2. Hire 1-2 senior engineers to review your project at key points.
3. Simplify, simplify, simplify.
4. A corrolary: don't expect all your staff to have PhDs. You're gonna run into trouble if that's what you expect from your operators.
I have my share of sad stories, but also great successes. Every sad story led to a lesson learned, which makes me vigilant. That's where senior reviewers are worth their weight in gold. They have a sixth sense about weak links in the chain.
I'm not as hot on the modularity mantra as everyone else. There are some things that cannot be shrunk and multiplied. There must be a way to optimize units, anywhere from one to a multitude.
Thanks Grant.
I've done a fair bit of process development and system design in my time, along with plant troubleshooting. I would amplify and add the following points.
1. The pilot plant is the place to make all your mistakes. Take as much time as you can. Don't be afraid to do your mistakes. Define the design parameters, but also its envelope by pushing you system to its (lowest and highest) limits. Test for at least one year, preferably two, to assess seasonal effects in temperate and northern climates.
2. Hire 1-2 senior engineers to review your project at key points.
3. Simplify, simplify, simplify.
4. A corrolary: don't expect all your staff to have PhDs. You're gonna run into trouble if that's what you expect from your operators.
I have my share of sad stories, but also great successes. Every sad story led to a lesson learned, which makes me vigilant. That's where senior reviewers are worth their weight in gold. They have a sixth sense about weak links in the chain.
I'm not as hot on the modularity mantra as everyone else. There are some things that cannot be shrunk and multiplied. There must be a way to optimize units, anywhere from one to a multitude.
I hope this helps someone out there.
Cheers!
Thanks for reading and commenting, André. It's great to have experienced folks like you working on CDR projects of your own and sharing insights. Testing and experienced reviewers are key. I also agree about modularity; there are limits regarding its usefulness. If we think about equipment like CO2 compressors or even injection wells, economies of scale will probably beat out the benefits of many small modules. With that said, we will also probably need more than one giant well in the center of the continent... It's really a game of optimizing the unit sizes, like you say, while keeping modularity and simplification in mind as general principles to aspire to.