Equipment management issues in chemical production
Thread Content
I work in equipment management within the chemical manufacturing industry. There is a problem that has been bothering me. During the production process, with the same equipment and the same manufacturing process, why are there such large differences in the actual control parameters? In other words, why are the results always different when production is carried out under the same conditions? As a equipment management professional, from which aspects should one start to analyze these differences and minimize them as much as possible? I earnestly implore all the seniors for their guidance! ! ! !
Why are there such large differences in the actual control parameters? What parameters?
The actual control parameters of the equipment are related to the composition and physical properties of the raw materials processed by the equipment, as well as to the required product specifications
An example should be given for this question.
What specific device is it? Are the production conditions exactly the same?
Maybe I didn’t express myself very well. For example, I used to work in a pharmaceutical factory, where antibiotic products were processed using a three-in-one system (filtration, washing, and drying). With the same batch of raw materials, two different machines were used for processing; under identical conditions of temperature, pressure, and machine speed, there were significant differences in the moisture content and yield of the final products. And the two devices were purchased at the same time.
I have encountered similar problems on many occasions; for example, when working in a pharmaceutical factory, with three-in-one and falling-film evaporators using the same operating parameters and feed materials, there were significant differences in the quality of the final products. With disk dryers today, similar problems occur: while maintaining the quality of the product, the processing capacity of several identical units varies.
The problem we’re facing now is this: there are two identical tray dryers, with exactly the same performance characteristics, but one of them fails to achieve the required processing capacity. Where should I start to solve this?
It should start with the aspects of process operation
With the same equipment, variations in the manufacturing process can result in slight differences in performance, but these are not significant. It is necessary to examine the factors affecting equipment performance and analyze them one by one. If this situation has existed since the equipment was put into use, it should be considered a quality issue with the equipment.
Those who are in charge of equipment management should rely on field data, process requirements, and equipment operation parameters to make decisions; with such a way of asking questions, I suspect you’re not actually involved in equipment management !