Chemical Engineering December 2017 - 53

Concluding guidance
With projects seemingly able to
unfold in such a diverse number of
ways, it is understandable for chemical
plant operators to feel a little
overwhelmed as to how to move
forward. Furthermore, the specifics
of the assignment at hand certainly
need to be extensively considered
to provide any conclusive next-step
guidance. However, there are three
key points that will help to steer the
safe, cost-effective and environmentally
robust execution of any
FIGURE 3. Meticulous match-marking helps intricate equipment to be methodically dismantled for
re-erection at other sites
want most employees to focus on
the revenue-generating production
aspects of the site, but the inclusion
of some of these personnel and
resources will help to ensure a suitably
skilled project team that will help
pave the way for the retrofit to occur.
The identification of the most appropriate
people is therefore paramount,
as is the selection of suitably skilled
contractors to carry out the dismantling
or demolition tasks themselves.
Shaping the exercise
Sometimes the preferable route is
to completely demolish the unused
asset. In preparing the asset for this
process, methodologies must ensure
environmental protection with
respect to prevention of emissions
or loss of containment, as well as
waste management. Even so, such
ecologically robust considerations
do not just ensure compliance and
the necessary fulfillment of duty-ofcare
responsibilities. If decontamination
and dismantling
strategies
can be developed in line with the
waste hierarchy, the level of materials
that are salvaged and sent for
recycling is maximized. Additionally,
in some cases, this environmentally
responsible route can also help the
operator to realize meaningful income
from the sale of scrap metals.
In other instances, the plant owner
may even be able to carefully dismantle
the entire asset so that it can
be sold for reassembly elsewhere
(Figure 3). This was what happened
with a 4,500-ton ammonia production
plant. Everything, down to the
single vessels and associated pipework,
was meticulously disassembled,
coded and preserved before
being packed into 120 containers,
60 enclosed crates and 80 open
stillages, and shipped along with 30
outsized items of deck cargo, for
reuse overseas.
Sometimes such disassembly
projects simply facilitate the retention
of an asset - not to mention
the associated intellectual property
- within the same company, as was
the case when an operator in Singapore
removed a number of pieces of
equipment from a facility for consignment
to sister plants worldwide.
Of
course,
there are scenarios
where redundant chemical plants
must in fact be cleared simply to unlock
the value of the site for alternative
use. This was the case when a 25acre
plant - which had seen many
owners since it was first established
in the early 20th century - was acquired
by a commercial property specialist
in the U.K. Extensive, innovative
and pragmatic decommissioning of
a range of process plant equipment
and structures - many of which did
not have any records of previous use
or residual chemical status - helped
take the land back to flat slab to make
way for a new mixed-use site.
CHEMICAL ENGINEERING WWW.CHEMENGONLINE.COM
DECEMBER 2017
such undertaking:
* Never ignore the value of the
most important project resource
- time. The planning phase will
underpin the success of every
ensuing stage of the retrofit, so
it should not be rushed. This is
the most crucial period in which
to identify so-called " known
unknowns "
* If the skillsets do not exist internally,
bring the knowledge in. Papering
over the gaps could be devastating.
In selecting the right people
to help, consider everything from
competency, EHS records, availability
and cost, but do not ever
decide on the basis of fees alone
* Do not underestimate the volume
of the work involved, but
it
is
not
also
equally
overestimate it
important
either.
to
Often,
procrastination can be the
most costly and hazardous trait
in any such project, so commit
to a feasibility and options study,
at the very least, to facilitate informed
decision-making from that
point forward
■
Edited by Mary Page Bailey
Author
Richard Vann is managing director
of RVA Group (Kinetic Business
Centre, Theobald Street,
Borehamwood
Hertfordshire, WD6 4PJ,
U.K.; Phone:
+44-208-3871323;
Website: www.rvagroup.
org), a specialist project-management
and engineering consultancy
that has provided decommissioning,
decontamination, dismantling
and demolition support on more than 700 projects
worldwide. Vann is a past president of the Institute of
Demolition Engineers (IDE) and the Institute of Explosives
Engineers (IExpE). He also was recently chosen as
this year's keynote speaker for the World Demolition
Summit (WDS) and selected for the judging panel of the
Construction News Specialists Awards 2018.
53

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Chemical Engineering December 2017

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