Process Safety

Process Safety is critical to any chemical process and the proposed facility, whether you are synthesizing just a few kilograms or planning production of metric tons. Each step of the process and each compound needs to be assessed for safety. This assessment includes thermal stability and impact upon operator protection, plant safety, environmental impact and potential damage to the facility.

Screening includes an assessment of each raw material, intermediate, final product and reaction mixture to determine its thermal stability within plant conditions. This will determine if further investigation is required, and is performed using a DSC. This screening typically results in engineering suggestions that can be scaled-down and demonstrated in the laboratory or pilot scale facility.

Nalas offers a range of instruments for every step of the process, from the first screening experiment to hands-on participation in plant setup.

The proposed process conditions are studied using a variety of offline and in-situ tools including isothermal and reaction calorimetry to assess the heat and pressure rise associated with a process. From this data calculations such as potential adiabatic temperature rise, required cooling duty and the potential energy build up with scenarios (process deviations) such as overcharges can be determined. One output of this assessment is identifying the processes Worst Case Scenarios. Once the Worst Case Scenarios are determined, they need to be accurately assessed for full potential impact.

Nalas utilizes process models such as DynoChem® and Visimix® to precisely determine potential scale-up failures. With a well designed experimental series and advanced kinetics, Nalas significantly reduces the number of analyses required, reducing countless time and resources that would be used performing complex experimentation. We get the answers you need in the most efficient manner based on sound chemical engineering principles with a focus on risk reduction.

In the event that you have experienced a process upset, near miss or unfortunate incident, Nalas also offers expertise in identifying root cause analysis in the form of a detailed incident investigation report.