PILOT PLANTS
After a potential process to recover values from an ore or other feedstock has been determined by experiments, the next phase in development is pilot plant testing. This is accomplished by operating on a continuous basis, using small equipment designed to simulate the results to be expected from commercial-sized equipment.
Operating the pilot plant 24 hours per day serves many purposes. One is to demonstrate process operability and confirm the operating conditions determined in the laboratory program. Other goals of a pilot plant operation are to provide the basic data needed to engineer a commercial-size plant, to provide product samples for potential users, and to ensure that there is no build up of impurities or scale as solutions recirculate. Perhaps most important is the process verification that is required to help create a bankable document for project financing.
Making a business of successfully constructing and operating pilot plants requires a blend of education, experience, and skill, as well as a large inventory of well-maintained process equipment. Hazen's professional staff has experience, training, and education in diverse chemical and metallurgical engineering fields. Complementing our professional staff are the highly experienced plant operators, skilled machinists, and repair mechanics needed to competently operate our pilot plants on an around-the-clock basis for extended campaigns. Hazen has assembled and operated hundreds of pilot plants and completed more than 10,000 projects in our 40 years of service to industry. We have worked closely with most of the major engineering and operating companies to provide process information for full-scale plant design and financial estimates.