Isocyanate Production Assembly Dynamic Storage Buffering
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Solution Overview
Problem
The maintenance times of units in a chemical production assembly for isocyanate production vary, leading to cumulative downtime and loss of production time due to differing maintenance patterns across units.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating a dynamic storage means within the assembly that allows for temporary storage and buffering of chemical products, enabling continuous operation during maintenance of individual units by maintaining a dynamic storage rate that differs from zero, thus bridging the production and input rates during nominal operations and maintenance periods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If maintenance is performed on individual units according to their respective maintenance patterns, then each unit can be maintained properly, but the cumulative downtime increases and production time is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The dynamic storage means is prepared in advance to accumulate chemical products during normal operation. This preliminary accumulation creates a buffer that allows downstream units to continue operating during maintenance periods, preventing production interruptions when maintenance is performed on upstream units.
Solution Approach 2:
The dynamic storage means acts as an intermediary between upstream and downstream units in the serial production assembly. It decouples the operation of connected units, allowing them to be maintained independently without forcing the entire production line to stop, thus reducing cumulative downtime.
2Productivity
If all units operate at nominal rates continuously, then production efficiency is maximized, but maintenance requirements cannot be met and unit reliability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The dynamic storage means provides dynamic buffering capacity that adapts to varying operational conditions. During normal operation, it accumulates products to enable future maintenance periods, while during maintenance it releases stored products to maintain downstream production rates, thus balancing productivity and reliability requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes operational parameters by introducing variable storage and release rates. The dynamic storage means operates at different rates depending on whether upstream or downstream units are in maintenance mode, allowing the system to maintain overall productivity while accommodating necessary maintenance activities.
3Loss of time
If dynamic storage means is added to bridge production and input rates, then production continuity is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The dynamic storage means is extracted as a separate, independent component from the main production units. This modular approach allows the storage function to be added without fundamentally redesigning the existing production units, thereby limiting the increase in overall system complexity while achieving production continuity.
Data Source
AI summary
A chemical production assembly for producing an isocyanate. comprising n serially arranged units U (i), i=1 . . . n, n≥2. wherein a unit U(i) is for preparing a chemical product cp(i) at a preparation rate PR(i) by using, as starting material. a chemical product cp(i+1) preprared in the unit U(i+1) ar—ranged upstream of said unit U(i), wherein said unit U(i) comprises an inlet means for receiving said chemical product cp(i+1) at an input rate IR(i). said unit U(i) being characterized by a nominal preparation rate PRN(i) and a nominal input rate IRN(i); and a unit U(i+1), i=1 . . . n-1, is for preparing the chemical product cp(i+1) and for supplying said chemical product cp(i+1) to the inlet means of the unit U(i) arranged downstream of said unit U(i+1) at a supply rate SR(i+1) with SR(i+1)=IR(i).