Modular Multi-Story Production Plant for Rapid Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
The animal feed industry faces challenges in evenly distributing small doses of micronutrients throughout animal feed due to difficulties in weighing and distributing them, and the need for rapid assembly and construction of animal feed premix plants to meet market demands and reduce production delays.
Innovation Solution
A modular multi-story production plant composed of individual modules, each capable of being shipped in a standard container, which can be connected on-site to form a vertical stack of production and operator access modules, allowing for efficient assembly and distribution of micronutrients, including a cantilevered platform and guardrails for safety, and an elevator for operator access.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a custom plant is designed for each feed manufacturer at its specific location, then the plant can be tailored to specific production needs, but it takes a considerable amount of time to design and construct
Solution Approach 1:
The plant is divided into multiple standardized modules that can be independently manufactured and then assembled on-site. Each module contains specific production equipment and functions, allowing the plant to be customized by selecting and arranging different module combinations rather than designing the entire plant from scratch.
Solution Approach 2:
Standardized module designs are created that can serve multiple feed manufacturers with different production requirements. The same module types can be configured in different arrangements and combinations to meet various production capacities and product specifications, reducing the need for completely custom designs.
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional shipping containers are used to construct the plant, then the plant can be assembled and moved multiple times, but the construction and assembly process still requires significant time and coordination
Solution Approach 1:
The plant construction is segmented into pre-fabricated modules that are manufactured off-site and transported to the installation location. This segmentation allows parallel manufacturing of multiple modules and simplifies on-site assembly, reducing both construction time and assembly complexity while maintaining mobility.
Solution Approach 2:
Modules are pre-assembled and pre-tested at the manufacturing facility before shipment. This preliminary action includes installing equipment, connecting utilities, and verifying operations within each module, so that on-site assembly requires only connecting pre-configured modules rather than building everything from scratch.
3Measurement precision
If small doses of micronutrients are directly added to animal feed, then the dosage can be controlled, but it is difficult to achieve an even distribution throughout the finished product
Solution Approach 1:
A premix formulation is introduced as an intermediary substance that contains the micronutrients pre-blended with a larger quantity of feed material or carrier. This premix serves as a mediator between the micronutrients and the final feed product, making the micronutrients easier to handle and distribute uniformly throughout the finished feed.
Solution Approach 2:
The concentration of micronutrients is changed from very small doses (grams per ton) to a more manageable concentration in the premix formulation (several kilograms per ton of final feed). This parameter change in concentration makes the micronutrients easier to weigh, handle, and distribute uniformly while maintaining the same final dosage in the animal feed.
Data Source
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AI summary
A multistory modular production plant includes a vertical stack of production modules for supporting production equipment, and a vertical stack of operator access modules adjacently connected to the vertically stacked production modules to allow operator access to the production modules. The adjacently connected vertical stacks of production modules and operator access modules thereby establish multiple stories of the modular production plant. Stairs and/or an elevator may be provided in the vertical stack of operator access modules to allow an operator to ascent/descend between stories of the plant. In especially preferred embodiments, each production module and operator access module is in the form of a rectangular parallelepiped which is sized so as to be accommodated within a standard 20- foot shipping container. This configuration of modular units thus allows the plant to be more quickly shipped and constructed on site.