Plant layout

According to Spriegel and Lansburgh “plant layout can be defined as a technique of

locating machines, processes and plant services within the factory so as to achieve the
greatest possible output of high quality at the lowest possible total cost of manufacturing.”
The layout, which refers to each department, must be arranged in order to give maximum
work productivity, efficiency and minimum operational costs. The layout of plant must
consider these factors namely, comfort, ability and safety; economical flow of material and
the area utilized to build the plant. This plant layout is developed to ensure the safety for
the workers and all the assets in the plant.

The auxiliary building and services required on the site in additional to the main process
units are as follows:

• Office (administration)
• Utilities such as cooling water
• Storage for raw material and product
• Storage for maintenance and operating supply
• Waste treatment plant
• Laboratory
• Maintenance workshop
• Canteen
• Assembly points
• Clinic

Objectives of plant layout

i. To minimize materials handling and transportation. This will lead to economical
handling of materials.
ii. To ensure optimum utilization of men, space and machines.
iii. To minimize work-in-process and maximize inventory turnover. The material
should move rapidly through the plant and points of congestion should be
eliminated to have low level of inventory.
iv. To provide adequate and conveniently located services centres.
v. To ensure efficient planning and control over equipment and processes.
 vi. To reduce the chances of delays and bottlenecks in the production system. This will
lead to a good work-flow.
vii. To ensure flexibility of layout for varying needs.
viii. To ensure efficient supervision of workers.
ix. To boost up employee morale by providing employee comfort and satisfaction.

Principles of plant layout

Plant layout plays an important role in factory organization and planning. Hence, at the
time of designing layout of the plant the following principles should be kept in mind:

1. Principles of flexibility

Plant layout should be flexible in nature. It should be capable of incorporating new

equipment, etc. without effecting any major change in the plant. In fact, it is a bad plant
layout that admits no change.

2. Principle of flow

A good plant layout is one which result in smooth flow. Hence, plant layout should be
such which helps in maintaining regular and unrestricted movement of production. There
should be absence of any bottlenecks in operation and back tracking should be minimum.

3. Principle of safety

A plant layout should ensure proper safety of workers in the plant. It should ensure
freedom from hazards and accidents.

4. Principle of economy

Plant layout should be economical in nature. It should involve lesser amount of

expenditure on the construction and maintenance of the building of the concern.

5. Principle of optimum utilization of floor space

A good plant layout should ensure effective and fullest utilization of available floor space.

6. Principle of comfort and convenience

On a plant layout proper arrangement should be made for comfort and convenience. The
working condition of worker should be good. All essential facilities should be provided,
such as water, rest room, toilets, electricity, and adequate ventilation.
Factors to consider when designing a plant layout
The success or failure of an entrepreneur rests on the quality and efficiency of plant layout
because while an appropriate plant layout results in a lot of benefits, a mis-fit plant layout
brings home disaster results.

Policies and decision of management

A plant layout is considerably influenced by managerial policies and decisions. Infact, in
all the enterprises major policies decision are taken by management. The nature and type
of plant layout depend on managerial decision regarding the size of business, nature and
type of products to be manufactured, possibility of future expansion, plan concerning
integration of various facilities within the industrial unit, amount of inventory in stock,
sales policies, integration of Production process, etc.

Location of plant
Another factor which effects the decision regarding plant layout is the location of plant.
The shape and size, climate, soil, general environment and topography of a site influence
the layout of a plant. These location factors affect the building and the arrangement of
building and the arrangement of general facilities needed for smooth operations of the
plant.

Type of manufacturing process

The pattern of the plant layout is considerably influenced by the nature and type of
manufacturing process. There are various types of manufacturing process. These are
interactive process, analytical process, synthetic process and conditioning process. All
these processes possess distinct features and requirement which, in turn affect the structure
of the plant.

Type of industry
The industry may be broadly categorized in two a) continuous process industry and
interrupted process industry. Continuous process industry is one where all the requirement
materials are obtained at one particular point and from where through successive
operations materials are turned into finished goods, such as paper manufacturing, yarn
spinning, oil refining etc. This type of industry is also known as uninterrupted process
industry. On the other hand, interrupted process industry is one where finished goods
product can be obtained only after making various components and then bring them for
final operations, the manufacturing of automobiles and shoe making,

System of production
The system of production also influences the decision of plant layout. There are three
system of production a) job production b) mass production and c) batch production. Job
production is a specific type of production system. It involves manufacturing of special
type of products which vary in nature and size. In this type of system of production,
products are produced in accordance with order and specifications of customers.
Therefore, after obtaining orders, from customers products are manufactured. Ship and
building are examples of it. b) Mass production, is a system of production where products
are produced at large scale on continuous basis. Production is done in anticipation of
market demand, not on the basis of customer’s demand c) batch production means a
system of production wherein products are manufactured in batches or in group or in lots.
It combines the qualities of both job and mass production because production, under this
system is done either in anticipation of demand or on the basis of customers demand.
Therefore, the requirement of plant layout considerably depends upon the system of
production chosen.

Provision of floor space

Availability of floor space has a significant place in any plant layout. The internal
arrangement of machines, equipment’s, materials, personnel, facilities etc. depend largely
on the space available. Hence, an entrepreneur should take into account this factor before
deciding plant layout.

Type of products
There are different types of product. Some products may be small in size and other are big;
some may be light while other heavy and some may be in liquid whereas some in solid
state. This affects the nature and type of layout.
Flow of work
Maintaining the flow of work is an important consideration for plant layout. Its purpose is
to ensure smooth flow of operations. Therefore, the layout of plant layout should be in the
form of circle or in straight-line or in U shaped. Such type of plant layout would be helpful
in restricting the movement of workers and of materials, equipment’s etc. to the minimum.

Safety
Production operations involve risk of accidents. Hence, in deciding about a particular plant
layout provisions for safety requirements should be kept in mind. A good plant layout is
one which eliminates or minimizes the possibility

General
Open, structural-steelwork buildings are normally used for process equipment. Closed
buildings are used for process operations that require protection from the weather, for
small plants, or for processes that require ventilation with scrubbing of the vent gas. The
arrangement of the major items of equipment often follows the sequence given on the
process flow-sheet: with the columns and vessels arranged in rows and the ancillary
equipment, such as heat exchangers and pumps, positioned along the outside.

Building
Decision on what buildings to construct and sizes of each are to be included in the plant
layout. Lavatories, change rooms, canteens and plant offices are all located inside the
plant. The location of principal ancillary buildings should then be decided they should be
arranged so as to minimise time spent by personnel in travelling between the buildings
(Baasel, 1974).

Ancillary buildings and services required on the site, in addition to the main processing
unit include

• Maintenance workshops

• Storage of raw materials and products: tank farms and warehouses

• Stores for maintenance and operation supplies

• Laboratory for process control

• Fire stations and other emergency services

• Offices for general administration

• Fire stations and other emergency services

• Canteens and other amenity buildings

• Car parks

• Utilities: steam boilers, compressed air and transformer station

Storage area
 The storage area must have appropriate ventilation.
 The storage area must be designed with appropriate spillage retention measures
where tanks or pipe work may fail, or where chemicals are transferred or decanted.
 Bund protection from rain whilst allowing air flow or retention as required for the
substance (such as louvered walls to prevent rain but still facilitate air flow.
 Onsite storage should be minimised to reduce hazards
 Larger volumes require chemicals to be stored in separate areas to public spaces as
defined by the regulations.
 The storage area must be prepared for any health related emergency or spillage that
can occur from the stored substance.
 The raw materials should be closer to the feed point to minimise the pumping costs
and capital costs in terms of long pipelines and large pumps (Watercare, 2020)

Loading and unloading zones

Areas of loading and unloading should be fully accessible and on the periphery of the
wastes, the loading crane is located in an area where the traffic in the operative area is
minimised.

Spacing of equipment and buildings

The OSHA has standards for hazardous materials that give minimum distance between
those items and the property line, public roads and buildings. Moreover, specific details
are provided for compressed gas equipment containing LPG, acetylene- air, and nitrous
oxide. Storage of flammable and combustible materials inside buildings is also prohibited.
The table below shows standard clearance between equipment units;

Unit Clearance (metres)

Offices and canteens 30
Medical centre 30
Loading areas 15
Warehouses 30
Fire station 30
Railroads 15
Main roads 12
Workshops 30
garages 30
Auxiliary road 20
Fire station 30
Effluent plants 20

Overhead piping
Minimum overhead clearances should be maintained to the underside of pipe, flange,
lagging or supports. Industry averages are given below;

Work location Typical area/m2 Specification

Administration 10 Per administration employee
Workshop 20 Per workshop employee
Laboratory 20 Per laboratory employee
Canteen 1 Per dining place
3.50 Per place including kitchen
and store
Medical centre 0.1-0.15 Per employee depending on
complexity of service
Fire station 500 Per site
Garage/maintenance 100 Per vehicle
 Main roads 10 Wide
Side roads 7.5 Wide
Path ways 1.2 Wide up to 10 people per
minute

Roadways and pipe Racks

The layout of plant roads, pipe alleys and drains are all determined by siting of process
units. Access roads will be needed to each building for construction, operation and
maintenance; roads are also needed for service equipment’s i.e. mobile cranes and other
emergency vehicles. This implies there should be a road around the perimeter of the site
and no roads should dead end. For safety’s sake, there should be at least two ways to reach
every location.

Frequently used roads should be blacktopped and of 6m wide to allow two-way traffic. All
turns should have a minimum inner radius of curvature of 6m and a minimum outer radius
of 12m to provide adequate turning room for large trucks.

Pipe racks are an elevated collection of pipes that transport utilities as well as raw
materials, products and waste streams. They may be also used to transmit information to
and from control centres. Clustering pipes together simplifies their construction and later
location of problems. Nothing should be located under pipe racks, since leaks can damage
equipment.

Emergency assembly points

Emergency assembly points should be located nearest to work place of workers and in an
open area to prevent confusion in an emergency.

Plot plan
The site can be easily divided into the following areas.

• Coal washing plant, coal carbonisation plant, fuel storage, clinic, plant offices,
engineering department and garage.

Miscellaneous ancillary facilities are located throughout the site.

Power Distribution

Power distribution will generally be at 4.16 kV, with lesser loads supplied at 600 V. All
plant site distribution will be cable run within the utilities as much as possible. Cable
required for the outlying areas will be run along the ground. The cables will be suitably
marked for safety purposes and to prevent damage.

Fuel Supply, Storage & Distribution

There is a designated area for the storage and dispensing of diesel and oils, such as:

• Diesel fuel to feed all equipment and engines within the entire plant.
• Fresh and used lube-oil, fluid

These liquids will be stored in:

• Three 18,000 m3 main storage fuel tanks

• Eight 500 m3 fuel tanks
• Ten 60 m3 multi-usage tanks.

Administration Office Complex

The administration office complex will include the following:

 • kitchen and food storage
• dining room
• arrivals/departure building including reception and first aid
• administrative office building including mine engineering offices, mud dry and
lunchroom

The engineering Department Complex

The Engineering department office complex will include the following

• Maintenance workshop
• IT/server room

The Garage

The truck shop has been designed to meet the needs of servicing and maintaining mine
production equipment, as well as the mobile mine and plant support equipment.

Warehouse Facilities.

Process plant equipment and supplies will be warehoused within the process plant building
as close as practical to their end use or in the warehouse.

Ancillary Facilities

Ancillary facilities required for the operation of the mine are as follows:

• clinic
• Sewage treatment module
• Environmental laboratory.

Railway

The railway will be located at the periphery of the plant for easy movement of goods.
These is helped as the loading and unloading docks of coke and raw coal respectively are
located at the periphery of the site.

Site Roads

Site haul, access and service roads will be constructed using crushed and screened mine
rock, as well as suitable overburden material. Site roads have been classified into four
types, each with specific design requirements.
It is expected that regular grading and levelling using crushed gravel will be required to
keep the roads in an acceptable condition to reduce wear and tear on the trucks and tires.

Fire Protection System

Fire protection for each facility in plant site area consists of a combination of hydrant/hose
stations, sprinkler systems, heat and smoke detection and, portable chemical fire
extinguishers. Firefighting water is provided from a dedicated storage tank and fire pumps.

As part of operations, emergency response / firefighting teams will be recruited from

operations personal. Training by professional fire fighters will be an ongoing requirement.

The self-contained fire truck, listed with the mine mobile equipment, will be available to
attend all site emergencies.
Utilities Schedule

Introduction
The word utilities is used for the ancillary services needed in the operation of any
production process. These services are normally supplied from a central site facility and
include

1. Electricity;
2. Water;
3. Water for general use;
4. Disposal facilities.

Electricity
The power required for electrochemical processes, motor drives, lighting, and general use
may be generated on site, but will more usually be purchased from the local supply
company. The voltage at which the supply is taken or generated will depend on the
demand. Most motors and other process equipment run on 208V 3-phase power, while
120/240V single phase power is used for offices, labs, and control rooms. The electrical
requirements will be purchased from the Zimbabwe Electricity Transmission and
Distribution Company which is responsible for the development, operation and
maintenance of the 420kV, 330kV, 220kV, 132kV, 88kV and 66kV lines and substations
in the country. Transformers at the electrical substations will be used to step down the
supply voltage used on site. Backup generators should be present in case of power outages.

Water

Cooling water
Natural and forced-draft cooling towers are generally used to provide the cooling water
required on a site, unless water can be drawn from a convenient river or lake in sufficient
quantity. Sea water, or brackish water, can be used at coastal sites, but if used directly will
necessitate the use of more expensive materials of construction for heat exchangers. The
minimum temperature that can be reached with cooling water depends on the local climate.
Cooling towers work by evaporating part of the circulating water to ambient air, causing
the remaining water to be chilled. If the ambient temperature and humidity are high, then a
cooling water system will be effective and air coolers or refrigeration would be used
instead.

Water for General Use

The water required for general purposes on a site will usually be taken from the local
mains supply, unless a cheaper source of suitable quality water is available from a river,
lake, or well.

Required water targets are tabulated below;

Treated Water Targets

Conductivity, µS/ cm 0.055
Resistivity M/ cm @ 25 ° 18
Total Suspended Solids (TSS) ppm Limit of Detection (LOD)
Total Dissolved solids (TDS) ppm LOD
Organic Solutes LOD
pH ranges 6.5 - 7.0
Bacterial count, colonies/100 ml Nil
Silica ( SiO2) < 0.005
Trace Dissolve Metals, ppm < 0.005
Colloidal Matter As feed water
CO2 1
Quality Assessment Conductivity, pH, Si

Process water
The water used for mineral processing usually has a lower quality in terms of cleanliness
than that used for general purposes therefore it is pumped from its source to the plant
without any pre-treatment whatsoever.

Effluent Disposal
Facilities are required at all sites for the disposal of waste materials without creating a
public nuisance.
Utility management

The basic guiding principles to this management are:

1. Water metering
2. Monitoring and targeting
3. Operation and maintenance

Water metering
The cost of water supply is usually based on the incoming water reading, with the disposal
volume reduced by an allowance for evaporative loss, and for water incorporated into the
product and gangue if any. The disposal is often the more costly. For this reason, wherever
appropriate, the usage should be measured and debited to each cost centre. The cost of
metering individual sections on a site may quickly be repaired by resulting economics.

Monitoring and targeting

A method of monitoring and targeting is necessary for the utilities. The utilities can be
subdivided into either cost or production units termed Energy Account Centres (EACs).
The objective here is to relate the energy consumption in each EAC to the variables that
influence it, that is, production, weather conditions etc. This can then be relayed to those
people with the overall responsibility for the consumption so that they can take action to
improve the
Labour Requirements

Introduction
For there to be productivity manpower is essential, man power vary from plan to plant.
Cost of manpower is a huge aspect when designing a plant. Cost depends on the type of
man power required. Types of manpower are, skilled, semi-skilled and unskilled labour
and they are usually paid different salaries.

Factors that determine labour requirement includes

 Working hours
 Size and complexity of the plant
 The number and redundancy of the plant

Estimating the number of workers required in the plant

Another technique of quantifying the labour requirements of a manufacturing plant is to
calculate the employee-hours according to the principal processing steps in the plant.

I. Determine the annual labour cost

II. Determine annual total operating costs
III. Divide labour cost by total operating costs
IV. Multiply by 100 to get a percentage

annual labour cost

labour requirements= × 100
annual total operating costs

The working hours per shift are 8 hours and these are called on site man hours which cover
supervisory, technical personnel and direct plant workers.

Working hours for the management will differ from that of the other staff. Management
will be on site for 10 hr shifts per day at night plant supervisors will be the highest ranking
worker within the plants.
Section
Management Number of Number of Working hours
workers workers per (per person)
shift
Plant manager (chief metallurgist) 1 1 10
Head of department ( senior metallurgist) 2 2 10
Operator Supervisor (metallurgist) 8 8 10
Raw Coal Crushing circuit
Shift supervisor 3 1 8
Skilled operators
Semi-skilled operators
Feed preparation section
Shift supervisor
Skilled operators
Semi-skilled operator
JIG section
Shift supervisor
Skilled operator
Semi-skilled operator
DMS section
Shift supervisor
Skilled operators
Semi-skilled operators
Spirals section
Shift supervisor
Skilled operator
Semi-skilled operator
Thickener section
Shift supervisor
Skilled operator
Semi-skilled operator
Coal blending section
Shift supervisor
Skilled operator
Semi-skilled operator
Carbonisation sections
Shift supervisor
Coke oven operator
Electric locomotive operator
Charging car and pusher operator
Man-power
Quenching section
Valve operator
Semi-skilled operator
Grading section
Skilled worker
Semi-skilled operator

Engineering section
Electrician
Plumber
Fitters
Boiler-man
Technicians
Artisans
Maintenance section
Janitors
Cooks
Transport section
Loading/ unloading deck supervisors
Unskilled labour
Safety and environmental summary

Introduction
Safety is the most important aspect in any processing plant; it should be a top precedence
of the organisation. The processing plant should be committed to the protection of the
environment in which it operates and believes in the right of the individual employee to
work in safe and healthy conditions. All manufacturing processes are to some extent
hazardous, but in metallurgical processes, there are additional, special, hazards associated
with the chemicals used and the process conditions. The designer must be aware of these
hazards, and ensure, through the application of sound engineering practice, that the risks
are minimised to standard levels (Sinnott, 2005). This means that every company should
comply with all the relevant safety, health and environmental laws of Zimbabwe,
voluntary codes to which Zimbabwe subscribes and world class standards.

Safety and loss prevention in process design can together with good operational practices
and management lead to;

1. Identification and assessment of the hazards.

2. Control of the hazards: for example, by containment of flammable and toxic
materials.
3. Control of the process: Prevention of hazardous deviations in process variables
(pressure, temperature, flow), by provision of automatic control systems,
interlocks, alarms, trips; together with good operating practices and
management.
4. Limitation of the loss: The damage and injury caused if an incident occurs:
pressure relief, plant layout, provision of fire-fighting equipment (Sinnott,
2005).

Occupational Health and Safety

The most significant occupational health and safety hazards occur during the operational
phase of the plant and includes the following

• Chemical hazards.
• Fire hazards
• Heat hazards
 • Temperature deviations
• Process safety
• Noise
• Dust exposure
• Electrocutions

The hazards are well explained below;

Chemical hazards
Exposure to chemicals in the dense medium circuit sections are the most dominant type of
chemical hazards encountered in the coal preparation processing facility. Potential
inhalation exposures to chemicals emissions during routine plant operations should be
managed based on the results of a job safety analysis and industrial hygiene survey.

Protection measures include worker training, work permit systems, use of personal
protective equipment (PPE) (which is assured after 2 months), and toxic gas detection
systems with alarms. The effect of exposure can be long term or short term depending on
the toxicity of the material. Health problems associated with the exposure vary and some
of them include silicosis, tuberculosis and skin cancer among others.

Fire hazards
Fire and explosions hazards generated by process operations in carbonization plant
includes the accidental release of coke oven gases which are mainly, methane, carbon
monoxides and carbon dioxide gases due to gas leak through the coke oven door. If these
are released at high pressure, they may cause “jet fires” or result in a vapour cloud
explosion (VCE), fireball or flash fire depending on the quantity of flammable material. If
the auto ignition temperatures of these gases are exceeded, they can ignite even in the
absence of the ignition sources. Spillages of hot coke during oven discharge or
transportation to the quenching tower may cause flames with flammable liquids or
materials. A strategic measures to prevent and control fire and explosion risks from
process operations includes the following

• Avoiding potential sources of ignition (e.g. by configuring piping layout to

avoid spills over high temperature piping, equipment and/or rotating machines).
 • Avoid gas leaks by tight closing of coke oven doors and use pipe with material
which can withstand high pressures and high temperatures.
• Providing early release detection, such as pressure monitoring of gas and liquid
conveyance systems in addition to smoke and heat detection for fires.
• Limiting the areas that may be potentially affected by accidental release.

Heat hazards
Large volume of heat are generated from the carbonisation process and the quenching
process. These processes generate heat in amounts exceeding 200°C. Recommended safety
precautions are:

• Providing workers working near coke ovens asbestos gloves or suits to protect
them from heat
• There should be minimum interaction between the workers and the quenching
area to avoid steam burns
• Oven doors should be inspected to prevent blow outs.

Pressure
A pressure exceeding the system design pressure is one of the most serious hazards in any
plant .Failure of a vessel, or the associated piping, can precipitate a sequence of events that
culminate in a disaster. To avert such potential disaster, pressure vessels are in variably
fitted with some form of pressure-relief device, set at the design pressure, so that potential
over-pressure is relieved in a controlled manner .There are three different types of relief
device that are commonly used:

• Directly actuated valves: these are weight or spring-loaded valves that open at
predetermined pressure, and which normally close after the pressure has been
relieved. The system pressure provides the motive power to operate the valve.
• Indirectly actuated valve: pneumatically or electrically operated valves, which
are activated by pressure.

Coke ovens operate at noted pressures, a relief piping system with a relief valve venting
provision it is important to ensure that flammable or toxic gases are vented to a safe
location to prevent pressure build up in the ovens. This will normally mean venting at a
sufficient height to ensure that the gases are dispersed without creating a hazard.
Noise
Noise is defined to be disturbing sound. Any location where sound does not cause
disturbance, even it is very loud, does not incur restrictions. Noise is almost permeating in
coal preparation plant. Processes such a screening, crushing and conveying, generator
noise. Controlling noise has proven difficult in coal preparation plant facilities and noise-
induced hearing loss remains common. Workers that operates in such areas are provided
with ear plugs and ear barriers to protect themselves from such noise.

The following questions facilitate the evaluation of noise protection measures:

1. Do all workers and operators wear ear protection correctly?

2. Does an appropriate sign mark the area of comminution?
3. Are all pipes and piping break-through insulated against noise?
4. Does the plant stand well away from settlements?

Vibrations
Whole body vibration is commonly experienced whilst the plant is operating. This can
cause or exacerbate pre-existing spinal disorders. Machines producing high vibration
amplitudes must be built on building with vibration damping designs to reduce effect on
workers.

Community Health and Safety

Significant community health and safety hazards associated with coal preparation and
carbonisation plant occur during the operation phase and may include the threat from
major accidents related to the hazards at the facility mentioned in the preceding sections
and potential accidental releases of raw materials or finished products during their
transportation outside of the processing facility. Guidance for the management of the
hazards to prevent them from being hazards to the community has been given in the
preceding sections. Guidance on transportation of hazardous materials and emergency
preparedness and response is found in literature.
Environmental Summary
It is the duty of all individuals and companies to care for the environment. In addition to
this moral duty, stringent controls over the environment are being introduced over the
world. The following environmental aspects need to be considered for this plant

1. Waste water

Process wastewater and other wastewaters containing dissolved ions, ash, oxygenated
compounds, and other contaminants, should be treated at the onsite wastewater treatment
unit. There is huge significant wastewater generation in a coal preparation and
carbonization plant due to the predominantly liquid phase nature of the process. Most of
the wastewater is generated from the following stages:

• Concentration stage (tails);

• Thickener overflow;
• Dewatering cyclone overflow and underflow;
• Filtration (filtrate)

Wastewater requires a degree of treatment before it is discharged to the water reservoir

since the water is recycled to the process, it must be free from contaminants that might
otherwise interfere with the process. In the coal preparation and carbonization plant most
of the water generated is safe for recycle. A number of prior measures may be taken to
minimize the extent of the treatment required. These measures include:

• Flow equalization and proportioning

• Volume reduction
• Strength reduction
2. Hazardous materials

Metallurgical coke making process uses and produces significant amounts of hazardous
materials, including raw materials, intermediate / final products and by-products. The
handling, storage and transportation of these materials should be managed properly to
avoid or minimize the environmental impacts from these hazardous materials. Strategies
for practices of hazardous material management including handling, storage, and
transportation are available in the Hazardous Chemical and Materials Act

3. Air emission
Emissions from the coal preparation and carbonization plant include particulate matter
(dust) and greenhouse gases such as SO2 and H2S. In the comminution section the air
emissions are predominantly produced mainly from the crushing section and dry
screening. However these are minimized by performing wet comminution processes. The
concentration and the pre-treatment are relatively clean stages in terms of air emission as
they are performed wet. In carbonization emitted flue gas is further treated in the
desulfurization tower where sulphur dioxide is reacted with calcium carbonate, water and
oxygen to produce a crystallized compound. Wet quenching produces a large number of
air particulates therefore the air before disposed to the environment it is passed through
electric precipitators to remove all particulates.

4. Wastes

Hazardous waste should be determined according to the characteristics and source of the
waste materials and applicable regulatory classification.

Non-hazardous waste

Non-hazardous industrial wastes consist mainly of exhausted molecular sieves from the air
separation unit as well as domestic wastes. Other non-hazardous wastes may include office
and packaging wastes, construction rubble, and scrap metal

5. Noise

The amount of decibels generated within the operating area should not be harmful to the
organisms living around the operating plant.

6. Aquatic life

Mining operations can have two major types of impacts on aquatic resources, including
aquatic life. The first type of impact results from the contribution of eroded soil and
material to streams and water bodies and from the release of pollutants from ore, waste
rock, or other sources. The second results from the direct disruption of ephemeral,
intermittent, or perennial streams; wetlands; or other water bodies. Temporary disruptions
occur from road construction and similar activities. Permanent impacts are caused by
actual mining of the area or by placement of refuse, tailings, or waste rock directly in the
drainage way. More often than not, this is in the upper headwaters of intermittent or
ephemeral streams. In addition, lowering of area surface water and ground water caused by
mine dewatering can affect sensitive environments and associated aquatic life (S. Chevrel
and F. Cottard, 2000).

Monitoring

Occupational Health and Safety Monitoring

Occupational health and safety performance will be continually evaluated against
internationally published exposure guidelines, of which examples include the Threshold
Limit Value (TLV), occupational exposure guidelines and Biological Exposure Indices
( BEIs) published by American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists
(ACGIH), the Pocket Guide to Chemical Hazards published by the United States National
Institute for Occupational Health and Safety (NIOSH).

The working environment will be monitored for occupational hazards relevant to coal
preparation and carbonization plants. Monitoring should be designed and implemented by
accredited professionals as part of an occupational health and safety-monitoring program.

The maintenance of a record of occupational accidents, diseases and dangerous

occurrences and accidents is crucial for the auditing and continuous improvement of the
plant safety and environment management programs.

Environmental Monitoring
Environmental monitoring programs for coal preparation and carbonization plant are
implemented to address all activities that have been identified to have potentially
significant impacts on the environment, during normal operations and upset conditions.
Environmental monitoring activities should be based on direct or indirect indicators of
emissions, effluents, and resource use applicable to the particular operation. Monitoring
frequency should be sufficient to provide representative data for the parameters being
monitored. Well-trained individuals should conduct monitoring and record-keeping
procedures and using properly calibrated and maintained equipment. Monitoring data
should be analysed and reviewed at regular intervals and compared with the operating
standards for implementation of corrective measures.
Life Cycle Assessment
• An important tool in the monitoring and design of environmental programs is
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). LCA is a compilation and evaluation of the
inputs, outputs and the potential environmental impacts of a product and
service throughout its life cycle. It provides environmental data and helps to
identify potential environmental improvements. The products of the plant being
designed have some impacts on the environment and the extent of impact
depends on the environment and the extent of impact depends on the product.
LCA will identify the extent of the pollution analysis of the material, energy
emissions and the wastes and product stream generates the entire cycle of the
product. Breaking down the plant into fine details allows identification of
scarce resources and sustainable products, which can be replaced.

LCA comprises of four distinct stages as stated below:

1. Goal Definition and Scope

i. The goal and scope should state the reason for the study, the intended
application audience, and the function of the system being studied. There the
functional unit is defined (an amount of product or service selected to allow a
fair comparison to be made between alternatives) as well as the study purpose,
system boundaries, life cycle stages, unit processes and scope of assessment.
2. Life Cycle Inventory Analysis (LCI)
ii. This accounts for all inputs and outputs of the system over the life cycle. Life
cycle inventories show how much energy and raw materials are used and how
much waste is generated during each stage of the product’s life. The studies
would normally ignore second generation impacts.
3. Life Cycle Impact Assessment (LCIA)
iii. The assessment associates the inputs and outputs with particular environmental
issues (e.g. ozone depletion and converts the inventory of materials, energy and
emissions into representative indicators e.g. an aggregate loading zone
depleting chemical). The impact assessment investigates potential (not actual)
environmental impacts. This is the most controversial stage.
4. . Life Cycle Interpretation
iv. The interpretation phase draws conclusions from the results of the inventory
and the impact assessment. The results are evaluated to see whether they can
 provide the answers to the questions posed in the goal and scope definition.
Completeness checks and sensitivity analysis can take place in this step, with
an evaluation of the significance of the inputs, outputs and indicators of the
system life cycle. This stage is the least well defined.
v. An LCA is a lengthy exercise and data collection is the most time consuming
step system boundaries have to be defined clearly and to find appropriate and
transparent data is the major challenge. In general, there are two main sources
of data used:
• Specific data for production, distribution and waste management
• Generic data for energy production, raw material extraction and
transportation
vi. If specific data is available, it should be preferred to the use of generic data.
Data quality requirements should address time requirements geographical and
technological issues. The precision, completeness and representatives of the
data are important, as the consistency and reproducibility of the methods used.
Sources of data, their statistical validity and their uncertainty of the information
are also variable that should be established.

Process Safety
Process safety programs should be implemented due to industry-specific characteristics,
including complex chemistry reactions, use of hazardous materials (e.g., toxic, reactive,
flammable, or explosive compounds), and multi-step reactions. Process safety
management includes the following actions:

i. Physical hazard testing of materials and reactions; Hazard analysis studies to

review the process chemistry and engineering practices, including thermodynamics
and kinetics.
ii. Examination of preventive maintenance and mechanical integrity of the process
equipment and utilities.
iii. Worker training and
iv. Development of operating instructions and emergency response procedures.

Plant Emergency Shutdown

Introduction
A plant start-up involves a point in the project in which process fluids and conditions are
established with an intent of making products. It is also defined as the transitional phase
between plant construction completion and commercial operations, including all of the
activities that bridge these two phases. Critical steps within the startup phase include
system turnover, check-out of systems, commissioning of systems, introduction of
feedstock, and performance testing.

On the other hand, a plant shutdown can be defined as a scheduled down period for a plant
for scheduled maintenance for an extended period of time. Shutdowns provide unique
opportunities to a maintenance department not normally available during standard
operation or even during short shutdown periods. It is essential to conduct a plant
maintenance shutdown to keep the facility running smoothly despite it can be timely and
causes loss in production but the benefits of scheduled maintenance of the machinery can
help to prevent future failures and decreases downtime.

The startup and shutdown of a plant must be handled safely and easily, yet flexible enough
to be carried out in several ways. The operating limits of the plant must not be exceeded
and dangerous mixtures must not be formed. It is occasionally necessary to introduce
additional equipment, sampling point, instrumentation and lines and identify their uses on
the engineering line diagram. There are several important aspects that needs to be taken
into consideration during the startup and shutdown of the plant.

Plant Startup

The following shows the pre-startup procedures that should be implemented in a plant
startup process.

1) Before the man-ways covers are installed on the towers or vessels, a final
inspection should be made of the interiors of each tower and vessels for
cleanliness and conformance to the design specification.
2) Check all the items in the “turnaround Worklist” whether they have been
completed and all the equipment and the associated lines have correctly
reassembled.
3) If any heat exchangers were opened during the turnaround for inspection,
cleaning and mechanical work, they must be hydrostatically tested after they
have been assembled.
 4) Check all the instruments control loops that the alarm circuits are functioning
correctly.
5) Check all the level gauge glasses for cleanliness.
6) Make sure that all the control valves operable.
7) Check all the orifice plates have been installed properly.
8) Check the pumps for operability.
9) Check all the utilities, power steam and cooling water. Check all the steam
traps are functioning.
10) Make sure that all the safety valves are tested, installed and the block valve are
sealed in their respective operating position.
11) Check all onsite fire protection equipment such as extinguishers, water hoses,
nozzles and steam hoses are in place and ready for immediate use.
12) Check all the drains are unplugged and all the water drained from equipment.
13) Make sure all the flanges and man heads have good gasket and are made up
tight.
14) The safety valve header, the blow down line and the flare system are
successfully commissioned.
15) All the blinds are required for tightness testing and air freeing equipment are
available, removed or installed.
16) Make all the steam tracing is operable.
17) The supply of chemicals are adequate and at band.
18) Air freeing and tightness testing.
Plant Shutdown

The following shows the pre-shutdown procedures that should be implemented in a plant
shutdown process.

1) The ‘Turn-around Work list’ is to be prepared to include all items for repair,
cleaning, inspection and modification.
2) The detailed plan of the shutdown and turnaround for the day to day and
probably hour by hour schedule of the sequence of the events are to be
prepared.
3) Before shutting down, the following should be checked:
• The firefighting equipment are to be correctly located.
• The personal protective equipment are to be available for immediate use.
All items that are required for the shutdown of the unit operations should be made
available. These items include blinds, hoses for steaming out circuits and equipment, hoses
for draining circuit equipment of liquid, connections for connecting those hoses.

Plant Emergency Shutdown

The emergency shutdown of the plant is mostly due to the following:

1. Losses of utility supply such as cooling water, electricity, steam and others.
2. Mechanical failure of equipment prevents normal operation or result in a serious
fire or leak.
3. An emergency response plan should be prepared for the safety of the employees
and public. The two steps should be taken during the event of an emergency.
Firstly, determine the extent of the emergency condition. Secondly, decide on
how to cope with emergency

Remediation
Once the ground and contamination conditions have been established, an assessment of the
risk to human health and the environment is made. This helps to determine the remediation
need and allows any clean-up standards to be set. Recent emphasis in treatment techniques
for soil and groundwater has been on in situ treatment in contrast with previous methods
which addressed in situ treatments such as land farming/ biodegradation of sludges.
Perhaps one of the most applicable in situ techniques is that of biodegradation, where the
controlled addition of oxygen and sometimes nutrients can accelerate the growth of
microbes, which beneficially degrade contaminants.

In situ biodegradation is a long-term passive treatment technique; an example is soil

venting combined with air sparging, where air is bubbled into the groundwater and
vapours from the soil are continuously drawn off. The vapours are analysed, and treated in
a bio-system before discharge to the atmosphere. Methods used for treating contaminated
groundwater include closed loop systems, where groundwater is pumped to the surface,
treated and then returned to the subsurface via wells. Surface treatment of the groundwater
can include separation, air stripping, addition of oxidizing chemicals and bioreactors.
Profit Forecast
Introduction
Processing plants are meant to make profits, and an estimate of the investment required
and the cost of production is needed before the profitability of the project can be assessed
(Towler & Sinnot, 2008). The preliminary economic evaluation estimated capital and
Operating Costs for the gold processing plant.

The preliminary economic evaluation was to provide basis on which economic feasibility
of the plant could be based on. While the same formulas are used for calculating the costs
involved as well as revenues, the profitability forecast of a plant can be accurately done
through use of actual figures obtained from design. Actual costs can be estimated based on
figures obtained from manufactures while estimates of labour force will be obtained from
literature. It is in this light that a detailed economic analysis is executed to provide top
management with the following decision aiding tools:

1. Capitalized costs
2. Payback period
3. Breakeven point
4. Cumulative net annual cash flow
5. Maximum net cash layout

5.1 Expected Revenue

The expected revenue of the plant is calculated as follows;

Revenue= product ×days of operation × forecasted metallurgical coke price

Metallurgical coke price is not controllable it continuously fluctuates due to market

reasons, for calculation sake the lowest forecast price for the past 5 years will be used.

Plant operation schedule

 Preparation plant running time per day sum up to 22 hours

 Carbonization plant running sum up to 48 hours per charge
  Maintenance hours the plants sum up to 84 hours

Month Monthly Recovery Number of Met coke Revenue ($)

tonnage (%) operating price ($/T)
days
January 350 000 75 30 350 122 500 000
February 350 000 75 30 350 122 500 000
March 350 000 75 30 350 122 500 000
April 350 000 75 30 350 122 500 000
May 350 000 75 30 350 122 500 000
June 350 000 75 30 350 122 500 000
July 350 000 75 30 350 122 500 000
August 350 000 75 30 350 122 500 000
September 350 000 75 30 350 122 500 000
October 350 000 75 30 350 122 500 000
November 350 000 75 30 350 122 500 000
December 350 000 75 30 350 122 500 000
TOTAL 4 200 000 360 1 470 000 000

5.2 Total Capital Costs

Equipment Quantity Quote vendor Cost
Ore Bin Metso
Vibrating grizzly feeder
Double roll crusher
Conveyor belts
Electrical motor
Pipes
Weightometer
Other essentials

Equipment Quantity Cost

Baum Jig
Dense medium Cyclone
Spirals
Double deck screen
Desliming screen
Dewatering screen
Rinse and Dewatering screen
Sump tank
Pressure filter
Pumps
Feed distributors
Thickener
Conveyor belts
Electric motor
Belt scales

Equipment Quantity Cost

Electromagnet
Medium sump tank
Centrifugal pumps
Densifiers
Densimeter
Valves
Pressure valve
Other essentials

Equipment Quantity Cost

Concrete silos (15000 ton each)
Belt scale
Mixers
Electric motors
Conveyor belts
Feeders
Hammer mill
Other essentials

Equipment Quantity Cost

Refractory bricks
Coke oven doors
Coke pusher
Coal charger
Quenching car
Feeder
Steel pipes
Other essentials

Equipment Quantity Cost

Galvanized sheets
Metal rods
Steel pipes
Centrifugal pumps
Controlling valves
Sprayers
Other essentials

Equipment Quantity Cost

Boilers
Turbines
Generator
Condenser
Pumps
Pipes
Valves
 Refractory bricks
Other essentials

Table 1: Utilities Cost

Equipment Quantity Cost

Water reservoir
Installation of electricity
grid
Tailings facilities
Dust suppression system
Workers PPE
Transport
Other essential utilities

5.3 Fixed cost

5.3.1 Direct cost
Table 2: Site Development Capital Cost

Site Developments Estimation Cost US$ Millions

On-Site
General Land survey 0.2
Landscaping
Gates and Corner Posts
Dewatering and Drainage
 Pumping system
 Well-point dewatering system
 Drainage trench

Sewer Facilities
 Asbestos Cement pipe
 Concrete pipe
 Vitrified clay piping
 Septic tank
Land Clearing and levelling
Black-top Parking lots
Railway line
Gravel roads
Fire Protection
 Pumps
 Firehouse Allowance
 Fire-trucks (2)
Perimeter Fencing
Paved Walkways

Off-Site
Transport infrastructure (roads, bridges
etc.)
Main Transformer and Cabling
Yard Lighting and General-Purpose
Communication
Forklift Trucks
Second Transformer Stations
Generator
Laboratories
Clinic
Canteen
Garage
Control Room
Administrative Offices
Maintenance Workshop
Warehouse
Living houses
Bar

Heating and Ventilation

 Air Conditioning
Building Service

Total

Indirect Cost
According to (Dimian, 2003) indirect expenses include two major items which are
depreciation and plant indirect expenses

• Engineering and supervision.

• Design and engineering fees, administration, etc.
• Construction expenses.
• Temporary constructions, personnel fees
• Contractor's fees.
• Contingency.
• Insurance premiums

Plant indirect expenses can be calculated using the following equation with reference from
Couper (2008)

Plant Indirect Expenses=3 % × Total ¿ Capital Expenses

Total ¿Capital Expenses=100/120 ×Total Capital Cost

Total capital cost $

Total fixed capital expenses $
Plant indirect expenses $

1.3.3 Labour Cost

Table 3: Labour Cost

Sections Labour per shift

Coal preparation plant
Coal carbonization plant
Engineering department
Clinic department
Maintenance
Supervision
Transport department
Canteen department
Hazard and operability Studies (HAZOP)
Introduction
The hazard and operability studies or HAZOP for short is a formal procedure used to
identify hazards present in a chemical process plant. The usage of HAZOP helps in the
identification of all the possible errors and problems which could arise from the operations
and processes. It is considered systematic, effective, comprehensive, and flexible and is
well accepted by the chemical and petrochemical industries. Typically, HAZOP is
intended to be a formal safety audit and review of an operating plant or a modification of
the plant to ensure that the probabilities of major accidents could be eliminated and the
consequences could be reduced to acceptable levels as compared to before the
modification. Although this maybe the case, HAZOP could be applied during the design
stage as to enable any modifications to be incorporated into the final design before
construction of the plant.

Hazard identification is the action of observing unsafe conditions and unsafe acts that
could potentially cause accidents. This phase could be done through various mediums,
such as conducting walk- through surveys, audits, check-list and inspections around the
plants compound. For the case of HAZOP, it is done through the experiences of engineers
and their understanding of the processes, to determine possible hazards that could arise due
to deviation from suitable conditions of the processes. The conclusion of the studies will
suggest suitable routes to eliminate the possible errors that could occur through the
addition of proper instruments or safety procedures.

Objectives of HAZOP studies

The objectives of a HAZOP analysis involve the following:

 To critically examine the inadequacies in systems by considering it as a fully

integrated dynamic unit, rather than the ‘ad hoc’ design approach.
 To coordinate the various discipline involved in the project and provide a means
for an overall systematic analysis of the system.
 To identify hazards or deficiencies and potential operational problems which may
lead to hazards such as fire, explosion, toxic exposure or reduced productivity.
 To identify and prevent hazards in chemical plants that are growing in complexity
while traditional standards are no longer adequate to keep errors in check.
Advantages and Disadvantages of HAZOP Analysis
Advantages

 Provide comprehensive identification of hazards from operational upsets,

operational procedures and equipment failures.
 Results in fewer commissioning and operational problems.
 Induces less down time for chemical processing plants.
 Producing better informed staff and plant personnel, greater confidence by staff
during operational hours.
 Used as evidence of comprehensive thoroughness in safety review and analysis,
earning trust and confidence of insurers, investors and inspectors.

Disadvantages

 It is quite tedious to apply, especially on larger and complex plants.

 Requires a team of experts to provide judgement based on experience and
understanding of the processes involved.
 Requires considerable amounts of time to complete.
 Could only identify hazards without taking risk into consideration.

HAZOP Study Procedures

There are a set of procedures and specific terms that are to be used and obeyed when
conducting the HAZOP studies. The specific terms mentioned are guide words, which are
used to describe possible deviations of certain parameters involved from the ideal process
condition, and thereby shows a more standardized way of mentioning parameter changes
and acknowledge the consequences of the deviations accordingly.

Procedures:

1. Obtain detailed information on the processes of the plant, such as PFD,

equipment specs, material of construction, MSDS, mass and energy balance,
simulation data and etc.
2. From the PFD, each equipment is identified and divided into units, such as
reactor unit and distillation column unit, and the HAZOP study is done for each
of the units identified.
3. Study nodes for each unit are identified.
4. Provide brief description of the function of the study node.
 5. Relate process parameters to the study nodes
6. Apply guide words to the process parameters selected for the node. Guide
words are shown in Table 12.2.
7. For each deviation, determine possible causes and note any already available
protective systems, if any.
8. Evaluate possible consequences of the deviations
9. Recommend possible action or solutions to eliminate the deviations.
10. Repeat Steps 2-9 for each units, their respective study nodes as well as their
respective parameters associated.

Parameters Associated with Line or Vessels of Process

Parameters Process Lines Process Vessels

Flow  -
Level - 
Temperature  
Pressure  
Concentration  
pH  
Viscosity  
State  
Agitation - 
Volume - 
Reaction - 
Sample - 

Guide Words for HAZOP Analysis

Guide Words Meaning Comment

No, Not, None Complete negation No part of the design intention is
of the intention achieved, but nothing else happens.
More, Higher, Quantitative Applies to quantities such as flow
Greater Increase rate and temperature and to
activities such as heating and
reaction.
Less, Lower Quantitative Applies to quantities such as flow
 Decrease rate and temperature and to
activities such as heating and
reaction.
As Well As Qualitative All design and operating intentions
Increase are achieved along with some
additional activity such as
contamination of process streams.
Part Of Qualitative Only some of the design
Decrease intentions are achieved,
some are not
Reverse Logical Opposite Most applicable to activities such
of as flow or chemical reaction. Also
applicable to substances, for
example poison instead of
antidote
Other than Complete No part of the original intention is
Substitution achieved, original intention is
replaced by something else.
Sooner Than Too early or in Applied to process steps or actions
wrong order
Later Than Too late or in Applied to process steps or actions
wrong order
Where Else In additional Applies to process locations, or
locations locations in operating procedures.
 Summary of Procedures of A HAZOP Study

HAZOP of the correct medium pump

Unit of operation: Centrifugal Pump (correct medium tank)

Ideal operation conditions: Temperature 18°C, Pressure 19.7 atm

Functions of unit: increase pressure of the correct medium from 1 atm to 19.7 atm before it
is deposited into the mixing tank

PARAMETERS GUIDE POSSIBLE CAUSES POSSIBLE ACTION

WORDS CONSEQUENCES REQUIRED
Flow No i. Pipe or pump i. Pipe clog i. Regular
rupture ii. No fluid maintenance
ii. Large leaking pumped and checking
in pipelines piping and
iii. Blockage in pumping
pipe system
ii. Install flow
detector
Low i. Valve not fully i. Reduce i. Install
open production automated
 ii. Pump failure rate valves
ii. Cavitation ii. Install flow
occur inside controller
pump iii. Regular
iii. Defective maintenance
pump of the pump
High i. Increased i. Increased i. Install
pumping suction automated
capacity pressure valves
ii. Control valve ii. Increased ii. Install flow
trim changed fluid controller
iii. Deduced density iii. Regular
delivery head iii. Can cause maintenance
damage to of the pump
pump
Reverse i. Pump failure i. No i. Install flow
ii. Pump reversed pumping indicator and
can be done negative flow
ii. Pipe clog alarm
Pressure Low i. Relief valve i. Cavitation i. Install
fail to open and priming pressure low
ii. Blockage of occur alarm
blanked gas
regulating
valve
iii. Undetected
leakage
High i. Relief valve i. Valve over i. Install high
malfunction pressure pressure
ii. Priming occurs ii. Damage to alarm
inside pump pump, may ii. Schedule
iii. Positive result in regular
displacement explosion maintenance
pump of relief valve