CECON can provide technical teams to fill knowledge gaps with individuals skilled in specific areas and with years of professional experience. We build teams of engineers, scientist, designers, safety experts, procurement specialist and others specific to your needs.
CECON assembles teams of chemical and engineering experts to develop the basic technology package needed to design and build chemical plants and specific unit operations. Experienced chemical engineers, plant chemists, regulatory and other experts (product quality, simulation, waste disposal, safety assessment and reviews, material procurement) work together to focus on the client’s process.
To avoid costly licensing fees and to meet legal standards, clients request that all chemical engineering process data be free from valid and non-expired patents, and free of any known proprietary in-house technology. CECON has experts in patent analysis, many close to the chemical process under study, that will work to define the open patent art and best available technology, based on expired prior art. If a client wants to license technology, CECON has engineering and process licensing professionals that can assist in the evaluation and process.
Engineering Deliverables:
Chemical engineers and other technical team members have process and plant experience relevant to the client’s process. They work together to develop basic chemical engineering data, including:
- unit operations and major process equipment
- process flow diagrams (PFDs)
- piping diagrams and lists
- process chemistry, catalysts
- raw material specifications
- heat and mass balances (HMB)
- simulation modeling as needed (Aspen or other)
- final product specifications and quality metrics
- plant testing and test methods protocols
- waste product characterization and treatment
- early design stage process hazard reviews
- regulatory compliance
Prototypes and Unique Equipment
CECON can provide custom engineering teams to design, develop, build, and start-up unique pieces of laboratory or manufacturing equipment for clients with special needs. Unique product prototype parts are designed, manufactured and tested by CECON engineers, assisted by their skilled network of vendors. Product prototypes are given to clients for their own in-house evaluation and eventually final customer testing.
CECON Teams Help You by:
- Filling gaps outside your core technical knowledge base.
- Placement of proven technical experts to address technical problems and new product development.
- Shortening the time for product development or problem solving.
- Supplying experts for independent auditing for safety, regulatory and compliance reviews.
- Providing interdisciplinary technical teams for brainstorming and idea generation.
Representative Past Projects:
- Biomedical materials: Ceramics engineer and biochemist teamed with a materials company to develop and test bone restorative materials, implants and coatings.
- Vinyl Chloride & Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) Plants: Engineering team helped develop proposals to maintain, modify or expand plants producing vinyl chloride monomer and polyvinyl chloride in South America. CECON experts have assisted in designing or operating VCM and PVC facilities around the world, including ethane to VCM and dehydrogenation of propylene.
- Biomass / Syngas Conversion to Liquids: Small team developed capital and operating costs for two cases of biomass syngas conversion to liquid chemical and fuel products. Required analysis of furnace and catalyst technologies similar to traditional coal/syngas Fischer-Tropsch technology, adapted to various wood/rubber feed blends available in the U.S.
- Coating Equipment: Team of six chemical and mechanical engineers created concepts for unique process for coating proprietary materials. With client interaction, the selected equipment was successfully designed, built and delivered.
- Inorganic Carbonate Process: For the Middle East, developed the basic engineering data and process to manufacture an inorganic carbonate.
- Biochemical Plant in China: Biochemical engineer and biochemist assessed low productivity amino acid plant in China. Visit to plant and analysis of plant quality and process records uncovered routes to improve yields.
- Lump Charcoal Plant Feasibility Study: Chemical engineers developed preliminary design, investment and operating cost estimates for producing charcoal in an under-developed country. Required engineering assessment of plant and furnace options, available skill levels and safety.
- Designed and developed pilot plant for coating a thermoset resin on a proprietary substrate