Project: Multi-Site Fuel System Upgrades
Hart & Hickman was contracted by JA Jones to design replacement fuel systems for boilers, emergency generators, and gasoline fueling stations located at various locations at the base. The systems included mechanical, civil, and electrical design components as required to install double wall above-grade fuel tanks at the various locations, ranging up to 10,000 gallon capacities.

The gasoline tank system designs included compliance with NFPA requirements for clearances, types of controls, electrical classifications, and other design considerations. System controls included Red Jacket/Smart Pump controls and Veeder-Root tank level monitoring controls.

Paw Creek Terminal AST Design
Hart & Hickman evaluated surface water run-off at a bulk petroleum terminal to reduce petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations in the permitted NPDES outfall.  The project involved a detailed review of potential sources and designs completed to re-direct and segregate contact run-off.  Designed for a ten-year, 24-hour storm event, the fully-automated, four-season system has eliminated compound  at a negligible operating cost.  The design of the system involved modification of concrete containment structures and modification of sub-grade pipe routing.  AST features include internal tank coating, Class I Division II explosion proof controls, an immersion heater, heat tracing, and digital flow measurement, as well as oil sensor alarms at the outfall.

Project: Chemical Blending Facility Upgrades
A blending failure at a Gulf Coast anti-freeze plant resulted in the failure of radiators in several thousand new automobiles. Hart & Hickman staff inspected the blending plant equipment and controls to determine the cause of the off-spec product. To correct problems associated with batch loading of product components during blending, design upgrades were recommended such as installation of redundant level controls, installation of load cells on blending vessels, upgrades to the load monitoring software, and blending operating procedure improvements.

Because the off-spec product was actually shipped to the end user, recommendations also addressed product quality assurance procedures at the plant. Meetings were held with plant supervisors, laboratory managers, and the plant management team to discuss plant operating procedures, quality assurance procedures, operator training procedures, and organization/reporting responsibilities within the plant staff. Recommended improvements in all of these areas accompanied the recommended equipment and instrumentation upgrades.

Project: Waste Oil Re-Refining
Hart & Hickman was contracted by a waste management firm to identify and evaluate waste oil re-refining technologies for installation at an overseas location. Eight candidate technologies were identified and two technology providers were short-listed for further evaluation. The short-listed technologies are both able to convert used lubricating oils and motor oils into diesel and fuel oil products using thermal cracking processes.

Hart & Hickman performed a detailed bid evaluation and prepared installed capital cost estimates, as well as detailed operating cost estimates. Hart & Hickman identified key process and operating issues associated with thermally cracking waste oils and then met with the technology providers at their facilities to discuss process design, process equipment, operational concerns, and related issues.

One of the technology providers recently constructed a plant and has been in operation for several months. This operating experience has allowed them to rectify coking concerns and other start-up issues. This technology provider has produced a high conversion rate of waste oil to diesel, uses a coarse-cut thermal process to adjust flash point, and has a proprietary process to stabilize the diesel product. The plant design is based on the vendor’s previous experience with low-profile, non-conventional process vessels, and non-conventional heat exchange equipment.

The second technology provider has recently constructed two plants but does not currently have a plant in operation. The system utilizes ASME pressure vessels and distillation columns, a thermal cracking furnace with tube sheet exchange, conventional shell & tube heat exchangers, a thermal oil heating system, traditional fin-fan aerial coolers, API pumps with double mechanical seals, and other robust equipment selections proven in similar services. Product flash point adjustment is performed in a two-step distillation process. Design of this plant has been performed by a highly qualified engineering and fabrication firm and the degree of operational reliability is judged to be greater by virtue of the exhaustive engineering analysis and attention to design details. This waste oil technology produces a lower conversion rate of waste oil to diesel and requires management of a hydrocarbon waste stream.

Project: Benzene Loading System Upgrades
Hart & Hickman staff inspected truck loading facilities at the 2000-man plant to determine what upgrades were necessary to reduce benzene emissions and operator exposure levels at the truck loading station. Loading arm and vapor recovery system designs and equipment alternatives were evaluated. A phased approach was proposed to minimize disruption of plant operations, to allow time for operator training with each new equipment addition, and to spread out capital expenditures.

The proposed systems included vapor collection and vapor recovery systems, loading arm upgrades to minimize spills and vapor releases, self-sealing loading connections, vapor recovery interlock switches, automatic level monitoring instrumentation, improved operating procedures, and improved training procedures.