Boulder Scientific Company
Cell 2 Production Space
This automated chemical manufacturing space has five production reactors for large-scale production of chemical compounds.
Longmont, Colorado
Boulder Scientific Company
CRB
6,000
Successful routing on a tight site
The Big Picture
Using an existing 1,790-square-foot empty production cell, the newly constructed manufacturing space includes 11,493 linear feet of process piping, five reactors, five glass lined receiver vessels, two filter dryers, and nine transmission control unit modules. With 30-foot ceilings, the room was divided into a ground level and mezzanines, with approximately 50% of the floor area left for accessing the reactors and filter dryers. The exterior has concrete containment areas housing solvent storage and distribution vessels, a two-story tall -20°C Paratherm chiller, and a 180°C Paratherm boiler on a platform. Due to the nature of the chemicals used in this process, multiple safety features were required including a concrete blast wall, intrinsically safe electrical components, lower explosive limits, a foam fire protection system, and catalytic oxidizer for emission control. This project was completed in 15 months.
Ingenuity in Action
Extensive building information modeling (BIM) coordination allowed for fitting all equipment, vessels, and process piping into this small space. All piping was routed through the BIM process with a top-down philosophy to keep construction moving. Piping and instrumentation diagram design was finalized while reviewing the 3D coordination model to expedite construction and for reviewing pipe routing in real time.
The little details
- The temperature control units can modulate from -20 degrees C to 180 degrees C in a matter of minutes. Special high-density poly iso foam insulation was used to accommodate these temperature ranges.
- 53 pieces of equipment were installed including, vessels, chillers, a hot oil skid, vacuum pumps, condenser, transmission control units, and pumps.
