Koch Modular: Pilot Plant

The Koch Modular pilot plant is located in Houston, TX. It specializes in the development and testing of mass transfer processes, including distillation, liquid-liquid extraction, stripping, and reaction chemistry. Research data from our pilot plant are used to design full-scale separation equipment and pilot scale distillation columns for the Chemical, Petrochemical, Pharmaceutical, Food, Biotech, and Flavor and Fragrance industries.

Developing VLE and LLE Equilibrium Studies

The first step of pilot plant testing typically involves acquiring vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) or liquid-liquid equilibrium (LLE) data. Accurate VLE and LLE data are essential for the design of mass transfer processes, but are not always available in literature. That’s why it must be developed prior to the design phase. Koch Modular employs experienced process engineers who can design cost-effective test programs, interpret experimental data, and use pilot plant testing techniques to confirm a design.

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Flexible, State-of-the-Art Pilot Plant Facility

With more than 5,000 square feet of floor space and 32 feet of headroom, our facility is well-equipped to facilitate both bench- and pilot-scale tests. Our ability to modify column internals and auxiliary equipment gives us the flexibility to test different configurations and quickly arrive at an optimum solution. Our in-house analytical department supports all pilot tests, providing customers with on-the-spot feedback to significantly reduce time spent in the pilot plant.

Pilot tests are performed over a range of operating conditions to measure mass transfer efficiency and determine optimum conditions. Sufficient data for scale-up is routinely generated within one week of testing for each process step. With years of experience, Koch Modular has developed proven correlations that provide accurate scale-up from pilot to commercialization.

Access to Full-Scale Separation Equipment

The final product of the pilot plant test is a test report that guides Koch Modular on designing and supplying the complete commercial-scale separation equipment. With the pilot testing completed and the scale-up factors determined, Koch Modular can provide mass transfer separation equipment such as a Distillation Modular System or a Liquid-Liquid Extraction Column with a Process Performance Guarantee.