Author name: esteban300

Challenges: Characterizing the supply of powdered material (up to 40 tons/hour), identifying causes of delays, bottlenecks, and opportunities for increasing production.   Solutions and Results: The sack supply process involved forklifts, hoists, operators, storage, elevators, hopper filling and emptying, and more. Documentation of subprocesses and measurement of operation times. Statistical model for estimating speeds, filling rates, emptying rates, transportation, and handling. Development of a predictive discrete event model for operations with random elements. Determination of resource utilization and buffer storage behavior at different movement stations. Proposed strategies to increase capacity, buffers, logistics, and loading/unloading procedures for elevators. Medellin, Colombia, 2022

Challenges Engineering to produce biomethane (720 Nm3/h) from biogas sourced from a wastewater treatment plant (1200 Nm3/h), aiming for profitability and urban benefits.   Solutions and Results: Implement a specialized Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA) system for CO2 removal and adapt it to handle H2S reduction. Detailed Front-End Engineering (FEL3) for electrical, control, piping, mechanical, and process aspects of the biomethane system. Size, select, and provide a skid-mounted desulfurization and dehydration system capable of removing up to 70 l/h of water and up to 200PPM of H2S from the biogas. Design gas, cooling water, and compressed air pipelines, along with drainage solutions. Ensure proper selection and sizing of safety venting systems and supports. Prepare specifications, work quantities, and Process & Instrumentation Diagrams (P&IDs). Provide comprehensive electrical and control documentation, including connection diagrams, single-line diagrams, control loops, cable tray layouts, equipotential bonding, grounding grids, load studies, and area classifications. By implementing these solutions, our aim is to address challenges and create opportunities, resulting in economic viability and city-wide advantages through advanced biogas utilization.

Challenges: Detail design for expanding production by 16% to meet the new market demand in terms of quantity and product attributes (1500 MM m2/year). Solutions and Results: Structural, mechanical, process, and electrical engineering for a facility that integrates new resources and equipment with existing ones. 3D scanning of facilities for informed and reliable design decisions. Verification and definition of the process flowchart to identify capacities and close the mass balance. Basic and detailed design of subprocesses from paste preparation to the production line. Conceptualization, basic design, and detailed design of the entire structure, equipment layout, and utility services. Equipment design, selection, and adaptation, as well as pipe and conduit design and layout. Electrical engineering for power supply to new equipment. Approximate investment: $5 million USD. Guarne, Antioquia, 2023

Challenges Conducting a field survey to identify structural deficiencies at 22 buildings from a mining process Solutions and Results Addressing over 850 issues/items requiring remediation actions. Providing recommendations and detail engineering for enhancements, repairs, and modifications. Provide remediation strategy and detail engineering to slabs, braces and roof structures deteriorated due to corrosion and thermal loads. Developing concepts for stairways, platforms, and structures. Evaluating actions for prioritization. Enhancing structures to comply with seismic standards following ASCE, ACI, AISC guidelines. Estimating an approximate CAPEX.

Challenges: Control de emissions of the hot gasses coming out during hot metal charging, scrap charging, and furnace casting. Gas filtration of the dilutes dust in the combustion gases reducing the impact in the surrounding community Solutions and results: Charging and casting dedusting hoods design, thermal and strain analysis for 3 BOF converting lines. Thermal and strain analyses, and design for refractory and metal ducts to exhaust the hot gases. Static coolers specification, hangers, supports and layout develop for a brown field application. Approximate gas flow 1,500,000 acfm. Capital approximate investment: 50 M USD. Argentina, 2018.

Challenges: Engineering consulting services for transferring an existing aluminum casting process facility to a new building. Solutions and results: New layout design. Piping and utilities design. Field support during construction and shipping labor of the equipment. Field inspections of structural and civil works Structure design for new mezzanine. Calculations for new utilities for the casting process Concept and design for quick and reliable starting. Commissioning. Approximate investment: 2 M USD Antioquia, Colombia, 2020-2021.