Services: Chemicals and Petrochemicals

Representative Project Experience

Wink Engineering provides comprehensive engineering services to many chemical / petrochemical clients, for projects ranging from engineering studies and single-discipline upgrades / modifications, to major capital projects.

Our staff includes a number of senior professionals with background in operating plants — including basic chemicals / polymers; bulk petrochemicals; chlorine and caustics; and specialty chemicals. We have experience and expertise in a wide range of chemical and petrochemical processes, and extensive experience in multi-discipline project engineering in the chemical plant environment, as illustrated in the following list of representative projects.

Representative Project Experience

Conversion of Polymers Production Line

Provided front-end engineering and budget quality cost estimate for conversion of existing polymers line which fed the fibers production unit, to a chip production line for amorphous chip production.

New Preheater Elutriator, Polymers Line

Designed and installed new elutriators on polymer chip production lines, with associated blower and bag house systems, including structural steel modifications required for installation.

Petrochemical Plant / General Engineering

Provided front-end engineering, detailed design, procurement, and construction support for the Oil Additives Business Unit of a major petrochemical company. We provided engineering and project management for all elements of this business, including:

Storage and blending tanks with steam coils, mixing, and pumping
In-Line Blending
Piggable product line piping with launchers and receivers
Civil tank farm design, with associated oily water / stormwater separation
Piperacks
Rail and truck loading and unloading (with associated oily water / stormwater separation)
Electrical and Instrumentation / Controls

Environmental Upgrade Project

Provided process, mechanical, civil / structural and instrumentation / electrical engineering and design / drafting services to install a 48" FSB Sperry filter press system in a chemicals manufacturing plant. Wink's design included block valves and piping jumpovers to bypass the new filter press to return to the existing operation if necessary.

Bromine Chemicals Plant Expansion

Detailed design in all disciplines for a project scope which involved addition of on-line spare pumps to increase plant reliability as well as the replacement of existing equipment to increase capacity. Project included 22 pieces of equipment, including: 10 pumps, 5 reboilers, 2 heaters, 3 condensers, 1 tank, and 1 dryer column. Wink provided civil / structural, mechanical / piping, electrical and instrumentation design services. In a subsequent project, installed a new hopper within existing structure of this product line. Our design allowed for minimal impact on operations and minimizing rework of existing structural elements.

Miscellaneous Plant Engineering for Polyolefins Manufacturing Plant

Projects have ranged in size from $50,000 engineering to $5 Million capital:

Railcar Loading Improvements: structural, piping, electrical and instrumentation design and engineering for seven (7) new spin loaders.
Truck Loading Pit: civil engineering and design, project management for new loading pit at the Polypropylene Warehouse.
Catalyst Activators PSV Discharge Piping: mechanical and piping design and engineering of modifications to PSV discharge, to eliminate catalyst exposure inside building.
Electrical and Instrumentation Engineering and Design for:
- Dual Cat Feed C Reactor
- F&G Kill System
- Three (3) new GC Analyzers in Reactors
Nitrogen Plant Infrastructure: Civil / Structural, Piping, Electrical and Instrumentation design and engineering of infrastructure improvements for new Nitrogen Plant.
Upgrade sampling system and new ventilation and monitoring system for three (3) analyzer shelters.
Structural engineering and design of new elevated filter platform.
New Natural Gas Supply. Provided piping design for new natural gas system; electrical design for modifications to wash rack hoist for new supply system.
Provided engineering services to regenerate the hydraulic model of the Polyethylene Plant firewater system. Ran 18 case scenarios identified in the report. Developed a hydrualic model incorporating all fire monitors and deluge systems (total of 3 zones and 6 fire case scenarios). Wink also developed a deluge system flow diagram with 3 individual schematic drawings.

Fuel Storage Facilities, Chlorine / Caustic Soda plant

Design of two new 3,000bbl aboveground fuel storage tanks, including piping and containment area.
Demolition and removal of two 5,000bbl underground storage tanks, including environmental remediation.

Alliance Engineering Contract for Carbon Black Plant

Addition of a new conveyor to consolidate the packing process
Front-end engineering, design and project management for installation of a monorail system to remove engines and blowers and revamp electrical control system.
Cyclonaire Replacement.
Definitive engineering design in all disciplines for Cyclonaire replacement.
Modifications to the loading systems in two (2) remote plant locations, to reduce co-mingling of products being transported.
Designed steel box truss to support bucket elevator.
Design and project management to finalize installation of purge filter, purge gas fan, associated ducting and piping, including electrical and controls.

Distributed Control System (DCS) Upgrade

Front-end engineering and cost estimating for plantwide upgrade of Distributed Control System (DCS)—transition from Honeywell TDC 2000 to TDC 3000 at a polyolefins manufacturing facility. Provided on-site consultation services for installation / switchover to TDC 3000 during Plant Turnaround.

SBE Tank Car Loading

Designed vapor collection system and ground flare for marine, rail, and truck loading of MEK, SBA, and SBE. Also included design of 183,000#/hr ground flare for process unit vents. Validated Berwanger unit flare system study.

Washwater Facility

Designed system to collect, store, and neutralize 400,000 gallons of washwater generated during unit turnaround (petrochemical manufacturing facility).

Process Simulation Services

Wink provided process engineering to develop a HYSYS simulation for the "cold" plant in a petrochemical manufacturing plant (ethylene). The project included process simulation using HYSYS for equipment including 8 distillation towers, 7 economizers, 40+ heat exchangers, numerous pumps and two phase separators.

Cooling Water System Study

Wink provided process engineering to develop a validated hydraulic model of the cooling water network of over fifty exchangers in multiple tiers (in ethylene plant).

EV-601 Project in Caustic Plant

Wink redesigned the First Affect Vapor Body (EV-601) in a Louisiana Caustics Plant. A process study recommended that EV-601 be raised approximately five feet vertically. Services included designing structural floor plans, sections and details to accommodate the new support level for EV-601 and the access platform. We also revised the P&IDs and piping plan.

Tank Farm and Blending Facilities

Wink provided comprehensive engineering services, from FEL and cost estimating through detailed design and project management, for 2 major expansions of the tank farm at a lubricants manufacturing and packaging plant. Project 1 included:

Three (3) new vertical API storage tanks with a working capacity of 50,000 gallons each. Each tank has a sump designed to drain off water and a steam coil designed to maintain a temperature of 150°F.
Design of new piggable product lines, from the new tanks, connecting to existing plant piping. New pig launcher and pig receiver.
Design of new piperacks.

The second major expansion project involved:

Six (6) new base oil storage tanks along with pumps, piping and instrumentation.
New motor control center and pipe racks.
Installation of new mixing equipment and a piping manifold in addition to tanks, pumps and flow meters associated with the tank farm.
Covered truck loading / unloading rack with six loading arms.