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The Structure of a Mech-Chem Project
environmental control systems. Our design and build expertise is in the following applications:
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- Acid Recovery/Reclamation SystemsTanks and piping systems
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- Fume Scrubbers & Exhaust Systems
- Bulk Storage Facilities and Piping Systems
- Chemical Delivery Systems
- Wastewater Treatment & Recovery Systems
- Chemical Milling & Etching Systems
- Vacuum Evaporators
Process Design Capabilities
Mech-Chem’s engineering professionals represent all the technical and engineering disciplines required for a complete process, system, or facility design including chemical, biochemical, geological, mechanical, architectural, structural, electrical, instrumentation, and environmental.
These professionals bring your production process, operating system, or recovery system from the conceptual design or development stage to full scale operation. At the beginning of each project, a complete analysis of the process, operating systems, and support utilities is made with the client by the design team.
An excellent example of our ability to design, engineer and construct complete systems is found is this Case Study of a project with the Wyman-Gordon Company.
Mech-Chem’s ability to design, engineer and build a compete, fully integrated system with PLC/PC automation and controls comes from our wide range of capabilities, as seen in our project development process:/
1. Preliminary Process Design
In the preliminary process design phase, Mech-Chem researches and studies each project for technical and economic feasibility. Mech-Chem utilizes and provides the following methods to assess the client’s process, equipment and control requirements:
- Process Flow Diagram (PFD)
- Energy and Material Balance
- Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID)
- Equipment and Facility Layout
- Equipment/Mechanical Description
- Instrumentation/Control Description
Mech-Chem provides a total and complete evaluation of the process design starting with the development of the Process Flow Diagram (PFD) and Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID). The P&ID establishes the equipment sizing and defines the piping, controls, and instrumentation requirements for the processes and operating systems including the appropriate support utilities.
During this phase of the project design, the process and operating parameters are defined including equipment sizing, material of construction, and regulatory compliance. The energy and material balances for each of the unit operations and process support utilities are established.
To ensure that you will gain the greatest benefits from our efforts, Mech-Chem assists you in keeping an eye on the bottom line through:
- Capital Cost Estimates
- Operating Cost Estimates
This financial information makes it easier for you to budget your capital expenditures and determine your cash flow and Return On Investment (ROI).
Mech-Chem is interested in the financial success of the project as well as the technical and engineering viability of the design. Mech-Chem guarantees that the project will be built for the capital cost estimate provided in our preliminary engineering design.
2. Detailed Process Engineering and Design
At the completion of the Preliminary Process Design phase and approval by the client, Mech-Chem Associates, Inc. then completes the detailed process, system, or facility design, including:
- Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID)
- Process Equipment Layout
- Architectural/Structural Drawings
- Mechanical and Piping Drawings
- Electrical and Instrumentation Drawings
- Detailed Equipment Specifications
- Construction Bid Packages
The detailed design phase of the project provides all the specifications and drawings necessary for the construction of the process, system, or facility, including required support utilities and structures to support the equipment.Our clients’ systems and facilities are engineered and designed to assure compliance with all applicable federal, state and local codes, including:
- Local Building Codes
- EPA Environmental Regulations
- OSHA Safety Regulations
- NFPA Fire Protection Codes
- BOCA Building Codes
- API Codes
- ASME Codes
The design drawings and specifications for construction are prepared in detail for architectural, structural, mechanical, piping, electrical, and instrumentation. The design drawings for the various construction disciplines are prepared using AutoCAD, Release 14 and can be prepared using the client’s title block.During the detailed design phase, Mech-Chem provides PE stamped drawings, as required, and can assist the client with obtaining environmental and construction permits.
3. Construction and Start-up
Being more than just a design firm, Mech-Chem provides turnkey construction for its systems and facilities. We procure and deliver the equipment to the plant site. We can also provide all the supervision, labor, and materials required for installation and construction including:
- Equipment Procurement
- Structural Construction
- Equipment Delivery and Installation
- Mechanical and Piping Installation
- Electrical and Instrumentation Installation
- System Start-Up and Operational Testing
- Operation and Maintenance Manuals
During the construction phase of the project, Mech-Chem maintains engineers on-site to manage and supervise all aspects of construction. We provide the appropriate technical and engineering personnel for the testing and start-up of the equipment, operating systems, utilities, and training of client’s personnel.At the completion of the project, as-built drawings are prepared for the systems, facilities and utilities. In addition, the client is provided with operating and maintenance manuals and safety manuals for the equipment and operating processes.
To contact Mech-Chem, or for further information, use this form.
Chemical Milling & Etching Facilities
Mech-Chem designs, fabricates and installs systems and facilities for the chemical milling and etching of various metals, such as aluminum, titanium, molybdenum, nickel, and metal alloys. These systems/facilities are designed to meet each client’s metal processing, pickling, and finishing operations. Process monitoring and control, chemical handling, and safety are an integral part of each system/facility built by our company.
Mech-Chem provides the engineering, design, construction, and start-up of the process, equipment,Complete chemical process line design and installation instrumentation, controls, piping systems, and panels and electrical wiring required for Chemical Milling and Etching Systems.
The chemical milling and acid etching systems are appropriately designed and installed to handle the corrosive environment created by the acids and chemicals, as well as accommodating the production, process, operating and product quality requirements of the client.
These complete chemical milling and acid etching systems are constructed and started up as turnkey operations. These systems are comprised of the following tanks, equipment, secondary containment, instrumentation, and controls:
- Chemical Milling Tanks
- Acid Pickling/Etching Tanks
- Rinse Water Tanks
- Ventilation
- Hoods/Ducts/Fittings (Polypro/PVC/FRP)
- Fume Scrubber and Blower
- Air Make-up System
- Heating/Cooling Systems
- Acid/Caustic Feed Systems
- Wastewater Treatment Systems
- Hoists and Monorails
- Panel (PLC/Motor Starters)
- Safety Showers
- Secondary Containment
The chemical milling and acid etching systems are equipped with the following piping, electrical, and utilities, which are appropriately designed and installed to accommodate the hazardous chemical and process requirements for operating the systems:
- Acid/Caustic Piping
- Acid Heating/Cooling Loop Piping
- Heating Solution Piping
- Cooling Solution Piping
- Compressed Air Piping
- Process Water Piping
- Wastewater Piping
- Potable Water Piping
- Power Wiring
- Electrical Wiring (NEMA 4X)
- Process Safety and Alarm Systems
The systems have full PLC automation to monitor and control the operation of the system including heating and cooling of the acid solution, operation of the fume scrubber, and wastewater treatment. The PLC with GUI (Graphic User Interface) touchscreen provides pull down screens for each operation, process safety and alarms, and fail-safe system shutdown in case of an emergency. In addition, the PLC can interface with a computer for remote operation of the system and storage of data for quality control and documentation.
Mech-Chem also provides all the detailed design drawings and specifications for the tanks, equipment, secondary containment, instrumentation, and specifications and the detailed mechanical and electrical design drawings and specifications for the piping, utilities and controls.
Each system comes with a operating and maintenance manual complete with operating procedures, spare parts lists, process drawings, and manuals for each piece of equipment, instrumentation, and component used in the system.
The Structure of a Mech-Chem Project
- Acid Recovery/Reclamation Systems
- Tanks and piping systems
- Fume Scrubbers & Exhaust Systems
- Bulk Storage Facilities and Piping Systems
- Chemical Delivery Systems
- Wastewater Treatment & Recovery Systems
- Chemical Milling & Etching Systems
- Vacuum Evaporator
Process Design Capabilities
Mech-Chem’s engineering professionals represent all the technical and engineering disciplines required for a complete process, system, or facility design including chemical, biochemical, geological, mechanical, architectural, structural, electrical, instrumentation, and environmental.
These professionals bring your production process, operating system, or recovery system from the conceptual design or development stage to full scale operation. At the beginning of each project, a complete analysis of the process, operating systems, and support utilities is made with the client by the design team.
An excellent example of our ability to design, engineer and construct complete systems is found is this Case Study of a project with the Wyman-Gordon Company.
Mech-Chem’s ability to design, engineer and build a compete, fully integrated system with PLC/PC automation and controls comes from our wide range of capabilities, as seen in our project development process:/
1. Preliminary Process Design
In the preliminary process design phase, Mech-Chem researches and studies each project for technical and economic feasibility. Mech-Chem utilizes and provides the following methods to assess the client’s process, equipment and control requirements:
- Process Flow Diagram (PFD)
- Energy and Material Balance
- Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID)
- Equipment and Facility Layout
- Equipment/Mechanical Description
- Instrumentation/Control Description
Mech-Chem provides a total and complete evaluation of the process design starting with the development of the Process Flow Diagram (PFD) and Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID). The P&ID establishes the equipment sizing and defines the piping, controls, and instrumentation requirements for the processes and operating systems including the appropriate support utilities.
During this phase of the project design, the process and operating parameters are defined including equipment sizing, material of construction, and regulatory compliance. The energy and material balances for each of the unit operations and process support utilities are established.
To ensure that you will gain the greatest benefits from our efforts, Mech-Chem assists you in keeping an eye on the bottom line through:
- Capital Cost Estimates
- Operating Cost Estimates
This financial information makes it easier for you to budget your capital expenditures and determine your cash flow and Return On Investment (ROI).
Mech-Chem is interested in the financial success of the project as well as the technical and engineering viability of the design. Mech-Chem guarantees that the project will be built for the capital cost estimate provided in our preliminary engineering design.
2. Detailed Process Engineering and Design
At the completion of the Preliminary Process Design phase and approval by the client, Mech-Chem Associates, Inc. then completes the detailed process, system, or facility design, including:
- Piping and Instrumentation Diagram (P&ID)
- Process Equipment Layout
- Architectural/Structural Drawings
- Mechanical and Piping Drawings
- Electrical and Instrumentation Drawings
- Detailed Equipment Specifications
- Construction Bid Packages
The detailed design phase of the project provides all the specifications and drawings necessary for the construction of the process, system, or facility, including required support utilities and structures to support the equipment.Our clients’ systems and facilities are engineered and designed to assure compliance with all applicable federal, state and local codes, including:
- Local Building Codes
- EPA Environmental Regulations
- OSHA Safety Regulations
- NFPA Fire Protection Codes
- BOCA Building Codes
- API Codes
- ASME Codes
The design drawings and specifications for construction are prepared in detail for architectural, structural, mechanical, piping, electrical, and instrumentation. The design drawings for the various construction disciplines are prepared using AutoCAD, Release 14 and can be prepared using the client’s title block.During the detailed design phase, Mech-Chem provides PE stamped drawings, as required, and can assist the client with obtaining environmental and construction permits.
- Equipment Procurement
- Structural Construction
- Equipment Delivery and Installation
- Mechanical and Piping Installation
- Electrical and Instrumentation Installation
- System Start-Up and Operational Testing
- Operation and Maintenance Manuals
To contact Mech-Chem, or for further information, use this form.
Wastewater Recovery and Recycling Systems
Nearly every company in the manufacturing industry must deal with wastewater problems. The best and most cost-effective solution for these problems is to recover and purify the wastewater. By recycling the recovered water back into the manufacturing process, you can:
- Reduce wastewater treatment costs
- Reduce waste disposal costs
- Minimize the quantities of rinse water generated
- Improve water quality and temperature
- Provide a constant source of DI water
- Maximize recovery of precious metals in the wastewater
- Reduce EPA compliance requirements
Wastewater usually consists of rinse water and wastewater streams with low levels of contaminants which can be recovered and recycled back the manufacturing operations. Most manufacturing plants could recycle about 80% of the water used in their production process.
Effective and Safe Specialized Chemical Delivery and Waste Transfer Systems
Chemical delivery and waste transfer systems are a basic necessity of any manufacturing operation. Installing and integrating new piping system into a manufacturing operation or replacing existing systems is a complex design issue. Performance, regulatory and safety issues are important and need to be properly addressed and designed into each chemical delivery and piping system.
Mech-Chem Associates, Inc. engineers, designs, installs, upgrades, and inspects piping systems for a wide variety of applications including water, steam, acids, alkalis, solvents, resins, polymers, and chemical wastes. Our wide-ranging experience means that you are ensured a high-quality, effective and safe system properly designed for your applications which complies with all the applicable regulations.
Applications
Small and Specialized chemical delivery systems designed by Mech-Chem include:
- Drum storage to operations
- Tote storage to operations
- Waste to drums or totes
- Waste to wastewater treatment
- Piping systems that handle:
- chemical metering systems Acids
- Solvents
- Caustics
- Resins
- Polymers
- Other Chemicals
- Chemical Wastes
Diverse materials of construction:
- Carbon Steel
- Stainless Steel
- Specialty Alloy Metals
- High-nickel Alloys
- Plastics, including:
- PVC
- CPVC
- Polypropylene
- PTFE/Teflon,
- PFA, FEP
- PVDF (Kynar)
- FRP (Fiberglass)
- Lined Steel Pipes
Specialized chemical piping systems
- Piping and pumps for drum systems
- Piping and pumps for tote systems
- Double walled piping systems
- Controlled flow and metering systems
- PLC automated systems
- Acid/chemical blending systems
- Temperature (heating and cooling) control systems
Saftey
Codes
Chemical Delivery system Like all of our process and system designs, Mech-Chem engineers and installs chemical piping systems to follow all the applicable regulations and codes. For piping systems (as well as bulk storage systems, and the testing of piping, bulk storage and secondary containment systems) these codes include:
- API Codes
- UL Codes
- ASME Codes
- B31.1 Codes
- NFPA Fire Protection Codes
- OSHA Safety Regulations
- EPA Environmental Regulations
Bulk Storage Facilities and Piping Systems
The most effective way to reduce your environmental and safety concerns with the storage and handling of hazardous chemicals is through the proper design and using the correct materials of construction for your storage and handling systems. The design, fabrication and installation of your primary storage vessels, piping systems and instrumentation by knowledgeable professionals will prevent a potential spill and provide for a safe operation.
Mech-Chem’s bulk storage facilities and piping systems are designed to provide you with the maximum in spill prevention and safety for your employees and the environment. An example of our work in bulk storage and piping systems is found in this case study.
We have extensive experience in the engineering and design of fresh, mixed, and waste chemical bulk storage facilities, piping systems, and processing systems. Mech-Chem’s specialty is the storage and handling of corrosive, flammable and hazardous chemicals, including:
Acids
Dilute, concentrated and mixed solutions of nitric acid (HNO3), hydrochloric (HCl), hydrofluoric (HF), phosphoric acid (H3PO4), sulfuric acid (H2SO4) and Oleum
Alkalines
Includes solutions of aqueous ammonia (NH4OH), sodium hydroxide (NaOH), potassium hydroxide (KOH), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2).
Solvents
Both miscible and immiscible solvents including: toluene, ethyl acetate, methanol, ethanol, isopropanol and tetrahydofuran.
Resins
Liquid resins which must be heated and maintained at uniform temperatures.
Mech-Chem’s technical and engineering professionals are knowledgeable in the engineering, design, and construction, as well as the testing and inspection of bulk storage facilities, piping systems, and secondary containment, in such a way that they meet all the necessary regulations, including:
- API Codes
- UL Codes
- ASME Codes
- B31.1 Codes
- NFPA Fire Protection
- Codes
- OSHA Safety
- Regulations
- EPA Environmental Regulations
Acid Recovery & Reclamation Systems
Welcome to Mech-Chem Associates’ Acid Recovery Web Site. We are a full-service design and build firm with specialized knowledge and experience in the Design, Fabrication, Installation, and Commissioning of Acid Recovery and Reclamation Systems:
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Acid Recovery & Reclamation Systems |
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Diffusion Dialysis Systems |
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Filtration and Centrifuging Technologies |
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Distillation Systems |
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Gas / Acid Absorption Systems |
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Vacuum Evaporator Technology |
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Providing Solutions For Your Waste Acid Problems
Waste acid solutions are among the most troublesome waste products produced by a manufacturing process and one of the most expensive to dispose of. For many companies it constitutes the largest source of hazardous waste.
The solution to acid treatment and disposal problems is to recover and reuse the waste acid solution. However, in the past, this was usually not thought of as a viable solution because it requires specific expertise to safely accomplish the recovery and reclamation of waste acid solutions. This is knowledge and expertise that Mech-Chem Associates Inc. possesses.
The expertise needed for successful acid recovery is in three areas:
Knowledge of Acids – Mech-Chem has built recovery and reclamation systems for nitric, hydrochloric, hydrofluoric, fluoboric, methanesulfonic and sulfuric acids and mixtures of these acids. Mech-Chem has not only designed, engineered and built acid recovery systems, but also the chemical storage, piping systems, and processes that are part of an overall acid process.
Knowledge of Regulations and Safety Codes – When dealing with highly corrosive materials such as waste acid solutions, it is important for all equipment and systems to be in regulatory compliance and meet your company’s safety guidelines. Mech-Chem builds systems to handle the corrosive environment with NEMA 4X wiring and controls which meet OSHA and EPA requirements.
Knowledge of Materials of Construction – At the heart of a successful acid recovery system is choosing the proper materials of construction. The right materials will provide the resistance to corrosion that is necessary to provide the safe, efficient operation of the system. Mech-Chem has the experience and knowledge necessary to select the proper materials of construction based on the specific acid and its concentration in the waste solution and effectively use them (both technically and cost-wise) in our designs.
Acid recovery systems are designed to recover and recycle mixed waste acid streams from manufacturing operations. Systems that produce such a stream include:
Metal finishing, plating, steel processing, electronics, microchip manufacturing and stainless steel production.
Fume Scrubbers and Exhaust Systems Overview
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If you need to control odors, acid, chemical, and NOx fumes at your facility, 
Mech-Chem Associates, Inc. has a solution. Proper fume capture, control and scrubbing exhaust systems can prevent environmental releases, ensure regulatory compliance, and protect employee safety and health. From stand-alone fume scrubbers to complete installed systems, Mech-Chem can eliminate your fume problems with:
- Fume Scrubbers
- Custom Hoods with Packing Enclosures
- Custom Duct Systems
- Complete Odor Control Systems
- On-site Installation
- Spare parts and Repairs
Mech-Chem engineers, fabricates and installs high efficiency, low maintenance fume exhaust systems designed to remove water soluble contaminants by means of gas absorption and mechanical impingement. These units can be standard-sized or custom built in order to conform to space and height limitations or layout preferences.
Proper fume control equipment also requires the proper installation and system integration to be the most effective. Because we are more than just a fume scrubber manufacturer, Mech-Chem Associates, Inc. provides complete solutions to your fume and exhaust problems through:
- Total system design and integration
- Automated pH control
- Performance data for air permits
- Professional installation by experienced engineers
- Extensive experience in system design
- Selection of proper materials of construction
- Utilize high performance Lamtec packing
- Flexibility in choosing components for best performance
We add the value of 18 years of chemical process design experience and expertise to every fume scrubber and exhaust system that we design, fabricate, and install.
Complete Systems
The five significant components of complete fume ventillation, exhaust, and scrubbing system are as follows:
1. Fume Scrubber with Packed Bed
2. Exhaust Blower
3. Hoods/Duct Systems
4. System Controls and Integration
5. Installation and Start-Up
By offering all five parts of a fume ventilation, exhaust, and scrubbing system, Mech-Chem Associates, Inc. can provide a better, more efficient and effective system.