Innophos Inc.
Chicago, Illinois
Intern: Matthew Grabowski
Bradley University, Peoria
Innophos Inc. is a major producer of phosphates. The Waterway Plant in Chicago
manufacturers sodium hexametaphosphate, also called SHMP or Meta. Meta is
used by food, pharmaceutical and other industrial sectors.
Results:
The intern project focused on reducing the amount of product lost throughout the
manufacturing process. This included evaluating the amount of material
leaving the plant through the scrubber system and performing a plant-wide material
balance for phosphoric acid. The intern made the following recommendations:
- Replace the current scrubber system with a dust collector. The
scrubber is generating a waste product that is discharged into the sewer. A
dry dust collector would allow this material to be recycled back into the process,
potentially saving the facility $500,000 a year in lost product.
- The material balance identified several areas where product losses were significant
to warrant further analysis. The material balance should be updated monthly
as more data is collected.
- Make improvements to the statistical process control (SPC), either by changing
software packages or adjusting the current behavior charts. The use
of a SPC computer would help minimize the amount of off-spec material created
and sent off site for landfilling.
- Implement a lunchroom data display system to allow employees to keep track
of information about plant operations. Incentives and production graphs
would allow the employees to see how improvements in work practices are benefiting
the facility.
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