Model plant provides ‘real world’ experience (11/3)

Posted November 3, 2009 at 1:44 am
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The McNeese State University engineering college on Monday unveiled a model chemical plant, which it will use to train students bound for work in the chemical industry.

The facility — McNeese is one of the few four-year schools to have one — will reproduce critical processes on a smaller scale using industrial-grade equipment, instrumentation and controls, said Nikos Kiritsis, college dean.

The plant, designed and built by local company Polaris Engineering, will reportedly include a hands-on trainer, or HOT; a glycol-water distillation unit; a confined-space training tower; and a 30-foot climbing tower.

Each component will be expandable to accommodate additional functions, Kiritsis said.

Funding for the first phase — the HOT unit, the climbing tower and part of the confined-space training tower — was reportedly provided through more than $300,000 in donations.

The second phase, which will cost $450,000, will include the interior of the confined-space tower and the distillation unit and will be implemented as funds become available.

Kiritsis said the HOT unit came with a complete curriculum that includes more than 120 procedures and exercises.

“The exercises use a hands-on approach to teach students how all the different equipment and instrumentation functions work on the field,” he said. “Having a curriculum allows us to begin utilizing the HOT unit immediately.”

Kiritsis said the model chemical plant will give McNeese students “real world” experience in understanding and troubleshooting industrial processes, equipment and controls.

Students in chemical, mechanical and electrical engineering, along with students in process plant and instrumentation technology, will use the system.

“This is a strategic advantage that we feel is critical in order to increase our graduates’ competitiveness in today’s work force,” Kiritsis said. “The more industry-ready job candidates are at the time of hire lessens the need for on the job training and that saves industry money.”

According to a recently released independent economic report, a third of the engineers working in area industries are McNeese graduates.

Also on Monday, the university announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with Irving, Texas-based Flowserve Corp. Under the agreement, McNeese will serve as a satellite training center for the company.

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