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| Syllabus | |
| 1 | Intro. to the Course |
| 2 | Intro. to Gas and Oil Processing |
| 3 | Gas Processing Methods |
| 4 | Intro. to Water -Hydrolic Cycle |
| 5 | Intro. to Water -Part 2 |
| 6 | Power Generation/ Cogeneration |
| 7 | Electricity Transmission |
| 8 | 8 Missing |
| 9 | 9 Missing |
| 10 | 10Missing |
| 11 | Chemical, Reagents,Tools, Rigging |
| 12 | 12 Missing |
| 13 | Land Use and Reclamation |
| 14 | Instrumentation and Drawings |
| **** Final Exam***** | |
| Resources | |
| Staff E-mail | |
Overview
The PTech program is a two-year program that is the preferred requirement for anyone without experience seeking to qualify for a job as a Process Technician in many types of process industries in Alaska. Many other regions in the United States are also hiring Process Technicians with similar training. The Alaska Process Industries Careers Consortium (APICC) developed the curriculum for this course. APICC is a group of industry representatives from mining, oil and gas upstream operators, refiners and other types of industrial facilities, educators, and various other members. The Consortium saw the need to hire a number of Process Technicians in the next few years to replace those who will be retiring. They surveyed Process Technicians from the various industries about what Process Technicians need to know, and commissioned this curriculum to provide the training that you will need to be an effective Process Technician. Consortium companies are very interested in your progress in this program.<
- Much of what you will learn in this class will be basic knowledge about terminology, equipment, processes, etc.
- A major expectation that employers have is that employees possess and demonstrate proactive behaviors toward safety.
- At the beginning of each session we will
cover different aspects of safety as they relate to the different
process industries.
A process is a series of actions or operations that convert raw materials into energy.
A process may also use energy to produce a certain type of raw material. Some common household processes that almost everyone uses daily are:
- Cooking- using heat or microwave energy to turn raw food into a hot meal
- Hot water- using electricity or natural gas to convert cold water into hot water for showering and washing dishes and clothes
- Dishwasher- uses water, heat, electricity and soap to produce clean dishes
- Washing machine- uses water, heat, electricity and soap to produce clean clothes Dryer- produces heat from electricity or gas to produce dry clothes
- The car engine as a model process- Lets discuss this one in a little more detail. A car has several processes (or systems) that allow it to operate for instance:
- Car- uses gasoline to promote movement
- Gasoline - You fill the tank of the car, a fuel pump moves the gasoline through some piping to the engine. Inside the engine the fuel is burned (combusted) which produces power (horsepower). The power produced is used to turn the wheels of the car.
- Cooling Process- The engine of the car produces heat when the fuel is burned. A cooling process removes the heat when a liquid circulates around the engine and through the radiator. The radiator cools the fluid by allowing it to have contact with cooler air. If the car engine cannot be cooled the car overheats, boiling away the liquid through the radiator
Oil system- the moving parts of the engine are lubricated (and cooled, somewhat) with oil.
Drag your cursor across the picture to locate the rake drive mechanism and the reactor agitator
- These are all simple processes that are used in daily life. You probably don't think about them as processes but when you work in an industry many of these are similar, just on a larger scale. All industries share some basic common processes; however, some have their own unique processes. The result of the process might be an end product, such as gasoline, from the distilling process. The process may be a raw product to make something else such as mining ore to produce gold ingots.
- A Process Industry is a company, or divisions
within a company, which convert raw materials into products used
by the public or by other industries. Broadly speaking, the Process
Industry is concerned with taking quantities of substances and
transforming them into other substances. For example, beverage
and petroleum processing both use the distilling process, but
there are differences in distilling substances that go in you,
and distilling substances that go in your car. So, whether we
are referring to oil and gas processing, refining, or chemicals,
we will just use the term Process Industry. There are several
broad classes of Process Industries:
- Oil and Gas Processing (as on the North Slope) commonly referred to as upstream processing
- Mining (for ore and minerals)
- Refining (as for petroleum into gasoline, diesel and other fuels) commonly referred to as downstream processing
- Chemicals
- Electrical Power Generation and Distribution
- Water and Waste water Treatment Pulp and Paper
- Pharmaceuticals
- Food and Beverage Products
- Fish and Food Processing
- and others...
A Process Technician works in a process industry. A process Technician is responsible for how the processing facility and individual pieces of equipment operate. He is responsible for the equipment used so he will:
- Start and stop Monitor
- Control, and
- Maintain Equipment such as:
- Pumps,
- Furnaces,
- Boilers
- Turbines,
- Compressors,
- Exchangers,
- Reactors,
- Dehydrators,
- Conveyors,
- Blowers,
- Extruders,
- And many other types of equipment in a
- Safe, Efficient, and Environmentally sound manner, while
- Working as a member of a team,
- In all types of weather, and
- Focusing on the business goals of the organization.
A Process Technician must also possess good interpersonal skills that include:
- Communicate effectively
- Positive attitude towards job, others, self
- Respect for safety of self and others
- Maintain composure in high stress situations
- Responsible
- Reliable
- Appreciation for diversity
- Provide and respond to feedback positively
The general education requirements for the Process Technician include the following:
- Associates Degree in Process Technology preferred
- Math, Science and English
- Computer skills: spreadsheets, word processing and database applications
The Technical knowledge and skills the Process Technician should possess include the following:
- Operation, maintenance and trouble-shooting of process equipment
- Understanding key regulatory requirements, standards and laws
- Communication skills: reading, writing, radio transmitted communications, understanding of industry-related terminology
1970 - Creation of the Environmental Protection Agency to monitor and enforce environmental protection, develop environmental policies, set national standards, manage research and development on environmental issues, and develop and enforce environmental regulations
The Clean Air Act (CAA) 1970: Authorized establishment of National Ambient Air Quality Standards to protect public health and environment.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA)
1970 The Mining Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)
1977 Department of Transportation (DOT)
1967. Pipelines are also regulated by DOT.
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) 1974 - Regulates nuclear devices used in the Process Industry, including measurement devices and x-ray devices used to inspect vessels and equipment for cracks.
OSHA is the occupational and safety health administration, an agency of the federal government. OSHA enforces workplace safety laws to protect workers and the general public. Employers are required to reduce workplace hazards and implement safety and health programs. These laws are implemented by regulation as listed in the CFR.
OSHA inspectors often show up after major incidents or accidents to gather facts and recommend actions including fines and other changes. To discourage the view that fines are a normal cost of business, egregious and willful safety violations which cause fatalities sometimes result in jail time.
OSHA also regulates Process Safety Management or PSM which is a set of standards used by the process industry in their daily operation. PSM requires establishing procedures for preventing or minimizing the consequences of accidents involving highly hazardous chemicals. PSM standards apply both to the design of the process and the way the process is managed. One element of PSM is Management Of Change (MOC). Management of change requires that changes to processes and process equipment be properly engineered and documented. Much can be learned by a review of 29CFR.
MSHA enforces federal safety regulations in the mining industry. You will see MSHA labels on mining safety equipment such as hazardous atmosphere detectors. This means the detector meets minimum standards. MSHA does much more than just that, every aspect of the mining industry is overseen by MSHA. MSHA activities are outlined in 75CFR.
Here are some terms of maintenance, operations, and system components:
- SOP Standard Operating Procedure
- SMP Standard Maintenance Procedure
- CFR Code of Federal Regulations
- UPSTREAM PROCESSING
- DOWNSTREAM OPERATIONS
- PSM Process Safety Management
- STANDARD INDUSTRY PRACTICE
- API American Petroleum Institute
- MOC Management of Change
Few occupations are as math intensive as the process industry. Math skills required include basic arithmetic, algebra, geometry and a little bit of calculus. For maintenance technicians electrical formulae are a part of the daily routine. Math is not just a theoretical set of rules. The process technician must often analyze real events and reduce them to a mathematical description. The highest accuracy is required in the process industry. Severe economic or environmental damage can result from errors. For example the consequences of miscalculated tank volumes can go all the way from lost revenue to a missed oil spill.
Another important feature of math in the process industry is the necessity to "standardize" certain measurements. For example, a gallon of gasoline is defined as the amount of gasoline which occupies a one gallon container at a temperature of 60 deg F. If the gasoline is colder, then a "k factor" or multiplication factor is used to determine the actual measurement. This is because the gasoline will shrink as it cools. Of course the density would increase as the volume decreased. Even though it would occupy less volume it still has the same amount of energy and therefore the same economic value. The factors can be found in chart form in API tables. This and many other types of math problems will be introduced to you as this course progresses.
Basic Terms of Operation:
Each week you will find new terms that relate to process technology. Take the time to become familiar with them. Use the terminology in your assignments and your correspondence with the instructor when it is applicable.
Resources:
One definition of resources is a source of information or expertise. This section will direct you to resources such as videos, books, periodicals, and internet sites that will relate to the lessons. You may find valuable Resources by selecting the resource link above.
If you have other resources or links that may help or be of interest to the other students, please forward them to the instructor.
Merriam Webster Dictionary On-line
http://webcenters.netscape.com/webcenters/research/netscape/reference.adp
Now proceed to the task for this lesson.