The Next Two Months
July 8, 2013 3:17 pm Leave your thoughts
Hello once again readers. Since I haven’t talked much about what I have been physically doing at work since my first blog, I figured it was time to provide a brief update as well as discuss some of the tasks lined up for me in the remainder of my time here.
So far, I have been continuing to work on finalizing data for the consistency meters I was trialing at the start of the summer. This has turned out to be rather time consuming and complicated, due to the fact that three of the four meters must be calibrated by the meter-company technicians. This means that technicians must fly out from where they are located, which can be as far away as Georgia, just to work on the meters for a day or two. This requires a significant amount of coordination, in the sense that I must have everything prepared, organized and adequately functioning by the time these individuals arrive on site so that minimal time, and expense, is wasted on needless problems. I also have encountered several physical problems with the meters themselves, requiring communication with the meter-company representatives in order to get replacement parts shipped to me, and to obtain instructions on how to fix software errors and general troubleshooting advice. All in all, this part of the meter project is full of potholes that I must remedy on the fly. Regardless, it is good experience to have and remains enjoyable.
One of the four meters that I have been calibrating and analyzing.
I have also started acquiring pulp samples from four pulp presses for one of the mill’s process technicians. From what I understand, the data I am gathering will allow him to essentially show a relationship between the mass of pulp produced and the consistency (ratio of water versus pulp) of the pulp in each of the individual presses. Ideally, this will allow Millar Western to adjust the presses in the future to optimize the process and allow for greater amounts of pulp to be created. Basically, the hope is that this analysis will yield information that will allow the mill to make more pulp per hour through specific process correction.
Two of the large presses from which I have been collecting pulp samples.
As for my future projects, I will be starting on a kiln trial at Millar Western’s adjacent lumber mill toward the end of July. From the brief amount of information I have received regarding this assignment, I understand that I will be looking at the percentage yield differences among three different methods of kiln-drying lumber (I assume it is basically a large oven that slowly dries the lumber, due to its categorization as a “kiln”.) Each method has a different heating rate, which will lead to different final yields. This project could potentially help the mill increase its lumber quality and percent yield in the future.
I have also been told that, on a yet-to-be determined date, I will be doing another trial on a centrifuge associated with the bioenergy project. I do not know the details behind this assignment, but as engineering major, I am eager to work on this particular piece of equipment. Similarly, I will also be doing some basic process optimization with a local sludge press in the mill. Though I am not entirely sure what the nature of the work will be, if past experience is any indication, it should be interesting.
One of the three enormous anaerobic digester tanks that are being installed as part Millar Western’s Bioenergy Project.
So, in summary, these past two months have been fairly focused on this meter trialing related to the bioenergy project installment, which has given me insight into process optimization and data analysis. As for the next two months, it appears that I will be busy here at Millar Western. I look forward to the challenges these new experiences will bring and hope that the second half of the summer will be as interesting as the first half.
Until next time,
Patrick Pickard