sitemap

Frequently Asked Chemical Processing Questions:

What services does Creative Engineers (CEI) Provide?

Creative Engineers, Inc. is a small but diversified company providing the following services for our clients:

Process Engineering including Process Flow Diagrams (PFDs), Piping and Instrument Diagrams (P&IDs) and other engineering services related to the chemical, pharmaceutical and nuclear industries
Project Engineering for all types of manufacturing and chemical processes
Alkali Metal engineering (transportation, handling, use and disposal expertise) for a broad range of industry
Project Management
Construction Management and Procurement
Process Improvement Studies and Process Improvement Projects
Design and Fabrication of Skid Mounted Systems including Pilot Plants
Electro-Magnetic Pumps and Electromagnetic Flowmeters
Automation Design, Engineering and Implementation
Instrumentation and Electrical Design
Chemicals – CEI is able to produce the following chemicals
o Sodium dispersion
o Sodium Naphthalene
o Fluoropolymer Etchant
o Other Alkali Metal based compounds

Can Creative Engineers provide turnkey pilot plants or process units?

Yes, CEI is capable to doing the design, procurement, fabrication, testing and startup of your pilot plant and skid mounted process units. Our staff of chemical process engineers will prepare the required mass and energy balance details and develop P&IDs so that CEI and the customer can agree on what is to be built. The mechanical, automation and electrical groups will prepare equipment specifications if necessary and do detailed design. With the design agreed to, our staff will procure the equipment, assemble and deliver the complete package. At CEI, we believe that the success of any project depends heavily on the proper development of the project scope. We work with our customers to provided the up front detailed and process engineering needed to succeed.

How do I dispose of alkali metals such as sodium potassium and NaK?

All alkali metals are very reactive chemicals and special handling and packaging is required. CEI’s process engineering staff are familiar with the regulatory requirements of disposing of the alkali metals and can guide each customer to the best solution. If appropriate, CEI has specialized equipment that can be brought to the customer’s site for the controlled reaction of the alkali metals to hydroxides. The resultant hydroxides are much easier to dispose of than the metal. CEI can provide expertise and conversion services for all alkali metals.

Why are sodium and the other alkali metals difficult to handle?

Sodium and alkali metals are extremely reactive materials, particularly with water and air. The reaction with water produces large quantities of hydrogen gas, which if not handled properly poses fire and explosion hazards. All systems using alkali metals must be inerted, free of all traces of air and moisture.
In some cases (for NaK and potassium), exposure to organics can pose a violent explosion hazard.
In some cases (NaK) the alkali metal is already a liquid, but in most cases (sodium, potassium and lithium) and the systems and piping must be heated to work with the alkali metal.
Most alkali metal work is done at elevated temperature.
Any leakage from alkali metal systems or piping presents a fire or explosion hazard.
Facility designs for handling alkali metal systems require unique planning (such as no sprinkler systems, no floor drains, proper ventilation, et al)
Alkalimetals are also reactive with other elements commonly found in most industries. Avoid halogenated products and carbon dioxide.
When working with lithium, nitrogen is not inert and only argon gas should be used.

What recent experience does CEI have with cleaning out sodium and NaK systems?

Creative Engineers personnel have been handling and using alkali metals for over 30 years. Our engineers have designed systems the produce, use, transfer and dispose of alkali metals in all types of industries and processes.

CEI is currently providing process engineering expertise for the clean-up of residual sodium in a fast breeder reactor in Newport, Michigan. We have been involved with all phases of the sodium and NaK (sodium potassium alloy) removal process and have helped our customer safely clean up and react the sodium contaminated equipment over the past eight years. We are currently in the process of helping with the design of the system to remove the residual metal from the reactor vessel itself.

In the past 2-3 years alone CEI has designed, procured and mobilized systems to process alkali metal residues at the DOE Hanford site in Washington and Oak Ridge National Labs in Tennessee. We also recently completed a large sodium disposal project (over 5000 pounds of metal!!!) at a chemical facility in Montana and even branched out internationally to provide our alkali metal disposal expertise to a decommissioning project in Gladstone, Australia.

For all our alkalimetal disposal projects we not only do the process engineering required, we build the skid mounted equipment required and we operate that equipment! When you choose CEI for your alkali metal work you get the engineers and personnel who have actually handled these materials, we do not hire local, inexperienced personel to boost profit. When working with hazardous materials, nothing beats hands on expertise gained from actual field experiences.

Why do fluoropolymers need to be etched?

Fluoropolymers are used throughout the chemical and pharmaceutical industries as the standard choice for excellent chemical resistance for all types of raw materials and products. Fluoropolymers are used for a number of standard products such as: tubing, gaskets and seals, and even linings and coatings for specialty tanks and vessels. In some applications, users of this material need the best of both worlds. That is, resistance to all types of corrosive materials and yet the ability to bond the fluoropolymer to other materials. When fluoropolymers are etched, the surface is modified ever so slightly to allow for the use of standard bonding agents and adhesives. In most cases, the active etching solution will strip the fluorine molecules from the surface of the polymer and replace them with other molecules that accept the bonding adhesives.

Can Creative Engineers do in-house etching or provide etching systems?

Yes and yes! CEI has designed and built custom etching system for all types of etching processes including in-line, batch and continuous “spool to spool” applications. CEI also manufactures high quality sodium naphthalene etchants at our York Pennsylvania production facility. Combine the ability to design turnkey etching systems with the proven quality of CEI’s custom blended etchants and the result is a top notch in-house etching service company ready to meet your etching needs.

How are fluoropolymers etched?

There are several methods available for etching fluoropolymers. The most common involve the use of reactive sodium ions to “strip” the fluorine molecules from the surface of the fluoropolymer replacing them with other molecules allowing the etched surface to be bonded to other materials using standard industry practices. The etching process only penetrates a few angstroms into the polymer surface creating a bondable surface without affecting the material properties. CEI manufactures a full range of sodium naphthalene based etchants for all of your etching needs.

How are PCBs oils treated to make them non-hazardous?

Creative Engineers, along with KMR Industries, manufactures sodium based dispersions that can be used to treat PCBs. The sodium dispersions, available with a number of different sodium concentrations and dispersed in multiple carriers, effectively treat PCBs by removing the chlorine from the chlorinated biphenyls. Once processed with our sodium dispersion the PCB oils can be purified and recycled eliminating the need to send to materials to costly hazardous waste disposal site.

Creative Engineers Inc.
P.O. Box 206 | Phoenix, Maryland 21131
phone 443-807-1202 | fax 410-628-0844
info@CreativeEngineers.com

site design by Deshon & Associates Graphic Design | Newark, Delaware