In the spirit of Halloween, I’m removing my technical writing hat and putting on a pointy black witch’s hat in its place. Not really…personally, I hate getting dressed up for Halloween, but I do love seeing the unique costumes people conjure up each year and can certainly appreciate a cleverly concocted get-up. Then it got me thinking – what would our equipment and systems want to be if we were able to dress them up? Surely plant managers wouldn’t stand for the excessive downtime and decrease in productivity brought about by such charades, but it’s fun to imagine. Have a laugh with me and check out the top 10 costumes of 2014 for De Dietrich Process Systems’ process equipment.
1. Angel/Devil Dual Reactor System
The reactors in an API Production System such as this one are a mirror image of each other and virtually identical. But no one will be saying that this holiday when they are off making mischief of one kind or another dressed in a playful angel/devil ensemble. Now the question remains, which reactor will have the most fun this Halloween?
2. Marilyn Monroe Agitator
Mix it up a bit in your vessel interior and dress your agitator up like Marilyn Monroe (adorned with the famous mole no less). Who could forget that iconic scene from The Seven Year Itch when her white dress is blown by a passing train as she stands on a subway grate? A few rotations of those GlasLock blades and that dress will be flying around in no time!
3. Prom Queen Reactor
Poor Big Blue, a.k.a. the 15,000 gallon glass-lined reactor that looms over all of the other equipment in the plant. She might not need a baffle thanks to her offset mixing, but she could definitely use a morale boost - anything to make her stand out for something other than her size. A huge tiara and satin sash are all it takes to transform this beast into a beauty, if just for a day. After all, hasn’t every girl daydreamed at some point about what it would feel like to be the Prom Queen?
4. Bum Reactor
Do you have a rusty, old vessel that’s in need of some serious refurbishment? If so, it sounds like it would be a great candidate for our reglassing service. But don’t schedule that quite yet – first find a spare piece of cardboard, grab a Sharpie from your colleague’s desk, make a sign that says, “Will Work for Candy” and – Voila! You have yourself a shabby, homemade hobo (the inclusion of hands is optional, but I find it adds an extra element of empathy). Your plant manager certainly can’t complain about exceeding the office festivity budget to bring this DIY costume to fruition.
5. Vampire Gasket
Let’s not leave out parts, they like to get dressed up and have some fun too! (Or at least I imagine they would). Add some fangs to your gasket and just like that you’ve got yourself a vampire. Just make sure you follow safety guidelines with your equipment and be sure to use rubber or plastic fangs to avoid any damage to the vessel lining.
6. Ghost Filter/Dryer
There’s nothing scary about nutsche filtration…or is there? DDPS technology combines the filter and dryer into a single unit, as seen here in this example of a production scale filter/dryer. With the inclusion of a crisp white sheet embellished with eyes and mouth (again, that Sharpie is coming in handy), your unit can now add a new qualification to the long list of tasks it can perform – filtration, displacement washing, reslurry washing, vacuum drying, convection drying, discharge, and now “spooking”. If that’s not the definition of multipurpose than I don’t know what is!
7. Pumpkin Spherical Vessel
Have you ever had the urge to fill your QVF spherical vessel with some orange-tinted liquid, tape a cute little face onto the outside, add a green stem for good measure, and turn it into a Jack-o-lantern? If so, you are not the only one! I think about that from time to time, so that makes two of us. This is how I’m envisioning our masterpiece turning out…
8. Powder Pump Clown
Though it was tempting to turn our Powder Pump into a vampire (you know, because they both suck), I thought a playful red nose and a rainbow wig would be the perfect transformation for this 24/7 workhorse. Just be careful – Bozo can quickly change from a silly, lighthearted jokester to an evil, terrifying madman if you don’t carefully select his features (if you’re not sure what I mean then just Google “clown images” and it will become clear…in fact, I’m starting to think that all clowns fall into the latter category).
9. Frankenstein Column
Who’s having all the fun this Halloween – green glass-lined distillation columns, that’s who! Although bolting is supplied with a complete column system, we added some special ornate ones to complete Frankie’s look. Add some hair and a few scars to this gentle giant and before you know it he’ll be ready to do the “Monster Mash”.
10. Cowboy Spherical Dryer
I bet the Wild West never saw this cowboy coming! Our spherical dryer might not be packing any pistols, but his specially-shaped three-armed agitator is sure to win him some respect with the local folk. Though our “Buffalo Bill” won’t be roping cows or tossing hay (or doing any typical cowboy work for that matter), he will be rallying up lots of product for a vacuum drying showdown.
We hope you’ve enjoyed this special edition of Solutions Ahead. Let us know which costume is your favorite! Stay tuned for next week’s post where we will adhere to our more traditional format and discuss the basics of Nutsche filtration.
