The Uses and Limitations of Pilot Plants in Studying Iron Making Problems

THE word "pilot" usually means "guide" in this context, so it is right to include models as well as small oper-ating plants in the term "pilot plant". Both are used to obtain data to explain existing flow distributions or processes to establish the feasibility of new processes which could then be expanded to full scale commercial operation. Experimentation on the full scale is often impossible because of the"' expense or the practical impossibility of marshalling adequate supplies of diff-erent raw materials. Also it is often not possible to instrument -sufficiently the, full scale process, and there are severe limitations in the range of experiments because of the embarrassment should the process stop or produce.. an unsalable product in large quantities.