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Dosing Process Design

A dosing system is more than a pump and a tank. This page walks the full design sequence — from the mass balance that sizes everything, through storage, make-up, pumping, injection, mixing and contact, to instrumentation, containment and the finished P&ID. Follow it in order and nothing important gets left out.

Step 1 — Mass Balance

Everything downstream is sized from this.

Begin with the duty envelope: flow range and dose range. The mass balance fixes peak and minimum reagent rate, daily consumption and therefore tank, pump and delivery sizing.

Daily consumptionDaily reagent = Qavg (m³/day) × C (mg/L) ÷ 1000 ÷ (strength fraction)

Steps 2–8 — Build Out the System

Each component, in the order you should design it.

2Storage

Bulk and/or day tank sized for delivery interval and buffer. Material rated for the reagent (HDPE, GRP, lined steel). Bunded to 110% of the largest tank. Level monitoring and high/low alarms.

3Make-up / dilution

Where neat strength is impractical (polymer, dilute acid/caustic), an ageing/dilution rig prepares the working solution. Polymers need controlled wetting and maturation time; see polymer dosing.

4Dosing pump

Type chosen for accuracy, turndown, viscosity and chemistry — diaphragm, peristaltic or progressive-cavity. Duty/standby for critical duties. See selection.

5Discharge train

Calibration column for stroke checks, pulsation damper for smooth flow, pressure-relief valve, loading/back-pressure valve, isolation and non-return. Protects the pump and verifies output.

6Injection point

Injection quill delivering reagent to the pipe centreline, isolatable for maintenance, located where mixing follows immediately. Detailed on mixing & injection.

7Mixing & contact

In-line static mixer or rapid-mix tank for dispersion, then contact volume sized for the reaction/CT requirement before the analyser or next process step.

8Instrumentation & control

Flow meter for pacing, analyser (pH/ORP/residual/turbidity) after the contact zone, controller and SCADA. Interlocks: low-level cut-out, leak detection, no-flow dosing inhibit. Loop design on control strategy; documentation on P&ID services.

Safety, Containment & Compliance

Designed in, not bolted on.

  • Bunding to 110% of the largest vessel; chemically compatible coating
  • Segregation of incompatible reagents (acid/hypochlorite → chlorine gas)
  • Emergency eyewash & shower within reach of dosing operations
  • Leak detection in bunds and at pumps, alarmed to SCADA
  • Fume control / scrubbing for volatile reagents
  • COSHH, DSEAR/ATEX assessment where flammable or hazardous

Fail-safe interlocks

No-flow inhibit (don't dose into a stopped stream), low-level cut-out (don't run a pump dry), and bounded control output (don't let a failed analyser drive a runaway dose).

Verification

Calibration column and a closed mass balance confirm the system delivers what the design intended — commission against the numbers, not by eye.

Document & Commission

P&ID, functional design spec, then prove it on water.

Capture the design as a P&ID and functional description: every instrument, interlock and control mode. Commission by verifying pump calibration, confirming the mass balance closes, and tuning the control loop against live data. Hand over with an O&M manual and a maintenance schedule.

P&ID and documentation services

Related Pages

Design a complete dosing system

From mass balance to commissioned P&ID. Give us the duty and the stream and we will deliver storage, pumps, injection, mixing, control and containment as an integrated, compliant package — skid-mounted or containerised.

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