Process design & engineering studio · Bengaluru
Lab data in. Construction-ready design out.
Sherle is a process design studio for companies scaling a chemical process out of the lab. We close the mass balance, size the equipment, and hand you a package a fabricator can actually build from.
Most processes die between bench and pilot.
Scale-up train · Sherle scope
Stage 01 · Lab
Grams, glassware
The chemistry works. Nothing about the plant is decided yet.
Stage 02 · Bench
Kinetics, first balance
Where heat removal, solids and solvent recovery reveal themselves.
Stage 03 · Pilot
Skid, kg per day
Continuous operation, real residence times, real fouling.
Stage 04 · Demo
Tonnes per year
Real utilities, real effluent, real operators.
Stage 05 · Commercial
Issued for construction
A package vendors can quote and build against.
Engineering judgement, not a drafting shop.
Most scale-up failures are not chemistry failures. They are heat transfer, solids handling, and a mass balance that never closed. Sherle puts senior engineering time on your problem instead of junior hours billed against a large EPC overhead.
What you get, stated as deliverables.
Every engagement ends in a document or a drawing set you own outright.
01 · Feasibility
FOAK Process Design & Scale-up
First-of-a-kind processes have no reference plant. We build the design basis from your chemistry and name the three risks that decide the project.
DeliverableDesign Basis Memorandum + BFD
02 · Basic engineering
Basic Engineering Package
PFDs, P&IDs, line list, equipment datasheets, utility summary, plot plan and HAZOP participation. The package your EPC prices against.
DeliverableFull BEP
03 · Pilot
Modular Pilot Plant
Skid-mounted pilot units for technology validation — P&IDs, equipment specifications, vendor packages and support through commissioning.
DeliverablePilot design package + vendor scope
04 · Simulation
Process Simulation
A validated model regressed against your own lab data, with sensitivity runs on the variables that actually move the design.
DeliverableSimulation file + PFD with stream table
05 · Equipment
Heat Exchanger Thermal Design
Rated design of exchangers, reboilers and condensers. Column, dryer, evaporator and membrane sizing where separation drives the economics.
DeliverableRated datasheets + TEMA specification
06 · Detailed design
Detailed Engineering to IFC
Mechanical, piping, electrical and instrumentation taken to issued-for-construction with vetted partners under our technical coordination.
DeliverableIFC drawing set + specifications
Be sure we're the right call.
Sherle fits when
- You have lab or bench data and no in-house process engineer
- You're raising, and investors want a credible capex number and a scale-up plan
- You need a pilot skid designed, specified and commissioned
- Your process is separation-heavy — distillation, membranes, crystallisation, drying
- An EPC has quoted you and you want the basis checked before you sign
Look elsewhere when
- You want equipment supplied rather than designed
- You need turnkey construction and site execution
- You're after statutory clearances and consent filings
- The chemistry itself is still unproven at gram scale
Questions we get asked first.
What does a process design studio actually do?
We convert chemistry into a plant. That means closing a mass and energy balance, sizing equipment, producing PFDs and P&IDs, and issuing a package a fabricator or EPC can build from.
We only have lab data. Is it too early to talk?
Nope, it is the cheapest point to catch a scale-up problem. Heat removal, solids handling and solvent recovery decide whether a route survives, and all three are visible from bench data.
Do you build the plant?
We design it and support procurement and commissioning. Fabrication and construction go to vendors, and we help you select and technically qualify them.
Which simulators do you use?
Aspen HYSYS and Pro/II for the process model, HTRI or Aspen EDR for exchangers, and DWSIM where you want an open model you can keep and run yourself.
How is an engagement priced?
Fixed fee against a defined deliverable, agreed after a scoping call. You know the number before work starts.