A pilot plant is a pre-commercial production system that employs new production technology and/or produces small volumes of new technology-based products, mainly for the purpose of learning about the new technology. The knowledge obtained is then used for design of full-scale production systems and commercial products, as well as for identification of further research objectives and support of investment decisions. Other (non-technical) purposes include gaining public support for new technologies and questioning government regulations. Pilot plant is a relative term in the sense that pilot plants are typically smaller than full-scale production plants, but are built in a range of sizes. Also, as pilot plants are intended for learning, they typically are more flexible, possibly at the expense of economy. Some pilot plants are built in laboratories using stock lab equipment, while others require substantial engineering efforts, cost millions of dollars, and are custom-assembled and fabricated from process equipment, instrumentation and piping. They can also be used to train personnel for a full-scale plant. Pilot plants tend to be smaller compared to demonstration plants. Terminology A word similar to pilot plant is pilot line. Essentially, pilot plants and pilot lines perform the same functions, but 'pilot plant' is used in the context of (bio)chemical and advanced materials production systems, whereas 'pilot line' is used for new technology in general. The term 'kilo lab' is also used for small pilot plants referring to the expected output quantities. Risk management Pilot plants are used to reduce the risk associated with construction of large process plants. They do so in several ways: Computer simulations and semi-empirical methods are used to determine the limitations of the pilot scale system. These mathematical models are then tested in a physical pilot-scale plant. Various modeling methods are used for scale-up. These methods include: Chemical similitude studies Mathematical modeling Chemical process simulation Finite Elemental Analysis (FEA) Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) These theoretical modeling methods return the following: Finalized mass and energy balances Optimized system design and capacity Equipment requirements System limitations The basis for determining the cost to build the pilot module They are substantially less expensive to build than full-scale plants. The business does not put as much capital at risk on a project that may be inefficient or unfeasible. Further, design changes can be made more cheaply at the pilot scale and kinks in the process can be worked out before the large plant is constructed.