EPEL lab

Aspen Plus
Introduction to Flowsheet Simulation

Sukhoon Choi

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• What is flowsheet simulation?

- Use of computer program to quantitatively model the characteristic equations
of a chemical process

• Uses physical relationships

- Mass & energy balance
- Equilibrium relationships
- Rate correlations (reaction and mass/heat transfer)

• Predicts
- Process stream data (flowrate, composition, properties…)
- Operating conditions (pressure, temperature, geometry…)

• Advantages
- Plant design time
- Improve current process / predict new process
- Assist plant operation
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Navigation
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Workspace

Environment
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• 1. Property environment
- component, properties, EOS selection

• 2. Simulation environment
- streams, blocks (unit operations) setting

• 3. Simulation
- control panel : converge the simulation by calculating in sequence

• 4. Analysis
- sensitivity, cost estimation, energy, EDR, design specification results…

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• All steps needed to fully define the physical properties before the simulation
- component selection and characterization
- property methods and databases
- property estimation / structure drawing
- property analysis / data regression
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• Component selection

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• Physical methods

Method
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• Stream

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• Tips for mouse buttons

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• Unit operation (block) model types

- mixers/splitters
- separators
- exchangers
- columns
- reactors
- pressure changers
- manipulators
- solids
- solid separators
- user models
- batch models
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• Mixers/Splitters

Model Mixer Fsplit Ssplit

Description Mixer Splitter Sub-stream splitter

Solids from liquid. Separates

Separates one (or more)
Combines multiple streams one (or more) streams into a
streams into a number of
Purpose together. Adiabatic, can number of outlets. Give flow
outlets. Give flow or fraction
change perssure or fraction for each sub-
for each outlet.
stream.

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• Separators

Model Flash2 Flash3 Decanter Sep

Liquid-liquid Component
Description Two-outlet flash Three-outlet flash
decanter separator

Separate feed into Separate feed into Separates inlet

two outlet streams, three outlet streams, stream components
Separate feed into
using rigorous using rigorous into multiple outlet
Purpose two liquid outlet
vapor-liquid or vapor-liquid or streams, based on
streams
vapor-liquid-liquid vapor-liquid-liquid specified flow or split
equilibrium equilibrium fractions

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• Heat exchanger

Model Heater HeatX MHeatX

Description Heater, Cooler Two-stream heat exchanger Multi-stream heat exchanger

Determines thermal and Exchange heat between two Exchange heat between any
Purpose
phase conditions streams number of streams

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• Distillation
Model DSTWU Distl RadFrac MultiFrac

Shortcut distillation
Shortcut distillation Rigorous
design using the Rigorous
Description rating using the fractionation for
Winn-Underwood- fractionation
Edmister method complex columns
Gilliland method

Determines
minimum reflux ratio, Determines Performs rigorous
Performs rigorous
minimum number of separation based on rating and design
rating and design
Purpose stages and either reflux ratio, number calculations for
calculations for
actual reflux ratio or of stages, and multiple columns of
single columns
actual number of distillate-to-feed ratio any complexity
stages
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• Reactors

Model RStoic RYield REquil RGibbs

Stoichiometric
Description Yield reactor Equilibrium reactor Equilibrium reactor
reactor

Stoichiometric Chemical and phase

Chemical and phase
reactor with Reactor with equilibrium by
Purpose equilibrium by Gibbs
specified reaction specified yield stoichiometric
energy minimization
extent or conversion calculations

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• Pressure changers
Model Pump Compr MCompr

Multi-stage compressor,
Description Pump, Hydraulic turbine Compressor, Turbine
Turbine

Change stream pressure

Change stream pressure Change stream pressure across multiple stages with
when the pressure, power when the pressure, power inter-coolers. Allows for
Purpose
requirement or performance requirement or performance liquid knock-out streams
curve is known curve is known from inter-coolers

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• For all reactors : temperature 70, pressure 1 atm

• Make sure to set valid phases option to vapor-liquid

• Rstoic reactor : Ethanol + acid -> water + Ethyl Acetate

• RGIBBS reactor : no reactions needed, 2 fluid phases

• Reaction model for Rplug, RCSTR:

- reversible reaction
- kinetics for forward reaction : k, E
- driving force with equilibrium constant

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• 1. Rstoic reactor
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• 1. Rstoic reactor

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• 2. RGibbs reactor
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• 3. Rplug reactor – reaction

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• 3. Rplug reactor – reaction

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• 3. Rplug reactor

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• 4. RCSTR reactor
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