Jump Start: Solids Process Modeling in Aspen Plus ® A Brief Tutorial Tutorial (and supplement to training and online documentation) documentation) Jennifer Dyment, Product Product Marketing, Marketing, Aspen Technology Technology,, Inc. Claus Reimers, Product Management, Aspen Technology, Inc. Ajay Lakshmanan, Lakshmanan, Product Product Management, Aspen Technology Technology,, Inc. Matthias Pogodda, Software Development, Aspen Technology, Inc. Wilfried Mofor, Product Management, Aspen Technology, Inc.
© 2014 Aspen Technology, Inc. AspenTech ®, aspenONE®, the Aspen leaf logo, the aspenONE logo, and OPTIMIZE are trademarks of Aspen Technology, Inc. All rights reserved.11-4823-0414 reserved.11-4823-0414
Jump Start: Solids Process Modeling in Aspen Plus ‰ V8
Table of Contents Con tents Introduction Introduc tion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 The Aspen Aspen Plus User Interface Interface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 First Steps Steps . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Solids Flow sheet Templates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 Specifying Global Global Units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Specifying Solid Components. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Specifying Property Property Method Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Specifying Properties Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Specifying Stream Class. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Particle Size Size Distribution Meshes Meshes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Streams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Unit Operations Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 The Model Palette. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Dryer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 Spray Dryer Dryer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Crystallizer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Granulator Granula tor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 Crusher. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Screen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Fluidized Bed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Conveying Conve ying . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Results Summary Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Plots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Activated Activat ed Economics Economics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 Additional Resourc Resources es . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
© 2014 Aspen Technology, Inc. AspenTech ®, aspenONE®, the Aspen leaf logo, the aspenONE logo, and OPTIMIZE are trademarks of Aspen Technology, Inc. All rights reserved.11-4823-0414 reserved.11-4823-0414
Jump Start: Solids Process Modeling in Aspen Plus ‰ V8
Introduction Solids process modeling with Aspen Plus provides an integrated solution for simulating processes containing solids. With the tools provided, it is easy to characterize and model these components and obtain reliable results based on the world’s most comprehensive property database and proven simulation technology. This functionality bridges the gap between process engineering and particle science by providing the tools to seamlessly integrate rigorous models for solid streams and unit operations with typical fluid process models. Now users can simulate processes that contain both fluids and solids in the same simulation environment, allowing accelerated production of consistent, conceptual designs. This document serves as a simple “getting started guide” for users who are inexperienced in Aspen Plus modeling. We will take you through the most common progression of how a process designer creates a simulation and implements solid components and unit operations. This is not meant to be used as a stand-alone reference document. We recommend that a range of other resources be called upon to give the new user a comprehensive view of how to use solids modeling in Aspen Plus. These may include: • AspenTech support website ( support.aspentech.com) – contains a wide range of knowledge base items and provides answers to frequently asked questions • AspenTech self-guided examples are also available on aspenONE Exchange or can be accessed by going here: http://www.aspentech.com/October_2013_solids_modeling_demo_AT/
• AspenTech courseware available in on-line and in-person versions — provides formal training on process modeling • AspenTech business consultants This document covers solids modeling in Aspen Plus. This guide assumes that the user has Aspen Plus V8.4 or higher installed on their computer. Most features were introduced with V8.0, such as particle size distribution characterization and a majority of the unit operations. See Table 1 below for more information.
The Aspen Plus User Interface Welcome to the Aspen Plus user interface. There are a few main components that you need to be familiar with in order to follow this guide. Table 1 labels each of these.
Version
Date of Release
Features
• Integration of 25 SolidSim unit operations Aspen Plus V8.0
December 2012
• PSD characterization • Solids-related results representation • Economics for solids processing (Activated Economics)
Aspen Plus V8.2
May 2013
• Total of 38 SolidSim unit operations integrated • Enhanced PSD definition and results representation • Conceptual models
Aspen Plus V8.4
November 2013
• Spray dryer unit model • Reactions in fluidized bed unit model
Table 1: Solids Related features highlighted for the Aspen V8.0, V8.2, and V8.4 releases
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Jump Start: Solids Process Modeling in Aspen Plus ‰ V8
Figure 1: Main components of the Aspen Plus user interface
First Steps This section talks about the first steps you must take to include solid components in your model. It does not cover every step in creating a flow sheet. In order to be certain you do not skip important steps, click the green arrow (the Next button) in the Run group on the Home tab, after each action to move on to the next mandatory step (Figure 2).
Figure 2: The Next button
Solids Flow Sheet Templates When you create a new model, you have the option to select a template. On the Start Page, click New in the upper left hand corner. In the pane that appears, you will notice that there are a variety of installed templates listed in the left sidebar. Select the “Solids” category. You will have the choice to use a solids template with either English or Metric units (Figure 3). This will automatically specify the global units, set the stream class to MIXCIPSD, and set the flow basis to mass.
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Jump Start: Solids Process Modeling in Aspen Plus ‰ V8
Figure 3: Solids templates
Specifying Global Units If you do not use a template, you must specify the global units manually. The global units dictate what unit set is automatically applied to all quantitative variables in the model. There are two ways to specify global units. You can either select the desired unit set from the dropdown in the Units group on the Home tab, or you can open the “Setup – Specifications” form the Navigation Pane and select it there (Figure 4). Global units can be changed mid-way through the design process.
Figure 4: Specify global units
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Jump Start: Solids Process Modeling in Aspen Plus ‰ V8
Specifying Solid Components Before you can start building your model, you must specify its components. Once you have created a new blank simulation, you will be directed to the “Components – Specifications” form in the Properties Environment. In order to add components to your process, type their names one by one into the matrixes under Component ID and tap the enter key. If the matrix does not automatically fill in with the expected values, then select the Component ID and click “Find.” Next, enter search criteria and select from the generated list of possible compounds (Figure 5).
Figure 5: Find compounds
When you specify a compound, its default type is Conventional. However, in order to model solid components you must change this to Solid (Figure 6).
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Jump Start: Solids Process Modeling in Aspen Plus ‰ V8
Figure 6: Specify a stream as s olid
Specifying Property Method The next step in creating a flow sheet is to select the property method that will be used for all of the internal flow sheet computations. On the “Methods – Specifications” form, choose the desired property method from the “Method name” dropdown list (Figure 7). You should decide which method to use based on the type of components that you are modeling. For most cases with only solid components, the “IDEAL” method is likely sufficient.
Figure 7: Select property method
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