Chiller Plant - Part 1

PROBLEM Through guided practice, you will build a simulation of the process shown
below. This is part of a chiller plant typical in natural gas processing. In subsequent
parts of this example, you will add other sections of the plant to this simulation.

Figure 1:
Schematic of
Chiller Plant
Part 1

The process and equipment data are given in Table 3 and 4.

Table 3: Feed Stream Data
Component Mole % Component Mole %
Nitrogen 1.0 i-Butane 1.25
Carbon dioxide 1.6 n-Butane 3.0
Methane 72.5 i-Pentane 0.55
Ethane 11.5 n-Pentane 1.10
Propane 6.75 C6PLUS (PETRO Component) 0.75
7 3 6 3
Total Flowrate 4 x 10 standard vap. ft /day 1.0 x 10 normal vap. m /day
Temperature 120°F 50°C
Pressure 205 psig 1520 kPa
C6PLUS Properties NBP 210°F 99°C
API Gravity 73 Specific Gravity 0.6919

PRO/II Getting Started Work Book

Table 4: Equipment Data and Operating Conditions

Unit Description Data

D-1 Scrubber Temperature 85°F 203 psig

Pressure 30°C 1500 kPa
C-1 Compressor Outlet Pressure 600 psig 72%
Adiabatic Efficiency 4250 kPa 72%
HX-1 Cooler Hotside: Process Stream
Outlet Temperature 110°F 45°C
Pressure Drop 5 psi 35 psi
Coldside: Utility Air
Inlet Temperature 80°F 27°C
Outlet Temperature 100°F 38°C
D-2 Knockout drum Flash drum with no change of pressure and no duty
P-1 Pump Outlet Pressure 550 psig 3900 kPa
Efficiency 65% 65%

SOLUTION
Step 1 Create a New Simulation
¾ Select New... from the File menu.
Note that several buttons on the toolbar, including the Run button have red borders.
When you have satisfied PRO/II’s input requirements all red borders will disappear.
Step 2 Build the Process Flow Diagram
If the PFD palette is not already visible, click the PFD Palette button on the toolbar to
bring it up. Click on the appropriate unit icons on the PFD palette to draw the PFD. To
select and position a unit, just click on its icon.
A pointer with a box and flash drum attached appears. Move this to the main window
and click again when the unit is in position.
In this manner, select and position the units as shown in the diagram using these
PFD buttons:

¾ Click on the red-bordered Streams on the PFD palette.

Note that the pointer now has an S attached to it. All available exit ports appear on
PRO/II Getting Started Work Book
 each unit once you select Streams. Required exit ports are red and optional exit
ports are green.
¾ Draw the streams on the flowsheet to connect the units.
After your first click, only the available feed ports are shown in red or green.

Note: Although not critical in this example, it is good practice to connect the FLASH
DRUM hydrocarbon liquid product to the side port and to reserve the bottom
port for a decanted water or second liquid product.

¾ Double-click on each stream and unit and change its name to that shown on the
diagram above. Do not change any other data in the dialog box.

¾ Click OK to exit the dialog box. Note that spaces are not allowed in unit or stream
names.
The completed PFD should now look like Figure 5 below.

Figure 3 : Chiller Plant

PFDinPRO/ll

Step 3 After you finish building the flowsheet, the labels of all the internal streams are black
and the available ports of all the units are green. At this point, all the unit labels have
red borders and the border of the feed stream label is also red because you must still
add data. Note that the border of Streams is black, indicating that you have entered
all necessary data for this function. To exit the stream connection mode, right-click, or
click on Streams so that it turns gray, indicating that the mode is no longer active.

¾ Before continuing, save the simulation as CHILL1.PRZ

Modify the Input Units of Measure

¾ Click on the green-bordered Units of Measure (UOM) button on the
toolbar to verify the units of measure used in this simulation.

For this example you will use either modified SI Units or modified English units.
Click Initialize from Library.... and select ENGLISH-SET1 or SI-SET1 from the
drop-down list.
¾ Check each item that it matches the input data given in the tables above.
¾ Make any necessary changes and click OK
PRO/II Getting Started Work Book
 Notice that the border of the UOM button is now blue indicating that you
have modified the data.

Step 4 Define the Components

¾ Click on the red-bordered Component Selection button on the tool bar.

¾ Click Select from Lists....

¾ Select the Hydrocarbon Lightends Component Family and select components from
the list displayed. Select a single component or a group of components (using the
shift or control keys) and then click Add Components to add them to the component
list below.
¾ Add the components in the order presented in Table 3.
Figured 4:
Component,
Selection

¾ When Finished click OK to return to the Component Selection dia-log box,

¾ Click Petroleum... to enter data for the petroleum component
C6PLUS.
¾ Enter its name, NBP and gravity data, and click OK
Note that Petroleum... and List of Selected Components box now have blue borders.

¾ Click OK to exit the dialog box.

PRO/II Getting Started Work Book

Step 5 Select the Thermodynamic Method
¾ Click on the red-bordered Thermodynamic Data button on the tool-bar.
¾ Select the Most Commonly Used Category, and then select Peng-Robinson
as the Primary Method.
¾ Double-click on Peng-Robinson, or click Add-> to add your
method selection to the Defined Systems box.
¾ To specify the transport property methods, click Modify... and then Transport Properties
¾ Check the Compute Transport Properties box and select Petroleum Correlations from
the Transport System drop-down list, as shown in Figure.

Figure 5: Transport
Properties

¾ Click OK in each of the three dialog boxes to save the entered data.

Step 6 Define the External Feed Stream

¾ Double-click on the feed stream INLET _GAS. Make sure that the
stream type is Composition Defined.
¾ Enter the stream's thermal condition:

• Select Temperature as the first specification and enter value.

• Select Pressure as the second specification and enter value.

¾ Click Flowrate and Composition...

¾ Select Total Fluid Flowrate and enter value.
¾ You will need to locally override the flowrate dimensional units. To do so, with
the cursor in the fluid flowrate field, click UOM at the top of the dialog box
PRO/II Getting Started Work Book
 and change the basis to vapor volume and the units to ft3 or m3 and day. Click
Change Units to return to the dialog box.

¾ Enter the individual component mole percentages into the component grid.
You can move down the list using the <Tab> key. After entering the
composition data, check that the total equals 100.
¾ Click OK to exit each dialog box and return to the PFD.
You do not need to enter data for any streams other than the INLET_GAS (the external feed
stream to the process) because PRO/II calculates the others for you, based on your process
conditions.

Step 7 Enter Operating Conditions for Each Unit Operation

¾ Double-click on each unit in turn and enter the required data including the unit
identifier.
¾ Enter data for flash drum D-l. The First Specification is Pressure and the
second Specification is Temperature.
¾ Enter data for flash drum D-2. The First Specification is Pressure
Drop and the Second Specification is Duty. The duty of an adiabatic
flash is zero.

Note: As you return to the PFD after each unit operation, its unit
identifier has changed from red (data missing) to black (data
satisfied).

¾ Enter data for heat exchanger HX-1.

Note: By default, the horizontal stream is the hot side and the vertical
stream is the cold side. Here this means that the utility stream
is the cold side. You could use this dialog box to change the
stream allocations if the reverse were true.

¾ Click Specification... to set the heat exchanger specification.

¾ Select Hot Product Temperature from the list and enter value.

PRO/II Getting Started Work Book

PRO/II Getting Started Work Book
PRO/II Getting Started Work Book
 Chiller Plant - Part 2
PROBLEM Continue to build the chiller plant. Since you already entered the units of
measure, components, and feed stream data in Part 1 you won't need to add
these data again. Figure 11 shows the process schematic for this part. The
portion of the flowsheet that you entered in Part i is gray, and the new units
and streams you will now add are black.
Figure 6:
Schematic of
Chiller Plant -
Part 2

The new equipment data and operating conditions are provided below. Table 5:

Equipment Data
Unit Description Data
HX-2 Gas to Gas Hotside ∆P 5 psi 35 kPa
Exchanger Coldside ∆Pi 5 psi 35 kPa
Approach Temp (Hot In - Cold Out) 10°F 5°C
HX-3 Chiller Hotside Outlet Temp -13'F 25"C
Hotside ∆P 5 psi 35 kPa
Coldside refrigerant saturated liquid
Propane at -22°F -30"C
D-3 Cold Separator Adiabatic Separation
V-1 Valve Outlet Pressure 245 psig 1800 kPa

SOLUTION Use the previous example, CHILLI.PRZ as the basis for this example.

¾ Select File/Save As... from the menu bar and save the example as CHILL2.PRZ.

Step 1 Add to the Process Flow Diagram

¾ Using Figure 11 as a guide, add units HX-2, HX-3, D-3, and V-1 to the flowsheet.
¾ Connect the vapor product stream from D-2 to HX-2.
¾ Add the remaining streams to the flowsheet. Enter the unit and stream names.
The PFD now looks like Figure 7.
PRO/II Getting Started Work Book
Figure 7: Chiller
Plant in PRO/II

Step 2 Enter Operating Conditions for Each New Unit Operation

¾ Enter data for the new units.

In the Heat Exchanger dialog box for HEAT EXCHANGER HX-3 (Chiller), click Utility
Stream... and choose Refrigerant as the Utility Type. Select Propane from the Component
list and enter the saturation temperature.

Note: PRO/H's refrigerant utility, used in unit HX-3, considers only latent heat effects, so
the refrigerant inlet and outlet conditions are a saturated liquid and a saturated vapor,
respectively.

At this point there should not be any red borders on the flowsheet. All stream and unit
labels should have black borders. If any of the unit or stream labels has a red border,
double-click on it and check the data.

Step 3 Run the Simulation and View the Results

¾ Run the simulation.
¾ Highlight the cold separator overhead stream 10, click the View
Results button and look at the thermal recycle rate.

As you can see, the stream is all vapor.

¾ Generate an output report by clicking the Generate Report button or

by choosing Generate Report from the Output menu.
Look at the HEAT EXCHANGER summary for HX-3. Find the flowrate of the refrigerant. You
will use this rate as an initial estimate in the Part 3 of this exercise.

PRO/II Getting Started Work Book

PRO/II Getting Started Work Book
PRO/II Getting Started Work Book
Chiller Plant-Part 3
PROBLEM Continue to build the chiller plant. Suppose that the refrigerant for the chiller HX-3
consists of a mixture rather than pure propane. You want to determine the flowrate of
that mixture required to maintain a process stream (hotside) outlet temperature of -
15°F (-26°C). Instead of using the HEAT EXCHANGER refrigerant utility in PRO/II,
which is designed for use with single components, you now must introduce a
refrigerant stream, with the correct composition, and use a CONTROLLER to
determine the refrigerant flowrate.
The diagram shows part of the process schematic. The portion of the flowsheet that you
entered previously is gray, and the new units and streams you will now add are black.

Figure 8:
Schematic of
Chiller Plant-Part 3

The equipment and refrigerant stream data are shown in Table 6.

Table 6: Refrigerant Stream Data

Component Mole%

Ethane 2.5
Propane 97
i-Butane 0.5
Pressure 11.5 psig 180 kPa
Condition Bubble Point

SOLUTION Use the previous example, CHILL2.PRZ, as the basis for this example and save the
example as CHILL3.PRZ.

Step 1 Change the Flowsheet Configuration

¾ Add a controller unit to the flowsheet.

¾ Remove the utility stream on HEAT EXCHANGER HX-3 by double-clicking on the unit
and deactivating the check box for the utility stream.

PRO/II Getting Started Work Book

 ¾ Add inlet and outlet streams to the cold side of HX-3. Name the inlet stream 50
and the outlet stream 51.
Figure 9: Chiller
Plant PFD in PRO/II

Step 2 Enter Stream Data

¾ Enter the composition data and define the thermal conditions for
stream 50.

Even though the flowrate of this stream is going to be calculated by the controller,
you must enter a flowrate here. This not only satisfies the data requirements of the
dialog box but also serves as an initial estimate.

¾ Use the propane refrigerant rate from the previous example as the initial flowrate
for this stream.

Step 3 Enter Unit Data

¾ Change the specification for HEAT EXCHANGER HX-3 so that the new refrigerant
stream exits at its dew point. Select the Cold Product Liquid Fraction specification
and set the value to 0.00.

¾ Double-click on the CONTROLLER. The Feedback Controller dialog box appears.

You want to vary stream 50 flowrate so that the temperature of stream 9 is-15°F (-
26°C).

In the Specification group:

¾ Click on Parameter.

¾ Choose the hotside outlet stream for HEAT EXCHANGER HX-3

(stream 9) as the stream to specify.

¾ Click on Parameter in the Parameter dialog box.

¾ Select Temperature and return to the Feedback Controller dialog

box.

¾ Enter-15°F(-26°C) as the islue of the hotside outlet temperature.

In the Variable group box:

¾ Click on Parameter.
PRO/II Getting Started Work Book
 ¾ Choose stream 50 as the stream to vary. Click on Parameter and choose
Flowrate as the variable.

¾ When complete, the Feedback Controller dialog box looks like Figure 16.

¾ Click OK to save the entries and return to the flowsheet.

¾ Save the simulation before continuing.

Step 4 Run the Simulation and View the Results

¾ Run the simulation.

¾ Create a STREAM PROPERTY TABLE for stream 50 with the Stream Summary list
selected.

A portion of this table is shown below. Compare the quantity of refrigerant required to
that obtained in the previous example. Why are the results different?

PRO/II Getting Started Work Book

PRO/II Getting Started Work Book
Chiller Plant - Part 4
PROBLEM Continue to build the chiller plant. Add a COLUMN and a COMPRESSOR. Use MIXER
units to combine the plant liquid streams into one product and the plant vapor streams
into another product.

Figure 11:
Schematic of
Chiller Plant
Part 4

SOLUTION Use the previous example, CHILL3.PRZ, as the basis for this example and save
the example as CHILL4.PRZ.
Step 1 Add to the Process Flow Diagram

¾ Place a COMPRESSOR, two MIXERs and a COLUMN on the PFD. Connect the streams
as shown in Figure 11. Name the units and stream.
PRO/II Getting Started Work Book
 When you place the column, you will be asked to give the number of theoretical trays
and to state whether the column has a condenser and a reboiler. Note that the Table 7
gives actual trays and tray efficiency. From this you must calculate the number of
theoretical trays in the body of the column (22*55% =12 stages). The kettle reboiler is
simulated as a theoretical stage and thus is stage 13. This column has no condenser.

When complete, the PFD should look similar to Figure 19.

Figure 12: Complete

Chiller Plant in PRO/II

Step 2 Enter the Unit Data

The mixers require no data. Enter the COMPRESSOR data from the table.

¾ Double-click on the COLUMN. Check that the Number of Trays is correct and that
the default selections for Algorithm and Calculated Phases are appropriate to your
simulation.

¾ Click Pressure Profile... and enter the Top Tray Pressure and the Pressure Drop for
the entire Column.

¾ Click Feeds and Products.... to set the feed tray number. Check that the default
entry for the Phase of each Product is correct.

E
s
t
i
m
a
t
e

t
PRO/II Getting Started Work Book
 he rate of the overhead product. You can make a good guess from the results of the
previous run. You could also use the Define procedure, assuming that the overhead
stream consists of all the Nitrogen through Methane from the column feed (Figure 13).
Figure 13:
Overhead
Flowrate
Definition

¾ Click Reboiler... to check that Kettle (Conventional) has been selected.

¾ Click Initial Estimates... to select the Conventional initial estimate method.

¾ Click Performance Specifications... to enter the true vapor pressure specification.

Check the Add Specifications and Variables box. In the Specifications grid, click on
Parameter; choose the bottoms stream, 15, and select Vapor Pressure and True
from the lists. Return to the Specifications and Variables dialog box and enter a
value of 235 psig (1720 kPa).

¾ In the Variables grid, click on Parameter, choose Column and select Heat Duty of
the Reboiler from the lists. The completed dialog box is shown in Figure 14.

Figure 21: BottomsTrue Vapor PressureSpecification

¾ Click OK to return to the PFD.

PRO/II Getting Started Work Book
Step 3 Run the Simulation and View the Results
¾ Run the simulation.
¾ Highlight the COLUMN and click the View Results button. Read off
the reboiler duty required to meet the liquid product specification.

PRO/II Getting Started Work Book