Aspen Plus Booklet v3 - Print

CHEN21112: Process Design and Simulation
PBL: Training Sessions Instruction Manual
CHEN21112: PBL sessions
Percy van der Gryp

Vincenzo Spallina
Department of Chemical Engineering and Analytical Science
The University of Manchester
Manchester, UK
[Developed for CHEN21112 2019/2020]
Table of Content
Week Monday (15:30-16:30)
Pages
[Date] - PBL Topics -
1
PBL1:
[27 Jan.] 1 to 13
Getting started with Aspen Plus
2
PBL2:
[3 Feb.] 14 to 32
Building and running a basic Aspen Plus flowsheet
3
PBL3:
[10 Feb.] 33 to 49
Property methods in Aspen Plus
4
[17 Feb.] Frank Morton Sports Day -
5
PBL4:
[24 Feb.] 50 to 73
Simulating unit operations in Aspen Plus
6 Coursework:
[2 March] 74 to 80
Cumene production case-study
7 Coursework:
[9 March] 74 to 80
8 Coursework:
[16 March] 74 to 80
9 PBL5:
[23 March] Economic evaluation with Excel 81 to 84
Week 1 - PBL Training Session 1
Getting started with Aspen Plus®
This training session is based on Aspen Plus® Getting Started Tutorial.
In this session you will be trained how to…

 Start Aspen Plus and opening files;
 Use the Aspen Plus user interface;
 Enter and modify input data;
 Run a simulation and examine results;
 Save a simulation.
1. Starting Aspen Plus

Start Aspen Plus by doing the following:
1. From your desktop, select the Start > Programs > Aspen Plus V8.8, and then
AspenPlus V8.8.
The Aspen Plus main window appears, showing the Start Using Aspen Plus window.
The Start Using Aspen Plus window provides these ways of starting a run:
 New and Open File -- quick access to start a new case or open an existing case.
 Recent Models — links to the recently opened cases.
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2. Opening a File
Several methods is available to open a file for an Aspen Plus simulation file by:
 Double-clicking on the Aspen file in Windows.
 Clicking the file name under Recent Models on the Start Using Aspen
Plus window.
 Clicking Open File on the Start Using Aspen Plus window.
 Selecting Open from the File menu in Aspen Plus.
For this training session we will use a pre-built Aspen Plus file that is located in the
Examples subdirectory of the Aspen Plus root directory (C:\Program Files
(x86)\AspenTech\Aspen Plus V8.8\GUI\Examples\GSG_Process). The Aspen Plus file is
named flash.bkp.
1. To load the pre-built Aspen Plus example, click the Examples icon in the Resources tab.
2. The Open view appears. Locate the flash.bkp file within the Example > GSG_Process
folder. Select the file name (flash.bkp) and then click Open. Aspen Plus will load the pre-
built simulation and it will appear on the desktop.
3. An Aspen Plus dialog box appears, informing you that you don't have write access to the
directory containing this file, and that Aspen Plus is changing the working directory to a
public one. Click OK.
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3. Aspen Plus User Interface
The Aspen Plus main window (shown below) appears when you start Aspen Plus.
Navigation pane
Environment buttons
The Aspen Plus interface is divided into environments, shown on the lower left-hand side
of the window:
 The Properties environment covers specifying components,
property data evaluation, fitting, estimation and analysis.
 The Simulation environment is used to build, configure, and run
process models.
 The Safety Analysis environment helps analyse overpressure
scenarios and size pressure relieving devices
 The Energy Analysis environment helps evaluate energy efficiency
and opportunities for improvement.
The Navigation pane displays a tree of all the

forms in the current environment. Click the
triangle to the left of a folder icon to explore forms
and folders within it. Click a form to view it in the
current form window in the workspace (or a new
one, if the current window is not a form).
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The workspace is the main portion of the Aspen Plus user interface and is used to create
and display simulation flowsheets, plots, form windows, and other windows.
The ribbon is the horizontal band below the title bar. This consists of a row of ribbon tabs,
and a space where ribbon commands appear.
1. Click the Simulation bar on the environment button to obtain a similar display style as
shown below:
Flowsheet work area
Zooming
Aspen Plus displays the process flowsheet for the opened Flash simulation. The
Flowsheets work area display streams and unit operation blocks.
The Flash simulation has one feed stream (stream 1), two product streams
(streams 2 and 3), and one unit operation block (B1).
4. Entering Input Data

Aspen Plus provides input sheets to allow you to specify the components of a stream and
properties such as temperature and pressure. There are multiple ways to access the input
sheets for Stream 1.
Method 1: Fastest and easiest

1. To open a stream or block input sheet quickly, double-click the object from the
Flowsheet work area.
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Method 2: Stream shortcut menu
1. From the Flowsheet work area

window, select Stream 1, then click
the right mouse button.
2. From the stream shortcut menu,
click Input.
Method 3: Navigation pane

1. Use the Navigation Pane to navigate to Streams, then click 1 and then click on Input to
open the 1 (MATERIAL) - Input sheet.
Note: You can expand the tree items shown on the Navigation Pane by clicking
the symbol next to a closed folder. When you select a new folder, it automatically
expands with the first item selected.
Once an input sheet is opened, state variables, units, and numeric data may be entered
into the available fields (white rectangular boxes) or selected from drop-down lists.
1. Enter the following state variable and component flow specifications on

the Mixed sheet:
Parameter Value Units

Temperature 180 F
Pressure 20 Psia
Methanol mole-flow 50 lbmol/hr
Water mole-flow 50 lbmol/hr
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When all required specifications have been entered, a check mark ( ) appears on the tab
header containing the sheet name. Check marks also appear in the icons on the
Navigation pane.
Notice that in Navigation pane, there are different color codes adopted by Aspen Plus.
For example, a half-filled red circle ( ) indicates that input data are required for the
simulator to proceed.
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The blue color indicates this is an input field where you can
enter a value. The italics indicate that currently there is no
value entered, and the value shown is the default.
The blue color indicates this is an input field where you can
enter a value. The bold text indicates that the value is not a
default. Usually this will be a value you have entered, but it
could also be the result of reconciling input or provided by a
template.
The gray text and light gray background of this field indicates
a field which is not available because of other specifications.
Place the mouse pointer over the field to see why the field is
not available.
The black text here indicates a calculated result. You cannot
edit this value, but if it has units, as this one does, you can
change the units field to see the value in other units.
3. Expert Guidance – the NEXT button ( )

The Aspen Plus expert system, known as the Next function, guides you through all the
steps for entering specifications for your simulation model.
The Next function:

 Guides you through the required and optional input for
a simulation by displaying the appropriate sheets.
 Displays messages informing you what you need to do
next.
 Ensures that you do not enter incomplete or
inconsistent specifications even when you change
options and specifications you have already entered.
1. From the Quick Access Toolbar, click .

Aspen Plus displays the next sheet that requires input data, in this case, the B1 (Flash2) - Input |
Specifications sheet:
Now you should enter the temperature and pressure specifications.
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If you click while the sheet is incomplete, the Completion Status dialog box appears
indicating the missing specifications:
If the Completion Status message window is showing, click X in the upper right corner to close
the Completion Status message window.
1. Change the first option of Flash Type from Temperature to Duty by clicking and
selecting Duty from the list. The input fields of Pressure and Duty are now active while other
specifications are not valid.
2. This sets the necessary specification needed to run the flash calculation. You can change the
combination by clicking beside the input field for each specification, and then selecting
other options from the list.
3. In the Pressure value field, type 1.
4. In the Pressure units field, click and select atm to change the input units from psia to atm.
5. In the Duty value field, type 0. There is no need to change the units (Btu/hr is the default).
6. The box in the Valid phases area is set to Vapor-Liquid by default. For this simulation,
accept the default.
The input data on the B1 (Flash2) - Input form is now complete and should look like this:
The Required Input Complete message at the lower left corner of the main window indicates
that all required data in the entire model have been entered.
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4. Running the simulation
The input specifications for this simulation model are complete and the simulation is
ready to be run. Run the simulation in either of the following ways:
1. From the Home tab of the ribbon, in Run, click .

3. Press F5.
While Aspen Plus performs calculations for the simulation, the cursor has a stop sign
shape. The block being executed is also highlighted in the process flowsheet window.
When the calculations are complete, the cursor returns to the arrow shape.
On the Status bar at the bottom of the main window, the message Results Available
appears on the left.
5. Examining Simulation Results

To view the results for the streams or flash block, Aspen Plus provide multiple ways to
access the results.
For example to display the results of stream 2:

1. Display the process flowsheet by clicking the Main Flowsheet tab in the
workspace.
2. Select stream 2 and right-click on the stream to display the shortcut menu.
3. From the shortcut menu, select Results.
The 2 (MATERIAL) - Results form opens in a new window tab, providing the
thermodynamic state and composition flows of the vapour stream:
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For example to display the results of the flash drum (Block B1):
1. From the Navigation Pane, select Blocks, click B1 and then Results.
Note: You can expand the tree items shown on the Navigation Pane by clicking
the symbol next to a closed folder. When you select a new folder, it automatically
expands with the first item selected.
6. Modifying and Rerunning Simulation

1. From the process flowsheet, select and right-click stream 1 to display the stream shortcut
menu.
2. Select Input. The 1 (MATERIAL) form opens in a new window tab, with data on
the Mixed tab displayed in view.
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3. In the Composition area, enter the following values for the component mole-flows:
Component Value
Methanol 60
Water 40
4. On the Navigation Pane, the icons in front of the folder and form names have changed
to and , indicating the input data changed in these forms.
5. On the Home tab of the ribbon, in Run, click to run the simulation with the new feed
stream values.
6. When the run is completed, display the new results for the Stream Results using the
Navigation pane as show below:
7. Saving Your File

Aspen Plus use several types of file formats to save the simulation, the four main type are
summarized below:
File Type Extension Description

Document *.apw Quick restart file containing simulation input and results
and immediate convergence information
Compound File *.apwz Consolidated file containing all files used by a simulation
Backup *.bkp Archive file containing simulation input and results.
Template *.apt Template containing default inputs
For this training session we will save the simulation file as an Aspen Plus Backup file. The
Aspen Plus Backup files (.bkp) are compact, portable, and are forward compatible but
contain only the input specifications and simulation results. The first run using a backup
file will take just as long as the very first run of the simulation.
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The Aspen Plus document (.apw) file contain all the all the input specifications, simulation
results, and intermediate convergence information from the simulation and are useful for
saving long simulations. This file type allows you to quickly restart previously saved
simulation (it saves a lot of waiting time for the simulation to converge). However, the
Aspen Plus document file information is not forward compatible for newer versions of
Aspen Plus. When you open a Document file in a newer version of Aspen Plus, a backup
file embedded in that document file will be used, instead.
To save the simulation:

1. On the ribbon, click File and then move your cursor to Save As. A list of available file
types appears on the right side of the menu.
2. Click Aspen Plus Backup to save your simulation as an Aspen Plus backup (.bkp) file.
3. The Save As dialog box appears. Type Flash as the file name in the File name field.
Click Save.
8. Help and Support

AspenTech do not support student users of the software, so please don’t get too
frustrated if you can’t access the training material that is prominently displayed when
Aspen opens. You cannot register for support on the aspenONE Exchange page – the
University license limits Aspen support to three people (all of them staff with specific
responsibilities related to AspenTech). Therefore, please ignore the links to the Support
Centre, Training and Documentation, etc. in the ribbon and also on the main page. Instead,
use the F1 key within the software.
You can get help on any topic at any time by using the Help button in Aspen Plus. At the
right end of the ribbon, click or press F1 from the keyboard.
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9. AspenTech license
The School has purchased 450 AspenTech licenses. A condition of the license is that
AspenTech software may only be installed and run from University-owned computers and
only for educational purposes.
AspenTech Process Modeling software is available in PC Clusters in The Mill (A21, B12,
C32/34), James Chadwick Building, Simon Building, George Kenyon Building, Alan Gilbert
Learning Commons, Barnes Wallis (The Hub) and Joule Library. Note that AspenTech
packages can only be run from University-owned PCs.
10. Self-reflection test

How confident are you that you can successfully complete this sessions learning
objectives?
Test yourself by seeing if you can:

1. Change the input information for stream 1 by enter the following state variable
and component flow specifications:
Temperature 200 F
Pressure 2 bar
Methanol mole-flow 60 lbmol/hr
Water mole-flow 40 lbmol/hr
2. Change the input information for the flash drum (Block B1) by enter the
following:
Vapor fraction 1 -
Pressure 2 Bar
3. Run the simulation and report the temperature and flow rate of all the streams
(stream 1, 2 and 3). Answer is below:
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Building and running a basic Aspen Plus® flowsheet
This training session is based on the Aspen Plus® Introduction to Flowsheet CUMENE.bkp simulation.

 Enter components;
 Select a property method;
 Setup (build) and running a flowsheet;
 Reporting results.
1. Simulation flowsheet
In this session you will be building the following Cumene simulation flowsheet:
Cumene (C9H12, CAS-number: 98-82-8), also known as isopropylbenzene is mainly

utilized as an intermediate chemical for the production of phenol and acetone. The
production of cumene is typically via reaction of benzene (C6H6, CAS-number: 71-43-2)
with propene (C3H6, CAS-number: 115-07-1):
C6H6 + C3H6  C9H12

benzene propene cumene

AspenPlus V8.8.
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The Aspen Plus main window appears, showing the Start Using Aspen Plus window. Aspen Plus
provides built-in templates for applications such as chemicals, petroleum, electrolytes, specialty
chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and metallurgy.
2. On the ribbon, click File and select New. The New dialog box appears. Use
the New dialog box to choose an appropriate template for the new run (we will use
Chemical with English Units).
3. From the pane on the left of the New dialog box, click Chemical Processes so that
the chemical processes templates are shown.
4. Click the Chemicals with English Units template.
5. Click Create.
It takes a few seconds for Aspen Plus to finish setting up the new problem.
The template is loaded with default settings for the simulation.
2. Entering the Components

The components for this simulation are benzene (C6H6, CAS-number: 71-43-2), propene
(C3H6, CAS-number: 115-07-1) and cumene (C9H12, CAS-number: 98-82-8).
1. Use the Components - Specifications form in the Properties environment to select
the chemical components present in the simulation.
2. From the Navigation Pane, click Components, and then select Specification to open
the form.
3. In the Component ID field, type BENZENE and press Enter on the keyboard.
Because Aspen Plus recognizes the component name Benzene as an Aspen Plus
databank component, it fills in the Type, Component name, and Alias fields
automatically.
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4. In the next Component ID field, type PROPENE and press Enter on the keyboard.
The following Update Parameters dialog box is shown. Select Yes.
5. In the next Component ID field, type CUMENE and press Enter on the keyboard.
You have now specified the three components required for this process simulation
model: Benzene, Propene and Cumene.
6. Click the next button
The Binary Interaction -NRTL-1 (T-DEPENDENT) | Input sheet appears.
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3. Selecting the Thermodynamic Method
Use the Methods - Specifications form in the properties environment to select the property
method used to calculate properties such as K-values, enthalpy, and density. The Base
method list contains various property methods built into Aspen Plus. The specific methods
in the list depend on the chosen method. To see all the available methods (a very long
list), in the Method filter field, click and select ALL.
For this simulation, we will use the RK-SOAVE property method to calculate thermodynamic
properties.
1. From the Navigation Pane, click Methods and then select Specifications.
2. From the Method name select RK-SOAVE.
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3. Click . The Properties Input Complete dialog box appears.
The Required Properties Input Complete message appears on the left side of the
Status bar.
4. Select Go to Simulation environment and press OK.
You have completed the required input for properties and the process flowsheet window now
opens in a window named Main Flowsheet.
Flowsheet work area
Model Palette area
In the flowsheet for the cumene process there are one feed streams (FEED), three unit operation
(reactor, cooler and flash drum), and one product stream (PRODUCT). Set up the Aspen Plus
process flowsheet by placing step-wise the unit operation block in the workspace and
connecting the streams.
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4. Setting up the flowsheet
Aspen Plus allow you to construct simulation flowsheets graphically by using the
Flowsheet work area and the Model Palette area.
Model Palette area:

Use the Model Palette to select the stream types, unit operation models and icons that you want
placed on the flowsheet.
To select a unit operation model:

1. Click the tab that corresponds to the type of model you want to place in the
flowsheet. If necessary, click the scroll buttons at the right end of the row of
tabs to access the tab you want.
2. Click the unit operation model on the sheet.
3. To select a different icon for a model, click the down arrow next to the model icon
to see alternate icons. The icon you select will appear for that model in the Model
Palette.
4. When you have selected a model, click location in the flowsheet where you want to
place the model.
When you place blocks this way, you are in Insert mode. Each time you click in
the Main Flowsheet window, you place a block of the model type that you
specified.
To exit Insert mode and return to Select mode, click the Select Mode Button on
the upper left of the Model Palette. A green border indicates the type of block you
are currently inserting, or indicates select mode.
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To select the stream type:
1. Click the down arrow next to the stream type displayed in the Model Palette.
2. Select the stream type you want to place in the flowsheet.

3. Once a stream type is selected, simply click the ports on the flowsheet where you
want to connect the stream.
4. When placing blocks and streams, the mouse pointer changes to the crosshair
shape, indicating Insert Mode. After placing each block or stream, you remain in
Insert Mode until you click the Select Mode button in the upper right corner of
the Model Palette. A green border indicates the type of block you are currently
inserting, or indicates select mode.
Step-wise-procedure to draw the Cumene simulation flowsheet:
1. From the Model Palette, click the Reactors tab.

2. Select the RStoic block.
3. Move the mouse to the Flowsheet work area and click the left mouse button at the location
in the flowsheet where you want to place the block.
When you place blocks this way, you are in Insert mode. Each time you click in the Flowsheet
work area, you place a block of the model type that you specified.
To exit Insert mode and return to Select mode, click the Select Mode Button on the upper
left of the Model Palette. A green border indicates the type of block you are currently inserting,
or indicates select mode.
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Cancel in insert
mode button
4. Rename the default block name of “B1” to “REACTOR” by selecting block B1 and then click
the right mouse button. From the block shortcut menu, click Rename Block.
5. Enter in the Rename dialog box “REACTOR”.
To automatic enter block and stream names for the flowsheet:

i. Select the Modify tab of the ribbon,
ii. Click the arrow at the bottom right corner of Stream Results, this
opens the Flowsheet Display Options dialog box.
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iii. Clear the check boxes in front of Automatically assign block name
with prefix and Automatically assign stream name with prefix.
Click Apply and then OK to close the dialog box.
6. From the Model Palette, click the Exchangers tab.
7. Click the arrow to the right of Heater and select the HEATER block.
9. Enter the block name as “COOL”.
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10. From the Model Palette, click the Separators tab.
11. Click the arrow to the right of Flash2 and select the V-DRUM1 block.
in the flowsheet where you want to place the block
13. Enter the block name as “SEP”.
To connect the streams to the blocks:
i. From the Model Palette, click once. This will allow you to place multiple
streams.
ii. Move the cursor (now a crosshair) onto the process flowsheet.
Ports on the block that are compatible with the stream are indicated by arrows.
Red means required; blue means optional. Hover over a port to see a description.
Red arrow means

Required
Blue arrow means

Optional
14. Find the Feed (Required; one or more) port of the block REACTOR and click once to
connect a feed stream to the port.
15. Move the cursor to any blank part of the process flowsheet and click once to begin the
feed stream at that location. The Add Stream dialog box appears. Type “FEED” as the
name for the feed stream.
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16. Find the Product (Required) port of the block REACTOR and click once to connect a
feed stream to the port.
17. Move the cursor to the Feed (Required; one or more) of the block COOL and click once.
The Add Stream dialog box appears. Type “REAC-OUT” as the name for the feed
stream.
18. Find the Product (Required) port of the block COOLER and click once to connect a feed
stream to the port.
19. Move the cursor to the Feed (Required; one or more) of the block SEP and click once.
The Add Stream dialog box appears. Type “COOL-OUT” as the name for the feed
stream.
20. Find the bottom Liquid (Required) port of the block SEP and click once to connect a
feed stream to the port.
21. Move the cursor to any blank part of the process flowsheet and click once to begin the
product stream at that location. The Add Stream dialog box appears. Type “PRODUCT”
as the name for the feed stream.
22. Find the top Vapor (Required) port of the block SEP and click once to connect a feed
stream to the port.
23. Move the cursor to the Feed (Required; one or more) of the block REACTOR (the blue
arrow) and click once. The Add Stream dialog box appears. Type “RECYCLE” as the
name for the feed stream.
The simulation flowsheet is now complete. However the status indicator in the bottom left corner
of the main window says Required Input Incomplete indicating that further input specifications
are required before running the simulation.
Now you can enter the stream input data and unit operation input data
5. Entering Input Data

Applying the same method as presented in PBL1 (Section 4 – Entering Input Data), enter the
following input data for the simulation and run it.
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FEED Stream data input:
Feed input data Aspen Plus Screenshot
Temperature 220 F
Pressure 36 psia
Benzene mole-flow 40 lbmol/hr
Propene mole-flow 40 lbmol/hr
REACTOR Block data input:

We have selected the RStoic model to describe the reactor in training session. RStoic is typical
used when reaction kinetics is unknown and the stoichiometry and the molar extent or
conversion is known for each reaction. In the REACTOR (RStoic) Specification Sheet enter
the reactors duty and pressure drop:
Specifications:
Duty 0 Btu/hr
Pressure drop 0 psia
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Reactions:
In the REACTOR (RStoic) Reactions Sheet you specify the reactions occurring in the reactor
and also indicate if the reactions occur simultaneously or in series.
If you want to define the reaction, click the New button and specify the stoichiometry and the
reaction extent in the Edit Stoichiometry dialog box. After specifying one or more reactions,
you can use the Edit button to modify and the Delete button to remove existing reactions.
To enter the reaction with a conversion of 90%:

C6H6 + C3H6  C9H12
1. Select the reactant component BENZENE and enter -1 for the stoichiometric coefficient.
2. Select the reactant component PROPENE and enter -1 for the stoichiometric coefficient.
3. Select the product component CUMENE and enter 1 for the stoichiometric coefficient.
The stoichiometric coefficients must be negative for reactants and positive for products.
4. Select the Fractional conversion and enter 0.9.
5. Select PROPENE as the reactant component on which the conversion is based.
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COOL BLOCK data input:
COOL input data Aspen Plus Screenshot
Temperature 130 F
Pressure drop 0.1 psia
SEP BLOCK data input:

SEP input data Aspen Plus Screenshot
Duty 0 Btu/hr
Pressure 1 atm
7. Running the simulation

The input specifications for this simulation model are complete and the simulation is
ready to be run. Run the simulation in either of the following ways:
4. From the Home tab of the ribbon, in Run, click .

6. Press F5.
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8. Examining Simulation Results
1. What is the stream results for this simulation?
2. What is the Block results of SEP? (What typical results are given?)
3. What is COOL Heat duty in kW?
4. What is the mole and mass fraction for the RECYCLE stream?
Aspen Plus do not by default report the mole and mass fraction. To tell Aspen Plus to also report
the mole and mass fraction, navigate to Setup and Report Option by clicking once on the Report
Option under the Setup folder on the Navigation Pane.
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The Setup - Report Options sheet appears.
By clicking the appropriate tab, you can customize the reporting for specific parts of the
simulation. Click the Stream tab and in the Fraction basis area, select the Mole check box and
Mass check box.
Click and OK on the Required Input Complete dialog box.
If you now view the stream results, you would also observe both the mole and mass
fraction of a stream result.
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4. Generate an Aspen Plus report file for this simulation.
Aspen Plus allows you to generate a report file containing the simulation specifications and
calculated results.
1. From the ribbon, select File and then move the cursor to Export.
2. A list appears on the right. Click File. The Export dialog box appears.
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3. In the Save as type list, select Report Files (*.rep). In the File name field and
type Cumene_report.
4. Click Save to generate the report file, Cumene_report.rep.
You can also examine the report before exiting Aspen Plus by clicking Report in Summary on
the Home tab of the ribbon. The Report dialog box allows you to select which part of the report you
want to display (for example, data from Stream FEED only). Aspen Plus will display the selected
part of the report (or the whole report, if you select Simulation) using Notepad. From
the Notepad window, you can then save the report fragment you are currently viewing by
selecting File | Save as.
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objectives?

1. Start a new simulation using Chemical Simulation with Metric Units;
2. Enter the two components water and acetone;
3. Select the property method NRTL for the simulation;
4. Setup with input information the PBD below;
5. Report the stream results (including mole fractions).
Stream results:
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Property methods in Aspen Plus®

 View and retrieve different properties of a system;
 Plot results;
 Simulate the three main separation models (Flash2, DTSWU and RadFrac);
1. Simulation flowsheet
In this session you will be viewing and retrieving different physical properties for the binary
system of benzene and toluene. Furthermore, you will be simulating four types of Aspen
Plus models, namely Dupl, Flash2, DSTWU and RadFrac as shown below:
Model Aspen Icon Description

Dupl Stream duplicator. Copies an inlet stream to any number of
duplicate outlet streams.
Flash2 Two-outlet flash (Flash2) model flashes, evaporators, knock-out

drums, and other single-stage separators. Flash2 performs vapour-
liquid or vapour-liquid-liquid equilibrium calculations.
DSTWU DSTWU performs shortcut design calculations for single-feed, two-
product distillation columns with a partial or total condenser.
DSTWU assumes constant molal overflow and constant relative
volatilities.
Rigorous fractionation (RadFrac), performs rigorous rating and
RadFrac
design calculations for all types of multistage vapour-liquid
fractionation operations.
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Start Aspen Plus and select the Blank Simulation template (revisit PBL1 and PBL2):
AspenPlus V8.8.
2. On the ribbon, click File and select New. The New dialog box appears.
3. Click the Blank Simulation template.
4. Click Create.
3. Add components
Add components Benzene and Toluene (revisit PBL2):
1. Use the Components - Specifications form in the Properties environment to select
the chemical components present in the simulation.
2. From the Navigation Pane, click Components, and then select Specification to open
the form.
3. In the Component ID field, type BENZENE and press Enter on the keyboard.
Because Aspen Plus recognizes the component name Benzene as an Aspen Plus
automatically.
4. In the Component ID field, type TOLUENE and press Enter on the keyboard.
Because Aspen Plus recognizes the component name Toluene as an Aspen Plus
automatically.
4. Retrieve pure-component and binary parameters

Retrieve pure-component and binary parameters from Aspen Plus databank (PURE32
Databank):
Aspen Plus databank PURE32 (for version 8.8) ccontains parameters for 2,154 (mostly
organic) components. This is the main source of pure component parameters for the Aspen
Physical Property System. The databank is based on the data developed by the AIChE
DIPPR® data compilation project (May 2013 public DIPPR release), parameters developed
by AspenTech, parameters obtained from the ASPENPCD databank, and other sources.
For most calculations, this databank contains all the property parameters you need. Use
the Aspen Plus Help to see the all the parameters and components available in this
databank. Some examples are given below in the Table:
34
Parameter Name Description Units
API Standard API gravity at 60°F Dimensionless
DHVLB Heat of vaporization at TB J/kmol
FREEZEPT Normal freezing point K
FP Flash point K
MOC-NO Motor octane number Dimensionless
MUP Dipole moment (J*cum)**.5
MUVDIP DIPPR vapor viscosity coefficients N-sec/sqm [abs T]
MW Molecular weight kg/kmol
PC Critical pressure N/sqm
PLXANT Extended Antoine vapor pressure coefficients N/sqm [abs T]
RKTZRA Rackett liquid density parameter Dimensionless
SULFUR Sulfur content (weight fraction) Weight fraction
TB Normal boiling point K
TC Critical temperature K
VB Liquid molar volume at TB cum/kmol
VB Liquid molar volume at TB cum/kmol
VC Critical volume cum/kmol
ZC Critical compressibility factor Dimensionless
To retrieve all required pure component and binary interaction parameters for the components and
property methods specified in the calculation and display them on the Methods Parameters Results
forms:
1. Click Retrieve Parameters in the Home tab of the ribbon in
the Properties environment.
2. The Retrieve Parameter Results dialog box appears. Click OK and YES.
35
Example of scalar parameters for benzene and toluene such as API, molecular weight, critical
points etc. that are in the Aspen Plus Databank:
Example of temperature-dependent correlation parameters such as the extended Antoine

coefficients (PLXANT):
Test yourself and see if you can retrieve the following parameters values:

TB (Normal boiling point) of benzene 80.09 C
TC (Critical temperature) of toluene 318.6 C
DIPPR Liquid thermal conductivity (KLDIP-parameter)
5.53 to 139.5 C
temperature range of benzene
DIPPR ideal gas heat capacity (CPIGDP-parameter)
200 to 1500 K
temperature range of toluene
36
5. Select property method
For this simulation, we will use the PENG-ROB property method to calculate thermodynamic
properties.
1. From the Navigation Pane, click Methods and then select Specifications.
2. From the Method name select PENG-ROB.
Status bar.
6. Setting up flowsheet for Dupl and Flash2

We will now setup the flowsheet for Dupl and Flash2.
1. From the Model Palette, click the Manipulators tab and select Dupl.
3. From the Model Palette, click the Separators tab and select Flash2.
37
5. Rename the default block name of “B2” to “FLASH2” by selecting block B2 and then click the
right mouse button. From the block shortcut menu, click Rename Block.
6. Enter in the Rename dialog box “FLASH2”.
7. From the Model Palette, click once. This will allow you to place the different streams.
Connect the relevant streams to the two blocks B1 and FLASH2 and thereafter rename the
streams accordingly:
8. Enter the input data for the feed stream and the two blocks:
Feed stream input data Aspen Plus Screenshot
Temperature 35 C
Pressure 1 atm
Benzene mole-flow 0.5 kmol/hr
Toluene mole-flow 0.5 kmol/hr
B1 (DUPL) input data Aspen Plus Screenshot

No input needed, use default
input.
38
FLASH2 input data Aspen Plus Screenshot
Vapor fraction 0 -
Pressure 1 atm
9. Run the simulation and view the stream results that are generated:
It is event from the stream results that the bubble-point of this mixture (setting the molar vapor
fraction equal to zero) is T = 92.7C.
If you change the molar vapor fraction to one and rerun the simulation then the dew-point is
obtained at T = 99.7C.
To Determine Set the Molar Vapor Fraction
The dew point of a mixture 1
The bubble point of a mixture 0
10. Change the input of FLASH2 as follow:

FLASH2 input data Aspen Plus Screenshot
Temperature 96 C
Pressure 1 atm
39
11. Run the simulation and view the stream results that are generated:
7. Sensitivity analysis around Flash2

To create a sensitivity analysis in Aspen Plus we use the Sensitivity form in the Model
Analysis Tool folder.
Sensitivity blocks are used to generate tables and/or plots of simulation results as
functions of feed stream or block input variables.
For this sensitivity we will analyze the effect of the operating temperature of FLASH2 on
the Vapor/Liquid flowrate ratio.
1. To create a sensitivity analysis, select Sensitivity from the Model Analysis Tools and click
New.
2. Use the default S-1 ID name and click OK on the Create New ID dialog box.
40
3. Understand the three required input sheets:
Use this sheet To do this
Vary Identify the input variables to manipulate in order to generate the
table
Define Identify the flowsheet variables that are to be tabulated, or used to
compute the tabulation results
Tabulate Define what you want Aspen Plus to tabulate
4. On the Vary sheet select New.
5. Define the manipulated variable type as Block-Var
6. Select the manipulated variable block as FLASH2 and the manipulated variable as TEMP
(specified temperature).
41
7. We want to manipulate the specified temperature of block FLASH2’s between 93 and 99C
in increments of 1C. Enter the manipulated variable specify limits of Lower to 93 and the
Upper to 99. Also select increment and enter 1:
8. On the Define sheet select New.
9. In the Create new variable dialog box enter TOP1 and then select OK. Again, select new
variable and in the Create new variable enter BOT1 and then OK.
and
42
10. Variable TOP1 is the molar flow rate of stream TOP1.
Select from in Category Streams.
In the Reference section select the type as Stream-Var.
Select stream as TOP1.
Select as variable MOLE-FLOW.
11. Variable BOT1 is the molar flow rate of stream BOT1.

Select from Category Streams.
In the Reference section select the type as Stream-Var.
Select stream as BOT1.
Select as variable MOLE-FLOW.
12. On the Tabulate sheet select Fill Variables.
13. Click to run the simulation and sensitivity analysis. View the results from the sensitivity
analysis.
43
One could also use these results to generate plots. For example using the keyboard:
1. Select the data from column “Vary 1 FLASH2 PARAM TEMP C” and press CTRL+ALT+X
to mark it as the X variable.
2. Select the data from column “TOP1” and press CTRL+ALT+Y to mark them as Y
variables.
3. Press CTRL+ALT+P to display the plot.
8. Setting up flowsheet and input specification for DSTWU

Aspen Plus has several different distillation unit operation models as shown in the Model
Palette under Columns. We will focus in this section on the shortcut distillation column
model called DSTWU.
44
The DSTWU model performs shortcut design calculations for a single feed, two product
distillation process with a partial or total condenser. DSTWU use the methods of Gilliland, Winn,
and Underwood to estimate the number of stages and reflux ratios. DSTWU assumes constant
molar overflow and constant relative volatilities.
DSTWU uses this To estimate

method/correlation
Winn Minimum number of stages and optimum feed location at total reflux
Underwood Minimum reflux ratio
Gilliland Required reflux ratio for a specified number of stages or the required
number of stages for a specified reflux ratio
For the specified recovery of light and heavy key components, DSTWU estimates:
 Minimum reflux ratio
 Minimum number of theoretical stages
DSTWU then estimates one of the following:
 Required reflux ratio for the specified number of theoretical stages
 Required number of theoretical stages for the specified reflux ratio
DSTWU also estimates the optimum feed stage location and the condenser and reboiler duties.
1. From the Model Palette, click the Columns tab and select DSTWU.
3. Rename the default block name of “B2” to “DSTWU” by selecting block B2 and then click the
4. Enter in the Rename dialog box “DSTWU”.
Connect the relevant streams to the block DSTWU and thereafter rename the streams
accordingly:
6. Enter the input data for the DSTWU block in the input specification sheet:

Reflux ratio 3 -
No pressure drop, thus
Condenser pressure 1 atm
Reboiler pressure 1 atm
Light key - benzene recovery 0.98 -
Heavy key - toluene recovery 0.1 -
Total Condenser
𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑛 𝑑𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒

Recovery is define as
𝑚𝑜𝑙𝑒 𝑓𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑒𝑒𝑑
The component recovery values that are input are equal to the amount of each component in the
distillate divided by the amount of each component in the feed.
45
Aspen Plus screenshot of input information:
7. Click to run the simulation. View the block results of the block DSTWU.
From the block results one could obtain the minimum reflux ratio and minimum number of stages
for this simulation.
From the stream results one could obtain the composition of the different streams.
46
9. Setting up flowsheet and input specification for RadFrac
We will focus in this section on the detail rigorous distillation column model called
RadFrac. This model involves much more rigorous calculations than the DSTWU model
and can be used to simulate various separation units such as absorption, stripping,
extractive distillation, azeotropic distillation for solids, liquids, and gases, etc. RadFrac is
excellent for highly non-ideal system or processes with an ongoing chemical reaction.
RadFrac has multiple feed and product streams (including pump-around streams) and it
can simulate columns with trays, random packing, or structured packing.
1. From the Model Palette, click the Columns tab and select RadFrac.
3. Rename the default block name of “B4” to “RadFrac” by selecting block B4 and then click the
4. Enter in the Rename dialog box “RadFrac”.
Connect the relevant streams to the block RadFrac and thereafter rename the streams
accordingly:
6. Enter in the RadFrac Setup Configuration Sheet the following:

 Calculation type: Equilibrium
 Number of stages: 16
 Condenser type: Total
 Reboiler type: Kettle
 Valid Phase: Vapor-liquid
 Convergence method: Standard
 Operating specification:
o Distillate rate = 0.682 kmol/hr
o Reflux ratio = 1.14 (mole based)
Aspen Plus screenshot:
47
7. Click
8. Enter in the RadFrac Setup Streams Sheet the following:
 Feed stream stage: 7 (above-stage)
 Product streams:
o BOT3: stage = 16
o TOP3: stage = 1
Aspen Plus screenshot:
9. Click
10. Enter 1 atm in the Top stage/ Condenser pressure.
11. Click to run the simulation. View the stream and block results of the block RadFrac.
48
objectives?
Test yourself by seeing if you can complete the following problem:

Consider the following Radfrac column in Aspen Plus:
Feed-stream: 40 °C, 1 bar, 10 kmol/hr ethanol, 5 kmol/hr acetic-acid, 60 kmol/hr ethyl-
acetate and 50 kmol/hr water.
Column Configuration: Equilibrium column, 15 Stages, Total Condenser, Distillate rate of
60 kmol/hr and Reflux ratio of 1.5. Feed-stage is above-stage 7. Constant pressure profile
of 1 bar. Use NRTL as property method.
Vary the column height (stages) between 14 and 25 by using a Sensitivity Analysis in
ASPEN PLUS. Give a plot of ethanol molflow in the distillate stream versus number of
stages.
49
Simulating unit operations in Aspen Plus®

 Use the design parameter Calculator;
 Use the design parameter Design Spec;
 Define a Convergence variable;
 Decide a Sequence for the calculations
1. Simulation Flowsheet
In this session you will be simulating four types of Aspen Plus unit models for the
production of NH3, namely Mixer, RStoic, Heater and Flash2 as shown below:
The main focus of this session will be on how to use the two design tools of Calculator
and Design Specification for the production process. We will also look at how to handel
the recycle streams.
2. Starting Aspen Plus, add components and select property method

Start Aspen Plus by doing one of the following:
AspenPlus V8.8.
After Aspen Plus is opened, Select a new simulation file:

2. Click on New > Blank Simulation
50
The program will automatically open the Properties Environment to select the required components
for the simulation,
In this PBL session, you will simulate the production of NH3 from two streams of H2 and N2
respectively.
3. Add the components required for the simulation by typing H2, N2, NH3 in each cell of
Component ID. (Note: for simple molecules, Aspen Plus immediately recognizes the
right component, but in case of more complicated component, it is possible to look more
in detail using the button Find)
In Setup → Components, add the components required

for the simulation. In this case we need to use H2, N2
and NH3
4. Click . Select the property method Peng-Robinson (PENG-ROB).
51
Status bar.
3. Setting up the mixer simulation

We will now setup the flowsheet for this session.
1. In the Simulation Environment, start to build the new flowsheet using the Material
streams and Unit Operation from Model Palette. (If needed revisit PBL2 and 3)
2. The first unit is a Mixer (called B1) which is mixing two streams (called H2 and N2) to
form a third stream called MIX1.
52
3. Adjust the Report options of the Simulation file including also the possibility to add mass
flowrate and mole fractions in the report file by changing the settings in Setup > Report
Options > Streams and select Mass (Flow Basis) and Mole (Fraction Basis).
4. Enter the input data for the two feed streams:

Feed stream H2 input data Aspen Plus screenshot
Temperature 25 C
Pressure 250 Bar
H2 mass-flow 10 kg/hr
H2 mole-fraction 1 -
Feed stream N2 input data Aspen Plus screenshot

Temperature 25 C
Pressure 250 Bar
N2 mass-flow 10 kg/hr
N2 mole-fraction 1 -
5. Since an adiabatic mixer between two streams is simulated, the setting of unit operation
B1 can be left as it is by confirming the pre-existing setting.
53
6. Save the simulation as a backup file called “CHEN21112_PBL_4.bkp”. File > Save as
> CHEN21112_PBL_4.bkp (as backup file):
7. Click on the Control Panel.
8. Click ok the Reset button to reinitialize the simulation and then the Run button to run
the simulation
9. Check the results to see if there are any errors or warning.
54
10. Check the results by right click on the unit B1 and select Stream results in which the
MIX1 stream is now calculated based on the input data.
4. Using the design tool of CALCULATOR in Aspen Plus

In this part, we are going to implement a new Flowsheeting options that will automatically
calculate the flowrate of H2 for a given N2 flowrate so that the molar H2/N2 ratio will be
exactly equal to 3 to satisfy the stoichiometry of the reaction.
3𝐻2 + 𝑁2 → 2𝑁𝐻3
1. Open the Calculator tab as shown below and create the new Calculator C-1:
55
In Aspen Plus, a Calculator is used to
insert FORTRAN code (or Excel sheet
calculations) into the simulation. In the
Calculator, the variables type need to
be defined as either Import or Export
variable. An import variable is one
that is read from the simulation while
an export variable is
one that is written to the simulation.
Go to the Flowsheeting Options >

Calculator and click the New... button.
2. Define the IMPORT Variable N2FLOW as Stream Variables type, Molar flow rate in
kmol/h and define the EXPORT Variable H2FLOW as Stream Variables type, Molar
flow rate in kmol/h.
Note: if you select Molar-Flow variable type instead of Stream variable type you are
NOT indicating the overall molar flow rate of the selected stream BUT the molar flowrate
of a single component of the selected stream (in case of a mixture)
N2FLOW
(IMPORT)
56
H2FLOW
(EXPORT)
3. Open the Calculate tab and implement the following code:

HN = 3 (HN is a variable that define the H/N ratio as required, it does not need to be
declared before)
H2FLOW = N2FLOW * HN (this is the information implemented to define H2FLOW
based on the N2FLOW × 3).
Note: the variable name has to be the same as defined in the Define tab. You can right
click in the Fortran tab and drag and drop each variable
Note: Check if there is some space left (as defined by default) at the beginning,
otherwise the equation implemented is not properly implemented and an error is shown(
).
4. Finally, the sequence of calculation of the calculator block has to be introduced in the
sequence of the flowsheet calculation on the Sequence tab. In this case, the calculator
is needed to calculate the flowrate of stream H2 which is then mixed with the stream N2
57
in the block B1. Therefore the calculator C-1 has be calculated “BEFORE“ the unit
operation Mixer B1.
5. After verifying that everything is correct ( ), Start the simulation from Control Panel
: click ok to Reset to reinitialize the simulation and then Run the simulation using the
control bar of the program.
6. If right click on the mixer B1 and select stream results you can see that now the H2 flow
rate is different (2.1588 kg/h instead of 10 kg/h in the previous simulation and the H2/N2
ration in MIX1 is (H2, 1.07 kmol/h and N2 0.357 kmol/h).
58
NEW simulation OLD simulation
5. Using the design tool of DESIGN SPEC in Aspen Plus

In this part, we are going to implement a new Flowsheeting options that will automatically
calculate the required conversion to achieve the ammonia production of 6.5 kg/h based on the
reaction.
3𝐻2 + 𝑁2 → 2𝑁𝐻3
1. Firstly, go back on the panel flowsheet, add a reactor using Model Palette > Reactors
> RSTOICH named Unit Operation B2.
2. Connect the stream MIX1 to the unit B2 and create a new material stream PROD1
which is leaving the Unit B2.
Note: you can connect MIX1 to B2 by right click on the stream MIX1 and select
“Reconnect Destination”
3. Double click on Unit B2 and add the following data:
59
Specifications
tab
Temperature:
600°C
Pressure:
250 bar
Reactions tab
𝟑𝑯𝟐 + 𝑵𝟐
→ 𝑵𝑯𝟑
Fractional
conversion:
H2 = 0.5
Note: the
reaction has a
wrong
stoichiometry.
4. When the unit B1 is complete (everything is showing ) it is possible to run the

simulation from Control Panel by click ok to Reset to reinitialize the simulation and then
Run the simulation using the control bar of the program.
5. The control panel will show an error because of the wrong reaction stoichiometry.
Therefore we need to come back to the Main flowsheet.
6. Come back to the Main flowsheet, double click on unit operation B2, open the
reactions tab, click on Edit and write the reaction correctly (put a 2 in the coefficient
of NH3).
60
7. Run the simulation from Control Panel and check the results of the simulation. Click
on B2 in left hand side navigation panel > Stream Results. The NH3 flow rate is 6.0794
kg/h for the fixed H2 conversion of 0.5.
8. In order to achieve the exact NH3 flowrate (6.5 kg/h) it is possible to add a Design Spec
functionality available under Flowsheeting Options > Design Spec
9. To see how this functionality work, go the Design Spec folder and click the New button.
When asked for the ID, input DS-1 (you can put a different ID) and then OK.
61
10. A new form is created than contains several tabs. In order to achieve the required
specification, variables must be defined in the Define tab. The variable NH3FLOW is
defined as follow.
Note: The variable defined here can be the variable to which a design specification
is desired (e.g. variable A = 0.xxx kg/h) or can be a part of an expression used
to achieve the design specification (variables A/B = 0.xx).
In our case we define NH3FLOW as Stream (Category), Mass-Flow (Type), PROD1

(stream), MIXED (substream); Component (NH3), kg/h (Units).
Note: in this case, the variable type is NOT a stream variable but a Mass-Flow, because
we want a specific component of PROD1 equal to 6.5 kg/h and not the total stream
PROD1.
11. Open the Spec tab which is used to input the variable or expression (in FORTRAN)
the value of which is the design specification. The variables can be typed in directly
or input through the variable list available by right clicking on the field. Therefore in Spec
we add the variable name (as specified in the Define tab, NH3FLOW). In Target we
input the value or the expression (in this case 6.5). In Tolerance we input the maximum
absolute acceptable difference between the Spec and Target (in this case 0.001),
therefore the NH3FLOW = 6.5 ± tol
62
12. The last thing to be defined is the manipulated variable, or the variable to be
varied to achieve the design specification. This can be defined under the Vary tab.
Here, a variable needs to be defined in a similar manner it was defined in the
Define tab. In this case we select Block-Var (Type), B2 (Block), CONV (Variable), we
type 1 (ID1) and we expect that the conversion will be between 0.01 and 0.99.
Note: in case the convergence problem is more complicated it is possible to give a
smaller range (e.g. 0.4 and 0.6, depending on the case). Also, if the simulation is very
sensitive to the manipulated variable used it is possible to help the convergence by
using a fixed step size (and maximum step size). These additional inputs would guide
the variation of the manipulated variable are usually required when the flowsheet is very
complex (rule of thumbs >15 blocks, or multiple loops).
13. After verifying that everything is correct ( ), start the simulation from Control Panel:
click OK to Reset to reinitialize the simulation and then Run the simulation using the
14. If you right click on the RSTOIC B2 and select stream results, you can see that now the
NH3 mass-flow (in PROD1) is different (6.5 kg/h instead of 6.0794 kg/h as in the
previous simulation while the input stream (MIX1) is the same.
63
NOTE: If a design spec does not converge:

1. Check to see that the manipulated variable is not at its lower or upper bound.
2. Verify that a solution exists within the bounds specified for the manipulated variable, perhaps by
performing a sensitivity analysis (e.g. you can also vary the variable manually);
3. Check to ensure that the manipulated variable does indeed affect the value of the sampled
variables;
4. Try providing a better starting estimate for the value of the manipulated variable
6. Handling recycle loops: how to define a CONVERGENCE Variable

and a SEQUENCE in Aspen Plus
In this part, we are going to include a recycling stream and define a convergence variable. The
convergence variables used in case the simulation requires multiple iterations (such as in a
recycle loop).
1. Add two more units (called B3 and B4) in the flowsheet to reach the final configuration:
2. The input information of B3 and B4 are defined as follow:
64
Component HEATER:
Model Palette > Exchangers >

Heater
Inlet stream PROD1

Outlet stream PROD2
Temperature: -20°C
Pressure: 250 bar
Component FLASH2:
Model Palette > Separator >

Flash2
Inlet stream: PROD2

outlet streams: LIQ and GAS
Duty: 0 cal/sec
Pressure: 250 bar
3. After verifying that everything is correct ( ), start the simulation from Control Panel:
click ok to Reset to reinitialize the simulation and then Run the simulation using the
4. If the simulation has converged without error or warning showing “Results Available”
in the botton left hand side ( ) it is possible to check the stream results
going to the navigation panel (left hand side) on Results Summary > Streams. The
streams are listed in alphabetical order; however, it is possible to arrange it by properly
selecting the stream in each column.
65
5. As it is possible to notice, the GAS stream is plenty of H2 and N2 which are not yet
converted. As it normally happens in this case, this stream are recirculated to the reactor
inlet to increase the overall NH3 production.
6. The recycle loop is calculated assuming that the stream GAS is splitted into two streams
(GAS I and GAS II) and the simulation is converged when all the conditions (flowrate,
composition, pressure, enthalpies, etc…) of the two streams are the same. This is
numerically expressed in terms of Generic Condition (Pi) so that Pi,GAS II – Pi,GAS I <
tolerance
GAS I GAS II
7. For a simple flowsheet as the one here considered, Aspen normally identifies the
convergence variable automatically, however, for more complex flowsheet it may be
66
better to select the convergence variable mostly because the convergence variable
usually requires a starting estimate that it is not too far from the real solution.
8.
For this specific simulation, you
must remember to deactivate
the design spec previously
implemented because
otherwise the amount of NH3
will always be 6.5 kg/h being
this a condition imposed. To do
so, right click on the design
spec DS-1 and click on
deactivate. The program will
not consider this condition
anymore.
Doing so, the reaction
conversion will not be
manipulated anymore but it will
be fixed as from the input
parameters
Fractional conversion of 0.5 for
the component H2
NOTE: when implementing

different flowsheeting options
ensure that those are not in
conflict each other
9. After verifying that everything is correct ( ), Start the simulation from Control Panel:
click ok to Reset to reinitialize the simulation
10. You will notice that a new sequence is introduced including a SOLVER01 (method
WEGSTEIN) which is automatically selected by the software as convergence method.
The sequence presents a loop
67
11. Click Run and when the simulation has completed, you can see the control panel that
shows as follow:
12. And in particular you can read that SOLVER01 has reached the convergence after 3
iterations:
13. Checking the stream results of the reactor B2 it is possible to see a substantial
difference in the flowrate and NH3 mass-flow produced. The NH3 mass flow is now
12.53 kg/h compared to 6.5 kg/h in the previous simulation.
68
14. Create a convergence variable. To create a new convergence variable go to

Convergence in the navigational panel on the left hand side.
15. Operate the following steps: 1) click New; 2) add a name to the variable (CV-1); 3)
select the method (WEGSTEIN), 4) click OK; 5) select the stream GAS as Tear Streams
NOTE: in this case the tolerance identifies the relative difference, therefore P estimated –
Passumed < ± tol
69
1
2
3
5
4
16. Aspen Plus performs flowsheet calculations using the sequential modular method.
Each unit operation block is executed in sequence. If a sequence is not defined, Aspen
will assign a sequence automatically.
NOTE: for simple flowsheet simulation (as in this case), the Sequence assigned by
Aspen is usually fine to achieve the required results.
17. To assign a different sequence open the Sequence tab on Convergence >Sequence
and operate the following steps: 1) click New; 2) name the Sequence name (SQ-1); 3)
click OK;
18. REMEMBER: to assign a sequence, add all the calculation blocks including Calculator,
unit operation, convergence variable, sensitivity (if any), etc…
19. Based on the Flowsheet, the following sequence of unit operation is considered:
1. Mixer B1; Reactor B2, Heater B3, Flash B4….. BUT

2. We must consider that 1) A calculator (C-1) is needed to define the molar-flow of H2
based on the molar-flow of N2
3. There is a Recycle loop (and associated convergence variable CV-1) on the stream
GAS;
4. The sequence becomes therefore:
a. Begin > Convergence > CV-1
i. Calculator > C-1
ii. Unit Operation > B1
iii. Unit Operation > B2
iv. Unit Operation > B3
v. Unit Operation > B4
b. Return to > Convergence > CV-1
70
20. After verifying that everything is correct ( ), Start the simulation from Control Panel:
click ok to Reset to reinitialize the simulation. You will see that now the sequence is
different (and the SOLVER01 is not there anymore because the convergence loop has
been now replaced by the convergence variable CV-1)
21. What happen if you define a wrong sequence as in the case below?
a. Begin > Convergence > CV-1
i. Calculator > C-1
ii. Unit Operation > B1
iii. Unit Operation > B2
iv. Unit Operation > B4
v. Unit Operation > B3
b. Return to > Convergence > CV-1
When come back to the Control Panel and click Run, you will get the following error message
(see below) that says that the Stream PROD2 cannot be defined since it is calculated based on
Heater B3 and therefore the Flash B4 cannot be calculated as well since the final conditions
depend on the properties of the stream PROD2.
71
22. If you compare the results of the new simulation and the previous obtained before
setting the convergence variable and the new sequence you will see that, across the
reactor, the results are the same.
With CV-1 and SQ-1 As defined by Aspen Plus
23. Save the simulation and Close the Program.
72
objectives?
Test yourself by seeing if you can complete the following:

1. Consider the calculator block to calculate the right amount of H2. Remove it and
implement the same requirement by using the Design Spec block.
2. Implement a design spec to change the N2 flow rate at the inlet, so that the final liquid
NH3 is 5 kg/h.
3. Change the reaction extent by considering the N2 fractional conversion and
implement a calculator to impose the fractional conversion of N2 equal to 0.9 including
it in the sequence.
73
Week 6 to 8 - Coursework
Intended learning outcomes for this coursework. You should be able to:
 Select an appropriate property method for the cumene system;
 Build a Aspen Plus process simulation for the cumene case-study that converge the
material and energy balance;
 Evaluate and analyse the simulation results.
1. Introduction
Cumene (C9H12, CAS-number: 98-82-8), also known as isopropylbenzene, is used as a
thinner for paints and varnishes, and is mainly utilized as an intermediate chemical for the
production of phenol and acetone. The production of cumene is typically via the reaction
of benzene (C6H6, CAS-number: 71-43-2) with propene (C3H6, CAS-number: 115-07-1) in
the presence of a solid catalyst. The exothermic reaction occurs in a packed reactor in the
gas-phase at relevant high-temperatures (> 320C) and high-pressures (ranging from 20
to 35 bar).
C6H6 + C3H6  C9H12 (R1)

There is also a sequential reaction of cumene and propene to form an undesired product
of p-diisopropylbenzene (p-DIPB, C12H18, CAS-number: 100-18-5).
C9H12 + C3H6  C12H18 (R2)

cumene propene p-DIPB
The cumene process is well documented in Luyben (2010)1. The reaction kinetics for the
two reactions and reactor design are summarized in Table 1 and Luyben (2010).
Table 1 – Reaction kinetics of reactions used in the reactor (R-101).

Reaction Rate expression Rate constant
−104174
C6H6 + C3H6  C9H12 𝑟1 = 𝑘1 𝑐Benzene 𝑐Propene 𝑘1 = 2.8 × 107 𝑒 ( 𝑅𝑇
)
−146742
C9H12 + C3H6  C12H18 𝑟2 = 𝑘2 𝑐Cumene 𝑐Propene 𝑘2 = 2.32 × 109 𝑒 ( 𝑅𝑇
)
* In these expressions for the Aspen Plus Power-law Equations: the reacting phase is Vapor, rate
basis is Reac (vol), [Ci] basis is Molarity, and the activation energies are in kJ.kmol-1.
1 Luyben, W.L., Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2010, 49, 719–734. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/ie9011535
74
2. Process Description
A simplified process flow diagram (PFD) is depicted in Figure 1 for this case study.
Figure 1 – Simplified process flow diagram of the cumene process with design target.
Two fresh feed-streams are fed into the process, namely stream 1 (benzene) and stream
2 (mixture of propene and propane). Stream 1 is supplied as pure benzene at 25C and 1
atm, while stream 2 is supplied as a mixture of propene (96 mol%) and propane (4 mol%)
at 35 C and 15 bar. Stream 1 is mixed with the recycled benzene (stream 20) coming
from the separation section and then pumped up to the desired pressure for the reactor.
Stream 2 is also pumped up to the desired pressure for the reactor and mixed with stream
5. The combined fresh benzene, fresh propene, and recycled benzene streams (stream 6)
are vaporized and superheated to the desired reactor inlet temperature using E-101 (heat
exchanger) and H-101 (fired heater). The fired heater outlet stream (stream 8) is sent to
the packed bed reactor (R-101) in which cumene and p-DIPB are formed according to the
reactions as given in Table 1. The reactor effluent stream (stream 9) is cooled, partially
condensed, and fed to V-102 (flash drum) which removes the unwanted propane impurity
(with some propene/benzene) from the process as light gases in stream 13 (propane gas
stream). The liquid stream (stream 14) from V-102 is sent to the first distillation column
(T-101) which separate benzene for recycle. The second distillation column (T-102)
purifies cumene from the p-DIPB to the desired purity of >99.9 mol%.
75
3. Aspen Plus Input Data
Stream data input:
Stream 1: Fresh Benzene Stream 2: Fresh propene
Parameter Value Units Parameter Value Units
Temperature 25 C Temperature 35 C
Pressure 1 atm Pressure 15 bar
Benzene mole-flow 86 kmol/hr Total mole-flow 89 kmol/hr
Propene mole-fraction 0.96 -
Propane mole-fraction 0.04 -
Stream 20: Recycle stream
Temperature 51 C
Pressure 1 atm
Benzene mole-flow 81 kmol/hr
Cumene mole-flow 17 kmol/hr
Propane mole-flow 6 kmol/hr
Block data input:

Pump: P-101 Pump: P-102
Model in Aspen as: Pump Model in Aspen as: Pump
Pressure 31.5 bar Pressure 31.5 bar
Efficiencies 0.75 - Efficiencies 0.75 -
Pump: P-103
Model in Aspen as: Pump
Pressure 3 bar
Efficiencies 0.75 -
Heater: E-101A Fired Heater: H-101

Model in Aspen as: Heater Model in Aspen as: Heater
Pressure drop 0.5 bar Pressure drop 0.25 bar
Outlet Temperature 214 C Outlet Temperature 350 C
Cooler: E-101B Cooler: E-102
Model in Aspen as: Heater Model in Aspen as: Heater
Pressure drop 0.25 bar Pressure drop 0 bar
Duty -2700 kW Outlet Temperature 90 C
76
Reactor: R-101
Model in Aspen as: RPlug
Specification: Reactor configuration:
Reactor with specified temperature. Number tubes: Ntube = 342
Temperature profile: Tube diameter: Dtube = 3 in.
Location 0: 350 C Tube length: Ltube = 6m
Location 1: 427 C Valid phase: Vapor-Only
Reaction and kinetics as given in Table 1.
Screen shots from sample Aspen Plus solution:
Flash Drum: V-101

Model in Aspen as: Flash2
Temperature 90 C
Pressure 1.75 Bar
Distillation Column: T-101 Distillation Column: T-101

Model in Aspen as: Radfrac Model in Aspen as: Radfrac
Separate benzene for recycle. Purifies cumene from p-DIPB.
Number of stages 14 - Number of stages 20 -
Condenser Total - Condenser Total -
Distillate rate 104 kmol/hr Distillate rate 80 kmol/hr
Reflux ratio (moles) 0.44 - Reflux ratio (moles) 0.63 -
Feed stage (above) 8 - Feed stage (above) 12 -
Condenser pressure 1.75 bar Condenser pressure 1.75 bar
77
4. Aspen Plus Stream results
Table 2 – Possible Aspen Plus stream data for the process of Figure 1.
Stream: S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10
Temperature C 25 35 43.3 37.3 44.8 44.6 214 350 427 285.4
Pressure bar 1.013 15 1.013 31.5 31.5 31.5 31 30.75 30.75 30.5
Vapor Frac 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.683 1 1 0.044
Mole Flow kmol/hr 86.0 89.0 190.0 89.0 190.0 279.0 279.0 279.0 193.6 193.6
Mass Flow kg/hr 6717.8 3752.4 15352.9 3752.4 15352.9 19105.2 19105.2 19105.2 19105.2 19105.2
Volume Flow cum/hr 7.7 7.7 18.3 7.7 18.3 25.3 189.4 410.5 301.1 43.1
Enthalpy Gcal/hr 1.0 0.0 1.8 0.0 1.8 1.8 4.2 5.9 4.8 2.5
Mole Flow kmol/hr
BENZENE 86.00 0.00 167.00 0.00 167.00 167.00 167.00 167.00 83.12 83.12
PROPENE 0.00 85.44 0.00 85.44 0.00 85.44 85.44 85.44 0.08 0.08
CUMENE 0.00 0.00 17.00 0.00 17.00 17.00 17.00 17.00 99.40 99.40
P-DIPB 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.48 1.48
PROPANE 0.00 3.56 6.00 3.56 6.00 9.56 9.56 9.56 9.56 9.56
Mole Frac
BENZENE 1.00 0.00 0.88 0.00 0.88 0.60 0.60 0.60 0.43 0.43
PROPENE 0.00 0.96 0.00 0.96 0.00 0.31 0.31 0.31 0.00 0.00
CUMENE 0.00 0.00 0.09 0.00 0.09 0.06 0.06 0.06 0.51 0.51
P-DIPB 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.01
PROPANE 0.00 0.04 0.03 0.04 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.03 0.05 0.05
Stream: S11 S12 S13 S14 S15 S16 S17 S18 S19 S20
Temperature C 173 90 90 90 57 175.6 175.7 175 193.5 51
Pressure bar 1.75 1.75 1.75 1.75 1.75 1.75 3 1.75 1.75 1.013
Vapor Frac 1 0.032 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.04
Mole Flow kmol/hr 193.6 193.6 6.3 187.4 104.0 83.4 83.4 80.0 3.4 104.0
Mass Flow kg/hr 19105.2 19105.2 373.1 18732.1 8649.6 10082.6 10082.6 9614.8 467.7 8635.1
Volume Flow cum/hr 3934.0 128.7 105.0 23.7 10.6 14.0 14.0 13.4 0.7 118.3
Enthalpy Gcal/hr 2.5 0.3 0.0 0.3 0.8 -0.1 -0.1 -0.1 0.0 0.7
Mole Flow kmol/hr
BENZENE 83.12 83.12 2.17 80.95 80.93 0.02 0.02 0.02 0.00 81.00
PROPENE 0.08 0.08 0.03 0.05 0.05 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
CUMENE 99.40 99.40 0.30 99.09 17.22 81.87 81.87 79.98 1.89 17.00
P-DIPB 1.48 1.48 0.00 1.48 0.00 1.48 1.48 0.00 1.48 0.00
PROPANE 9.56 9.56 3.76 5.80 5.80 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 6.00
Mole Frac
BENZENE 0.43 0.43 0.35 0.43 0.78 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.78
PROPENE 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00
CUMENE 0.51 0.51 0.05 0.53 0.17 0.98 0.98 1.00 0.56 0.16
P-DIPB 0.01 0.01 0.00 0.01 0.00 0.02 0.02 0.00 0.44 0.00
PROPANE 0.05 0.05 0.60 0.03 0.06 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.06
5. Coursework tasks and some self-test questions for week 6 and 7

1. Motivate which property method you will use for this system.
[The sample answers results was generated with PENG_ROB]
2. Build the Aspen Plus simulation with the input data for the cumene process and
compare your stream results with Table 2.
[Do your simulation results deviate from Table 2?]
3. What is the computation order of your simulation?

Answer:
COMPUTATION ORDER FOR THE FLOWSHEET:
P-102 B1 P-101 B2 E-101A H-101 R-101 E-101B B3 E-102 V-101
T-101 B4 P-103 T-102
78
4. Retrieve the following scalar pure component parameters for all the components
from Aspen Plus: standard API gravity at 60F, normal freezing point, critical
temperature, normal boiling point and critical pressure.
Answer:
Parameters Units BENZENE PROPENE CUMENE P-DIPB PROPANE

API 28.5 139.6 31.8 33.9675 147.2
FREEZEPT C 5.53 -185.25 -96.01 -17.07 -187.68
TPT C 5.53 -185.26 -96.01 -17.07 -187.68
TB C 80.09 -47.7 152.41 210.5 -42.04
TC C 288.9 91.7 357.85 415.85 96.68
PC BAR 48.95 46 32.09 24.5 42.48
5. What is the temperature range for the extended Antoine vapour pressure
coefficients of cumene as used in this Aspen Plus simulation?
Answer:
177.14K to 631K
6. What is the single pass conversion of propene over the reactor?

Answer:
85.44−0.077
𝑥= =0.999 (propene conversion = 99.9%)
85.44
7. What is the stream density (property: RHOMX) and molecular weight (property:
MWMX) of stream 13?
Answer:
RHOMX = 3.555 kg/cum and MWMX = 59.56761
8. What is the condenser heat duty of T-102?

Answer:
-1.1075 Gcal/hr
9. Give the temperature profile of column T-101.

Answer:
10. What is the mol-fraction of cumene at stage 10 for column T-101?

Answer:
0.962118591 (Give to 3-decimals: 0.962)
79
11. Closing the recycle stream:
a) Reconcile the recycle stream. Close the recycle stream and rerun the
simulation.
b) What is the simulation sequence (computation order) and which stream
does Aspen Plus select as the tear stream?
Answer:
COMPUTATION ORDER FOR THE FLOWSHEET:
P-102
$OLVER01 B1 P-101 B2 E-101A H-101 R-101 E-101B B3 E-102
V-101 T-101 B4
(RETURN $OLVER01)
P-103 T-102
[B1 is a mixer for the feed stream 1 and the recycled stream 20; B2 is a mixer
for streams 5 and 4; B3 and B4 are valves]
Block $OLVER01 (Method: WEGSTEIN) has been defined to converge

streams: RS20
[Stream RS20 is the recycle stream that was reconciled]
c) Reset the simulation and rerun it. What solving method was used for
the tear stream and how many iterations were needed? Give a plot of
Maximum error/Tolerance versus iteration. Increase the iteration steps
of the tear stream solver to 50 iterations.
Answer:
WEGSTEIN.
10 iterations.
80
Economic evaluation with Excel

 Estimate the total capital fixed cost of a chemical process;
 Calculate the cash flow diagram;
 Carry out the economic analysis the economic evaluation of the financial project;
1. Introduction and problem

This session is intended to teach you how to use Excel as a calculation tool to perform an
economic analysis from a financial point of view given some information related to the
possibility to build and operate a chemical process.
NOTE: the methodology presented in this PBL session is general and therefore it could
result very useful and applicable to any other case providing that the correct boundary
conditions are considered.
2. Excel template
The Excel spreadsheet template for this PBL-session and economic analysis is provided
on Blackboard (Week 9 PBL session). The file name is PBL5-Economics_template
students.xlsx.
The Excel spreadsheet is already filled with most of the data required to solve the
Economic Analysis. Familiarize yourself with the spreadsheet and information on it.
Company Name Project Name
University of Manchester, AY 2019-2020 Project Number Sheet 1
CHEN21112 - Process Design and Simulation REV DATE BY APVD REV DATE BY APVD
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
CHEN21112 - w eek10 - PBL5
REVENUES AND PRODUCTION COSTS CAPITAL COSTS CONSTRUCTION SCHEDULE
$MM/yr $MM Year % FC % WC % FCOP % VCOP

Main product revenue 950.0 ISBL Capital Cost 1000.0 1 30.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Byproduct revenue 150.0 OSBL Capital Cost × 0.3(ISBL) 2 50.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Raw materials cost 550.0 Engineering Costs (EPC) × 0.3 (ISBL+ISBL) 3 20.00% 0.00% 0.00% 0.00%
Utilities cost 60.0 Contingency (Con) × 0.1 (ISBL+ISBL) 4 0.00% 100.00% 100.00% 50.00%
Consumables cost 20.0 Total Fixed Capital Cost (TFCC) 5 0.00% 0.00% 100.00% 100.00%
VCOP 480.0 6 0.00% 0.00% 100.00% 100.00%
Salary and overheads 35.0 Working Capital 0.0 × 0.1 (TFCC) 7+ 0.00% 0.00% 100.00% 100.00%
Maintenance 15.0
Interest 5.0
Royalties 5.0
FCOP 60.0
ECONOMIC ASSUMPTIONS
Tax rate 35%

Depreciation period
(from the beginning of 10 years
Cost of Capital 10.0% the operation)
CASH FLOW ANALYSIS
All figures in $MM unless indicated

Project year Cap Ex Revenue CCOP Gr. Profit Deprcn Taxbl Inc Tax Paid Cash Flow PV of CF NPV
1 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
2 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
3 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
5 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
6 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
8 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
10 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
11 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
12 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
13 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
14 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
15 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
16 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
17 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
18 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
19 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
20 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0
ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
Average cash flow $MM/yr NPV 10 years $MM IRR 10 years

Simple pay-back period yrs 15 years $MM 15 years
Return on investment (10 yrs) 20 years $MM 20 years
Return on investment (15 yrs)
NOTES
81
WHAT TO DO:
a. The blue cells are the data provided to solve exercise of a financial project in which
is possible to identify the operating costs, capital costs and cost scheduling;
b. Following the guidelines below, calculate the Cash Flow, Present Value (PV), and
Net Present Value NPV (orange cells);
c. Calculate the performance of the financial project (green cells) in terms of Return
of Investment (ROI), NPV and IRR;
1. The capital costs is based on the Factorial method in which:

a. Inside Battery (ISBL) = 1000 [$MM]
b. Outside Battery (OSBL) = 0.3 × ISBL [$MM]
c. Engineering (EPC) = 0.3 × (ISBL+OSBL) [$MM]
d. Contingency (Con) = 0.1 × (ISBL+OSBL) [$MM]
e. Total Fixed Capital Cost (TFCC) = ISBL + OSBL + EPC + Con [$MM]. The
TFCC is paid in the first 3 years of construction in (30% year 1, 50% years
2, 20% year 3);
f. Working Capital (WC) = 0.1 × (TFCC) [$MM]
The WC is paid entirely at year 4 and it is entirely recovered (the same amount) at the end
of the financial project (year 20).
$MM Year % FC % WC
ISBL Capital Cost 1000.0 1 30.00% 0.00%
OSBL Capital Cost × 0.3(ISBL) 2 50.00% 0.00%
Engineering Costs (EPC) × 0.3 (ISBL+ISBL) 3 20.00% 0.00%
Contingency (Con) × 0.1 (ISBL+ISBL) 4 0.00% 100.00%
Total Fixed Capital Cost (TFCC) 5 0.00% 0.00%
6 0.00% 0.00%
Working Capital 0.0 × 0.1 (TFCC) 7+ 0.00% 0.00%
2.
$MM/yr Revenue and Production costs
Main product revenue 950.0 [$MM/y] represents the cash flow
that is related to the operation
Byproduct revenue 150.0
and maintenance of the plant.
Raw materials cost 550.0 Therefore, these costs need to be
Utilities cost 60.0 taken into account only after the
Consumables cost 20.0 plant stars the operation (from
VCOP 480.0 year 4+ according to the
schedule).
In case of variable cost of
Salary and overheads 35.0
production (VCOP) and
Maintenance 15.0 Revenues, they are 0% until year
Interest 5.0 3, 50% for year 4 and 100% until
Royalties 5.0 year 20.
FCOP 60.0
In case of fixed cost of production
(FCOP) they are 0% until year 3
and 100% from year 4 until the
end of the project.
82
3. The cost of capital (ic) or interest rate is assumed to be 10%.
NOTE: in this case, the weight of the cost of the debt and the cost of the equity is not
taken into account.
4. The tax rate (tr) is assumed to be 35%.
5. The Depreciation charges (D) lasts for a depreciation period of 10 years, it is

equally considered for the entire time (10% each year) and it starts from year 4
(straight-line depreciation).
6. CASH FLOW ANALYSIS:
a. Capital Expenditure (CapEx) at each year is equal to:

CapEx = (TFCC × %FC) + (WC × %WC) as in point 2.
b. Revenue at each year is equal to Main Product revenue as discussed in

point 3 including the schedule during the years.
c. The Cash Cost of Production (CCOP) include the VCOP (Raw materials +
utilities + consumable – byproducts revenue) and the FCOP
(Salary/Overheads + Maintenance + Interest + Royalties). in case of VCOP
include the schedule during the years
NOTE: in this case we considered the by-products revenue as a “negative cost
of production”, however it can be considered also as Revenue together with
the Main products as long as it is quantified only once.
d. The Gross Profit (Gr. Profit) at each year is equal to Revenue – CCOP at
each year.
e. The depreciation (Deprcn) is equal to the total depreciable value (in this
case it is 100% of the TFCC) divided per the number of year n (with n = 10)
as discussed in point 6.
f. The taxable Income (Taxbl Inc) at each year is equal to Gr.Profit –

Deprcn.
g. The Taxes (Tax Paid) at each year are based on the previous ear taxable
income, therefore: Tax Paid (i) = Taxbl Inc (i-1) × tr.
NOTE: if the Taxable income is a negative number, the Tax Paid is zero.
h. The Cash Flow (CF) at each year is equal to: Gr. Profit(i) – CapEx(i) – Tax
Paid(i)
i. The present value of the cash flow is calculated taking into account the cost
of capital:
𝑪𝑭(𝒚)
𝑷𝑽(𝒚) =
(𝟏 + 𝒊𝒄 )𝒚
j. And finally the Net Present Value (NPV) is the sum of the Present Value at
𝒚=𝟐𝟎
each year (PVy) as: ∑𝒚=𝟏 𝑷𝑽𝒚
83
7. After completing the cash flow analysis for the entire project life (20y), calculate:
a. Average Cash Flow (ACF) in $MM/y

NOTE: this is only related to the period in which the plant is on operation.
b. Simple payback period (PB) = (TFCC/ACF) in years
c. The Return of Investment after 10 years (ROI10) and after 15 years (ROI15):
𝑻𝒂𝒙𝒃𝒍_𝑰𝒏𝒄(𝒏)
𝑹𝑶𝑰𝒏 = ∑𝒏𝟏 𝒏×(𝑻𝑭𝑪𝑪+𝑾𝑪)
d. The Net Present Value at year 10 (NPV10), at year 15 (NPV15) and t year
20 (NPV20).
e. The discounted cash flow rate of return (DCFROR)

NOTE: the DCFROR is the cost of capital (ic’) so that the NPV at the end of the
financial project would result equal to zero (NPV20 = 0). It is also known as
interest rate of return (IRR) and it can be calculated using the proper and
available excel function (go to Formulas > Insert Function > digit IRR) and you
need to select the interval of the Cash Flow. Based on this function, determine
also what the interest rate of return is in case the project lifetime would be 10
years (IRR10) or 15 years (IRR15).
Main results for this exercise:

ACF [$MM/y] 281.9 NPV [$MM] 241.3
PB [y] 7.1 NPV15 [$MM] 27.6
ROI10 [%] 6.8 NPV10 [$MM] -494.9
ROI15 [%] 9.54 IRR10 [%] 2.23
DCFROF (IRR20) [%] 11.98 IRR15 [%] 9.71
objectives?

1. Repeat the exercise by changing the operating costs and revenues and depict the
trends. Calculate the minimum Main product revenue to see when the financial project
is still positive (keeping the other values constant).
2. Repeat the calculation by changing the depreciation period to 5 years. How the NPV
changes and explain the reason why it increases/decreases?
3. Repeat the same exercise by considering a plant lifetime of 25 years assuming that a
revamping investment of 250 $MM (CapEx) occurs at year 20. Is the investment
justified?
84

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CHEN21112: Process Design and Simulation

PBL: Training Sessions Instruction Manual

CHEN21112: PBL sessions

Percy van der Gryp

In this session you will be trained how to…

1. Starting Aspen Plus

The Navigation pane displays a tree of all the

Flowsheet work area

4. Entering Input Data

Method 1: Fastest and easiest

1. From the Flowsheet work area

Method 3: Navigation pane

1. Enter the following state variable and component flow specifications on

Parameter Value Units

Methanol mole-flow 50 lbmol/hr

Water mole-flow 50 lbmol/hr

3. Expert Guidance – the NEXT button ( )

The Next function:

1. From the Quick Access Toolbar, click .

Now you should enter the temperature and pressure specifications.

1. From the Home tab of the ribbon, in Run, click .

5. Examining Simulation Results

For example to display the results of stream 2:

6. Modifying and Rerunning Simulation

7. Saving Your File

File Type Extension Description

Backup *.bkp Archive file containing simulation input and results.

Template *.apt Template containing default inputs

To save the simulation:

8. Help and Support

10. Self-reflection test

Test yourself by seeing if you can:

Methanol mole-flow 60 lbmol/hr

Water mole-flow 40 lbmol/hr

In this session you will be trained how to…

Cumene (C9H12, CAS-number: 98-82-8), also known as isopropylbenzene is mainly

C6H6 + C3H6  C9H12

2. Starting Aspen Plus

2. Entering the Components

The Binary Interaction -NRTL-1 (T-DEPENDENT) | Input sheet appears.

Flowsheet work area

Model Palette area

Model Palette area:

To select a unit operation model:

2. Select the stream type you want to place in the flowsheet.

Step-wise-procedure to draw the Cumene simulation flowsheet:

1. From the Model Palette, click the Reactors tab.

5. Enter in the Rename dialog box “REACTOR”.

To automatic enter block and stream names for the flowsheet:

6. From the Model Palette, click the Exchangers tab.

To connect the streams to the blocks:

Red arrow means

Blue arrow means

5. Entering Input Data

REACTOR Block data input:

To enter the reaction with a conversion of 90%:

SEP BLOCK data input:

7. Running the simulation

4. From the Home tab of the ribbon, in Run, click .

3. What is COOL Heat duty in kW?

Click and OK on the Required Input Complete dialog box.

Test yourself by seeing if you can:

In this session you will be trained how to…