25/04/2015

UseofAspenPlusandSPLITtocalculatephaseequilibriaandternaryresiduecurves

WilcoxhomeChEdesignhomeProfessionGeneralPropertiesEquipmentSeparationHYSYSCosts
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UseofAspenPlusandSPLITtocalculatephaseequilibriaandternary
residuecurves

For each of the following procedures it is first necessary to select components and a
thermodynamicpackage.SeeSelectionofathermodynamicmodel.If you have experimental
data for phase equilibria you should compare these data with the predictions of Aspen or
HYSYS.Alternately,youcanfit(regress)datatoapropertymethodstoobtain,forexample,
binaryinteractionparameters.

Binaryphasediagramsandternaryresiduecurves
1. OpentheAspenPlusUserInterface.
2. Selectasuitabletemplate,probablyGeneralwithMetricUnits.
3. Go to Data/Setup, Specifications, Global. Give your case a name, probably the
componentsyouareinvestigating.ForRuntype,selectPropertyAnalysis.(ForSPLIT,
youneedtoselectFlowsheet,asdescribedbelow.SelectingFlowsheetalsoworkshere,but
then streams and at least one operation must be specified and convergence obtained.)
Chooseapressure(thiscanbechangedlater)andthephasesyouexpecttobepresentat
equilibrium. Select VaporLiquidLiquid if theres any possibility of liquidphase
immiscibility.Togotothenextsetuppage,ComponentsSpecification,clickontheN
icon.
4. Components, Specification, Selection. Click on Find. Type in the name or chemical
formula of the first components, Find now, click on the right one, Add. Continue until
youhaveenteredallcomponents(mustbeatleast2).Close.N
5. Properties, Specification, Global. Process type ALL. Select a suitable Base
thermodynamicpropertymethod.N
6. Properties,Parameters,BinaryInteraction.Ifitappears,clickonEstimateallmissing
parametersbyUNIFAC.N
7. PTPHASEENVELOPE:Aspen now asks which property you want to estimate. (You
canskipthisstepandgodirectlytostep9,ifyouhavenointerestingeneratingaPTphase
envelope.)ClickonNew,giveitasuitablename,selectPTENVELOPE.OK.Insertany
flow rates. N Go to Next required input step. Should then indicate that input is
completeandloadthesimulationengine.
8. Toseetheresults,Data/Setup,Properties,Analysis,yournameforthesimulationjustrun
(previous step), Results. To plot table, Plot/PlotWizard. This shows P versus T for
saturated liquid (VFRAC = 0.0), saturated vapor (VFRAC = 1.0) plus any other vapor
fractionsyouspecifiedinstep7.Thecompositionisthatspecifiedviatheflowratesinthe
previousstep.Ifanequationofstatemodelwaschoseninstep5,thesaturatedliquidand
vaporcurveswillmeetatthecriticalpointforthiscomposition.
BINARYPHASEDIAGRAMS:Continuewithstep2ofPropertiesforBinarySystems:
9. Tools/Analysis/Property/Binary.SelectTxy,PxyorGibbsenergyofmixingforAnalysis
type.Selectthecomponentsyouwish,Basis(probablymolefraction),Component,Valid
phases,TorP.Go.Thisshouldproducethedesiredphasediagram.Rightclickonthe
figuretoselectpropertiesotherthanthedefaults.
10. Closethefigure to see the table of results.Click on Plot Wizard to select other related
phase diagrams. (Gamma is the liquid activity coefficients. If an activitycoefficient
thermodynamic model was whose, this assumes the vapor is an ideal gas, i.e.
compressibilitynear1farfromcriticalconditions.)
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UseofAspenPlusandSPLITtocalculatephaseequilibriaandternaryresiduecurves

11. TERNARY RESIDUE CURVES: See Aspen help instructions and residue maps.
Tools/Analysis/Property/Residue,selectPandnumberofcurves.Go.Aresiduecurveisa
plot of the composition of a liquid as it is evaporated, assuming that the liquid is
completely mixed (uniform composition), the vapor and liquid are in equilibrium when
the vapor is produced, and the vapor is instantly removed once it is produced. It
approximates the liquid composition in batch distillation without reflux, and the liquid
composition versus height in a packed column at total reflux. Unfortunately, the plot
created by Aspen Plus does not explicitly show any azeotropes, liquidliquid tie lines (if
any), distillation boundaries across which one cannot cross with equilibrium stages, or
arrowsontheresiduecurves.Forthissortofinformation,onemustaccessSPLITwithin
Aspen Plus (see below). Rightclick on plot, Grid, Cartesian to convert to cartesian
coordinates.
12. TRYING OTHER THERMODYNAMIC MODELS (Base method): Data/Setup,
Properties,Specifications.Selectallofthoseyouwishtoinvestigate.Asyouselecteach,it
willshowupundertheSetupProperties,PropertyMethods.Whenfinished,repeatsteps
9, 10, 11 for each method. Compare with experimental data to select the best. In the
absenceofdata,selectthosewiththemostBIPsandreasonablephasediagrams.

Azeotropes,residuecurves,distillationboundaries(SeeAspeninstructionsforSPLIT)
Forthese,weuseAspenSplit,whichisaccessedwithinAspenPlusbyTools/ConceptualDesign.
However, we must first specify one or more streams on a flowsheet and obtain convergence.
Thefollowingisasuggestedprocedure:
A. OpentheAspenPlusUserInterface.
B. Selectasuitabletemplate,probablyGeneralwithMetricUnits.
C. View/ModelLibrary(unlessunitsarealreadydisplayedonthebottomofthescreen).
D. Add a Separator, Flash 2 unit to the flowsheet (PFD) by clicking on the icon and then
clickingagainwhereyouwantit.ConnectMaterialStream1totheflashunit.
E. Go to Data/Setup, Specifications, Global. Give your case a name, probably the
components you are investigating. For Run type, select Flowsheet, indicate the Valid
phasesyouexpecttobepresent.N
F. Components, Specification, Selection. Click on Find. Type in the name or chemical
formula of the first components, Find now, click on the right one, Add. Continue until
youhaveenteredallcomponents(mustbeatleast2).Close.N
G. Properties, Specification, Global. Process type ALL. Select a suitable Base
thermodynamicpropertymethod.N
H. Properties,Parameters,BinaryInteraction.Ifitappears,clickonEstimateallmissing
parametersbyUNIFAC.N
I. Flowsheet, Section, GLOBAL, Specifications. Input stream 1 at port F(IN), output
streams2atV(OUT)and3atL(OUT).N
J. Streams,1,Input,Specifications.Choosecomposition(viaflowrates),T,P.N
K. Blocks,B1,Input.ChooseP.NOKtorun.Clickon>>toseemoreresults.Ifthishas
converged,youcanskiptostepM.
L. To change stream 1, go to Streams, 1, Input, Specifications. To change the flash
conditionsgotoBlocks,B2,Input.
M. Tools,Conceptual Design, Azeotrope search.Select components, pressure, phases (VLL
suggested).ClickonAzeotropes,Report.
N. Tools,ConceptualDesign,TernaryMaps.SelectP.ClickonTernaryPlot.Rightclickon
diagram to convert to equilateral formate, flip and rotate to put components at desired
vertices.
O. ReturntostepGtoselectanotherthermodynamicmodel.

ThreeoftheAspenPlustutorialsonline
UniversityofTexas
http://people.clarkson.edu/~wwilcox/Design/AspnPhas.htm

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UseofAspenPlusandSPLITtocalculatephaseequilibriaandternaryresiduecurves

MichiganStateUniversity
UniversityofWashington
CreatedJuly2,2007.CommentsandcorrectionsshouldbesenttoProfessorWilliamR.Wilcox

WilcoxhomeChEdesignhomeProfessionGeneralPropertiesEquipmentSeparationHYSYSCosts
SafetyCasestudiesExcelMATLAB

http://people.clarkson.edu/~wwilcox/Design/AspnPhas.htm

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