Aspen Help Session: Flash Distillation

Welcome to Aspen! Aspen is one of several PC simulators available in industry today. This powerful
tool is mainly used as a first iteration in the design of actual processes. In addition, it is widely used to
rate and optimie e!isting designs. "imulators are gaining popularity in industry today# therefore, every
Chemical $ngineer in our department should, at some point, be introduced to this type of simulator.
Aspen can handle detailed unit operations and can perform economic calculations. We encourage you
to e!plore Aspen%s capabilities and consider using it for your future classes. It will help you
tremendously in Plant &esign when you do your senior pro'ect on Aspen.
In this tutorial, two types of flashes are demonstrated(
a) P*T flash * &rum pressure and temperature are specified
b) P*+ flash * Pressure and fraction of feed vaporied is specified
To access Aspen(
,. "elect Aspen Plus -ser Interface under Program.Applications. When the Aspen Plus window pops
up, select /0lan1 "imulation2.
3. At the Connect to $ngine Window, under "erver Type, select 4-ni! 5ost%# in the -ser Info, under
6ode 6ame, type 4"unblast%. $nter username 7i.e. for account "mith8suntan.eng.usf.edu, enter
only /"mith2 as the username) and password. &isregard Wor1ing &irectory and hit enter. 9ou will
be informed when the connection has been established.
6ote( In the following tutorial( ":C;"ingle left*clic1# "<C;"ingle right*clic1.
=or each flowsheet simulation, it is necessary to describe the process by designing the flowsheet. =or
this simulation, your flowsheet design should resemble =igure ,.
,

P-T Flash:
,) Aspen defaults to =lowsheet "imulation. To design the flowsheet, select the /"eparators2 tab from
the bottom toolbar. 9ou will be given a choice of separator type# select the /=lash 32 tab and then
choose an icon to represent the flash drum. Watch for the Aspen descriptions of the icon as you
point to it on the menu. If you ":C on the icon and then press =,, a help file will be displayed
regarding the related topic. >nce you have selected the appropriate icon, place the icon on your
flowsheet by ":C with the cross*hairs somewhere on the flowsheet bac1ground. "<C to de*select
the icon. If you don%t, you%ll get several identical bloc1s.
3) 6ow we need to connect the feed and product streams. "elect 4?aterial "treams% on the left of the
toolbar at the bottom. ":C on the 4?aterial% "tream option. Aspen will automatically assign feed
and product streams to the bloc1. The red streams are re@uired and blue are optional. As the cross*
hairs encounter the arrow, Aspen will provide a description of the stream.
a) ":C on the stream which Aspen identifies as 4feed%# move the mouse to the left to position the
arrow for the feed stream. ":C to anchor the arrow.
b) ":C on the stream which Aspen identifies as 4+apor% and move the mouse to position the output
arrow. ":C to anchor the arrow.
c) ":C on the stream which Aspen identifies as 4:i@uid% and repeat the above procedure to anchor
the arrow. "<C to release the cross*hairs.
d) <ename the feed streams and product streams( =$$&, +AP><,, +AP><3. ":C on the stream
name bo!. "<C to get a menu of options for the stream. "elect 4<ename "tream% and enter the
appropriate name.
e) At any point, you can re*position the streams by ":C on the stream arrow and dragging it to the
desired position on the flowsheet. "elect the flash drum and press =,. 6ote the help screen that
is displayed. At this point, it would be wise to ta1e a few moments to familiarie yourself with
the options available for the streams and flash drum. Play a little bit A it%s the best way to learn.
B) After completing the connections, press =C or the 46% button on the toolbar. 9ou will be told that
flowsheet connectivity is complete. Choose to continue input.
3
Figure 1: Two-drum Flash
DRUM1
FEED
VAPOR1
LIQUID1
DRUM2
VAPOR2
LIQUID2
C) Aspen will automatically ta1e you to the ne!t re@uired input screen. 9ou will notice the &ata
0rowser to the left. This is a very convenient way to move among the data input.results screens.
The "etup "pecifications window should be displayed. -nder the Dlobal tab, enter a title if desired.
This title will print on all of your output. Aspen has set the default units to $nglish. =or this
simulation, leave the units as $nglish# however, you may choose to have the input.results units as
$nglish, ?etric, or "I 7"electing the arrow will display a list of the options.) 9ou will note that, as
the input is complete for a specific window 7or tab), Aspen changes the icon ad'acent to the window
and &ata 0rowser name from a red to a blue /. <eferring to the &ata browser, select <eport
>ptions and the "tream tab. -nder 4=raction 0asis%, select 4?ole =ractions% to include mole
fractions in the displayed results.
E) Press =C or the 46% button on the toolbar. The Components "pecification window should now be
displayed. -nder the "election tab, specify the flash components. $nter 4water% under the component
I& and hit enter. As you do, Aspen will access its library and display the related type, component
name, and formula. $nter 4meth% on the new line displayed for ne!t component I&. 9ou will note
that Aspen does not find this name in its library. ?ove over to component name and type 4meth%.
Aspen will display a listing of every component in its library with this root. Page down until you
find ?ethanol. "elect and enter. This was not necessary to select methanol since the entire name
could be entered under component I&# however, it illustrates the search procedure when the entire
name cannot be entered or the e!act Aspen library name is not 1nown. It also really helps when
you%re not sure of the correct spelling. 9ou can also access the library by typing an abbreviated
name under component I& and selecting =I6&.
F) Press =C or the 46% button on the toolbar and the Properties "pecifications window appears. ":C
on the arrow to display a menu of the possible Property ?ethods 7models). "elect 6<T: and hit
=, to read about it. These help screens provide information which will enable you determine which
models will be applicable to a specific system under specific conditions. Press =C or the 46% button
on the toolbar. 6ote that the binary parameters for the methanol*water system are automatically
provided. "ince we will be using the Aspen default values, press =C or the 46% button on the
toolbar to continue input and select /Do to ne!t re@uired input step%.
G) At the "tream ?aterial Input window, enter the =eed stream specifications 7note stream name in the
window description). 9ou may, if necessary change the input units ad'acent to the input field.
a) T ; ,HI =
b) P ; 3I psi
c) Change composition to ?ole*=rac and enter I.E as the composition for both water and methanol
since the feed is e@uimolar.
d) Total =low <ate ; ,II lbmol.hr
H) Press =C or the 46% button on the toolbar and 0loc1 Input window should be displayed. 6ote the
bloc1 name in the window description. This screen is used to specify the type of flash operation
desired. As you are aware, the flash drum must be operated under conditions that ensure that vapor
and li@uid coe!ist within the drum. In other words, we must be below the bubble temperature and
above the dew temperature for a specified pressure. To ensure that we will satisfy this re@uirement,
we will initially perform a 40ubble T% and 4&ew T% calculation at the flash drum pressure of , atm.
a) Dew T:
i) Pressure ; , atm 7you%ll have to select atm)
ii) $nter +apor fraction ; ,. Aspen defaults to Temperature and Pressure as the specified
parameters. To specify vapor fraction, display the menu of options by selecting the arrow
B
ad'acent to the Temperature field and select +apor fraction. $nter ,. This specifies that all
feed e!its as saturated vapor.
iii) Press =C or the 46% button on the toolbar. Aspen will indicate that all input has been
completed. Choose to run the simulation. A Control Panel will be displayed indicating the
status of the calculations. When complete, select the 4chec1 results% icon from the Control
Panel toolbar. -se the 4JJ% and 4KK% to page through the results. 9ou should confirm that the
temperature of the +AP><, stream is( ,HE.II3L=. This is the &ew T. Continue paging
through the results until you reach the Phase $@uilibria tab. 9ou will note that the composition
of the first droplet of vapor formed, !meth;I.,C,.
b) Bubble T:
i) Close the results and the control panel windows.
ii) =rom the &ata 0rowser, select 0loc1s.Input.
iii) ?odify the input to reflect 0ubble T conditions at a pressure of , atm( +apor fraction ; I.
iv) Press =C or the 46% button on the toolbar and re*run the simulation.
v) Chec1 results(
7,) 0ubble T ; ,FB.FFLC =#
73) ymeth ; I.GHL for the first vapor formed.
c) General Flash
i) Close the results and the control panel windows.
ii) Again select 0loc1.Input from the &ata 0rowser. <eplace +apor fraction with Temperature
by selecting it from the list. $nter a temperature of ,GE =, between Tdew and Tbubl.
iii) Press =C or the 46% button on the toolbar and re*run the simulation. Chec1 <esults(
7,) Total =low( :IM-I&, ; BG., lbmol.hr# !meth ; .3F3
73) Total =low( +AP><, ; F3.L lbmol.hr# ymeth ; .FC,
P-V Flash:
Close all forms and add another flash drum(
,) "elect the /"eparators2 tab from the bottom toolbar and choose the /=lash 32 tab. "elect an icon to
represent the flash drum. >nce you have selected the appropriate icon, place the icon on your
flowsheet by ":C with the cross*hairs somewhere on the flowsheet bac1ground. "<C to de*select
the icon.
3) "elect the :IM-I&, stream( ":C on the stream A not the stream name# "<C to see a menu of the
options and select /<econnect &estination2. "elect the red input arrow on the new drum and ":C
to connect.
B) Add product arrows to the new drum as you did for the first. <ename the new product streams(
+AP><3 and :IM-I&3. To ma1e it easier to identify the bloc1s, rename the original drum
&<-?, and the new drum &<-?3.
C) Press =C or the 46% button on the toolbar. This is a P*+ flash# thus the pressure and fraction
vaporied must be specified. "pecify =lash conditions as(
a) Pressure ; B atm 7watch units)#
b) +apor fraction ; .GE
E) Press =C or the 46% button on the toolbar and run the simulation. Compare results(
a) Total =low( :IM-I&3 ; L.B3 lbmol.hr# !meth ; .IFL
b) Total =low( +AP><3 ; 3G.LF lbmol.hr # ymeth ; .B3F
C
Extra Practice:
5ere%s another problem you can try out to get more practice with Aspen. If there is time you
may try the problem now and have your TA help with difficulties, or come bac1 later and try it.
>ne day as your sitting at your des1 trying to decide whether to play solitaire or minesweeper
7windows at the office only has the lousy games) and your boss comes to you with the following
problem(
A ,II lbmol.hr feed stream of appro!imately ,IN methane, 3IN ethane and the rest propane at EI =
and , atm is to be fed to a flash drum operating at EI =. It is desired to run the drum at 3II psi and the
boss wants to 1now if this is feasible. In particular, you must(
,) Calculate the pressure range that ensures a 3*phase region at that temperature.
3) If 3II psi is in the 3*phase region find the following(
a) $!iting compositions 7li@uid and vapor)
b) =raction vaporied
c) $nergy re@uirements to =lash ,II lbmol.hr feed at EI =
"ince the feed is non*polar hydrocarbons, the "<O 7<O*"oave) model should wor1 well. Can you
confirm, using the Aspen help screen, that this model would be appropriateP -se this model and
compare your dew and bubble P results with the following data from "mith and +an 6ess 7your Phase Q
Chem boo1)( &oes "<O appear to be a good modelP
Pdew ; ,3F psi first li@uid composition( !ethane ; I.IGE !propane ; I.L,L
Pbub ; BHE psi first vapor composition( yethane ; I.33I ypropane ; I.3B,
At 3II psi you should get the following using the "<O model(
!ethane ; I.,F, !propane ; I.H,I
yethane ; I.3L, ypropane ; I.CC3
+apor fraction ; I.3LL 7on <esults form)
&uty ; *C.H, ! ,I
E
0T-.hr 6ote( since the duty is negative we need to cool the flash drum.
E
iscellaneous:
!a"ing Files:
When saving to the hard drive or floppy, choose 4"ave As% from the =ile pulldown menu and select
0ac1up =ormat. This creates only one file whereas Muic1 <estart =ormat creates several files, wasting
dis1 space.
#reating $e%ort Files:
To create an e!tensive report of the wor1 you%ve done, including all form input summaries, stream
summaries and other information, select $!port from the =ile pulldown menu. Then select <eport =ile
7.<$P). Type in a name and hit >O. To see the file, view and print using a file editor such as 6otepad
or &>" $ditor.
Process Flow Diagrams:
To print your flowsheet and stream summary together, when the simulation results are displayed, select
/"tream Table2 from the ?aterials window. This places the stream summary below the flowsheet. 9ou
can oom in if you wish to view it. To print both the flowsheet and stream summary together, ma1e
sure nothing is selected and choose Print from the =ile pulldown. To print only the stream summary,
select it with your mouse and then print.
F