Application Examples

NEW - The main interest of this example is to illustrate how to use Windows Script straight within ProSimPlus to allow postsimulation calculations as a function of the simulation results.
In this example, simulation and rating of two heat exchangers, using modules 'Generalized heat exchanger' and 'Heat exchanger' are carried out and then a Windows Script module is written and used to perform cost estimation of these heat exchangers.

This example mainly illustrates the use of the pipeline simulation module included in the standard version of ProSimPlus through modeling of a small gas condensate gathering system consisting of three wells connecting to a gas plant via a network of pipelines.
It also illustrates the creation of pseudo-compound and estimation of hypothetical component properties to model C7+ cut.
Besides, this example shows how the pressure at the nodes of the gas network can be automatically adjusted when the wellhead rates and output delivery pressure are fixed ("pressure driven" simulation).
Finally modeling of wellhead performance curves is used to show how to add features to existing unit operations thanks to "Windows Script" feature allowed by ProSimPlus.

This example is a dehydration process of natural gas, using TEG (Trethylene Glycol). The interesting points of this example lie in the use of the “absorption” module for the contactor model and in the representation of two columns connected in series (the TEG regenerator and the TEG stripper) by a single ProSimPlus “stripper” module. Additionally, the Windows Script module is used in different parts of the flowsheet to perform specific calculations (gas water dew point, TEG losses for make-up calculation).

This example shows a process of LPG recovery in a gas with a propane refrigeration loop. This process is particularly inter-connected and includes several recycling loops. Additionally, beside the implementation of the absorber module (deethanizer) and of the refrigeration loop, this process uses the plate fin heat exchanger module of ProSimPlus, a particularly complex unit operation. This type of exchangers can include as many as 10 different streams which renders the modeling and the associated calculation particularly complex.            

In this example, a bioethanol production unit is represented. Ethanol is produced from biomass by hydrolysis and sugar fermentation. First, the biomass is pre-treated with acid and enzyme to produce sugar. The sugar is then fermented into ethanol. The ethanol produced still contains a significant amount of water, which is removed by using fractional distillation. This example illustrates in particular how to add new components to the database and how to use multiple complex reaction sets in ProSimPlus.

This example illustrates a process to purify naphthalene from a mixture containing 13 components using a train of three two-phase (liquid-vapour) distillation columns. For each of the three distillation columns, several specifications are set on the output streams, illustrating the way to set "non-standard" specifications in the multi-stage separation modules of ProSimPlus. This example also shows how to use MEASUREMENT modules on streams as well as information streams in order to determine the naphthalene recovery ratio between process input and output.

This example illustrates a high purity separation process of an azeotropic mixture (ethanol-water) through heterogeneous azeotropic distillation. This process includes three-phase (liquid-liquid-vapor) distillation columns. Additionally these multi-stage separation modules are part of a recycling stream, demonstrating the efficiency of ProSimPlus convergence methods. Specifications are set on output streams in order to insure the required purity. This example illustrates the way to set "non-standard" specifications in the multi-stage separation modules. It also shows the capability to use several thermodynamic models in the same flowsheet (or different set of parameters for the same model): here a specific model is used for the decanter in order to properly model the demixion phenomena.

This example illustrates the production of biofuel from pure vegetable oil with an alkaline catalyst. The process involves a transesterification reaction that requires using an alcohol (usually methanol) and allows producing biofuel and glycerol from oil. It uses mainly simple reactors (for transesterification and catalyst neutralization), scrubbers and splitters to separate heavy components from light ones, and distillation columns to separate products and purify the biofuel. Specifications are imposed on columns output streams in order to reach required purities.

This example illustrates a manufacturing unit of drinks-grade alcohol, (ethanol distillery) with very constraining specifications of purity. The simulation of this process is complex because it comprises five distillation columns (two-phase or three-phase) highly inter-connected with many recyclings. Moreover the representation of phase equilibria is also particularly complex because of the strong non-ideality of the system: very strict specifications of purity, phenomena of liquid phase splitting, multiple azeotropes, etc. The particular point which is detailed in this example is the possibility to impose specifications on the output streams of a distillation column or on any multistage separation module in ProSimPlus.

In this example, a cyclohexane production unit is represented. It is a typical chemical industrial process that includes a reaction section where the product is synthesized followed by a separation section where products and by-products are separated. Particular points detailed in this example are the use of a constraint management module in order to reach a specification and of information streams to split a heat exchanger between a temperature set point and a simple exchanger, in order to avoid a stream recycle.

The main interest of this simple example is that it allows a progressive approach to process simulation and its main concepts: components involved, thermodynamic models, unit operations and their corresponding operating parameters, recycling loops, etc. The particular points detailed in this example are the concept of recycling loop and the principles of the simultaneous modular approach used in ProSimPlus.