Dokumen - Tips Aspen Manual v111

Version 11.1

Part Number: Aspen Plus ® 11.1

September 2001
Copyright (c) 1981-2001 by Aspen Technology, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Contents
About This Manual

Why Use Process Simulation? ......................................................................................... 1-1
What is an Aspen Plus Process Simulation Model?.........................................................1-2
Sessions in this Book .......................................................................................................1-3
Using Backup Files .......................................................................................................... 1-3
Related Documentation .................................................................................................... 1-4
Getting Started Guides ......................................................................................... 1-4
Installation Guide ................................................................................................. 1-4
User Guide............................................................................................................1-4
Technical Support ............................................................................................................ 1-4
Online Technical Support Center.........................................................................1-4
Contacting Customer Support .............................................................................. 1-5
Hours .................................................................................................................... 1-5
Phone....................................................................................................................1-5
Fax........................................................................................................................1-6
E-mail...................................................................................................................1-6
Aspen Plus Basics

Starting Aspen Plus .......................................................................................................... 2-2
The Aspen Plus Main Window ........................................................................................ 2-3
Opening a File ..................................................................................................................2-4
To Display the File Menu.....................................................................................2-4
Selecting Flowsheet Objects ............................................................................................ 2-6
Using a Shortcut Menu.....................................................................................................2-7
To Display the Shortcut Menu for Stream 1 ........................................................ 2-7
Opening Input Sheets ....................................................................................................... 2-8
To Open the Input Sheets for Stream 1 ................................................................ 2-8
Using Help......................................................................................................................2-10
To Get Help on any Topic..................................................................................2-11
Entering Data on a Sheet................................................................................................2-11
Expert Guidance - the Next Function.............................................................................2-13
To Use the Next Function to Display the Next Required Sheet.........................2-13
To Run the Simulation ....................................................................................... 2-16
Getting Started Building and Running a Process Model Contents • i

Examining Stream and Block Results............................................................................2-17

To Display the Flash Overhead Vapor (Stream 2) Results ................................ 2-17
Modifying and Rerunning Your Model..........................................................................2-18
Saving Your File and Exiting Aspen Plus......................................................................2-19
To Change the Save Options..............................................................................2-19
To Save and Exit ................................................................................................ 2-20
Building and Running a Process Simulation Model

Building the Process Model ............................................................................................. 3-2
Defining the Simulation: Methylcyclohexane Recovery Column....................................3-2
Creating a New Simulation .............................................................................................. 3-3
To Specify the Application Type and Run Type for the New Run ...................... 3-3
The Aspen Plus Main Window ........................................................................................ 3-4
Defining the Flowsheet .................................................................................................... 3-4
To Select a Unit Operation Block ........................................................................ 3-4
To Choose a RadFrac Icon and Place a Block ..................................................... 3-5
To Connect Streams to the Block.........................................................................3-6
Adding Data to the Process Model...................................................................................3-7
Specifying a Title for the Simulation ............................................................................... 3-8
Specifying Data to be Reported........................................................................................3-9
Entering Components.....................................................................................................3-10
To Enter a Unique Component ID for Each Component ................................... 3-10
Selecting Thermodynamic Methods...............................................................................3-12
To Find the Appropriate Type of Base Method for this Simulation .................. 3-12
Entering Stream Data ..................................................................................................... 3-14
Entering Unit Operation Block Data..............................................................................3-15
Running the Simulation..................................................................................................3-19
Examining Simulation Results.......................................................................................3-20
To Display the Results for Block B1..................................................................3-20
Examining Stream Results ............................................................................................. 3-22
To Display the Results for Stream 3 .................................................................. 3-22
To Display the Results for All Streams the Same Sheet .................................... 3-23
Changing Input Specifications ....................................................................................... 3-24
To Increase the Phenol Solvent Stream Flow Rate ............................................ 3-24
Rerunning the Simulation with Changed Input..............................................................3-24
Creating Reports.............................................................................................................3-25
To Generate a Report File .................................................................................. 3-25
To View and Save Part of a Report....................................................................3-26
Saving Your File and Exiting Aspen Plus......................................................................3-26
Performing a Sensitivity Analysis

Opening an Existing Simulation ...................................................................................... 4-2
If Your Saved File MCH.apw is Displayed..........................................................4-2
ii Contents
• Getting Started Building and Running a Process Model

If Your Saved File MCH.apw is not Displayed ................................................... 4-2

Saving a Simulation under a New Name..........................................................................4-3
Defining the Sensitivity Analysis ...................................................................................... 4-3
Entering Sensitivity Specifications .................................................................................. 4-3
To Create a New Sensitivity Block ......................................................................4-3
To Define XMCH as Distillate Product Purity .................................................... 4-4
To Define QCOND as the Condenser Duty and QREB as Reboiler Duty...........4-5
To Specify the Manipulated Variable...................................................................4-6
To Format the Tabular Results.............................................................................4-7
Running the Sensitivity Analysis.......................................................................................4-9
Displaying Sensitivity Analysis Results...........................................................................4-9
Plotting Sensitivity Results ............................................................................................ 4-10
To Generate a Plot of MCH Distillate Purity Versus Phenol Flow Rate ........... 4-10
Exiting Aspen Plus.........................................................................................................4-11
Meeting Process Design Specifications

If Your Saved MCH.apw is Displayed.................................................................5-2
If Your Saved File mch.apw is Not Displayed.....................................................5-2
Saving a Simulation Under a New Name .......................................................................... 5-3
Defining the Design Specification..................................................................................... 5-3
To Enter Design Specifications............................................................................5-3
To Define XMCH.................................................................................................5-4
To Set Up the Design Specification .....................................................................5-5
To Specify the Manipulated Variable...................................................................5-6
Running the Design Specification Analysis.......................................................................5-7
Examining Design Specification Results ......................................................................... 5-7
Exiting Aspen Plus...........................................................................................................5-8
Creating a Process Flow Diagram

If Your Saved File MCH.apw is Displayed..........................................................6-2
If Your Saved File MCH.apw is not Displayed ................................................... 6-2
Switching to PFD Mode...................................................................................................6-3
Adding a Pump to the Diagram........................................................................................6-4
To Add the Feed Pump to the PFD Diagram ....................................................... 6-4
To Insert the Pump Into the Feed Stream.............................................................6-4
Displaying Stream Data....................................................................................................6-5
To Display Temperature and Pressure ................................................................. 6-5
Adding a Stream Table.....................................................................................................6-7
To Zoom in on Part of the Diagram .....................................................................6-8
Adding Text......................................................................................................................6-8
To Display the Draw Toolbar...............................................................................6-8
Getting Started Building and Running a Process Model Contents • iii

To Add Text ......................................................................................................... 6-8

Printing a Process Flow Diagram.....................................................................................6-9
To Preview Your Drawing Before Printing..........................................................6-9
To Print the PFD-Style Drawing .......................................................................... 6-9
Leaving PFD Mode ..........................................................................................................6-9
To Return to Simulation Mode ............................................................................ 6-9
Estimating Physical Properties for a Non-Databank Component

Thiazole Physical Property Data ...................................................................................... 7-2
Creating a Property Estimation Simulation......................................................................7-3
Entering a Title.................................................................................................................7-4
Entering Components Information...................................................................................7-5
Specifying Properties to Estimate .................................................................................... 7-6
Entering Molecular Structure ........................................................................................... 7-7
To Enter the Molecular Structure Information for Thiazole ................................ 7-7
Entering Property Data.....................................................................................................7-9
To Enter Pure Component Boiling Point and Molecular Weight for Thiazole....7-9
To Enter Antoine Vapor Pressure Correlation Coefficients...............................7-10
Running a Property Constant Estimation (PCES)..........................................................7-11
Examining Property Constant Estimation Results .........................................................7-12
To Examine PCES Results.................................................................................7-12
Creating and Using a Property Backup File...................................................................7-13
To Save a Backup File........................................................................................7-13
To Import a Backup File .................................................................................... 7-14
Analyzing Properties
Entering Components and Properties...............................................................................8-2
Generating a Txy Diagram ............................................................................................... 8-5
To Generate a Txy Diagram ................................................................................. 8-5
To Generate an Activity Coefficient Plot.............................................................8-6
Connecting to the Aspen Plus Simulation Engine
iv Contents

About This Manual
Aspen Plus makes it easy to build and run a process simulation

model by providing you with a comprehensive system of online
prompts, hypertext help, and expert system guidance at every step.
In many cases, you will be able to develop an Aspen Plus process
simulation model without referring to printed manuals.
The seven hands-on sessions show you, step-by-step, how to use
the full power and scope of Aspen Plus. Each session requires 30 –
50 minutes.
This guide assumes only that you have an installed copy of Aspen
Plus. If you have not installed Aspen Plus, please see the Aspen
Engineering Suite installation manual.
Why Use Process Simulation?

Process simulation allows you to predict the behavior of a process
by using basic engineering relationships, such as mass and energy
balances, and phase and chemical equilibrium. Given reliable
thermodynamic data, realistic operating conditions, and rigorous
equipment models, you can simulate actual plant behavior. Process
simulation enables you to run many cases, conduct "what if"
analyses, and perform sensitivity studies and optimization runs.
With simulation, you can design better plants and increase
profitability in existing plants.
Process simulation is useful throughout the entire lifecycle of a
process, from research and development through process design to
production.
Getting Started Building and Running a Process Model About This Manual 1-1
•

What is an Aspen Plus Process

Simulation Model?
A process consists of chemical components being mixed,
separated, heated, cooled, and converted by unit operations. These
components are transferred from unit to unit through process
streams.
You can translate a process into an Aspen Plus process simulation
model by performing the following steps:
1 Define the process flowsheet:
• Define the unit operations in the process.
• Define the process streams that flow to and from the unit
operations.
• Select models from the Aspen Plus Model Library to
describe each unit operation and place them on the process
flowsheet.
• Place labeled streams on the process flowsheet and connect
them to the unit operation models.
2 Specify the chemical components in the process. You can take
these components from the Aspen Plus databanks, or you can
define them.
3 Specify thermodynamic models to represent the physical
properties of the components and mixtures in the process.
These models are built into Aspen Plus.
4 Specify the component flow rates and the thermodynamic
conditions (for example, temperature and pressure) of feed
streams.
5 Specify the operating conditions for the unit operation models.
With Aspen Plus you can interactively change specifications such
as, flowsheet configuration; operating conditions; and feed
compositions, to run new cases and analyze process alternatives.
In addition to process simulation, Aspen Plus allows you to
perform a wide range of other tasks such as estimating and
regressing physical properties, generating custom graphical and
tabular output results, fitting plant data to simulation models,
optimizing your process, and interfacing results to spreadsheets.
1-2 About This Manual


Sessions in this Book

The hands-on sessions in this book are described in the following
table:
Follow the steps in this Learn how to

chapter
2 Aspen Plus Basics Start Aspen Plus, use the Aspen Plus user
interface, exit Aspen Plus.
3 Building and Running a Build and run a typical Aspen Plus
Process Simulation Model process simulation model.
4 Performing a Sensitivity Use Aspen Plus to study the sensitivity of
Analysis process performance to changes in
process feeds and operating variables.
5 Meeting Process Design Use Aspen Plus to make your process
Specifications model meet a design specification by
manipulating a process feed or operating
variable.
6 Creating a Process Flow Add stream tables, graphics, and text to
Diagram your process flowsheet.
7 Estimating Physical Use Aspen Plus to enter and estimate
Properties for a Non- missing physical properties required for
Databank Component simulation.
8 Analyzing Properties Use Aspen Plus to generate tables and
plots of physical properties, computed
over a range of values.
Using Backup Files

We recommend that you perform all sessions sequentially using the
results of the previous chapter in the current chapter. However, you
can skip chapters and work on the session of your choice using
backup files containing simulation data.
Aspen Plus provides backup files (filename.bkp) containing all
problem specifications and results for each tutorial session. In
some cases, if you skip a session, you need to load a backup file to
supply missing data. Each chapter contains intructions for how to
do this.
Getting Started Building and Running a Process Model About This Manual • 1-3

Related Documentation
In addition to this document, a number of other documents are
provided to help users learn and use Aspen Plus. The
documentation set consists of the following:
Getting Started Aspen Plus Getting Started Modeling Petroleum Processes
Guides
Aspen Plus Getting Started Modeling Processes with Solids
Aspen Plus Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
Aspen Plus Getting Started Customizing Unit Operation Models
Aspen Plus Getting Started Using Equation Oriented Modeling
Installation Guide Aspen Plus Installation Guide for Windows
User Guide Aspen Plus User Guide
Technical Support
Online Technical AspenTech customers with a valid license and software
Support Center maintenance agreement can register to access the Online Technical
Support Center at:
http://support.aspentech.com
This web support site allows you to:
• Access current product documentation
• Search for tech tips, solutions and frequently asked questions
(FAQs)
• Search for and download application examples
• Search for and download service packs and product updates
• Submit and track technical issues
• Search for and review known limitations
• Send suggestions
Registered users can also subscribe to our Technical Support
e-Bulletins. These e-Bulletins are used to proactively alert users to
important technical support information such as:
• Technical advisories
• Product updates


• Service Pack announcements

• Product release announcements
Contacting Customer Customer support is also available by phone, fax, and email for
Support customers with a current support contract for this product. For the
most up-to-date phone listings, please see the Online Technical
Support Center at http://support.aspentech.com .
Hours
Support Centers Operating Hours
North America 8:00 – 20:00 Eastern Time

South America 9:00 – 17:00 Local time
Europe 8:30 – 18:00 Central European time
Asia and Pacific Region 9:00 – 17:30 Local time
Phone Support Phone Numbers

Centers
North 1-888-996-7100 Toll-free from U.S., Canada, Mexico

America 1-281-584-4357 North America Support Center
(52) (5) 536-2809 Mexico Support Center
South (54) (11) 4361-7220 Argentina Support Center
America (55) (11) 5012-0321 Brazil Support Center
(0800) 333-0125 Toll-free to U.S. from Argentina
(000) (814) 550-4084 Toll-free to U.S. from Brazil
8001-2410 Toll-free to U.S. from Venezuela
Europe (32) (2) 701-95-55 European Support Center
Country specific toll-free numbers:
Belgium (0800) 40-687
Denmark 8088-3652
Finland (0) (800) 1-19127
France (0805) 11-0054
Ireland (1) (800) 930-024
Netherlands (0800) 023-2511
Norway (800) 13817
Spain (900) 951846
Sweden (0200) 895-284
Switzerland (0800) 111-470
UK (0800) 376-7903
Asia and (65) 395-39-00 Singapore
Pacific (81) (3) 3262-1743 Tokyo
Region
Getting Started Building and Running a Process Model About This Manual • 1-5

Fax Support Centers Fax Numbers
North America 1-617-949-1724 (Cambridge, MA)

1-281-584-1807 (Houston, TX: both Engineering and
Manufacturing Suite)
1-281-584-5442 (Houston, TX: eSupply Chain Suite)
1-281-584-4329 (Houston, TX: Advanced Control Suite)
1-301-424-4647 (Rockville, MD)
1-908-516-9550 (New Providence, NJ)
1-425-492-2388 (Seattle, WA)
South America (54) (11) 4361-7220 (Argentina)
(55) (11) 5012-4442 (Brazil)
Europe (32) (2) 701-94-45
Asia and Pacific (65) 395-39-50 (Singapore)
Region (81) (3) 3262-1744 (Tokyo)
E-mail Support Centers E-mail
North America support@aspentech.com (Engineering Suite)

atmdsupport@aspentech.com (Aspen ICARUS products)
mimi.support@aspentech.com (Aspen MIMI products)
pims.support@aspentech.com (Aspen PIMS products)
aspenretail.support@aspentech.com (Aspen Retail products)
acs.support@aspentech.com (Advanced Control products)
AMS.Support@aspentech.com (Manufacturing Suite)
Gabriela.Torres@aspentech.com (Mexico)
South America info@tecnosolution.com.ar (Argentina)
tecnosp@aspentech.com (Brazil)
Europe atesupport@aspentech.com (Engineering Suite)
AMS.Support@aspentech.com (All other suites)
cimview@aspentech.com (CIMVIEW products)
Asia and Pacific atasupport@aspentech.com (Singapore: Engineering Suite)
Region SG_Support@aspentech.com (Singapore: All other suites)
atjsupport@aspentech.com (Tokyo: Engineering Suite)
TK_Support@aspentech.com (Tokyo: All other suites)


Aspen Plus Basics
This chapter leads you through an Aspen Plus simulation to

explain how to open a file, enter data, run a simulation, and
examine results.
Allow about 30 minutes for this session.
Getting Started Building and Running a Process Model Aspen Plus Basics 2-1
•

Starting Aspen Plus

1 From your desktop, select Start and then select Programs.
2 Select AspenTech , then Aspen Engineering Suite , then
Aspen Plus 11.1, and then Aspen Plus User Interface .
The Aspen Plus Startup dialog box appears. Aspen Plus
displays a dialog box whenever you must enter information or
make a selection before proceeding.
3 Select Blank Simulation, then click OK .
If the Connect to Engine dialog box appears, see Chapter 9.
Note: To create a Windows desktop icon for Aspen Plus, navigate

to the xeq folder of the Aspen Plus User Interface installation.
Then, select the apwn.exe program and drag it onto your Windows
desktop. Double-click the icon to start Aspen Plus.
2-2 Aspen Plus Basics


The Aspen Plus Main Window

The Aspen Plus main window (shown below) appears when you
start Aspen Plus. From the menu bar, select Window and then
select Workbook to get the display style shown below. Workbook
mode is used in all the examples in this book.
The Process Flowsheet Window appears automatically along with
the Aspen Plus menu bar, various toolbars, and the Model Library.
Aspen Plus displays context-dependent definitions and information
in the prompt area of the main window. Whenever you need
information about the currently highlighted item, refer to the
prompt area for guidance.
Help Button Next Button
Menu Bar
Toolbars
Process
Flowsheet
Select Mode
button
Model
Library
Prompt area
•

Opening a File
Open a file for an Aspen Plus simulation by either:
1 Double-clicking the file in Windows.
2 Selecting the Open command from the File menu in Aspen
Plus.
In this section, use the Open command on the File menu to open a
partially completed Aspen Plus simulation stored in a backup file.
To Display the File 1 From the menu bar, select File.
Menu The File menu appears:
2 From the File menu, select Open.

The Open dialog box appears. Your default working directory
appears in the Look in list.
3 Click .


A list of folders appears in the Open dialog box:
By default, the Favorites list contains five folders that are provided
with Aspen Plus. The files in these folders are designed to assist in
creating suitable simulation models in Aspen Plus.
Note: Add folders to the Favorites list by navigating to the
appropriate folder and clicking .
4 Double-click the Examples folder.

5 From the files list, select flash.bkp and click Open.
6 From the Aspen Plus dialog box, click Yes to close the current
run before opening a new run.
7 If Aspen Plus prompts "Save changes to Simulation 1?", click
No.
While Aspen Plus opens the simulation model, the cursor shows
the busy symbol, to indicate that Aspen Plus is finishing an
operation. When the operation is complete, the cursor returns to the
arrow shape.
Note: You don’t have to close the current run before opening a
new run. If you click No in step 6, you will have two Aspen Plus
applications running at the same time, each with one open
simulation (Aspen Plus cannot open multiple simulations).
•

Selecting Flowsheet Objects

Aspen Plus displays the process flowsheet for the opened Flash
simulation:
Process flowsheets 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).
Next, select the feed stream (stream 1) on the process flowsheet
and enter specifications.


Using a Shortcut Menu

A shortcut menu of commands is available for the flowsheet
objects.
To Display the 1 Select Stream 1 and click the right mouse button.
Shortcut Menu for
Stream 1 Note: Make sure the tip of the cursor arrow is touching the
stream, otherwise you will get the flowsheet shortcut menu instead
of the stream shortcut menu.
The stream shortcut menu appears, listing the executable

commands for stream 1:
2 Use the Up and Down arrow keys on your keyboard, to

highlight the commands in the shortcut menu.
The prompts at the bottom of the main window change as you
highlight each command.
•

Opening Input Sheets

Aspen Plus provides input sheets to allow you to specify the
components of a stream and properties such as temperature. There
are a number of ways to access the input sheets:
• From the Aspen Plus menu bar, select Data and then select
Data Browser, then use the Data Browser menu tree to
navigate to the Streams | 1 | Input | Specifications sheet.
• From the Aspen Plus menu bar, select Data and then select
Streams.
• Click the streams button in the Data Browser toolbar, then

use the Data Browser menu tree to navigate to the Streams | 1 |
Input | Specifications sheet.
• From the stream 1 shortcut menu, select Input.
To Open the Input 1 From the process flowsheet, select Stream 1, then click the
Sheets for Stream 1 right mouse button.
2 From the stream shortcut menu, select Input.
Tip: To open a stream or block input sheet quickly, double-click

the object from the process flowsheet.


The Stream 1 Input Specifications sheet appears with the Data

Browser menu tree in the left pane:
Data
Browser
Menu
Tree
Window
Tabs
Navigate from sheet to sheet by expanding the folders in the Data

Browser menu tree and clicking the lowest level objects. For
example, if you want to see the input sheet for Block B1, expand
the Blocks folder and the B1 folder and click Input.
•

Navigate from window to window by clicking the Window Tabs.

For example, if you want to go back to the Process Flowsheet,
click its tab.
Using Help
Before specifying the characteristics of Stream 1 you may wish to
get context-sensitive help about the sheet itself, the form to which
it belongs, or about the various fields within the sheet. There are a
number of ways to do this:
• Click , then click the box or sheet.

-or-
• From the Aspen Plus menu bar, click Help, select What’s
This?, then click the box or sheet.
-or-
• Click the box or sheet, then press F1 (the help key).
Get help on the the Stream 1 Input Specifications sheet and on
the whole input form.
1 Click .
2 Click the tab labeled Specifications .
Aspen Plus displays a help window that explains how to use the
Stream Input Specifications sheet:
If you click the Stream Input Form link at the bottom of this help
window, Aspen Plus displays a the help for the Stream Input form,


which, in this case, consists of five sheets: Specifications, Flash

Options, PSD, Component Attr., and EO Options.
Note: A sheet may be required, unavailable, or optional. In this

example, the Specifications sheet is required and incomplete
(hence the symbol: ). The PSD and Component Attr. sheets are
unavailable. The Flash Options and EO Options sheets are
optional.
3 Scroll to the end of the help topic and click the green
underlined text Stream Input Form.
The Stream Input Form help topic appears.
4 When finished, click to close the help window.
You can get help on any topic at any time by using the Help menu.
To Get Help on any 1 From the Aspen Plus menu bar, select Help.
Topic
2 Use the Up and Down arrow keys on the keyboard to move
through the Help menu.
3 Read the descriptions for each item at the bottom left corner of
the screen.
4 In the Contents pane at the left, double-click Using Aspen
Plus Help.
Tip: You can click the Help Topics button in the help window's

toolbar to hide or reveal the left pane which displays the Contents,
Index, and Search tabs. You can click the Index and Search tabs to
look for help by subject.
5 Double-click a topic labeled with the icon to display the

associated help window or double-click items labeled with the
icon to view more topics.
6 When finished, click to close the help window.
Entering Data on a Sheet

Once an input sheet is open, state variables, units, and numeric
data may be entered into the available fields (white rectangular
boxes) or selected from drop-down lists. There are two ways to
move from field to field on a sheet:
• Press the Tab key on your keyboard.
• Position the cursor in the field and left-click.
•

In this simulation, enter missing temperature, pressure, and

component flow data for Stream 1.
1 If necessary click in the Stream 1 Input Specifications sheet
to make it active.
2 Enter the following state variable and component flow
specifications:
Parameter Value Units
Temperature 180 F
Pressure 20 psi
Methanol mole-flow 50 lbmol/hr
Water mole-flow 50 lbmol/hr
Since the default units are appropriate for this simulation, you
only need to enter the values.
The completed Stream 1 Input Specifications sheet appears
below (the Data Browser menu tree is not shown):
When all required specifications have been entered, a check mark

( ) appears on the tab containing the sheet name. Check marks
also appear in the Data Browser menu tree.


Expert Guidance - the Next Function

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 Data Browser, click .

To Use the Next
Function to Display
the Next Required Note: The button can also be found in the Data Browser
Sheet toolbar of the main window.
Aspen Plus displays the next sheet that requires input data, in this
case, the Blocks | B1 | Input | Specifications sheet:
Now you should enter the temperature and pressure specifications.
If you click while the sheet is incomplete, the Completion

Status dialog box appears indicating the missing specifications:
•

Click to close the Completion Status message box.

2 Change the first field in the Flash specifications area from
Temperature to Heat Duty by clicking and selecting Heat
Duty from the list.
3 In the Heat Duty value field, type 0. There is no need to change
the units (Btu/hr is the default).
4 Make sure the first field in the second line of the Flash
specifications area reads Pressure, then type 1 in the Pressure
value field.
5 In the Pressure units field, click and select atm to change

the input units from psi to atm.
6 The box in the Valid phases area is set to Vapor-Liquid by
default. For this simulation, accept the default.
Note: Default options on Data Browser sheets appear shaded

unless you modify them, in which case they will appear in black
text.


The input data on the Block B1 Input Specifications sheet is now

complete:
The checkmarks in the Data Browser menu tree and the absence of
partially filled circles indicates that all required data have been
entered. The Input Complete message in the lower left corner of the
Data Browser window confirms that Block B1 is fully specified
and the Required Input Complete message in the lower right corner
of the main window confirms that all blocks and streams are ready
for a simulation run.
Note: The Data Browser window is on top of the process

flowsheet window. To look at your process flowsheet, click its tab.
Alternatively, click Windows from the Aspen Plus menu bar, and
select Process Flowsheet Window .
•

Running the Simulation

The input specifications for this simulation model are complete and
the simulation is ready to be run. Run the simulation in any of the
following ways:
• From the Aspen Plus menu bar, select Run, and then select
Run.
• From the Aspen Plus toolbar, click .
• Click to open the Control Panel and then click from

the Control Panel.
• Press F5.
Once the process flowsheet has been fully specified, running the
simulation is easy.
To Run the 1 From the Aspen Plus menu bar, click Run.
Simulation The Run menu appears:
2 From the Run menu, select Run.

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. In
the status bar at the bottom of the main window, the prompt
message Simulation run completed appears on the left, and on the
right, the status message Results Available appears in blue.


Note: If the calculations are completed with errors or warnings,

the status message indicates Results Available with Errors and
Results Available with Warnings, respectively.
Examining Stream and Block Results

Now view the results for the flash overhead vapor stream (Stream
2) and for the flash block (Block B1).
To Display the Flash 1 Display the process flowsheet by clicking its tab.
Overhead Vapor
(Stream 2) Results Note: If the streams in your process flowsheet now have
temperature and pressure data attached to them, you can remove
these attachments by clicking View and selecting Global Data. Or,
you may wish to click View, select Zoom, and then select Zoom
Out or Zoom Full to make your flowsheet look nice with the
attachments.
2 Select stream 2 and right-click on the stream to display the

shortcut menu.
3 From the shortcut menu, select Results .
The Data Browser window opens with the Streams | 2 | Results |
Material sheet in view, providing the thermodynamic state and
composition flows of the vapor stream:
4 If necessary, use the vertical scrollbar to view the stream

results.
5 From the Data Browser menu tree, double-click Blocks and
then double-click B1.
•

Note: You can also expand menu tree items by clicking the
symbol next to a closed folder. Clicking a form just once will open
the first sheet of that form.
The Block B1 Results Summary sheet appears with the overall

results for the block:
6 Review the calculated flash outlet temperature and overall

vapor fraction.
7 Click to browse through the results. Alternatively, click

the Balance and Phase Equilibrium tabs.
Modifying and Rerunning Your Model

1 From the process flowsheet, select and right-click Stream 1 to
display the stream shortcut menu.
2 Select Input.
The Data Browser window opens with the Streams | 1 | Input |
Specifications sheet in view.
3 In the Composition area, enter the following values for the
component mole-flows:
Component Value
Methanol 60
Water 40
4 From the Aspen Plus menu bar, click Run, then select Run to
run the simulation with the new feed stream values.
5 When the run is completed, display the new results for the
outlet streams and the flash block.


Saving Your File and Exiting Aspen

Plus
For this example, save your file as both an Aspen Plus document
(.apw) file and an Aspen Plus backup (.bkp) file. Document files
contain all the intermediate convergence information from the
simulation and are useful for saving long simulations. Document
files are not forward compatible for new versions of Aspen Plus.
Backup files 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.
First, set Aspen Plus to create a backup file with each save.
To Change the Save 1 From the Aspen Plus menu bar, select Tools and then select
Options Options .
The Options dialog box appears.
2 On the General tab, in the Save options area, select the

checkbox next to Always create backup copy , if it is not
already checked.
•

3 Make sure Aspen Plus documents (*.apw) appeas in the Save

documents as field.
4 Click OK .
Next, save the simulation and exit Aspen Plus.
To Save and Exit 1 From the Aspen Plus menu bar, select File and then select Save
As.
The Save As dialog box appears.
2 If necessary, use the Save in list to navigate to your Aspen Plus

working folder. In this example, the folder is located in
D:\Program Files\AspenTech\Working Folders\Aspen Plus
11.1.
3 Click Save.
Aspen Plus will place a file called Flash.apw and a file called
Flash.bkp in your Aspen Plus working folder. See the Aspen Plus
User Guide for detailed descriptions of the characteristics of these
files.
4 From the Aspen Plus menu bar, click File and select Exit.
You have completed an Aspen Plus simulation.


Building and Running a Process

Simulation Model
In this simulation, create an Aspen Plus process model for a

methylcyclohexane (MCH) recovery column.
This simulation is divided into three sections:
1 Building the Process Model
2 Adding Data to the Process Model
3 Running the Simulation
Allow about 50 minutes for this simulation.
Getting Started Building and Running a Process Simulation Model 3-1

•

Building the Process Model

In this section, build the process model by performing these tasks:
1 Define the process to be simulated.
2 Start Aspen Plus.
3 Create a new simulation.
4 Build a process flowsheet.
Defining the Simulation:

Methylcyclohexane Recovery Column
The process flow diagram and operating conditions are shown in
Figure 3.1.
Figure 3.1 Simulation Definition: MCH Recovery Column
MCH and toluene form a close-boiling system that is difficult to

separate by simple binary distillation. In the recovery column in
Figure 3.1, phenol is used to extract toluene, allowing relatively
pure methylcyclohexane to be recovered in the overhead.
The purity of the recovered methylcylohexane depends on the
phenol input flow rate. In this session, create an Aspen Plus
simulation that allows you to investigate the performance of the
column.
3-2 Building and Running a Process Simulation Model

• Getting Started

Starting Aspen Plus

2 Select AspenTech, then Aspen Engineering Suite, then
Aspen Plus 11.1, then Aspen Plus User Interface.
The Aspen Plus Startup dialog box appears. Create a new
simulation using an Aspen Plus built-in template.
Creating a New Simulation

Aspen Plus provides built-in templates for applications such as
chemicals, petroleum, electrolytes, specialty chemicals,
pharmaceuticals, and metallurgy.
1 In the Aspen Plus Startup dialog box, select Template and
click OK .
The New dialog box appears.
Use the New dialog box to specify the Application Type and the
Run Type for the new run. Aspen Plus uses the Application Type
you choose to automatically set various defaults appropriate to
your application.
To Specify the 2 Select the General with English Units template.
Application Type and The default Run Type, Flowsheet, is appropriate for this
Run Type for the New simulation.
Run
3 Click OK to apply these options.

•

It takes a few seconds for Aspen Plus to finish setting up the new
problem.
Note: If the Connect to Engine dialog box appears, see Chapter 9.
The Aspen Plus main window is now active.
The Aspen Plus Main Window

The main window appears when you start Aspen Plus. Because you
have not entered any simulation specifications yet, the workspace
is blank.
For more information about this window, refer to the section The
Aspen Plus Main Window in Chapter 2.
Defining the Flowsheet

In the flowsheet for the MCH process shown in Figure 3.1, there
are two feed streams (MCH-toluene feed and phenol solvent), one
unit operation (an extractive distillation column), and two product
streams (distillate and bottoms).
Set up the Aspen Plus process flowsheet by placing the unit
operation block in the workspace and connecting four streams to it.
Note: If you click before building the process flowsheet,

Aspen Plus displays the Flowsheet Definition dialog box,
informing you that the first step is to build the process flowsheet.
Click OK and build the flowsheet.
1 From the Model Library at the bottom of the Aspen Plus

To Select a Unit
Operation Block Process Flowsheet Window, select the Columns tab.
The list of available distillation columns appears displayed as a
row of icons. Moving the cursor over a block causes a description
to appear in the lower left of the window.
2 Read the prompt for the RadFrac block.
The description suggests this is the right model for this simulation.
3 Select RadFrac, then press F1 (the Help key) on the keyboard.
The help information confirms that RadFrac is suitable for
extractive distillation.
4 Click at the top of the Help window to close it.

• Getting Started

A number of icons are available to represent the RadFrac block.

To Choose a RadFrac 1 Click the arrow to the right of the RadFrac column.
Icon and Place a The available icons for RadFrac appear:
Block
2 Move the cursor over the displayed icons to view the label for
each icon.
3 Select the icon labeled FRACT1 and drag it (click and hold)
into your process flowsheet. This will allow you to place a
single block onto your process flowsheet.
4 Move the mouse to the middle of the workspace and release the
mouse button.
The block appears on the flowsheet with the default name B1:
Notes about block placement:

• FRACT1 is now the default icon for the RadFrac block.
• Clicking once on an icon enables multiple block placement.
The cursor becomes a crosshair and you can click anywhere on
the process flowsheet to place any number of blocks. Click

when finished.
• To stop the automatic naming of blocks, select Tools, then
Options , then the Flowsheet tab and then clear the appropriate
checkbox.

•

1 From the Model Library, click once. This will allow

To Connect Streams
you to place multiple streams.
to the Block
2 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.
3 Find the Feed (Required; one or more) port and click once to
connect a feed stream to the port.
4 Move the cursor to any blank part of the process flowsheet and
click once to begin the feed stream (named Stream 1 by
default) at that location.
5 Create another material feed stream (named Stream 2
automatically) connecting to block B1 at the same port as
Stream 1 by repeating steps 3 and 4.
6 Create another stream (Stream 3) connected to the liquid
distillate port near the top of the block. The full name of this
port is: Liquid Distillate (Required if Distillate Vapor
Fraction < 1(Setup Condenser sheet)).
7 Connect Stream 4 to the Bottoms (Required) port.
8 Click to stop adding streams.

Your process flowsheet is now complete:
The status indicator in the bottom right of the main window says
Required Input Incomplete indicating that further input
specifications are required before running the simulation.

• Getting Started

Notes about Stream placement:

• To select a Heat or Work stream instead of a Material stream,
click the arrow next to the stream button and choose either the
Heat or Work stream icon.
• To cancel connecting a stream at any time, press the Escape
key.
• You can delete a stream by selecting it and pressing the Delete
key. However, Aspen Plus will continue to increment the
numeric label for new streams, if they are being labeled
automatically.
• To rename a particular stream, select it, right-click, and select
Rename Stream on the shortcut menu.
• The easiest way to get the shortcut menu is to select the stream
label and right-click in its box.
• Click the stream icon in the Model Library and drag to place a
single stream. Drag to a port and release the mouse button to
connect the stream. Move the cursor to any blank area or
another port and click once to place the other end of the stream.
Adding Data to the Process Model

Now that you have created your process flowsheet, use the Data
Browser input sheets to enter the remaining required information
for this run.
The Aspen Plus Next function displays the required input sheets
automatically.You can also navigate to an input sheet in any of the
following ways:
• Click Data in the Aspen Plus menu bar and select the sheet you
want.
• Click Data on the Aspen Plus menu bar, select Data Browser,
and use the menu tree to navigate to any input sheet.
• Click the button that corresponds to the sheet you want from
the Data Browser toolbar:
• Select a stream or block in the process flowsheet, right-click,

and then select Input on the shortcut menu.
• Double-click a stream or block in the process flowsheet.

•

Specifying a Title for the Simulation

1 Click .
Aspen Plus displays the Flowsheet Complete dialog box indicating
that your flowsheet is complete and that you need to provide
remaining specifications.
2 Click OK to display the first required input sheet.

Aspen Plus opens the Data Browser window containing the Data
Browser menu tree and the Setup | Specifications | Global sheet:
3 In the Title box, enter the text Methylcyclohexane Recovery

Process and press Enter on the keyboard.
The Setup | Specifications | Global sheet displays a number of
settings that apply to the whole simulation. The chosen template
set the units to English (ENG). These may be changed here
globally, or in other sheets for particular streams or blocks. For

• Getting Started

more information about global specifications see the Aspen Plus

User Guide, Chapter 5: Global Information for Calculations.
Specifying Data to be Reported

Results data may be examined interactively in Aspen Plus or after
exiting by viewing a report file with a text editor.
For this simulation, tell Aspen Plus to calculate mole fractions as
well as a built-in set of properties called TXPORT.
1 Navigate to the Setup | Report Options form by clicking once
on the Report Options form under the Setup folder in the Data
Browser menu tree.
Note: If the Report Options form is not visible click the

symbol next to the Setup folder to expand it.
The Setup | Report Options | General sheet appears.

By clicking the appropriate tab, you can customize the reporting
for specific parts of the simulation.
2 Click the Stream tab.
3 In the Fraction basis area, select the Mole checkbox.
Now Aspen Plus will calculate and report mole fractions of all
stream components.
4 Click Property Sets.
5 The template you chose at startup contains a number of
available property sets. Select TXPORT from the list and click

•

to move the property set to the Selected property sets

column.
Now Aspen Plus will calculate and report density, viscosity, and
surface tension for all streams. To learn more about Aspen Plus
built in property sets and user-defined property sets, see the Aspen
Plus User Guide, Chapter 2: Creating a Simulation Model and
Chapter 28: Property Sets.
6 Click Close.
7 Click .
The Components | Specifications | Selection sheet appears.
Entering Components
Use the Components | Specifications | Selection sheet to select
the chemical components present in the simulation.
The components for the process in this simulation are toluene,
phenol, and methylcyclohexane.
To Enter a Unique 1 In the Component ID field, type TOLUENE and press Enter
Component ID for on the keyboard.
Each Component Because Aspen Plus recognizes the component name Toluene as an
Aspen Plus databank component, it fills in the Type, Component
name, and Formula fields automatically.
2 In the next Component ID field, type PHENOL and press
Enter on the keyboard.
Aspen Plus again fills in the remaining fields.

• Getting Started

3 In the next Component ID field, type MCH and press Enter

on the keyboard.
The Aspen Plus databank does not recognize the abbreviation
MCH.
4 In the MCH component row, type METHYLCYC in the
Component name field and press Enter on the keyboard.
The Find dialog box appears, listing all the components in the
Aspen Plus databank that have a name containing METHYLCYC:
5 From the list, locate and select Methylcyclohexane .
Note: To view the complete component names, click and drag the
right edge of the Component name column to the right.
6 Click Add.
7 Click Close.
Note: If you need to search for components based on molecular

weight range, boiling point range, or CAS numbers, use the
Advanced sheet in the Find dialog box.

•

You have now specified the three components required for this
process simulation model: Toluene, Phenol, and
Methylcyclohexane:
8 Click .
The Properties | Specifications | Global sheet appears.
Selecting Thermodynamic Methods

Use the Properties | Specifications | Global sheet to select the
property method used to calculate properties such as K-values,
enthalpy, and density. The Base method list contains all the
property methods built into Aspen Plus. The size of the list may be
reduced by specifying a particular Process type.
Note: Clicking the Modify property models checkbox allows

you to create a custom property method that starts out identical to
the chosen base method but may be modified according to your
needs. For more information see the Aspen Plus User Guide,
Chapter 7: Physical Property Methods.
For this simulation, use the UNIFAC property method to calculate

thermodynamic properties.
To Find the 1 In the Base method list, click to display the available
Appropriate Type of property methods in Aspen Plus:
Base Method for this
Simulation

• Getting Started

Get a brief description of a base method by selecting it and

reading the prompt. For detailed information about a base
method, highlight the name and use the What’s this? help
utility or refer to the Physical Property Methods and Models
reference manual.
2 From the Base method list, use the vertical scrollbar and select
UNIFAC.
3 Click .
The Required Properties Input Complete dialog box
appears:
4 Click OK .

•

Aspen Plus displays the next sheet that requires input.
Note: You can navigate to the incomplete sheets yourself by

clicking on folders in the menu tree marked with the symbol.
Entering Stream Data

The Streams | 1 | Input | Specifications sheet appears next. Make
Stream 1 the MCH-Toluene feed stream.
1 Enter the following state variable and component flow
specifications for the MCH-Toluene feed stream:
Temperature 220 F
Pressure 20 psi
Toluene flow rate 200 lbmol/hr
MCH flow rate 200 lbmol/hr
Because the default parameters and units are correct for this
simulation, you only need to enter the values.
The Streams | 1 | Input | Specifications sheet is complete:
2 Click .
The Streams | 2 | Input | Specifications sheet appears. Make
Stream 2 the phenol feed stream.

• Getting Started

3 Enter the following specifications for Stream 2:

Temperature 220 F
Pressure 20 psi
Phenol flow rate 1200 lbmol/hr
4 Click .
The Blocks | B1 | Setup | Configuration sheet appears:
Entering Unit Operation Block Data

On the Blocks | B1 | Setup | Configuration sheet, the number of
stages, the condenser type, and two operating specifications are
required data. The reboiler type, valid phases, and convergence
method have default choices displayed in shaded type.
1 Click each box and read the descriptive prompts.

•

If you click while the sheet is incomplete, the Completion

Status message box appears indicating the missing specifications:
Click to close the Completion Status dialog box.

2 Enter the following specifications for the column:
Number of stages 22 —
Condenser Total —
Distillate rate 200 lbmol/hr
Reflux ratio 8 —
Accept the defaults in the Reboiler, Valid phases, and
Convergence fields.

• Getting Started

The blue checkmark on the Configuration tab indicates the sheet

is complete:
3 Click or click the Streams tab.

The Blocks | B1 | Setup | Streams sheet appears.
In the RadFrac model, there are N stages. Stage 1 is the top stage
(the condenser); stage N is the bottom stage (the reboiler). As
shown in Figure 3.1, the MCH-Toluene feed (stream 1) enters
above stage 14, and the phenol solvent stream (stream 2) enters
above stage 7.
4 Enter 14 in the Stage field for Stream 1.
5 Enter 7 in the Stage field for Stream 2.
6 Accept the defaults for the entry point conventions for the feed
streams and for the locations and phases of the product streams.
The Blocks | B1 | Setup | Streams sheet is complete:

•

7 Click .
The Blocks | B1 | Setup | Pressure sheet appears.
You can enter a stage-by-stage profile, or specify a top-stage
pressure and a pressure drop for the rest of the column. For this
example, use a condenser pressure of 16 psi, and a reboiler
pressure of 20.2 psi. Aspen Plus interpolates the pressure of the
intermediate stages.
8 In the View list, click and select Pressure profile.

9 In the first Stage field, type 1 and then press the Tab key.
10 In the first Pressure field, type 16 and press Tab.
11 In the next Stage field, type 22 and press Tab.
12 In the next Pressure field, type 20.2.
13 Accept the default Pressure units (psi).
The completed Block B1 Setup Pressure sheet looks like this:
14 Click .
The Required Input Complete dialog box appears.
Note: You can enter additional specifications on optional input

sheets, or go back to any of the required sheets and make changes.
To see what optional input sheets are available, click Cancel on
the dialog box and scroll through the Data Browser to view all the
folders. The Reactions, Convergence, Flowsheeting Options, and
Model Analysis Tools folders are optional.

• Getting Started

Running the Simulation

1 From the Required Input Complete dialog box, click OK .
The Control Panel appears and the simulation run begins:
Use the Control Panel to monitor and interact with the Aspen Plus
simulation calculations. For more information on how to use the
Control Panel, see the Aspen Plus User Guide, Chapter 11:
Running Your Simulation, or see the topic Control Panel: about
in the online help index.
As Aspen Plus executes the simulation, status messages appear in
the Control Panel. When the simulation is complete, the message
All blocks have been executed appears in the status bar.
Note: There are 3 tabs at the bottom of the active form that can be
used to navigate between the overlapping windows. For example,
to view the Process Flowsheet Window , click the
tab. If you don’t see the tabs, from the Window menu, select
Workbook .

•

Examining Simulation Results

When the simulation completes, the Results Available message
appears in the status bar at the bottom of the main window. Now
you can examine the results of your simulation.
1 Navigate to the process flowsheet in one of these ways:
• Click the Process Flowsheet tab, or
• Select Window | Process Flowsheet Window from the
Aspen Plus menu bar.
Note: The menu item | sub-menu item shorthand means “click

on menu item then select sub-menu item.” This shorthand will be
used for many hierarchical selection processes.
To Display the 2 In the process flowsheet, select either the block name B1 or the
Results for Block B1 block itself, then right-click to display the shortcut menu.
Note: Your flowsheet may now have some pressure and

temperature data displayed. You can turn this feature on and off by
selecting View | Global Data . You may also wish to alter the
appearance of your flowsheet by selecting, for example, View |
Zoom | Zoom Full .
3 From the shortcut menu, select Results .

The Block B1 Results Summary sheet appears:
For this run, block results are reported on three forms: Results
Summary, Profiles, and Stream Results. In the Data Browser
menu tree, a checkmark in a square appears next to each form to
indicate that they contain results.

• Getting Started

4 From the Data Browser menu tree, select Blocks | B1 | Profiles

by clicking once on either Profiles or its checkmark.
The Block B1 Profiles TPFQ sheet appears, reporting
temperature, pressure, heat duty, and flow profiles for the block:
5 Use the scrollbar(s) to view the displayed profiles.
6 Click next to the View list and select Stage flows.

7 Use the Basis list to specify the type of units available for the
displayed results.
8 Use the units box in each column to select the desired units for
the display. Aspen Plus will perform the conversions
automatically.
9 Use the Data Browser menu tree, the button, and/or the
tabs on each form to view the rest of the results for Block B1.

•

10 Check the purity of the methylcyclohexane overhead product

by examining the composition at the top of the column (stage
1).
This simulation predicts a little better than 97% purity for the
MCH product with the given stream and block specifications.
Examining Stream Results

Display calculated stream results by selecting a stream directly
from the process flowsheet.
To Display the 1 Navigate to the process flowsheet.
Results for Stream 3 2 Select Stream 3 and right-click to display the shortcut menu.
3 Select Results.

• Getting Started

The Stream Results Material sheet appears, providing the results

for Stream 3:
In addition to the thermodynamic state and flow results for the

stream, mole fractions are also given (use the vertical scroll bar to
view them) because you requested them by clicking the appropriate
checkbox in the Setup | Report Options | Stream sheet.
To Display the 1 In the Stream Results Material sheet, click the list box at the
Results for All top of the first column of the data table (ignoring the field
Streams the Same labels at the left) and select 1.
Sheet 2 Click the list box in the second column and select 2.
3 Click the list box in the third column and select 3.
4 Click the list box in the fourth column and select 4.
The results for all four streams are displayed. A quicker way to do
this is to select All streams in the Display list box.
Note: You can close or minimize some of the overlapping

windows if you wish. Click the tab for a window and then use the
lower row of control buttons in the upper right corner of the screen:

•

Changing Input Specifications

In this section, review the effect of increasing the solvent flow rate
on the purity and of the recovered methylcyclohexane.
To Increase the 1 Navigate to the Process Flowsheet window.
Phenol Solvent 2 Select Stream 2, and right-click to display the shortcut menu.
Stream Flow Rate
3 Select Input.
The Stream 2 Input Specifications sheet appears.
4 In the Composition area, change the flow rate for PHENOL
from 1200 lbmol/hr to 1800 lbmol/hr by changing the entry in
the Value field to 1800 and pressing Enter on the keyboard.
Since you have changed the input specifications, Input Changed
messages appear in the prompt areas of the main window and in
the Data Browser window. Also, the symbols and appear in
several places in the Data Browser menu tree. Finally, the run
button and the Run | Run menu command are now enabled.
Rerunning the Simulation with

Changed Input
1 Click to continue.
The Required Input Complete dialog box appears indicating that
your input is complete and asking if you want to run the simulation
with the new specifications.
2 Click OK to run the simulation.
The Control Panel appears and the column calculations are
completed using the new phenol flow rate.
3 Display the new block and stream results by either selecting
blocks and streams from the process flowsheet as before or
navigating using the Data Browser.
Note: You can display the complete Data Browser menu tree by
clicking the button, or by selecting Data | Data Browser from
the Aspen Plus menu bar, or by pressing F8.

• Getting Started

MCH purity with the increased phenol flow rate is now over 98%.
To choose an optimal flow rate, it would be helpful to generate a
plot of MCH purity versus phenol flow rate. This is the subject of
Chapter 4: Performing a Sensitivity Analysis.
Creating Reports
To Generate a Report Aspen Plus allows you to generate a report file containing the
File simulation specifications and calculated results.
1 From the Aspen Plus menu bar, select File and then select
Export .
The Export dialog box appears.
2 In the Save as type list, click and select Report File

(*.rep).
3 In the File name list, type MCH.

4 Click Save to generate the report file, MCH.rep.
By default, MCH.rep is saved in your working directory
(displayed in the Save in list). You can select another directory by
navigating to it.
You can open MCH.rep with a text editor to read or print the file;
it is not necessary to be running Aspen Plus at the same time. If

•

you double-click on an Aspen Plus report file, it will be opened

with a Windows text editor, most likely Notepad.
To View and Save You can also examine the report before exiting Aspen Plus by
Part of a Report selecting View | Report from the Aspen Plus menu bar. The
Report dialog box allows you to select which part of the report
you want to display (for example, data from Stream 1 only). Aspen
Plus will display the selected part of the report (or the whole thing,
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 .
Saving Your File and Exiting Aspen

Plus
1 From the Aspen Plus menu bar, select File | Save as.
2 In the File name field, type MCH. Make sure the Save as type
field reads Aspen Plus Documents (*.apw) and click Save.
Aspen Plus saves the simulation in your working folder.
Note: This folder is located in

C:\Program Files\AspenTech\Working Folders\Aspen Plus 11.1 if
C:\Program Files\AspenTech is the Root Directory selected when
Aspen Plus was installed.
3 Select File | Exit to exit Aspen Plus.

Chapters 4 and 5 use MCH.apw as their starting point.

• Getting Started

Performing a Sensitivity
Analysis
One of the benefits of a simulation is that you can study the

sensitivity of process performance to changes in operating
variables. With Aspen Plus, you can allow inputs to vary, and can
tabulate the effect on a set of results of your choice. This procedure
is called a sensitivity analysis.
In this chapter, you will perform a sensitivity analysis using either
the methylcyclohexane (MCH) recovery simulation you created in
Chapter 3 or the MCH simulation that was placed in the Examples
folder when you installed Aspen Plus.
Getting Started Building and Running a Process Model Performing a Sensitivity Analysis 4-1
•

Starting Aspen Plus

2 Select AspenTech | Aspen Engineering Suite | Aspen Plus
11.1 | Aspen Plus User Interface .
The Aspen Plus Startup dialog box appears.
Opening an Existing Simulation

You can open a saved simulation file from the list presented at
startup, or by navigating to a folder containing the saved file. For
this session, either open your saved MCH.apw from Chapter 3, or
use MCH.bkp in the Examples folder.
To open an existing simulation:
If Your Saved File 1 In the Aspen Plus Startup dialog box, make sure Open an
MCH.apw is Existing Simulation is selected.
Displayed 2 In the list, select MCH.apw and click OK .
-or-
MCH.apw is not Existing Simulation is selected.
Displayed 2 In the list box, double-click More Files, or click OK without
selecting anything in the list box.
The Open dialog box appears.
3 Navigate to the directory containing your saved MCH.apw or
navigate to the Examples folder containing MCH.bkp .
Note: The Examples folder is located in:

C:\Program Files\AspenTech\Aspen Plus\Favorites\Examples if
4 Select either MCH.apw or MCH.bkp and click Open.
The Process Flowsheet window for the MCH column simulation

appears.
4-2 Performing a Sensitivity Analysis


Saving a Simulation under a New

Name
Before creating a new simulation from MCH.apw or MCH.bkp ,
create a file with a new name, MCHSENS.apw . Now you can
modify this new file. The original is safe.
1 From the Aspen Plus menu, select File and then Save As.
2 In the Save As dialog box, choose the directory where you
want to save the simulation.
3 In the File name field, enter MCHSENS.
4 In the Save as type field, make sure Aspen Plus Documents
(*.apw) is selected.
5 Click Save.
Defining the Sensitivity Analysis

In Chapter 3, you simulated MCH recovery using two values for
the phenol solvent flow rate. In the following sensitivity analysis,
tabulate methylcyclohexane (MCH) distillate product purity (mole
fraction), as well as condenser duty and reboiler duty, for several
different flow rates of phenol.
Entering Sensitivity Specifications

To Create a New 1 Select Data | Model Analysis Tools | Sensitivity .
Sensitivity Block The Model Analysis Tools | Sensitivity object manager appears.
You can use this sheet to:
• Create new sensitivity blocks.
• Edit existing sensitivity blocks.
• View status of sensitivity blocks.
2 Click New.
The Create new ID dialog box appears.
3 Click OK to accept the default ID (S-1).
•

The Model Analysis Tools | Sensitivity | S-1 | Input | Define

sheet appears:
This sensitivity analysis will generate a data table. The first column
will contain a user-specified range of input values for the phenol
flow rate. Three other columns will contain calculated results for
MCH distillate product purity, the condenser duty, and the reboiler
duty.
In the Define sheet, define names for each of the calculated
variables (product purity, condenser duty, reboiler duty). In the
Vary sheet, specify the range and increments for the manipulated
variable (phenol flow rate). In the Tabulate sheet, set up the
format you want for the data table.
Start with the definition of the MCH distillate product purity
variable.
To Define XMCH as 1 On the Define sheet, click New.
Distillate Product The Create new variable dialog box appears.
Purity 2 Type XMCH and click OK .
The Variable Definition dialog box appears. Define XMCH to
be the mole fraction of MCH in Stream 3 as follows.
3 In the Category area, select Streams.
4 In the Reference area, click the Type field and select Mole-
Frac.
As you complete the specifications in this dialog box, more
fields necessary to complete the variable definition will appear.
5 In the Stream field, select 3.


In this simulation, you do not need to modify the default value of
MIXED in the Substream field.
6 In the Component field, select MCH.
You have defined XMCH to be the mole fraction of MCH in
Stream 3. The blue checkmarks indicate that the variable
specification is complete.
7 Click Close.
The Model Analysis Tools | Sensitivity S-1 | Input | Define sheet
reappears with the first defined variable, XMCH, listed.
Next, define the condenser duty and reboiler duty variables.
To Define QCOND as 1 Click New again.
the Condenser Duty The Create new variable dialog box appears.
and QREB as
2 Type QCOND and click OK .
Reboiler Duty
The Variable Definition dialog box appears. Define QCOND
to be the condenser duty for the RadFrac Block B1.
3 In the Category area, select Blocks .
4 In the Type field, select Block-Var .
5 In the Block field, select B1.
6 In the Variable field, select COND-DUTY.
Aspen Plus automatically fills in the Sentence field, based on your
choice of variable.
•

Do not close the dialog box. Instead, define the next variable,
QREB.
7 In the Variable name field, select <New>.
Note: You can also right-click on the Variable name field and

from the shortcut menu, select Create.
The New Item dialog box appears.

8 Type QREB and click OK .
Define QREB to be the reboiler duty for Block B1.
9 In the Category area, select Blocks .
10 In the Type field, select Block-Var .
11 In the Block field, select B1.
12 In the Variable field, select REB-DUTY.
13 Click Close.
You have now defined QCOND and QREB to be the condenser
duty and reboiler duty for block B1.
The Model Analysis Tools | Sensitivity | S-1 | Input | Define
sheet reappears with the three defined calculated variables, XMCH,
QCOND, and QREB listed.
Next, specify the range, increment size, and label for the phenol
flow rate manipulated variable.
To Specify the
1 Click or click the Vary tab.
Manipulated Variable
The Model Analysis Tools | Sensitivity | S-1 | Input | Vary
sheet appears.
Define the phenol flow rate (Stream 2) to vary from 1200
lbmol/hr to 2000 lbmol/hr in increments of 100 lbmol/hr.
2 In the Variable number field, select 1.
3 In the Type field, select Stream-Var.
5 In the Variable field, select MOLE-FLOW.
6 In the Values for varied variable area, select Overall range
and enter the following values:
Field Value
Lower 1200
Upper 2000
Incr 100


7 In the Report labels area, enter the following line information:

Line Value
Line 1 PHENOL
Line 2 FLOWRATE
You have completely specified the phenol flow rate as a
manipulated variable for this sensitivity analysis:
Next, specify the format for the table that Aspen Plus will produce
when you run the analysis.
1 Click or click the Tabulate tab.

To Format the
Tabular Results The Model Analysis Tools | Sensitivity | S-1 | Input | Tabulate
sheet appears.
2 Enter 1, 2, and 3 in the Column No. fields and enter XMCH,
QCOND, and QREF in the Tabulated variable or expression
fields.
•

The completed sheet looks like this:
3 Click Table Format.

The Table Format dialog box appears. Enter column labels for
columns 1, 2, and 3, whose data contents were defined above.
Labels are split into 4 lines for the report file. Each line can
contain up to 8 characters.
4 In column 1 type MCH PURITY IN DIST using 3 lines.
5 In column 2 type CONDENS DUTY using 2 lines.
6 In column 3 type REBOILER DUTY using 2 lines.
The completed dialog box looks like this:


7 Click Close.
The Model Analysis Tools | Sensitivity | S-1 | Input form is
complete and you are ready to run the sensitivity analysis.
Running the Sensitivity Analysis

Run the simulation in any of the following ways:
• From the Aspen Plus menu bar, select Run, and then select
Run.

the Control Panel.
• Press F5.
Now you can display and plot the results.
Displaying Sensitivity Analysis

Results
The Sensitivity Analysis Results consist of a table of the values
you requested on the Input | Tabulate sheet, shown as a function
of the manipulated variable defined on the Input | Vary sheet.
1 From the Data Browser menu tree, click Model Analysis Tools
| Sensitivity | S-1 | Results .
The Model Analysis Tools Sensitivity S-1 Results Summary
sheet appears:
•

Note: The above results were obtained using the Aspen Plus
document file, mch.apw. If you used the Aspen Plus backup file,
mch.bkp, from the Examples folder, your results may be slightly
rd
different (in the 3 significant digit or beyond). These differences
occur because the starting points for the iterative calculations are
different. When you use an .apw file, Aspen Plus starts calculating
from the previous results. When you use a .bkp file, Aspen Plus
reinitializes before starting calculations.
Plotting Sensitivity Results

Make a plot of MCH purity vs. phenol flow rate.
To Generate a Plot of 1 Select the VARY 1 PHENOL FLOWRATE column by
MCH Distillate Purity clicking its label.
Versus Phenol Flow 2 From the Plot menu, select X-Axis Variable .
Rate
3 Select the MCH PURITY IN DIST column by clicking its
label.
4 From the Plot menu, select Y-Axis Variable .
5 From the Plot menu, select Display Plot.
A new window with its own tab appears containing the plot you
specified.
6 Click in the lower set of control buttons in the upper right
corner to reduce the size of the plot and give it a separate
window.


The reduced-sized plot looks like this:
7 If you wish, customize the plot by clicking the right mouse

button in the Plot window to access the plot menu.
Exiting Aspen Plus

1 From the Aspen Plus menu, select File and then select Exit.
The Aspen Plus dialog box appears.
2 Click Yes to save the simulation.
•



Meeting Process Design

Specifications
In Chapter 4, you used Aspen Plus to tabulate the sensitivity of

MCH distillate purity and column duties to changes in phenol
solvent flow rate. You can also use Aspen Plus to meet a specific
process design target (or design specification) by manipulating any
simulation input variable.
In this chapter, you will use Aspen Plus to meet a process design
specification using either the methylcyclohexane (MCH) recovery
simulation you created in Chapter 3 or the MCH simulation that
was placed in the Examples folder when you installed Aspen Plus.
Getting Started Building and Running a Process Model Meeting Process Design Specifications 5-1
•

Starting Aspen Plus


If Your Saved 1 In the Aspen Plus Startup dialog box, make sure Open an
MCH.apw is Existing Simulation is selected
-or-
mch.apw is Not Existing Simulation is selected

The Process Flowsheet window for the MCH column simulation

appears.
5-2 Meeting Process Design Specifications


Saving a Simulation Under a New

Name
Before creating a new simulation from MCH.apw or MCH.bkp ,
create a file with a new name, MCHSPEC.apw. Now you can
modify this new file. The original is safe.
1 From the Aspen Plus menu, select File | Save As.
2 In the Save As dialog box, choose the directory where you
want to save the simulation.
3 In the File name field, enter MCHSPEC.
4 In the Save as type field, make sure Aspen Plus Documents
(*.apw) is selected.
5 Click Save.
Defining the Design Specification

In Chapter 3, you simulated MCH recovery using two values for
the phenol solvent flow rate. In the sensitivity analysis in Chapter
4, you tabulated MCH distillate product purity, and condenser and
reboiler duties, as a function of phenol solvent flow rate.
Now use Aspen Plus determine the exact phenol solvent feed rate
required to maintain an MCH distillate purity of 98.0%.
To Enter Design 1 Select Data | Flowsheeting Options | Design Spec .
Specifications The Design Spec object manager appears.
2 Click New.
The Create New ID dialog box appears
3 Click OK to accept the default ID (DS-1).
•

The Flowsheeting Options | Design Spec | DS-1 | Define sheet

appears.
In the Define sheet, define XMCH to be the MCH purity. In the

Spec sheet, enter the specification as a mathematical expression
containing numbers and defined variables, and also enter a target
value for this expression and a tolerance. In the Vary sheet, specify
an input variable to be manipulated and a range in which Aspen
Plus will search in order to obtain the target value given on the
Spec sheet.
Start with the definition of XMCH as the mole fraction of MCH in
Stream 3.
To Define XMCH 1 Click New.
The Create new variable dialog box appears.
2 Type XMCH and click OK .
The Variable Definition dialog box appears. Define XMCH to be
the mole fraction of MCH in Stream 3.
3 In the Category area, select Streams.
4 In the Reference area, click the Type field and select Mole-
Frac.
As you fill in the fields, Aspen Plus displays additional fields
necessary to complete the variable definition.
6 Accept the default value of MIXED in the Substream field
and select MCH in the Component field .


The definition of XMCH is complete:
This variable will be sufficient to set up the design specification for

this example, so it is not necessary to define any other variables.
7 Click Close.
The Flowsheeting Options | Design Spec | DS-1 | Input | Define
sheet reappears with the defined variable, XMCH, listed.
Next, set up the following design specification: the percentage of
recovered MCH must be 98.0 within a tolerance 0.01.
To Set Up the Design
1 Click or click the Spec tab.
Specification
The Flowsheeting Options Design Spec DS-1 Input Spec sheet
appears.
2 In the Spec field, type XMCH*100.
The multiplicative factor of 100 converts the sampled mole
fraction to a mole percentage.
3 In the Target field, enter 98.0.
4 In the Tolerance field, enter 0.01 to specify an acceptable
deviation from the target percentage.
•

Next, specify the phenol flow rate (Stream 2) as the variable you
want Aspen Plus to manipulate in order to achieve the above
design specification. Give a range of 1200 to 2000 within which
Aspen Plus will search.
To Specify the
1 Click or click the Vary tab.
Manipulated Variable
The Flowsheeting Options | Design Spec | DS-1 | Input | Vary
sheet appears.
2 In the Manipulated variable area, click the Type field and
select Stream-Var.
3 In the Stream name field, select 2.
4 In the Substream field, accept the default, MIXED.
5 In the Variable field, select MOLE-FLOW.
6 In the Manipulated variable limits area, click the Lower field
and type 1200.
7 In the Upper field type 2000.
8 In the Report Labels area, click the Line 1 field and type
PHENOL.
9 In the Line 2 field, type FLOWRATE.
The Flowsheeting Options Design Spec DS-1 form is complete

and you are ready to run the design specification analysis and
examine the results.


Running the Design Specification

Analysis
Run the analysis in any of the following ways:
• From the Aspen Plus menu bar, select Run | Run.

the Control Panel.
• Press F5.
Then examine the results.
Examining Design Specification

Results
Determine how well your design specification has been satisfied by
examining the Results Summary | Convergence | Design Spec
Summary sheet.
1 From the Data Browser menu tree, click Results Summary |
Convergence .
The Results Summary Convergence DesignSpec Summary
sheet appears:
The results show that that the calculation converged successfully

and that the necessary value of the phenol flow rate is
approximately 1517.1. The units, lbmol/hr, are not shown.
Note: The above results were obtained by using the Aspen Plus
document file, MCH.apw. If you used the Aspen Plus backup file,
MCH.bkp, from the Examples folder, your results may be slightly
rd
different (in the 3 significant digit and beyond). These differences
occur because the starting point for the calculations are different.
When you use a document (.apw) file, Aspen Plus starts calculating
from the previous results. When you use a backup (.bkp) file,
Aspen Plus reinitializes before starting calculations.
•

Exiting Aspen Plus

1 From the Aspen Plus menu bar, click File | Exit.


Creating a Process Flow

Diagram
Aspen Plus has two modes for displaying graphics:

• Simulation mode
• PFD (Process Flow Diagram) mode
In both modes, you can modify your process flowsheet to prepare
customized drawings for reports by:
• Adding text and graphics
• Displaying global data for streams and blocks
• Displaying stream results tables
• Adding OLE objects
In PFD mode, you can modify the flowsheet to match your plant.
For example, a single piece of equipment in the plant that is
modeled by two unit operation blocks can be replaced by a single
block in PFD mode. These changes are for display purposes and do
not affect the flowsheet you developed to model your process.
In this chapter, you will use PFD mode to generate a plant diagram
from the process flowsheet you used in the MCH simulation. You
can use the file created in Chapter 3 or the simulation that was
saved in the Examples folder when you installed Aspen Plus.
Allow about 20 minutes for this example.
Getting Started Building and Running a Process Model Creating a Process Flow Diagram 6-1
•

Starting Aspen Plus


MCH.apw is Existing Simulation is selected.
-or-
MCH.apw is not Existing Simulation is selected.

Note: If the Connect to Engine dialog box appears, see Chapter

9.
The Process Flowsheet window for the MCH simulation appears.
6-2 Creating a Process Flow Diagram


Switching to PFD Mode

Simulation mode is the Aspen Plus default mode that you use to
model a process or perform calculations. PFD mode is used to
create a graphical representation of your process for a report or for
display purposes. Use PFD mode to do the following:
• Add equipment icons and streams that were not explicitly
included in the simulation.
• Display stream data.
• Display a results table.
• Add a title.
To toggle between Simulation Mode and PFD Mode, use either of
the following methods:
• Select View | PFD Mode.
• Press F12.
The check mark next to PFD Mode in the View menu and the
status bar at the bottom of the main window indicate that PFD
mode is on. Also, the process flowsheet workspace has a thick
colored border when you are using PFD mode.
When you select PFD mode, Aspen Plus creates a new graphic
identical to the original flowsheet. This new graphic is independent
of the original. Making changes to streams and blocks in either one
and toggling modes will show that these changes do not cross over.
Note: If you change the original process flowsheet model and you
wish to start over again with a new PFD style drawing that contains
these changes, select View | Reset PFD while in PFD mode. Your
old PFD will be deleted and it will be replaced by a new drawing
identical to the process flowsheet from your revised simulation
model.
•

Adding a Pump to the Diagram

In the MCH simulation, you did not model the feed pump to the
column; instead, you simply specified the pressure in the feed
stream. However, you may wish to include a feed pump in a
drawing used for a report or display.
Place a pump in your diagram and split Stream 1 into two streams
– one entering the pump and one leaving the pump and entering
Block B1. Follow the directions below.
To Add the Feed 1 Enter PFD Mode by selecting View | PFD Mode if you have
Pump to the PFD not already done so. Look for the colored border on the process
Diagram flowsheet and the words PFD Mode in the bottom status bar to
ensure you are in PFD Mode.
2 From the Model Library, click the Pressure Changers tab.
3 Click next to the Pump unit operation model.

4 Hover over the icons to see their labels and select ICON1.
5 Drag (click and hold) the selected icon to the Process
Flowsheet window to create Pump block B2.
6 Place the pump icon in the middle of Stream 1.
To Insert the Pump 7 Select Stream 1 and right-click.
Into the Feed Stream 8 From the shortcut menu, select Reconnect Destination .
Stream 1 is now disconnected from Block B1 and you are ready to
reconnect it to the pump.
9 Move the cursor arrowhead to an inlet port on the pump and
left-click.
Stream 1 is now enters the pump and you are ready to create a new
stream from the pump to Block B1.
10 Click once on on the left side of the Model Library.

11 Move the cursor (now a crosshair ) to an outlet port on the
pump and click once.
12 Move the cursor (now an arrowhead ) to a feed port on
Block B1 and click once to create a fifth stream.
Note: To cancel connecting the stream at any time, press ESC.


Your diagram should look something like this:
The Block names B1 and B2 have been moved for clarity. If you
wish, you may also rename Stream 5 to Stream 1 or Stream 1A
since the pump doesn’t change the components of the stream.
Displaying Stream Data

To Display 1 From the View menu, ensure that Global Data has a
Temperature and checkmark next to it.
Pressure 2 Select Tools | Options | Results View.
3 Select the Temperature and Pressure checkboxes.
•

4 Click OK .
The temperature and pressure calculated by Aspen Plus during the
MCH simulation run are shown on each stream. Aspen Plus also
displays a legend box in the lower left corner of the screen. The
legend box shows the symbols and units for the global data. Move
and resize the legend in the same way that you move and resize
blocks.
Note: If you do not see the legend box, select View | Zoom |
Zoom Full or press Ctrl-End to see the whole drawing.


Your diagram should look approximately like this:
Adding a Stream Table

PFD style drawings frequently include a table of stream results (the
heat and material balance table, or birdcage). To generate this
table:
1 From the View menu, ensure Annotation is selected.
2 Select Data | Results Summary | Streams .
The Results Summary | Streams | Material sheet appears with
data from all streams displayed.
3 Click Stream Table to place the table on your diagram.
4 Click the Process Flowsheet tab to return to your diagram.
A birdcage-style stream table appears in the Process Flowsheet
window showing the stream results from the simulation:
Note: The table is scaled for printing.
•

You can zoom in on various parts of the diagram by enclosing an

area and selecting Zoom In from the shortcut menu. See the
directions below.
To Zoom in on Part of 1 Drag the cursor (clicking and holding) across the area you
the Diagram would like to magnify.
2 When you have enclosed the area, release the cursor. It will be
surrounded by a box.
3 With the cursor in the selected region, right-click to display the
shortcut menu.
4 From the shortcut menu, select Zoom In.
Adding Text
Add a title to the drawing using the Draw toolbar.
To Display the Draw 1 Select View | Toolbar .
Toolbar 2 In the Toolbars dialog box, select the Draw checkbox.
3 Click OK .
The Draw toolbar appears.
To Add Text
4 From the Draw toolbar, click .
5 Move the cursor to an appropriate spot for the text and left-
click.
A rectangular box with a blinking cursor appears.
6 Type Methylcyclohexane Recovery Column , then click
outside the rectangular box.
7 Select the title and change the font size to 28 using the Draw
toolbar.
8 Click the title and hold the mouse button down until the cursor
changes shape, then drag the title anywhere you like.
9 Select View | Zoom Full.
The final diagram looks like something like this:


Printing a Process Flow Diagram

Before you print, make sure that your printer is set up correctly.
Refer to the online help topic Using Aspen Plus | Annotating
Process Flowsheets , or to the Aspen Plus User Guide, Chapter 14,
for more information on printing options.
To Preview Your 1 Select File | Print Preview .
Drawing Before The block and stream IDs and the global data in your drawing are
Printing now scaled approximately as they will appear in print.
2 Click Zoom In or Zoom Out.
To Print the PFD- 3 Click Print.
Style Drawing The Print dialog box appears asking you where you want the
output directed.
4 Select the appropriate printer and click OK .
Leaving PFD Mode

You have seen how straightforward it is to create a PFD-style
drawing from a process flowsheet. Remember that the
modifications you have made for the PFD-style drawing have no
effect on the process flowsheet and will not be included in it.
To Return to 1 Select View | PFD Mode or press F12 to toggle PFD mode off
Simulation Mode and return to simulation mode.
The original process flowsheet is displayed without the pump, but
with the stream pressure and temperature data, the results table,
and the title that you added in PFD mode.
•

2 Select View | Global Data to toggle it off if you don’t want to

view the table and the pressure and temperature data in the
original process flowsheet.
3 Select View | Annotation to toggle it off if you don’t want to
view the title in the original process flowsheet.
Note: Remember, the streams and blocks in the PFD drawing and
the process flowsheet are independent of one another unless you
select View | Reset PFD while in PFD mode.
Exiting Aspen Plus

1 Select File | Exit.


Estimating Physical Properties

for a Non-Databank Component
This chapter guides you through the procedure for estimating

physical properties for a component that is not present in the Aspen
Plus databank.
You will use a known molecular structure and known properties of
Thiazole to provide Aspen Plus with a starting point for estimating
missing properties.
Getting Started Estimating Physical Properties for a Non-Databank Component 7-1

•

Thiazole Physical Property Data

In this simulation, you are dealing with a process involving
Thiazole and water, among other components.
Thiazole (C3H3 NS) is not in the Aspen Plus databank. The
following information is available from various sources:
Molecular structure for Thiazole:
HC=CH
S
N=CH
Molecular weight: 85
Normal boiling point: 116.8 °C
Vapor pressure correlation:
oL
ln p i = 16.445 - 3281.0/(T +216.255)
oL
For p i in mmHg, T in °C for 69 °C < T < 118°C
By checking the manual Aspen Plus Physical Property Methods

and Models, Chapter 3, you see that you do not have data for all
the required pure component property parameters for Thiazole.
You are missing data for the following property parameters
(required for calculating enthalpies and densities):
Parameter Description
TC Critical temperature
PC Critical pressure
CPIG Ideal gas heat capacity coefficients
DHFORM Heat of formation
DGFORM Gibbs free energy formation
DHVLWT Watson heat-of-vaporization coefficients
VC Critical volume
ZC Critical compressibility factor
Run a Property Estimation simulation in Aspen Plus to estimate the
missing property parameters for Thiazole required to run your
simulation.
7-2 Estimating Physical Properties for a Non-Databank Component

• Getting Started

Starting Aspen Plus

2 Select AspenTech | Aspen Engineering Suite | Aspen Plus |
Aspen Plus User Interface .
3 From the Aspen Plus Startup dialog box, select Template and
click OK .
Creating a Property Estimation

Simulation
Use the New dialog box to specify the application type and the run
type for the new simulation.
1 From the New dialog box, select the General with English
Units application type.
2 In the Run Type field, click and select Property

Estimation .
3 Click OK .
Note: If the Connect to Engine dialog box appears, see Chapter

9.
The Data Browser appears. There is no process flowsheet for a

Property Estimation run. First enter a title for the simulation. Then
define a new component with the name thiazole and tell Aspen
Plus to estimate all missing properties. Then enter the molecular
structure of Thiazole and all known properties. Then run the
estimation.

•

Entering a Title
1 Expand the Setup folder in the Data Browser menu tree and
click Specifications .
The Setup | Specifications | Global sheet appears. The run type
Property Estimation is already selected.
2 In the Title field, type Property Estimation for Thiazole .
Next, define a component called THIAZOLE.

• Getting Started

Entering Components Information

1 Expand the Components folder in the Data Browser menu tree
and click Specifications .
2 In the first line of the Component ID column, enter
THIAZOLE.
Because THIAZOLE is not in the Aspen Plus databank, do not fill
in the Component name or Formula columns.
Next, tell Aspen Plus to estimate all missing properties.

•

Specifying Properties to Estimate

1 Expand the Properties folder and the Estimation folder and
click Input.
The Properties Estimation Input Setup sheet appears
2 Accept the default Estimation option Estimate all missing
parameters.
The other sheets on this form allow you to select specific

estimation methods for each property if you do not wish to use the
default methods. For this example, the defaults are adequate.
Next, enter the molecular structure of Thiazole. Click .

• Getting Started

Entering Molecular Structure

The Non-Databank Components dialog box appears, indicating
that your simulation has some non-databank components, for
which you can enter additional information.
To Enter the 1 Click Cancel.
Molecular Structure 2 Expand the Properties | Molecular Structure folder in the
Information for Data Browser menu tree and click THIAZOLE.
Thiazole
The Properties | Molecular Structure | THIAZOLE | General
sheet appears:
Note: You can define the molecular structure either by using the
General Method which is based on individual atoms and bonds, or
by using the Functional Group Method in which you indicate the
functional groups specific to a particular estimation method. This
example explains how to use the General Method.
On the General sheet, specify the molecular structure of Thiazole

by listing each non-hydrogen atom and each bond. Aspen Plus
handles the hydrogen.
3 Sketch the structure of Thiazole and number all the non-
hydrogen atoms:
C1 = C2
S3
N5 = C4

•

Each atom will be listed twice, once as an atom that connects

(Atom 1) and once as an atom that is connected to (Atom 2).
4 Enter the following information for Atom 1:
Number Type
1 C
2 C
3 S
4 C
5 N
This table associates each number with type of atom.
5 Enter the following information for Atom 2:
Number Type (generated automatically)
2 C
3 S
4 C
5 N
1 C
This table indicates which atom is connected to each of the
atoms in the first table.
6 In the Bond type column, select Double bond between atoms 1
and 2 and between 4 and 5, and select Single bond for the other
bonds.
The Properties Molecular Structure THIAZOLE General sheet
is now complete.

• Getting Started

Next, enter the known property data for thiazole.
Entering Property Data

The molecular structure information is sufficient for Aspen Plus to
estimate properties. However, entering all available data will
improve the accuracy of the Aspen Plus estimation.
To Enter Pure 1 Expand the Properties | Parameters folder in the Data
Component Boiling Browser menu tree and click Pure Component .
Point and Molecular The Properties | Parameters | Pure Component object manager
Weight for Thiazole appears.
2 Click New.
3 In the New Pure Component Parameters dialog box, select
Scalar .
4 Enter the new name TBMW (for boiling point and molecular
weight) and click OK .
The Properties | Parameters | Pure Component | TBMW | Input
sheet appears.
5 In the Component field, click and select THIAZOLE .

6 Click the Parameters field, and select TB (normal boiling
point).
7 Click the Units field, and select C to express the boiling point
in degrees Celsius.
8 In the fourth column (under the Component field) enter 116.8.
9 Click the second cell under the Parameters column, and select
MW (molecular weight).
10 In the fourth column, enter 85.
You have entered the pure component property data for Thiazole.

•

Next specify the coefficients for the Antoine vapor pressure

correlation.
To Enter Antoine 1 Click Properties | Parameters | Pure Component in the Data
Vapor Pressure Browser menu tree.
Correlation The object manager appears. You can see that you have filled your
Coefficients TBMW parameter with scalar data.
2 Click New.
3 In the New Pure Component Parameters dialog box, select
T-Dependent correlation . A tree-style of choices appears.
4 Under Liquid Vapor Pressure , select PLXANT-1 for the
Antoine vapor pressure correlation.
5 Click OK .
The Properties | Parameters | Pure Component | PLXANT-1 |
Input sheet appears.
6 Click the Components field, select THIAZOLE.
The Antoine vapor pressure correlation (also given above) is:
oL
ln p i = 16.445 - 3281.0/(T+216.255)
oL
for p i in mmHg, T in °C for 69 °C < T < 118°C.
You can get help on specifying the coefficients by clicking ,

then clicking PLXANT in the Parameter field near the top of this
sheet. Follow the link to Extended Antoine/Wagner .
7 Click the Temperature units field, select C.
8 Click the Property units field, select mmHg.
9 Enter the Antoine coefficients for Thiazole in the fields
numbered 1 through 9.
Field Coefficient
1 16.445
2 -3281
3 216.255
4 0
5 0
6 0
7 0
8 69
9 118

• Getting Started

You have completed the Properties Parameters Pure

Component PLXANT-1 Input sheet.
You have entered all available property data for thiazole and are
now ready to run the property constant estimation system (PCES).
Running a Property Constant

Estimation (PCES)
1 Select View | Control Panel or press F7 or press the control
panel button on the Aspen Plus toolbar.
2 Select Run | Run or press F5 or press the run button to

run the estimation.
As the run executes, status messages display in the Control Panel.
The message Results Available with Warnings appears in the status
bar at the bottom of the main window. In this example, ignore
these warnings since you did not use functional groups in your
structure specification.

•

Examining Property Constant

Estimation Results
Examine the results of your PCES simulation. View the Pure
Component and T-dependent properties estimated by Aspen Plus.
To Examine PCES 1 In the Data Browser menu tree, click Results Summary | Run
Results Status .
A summary sheet appears indicating that the calculations were
completed with warnings.
2 In the Data Browser menu tree click, Properties | Estimation |
Results .
The Pure Components sheet appears, with the estimated pure
component properties for Thiazole. The property name,
abbreviation, estimated value, units, and method used for
estimation are tabulated.

• Getting Started

3 Click the T-Dependent tab.

The T-Dependent sheet appears with estimated coefficients for
polynomials that model the temperature dependence of the listed
properties. The property name, abbreviation, list of coefficients,
units, and method are tabulated.
Creating and Using a Property

Backup File
Save this property estimation as a backup file (.bkp) that you can
import into a flowsheet simulation that uses thiazole.
1 Select File | Save As
To Save a Backup 2 In the Save As dialog box, select Aspen Plus Backup Files in
File the Save as type field.
3 In the File Name field, enter thiazole .
4 Click Save.
An Aspen Plus dialog box appears warning you that you will not
be able to start new calculations from previous results and suggests
saving the file as an Aspen Plus document file (.apw).

•

5 Click No since you only need the backup file.

Next, try using your backup file to import thiazole data into
flash.apw.
Run the Flash simulation with methanol, water, and thiazole in
Stream 1. Follow these steps.
1 Open Flash.apw from your working folder and click Yes to
To Import a Backup
close the thiazole estimation.
File
2 Click File | Import and select thiazole.bkp and click Open.
Note: You cannot import an Aspen Plus document file (.apw) into
another simulation.
3 An Information dialog box appears. Click OK .

The flowsheet disappears since the thiazole backup file is a
properties estimation. However, the flowsheet data from
Flash.apw is still available.
4 Press F8 to open the Data Browser.
5 In the Data Browser menu tree expand the Setup folder and
click Specifications .
The Setup | Specifications | Global sheet appears.
6 In the Global Settings area, change the run type to Flowsheet .
The flowsheet and stream and block input data from Flash.apw are
now accessible.
7 In the Data Browser menu tree, click Properties | Estimation |
Input and then select Do not estimate any parameters since
the thiazole parameters have already been estimated.
8 In the Data Browser menu tree, click Streams | 1 | Input and
then in the Composition area of the Specifications sheet, type
50 for the mole flow of the component thiazole which is now
listed along with methanol and water.
9 Press F5 to run the simulation with thiazole in Stream 1.
Exiting Aspen Plus

1 Select File | Exit.
An Aspen Plus dialog box appears.
2 Click No to preserve the original Flash simulation (without
thiazole).

• Getting Started

Analyzing Properties
Before starting a simulation study, it is important to understand the

physical property and phase equilibrium behavior of the fluids in
your process, and to confirm that the behavior predicted by the
property models and data you are using is reasonable.
In this chapter you will use the interactive property analysis
features in Aspen Plus to obtain a binary T-xy diagram for the
acetone-chloroform system, using the NRTL activity coefficient
model with parameters from the built-in binary pair databank. Then
you will check your results against literature data.
Getting Started Building and Running a Process Model Analyzing Properties 8-1
•

Starting Aspen Plus

3 Select Template and click OK .
4 Select General with English Units for the application type.
5 In the Run Type field, click and select Property Analysis .

6 Click OK .
The Aspen Plus main window appears. Aspen Plus starts a new
simulation with the default name, Simulation 1.
Entering Components and Properties

You do not need a process flowsheet to perform a property
analysis. You require information only about chemical species and
physical properties.
1 Click .
The Setup | Specifications | Global sheet appears.
2 Enter a title if you wish.
Select a units set consistent with the literature data you will use for
comparison.
3 In the Input data field, click and select METCBAR for

METric units with Celsius for temperature and BAR for
pressure.
5 In the first line under the Component ID field, type
ACETONE and press Enter on the keyboard.
6 In the second line under the Component ID field, type CHCL3
for chloroform and press Enter on the keyboard.
8-2 Analyzing Properties


Aspen Plus matches the component IDs against the Aspen Plus
databanks and fills in the information for acetone and chloroform
on the sheet.
The Properties | Specifications | Global sheet appears.
For this simulation, use the NRTL physical property model to
generate the vapor-liquid equilibrium properties.
8 In the Base method field, click and select NRTL.
•

The Properties | Parameters | Binary Interaction | NRTL-1 |

Input sheet appears:
This sheet displays the default binary parameters for acetone-

chloroform retrieved from the Aspen Plus databanks. These
parameters were determined from literature data for this binary
system between 15° C and 64.47° C.
Examine additional information on the range of data used and the
quality of the fit by using the online help.
10 Place the cursor in one of the fields containing a numerical
value.
11 Press F1.
12 Review the help to confirm that the default parameters are
appropriate for your analysis.


13 Press Enter on the keyboard.

An Information dialog box appears telling you that you have to
specify the property analysis to be generated. Because you will
perform an ad-hoc property analysis in this simulation, you need
not continue with the next simulation input.
15 Click Cancel to close the dialog box.
Generating a Txy Diagram

You can use the Aspen Plus analysis capability before input
specifications are complete. Note the Required Input Incomplete
message on the status bar.
Aspen Plus can generate four types of property analysis: pure,
binary, residue, and stream. However, with the given input, only
pure and binary analyses are available.
In this simulation, study VLE behavior of the acetone-chloroform
binary system, so you can perform a binary analysis.
The relevant literature values are:
Acetone boiling point 56 °C
Chloroform boiling point 61 °C
Acetone-chloroform azeotrope 64.5 °C
(From Mass-Transfer Operations, Treybal, 3rd Ed., McGraw-Hill,
p. 356, and from Properties of Gases and Liquids, Reid, Sherwood
and Prausnitz, 3rd Ed., McGraw-Hill, Chapter 9.)
To Generate a Txy 1 From the Aspen Plus menu bar, select Tools | Analysis |
Diagram Property | Binary .
The Binary Analysis dialog box appears.
2 In the Analysis type field, click to view the types of

analysis available.
As the prompts indicate, Txy and Pxy analysis are used to study
nonideality of vapor -liquid systems to check for azeotrope
formation. Gibbs energy of mixing analysis is used to see if the
system will form two liquid phases.
3 Select Txy.
The fields in this dialog box are filled with default options all of
which are correct for this example.
4 Click Go to apply the defaults and start the analysis.
•

Calculations begin for the T-xy diagram. When the calculations are
finished, the results appear in tabular form. In addition, a T-xy plot
is automatically displayed, as shown in the following figure:
5 Click to obtain a maximized plot screen.

Clicking inside the plot will reveal the coordinates of the cursor.
This plot indicates that this system contains an azeotrope at an
acetone mole fraction of about 0.34 and a temperature of 64.2° C
(147.5°F). The temperature of the azeotrope agrees with the
literature value within 0.5%, so you could feel confident using the
Aspen Plus default data in a simulation.
6 Select the Binary Analysis Results window which is behind
the Plot window.
The table shows that Aspen Plus has calculated activity
coefficients and K-values as well as temperature and composition.
Use the horizontal and vertical scrollbars to see all the data.
Several additional built-in plots are available using the Plot
Wizard.
To Generate an 7 In the Binary Analysis Results window, click Plot Wizard.
Activity Coefficient The Plot Wizard Step 1 window appears.
Plot
8 Read the description on the page and click to
continue.
The Plot Wizard Step 2 window appears with the available plots.


9 Select Gamma to plot activity coefficients versus mole fraction

of acetone.

The Plot Wizard Step 3 window appears.
11 In the Component to plot field, click and select

ACETONE.
12 Click Finish to accept defaults for the remaining plot settings
and generate the plot.
•

The activity coefficient plot appears.
From this plot you can see the infinite dilution activity coefficients.
13 Close the Plot and Binary Analysis Results windows.
Note: In the Binary Analysis dialog box, you can click Save as
Form to save your interactive property analysis to forms within the
Data Browser. Saving an interactive property analysis as forms
enables you to preserve the input and results of this property
analysis to view or modify at a later time.
14 Close the Binary Analysis dialog box.

At this point you could change the run type in the Setup
Specifications Global sheet to Flowsheet, define a flowsheet, and
proceed with a simulation. However, for this simulation, stop here.
15 From the File menu, select Exit.
16 In the Aspen Plus dialog box, click No.


Connecting to the Aspen Plus

Simulation Engine
If either of the following conditions exist, you will be prompted to

specify the host computer for the Aspen Plus simulation engine
after you start the Aspen Plus User Interface:
• The simulation engine is not installed on your PC.
• The simulation engine is installed on your PC, but the
Activator security device is not connected to your PC.
In these cases, the Connect to Engine dialog box appears.
1 In the Server type field, click and select the type of host
computer for the simulation engine.
2 If you choose Local PC as the server for the simulation engine,
you do not need to enter any more information into the dialog
box. Click OK to continue.
If you choose Windows NT or 2000 server as the server for the
simulation engine, continue with the following steps.
3 In the Node name field, enter the node name of the computer
on which the Aspen Plus simulation engine will execute.
4 In the other fields, enter the following information:
Field name Description
User name Your user name for the specified host/server.

Password Your password for the above user name.
Working directory The associated working directory.
5 Click OK .
Getting Started Connecting to the Aspen Plus Simulation Engine 9-1

•

When the network connection is established, the message

Connection Established appears in the message box.
If the Connection Established message does not appear, see your
Aspen Plus system administrator for more information on network
protocols and host computers for the Aspen Plus simulation
engine.
9-2 Connecting to the Aspen Plus Simulation Engine

• Getting Started

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Part Number: Aspen Plus ® 11.1

BATCHFRAC™ and RATEFRAC™ are trademarks of Koch Engineering Company, Inc.

About This Manual

Aspen Plus Basics

Getting Started Building and Running a Process Model Contents • i

Examining Stream and Block Results............................................................................2-17

Building and Running a Process Simulation Model

Performing a Sensitivity Analysis

If Your Saved File MCH.apw is not Displayed ................................................... 4-2

Meeting Process Design Specifications

Creating a Process Flow Diagram

Getting Started Building and Running a Process Model Contents • iii

To Add Text ......................................................................................................... 6-8

Estimating Physical Properties for a Non-Databank Component

Connecting to the Aspen Plus Simulation Engine

About This Manual

Aspen Plus makes it easy to build and run a process simulation

Why Use Process Simulation?

What is an Aspen Plus Process

1-2 About This Manual

Sessions in this Book

Follow the steps in this Learn how to

Using Backup Files

Installation Guide Aspen Plus Installation Guide for Windows

User Guide Aspen Plus User Guide

1-4 About This Manual

• Service Pack announcements

North America 8:00 – 20:00 Eastern Time

Phone Support Phone Numbers

North 1-888-996-7100 Toll-free from U.S., Canada, Mexico

Fax Support Centers Fax Numbers

North America 1-617-949-1724 (Cambridge, MA)

E-mail Support Centers E-mail

North America support@aspentech.com (Engineering Suite)

1-6 About This Manual

Aspen Plus Basics

This chapter leads you through an Aspen Plus simulation to

Starting Aspen Plus

Note: To create a Windows desktop icon for Aspen Plus, navigate

2-2 Aspen Plus Basics

The Aspen Plus Main Window

2 From the File menu, select Open.

2-4 Aspen Plus Basics

A list of folders appears in the Open dialog box:

Note: Add folders to the Favorites list by navigating to the

appropriate folder and clicking .

4 Double-click the Examples folder.

Selecting Flowsheet Objects

Process flowsheets display streams and unit operation blocks. The

2-6 Aspen Plus Basics

Using a Shortcut Menu

The stream shortcut menu appears, listing the executable

2 Use the Up and Down arrow keys on your keyboard, to

Opening Input Sheets

• Click the streams button in the Data Browser toolbar, then

Tip: To open a stream or block input sheet quickly, double-click

2-8 Aspen Plus Basics

The Stream 1 Input Specifications sheet appears with the Data

Navigate from sheet to sheet by expanding the folders in the Data