Lab Manual - Process Simulation Lab
Lab Manual - Process Simulation Lab
Table of Contents
Aim: To study the effect of temperature and pressure on the molar volume of a gas
using various equations of state with the help of M.S.Excel/ Matlab/ DWSIM/Unisim etc.
Objective: To determine the specific volume of n-butane at 500 K and 18 atm using the Redlich–
Kwong equation of state.
Theory
Solving equations of state allows us to find the specific volume of a gaseous mixture of chemicals at
a specified temperature and pressure. Without using equations of state, it would be virtually
impossible to design a chemical plant.
The ideal gas equation of state, which relates the pressure, temperature, and specific volume, is a
familiar equation:
𝑃𝑉 = 𝑛𝑅𝑇 or 𝑝𝑣̅ = 𝑅𝑇, where 𝑣̅ = 𝑉⁄𝑛 − − − −(1)
The term p is the absolute pressure, V is the volume, n is the number of moles, R is the gas constant,
and T is the absolute temperature. The units of R have to be appropriate for the units chosen for
the other variables.
The first generalization of the ideal gas law was the van der Waals equation of state:
𝑅𝑇 𝑎
𝑃= − — − − −(2)
𝑣̅ − 𝑏 𝑣̅
In this equation, the b accounts for the excluded volume (a second molecule cannot use the same
space already used by the first molecule), and, a accounts for the interaction force between two
molecules.
The Redlich–Kwong equation of state is a modification of van der Waal’s equation of state:
𝑅𝑇 𝑎
𝑃= − — − − −(3)
𝑣̅ − 𝑏 𝑣̅(𝑣̅ + 𝑏)
R2T2
where 𝑎 = 0.42748 c 𝛼 − − − −(4)
Pc
RT
𝑏 = 0.08664 ( c
) − − − −(5)
Pc
1
𝛼=
Tr0.5
Tc is the critical temperature (in absolute terms), Pc is the critical pressure, and Tr is the ‘reduced’
temperature (the absolute temperature divided by the critical temperature). The α is particular to
the Redlich–Kwong equation of state.
Calculate values of a and b using Eq. (4) and (5). The value of gas constant in these units is 0.08206
l atm/gmol K.
Enter the parameters and calculate f(v).
Use the Goal Seek command to make f(v) equal to zero by changing cell v.
Effect of pressure on molar volume and compressibility using Excel:
Step 1: Take pressure values from 1 to 40 atm in the first column.
Step 2: Assume random values (eg:1) for volume corresponding to each pressure specified in the
second column.
Step 3: Calculate the value of p using the Redlich-Kwong equation in the third column.
Step 4: Estimate the square of the error between pressure taken and calculated. Sum all the errors.
Step 5: Now using the Solver tool, set the value of sum of errors to zero by changing the cells of
volumes (40 cells).
Step 6: Calculate the ideal gas volume in 5th column.
Step 7: Calculate the compressibility factor, Z in 6th column
Step 8: Insert →chart →Scatter→ Scatter with Smooth Lines and markers.
Step 9: Set the values of P as the x-axis and values of Z as y-axis and plot the chart.
Procedure (By using Excel- Goal seek tool/ Solver)
Open a new case by using one of the following:
1. Go to the File menu, select New Chemical Process Model, then the Simulation Configuration
Wizard will appear as shown in Figure below
System of Units Select the desired system of units for your simulation. You can change individual
units by selecting a custom system like C1, C2 etc (other than SI, CGS or ENG)
Click Next and then click Finish to enter into the Simulation Environment
Enter Simulation Environment
Click the Enter Simulation Environment button when you are ready to start building the simulation.
Department of Chemical Engineering 6 Government Engineering College Thrissur
CHL 411 Process Simulation Lab
Add a material stream and specify the Temperature and Pressure and click Enter. Set the Molar
flow as 1 mol/h.
From the Results tab, Phase Properties Vapour, the value of Compressibility is obtained.
Effect of pressure on Compressibility
Sensitivity Analysis
Step 1: Click on the Flowsheet Analysis tab in the Toolbar, and select Sensitivity Study from the list.
Step 2: In the Independent Variables section, select the material stream 1 as the Object and
Pressure as the Property.
Step 16: Set the Lower limit and Upper Limit as 1 and 40 respectively, and specify the number of
points as 40.
Step 17: In the Dependent Variables section, click on Add variables to add dependent variables.
Select 1 as the Object and Compressibility factor (Vapour) as the Property.
Step 18: Click the Results Tab and click on Start Sensitivity Analysis to start the analysis.
Step 19: In the Chart tab, click on Draw to display the chart, and the graph can be saved as Image
file by the options available by right clicking on the graph.
Result:
The molar volume of n-butane using Redlich-Kwong equation using MS Excel, v=
Compressibility factor of n-butane using Redlich-Kwong equation using MS Excel, Z=
Compressibility factor of n-butane using Redlich-Kwong equation using DWSIM, Z=
The effect of pressure on the compressibility of a gas using Redlich-Kwong equation equation of
state with the help of M.S.Excel and DWSIM is compared and plotted.
Objective:
Use any spreadsheet application and a process simulator to solve problems involving phase
equilibrium.
Aim:
Find the fraction of the stream that is vapor and the mole fraction of each chemical in the vapor and
liquid streams. Table shows the flow rates and K-values at 180 F and 70 psia, using a basis of one
mole per unit of time.
Mole fraction Phase Equilibrium K-value
Propane 0.1 6.8
n-Butane 0.3 2.2
n-Pentane 0.4 0.8
n-Octane 0.2 0.052
Theory
This experiment shows how we can predict the thermodynamic quantities you need to solve the
isothermal flash problem.
Consider the flow sheet shown in Figure.
Suppose you know the temperature, pressure, and overall composition of the inlet stream. The mole
fractions of the chemicals in the inlet are called zi. In the phase separator, however, the liquid and
vapor are separated. The mole fraction of the chemicals in the vapor phase are called y i and those
in the liquid phase are called xi. When the vapor and liquid are in equilibrium, you can relate the
mole fractions of each chemical in the vapor and liquid by the equation:
The sum of the mole fractions of vapor and liquid over all components is given as
Next, make a mass balance for each component over the phase separator. F is the total molar flow
rate, V is the molar flow rate of the vapor, and L is the molar flow rate of the liquid. The mole balance
is then
Substituting the above equation in the sum of mole fractions equation yields the Rachford-Rice
equation.
Procedure
Simulation using spreadsheet (MS Excel)
Suppose you have a mixture of hydrocarbons in the inlet stream. You want to find the fraction of
the stream that is vapor and the mole fraction of each chemical in the vapor and liquid streams. We
know the flow rates and K-values at 180oF and 70 psia, using a basis of one mole per unit of time.
To solve this problem, prepare the spreadsheet as shown below
Step 1: ‘Term1’ is the numerator in Rachford-Rice equation and ‘term2’ is the denominator, and
Step 3: You can then use Goal Seek to make the Rachford–Rice equation (cell F9) zero by changing
the fraction of the feed that is vapor (cell D1), giving the result shown. Once you find the fraction
vapor, the mole fractions in the two phases are easy to calculate using respective equations and
these are included in columns G and H.
Checking the results
Step 1: Of course, the most important aspect is to have the correct K-values, which can only be
determined by comparing them with experimental data. The entire calculation depends upon those
K-values.
Step 2: You need the Rachford–Rice equation to sum to zero, which is evident in the spreadsheet.
Step 3: You can check that the sum of vapor mole fractions equals one, and the sum of liquid mole
fractions equals one.
Step 4: You can also check one term in the Rachford–Rice equation using detailed calculations, and
then copy the equation down. This ensures that the formula is correct for all components.
Solution using DWSIM
Open a new case by using one of the following:
2. Go to the File menu, select New Chemical Process Model, then the Simulation Configuration
Wizard will appear as shown in Figure below
2. Click the Next on the Simulation Configuration Wizard.
3. Adding Components to The Simulation
4. The first step in establishing the simulation basis is to set the chemical components that will
be present in your simulation.
5. Select the compounds that you want to add to the simulation. Use the text box to search
and select the components in list.
6. Click Next to continue.
Selecting Property Packages
Select Soave-Redlich-Kwong property package for your simulation. Click Next to continue
System of Units Select the desired system of units for your simulation. You can change individual
units by selecting a custom system like C1, C2 etc (other than SI, CGS or ENG)
Click Next and then click Finish to enter into the Simulation Environment
Enter Simulation Environment
Click the Enter Simulation Environment button when you are ready to start building the simulation.
Adding Gas-liquid separator
Drag the gas-liquid separator into the flow sheeting window.
The separator vessel (also known as flash drum) is used to separate liquid phases from vapor in a
mixed material stream.
Input Parameters
Override separation temperature and pressure: these properties define if the flash calculation will
be done with the temperature and pressure of the inlet stream or the ones defined by the user.
Rename the streams as shown in figure below.
Feed stream
The Material Stream is used to represent matter which enters and leaves the limits of the simulation,
passing through the unit operations.
Input Parameters Specification: One of the following flash types may be selected:
→ Temperature and Pressure
→ Pressure and Enthalpy
→ Pressure and Entropy
→ Pressure and Vapor Fraction
→ Temperature and Vapor Fraction
Specify the temperature and pressure
Composition
The stream composition can be entered on basis of: Mole/Mass fraction/flow Standard liquid
volumetric fraction Molality or molarity The material stream composition can only be edited if the
stream is not connected to any unit operation upstream, which means that it doesn’t work as an
output of any operation. If that is the case, the stream configures itself as "read-only" and the user
will not be able to edit any of its properties directly. These are written into the stream as a result of
calculation from its connected unit operation. For the mole/mass fraction basis options, the user
must enter the composition in such a way that the amounts sum up to 1. Regardless of the input
basis option, new values are saved only when the "Apply /Commit Changes" button is pressed.
Molarity and Molality input composition options only make sense in the context of an electrolyte
simulation. In this case, the solute amounts should be entered in moles and the solvent amount in
L (molarity)or kg (molality).
Enter the composition of feed stream and click on Accept changes
Flow
One of the three types of flow (mass, molar or volumetric) must be given. The other two are
calculated automatically in the case when temperature and pressure are already defined. If
composition is defined by either mole or mass flow of each component, the total flow of the stream
is calculated automatically.
Energy Stream
The energy stream is used to represent energy entering and leaving the limits of the simulation,
used by the unit operations, either to represent loss, demand or power generation. As we are
dealing with steady-state simulations, one defines the energy stream in terms of power (energy by
unit of time) and not energy itself. The energy either is written by user to be used for energy
consuming unit operations or from its connected unit operation as a result of its calculations.
Simulation
DWSIM is a sequential modular process simulator, that is, all calculations are made in a per-module
basis, according to the connections between the objects. The calculator checks if an object has all
of its properties defined and, if yes, passes the data for the downstream object and calculates it,
repeating the process in a loop until it reaches an object that doesn’t have any of its downstream
connections attached to any object. This way, the entire flowsheet can be calculated as many times
as necessary without having to "tell" DWSIM which object must be calculated. In fact, this is done
indirectly if the user defines all the properties and make all connections between objects correctly.
DWSIM’s calculation starts when the user edits a property which defines an object. For example,
editing a stream mass flow when its temperature, pressure and composition are already well-
defined activates DWSIM‘s calculator. It is possible to control DWSIM’s calculator by using its Solve
button bar. Clicking on the Abort button activates or deactivates the calculator. The button
performs a full flowsheet recalculation.
Adding Master property tables.
Click on master property table.
Double click on the master property table and select the required variables and close the window.
For generating reports, click on Results tab and click on Generate report
Select the required objects, streams and variables and click on View reports or print reports.
Results:
Vapour fraction of feed stream calculated:
Using MS Excel:
Using DWSIM:
Mole fraction of components in vapour and liquid streams
Components xi yi
MS Excel
propane
n-butane
n-pentane
n-octane
propane
n-butane
DWSIM n-pentane
n-octane
propane
Aim: Study of various possibilities of finding the product composition in an equilibrium reaction
using MS Excel and DWSIM
Theory: Consider the water–gas shift reaction that can be used in a chemical process to make
hydrogen for fuel cell applications:
At equilibrium
Thermodynamic data give the value of ln K = 5 (or K = 148.4) at 500 K. If you start with a
stoichiometric mixture of carbon monoxide and water, what will the equilibrium composition be?
In this case, the number of moles remains the same when the reaction takes place, and you are left
with
Step 1: To begin, make a mole balance table (see Table 1), with a basis of 1 mol each of carbon
monoxide and water, which then react to equilibrium. Use x to represent the number of moles
reacting, thus giving the values in the table.
You can easily solve this equation by taking the square root, giving x = 0.924. In more complicated
cases it would not be possible to solve it so easily. Instead, you would have to solve a nonlinear
equation numerically to find the value of x. When there are multiple reactions, which 18 may also
be in equilibrium, there will be several equations to solve simultaneously. Thus, being able to solve
multiple nonlinear equations is useful when dealing with reactions at equilibrium.
Department of Chemical Engineering 14 Government Engineering College Thrissur
CHL 411 Process Simulation Lab
The calculations are conveniently done in a spreadsheet, and the final results are shown in Table 2.
Let us see how to construct this spreadsheet.
Step 1:- Column B is the initial moles of each species.
Step 2:- Column C is computed according to the equation displayed in Column D.
Step 3:- Then the equilibrium equation is calculated in cell C9, according to the formula displayed
in cell D9.
Step 4:- Finally, you use Goal Seek to make cell C9 zero by varying cell C8.
Step 11: Name the reaction as R1 and click on the check boxes under the Include section, to add the
components taking part in the first reaction (CO, H2O, CO2, and H2). Select CO as the base
component by clicking the check box against CO under the BC section. Input the stoichiometric
coefficients (coefficients should be negative for reactants and positive for products). Enter
stoichiometric coefficients as -1, -1, 1, and 1 for CO, H2O, CO2, and H2 respectively. Specify the Basis
as Partial Pressure. Select the phase as Vapour and click OK.
Step 12: Solve the flowsheet and click on Results, to get the actual conversions.
Step 13: Click on the vapour stream to get the product compositions.
Step 14: Repeat the above steps for non-stoichiometric amounts of feed.
Results:
Conversion of reactants obtained using MS-Excel:
Conversion of reactants obtained using Gibbs Reactor:
Conversion of reactants obtained using Equilibrium Reactor:
Stoichiometric amounts Non-stoichiometric amounts
Feed Molar Feed Product Feed Molar Feed Product
flow, molar Molar flow, molar Molar
kmol/h fraction fraction kmol/h fraction fraction
MS Excel
CO
H2O
CO2
H2
CO
Gibbs H2O
Reactor CO2
H2
CO
Equilibrium H2O
Reactor CO2
H2
Aim:
To simulate conversion reactor and reactions in DWSIM
Objective:
To develop a model that represents the partial oxidation of methane to produce hydrogen using a
conversion reactor.
Problem Statement:
The partial oxidation method relies on the reaction of the fuel for example methane with air in order
to produce carbon oxides and hydrogen.
Pure Methane enters the reactor with a flow rate of 100 kmol/hr at 25 oC and 2 bar. Air stream
consisting of 79 mole% of nitrogen and 21 mole% of oxygen enters at 260 kmol/h at 25 oC and 2 bar.
The conversion of methane for the first and second reactions are 40 and 60 % respectively.
Theory
This reaction type does not require any thermodynamic knowledge. You must input the
stoichiometry and the conversion of the basis reactant. The specified conversion cannot exceed
100%. The reaction will proceed until either the specified conversion has been reached or a limiting
reagent has been exhausted.
Conversion reactions may not be grouped with any other form of reaction in a reaction set.
However, they may be grouped with other conversion reactions and ranked to operate either
sequentially or simultaneously. Lowest ranking occurs first (may start with either 0 or 1). Just as with
single reactions, simultaneous reactions cannot total over 100% conversion of the same basis.
Simulation using DWSIM
Step 1: Go to the File menu, select New Chemical Process Model, then the Simulation Configuration
Wizard will appear.
Step 2: Click Next and add the components CH4, O2, N2, CO, CO2 and H2.
Step 3: Click Next and select Peng-Robinson as property package.
Step 4: Click Next and select appropriate units
Step 5: Click Next and click Finish to enter the simulation environment
Step 6: Expand the Reactors section in the Object Palette and drag Conversion Reactor into the
flowsheet window.
Step 7: Since there are two feed streams, we need to add a Mixer block from the object palette.
Name the two feed streams as Methane and Air. Name the product stream from the Mixer as Feed
and connect this stream as the input to the reactor.
Step 8: Click on Methane Stream and in the Stream Conditions, specify the temperature and
pressure as 25 oC and 2 bar. In the Compound Amounts, change the Mole Fractions for methane as
1 and for the remaining compound as zero. Click on Accept Changes to change the compositions.
Step 9: Click on Air Stream and in the Stream Conditions, specify the temperature and pressure as
25 oC and 2 bar. In the Compound Amounts, change the Mole Fractions for nitrogen as 0.79 and for
oxygen as 0.21. Set the mole fraction of the remaining compound as zero. Click on Accept Changes
to change the compositions.
Step 10: Click on Settings and in the window, select Reactions tab.
Step 11: Click on Add Reaction in Chemical Reactions section and select Conversion as the type
from the drop-down menu.
Step 12: Name the reaction as R1 and click on the check boxes under Include section, to add the
components taking part in the first reaction (CH4, O2, CO and H2). Select Methane as the base
component by clicking the check box against methane under BC section. Input the stoichiometric
coefficients (coefficients should be negative for reactants and positive for products). Enter
stoichiometric coefficients as -1, -0.5, 1 and 2 for CH4, O2, CO and H2 respectively. specify the
percentage conversion as 40. Select the phase as Vapour and click OK.
Step 13: Repeat the steps 11 and 12 to add the second reaction (R2). Enter stoichiometric
coefficients as -1, -1, 1 and 2 for CH4, O2, CO2 and H2 respectively. specify the percentage conversion
as 60. Select the phase as Vapour and click OK.
Step 14: Double click on the Default Reaction set and input 1 for R1 and 2 for R2 in Sequence (Seq.)
section and click OK. Close the reaction tab and return to the Simulation Environment and run the
simulation.
Step 15: Click on the Reactor and in the Results section, the actual conversion for the two reactions
and overall conversions can be observed.
Results:
Actual Conversion of first Reaction:
Actual Conversion of second Reaction:
Overall conversion of methane:
Overall conversion of Oxygen:
Mole fractions of components
Aim:
Steady-state simulation of a Mixed Flow Reactor using suitable example in process simulators such
as DWSIM.
Problem Statement:
Ethyl acetate is produced in an esterification reaction between acetic acid and ethyl alcohol.
acetic acid + ethyl alcohol → ethyl acetate + water
The feed mixture, consisting of 52.5 mole% acetic acid, 45 mole% ethyl alcohol and 2.5 mole% water,
enters the CSTR model with a flow rate of 400 kmol/hr at 75oC and 1.1 atm. The reactor operates at
70oC and 1 atm. Both the reactions are first-order with respect to each of the reactants (i.e., overall,
second-order). For these liquid-phase reactions, the kinetic data for the Arrhenius law is given
below:
Perform the simulation using the NRTL thermodynamic model and reactor volume of 0.15m3.
Simulation using DWSIM
Step 1: Go to the File menu, select New Chemical Process Model, then the Simulation Configuration
Wizard will appear.
Step 2: Click Next and add the components acetic acid, ethanol, ethyl acetate and water.
Step 3: Click Next and select NRTL as property package.
Step 4: Click Next and select appropriate units
Step 5: Click Next and click Finish to enter the simulation environment
Step 6: Expand the Reactors section in the Object Palette and drag CSTR into the flowsheet window.
Step 7: Click on Feed Stream and in the Stream Conditions, specify the temperature and pressure
as 75 oC and 1.1 atm. In the Compound Amounts, change the Mole Fractions as 0.525, 0.45 and
0.025 for acetic acid, ethanol and water respectively and for the remaining compound as zero. Click
on Accept Changes to change the compositions.
Step 8: Click on Settings and in the window, select Reactions tab.
Step 9: Click on Add Reaction in Chemical Reactions section and select Kinetic as the type from the
drop-down menu.
Step 10: Name the reaction as R1 and click on the check boxes under Include section, to add the
components taking part in the reaction. Select acetic acid as the base component by clicking the
check box against acetic acid under BC section. Input the stoichiometric coefficients (coefficients
should be negative for reactants and positive for products). Enter stoichiometric coefficients as -1,
-1, 1 and 1 for acetic acid, ethanol, ethyl acetate and water respectively.
Step 11: For the forward reaction specify the Direct Order (DO) as 1 for both acetic acid and ethanol
and for reverse reaction, specify the Reverse Order (RO) as 1 for both ethyl acetate and water.
Step 12: In Kinetic Reaction Parameter section, specify the basis as Molar concentration and Phase
as Liquid.
Step 13: Specify the Arrhenius constant and Activation Energy for both forward reactions and
backward reactions. Change the units of activation energy according to the given specifications.
Change the rate unit as kmol/(m3.s) and amount unit as kmol/m3 and press OK.
Step 14: Click on the CSTR to edit the reactor parameters. Input the Reactor Volume as 0.15 m3 and
press Enter. Solve the flowsheet and the product stream compositions and conversions can be
obtained.
Results
Conversion of Acetic Acid:
Conversion of Ethanol:
Mole fractions of components
Components Feed Product
Acetic acid
Ethanol
Ethyl acetate
water
The forward and reverse reaction rate constants are defined with respect to benzene. The vaporized benzene
(pure) with a flow rate of 0.02 Ibmol/hr enters the reactor at 1250oF and 15 Psi. The data for the Arrhenius
law are given below.
The reactor length is 36 in and diameter is 0.6 in. It operates at inlet temperature.
Applying the SRK thermodynamic model,
(a) compute the component mole fraction in the product stream, and
(b) Produce a plot of reactor molar composition (mole fraction) vs reactor length (in).
Simulation using DWSIM
Step 1: Go to the File menu, select New Chemical Process Model, then the Simulation Configuration
Wizard will appear.
Step 2: Click Next and add the components benzene, biphenyl and hydrogen.
Step 3: Click Next and select SRK as property package.
Step 4: Click Next and select appropriate units
Step 5: Click Next and click Finish to enter the simulation environment
Step 6: Expand the Reactors section in the Object Palette and drag Plug Flow Reactor (PFR) into the
flowsheet window.
Step 7: Click on Feed Stream and in the Stream Conditions, specify the temperature and pressure
as 1250 oF and 15 psi. In the Compound Amounts, change the Mole Fractions as 1 for benzene and
for the remaining compound as zero. Click on Accept Changes to change the compositions.
Step 8: Click on Settings and in the window, select Reactions tab.
Step 9: Click on Add Reaction in Chemical Reactions section and select Kinetic as the type from the
drop-down menu.
Step 10: Name the reaction as R1 and click on the check boxes under Include section, to add the
components taking part in the reaction. Select acetic acid as the base component by clicking the
check box against Benzene under BC section. Input the stoichiometric coefficients (coefficients
should be negative for reactants and positive for products). Enter stoichiometric coefficients as -2,
and 1 for benzene, biphenyl and hydrogen respectively.
Step 11: For the forward reaction specify the Direct Order (DO) as 2 for benzene and for reverse
reaction, specify the Reverse Order (RO) as 1 for both biphenyl and hydrogen.
Step 12: In Kinetic Reaction Parameter section, specify the basis as Partial Pressure and Phase as
Vapour.
Step 13: Specify the Arrhenius constant and Activation Energy for both forward reactions and
backward reactions. Change the units of activation energy to cal/mol according to the given
specifications. Change the Rate Unit as kmol/(m3.s) and Amount Unit as Pa and press OK.
Step 14: Click on the PFR to edit the reactor parameters. Input the Reactor Volume as 0.0058875 ft3
and either you need to specify the Diameter or Length of Reactor. Solve the flowsheet and the
product stream compositions and conversions can be obtained. Click on the Concentration Profile
to view the concentration profiles of components.
Results
Conversion of Acetic Acid:
Conversion of Ethanol:
Mole fractions of components
Components Feed Product
Benzene
Biphenyl
Hydrogen
Objective:
To simulate a short cut distillation column using DWSIM
Problem Statement:
A saturated liquid feed stream consisting of 5 mole% C3, 10 mole% i-C4, 30 mole% i-C5 (light key), 46
mole% n-C6 (heavy key) and 9 mole% n-C7 enters a distillation column having a flow rate of 5000
kmol/h at 2 bar. This feed is required to fractionate in a distillation column, such that the distillate
and bottoms streams should contain 1 mole% of heavy key and light key respectively. The reboiler
and condenser pressures are specified as 2 and 1.8 bar respectively. A reflux ratio of 1.5 times
minimum can be assumed. Assuming the Peng-Robinson property method, simulate the shortcut
distillation column.
Theory
The shortcut column is used to calculate the minimum reflux and distribution of products in a
distillation column by the method of Fenske-Underwood-Gilliland. The column should have a single
feed stage, two products (top and bottom), condenser (partial or total) and reboiler. The results are
the minimum reflux, thermal loads and temperature of the condenser and reboiler for a fixed reflux
ratio, in addition to determining the optimum feed stage and the minimum number of stages.
Input Parameters
→ Connections: feed, product, top, bottom and heat loads (condenser / reboiler).
→ Type of condenser: partial or total.
→ Reflux Ratio: ratio between the flow of liquid that returns from the condenser to the column
and
→ the one that leaves the condenser as the top product.
→ Light Key: component used as a reference so that the lighter ones are present only in the top
product.
→ Heavy Key: component used as a reference so that the heavier ones are present only in the
product of fund.
→ Condenser pressure: pressure of the condenser.
→ Reboiler pressure: pressure of the reboiler.
Output Parameters
→ Minimum reflux: reflux ratio of minimum to ensure the separation specified.
→ Minimum number of stages: the minimum number of trainings which ensures the separation
specified.
→ Optimal feed stage: the feed stage that minimizes the thermal load of the reboiler.
→ Liquid / Vapor flows: internal flows in sections of rectification and stripping of the column.
→ Thermal loads: thermal loads of condenser and reboiler.
Simulation using DWSIM
Step 1: Go to the File menu, select New Chemical Process Model, then the Simulation Configuration
Wizard will appear.
Step 2: Click Next and add the components propane, i-butane, i-pentane, n-hexane and n-heptane.
Step 3: Click Next and select Peng-Robinson as property package.
Step 4: Click Next and select appropriate units.
Step 5: Click Next and click Finish to enter the Simulation environment
Step 6: Expand the Columns section in the Object Palette and drag Shortcut Column into the
flowsheet window.
Step 7: Rename the streams 1, 2, 3, E1 and E2 as Feed, Distillate, Bottoms, C-Duty and R-Duty
respectively. Click on Feed Stream and in the Stream Conditions, change the Flash Spec from
Temperature and Pressure (TP) to Pressure and Vapour fraction (PVF). Specify the vapour fraction
and pressure as 0 (because feed is saturated liquid) and 2 bar. Input the molar flowrate as 5000
kmol/h. In the Compound Amounts, change the Mole Fractions as 0.05, 0.10, 0.30, 0.46 and 0.09
for propane, i-butane, i-pentane, n-hexane and n-heptane respectively and Click on Accept
Changes to change the compositions.
Step 8: Click on Shortcut Column and in Calculation parameters section, input isopentane as the
light key and n-hexane as the heavy key and input their mole fractions in distillate and bottom as
0.01. Specify 1.8 and 2 bar for condenser and reboiler pressure.
Step 9: Run the Simulation and click on product streams to get the composition and click on
Distillation column to get minimum reflux ratio, minimum number of stages, feed stage, actual
number of stages.
Step 10. From the obtained value of minimum reflux ratio, calculate actual reflux ratio (1.5 Rmin)
and specify the value of Reflux Ratio in Short cut column Parameters section and Run the simulation
to obtained the desired results. Note down the values of actual number of stages, Feed stage
location, Reflux ratio and Bottoms Molar flowrate for using as an input for Rigorous column.
Results
Composition of streams
Compound Feed Distillate Bottoms
i-C4
i-C5
n-C6
n-C7
Objective:
To simulate a Rigorous distillation column using DWSIM
Problem statement:
A saturated liquid feed stream consisting of 5 mole% C3, 10 mole% i-C4, 30 mole% i-C5 (light key), 46
mole% n-C6 (heavy key) and 9 mole% n-C7 enters a distillation column having a flow rate of 5000
kmol/h at 2 bar. This feed is required to fractionate in a distillation column, such that the distillate
and bottoms streams should contain 1 mole% of heavy key and light key respectively. The reboiler
and condenser pressures are specified as 2 and 1.8 bar respectively. A reflux ratio of 1.5 times
minimum can be assumed. Assuming the Peng-Robinson property method, simulate the shortcut
distillation column.
Theory
The rigorous column is a unit operation that represents the fractionating towers, where components
in a mixture are separated in various equilibrium stages. It is called rigorous because of the
thermodynamic models used in the solution of the mass and energy balances throughout the
column.
The rigorous column has the following characteristics:
→ Supports multiple feed streams
→ Supports multiple side draws
→ Supports energy streams representing heat exchangers on each stage
→ Definition of pressure and efficiency by stage
Solving methods
In the current version of DWSIM, three methods are available to solve the mass and energy balances
in a column. They are:
→ Bubble-Point method of Wang and Henke (distillation column)
→ Sum-Rates method of Burningham and Otto (absorption column)
Results
After the solution of mass and energy balances for the entire column, the output streams are
calculated and the following results are shown in the properties window of the column:
→ Heat exchanged in the condenser (where applicable)
→ Heat exchanged in the reboiler (where applicable)
→ Temperature profiles and flow of liquid / vapor entering at each stage
on Graphs and Save it as Images or the data from Table can be copied to the spreadsheet and can
be plotted in spreadsheets like Excel etc.
Step 14: Estimated Column height and column diameter will be available in the Results section.
Results
(a) Composition of streams
Compound Feed Distillate Bottoms
i-C4
i-C5
n-C6
n-C7
Objective:
To simulate an Absorption column using DWSIM
Problem statement:
A hydrocarbon vapour enters an absorption column below the bottom stage and the absorbent
enters above the top stage. The column operates at 75 psi with no pressure drop and it has four
equilibrium stages. The absorber is specified in Figure below.
Step 6: Expand the Columns section in the Object Palette and drag Absorption/Extraction Column
into the flowsheet window.
Step 7: Rename streams 1, 2, 3, and 4 as Absorbent, Gas-Feed, Gas-Product, and Liquid-Product
respectively. Click on Absorbent Stream and in the Stream Conditions, specify the temperature,
pressure and molar flow rate as 90 F, 75 psi and 1000 lbmol/h. In the Compound Amounts, change
the Mole Fractions as 1for n-decane and for remaining components as 0. Click on Accept Changes
to change the compositions.
Step 8: Click on Gas-Feed Stream and in the Stream Conditions, specify the temperature and
pressure as 90 F and 75 psi. In the Compound Amounts, change the Basis from Mole Fractions to
Mole Flow. Specify 280, 150, 240, 170 and 150 for C1, C2, C3, n-C4 and n-C5 respectively, and for n-
decane as 0. Click on Accept Changes to change the compositions.
Step 9: Click on Absorption Column and in General section, input Number of Stages as 4,
Condenser/ Top pressure as 75 psi and Column Pressure Drop as 0.
Step 10: In the Connections section, Stream-stage association sub section specify the stage
locations of streams Absorbent and Gas-Feed as Top Stage and Bottom Stage respectively.
Step 11: Solve the flowsheet and the product streams compositions and molar flowrates can be
noted using a Property table.
Step 12: Click on the Absorption Column, and in the Results section, Click on View Temperature,
Pressure and Composition Profiles to view the profiles. Graphs can either be saved by right clicking
on Graphs and Save it as Images or the data from Table can be copied to spreadsheet and can be
plotted in spreadsheets like Excel etc.
Step 13: Estimated Column height and column diameter will be available in the Results section.
Sensitivity Analysis
Step 14: Click on the Flowsheet Analysis tab in the Toolbar, and select Sensitivity Study from the
list.
Step 15: In the Independent Variables section, select the material stream Absorbent as the Object
and Molar Flow as the Property.
Step 16: Set the Lower limit and Upper Limit as 500 and 1500 respectively, and specify the number
of points as 19 in order to obtain data at 20 points.
Step 17: In the Dependent Variables section, click on Add variables to add dependent variables.
Select Gas-Product as the Object and Molar Fraction (Mixture)/ Propane as the Property.
Step 18: Click the Results Tab and click on Start Sensitivity Analysis to start the analysis.
Step 19: In the Chart tab, click on Draw to display the chart, and the graph can be saved as Image
file by the options available by right clicking on the graph.
Step 20: For computing the absorbent flowrate to keep 15 mole% of C3 in the Gas-product stream,
add a Controller Block from the Logical Blocks section of Object Palette.
Step 21: Click on the Controller Block C-1 to open the specifications. In the Linked Objects section,
stream Absorbent is selected as the Manipulated Object and Molar Flow as the Manipulated
Property. Select Gas-Product as the Controlled Object and Molar Fraction (Mixture)/ Propane as
the Controlled Property.
Step 22: In the Parameters section, select the Converge/ Solve using the Flowsheet Solver check
box and specify the Set Point/Offset (Controlled Property) as 0.15.
Step 23: Solve the flowsheet again, and the Controller will adjust the flowrate of absorbent to obtain
the required mole% of C3 in Gas-Product.
Results
(a) Composition of streams
Compound Gas-Feed Absorbent Gas-Product Liquid-Product
C1
C2
C3
n-C4
n-C5
n-C10
(b) Sensitivity analysis for examining the effect of absorbent flow rate on the exiting C3
concentration in the top product is performed and the graph is plotted.
(c) Absorbent flowrate to keep 15 mole% of C3 in gas-Product stream .................. lbmol/h
Objective:
Use any process simulator to simulate a process involving reactions and separations.
Problem Statement:
Toluene is produced from n-heptane by dehydrogenation over a Cr2O3 catalyst:
𝐶7𝐻16 → 𝐶6𝐻5𝐶𝐻3 + 4𝐻2
The toluene production process is started by heating n-heptane from 65 to 800 oF in a heater. It is fed to a
catalytic reactor, which operates isothermally and converts 15 mol% of the n-heptane to toluene. Its effluent
is cooled to 65 oF and fed to a separator (flash). Assuming that all of the units operated at atmospheric
pressure, determine the species flow rates in every stream.
Simulation using DWSIM
Step 1: Go to the File menu, select New Chemical Process Model, then the Simulation Configuration
Wizard will appear.
Step 2: Click Next and add the components n-heptane, toluene and hydrogen.
Step 3: Click Next and select Peng-Robinson as property package.
Step 4: Click Next and select System of Units as C5 and change the Temperature unit to oF an
pressure to atm.
Step 5: Click Next and click Finish to enter the simulation environment
Step 6: Since the toluene production process is started by heating n-heptane from 65 to 800 oF in a
heater, expand the Exchangers section in the Object Palette and drag Heater into the flowsheet
window. Rename streams 1 and 2 as Feed and H-Feed. Open the Feed stream and specify the
temperature as 65 oF and pressure as 1 atm. Change the compound amount of n-heptane to 1 and
0 for remaining compounds. Click Accept Changes. Open the Heater and in the Calculation
Parameter section change the Calculation Type from Heat added/ removed to Outlet Temperature.
Specify the Outlet Temperature as 800 oF.
Step 7: Add a Conversion Reactor and connect the H-Feed stream as the feed to the Reactor.
Rename the stream 4 as Vap-Product and stream 5 as Liq-Product. Click Settings to add a conversion
reaction. Enter the Stoichiometric coefficients and specify the base component as n-Heptane.
Change the phase to Vapour and specify the conversion as 15.
Step 8: Click on the Conversion Reactor and change the Calculation mode from Adiabatic to
Isothermic.
Step 9: For cooling the vapour product to 65 oF, a Cooler is added. Connect the stream Vap-Product
as the feed to Cooler and rename the outlet stream of Cooler as C-Product. Open the Cooler and in
the Calculation Parameter section change the Calculation Type from Heat added/removed to
Outlet Temperature. Specify the Outlet Temperature as 65 oF.
Step 10: The cooled product is then fed to a flash separator. Add a Gas-Liquid Separator and connect
the stream C-Product as the feed stream to the separator. Rename the product streams as Vapour
and Liquid. Connect an Energy stream to the separator if needed and solve the flowsheet.
Step 11: Add a Master Property table and Double click on it to configure the Master Property Table.
Select all the material streams as Object and select Temperature, Molar Flow, Molar Flow
(Mixture/Components) and Molar Fraction (Mixture/Components) for all three components.
Results
Species molar flow rates (kmol/h) in each stream are:
Components Feed H-Feed Vap-Product Liq-Product C-Product Vapour Liquid
n-heptane
Toluene
Hydrogen
Objective:
To simulate the ammonia process to compute the component wise flowrates and compositions of all streams
Problem Statement:
An inlet stream supplied at 80 oF and 300 psi is compressed to 4000 psi by the use of an isentropic
compressor. Inlet stream has component wise flow rates shown in Table
Component Molar flow rate (lbmol/hr)
Nitrogen 100
Hydrogen 300
Ammonia 0
Carbon dioxide 1
Compressed stream is mixed with the recycle stream in a mixer block operated at 4000 psi. Before introduced
into the reactor, the mixer effluent is heated to 900 oF. The reactor runs at 900 oF and 3970 psi. The reactor
outlet is cooled in a heat exchanger operated at 80 oF and 3970 psi. The cooled stream is then flashed and
produces two streams at 80 oF and 3970 psi. The vapour stream is entered into a splitter and 0.01% of it is
purged. Finally, an isentropic compressor has recycled the stream to the mixer at 4000 psi. Using NRTL
thermodynamic model simulate the ammonia process to compute the component wise flowrates and
compositions of all streams?
Simulation using DWSIM
Step 1: Go to the File menu, select New Chemical Process Model, then the Simulation Configuration
Wizard will appear.
Step 2: Click Next and add the components nitrogen, hydrogen, ammonia and carbon dioxide.
Step 3: Click Next and select NRTL as property package.
Step 4: Click Next and select System of Units as C5 and change the Temperature unit to oF an
pressure to psi.
Step 5: Click Next and click Finish to enter the simulation environment.
Step 6: Since the ammonia production process is started by compressing from 300 psi to 4000 psia,
expand the Pressure Changers section in the Object Palette and drag Compressor into the flowsheet
window. Rename streams 1 and 2 as Feed and C-Feed. Open the Feed stream and specify the
temperature as 80 oF and pressure as 300 psi. Change the basis from Mole Fraction to Mole Flows,
and specify the molar flow as 100, 300, 0 and 1 lbmol/h for nitrogen, hydrogen, ammonia and carbon
dioxide respectively. Click Accept Changes. Open the Compressor and in the Calculation Parameter
section specify the Calculation Type as Outlet Pressure. Specify the Outlet Pressure as 4000 psi.
Step 7: Add a Mixer and connect the C-Feed stream as the feed to the Mixer (Preferably Inlet stream
6 in the Mixer). Rename the stream 4 as M-Feed. Later we will add the recycle stream as the second
input to the mixer.
Step 8: Before introduced into the reactor, the mixer effluent is heated to 900 oF, so add a Heater block from
Exchangers section. Connect the stream M-Feed as the input to the Heater and rename the output stream
as H-Feed. Open the Heater and in the Calculation Parameter section change the Calculation Type
from Heat added/removed to Outlet Temperature. Specify the Outlet Temperature as 900 oF.
Step 9: The heated feed stream H-Feed is then fed to a Gibbs Reactor, since we don’t know any data
regarding the reaction other than the components. Add a Gibbs Reactor and connect the stream H-
Feed as the feed stream to the reactor. Rename the vapor product stream as Product and the liquid
product stream as Liquid. Click on the Gibbs Reactor and in the Calculation Parameters Section,
change the calculation mode from Adiabatic to Isothermic. In the Compounds section, select all the
compounds involved in the reaction. Since the reactor is operating at 900 oF and 3970 psi, specify
the Pressure Drop as 30 psi.
Step 10: For cooling the vapour product to 80 oF, a Cooler is added. Connect the stream Product as
the feed to Cooler and rename the outlet stream of Cooler as C-Product. Open the Cooler and in the
Calculation Parameter section change the Calculation Type from Heat added/removed to Outlet
Temperature. Specify the Outlet Temperature as 80 oF.
Step 11: The cooled product is then fed to a flash separator. Add a Gas-Liquid Separator and connect
the stream C-Product as the feed stream to the separator. Rename the product streams as V-
Product and L-Product.
Step 12: In the next step, the vapour product needs to be connected to a Splitter block in order to
purge 0.01% of the vapor product. Click on the Splitter block and connect V-Product as the feed to
the splitter. Rename the Outlet stream 1 as the recycled stream R-Product and Outlet Stream 2 as
Purge. Specify the Calculation Type as Stream Split Ratios and specify the Stream 2 Split ratio as
0.0001.
Step 13: For compressing the R-Product stream to 4000 psi, add a Compressor block and connect R-
Product stream as the input and rename the Product stream as R-C-Product. Open the Compressor
and in the Calculation Parameter section specify the Calculation Type as Outlet Pressure. Specify
the Outlet Pressure as 4000 psi.
Step 14: Connect the recycled product stream R-C-Product as the Inlet Stream 1 of the Mixer block
MIX-1. Run the simulation and the final compositions and flowrates can be obtained.
Step 11: Add a Master Property table and Double click on it to configure the Master Property Table.
Select all the material streams as Object and select Temperature, Molar Flow, Molar Flow
(Mixture/Components) and Molar Fraction (Mixture/Components) for all three components.
Results
Species molar flow rates (kmol/h) in each stream are:
Components Feed M-Feed Product V-Product L-Product Purge R-Product
Hydrogen
Nitrogen
Ammonia
CO2