Petroleum Basics For Beginners

Modeling Petroleum
Processes
S T E A D Y S T A T E S I M U L A T I O N
10
AspenTech
7
Aspen Plus
7
V
e
r
s
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o
n
GETTING STARTED
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Model i ng Petrol eum Processes i i i
Versi on 10.1-0
Contents
About This Manual
Model i ng Petrol eum Processes wi th Aspen Pl us ............................................................v
Sessi ons i n thi s Book .......................................................................................................vi
Usi ng Backup Fi l es..........................................................................................................vi
For More I nformati on .....................................................................................................vi i
Techni cal Support......................................................................................................... vi i i
1 Blending Crude and Petroleum Fractions
Petrol eum Process Fl owsheet........................................................................................1-2
Starti ng Aspen Pl us.......................................................................................................1-4
Speci fyi ng Ti tl e and Gl obal Opti ons .............................................................................1-5
Speci fyi ng Components .................................................................................................1-7
Enteri ng Assay Data .....................................................................................................1-9
Bl endi ng the Oi l s .........................................................................................................1-16
Generati ng Pseudocomponents ...................................................................................1-18
Runni ng the Si mul ati on ..............................................................................................1-20
Exami ni ng Resul ts.......................................................................................................1-21
Pl otti ng Di sti l l ati on Curves ........................................................................................1-23
Creati ng a Backup Fi l e.................................................................................................1-29
Exi ti ng Aspen Pl us .......................................................................................................1-30
2 Adding a Preflash Tower
Prefl ash Tower Fl owsheet .............................................................................................2-2
Openi ng an Exi sti ng Run ..............................................................................................2-4
Savi ng a Run Under a New Name................................................................................2-5
Changi ng the Run Type ................................................................................................2-6
Sel ecti ng a Di sti l l ati on Model .......................................................................................2-7
Defi ni ng the Graphi cal Si mul ati on Fl owsheet ............................................................2-8
Speci fyi ng Properti es ...................................................................................................2-11
Enteri ng Stream Data .................................................................................................2-13
Speci fyi ng the Prefl ash Uni t .......................................................................................2-15
Modi fyi ng Pseudocomponents .....................................................................................2-20
Exami ni ng Si mul ati on Resul ts ...................................................................................2-23
i v Model i ng Petrol eum Processes
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3 Adding an Atmospheric Crude Distillation Unit
Atmospheri c Crude Di sti l l ati on Uni t Fl owsheet .........................................................3-2
Addi ng the Crude Di sti l l ati on Uni t to the Fl owsheet .................................................3-7
Speci fyi ng Steam Feeds to the Tower ...........................................................................3-9
Speci fyi ng the Atmospheri c Tower .............................................................................3-11
Exami ni ng the Product Streams.................................................................................3-27
4 Adding A Vacuum Unit
Vacuum Uni t Fl owsheet................................................................................................4-2
Addi ng a Vacuum Tower to the Fl owsheet...................................................................4-7
Speci fyi ng the Steam Feed ............................................................................................4-9
Speci fyi ng the Vacuum Uni t .......................................................................................4-10
Exami ni ng Stream Resul ts .........................................................................................4-20
5 Displaying Petroleum Stream Properties
Addi ng Sul fur Content Data .........................................................................................5-5
Sel ecti ng Opti ons for the Sul fur Property ....................................................................5-8
Addi ng the Sul fur Property.........................................................................................5-10
Exami ni ng Resul ts.......................................................................................................5-15
Leavi ng Aspen Pl us .....................................................................................................5-17
A Connecting to the Aspen Plus Simulation Engine
Model i ng Petr ol eum Pr ocesses
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v
About This Manual
Aspen Pl us i s a powerful tool that al l ows you to easi l y model petrol eum processes.
Usi ng thi s book, you wi l l l earn the basi cs of how to bui l d and run a process model
of a si mpl i fi ed crude fracti onati on trai n. After compl eti ng the fi ve sessi ons i n thi s
gui de, you wi l l be abl e to perform basi c si mul ati ons of petrol eum processes.
Thi s manual assumes you have:
I nstal l ed the Aspen Pl us Si mul ati on Engi ne and User I nterface
Compl eted the tutori al sessi ons i n Getting Started Building and Running a
Process Model, so that you are fami l i ar wi th the basi cs of how to use Aspen
Pl us
Modeling Petroleum Processes with
Aspen Plus
Petrol eum refi ni ng processes are hi ghl y compl ex and i ntegrated. They have uni que
characteri sti cs that set them apart from other chemi cal processes, i ncl udi ng:
Process feedstocks, whi ch consi st of compl ex and wi de-boi l i ng mi xtures of
hydrocarbons, whose exact composi ti ons are unknown
Hi ghl y-coupl ed and heat-i ntegrated fracti onati on uni ts, used to separate
feedstocks i nto a vari ety of products wi th di fferent speci fi cati ons
Open steam and cool i ng water for stri ppi ng and heat recovery, gi vi ng ri se to
the presence of two l i qui d phases throughout the refi ni ng process
Degree of separati on speci fi ed i n terms of di sti l l ati on temperatures, gaps,
overl aps, and other properti es
Product speci fi cati ons gi ven i n terms of stream properti es such as fl ash poi nt,
pour poi nt, sul fur content, metal contents, and octane number
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Aspen Pl us provi des speci al features to handl e the uni que characteri sti cs of
petrol eum refi ni ng appl i cati ons. Wi th Aspen Pl us, you can devel op a si mul ati on
model of your petrol eum process, then use thi s model to study al ternati ve modes
of operati on or opti mi ze the exi sti ng operati on.
Thi s manual gui des you through some of the key petrol eum features i n Aspen
Pl us. You can use these features wi th the wi de range of other Aspen Pl us
capabi l i ti es, such as esti mati ng and regressi ng physi cal properti es, fi tti ng pl ant
data to si mul ati on model s, and opti mi zi ng your process.
Sessions in this Book
Thi s book gui des you i n bui l di ng a fl owsheet that descri bes a crude fracti onati on
trai n i n a petrol eum refi nery. Each chapter contai ns a tutori al sessi on that bui l ds
one bl ock of the fl owsheet. You can compl ete the enti re fl owsheet by fol l owi ng each
chapter i n successi on.
Thi s book i ncl udes the fol l owi ng hands-on sessi ons:
Complete this chapter To learn how to
1 Blending Crude and Petroleum Fractions Define components, enter assay data for two crude oils, and blend the
crude oils into a single process feed.
2 Adding a Preflash Tower Model a preflash tower.
3 Adding an Atmospheric Crude Distillation Unit Model a crude atmospheric unit.
4 Adding a Vacuum Unit Model a vacuum unit.
5 Displaying Petroleum Properties Use petroleum properties with your simulation model to obtain more
information about the process.
Using Backup Files
We recommend that you perform al l sessi ons sequenti al l y i n order to bui l d the
enti re model . However, you can ski p chapters and work on the sessi on of your
choi ce, usi ng backup fi l es contai ni ng si mul ati on data.
Aspen Pl us provi des backup fi l es contai ni ng al l probl em speci fi cati ons and resul ts
for each tutori al sessi on. I f you ski p a sessi on, you mi ght need to l oad a backup
fi l e to suppl y mi ssi ng data. The chapter descri bes how to do thi s. I f you perform
each tutori al sessi on i n order, you can use backup fi l es to compare your resul ts.
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For More Information
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Aspen Pl us Getti ng Started Model i ng Processes wi th El ectrol ytes Thi s
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Aspen Pl us Getti ng Started Model i ng Petrol eum Processes Thi s tutori al
i ncl udes several hands-on sessi ons to fami l i ari ze you wi th si mul ati ng petrol eum
processes wi th Aspen Pl us.
Aspen Pl us Getti ng Started Customi zi ng Uni t Operati on Model s Thi s
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Aspen Plus I nstallation Guide for OpenVMS
Aspen Plus I nstallation Guide for UNI X
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O O O O
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x
Model i ng Petrol eum Processes 1-1
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Chapter 1
1 Blending Crude and
Petroleum Fractions
Thi s tutori al contai ns fi ve sessi ons to gui de you through the process of bui l di ng a
model of a crude fracti onati on trai n typi cal l y found i n a petrol eum refi nery.
I n thi s fi rst sessi on, you wi l l begi n to bui l d the model by defi ni ng the crude feed
to the process, usi ng the Aspen Pl us Assay Data Anal ysi s Run Type. You wi l l use
thi s run type to anal yze petrol eum crudes before runni ng a fl owsheet si mul ati on.
I n thi s sessi on you wi l l :
Defi ne components
Enter assay data for two crude oi l s
Bl end the crude oi l s to produce the crude feed
Generate pseudocomponents for the bl end
Run the Assay Data Anal ysi s cal cul ati ons
Exami ne resul ts
Al l ow about 45 mi nutes to compl ete thi s sessi on.
1-2 Model i ng Petrol eum Processes
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Blending Crude
and Petroleum
Fractions
Petroleum Process Flowsheet
The fol l owi ng i l l ustrati on shows the petrol eum process fl owsheet you wi l l work
wi th throughout thi s book:
Problem Definition: Crude Fractionation Train
The process consi sts of the fol l owi ng steps:
1. The process feed (MI XCRUDE), consi sti ng of a bl end of two crude oi l s (OI L-1,
see Tabl e 1.1; OI L-2, see Tabl e 1.2), goes to the prefl ash furnace.
2. The prefl ash tower (PREFLASH) removes l i ght gases and some naphtha from
the parti al l y vapori zed feed.
3. Prefl ash bottoms (CDU-FEED) are further processed i n the crude di sti l l ati on
uni t (CDU). The CDU consi sts of a crude uni t furnace and an atmospheri c
tower. Fi rst, the crude uni t furnace parti al l y vapori zes the bottoms from the
prefl ash. Then the atmospheri c tower separates the prefl ash bottoms i nto fi ve
cuts:
Heavy naphtha (HNAPHTHA)
Kerosene (KEROSENE)
Di esel (DI ESEL)
Atmospheri c gas oi l (AGO)
Reduced crude (RED-CRD)

4. Reduced crude goes to the vacuum di sti l l ati on uni t (VDU) for further
fracti onati on under vacuum condi ti ons. The VDU consi sts of a vacuum uni t
furnace and vacuum tower. The vacuum tower produces the fol l owi ng
addi ti onal cuts:
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Chapter 1
Overhead (OFF-GAS)
Li ght vacuum gas oi l (LVGO)
Heavy vacuum gas oi l (HVGO)
Asphal ti c resi due (RESI DUE)

Table 1.1 OIL-1: (API = 31.4)
TBP Distillation Light Ends Analysis API Gravity Curve
Liq. Vol. % Temperature (F) Component Liq. Vol. Frac. Mid. Vol. % Gravity
6.8 130.0 Methane 0.001 5.0 90.0
10.0 180.0 Ethane 0.0015 10.0 68.0
30.0 418.0 Propane 0.009 15.0 59.7
50.0 650.0 Isobutane 0.004 20.0 52.0
62.0 800.0 N-Butane 0.016 30.0 42.0
70.0 903.0 2-Methyl-Butane 0.012 40.0 35.0
76.0 1000.0 N-Pentane 0.017 45.0 32.0
90.0 1255.0 50.0 28.5
60.0 23.0
70.0 18.0
80.0 13.5
Table 1.2 OIL-2: (API = 34.8)
TBP Distillation Light Ends Analysis API Gravity Curve
Liq. Vol. % Temperature (F) Component Liq. Vol. Frac. Mid. Vol. % Gravity
6.5 120.0 Water 0.001 2.0 150.0
10.0 200.0 Methane 0.002 5.0 95.0
20.0 300.0 Ethane 0.005 10.0 65.0
30.0 400.0 Propane 0.005 20.0 45.0
40.0 470.0 Isobutane 0.01 30.0 40.0
50.0 550.0 N-Butane 0.01 40.0 38.0
60.0 650.0 2-Methyl-Butane 0.005 50.0 33.0
70.0 750.0 N-Pentane 0.025 60.0 30.0
80.0 850.0 70.0 25.0
90.0 1100.0 80.0 20.0
95.0 1300.0 90.0 15.0
98.0 1475.0 95.0 10.0
100.0 1670.0 98.0 5.0
Versi on 10.1-0
Blending Crude
and Petroleum
Fractions
Starting Aspen Plus
To start Aspen Pl us:
From your Windows desktop, click Start, then select Programs.
Select AspenTech, then Aspen Plus 10.1-0, then Aspen Plus User Interface.

The Aspen Plus Startup dialog box appears.
Aspen Pl us di spl ays a di al og box whenever you must enter i nformati on or make a
sel ecti on before proceedi ng. I n thi s si mul ati on, you wi l l use an Aspen Pl us
templ ate.
Point the mouse to the Template radio button and click the left mouse button.
Click OK.

The New dialog box appears.
Use the New di al og box to speci fy the Appl i cati on Type and Run Type for the new
run. Aspen Pl us uses the Appl i cati on Type you choose to set appropri ate defaul ts
for your appl i cati on. For thi s si mul ati on, you wi l l use the Petrol eum wi th Engl i sh
Uni ts templ ate and the Assay Data Anal ysi s Run Type.
Use the left mouse button to select the Petroleum with English Units template.
Click the arrow to the right of the Run Type box to display the available run types.
From the list, select Assay Data Analysis to specify an Assay Data Analysis/PCS run.
Click OK.
Note I f the Connect Host di al og box appears, see Appendi x A.
Wai t a few seconds whi l e the changes are appl i ed.
The Aspen Pl us graphi cs workspace i s shaded because you do not use a graphi cal
si mul ati on fl owsheet i n speci fyi ng an Assay Data Anal ysi s run.
Use the Aspen Pl us expert gui dance Next functi on to take you to the next
requi red i nput speci fi cati on.
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Chapter 1
In the toolbar, click Next.

The Setup Specifications Global sheet appears.
Specifying Title and Global Options
The Setup Speci fi cati ons Gl obal sheet di spl ays the defaul ts Aspen Pl us uses for
other forms. You wi l l use thi s form to:
Speci fy a ti tl e for your si mul ati on
Revi ew the gl obal setti ngs that were set when you sel ected the Petrol eum
wi th Engl i sh Uni ts Appl i cati on Type
The Run Type Assay Data Anal ysi s i s al ready sel ected. You do not need to
change thi s fi el d.
I t i s al ways good practi ce to descri be your probl em by enteri ng a ti tl e for the
si mul ati on.
In the Title box, type Getting Started With Petroleum -- Session 1. Press Enter.
Si nce you chose the Petrol eum wi th Engl i sh Uni ts Appl i cati on Type when you
started thi s sessi on, Aspen Pl us has set the fol l owi ng gl obal defaul ts for i nput
speci fi cati ons:
ENGPETRO uni ts (Engl i sh Engi neeri ng uni ts appropri ate for Petrol eum
appl i cati ons, such as vol ume fl ow i n barrel s per day)
StdVol fl ow basi s for al l fl ow i nputs
Free-water cal cul ati ons

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Blending Crude
and Petroleum
Fractions
The form i s compl ete, and al l the defaul ts set by the Petrol eum wi th Engl i sh
Uni ts Appl i cati on Type are appropri ate for thi s probl em:
On the Setup Specifications form, click the Next button at the right of the toolbar.

The Components Specifications Selection sheet appears.
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Chapter 1
Specifying Components
Use the Components Speci fi cati ons Sel ecti on sheet to speci fy components for the
si mul ati on.
Enter the component IDs and component names shown below:

Component ID Component Name
H2O WATER
C1 METHANE
C2 ETHANE
C3 PROPANE
IC4 ISOBUTANE
NC4 N-BUTANE
IC5 2-METHYL-BUTANE
NC5 N-PENTANE

You wi l l defi ne two crude assays, OI L-1 and OI L-2.
In the next Component ID field, type OIL-1.
In the Type field for OIL-1, click the left mouse button and select Assay.
Enter OIL-2 and identify it as an Assay, in the same way as you did for OIL-1.
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Blending Crude
and Petroleum
Fractions
The Components Speci fi cati ons form i s compl ete:
Click the Next button.

The Components Assay/Blend Basic Data form for OIL-1 appears.
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Chapter 1
Entering Assay Data
On the Components Assay/Bl end Basi c Data form for OI L-1, you wi l l enter the
l aboratory assay data for OI L-1 (Tabl e 1.1).
In the Distillation curve type field, click the list box. Select True boiling point (liquid
volume basis) to indicate you are entering data for a TBP curve on a standard liquid
volume basis.
In the Bulk gravity value box, select the API gravity option by clicking the radio button.
In the API gravity field, enter 31.4.
In the Percent Distilled and Temperature fields, enter the following TBP distillation
values for OIL-1:
Percent Distilled Temperature F
6.8 130
10.0 180
30.0 418
50.0 650
62.0 800
70.0 903
76.0 1000
90.0 1255

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Blending Crude
and Petroleum
Fractions
The Components Assay/Bl end Basi c Data Di st Curve sheet for OI L-1 i s compl ete:
Click the Light Ends tab.

The Light Ends sheet for OIL-1 appears.
Use thi s sheet to enter l i ght ends anal ysi s data, gi ven as a fracti on of the assay
mi xture.
In the Component and StdVol Fraction fields, enter the following light ends analysis
data:
Component Fraction StdVol
C1 0.001
C2 0.0015
C3 0.009
IC4 0.004
NC4 0.016
IC5 0.012
NC5 0.017
The Li ght Ends sheet for OI L-1 i s compl ete:
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Chapter 1
Click the Gravity/UOPK tab.

The Gravity/UOPK sheet for OIL-1 appears.
In the Type box, select API gravity by clicking the radio button.
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Blending Crude
and Petroleum
Fractions
In the Mid percent distilled and API gravity fields, enter the following API gravity curve
data:
Mid Percent Distilled API Gravity
5.0 90.0
10.0 68.0
15.0 59.7
20.0 52.0
30.0 42.0
40.0 35.0
45.0 32.0
50.0 28.5
60.0 23.0
70.0 18.0
80.0 13.5

The Gravi ty/UOPK sheet for OI L-1 i s compl ete:

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Chapter 1

The Assay/Blend Basic Data form for OIL-2 appears.
Enter laboratory assay data for OIL-2 (Table 1.2) in the same way as you entered
assay data for OIL-1.
In the Distillation Curve Type field, click the list box. Select True boiling point (liquid
volume basis) to indicate you are entering data for a TBP curve on a standard liquid
volume basis.
In the Bulk gravity value box, select the API gravity option by clicking the radio button.
In the API field, enter 34.8.
In the Percent Distilled and Temperature fields, enter the following TBP distillation
values:
Percent Distilled Temperature F
6.5 120.0
10.0 200.0
20.0 300.0
30.0 400.0
40.0 470.0
50.0 550.0
60.0 650.0
70.0 750.0
80.0 850.0
90.0 1100.0
95.0 1300.0
98.0 1475.0
100.0 1670.0

The Assay/Bl end Basi c Data form for OI L-2 i s compl ete.
Click the Light Ends tab.

The Light Ends sheet for OIL-2 appears.
Versi on 10.1-0
Blending Crude
and Petroleum
Fractions
In the Component and StdVol Fraction fields, enter the following light ends analysis
data:
Component Fraction StdVol
H2O 0.001
C1 0.002
C2 0.005
C3 0.005
IC4 0.01
NC4 0.01
IC5 0.005
NC5 0.025
The Li ght Ends sheet for OI L-2 i s compl ete.
Click the Gravity/UOPK tab.

The Gravity/UOPK sheet for OIL-2 appears.
In the Type box, select API gravity by clicking the radio button.
In the Mid percent distilled and API gravity fields, enter the following API gravity curve
data:
Mid percent Distilled API gravity
2.0 150.0
5.0 95.0
10.0 65.0
20.0 45.0
30.0 40.0
40.0 38.0
50.0 33.0
60.0 30.0
70.0 25.0
80.0 20.0
90.0 15.0
95.0 10.0
98.0 5.0
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 1
The Gravi ty/UOPK sheet for OI L-2 i s compl ete.

The Required ADA/PCS Input Complete dialog box appears.
Versi on 10.1-0
Blending Crude
and Petroleum
Fractions
Blending the Oils
You shoul d be vi ewi ng the Requi red ADA/PCS I nput Compl ete di al og box.
To specify a blend, select Modify assay/blend specifications.
Click OK.

The Assay/Blend Object Manager appears.
Select New.

The Create New ID dialog box appears.
Enter MIXOIL as the ID.
Select BLEND as the Type.
Click OK.

The Mixture Specifications sheet for MIXOIL appears.
Use thi s sheet to defi ne the fracti ons for each crude oi l i n the bl end.
Click the first Assay ID field and select OIL-1.
In the StdVol Fraction field, enter 0.20.
Click the next Assay ID field and select OIL-2.
In the StdVol Fraction field, enter 0.80.

Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 1
The MI XOI L Mi xture Speci fi cati ons sheet i s compl ete:

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Blending Crude
and Petroleum
Fractions
Generating Pseudocomponents
By defaul t, Aspen Pl us generates a set of pseudocomponents for your si mul ati on
based on al l the assays and bl ends i n your probl em. However, i n thi s probl em, the
pseudocomponents shoul d be based on the bl end onl y.
You shoul d be vi ewi ng the Requi red ADA/PCS I nput Compl ete di al og box.
Select the Specify options for generating pseudocomponents.
Click OK.

The Petro Characterization Generation Object Manager appears.
Select New.
Enter CRUDE as the new ID, and click OK.

The Specifications sheet for CRUDE appears.
Click the Assay/Blend ID field and select MIXOIL.

The Speci fi cati ons sheet i s compl ete. You do not need to enter data i n any other
fi el ds.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 1

Select Go to Next required input step, and click OK.

The Required Properties Input Complete dialog box appears.
Click OK.

The Required Assay Data Analysis/Pseudocomponent Generation Input Complete
dialog box appears.
Versi on 10.1-0
Blending Crude
and Petroleum
Fractions
Running the Simulation
You have entered the data and speci fi cati ons for thi s sessi on. You can now run
the Assay Data Anal ysi s.
In the Required Assay Data Analysis/Pseudocomponent Generation Input Complete

dialog box, click OK.
Aspen Pl us di spl ays the Control Panel . The Control Panel al l ows you to moni tor
and i nteract wi th the Aspen Pl us si mul ati on cal cul ati ons.
As Aspen Pl us performs the anal ysi s, status messages wi l l di spl ay i n the Control
Panel . Soon you wi l l see the message Results Available i n the status bar at the
bottom of the mai n wi ndow.
Use the vertical scroll bar to the right of the Control panel window to see the
messages.
You can now exami ne the resul ts of your anal ysi s.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 1
Examining Results
An ADA run cal cul ates a wi de vari ety of properti es for the assays, bl ends, and
generated pseudocomponents.
For thi s sessi on, you wi l l revi ew pseudocomponent properti es and TBP curves for
the oi l s and the bl end.
Click the Check Results button on the Control Panel.

The Results Summary Run-Status form appears. It indicates that calculations were
completed normally. The main properties for each pseudocomponent appear on the
Components Petro Characterization Results Summary sheet.
Expand the Components folder.

The Assay/Blend and the Petro Characterization folders are revealed.
Expand the Petro Characterization folder.

The Results form is revealed.
Click Results.

The main properties for each pseudocomponent appear on the Components Petro
Characterization Results Summary sheet.
Click the scroll arrow at the bottom left of the form to scroll through the component
properties.
Versi on 10.1-0
Blending Crude
and Petroleum
Fractions
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 1
Plotting Distillation Curves
You wi l l pl ot the TBP curves for the bl end and each crude oi l i n a si ngl e pl ot. The
resul ts for each assay or bl end appear on the Components Assay/Bl end Resul ts
form. To pl ot the TBP curve for OI L-1:
From the Data Browser, click the Assay/Blend folder to expand it.

The MIXOIL, OIL-1, and OIL-2 folders are revealed.
Click the OIL-1 folder to expand it.

Click the Curves tab.

Versi on 10.1-0
Blending Crude
and Petroleum
Fractions

The Curves sheet for OIL-1 appears.
To pl ot the TBP curve:
Select the Percent distilled column by clicking on the column heading.
From the Plot menu on the Aspen Plus toolbar, select X-Axis Variable.
Select the True boiling pt. (liquid volume) column by clicking on the column heading.
From the Plot menu, select Y-Axis Variable.
From the Plot menu, select Display Plot.

The TBP curve for OIL-1 appears in a new window.
To l abel thi s curve for OI L-1:
Double-click the legend box.

The Plot Legend Box dialog box appears.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 1
Select True boiling pt (vol).
Edit the Text field to read TBP for OIL-1.
Click Replace.
Click OK.
To pl ot the TBP curve for OI L-2, sel ect the data and assi gn i t to the X and Y-axes
the same way you di d for OI L-1.
Expand the OIL-2 folder in the Data Browser.


The Curves sheet for OIL-2 appears.
Select the Percent distilled column.
Select the True boiling pt. (liquid volume) column.

To add thi s curve to the pl ot contai ni ng the curve for OI L-1: .
From the Plot pulldown menu, select Add New Curve.

The Plot Window List dialog box appears.
Select the available item, and click OK.

The curve for OI L-2 appears on the pl ot. To l abel thi s curve for OI L-2:


Versi on 10.1-0
Blending Crude
and Petroleum
Fractions
Edit the Text field to read TBP for OIL-2.
Click Replace.
Click OK.
To pl ot the BLEND curve:
In the Data Browser, click the MIXOIL folder to expand it.


The Curves sheet for MIXOIL appears.
Add thi s curve to the pl ot contai ni ng curves for OI L-1 and OI L-2, usi ng the same
procedure as for OI L-2.
Select the Percent distilled column.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 1
Select the True boiling pt. (liquid volume) column.

To add thi s curve to the pl ot contai ni ng the curve for OI L-1 and OI L-2: .
From the Plot pulldown menu, select Add New Curve.

The Plot Window List dialog box appears.
Select the available item, and click OK.

The curve for MI XOI L appears on the pl ot. To l abel thi s curve for MI XOI L:

Edit the Text field to read TBP for Blend.
Click Replace.
Click OK.
To combi ne the y-axes:
Double-click on the plot.
Select the AxisMap tab.
Select All in One, and click OK.
Edit the plot title to read TBP Curves for Crude Oils and Blend.
Double-click the plot title to select it.
Type TBP Curves for Crude Oils and Blend.

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and Petroleum
Fractions
Click OK.
As the compl eted pl ot shows, the TBP curve for the bl end i s between the curves
for each oi l . Curve l ocati ons depend on the proporti ons of the two oi l s you defi ne
for the bl end:
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 1
Creating a Backup File
Once you are sati sfi ed wi th your Assay Data Anal ysi s resul ts, you can save thi s
si mul ati on as a backup fi l e. Thi s al l ows you to use the assay data anal ysi s you
have devel oped i n another Aspen Pl us si mul ati on.
To save thi s si mul ati on as a backup fi l e:
From the File menu, select Save As.
In the Save As dialog box, select Aspen Plus Backup Files for the Save as type.
In the File name field, enter BLEND.

Your working directory appears in the Save In box.
Your si mul ati on i s saved as blend.bkp.

A dialog box asks if you also want to save the simulation as an Aspen Plus Document
file.
Click No.
Versi on 10.1-0
Blending Crude
and Petroleum
Fractions
Exiting Aspen Plus
To exi t Aspen Pl us:
From the Aspen Plus File menu, select Exit.

Thi s run wi l l be used as the starti ng poi nt for the sessi on i n Chapter 2.
O

O

O

O
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 2
2 Adding a Preflash Tower
I n thi s sessi on you wi l l add a prefl ash tower to the si mul ati on. You wi l l al so
speci fy opti ons for pseudocomponent generati on.
You wi l l :
Defi ne the fl owsheet graphi cal l y
Speci fy properti es, feed streams, and prefl ash tower
Modi fy cuts speci fi cati ons for pseudocomponents generati on
Run the si mul ati on
Exami ne si mul ati on resul ts

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Preflash Tower Flowsheet
Fi gure 2.1 shows the process fl owsheet for thi s sessi on. The process feed, consi sti ng
of the oi l bl end, goes fi rst to the prefl ash furnace where i t i s parti al l y vapori zed.
The parti al l y vapori zed feed then enters the prefl ash tower. You wi l l model the
tower and the furnace si mul taneousl y wi th a si ngl e PetroFrac bl ock.
Steam i s fed to the bottom of the tower. The tower produces a wi de naphtha cut
as a di sti l l ate product.
Figure 2.1 Flowsheet for Preflash Tower
You wi l l si mul ate the tower wi th 10 theoreti cal stages, no reboi l er, and a parti al
condenser. The condenser operates at 170 F and 39.7 psi a, wi th a pressure drop
of 2 psi . The tower pressure drop i s 3 psi .
The tower i s stri pped wi th open steam i n the bottom. The steam stream i s at 400
F and 60 psi a, and has a fl ow rate of 5,000 l b/hr. The furnace operates at a
pressure of 50 psi a and a temperature of 450 F. The di sti l l ate rate i s esti mated at
15,000 bbl /day. I ts val ue i s mani pul ated to produce a wi de naphtha cut wi th an
ASTM 95% temperature of 375 F.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 2
Starting Aspen Plus
Use the Windows Start menu, or double-click the Aspen Plus icon on your
desktop.

Versi on 10.1-0
Adding a
Preflash
Tower
Opening an Existing Run
I f you saved the assay data anal ysi s si mul ati on created i n Chapter 1:
In the Aspen Plus Startup dialog box, select Open an Existing Simulation .
I f your saved fi l e bl end.bkp appears i n the l i st box:
Select blend.bkp in the list and click OK.

I f your saved fi l e bl end.bkp does not appear i n the l i st box:
Double-click on More Files in the list box.

The Open dialog box appears.
Navigate to the directory containing your saved file blend.bkp.
Select blend.bkp from the list of files, and click Open.

Note I f the Connect to Engi ne di al og box appears, see Appendi x A.

The Aspen Plus main window appears.
I f you di d not create the assay data anal ysi s si mul ati on i n Chapter 1, you can
open the backup fi l e bl end.bkp i n the Exampl es fol der.
From the Aspen Plus Startup dialog box, select Open an Existing Simulation, then
click OK.

Click the Look in Favorites button .

By defaul t, the Favori tes l i st contai ns fi ve fol ders that are provi ded wi th
Aspen Pl us.
Double-click the Examples folder.
Select blend.bkp, and click Open.


Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 2
Saving a Run Under a New Name
Before you create a new run addi ng a prefl ash tower, you wi l l create and save a
copy of BLEND wi th a new Run I D, PREFLASH. Then you can make modi fi cati ons
under thi s new Run I D.
From the File menu, click Save As.

The Save As dialog box appears.
Choose the directory where you want to save the simulation.
In the File name box, enter the new filename PREFLASH.
From the Save as Type list, select Aspen Plus Backup Files (*.bkp).
Click Save to save the simulation and continue.

file.
Click No.

The current Run ID, PREFLASH, appears in the titlebar.
Versi on 10.1-0
Adding a
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Tower
Changing the Run Type
I n Chapter 1, the BLEND run you performed was an Assay Data Anal ysi s run. I n
thi s sessi on, you wi l l perform a fl owsheet si mul ati on. You need to swi tch to the
Fl owsheet Run Type.
From the Data menu, select Setup.

The Setup Specifications form appears.
Click the Run type field. Select Flowsheet from the list.
Change the simulation title to Getting Started with Petroleum-Session 2.
Close the window.

The graphi cs workspace i s now acti ve and ready for you to bui l d the fl owsheet.
No more changes to thi s form are necessary.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 2
Selecting a Distillation Model
Aspen Pl us offers several di sti l l ati on model s. To determi ne whi ch i s appropri ate for
the prefl ash tower, you wi l l use prompts and onl i ne hel p.
From the Aspen Plus main window, click the Columns tab on the Model Library.

The list of available distillation columns is displayed.
Move the mouse over any model in the Model Library and read the description in the
lower left of the window.
From the prompts, i t appears that PetroFrac i s appropri ate for thi s petrol eum
probl em. You can obtai n more extensi ve i nformati on on PetroFrac by readi ng the
onl i ne hel p:
Click PetroFrac.
Press the Help KeyF1 on most systems.

A Help window appears, with detailed information about PetroFrac.
Review this information to confirm that PetroFrac is the best choice, then close the
Help window.
Versi on 10.1-0
Adding a
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Tower
Defining the Graphical Simulation
Flowsheet
Now you wi l l begi n to bui l d the process fl owsheet. Si nce you wi l l enter your own
bl ock and stream I Ds, you must turn off the defaul t Create auto bl ock I D and
Create auto stream I D opti ons, whi ch provi de these I Ds automati cal l y.
From the Tools menu, select Options.

The Options dialog box appears.
Click the Flowsheet tab.
Click the Automatically assign block name check box, to deselect this option.
Click the Automatically assign stream name check box, to deselect this option.
Click OK to apply these changes.

Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 2
You are ready to bui l d your fl owsheet. Fi gure 2-1 shows the process fl ow di agram
for thi s sessi on. To revi ew how to defi ne a fl owsheet graphi cal l y, see Getting
Started Building and Running a Process Model, Chapter 2.
To pl ace and connect the di sti l l ati on uni t on the fl owsheet:
Click the Column tab in the Model Library.
In the Model Library, select PetroFrac, the unit operation model that you want to place
in your process flowsheet.
You can choose a di fferent i con for the model :
Click the down arrow next to the PetroFrac block icon to display all the icons available
for the PetroFrac model.
Move the mouse over the icons to see a name (or label) for each.
I n thi s exerci se, you wi l l sel ect the PetroFrac i con PREFL1F.
Hold down the mouse button on the PetroFrac icon PREFL1F, and drag the icon to the
Process Flowsheet window. Release the mouse button when the icon is in the desired
location.

The Input dialog box appears.
Enter the Block ID PREFLASH, and click OK.

Connect and name the streams, as shown i n Fi gure 2.1. You can use the port
names shown bel ow to connect to the appropri ate port.
Stream Port
MIXCRUDE Main Column Feed
PF-STEAM Main Column Feed
LIGHTS Vapor Distillate from Main Column
PF-WATER Condensed Water Decant for Main Column
NAPHTHA Liquid Distillate from Main Column
CDU-FEED Bottoms Product from Main Column
Click the Material Stream icon on the left side of the Model Library.
Versi on 10.1-0
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Move the cursor to the Process Flowsheet window. Point to the Main Column Feed
port on the PetroFrac and click to create a new stream.
Point to a blank part of the process flowsheet window where you want the feed to
originate and click once.
Enter the Stream ID PF-STEAM, and click OK.
Create the remaining streams in similar fashion.

For the MIXCRUDE stream, first connect it to the bottom feed port and then drag it to
the desired location in front of the feed furnace.
In the Aspen Plus main window toolbar, click the Next button to guide you to the next
required input.

The Flowsheet Complete dialog box appears.
Click OK.

The Properties Specifications Global sheet appears.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 2
Specifying Properties
Use the Properti es Speci fi cati ons Gl obal sheet to sel ect the thermodynami c
methods used to cal cul ate properti es such as K-val ues, enthal py, and densi ty.
Property methods i n Aspen Pl us are arranged accordi ng to Process Types, and i n
l ogi cal groupi ngs cal l ed Base Methods. The BK10 physi cal property opti on set
(Braun K-10 method) i s appropri ate for most refi ni ng appl i cati ons i nvol vi ng heavy
petrol eum fracti ons and l ow pressures.
To select the BK10 option set for the physical properties, click the arrow to the right of
the Process Type box, and select REFINERY.
Click the arrow to the right of the Base Method box, and select BK10.
Si nce you sel ected the Petrol eum wi th Engl i sh Uni ts Appl i cati on Type i n Chapter
1, Aspen Pl us has sel ected appropri ate defaul ts for petrol eum appl i cati ons.
Steam Tabl es (STEAM-TA) i s the defaul t for the free-water phase properti es, as
shown i n the Free-water method fi el d. Aspen Pl us has al so sel ected Method 2 for
the water sol ubi l i ty defaul t, as shown i n the Water sol ubi l i ty fi el d. The Water
sol ubi l i ty opti on control s the method for cal cul ati ng the sol ubi l i ty and K-val ue of
water i n the hydrocarbon phase.
You do not need to change anythi ng on thi s form.
Versi on 10.1-0
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The Required Properties Input Complete dialog box appears.
Correct representati on of physi cal properti es i s essenti al to process model i ng. For
many si mul ati ons, the onl y physi cal property speci fi cati on you must provi de i s to
sel ect an opti on set. The Requi red Properti es I nput Compl ete di al og box i s a
remi nder that the Aspen Pl us physi cal property system has many opti onal
capabi l i ti es that you can use to i ncrease the accuracy of physi cal property
cal cul ati ons.
Click OK.

The Stream MIXCRUDE Input form appears.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 2
Entering Stream Data
You shoul d be vi ewi ng the Stream MI XCRUDE I nput form, as i ndi cated i n the
Data Browser wi ndow ti tl e bar. MI XCRUDE i s the crude oi l bl end feed stream to
the tower. You wi l l enter condi ti on and fl ow rates for the MI XCRUDE stream.
In the Temperature field, enter the feed temperature 200. The default units F
(Fahrenheit) are correct for this session.
In the Pressure field, enter 60. The default units PSI are correct for this session.
Enter 100000 for the MIXOIL component flow value. This is the oil flow rate in bbl/day.
The Streams I nput form for MI XCRUDE i s compl ete:

Versi on 10.1-0
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The Input form for PF-STEAM appears. PF-STEAM is the steam feed to the tower.
In the Temperature field, enter 400 F.
In the Pressure field, enter 60 PSI.
In the Composition area, click the arrow and select Mass-Flow to specify the steam
flow in lb/hr.
Enter 5000 for the H2O component value, to enter a Steam flow rate of 5000 lb/hr.
The I nput form for PF-STEAM i s compl ete:

The PREFLASH Setup Configuration sheet appears.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 2
Specifying the Preflash Unit
Use the PREFLASH Setup Confi gurati on sheet to enter confi gurati on and
operati ng speci fi cati ons for the col umn, i ncl udi ng:
Number of theoreti cal stages
Val i d phases i n the col umn
Di sti l l ate vapor fracti on
In the Number of stages field, enter 10 for ten theoretical stages.
Click the Condenser list box and select Partial-Vapor-Liquid. This indicates that there
is a partial condenser with both vapor and liquid distillate.
I n the Reboi l er fi el d, the defaul t None-Bottom-Feed i s appropri ate, si nce the
col umn has no reboi l er and there i s a bottom steam feed.
In the Distillate rate field, enter 15000 to specify an estimate for the distillate rate of
15,000 bbl/day.
The di sti l l ate rate wi l l be mani pul ated to achi eve a speci fi cati on on the ASTM
95% temperature for the naphtha product.
The Bl ocks PREFLASH Setup Confi gurati on sheet i s compl ete.
Versi on 10.1-0
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The Blocks PREFLASH Setup Streams sheet appears.
You wi l l enter feed l ocati ons and conventi ons for the MI XCRUDE stream.
For MIXCRUDE, enter 10 in the Stage field. Click the convention list box, and select
Furnace to indicate that a furnace is attached to the tower on stage 10. The feed goes
to the furnace first.
For PF-STEAM, enter 10 in the Stage field. Click the convention list box and select
On-Stage.
The Bl ocks PREFLASH Setup Streams sheet i s compl ete:

The Setup Pressure sheet for the PREFLASH block appears. On this sheet, you will
enter the column pressure profile, or specify a top stage pressure and a pressure drop
or the rest of the column.
Click the arrow to the right of the View box to display a list of available views. Select
Top/Bottom.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 2
Enter the following pressure profile data:

Top Stage Pressure 39.7 PSI
Second Stage Pressure 41.7 PSI
Bottom Stage Pressure 44.7 PSI
The Setup Pressure sheet i s compl ete.

The Setup Condenser sheet appears.
Click the Temperature radio button. Enter a value of 170 F.

The Setup Condenser sheet i s compl ete.

The Setup Furnace sheet appears.
Select Single stage flash as the furnace type.
Enter the following information to specify furnace operating conditions:

Furnace temperature 450 F
Furnace pressure 50 PSI
These speci fi cati ons model the furnace as a si ngl e-stage fl ash at the speci fi ed
condi ti ons.
Versi on 10.1-0
Adding a
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Tower
The Setup Furnace form for the PREFLASH bl ock i s compl ete:

The Required Input Complete dialog box appears.
Click Cancel.
Next, you need to set up a desi gn speci fi cati on for the product qual i ty of the
naphtha stream, usi ng the ASTM 95% temperature. You wi l l mani pul ate the
di sti l l ate rate to achi eve thi s target.
From the Data Browser, select the PREFLASH blocks Design Specs folder.

The Design Specs Object Manager appears.
Select New.
In the dialog box, click OK to accept the default ID, 1.

The Design Spec 1 form appears.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 2
On the Specifications sheet, enter the following information for the naphtha product
design specification:
Type ASTM D86 temperature (dry, liquid volume basis)
Target 375 F
Liquid % 95
Click Next.
On the Feed/Product Streams sheet, move the NAPHTHA stream from the Available
streams area to the Selected streams area using the single arrow key.
Click Next.
On the Vary sheet, select Distillate flow rate from the available list.

Click Cancel.
Versi on 10.1-0
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Preflash
Tower
Modifying Pseudocomponents
I n Chapter 1, Aspen Pl us generated al l pseudocomponents usi ng defaul t opti ons. I n
thi s sessi on, you wi l l modi fy the number of pseudocomponents generated for
di fferent temperature ranges.
From the Data Browser, click the Components folder to expand it.
Expand the Petroleum Characterization folder. Click Generation.

The Object Manager appears.
Click CRUDE, then click the Edit button.

The Specifications sheet appears.
Click the Cuts tab.
Click the Range and Increments radio button.
Enter the following temperature ranges and increments to generate

pseudocomponents for this problem:
Lower temperature 100 Upper temperature 800 Increment 25
Upper temperature 1200 Increment 50
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 2
The Cuts sheet i s compl ete:

The Required ADA-PCS Input Complete dialog box appears.
Click OK.

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Tower
To run the si mul ati on:
Click OK in the Required Input Complete dialog box.

The Control Panel appears.
As the run proceeds, status messages appear i n the Control Panel . I t takes about
a mi nute for Aspen Pl us to process i nput speci fi cati ons and perform the
si mul ati on. When the cal cul ati ons fi ni sh, the message Results Available appears
i n the status bar at the bottom of the mai n wi ndow.
messages.
When the Results Available message appears in the toolbar, click the Close button to
close the Control Panel window.
Click the Close button to close the Data Browser.

You can now exami ne the resul ts of your run.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 2
Examining Simulation Results
Aspen Pl us produces a wi de vari ety of si mul ati on resul ts. I n thi s sessi on you wi l l
exami ne:
Condenser duty
Di sti l l ate rate
Temperature profi l e
Crude TBP curves

Condenser duty resul ts appear on the PREFLASH Resul ts Summary sheet. To
exami ne these resul ts:
Select the PREFLASH block by clicking the PREFLASH icon.
Press or click the right mouse button to display the Block menu.
Select Results.

The Results Summary form for PREFLASH appears, showing a summary of all
condenser and bottom stage results.
Versi on 10.1-0
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Di sti l l ate rate resul ts appear on the PREFLASH Desi gn Specs 1 Resul ts sheet.
To exami ne di sti l l ate rate resul ts:
Expand the Design Specs folder in the Data Browser, and click design-spec 1.

The Design Specs 1 form is revealed.
Click the Results tab.

The Results sheet appears, showing the distillate rate value that Aspen Plus
calculated to satisfy the design specification.
The temperature profi l e for the col umn appears on the PREFLASH Profi l e form.
To exami ne resul ts by pl otti ng a temperature profi l e:
In the Data Browser, click the Profiles form.

The PREFLASH Profiles form appears.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 2
To pl ot the temperature profi l e:
From the Plot menu, select Plot Wizard.

The Plot Wizard Step 1 dialog box appears.
Click the Next> button.
Click the Temperature Plot Type.



Click the Finish button.

Versi on 10.1-0
Adding a
Preflash
Tower

The temperature profile plot appears.
You can fol l ow the same steps to di spl ay any other col umn profi l e. You may want
to cl ose some forms to make space for the new pl ots.
The True Boi l i ng Poi nt curves appear on the Stream Resul ts Vol .% Curves sheet.
To pl ot TBP curves for PREFLASH feed and product streams:
In the Data Browser, click the PREFLASH Stream Results form.

The Stream Results form is revealed.
Click the Vol.% Curves tab.

Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 2

The Stream Results Vol.% Curves sheet is displayed.
To sel ect CDU-FEED and MI XCRUDE as dependent vari abl es:
Click the CDU-FEED column label to select the column.
Move the mouse to the MIXCRUDE column. Ctrl-Click the MIXCRUDE column label to
select the MIXCRUDE column in addition to the CDU-FEED column.
From the Aspen Plus Plot menu, select Y-Axis Variable.
Click the Volume % column label.
From the Aspen Plus Plot menu, select X-Axis Variable.
From the Aspen Plus Plot menu, select Display Plot.

Versi on 10.1-0
Adding a
Preflash
Tower

Aspen Plus displays the following plot:
As expected, the prefl ash tower removes a si gni fi cant porti on of the l i ght
materi al from the process feed. Thi s reduces the l oad for the subsequent
atmospheri c crude uni t and i ncreases overal l process capaci ty.
When you finish viewing this plot, close the Plot window.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 2
Exiting Aspen Plus
From the File menu, select Exit.

A dialog box asks if you want to save your simulation.
Select Yes to save the simulation.

A dialog box asks if you also want save the simulation as an Aspen Plus Document
file.
Click No.
O

O

O

O
Versi on 10.1-0
Adding a
Preflash
Tower
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 3
3 Adding an Atmospheric
Crude Distillation Unit
I n thi s sessi on, you wi l l add an atmospheri c crude di sti l l ati on uni t to the
si mul ati on you ran i n Chapter 2.
You wi l l :
Add the atmospheri c crude di sti l l ati on uni t to the fl owsheet.
Speci fy addi ti onal feed streams.
Speci fy the atmospheri c crude di sti l l ati on uni t.
Run the si mul ati on.
Exami ne the resul ts.

Versi on 10.1-0
Adding an
Atmospheric
Crude
Distillation Unit
Atmospheric Crude Distillation Unit
Flowsheet
Fi gure 3.1 shows the process fl owsheet you wi l l devel op i n thi s sessi on. The
topped crude from the prefl ash tower goes fi rst to the crude furnace, then to the
atmospheri c tower. You wi l l model the crude furnace and the atmospheri c tower
uni ts together, usi ng a si ngl e PetroFrac bl ock. Thi s approach enabl es you to
adjust furnace vari abl es to achi eve certai n tower speci fi cati ons, such as the
overfl ash. The tower has:
A total condenser
Three coupl ed si de stri ppers
Two pumparound ci rcui ts

Figure 3.1 Process Flowsheet: The Atmospheric Crude Distillation Unit
PetroFrac si mul ates the furnace and the atmospheri c tower si mul taneousl y, as a
si ngl e uni t. The furnace operates at a pressure of 24.18 psi a and provi des an
overfl ash of 3% i n the tower. The furnace outl et enters the atmospheri c tower on
stage 22 of the mai n fracti onator.
The mai n fracti onator i s model ed wi th 25 equi l i bri um stages. The heavy naphtha
product fl ow i s esti mated at 13,000 bbl /day, and i s mani pul ated to achi eve an
ASTM 95% temperature of 375 F. The condenser operates at 15.7 psi a wi th a
pressure drop of 5 psi . The tower pressure drop i s 4 psi .
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 3
The mai n fracti onator has 2 pumparound ci rcui ts. The fol l owi ng tabl e
summari zes the pumparound l ocati ons and speci fi cati ons:
Pumparound Location Specifications
1 From stage 8 to 6 Flow: 49,000 bbl/day Duty: -40 MMBTU/hr
2 From stage 14 to 13 Flow: 11,000 bbl/day Duty: -15 MMBTU/hr
The crude di sti l l ati on uni t has three si destri ppers. Thei r l ocati ons and operati ng
speci fi cati ons are:
Stripper Location Specifications
KEROSENE Liquid draw from stage 6
Vapor return to 5
Product rate: 11,700 bbl/day
Steam stripping (CU-STM1)
4 equilibrium stages
DIESEL Liquid draw from stage 13
Vapor return to 12
Product rate: 16,500 bbl/day (estimate)
Steam stripping (CU-STM2)
3 equilibrium stages
AGO Liquid draw from stage 18
Vapor return to 17
Product rate: 8,500 bbl/day
Steam stripping (CU-STM3) 2 equilibrium stages
The di esel fl ow rate i s an esti mate onl y. You wi l l mani pul ate i t to achi eve an
ASTM 95% temperature of 640 F for the di esel product.
Al l si destri ppers and the mai n fracti onator use steam for stri ppi ng. The fol l owi ng
tabl e summari zes the steam fl ows and condi ti ons:
Stream Location Conditions and Flow
CU-STEAM Main tower 400 F, 60 psia, 12,000 lb/hr
CU-STM1 Kerosene stripper 400 F, 60 psia, 3,300 lb/hr
CU-STM2 Diesel stripper 400 F, 60 psia, 1,000 lb/hr
CU-STM3 AGO stripper 400 F, 60 psia, 800 lb/hr
Versi on 10.1-0
Adding an
Atmospheric
Crude
Distillation Unit
Starting Aspen Plus
Use the Windows Start menu or double-click the Aspen Plus icon on your desktop.

Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 3
I f you saved the prefl ash fl owsheet si mul ati on created i n Chapter 2:
In the Aspen Plus Startup dialog box, select Open an Existing Simulation.
I f your saved fi l e prefl ash.bkp appears i n the l i st box:
Select preflash.bkp from the list and click OK.

I f your saved fi l e prefl ash.bkp does not appear i n the l i st box:
Double-click More Files in the list box.

Navigate to the directory containing your saved file preflash.bkp.
Select preflash.bkp from the list of files and click Open.


I f you di d not create the assay data anal ysi s si mul ati on i n Chapter 2, you can
open the backup fi l e prefl ash.bkp i n the Exampl es fol der.
From the Aspen Plus Startup dialog box, select Open an Existing Simulation. Click
OK.


By default, the Favorites list contains five folders that are provided with Aspen Plus.
Select preflash.bkp and click Open.



Aspen Plus displays the graphical flowsheet for the PREFLASH run.
Versi on 10.1-0
Adding an
Atmospheric
Crude
Distillation Unit
Before you create a new run addi ng the atmospheri c crude uni t, you wi l l create
and save a copy of PREFLASH wi th a new Run I D, CRUDE. Then you can make
modi fi cati ons under thi s new Run I D.

In the Filename box, enter the new filename CRUDE.

file.
Click No.
The current run I D, CRUDE, now appears i n the ti tl ebar. To update the ti tl e for
thi s run:

Close the window.

The graphi cs workspace i s now acti ve and ready for you to add to the exi sti ng
fl owsheet.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 3
Adding the Crude Distillation Unit to the
Flowsheet
You are ready to add the crude di sti l l ati on uni t to the fl owsheet. To make space
for the new tower:
Drag a region around the entire flowsheet.
Press and hold the left mouse button within the region and drag the flowsheet to the
left, to make room for the crude distillation unit, as shown in Figure 3.1.
In the Model Library, click the Column tab.
Select the unit operation model, PetroFrac, to place in your process flowsheet.
I n thi s exerci se, you wi l l sel ect the PetroFrac i con CDU10F.
Hold down the mouse button on the PetroFrac icon CDU10F, and drag the icon to the
Process Flowsheet window. Release the mouse button in the desired location.
Place the CDU10F icon in the flowsheet, as shown in Figure 3.1. Name the block
CRUDE.
To increase the size of the icon, click the PetroFrac icon, hold down the Shift key, then
press the + key.
To reconnect the di sti l l ati on uni t to the prefl ash bl ock al ready on the fl owsheet:
Select the CDU-FEED stream.
Click the right mouse button on the stream, and select Reconnect Destination from the
menu that appears.
Versi on 10.1-0
Adding an
Atmospheric
Crude
Distillation Unit
Point to the Main Column Feed port at the bottom of the column.
Click to connect the CDU-FEED stream to the bottom feed port and then drag it to the
desired location in front of the feed furnace
To display the flowsheet as large as possible, from the View menu, select Zoom full.
Connect, move, and name the streams as shown in Figure 3.1. Use the port names in
Table 3.1 to help you connect to the appropriate port.
Table 3.1 Streams and Corresponding Ports
Stream ID Port Name
CDU-FEED Main Column Feed
CU-STEAM Main Column Feed
CU-STM1 Stripper Steam Feeds
CU-WATER Condenser Water Decant for Main Column
HNAPHTHA Liquid Distillate from Main Column
KEROSENE Bottoms Product from Stripper
DIESEL Bottoms Product from Stripper
AGO Bottoms Product from Stripper
RED-CRD Bottoms Product from Main Column
You have fi ni shed addi ng the di sti l l ati on uni t to the fl owsheet.

The Flowsheet Complete dialog box appears.
Click OK.

The Input form for stream CU-STEAM appears.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 3
Specifying Steam Feeds to the Tower
Use the I nput form for stream CU-STEAM to enter the speci fi cati ons for the
steam feed to the mai n col umn.
Enter the following state variable and component flow specifications:

Temperature
400 F
Pressure
60 PSI
Composition Basis
Mass-Flow LB/HR
H2O Flow value
12000 LB/HR
The I nput form for CU-STEAM i s compl ete:

The Input form for CU-STM1 appears.

Temperature 400 F
Pressure 60 PSI
Composition Basis Mass-Flow LB/HR
H2O Flow value 3300 LB/HR

Versi on 10.1-0
Adding an
Atmospheric
Crude
Distillation Unit


Temperature 400 F
Pressure 60 PSI


Temperature 400 F
Pressure 60 PSI
You have fi ni shed enteri ng steam feed speci fi cati ons.

The Blocks CRUDE Setup form appears.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 3
Specifying the Atmospheric Tower
Use the Bl ocks CRUDE Setup form to speci fy the mai n col umn confi gurati on.
On the Configuration sheet, specify:

Number of stages 25
Condenser Total
Reboiler None-Bottom Feed
Distillate rate 13000 BBL/DAY
The di sti l l ate fl ow rate i s an esti mate. Thi s val ue wi l l be mani pul ated to achi eve
the desi red ASTM 95% temperature for the heavy naphtha stream.

The Blocks CRUDE Setup Streams sheet appears.
Enter the following feed locations and conventions:

Stage Convention
CDU-FEED 22 Furnace
CU-STEAM 25 On-Stage
Versi on 10.1-0
Adding an
Atmospheric
Crude
Distillation Unit
The Furnace feed conventi on attaches a furnace to stage 22. Thi s furnace i s
sol ved si mul taneousl y wi th the mai n fracti onati on col umn and stri ppers.

The Pressure sheet appears.
Enter the following pressures using the Top/Bottom View:

Stage 1 / Condenser Pressure 15.7 PSI
Stage 2 Pressure 20.7 PSI
Bottom Stage Pressure 24.7 PSI

The Furnace sheet appears.
Select the Single stage flash Furnace type
Specify a StdVol Fractional overflash of 0.03 and a Furnace pressure of 24.18 psi.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 3
The Furnace sheet i s now compl ete:
You have compl eted speci fi cati ons for the mai n col umn.

Versi on 10.1-0
Adding an
Atmospheric
Crude
Distillation Unit
Because you attached feed and product streams for three si destri ppers i n the
graphi cal fl owsheet, Aspen Pl us automati cal l y confi gured thi s bl ock wi th three
si destri ppers: S-1, S-2, and S-3.

The Setup form for Stripper S-1 appears.
Enter the following specifications:

Number of stages 4
Liquid draw stage 6
Overhead return stage 5
Stripper product KEROSENE
Stripping steam CU-STM1
Bottom product flow 11700 BBL/DAY
The S-1 Setup form i s compl ete:

The S-2 Setup form appears.

Number of stages 3
Liquid draw stage 13
Stripper product DIESEL
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 3

The S-3 Setup form appears.

Number of stages 2
Liquid draw stage 18
Stripper product AGO
Versi on 10.1-0
Adding an
Atmospheric
Crude
Distillation Unit

Click Cancel.
Next, you wi l l suppl y speci fi cati ons for Pumparound 1 and Pumparound 2.
In the Data Browser, click the Block CRUDE Pumparounds folder.

The Pumparounds Object Manager sheet appears.
Select New.
In the dialog box, click OK to accept the default ID P-1.

The Pumparounds P-1 Specifications sheet appears.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 3
To specify P-1, enter:

Draw stage 8
Return stage 6
Drawoff type Partial
StdVol Flow 49000 BBL/DAY
Heat duty -40.0 MMBTU/HR
The Pumparounds P-1 Speci fi cati ons sheet i s compl ete:
Click the Pumparounds folder to reopen the Object Manager.

The Pumparound Object Manager appears.
Select New.

The Pumparounds P-2 Specifications sheet appears.
Enter the following specifications for P-2:

Draw stage 14
Return stage 13
Drawoff type PARTIAL
StdVol Flow 11000 BBL/DAY
Heat duty -15.0 MMBTU/HR
Versi on 10.1-0
Adding an
Atmospheric
Crude
Distillation Unit
The Pumparounds P-2 Speci fi cati ons sheet i s compl ete:

Click Cancel.
You have compl eted al l requi red PetroFrac speci fi cati ons. However, i n thi s
sessi on you wi l l speci fy two desi gn speci fi cati ons, the ASTM 95% temperature for
HNAPHTHA and for DI ESEL.
From the Data Browser, click the Blocks CRUDE Design Specs folder.
The Design Spec Object Manager appears.
Click New.
In the dialog box, click OK to accept the default ID 1.

The Blocks CRUDE Design Specs 1 Specifications sheet appears.
Fi rst, you wi l l enter speci fi cati ons to have PetroFrac mani pul ate the di sti l l ate
rate to achi eve an ASTM 95% temperature of 375 F for HNAPHTHA:
In the Type field, select ASTM D86 temperature (dry. liquid volume basis) .
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 3

Target 375
Liquid % 95

The Feed/Product Streams sheet appears.
Move HNAPTHA from the Available streams area to the Selected stream area by
clicking the > button.
Versi on 10.1-0
Adding an
Atmospheric
Crude
Distillation Unit

The Vary sheet appears.
Click the arrow to the right of the Type box, and select Distillate flow rate from the list.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 3
The HNAPHTHA desi gn speci fi cati on i s compl ete.
Click the Design Specs folder to reopen the Object manager.

For the second desi gn speci fi cati on, you wi l l enter speci fi cati ons to have
PetroFrac mani pul ate the DI ESEL fl ow rate to reach an ASTM 95% temperature
of 640 F.
The Design Specs Object Manager appears.
Click New.

The Block CRUDE Design Specs 2 Specifications sheet appears.
Enter, or use List to select, the following specifications:

SpecType ASTM D86 temperature (dry. liquid volume basis)
Target 640
Liquid % 95

The Feed/Product Streams sheet appears.
Versi on 10.1-0
Adding an
Atmospheric
Crude
Distillation Unit
Move the DIESEL stream from the Available streams area to the Selected stream area
using the > button.

The Vary sheet appears.
Select Bottoms flow rate as the Adjusted variable Type.
Select S-2 as the Stripper name.

Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 3
The Bl ock CRUDE Desi gn Specs 2 form i s compl ete:
You have entered al l the speci fi cati ons for the atmospheri c crude tower, wi thout
any i ni ti al profi l e esti mates for tower temperatures, fl ow rates, or composi ti ons.
Aspen Pl us can converge the col umn wi thout esti mates for these vari abl es.
Close the Data Browser window.
In the Aspen Plus main window, click the Next button.

Versi on 10.1-0
Adding an
Atmospheric
Crude
Distillation Unit
In the Required Input Complete dialog box, click OK.

messages.
Click the Close button to close the Data Browser.

Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 3
Thi s run produces a wi de vari ety of si mul ati on resul ts. I n thi s sessi on, you wi l l
exami ne:
Furnace duty
Pumparound return temperatures
Stream resul ts for the atmospheri c tower products
ASTM curves for the tower products

Furnace duty resul ts appear on the CRUDE Resul ts Summary Furnace sheet. To
exami ne these resul ts:
Select the CRUDE block by clicking on the CRUDE icon.
Select Results.

The Blocks CRUDE Results Summary form appears.
Click the Furnace tab.

A summary of important Furnace results appears:
Versi on 10.1-0
Adding an
Atmospheric
Crude
Distillation Unit
To exami ne pumparound return temperatures:
In the Data Browser, click the Pumparounds folder for CRUDE.

The Pumparounds Results sheet appears:
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 3
Examining the Product Streams
To revi ew the stream resul ts for the crude tower products:
In the Data Browser, click the Stream Results form for CRUDE.

The Blocks CRUDE Stream Results Material sheet appears.
To exami ne the resul ts for the fi ve product streams:
Click the first Streams field, then select HNAPHTHA.
In the next four Streams fields, select KEROSENE, DIESEL, AGO, and RED-CRD.
To exami ne the 5% and 95% cutpoi nts and product yi el ds:
Using the scrollbar, scroll down until *** Dry Total*** is the top line displayed.
From these resul ts, you can see that the tower produces a l arge quanti ty of the
di esel cut. By speci fyi ng a hi gh ASTM 95% temperature (375 F), you al so
maxi mi ze the amount of heavy naphtha produced.
Versi on 10.1-0
Adding an
Atmospheric
Crude
Distillation Unit
Stream resul ts for the crude tower products appear on the Bl ocks CRUDE
Stream Resul ts Materi al sheet:
Scroll through this form to examine stream information for different products.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 3
Next, you wi l l exami ne and pl ot the ASTM curves for the products. The ASTM
curves are on the Stream Resul ts Vol .% Curves sheet. To pl ot the curves for the
product streams:
In the Data Browser, click the CRUDE Stream Results form.


Click the arrow to the right of the Curve view box, and select ASTM D86.
Select the Volume % column label to select the column.
From the Plot menu, select X-Axis Variable.
Click the HNAPTHA column label to select the column.
Move the mouse to the RED-CRD column. Shift-Click on the column label to select the
HNAPTHA column, the RED-CRD column, and all of the columns in between,
KEROSENE, DIESEL, and AGO.
From the Aspen Plus Plot menu, select Y-Axis Variable.
From the Plot menu, select Display Plot.

Versi on 10.1-0
Adding an
Atmospheric
Crude
Distillation Unit

The ASTM curves should appear as shown:
When you finish viewing this plot, close the Plot window.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 3
At thi s poi nt, you can si mul ate other modes of operati on, such as maxi mi zi ng
kerosene producti on to sati sfy a hi gher demand for jet fuel . You can do thi s by:
Decreasi ng the ASTM 95% temperature for heavy naphtha to 325 F
I ncreasi ng the ASTM 95% temperature for kerosene to about 520 F
I ntroduce another desi gn speci fi cati on by mani pul ati ng the kerosene fl ow
rate
The product fl ow rates resul ti ng from these speci fi cati ons are:
ASTM-D86
5% Temperature F
ASTM-D86
95% Temperature F
Product Flow-Rate
(m bbl/day)
HNAPHTHA 166 325 4.7
KEROSENE 374 520 20.0
DIESEL 502 640 10.9
AGO 578 772 8.5
RED-CRD 674 1358 35.6
The resul ts show that the kerosene producti on goes up at the expense of heavy
naphtha and di esel .
Versi on 10.1-0
Adding an
Atmospheric
Crude
Distillation Unit
Exiting Aspen Plus


file.
Click No.
O

O

O

O
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 4
4 Adding A Vacuum Unit
I n thi s sessi on, you wi l l bui l d on the si mul ati on from the previ ous sessi on and
i nstal l a vacuum uni t to compl ete the process model .
You wi l l :
Add a vacuum tower, steam feed, and product streams to the fl owsheet
Speci fy the steam feed
Speci fy the vacuum uni t
Exami ne the resul ts

Versi on 10.1-0
Adding a
Vacuum
Unit
Vacuum Unit Flowsheet
Fi gure 4.1 shows the process fl owsheet for thi s sessi on. I t contai ns a vacuum uni t
that separates the reduced crude from the atmospheri c tower i nto:
Off-gas
Li ght vacuum gas oi l
Heavy vacuum gas oi l
Resi dual vacuum oi l

Figure 4.1 Process Flowsheet Adding a Vacuum Unit
The vacuum tower has no condenser or reboi l er. Stri ppi ng steam i s fed to the
bottom of the tower. The fol l owi ng tabl e shows the steam fl ow rate and
condi ti ons:
Stream Location Conditions and Flow
VDU-STM Bottom of main fractionator 400 F, 60 psia, 20,000 lb/hr
The furnace operates at a pressure of 2.03 psi a, and provi des an overfl ash of
0.6%. The overfl ash i s bypassed to the tower furnace.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 4
The tower has two pumparound ci rcui ts. The fol l owi ng tabl e shows thei r
l ocati ons and speci fi cati ons:
Pumparound Location Specifications
1 From stage 2 to 1 Flow: 20,000 bbl/day Duty: -28 MMBtu/hr (estimated)
2 From stage 4 to 3 Flow: 49,000 bbl/day Duty: -80 MMBtu/hr
The duty for the fi rst pumparound i s adjusted so that the top of the tower i s at
150 F.
You wi l l model the tower wi th si x equi l i bri um stages. The l i ght vacuum gas oi l i s
taken out from stage 2 as a total draw. The fl ow i s esti mated at 8,000 bbl /day.
The second pumparound provi des al l the necessary refl ux for the l ower secti on of
the tower. The heavy vacuum gas oi l i s wi thdrawn from stage 4 at 17,000
bbl /day.
Versi on 10.1-0
Adding a
Vacuum
Unit
Starting Aspen Plus
Use the Windows Start menu, or double-click the Aspen Plus icon on your desktop.

Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 4
I f you saved the crude fl owsheet si mul ati on created i n Chapter 3:
I f your saved fi l e crude.bkp appears i n the l i st box:
Select crude.bkp from the list and click OK.

I f your saved fi l e crude.bkp does not appear i n the l i st box:

Navigate to the directory that contains your saved file crude.bkp.
Select crude.bkp from the list of files and click Open.


I f you di d not create the crude di sti l l ati on si mul ati on i n Chapter 3, you can open
the backup fi l e crude.bkp i n the Exampl es fol der.
From the Aspen Plus Startup dialog box, select Open an Existing Simulation. Click
OK.


Select crude.bkp and click Open.



Aspen Plus displays the graphical flowsheet for the CRUDE run.
Versi on 10.1-0
Adding a
Vacuum
Unit
Before you create a new run addi ng the vacuum uni t, you wi l l create and save a
copy of CRUDE wi th a new Run I D, VACUUM. Then you can make modi fi cati ons
under thi s new Run I D.

In the Filename box, enter the new filename VACUUM.

file.
Click No.

The current run ID, VACUUM, now appears in the titlebar.
To update the ti tl e for thi s run:

Close the window.

The graphi cs workspace i s now acti ve and ready for you to add to the exi sti ng
fl owsheet.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 4
Adding a Vacuum Tower to the Flowsheet
You are ready to add the vacuum tower and steam feed to the fl owsheet. To make
space for the new tower:
From the View menu, select Zoom Out.
Drag a region around the entire flowsheet.
Press and hold the left mouse button within the region and drag the flowsheet to the
left, as shown in Figure 4.2.
Next, you wi l l pl ace and connect the vacuum uni t on the fl owsheet to create the
process fl owsheet i n Fi gure 4.2. I f you need to revi ew how to create a graphi cal
si mul ati on fl owsheet, see Getting Started Building and Running a Process Model,
Chapter 2.
Figure 4.2 The Vacuum Unit
Versi on 10.1-0
Adding a
Vacuum
Unit
Click the Column tab in the Model Library.
Select the unit operation model, PetroFrac, to place in your process flowsheet.
I n thi s exerci se, you wi l l sel ect the PetroFrac i con VACUUM1F.
Click and hold down the mouse button on the PetroFrac icon CDU10F, and drag it to
the Process Flowsheet window. Release the mouse button when it is in the desired
location.
Place the VACUMM1F icon in the flowsheet, as shown in Figure 4.2. Name the block
VDU.
To increase the size of the icon, hold down the Shift key, then press the + key.
Connect, move, and name the streams, as shown in Figure 4.2, using the port
information below for guidance.
Stream ID Port Name
RED-CRD Main Column Feed
VDU-STM Main Column Feed
OFF-GAS Vapor Distillate from Main Column
LVGO Side Product from Main Column
HVGO Side Product from Main Column
RESIDUE Bottoms Product from Main Column


The Flowsheet complete dialog box appears.
Click OK.

The Input form for stream VDU-STM appears.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 4
Specifying the Steam Feed
Use the I nput form for stream VDU-STEAM to speci fy the steam feed to the
mai n col umn.
Enter, or use List to select, the following stream conditions. (Be sure to check the
prompts to see which fields are List fields.):
Temp 400 F
Pres 60 PSI
The I nput form for VDU-STM i s compl ete:

The Blocks VDU Setup Configuration sheet appears.
Versi on 10.1-0
Adding a
Vacuum
Unit
Specifying the Vacuum Unit
Use the Bl ocks VDU Setup form to speci fy the mai n col umn confi gurati on.
On the Configuration sheet, specify:

Number of stages 6
Condenser None-Top pumparound
Reboiler None-Bottom feed

The Setup Streams sheet appears.
Enter the following feed locations and connections:

State Convention
RED-CRD 6 Furnace
VDU-STM 6 On-Stage
The Furnace feed conventi on attaches a furnace to stage 6. Thi s furnace i s sol ved
si mul taneousl y wi th the vacuum tower.
Enter the following product location, phase, and rate specifications:

Stage Phase Flow
LVGO 2 Total liquid 8000 bbl/day (estimate)
HVGO 4 Liquid 17000 bbl/day
LVGO i s a total l i qui d draw from stage 2. The fl ow rate you enter i s an esti mate
onl y.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 4
The Setup Streams sheet i s compl ete:

The Setup Pressure sheet appears.
Click the View field and select Pressure profile.

You wi l l speci fy the pressure profi l e by enteri ng stage numbers and
correspondi ng pressures on thi s form.
In the Pressure profile section of this form, change the pressure units to mmHg.
Enter the following values:

Stage 1 Pressure 60 mmHg
Stage 6 Pressure 70 mmHg
The Setup Pressure sheet i s compl ete.

The Setup Furnace sheet appears.
Versi on 10.1-0
Adding a
Vacuum
Unit
Select the Single Stage Flash with liquid runback as the Furnace type.
Specify a StdVol Fractional overflash of 0.006 and a Furnace pressure of 2.03 psi.
The si ngl e stage fl ash wi th l i qui d runback opti on model s the furnace as a si ngl e-
stage fl ash wi th the overfl ash from the fl ash zone now bypassed to the furnace.
The Setup Furnace sheet i s compl ete:

The Pumparounds Object Manager appears.
Select New.

Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 4

The Blocks VDU Pumparounds P-1 form appears.
To specify P-1, enter, or use List to select, the following specifications:

Draw stage 2
Return stage 1
StdVol Flow 20000 bbl/day
Heat duty -28.6 MMBtu/hr
The Pumparounds P-1 form i s compl ete:
In the Data Browser window, click the Pumparounds folder.

The Pumparound Object Manager appears.
Select New.

Versi on 10.1-0
Adding a
Vacuum
Unit
Enter, or use List to select, the following specifications for P-2:

Draw stage 4
Return stage 3
StdVol Flow 49000 bbl/day
Heat duty -80.0 MMBtu/hr
The Pumparounds P-2 form i s compl ete:

You have compl eted al l requi red PetroFrac speci fi cati ons. However, i n thi s
sessi on you have a desi gn speci fi cati onthe temperature speci fi cati on for the top
of the tower.
Click Cancel.
Click the Blocks VDU Design Specs folder.

The Design Specs Object manager appears.
Click New.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 4

The Blocks VDU Design Specs 1 Specifications sheet appears.
Enter, or use List to select, the following specifications:

Type Stage temperature
Target 150
Stage 1
Click Next.

The Blocks VDU Design Specs 1 Vary sheet appears.
Click on the arrow to the right of the Type box, and select Pumparound duty from the
list.
Select P-1 as the Pumparound name.

The desi gn speci fi cati on i s compl ete.
Close the window.

You have entered al l the speci fi cati ons for the vacuum uni t.

Versi on 10.1-0
Adding a
Vacuum
Unit

si mul ati on. When the cal cul ati ons fi ni sh, the message Results Available i n the
status bar at the bottom of the mai n wi ndow.
messages.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 4
Thi s run produces a wi de vari ety of si mul ati on resul ts. You wi l l exami ne
si mul ati on resul ts for the vacuum tower that i ncl ude:
Col umn profi l es
Pumparound resul ts
TBP curves
Stream resul ts
Col umn profi l es are on the VDU Profi l es sheet. To exami ne col umn profi l es:
Click the VDU block icon to select it.
Select Results.

The Blocks VDU Results Summary form appears on the screen.
Click the Profiles form in the Data Browser.

Versi on 10.1-0
Adding a
Vacuum
Unit
Thi s form shows that the si mul ati on cal cul ated a bottom temperature above 790
F. I f thi s i s hi gher than you want, you can reduce the tower pressure i n a l ater
si mul ati on case. Loweri ng the tower pressure al so affects the gas oi l yi el d.
The pumparound resul ts are on the VDU Pumparound Resul ts sheet. To exami ne
these resul ts:
In the Data Browser, click the Pumparounds folder.

The Pumparounds Results sheet appears, displaying pumparound results:
Close the window.

Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 4
Next you wi l l pl ot the TBP curve for streams LVGO, HVGO, and RESI DUE. The
True Boi l i ng Poi nt curves appear on the Stream Resul ts Vol .% Curves sheet. To
pl ot TBP curves:
In the Data Browser, click the VDU Stream Results form.


Plot the ASTM curves for streams LVGO, HVGO, and RESIDUE following the same
steps as in Chapter 3, Plotting Distillation Curves.
The si mul ati on shows a good separati on between the gas oi l s and resi due.
However, the separati on between the l i ght and heavy gas oi l s i s rather sl oppy.
Close the Plot window.

Versi on 10.1-0
Adding a
Vacuum
Unit
Examining Stream Results
Next, you wi l l revi ew the stream resul ts.
Click the Material tab.
Click the horizontal scrolling arrow at the bottom left of the form until the RESIDUE
stream appears.
Click the scrolling arrow at the bottom right of the form to scroll through the form and
examine the results for the RESIDUE stream.
You can revi ew the cal cul ated fl ows and properti es of the stream.
To examine the calculated API gravity for this stream, click the scrolling arrow at the
bottom left of this form until the API Gravity row appears.
Click the horizontal scrolling arrow at the bottom left of the form until the LVGO stream
appears.
The cal cul ated val ue for LVGO product rate i s di fferent from the speci fi ed val ue
of 8000 bbl /day. Si nce you speci fi ed a total draw, Aspen Pl us treated the speci fi ed
val ue as an i ni ti al guess. The fi nal val ue i s the one correspondi ng to the total
draw from the stage.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 4
Exiting Aspen Plus

Aspen Plus displays a dialog box asking if you want to save your simulation.
In the dialog box, select Yes to save the simulation.

file.
Click No.
O

O

O

O
Versi on 10.1-0
Adding a
Vacuum
Unit
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 5
5 Displaying Petroleum
Stream Properties
I t i s i mportant to moni tor certai n petrol eum properti es such as sul fur content,
PNA composi ti on, octane number, fl ash poi nt, metal s content, and pour poi nt
when model i ng refi nery operati ons. Frequentl y, operati ng parameters are
adjusted i n order to achi eve a desi red product qual i ty, expressed i n terms of
these petrol eum properti es.
These properti es are often avai l abl e as part of the assay data for a crude feed.
Aspen Pl us enabl es you to enter these data as property curves. Once you enter
these curves, Aspen Pl us can cal cul ate these properti es for any fl owsheet stream.
You can use the cal cul ated stream properti es as col umn speci fi cati ons, access
them i n Fortran bl ocks, use them i n opti mi zati on constrai nts, and so on.
I n thi s sessi on, as an exampl e, you wi l l i ncl ude sul fur content i n your model .
You wi l l :
Add a sul fur curve for each of the two crude oi l s
Sel ect opti ons for the property sul fur
Defi ne a property set for the sul fur content
Exami ne si mul ati on resul ts

Versi on 10.1-0
Displaying
Petroleum
Stream
Properties
Starting Aspen Plus
Use the Windows Start menu, or double-click the Aspen Plus icon on your desktop.

Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 5
I f you saved the crude fl owsheet si mul ati on created i n Chapter 4:
I f your saved fi l e vacuum.bkp appears i n the l i st box:
Select vacuum.bkp from the list and click OK.

I f your saved fi l e vacuum.bkp does not appear i n the l i st box:

Navigate to the directory containing your saved file vacuum.bkp.
Select vacuum.bkp from the list of files and click Open.


I f you di d not create the vacuum uni t si mul ati on i n Chapter 4, you can open the
backup fi l e vacuum.bkp i n the Exampl es fol der.
From the Aspen Plus Startup dialog box, select Open an Existing Simulation, then
click OK.


Select vacuum.bkp and click Open.



Aspen Plus displays the graphical flowsheet for the VACUUM run.
Versi on 10.1-0
Displaying
Petroleum
Stream
Properties
Before you create a new run addi ng sul fur content speci fi cati ons, you wi l l create
and save a copy of VACUUM wi th a new Run I D, PPROP. Then you can make
modi fi cati ons under thi s new Run I D.

In the Filename box, enter the new filename PPROP.

file.
Click No.

The current run ID, PPROP, now appears in the titlebar.
To update the ti tl e for thi s run:

Close the window.

Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 5
Adding Sulfur Content Data
I n Chapter 1 you defi ned and bl ended two crude oi l s, OI L-1 and OI L-2. Now you
wi l l enter the sul fur content (i n wei ght percent) of these oi l s i nto your si mul ati on.
From the Data menu, select Components.

The Assay/Blend and the Petro Characterization folders are revealed.
Expand the Assay/Blend folder.

The folders for the blend, MIXOIL, and the two assays, OIL-1 and OIL-2, that were
created are revealed.
Expand the OIL-1 folder.

The Basic Data, Property Curves, and Results form are revealed.
Click on the Property Curves form.

The Assay/Blend Property Curves form for OIL-1 appears.
Click the Property type field, and select SULFUR from the list.
In the Bulk value field, enter 2.3.
In the Mid percent distilled and Property value fields, enter the following sulfur content
percentage values for OIL-1:
Mid percent distilled Property value (wt% sulfur)
2.0 0.0
5.0 0.01
10.0 0.013
20.0 0.05
30.0 1.15
40.0 1.62
45.0 1.90
50.0 2.15
Continued
Versi on 10.1-0
Displaying
Petroleum
Stream
Properties
Mid percent distilled Property value (wt% sulfur)
60.0 2.54
70.0 3.0
80.0 3.7
The Assay/Bl end Property Curves form for OI L-1 i s compl ete:
To add sul fur content percentages for OI L-2:
In the Data Browser, expand the OIL-2 folder.

The Basic Data, Property Curves, and Results form are revealed.
Click the Property Curves form.

The Assay/Blend Property Curves form for OIL-2 appears.
Click the Property type field, and select SULFUR from the list.
In the Bulk value field, enter 2.5.
Enter the following sulfur content percentage values for OIL-2:

Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 5
Mid-Pct Prop. Value
2.0 0.0
5.0 0.01
10.0 0.015
20.0 0.056
30.0 1.3
40.0 1.7
45.0 2.0
50.0 2.3
60.0 2.7
70.0 3.2
80.0 3.8
The Assay/Bl end Property Curves form for OI L-2 i s compl ete.
Versi on 10.1-0
Displaying
Petroleum
Stream
Properties
Selecting Options for the Sulfur Property
For a petrol eum property, you can sel ect cal cul ati on opti ons such as the bl endi ng
and extrapol ati on methods.
Now you wi l l sel ect opti ons for the sul fur property.
In the Data Browser, expand the Petro Characterization folder.

The Generation and Property Methods folders, and Analysis Options and Results
forms are revealed.
Click the Analysis Options form.
Click the Blend Options tab.

The Components Petro Characterization Analysis Options Blend Options sheet
appears.
Enter the following data for the Property and Blend method fields:
Property SULFUR
Blend Method Mass
By defaul t, Aspen Pl us wi l l extrapol ate to the 0 and 100% poi nts, i f these val ues
are mi ssi ng from the curve.
The Petro Characteri zati on Anal ysi s Opti ons form i s compl ete:
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 5

Versi on 10.1-0
Displaying
Petroleum
Stream
Properties
Adding the Sulfur Property
I n order to i ncl ude i n the report the sul fur property you just defi ned, you must
create a Property Set.
From the Data menu, select Properties.
Click the Prop-Sets folder.

The Prop-Sets Object Manager appears.
Select New.
In the dialog box, click OK to accept the default name, PS-1.
Click OK.
Click the Search button.
In the Search Physical Properties dialog box, type Sulfur in the field and click the
Search button.
Select Sulfur content from the list of Physical property names.
Click the Add button.
Click OK.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 5

SULFUR now appears as a selected Physical Property on the Prop-Set form.
Click the Qualifiers tab.

Versi on 10.1-0
Displaying
Petroleum
Stream
Properties
In the Water basis field, select Dry from the list.

The Properti es Prop-Sets PS-1 form i s compl ete:

Now you wi l l add the SULFUR Property Set to the stream property l i st.
From the Data menu, expand the Setup folder.
Click the Report Options form.
Click the Stream tab.

The Setup Report Options Stream sheet appears.
Click the Property Sets button.
Move PS-1 from the Available property sets area to the Selected property sets area
using the > button.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 5
Click the Close button.

The Report Opti ons form i s now compl ete.

Versi on 10.1-0
Displaying
Petroleum
Stream
Properties

messages.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 5
Examining Results
To revi ew the stream resul ts for the crude tower products:
Click the Check Results button on the Control Panel.

The Results Summary Run-Status form appears and indicates that the calculations
were completed normally.
To exami ne the stream resul ts:
Click the first Results Summary Streams form.

The Blocks Results Summary Streams Material sheet appears.
To exami ne the resul ts for the fi ve product streams:
Click the first Streams field, select HNAPHTHA.
In the next four Streams fields, select KEROSENE, DIESEL, AGO, and RED-CRD.
Click the vertical scroll bar until you reach the SULFUR results.

The Results Summary Streams form displays sulfur content:
Versi on 10.1-0
Displaying
Petroleum
Stream
Properties
As expected, the sul fur content of the heavi er products, such as RED-CRD, i s
hi gher than the sul fur content for the l i ghter products, such as HNAPHTHA. By
fol l owi ng the same procedure descri bed i n thi s secti on, you can i ncorporate other
petrol eum stream properti es i nto your model and track thei r di stri buti on
throughout the fl owsheet.
Versi on 10.1-0
Chapter 5
Leaving Aspen Plus


file.
Click No
O

O

O

O
Versi on 10.1-0
Displaying
Petroleum
Stream
Properties
Model i ng Petr ol eum Pr ocesses A-1
Versi on 10.1-0
Appendix A
A Connecting to the
Aspen Plus Simulation
Engine
I f ei ther of the fol l owi ng condi ti ons exi st, you wi l l be prompted to speci fy the host
computer for the Aspen Pl us si mul ati on engi ne after you start the Aspen Pl us
User I nterface:
The si mul ati on engi ne i s not i nstal l ed on your PC.
The si mul ati on engi ne i s i nstal l ed on your PC, but the Acti vator securi ty
devi ce i s not connected to your PC.
I n these cases, the Connect to Engi ne di al og box appears.
Click the Server Type list box and select the type of host computer for the simulation
engine.
I f you choose Local PC as the server for the si mul ati on engi ne, you do not need to
enter any more i nformati on i nto the di al og box.
Click OK to continue.
I f you choose UNI X host, OpenVMS host, or Wi ndows NT server as the server for
the si mul ati on engi ne:
Enter the node name of the computer on which the Aspen Plus simulation engine will
execute.
Enter your User Name, Password, and Working Directory, and click OK.
When the network connection is established, a message box appears saying
Connection Established.
A-2 Model i ng Petr ol eum Pr ocesses
Versi on 10.1-0
Connecting
to the
Aspen Plus
Simulation
Engine
I f the Connecti on Establ i shed message does not appear, see your Aspen Pl us
system admi ni strator for more i nformati on on network protocol s and host
computers for the Aspen Pl us si mul ati on engi ne.
O O O O

Petroleum Basics For Beginners

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Petroleum Basics For Beginners

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Modeling Petroleum

, Aspen Custom Model er

, Bi oProcess Si mul ator (BPS)

, the Pl antel l i gence l ogo

, and the aspen l eaf l ogo

are ei ther regi stered trademarks, or trademarks of Aspen

are trademarks of Koch Engi neeri ng Company, I nc.

i s a trademark of Rai nbow Technol ogi es, I nc.

Enter assay data for two crude oi l s

Bl end the crude oi l s to produce the crude feed

Generate pseudocomponents for the bl end

Heavy naphtha (HNAPHTHA)

Di esel (DI ESEL)

Atmospheri c gas oi l (AGO)

Reduced crude (RED-CRD)

Li ght vacuum gas oi l (LVGO)

Heavy vacuum gas oi l (HVGO)

Asphal ti c resi due (RESI DUE)

From your Windows desktop, click Start, then select Programs.

In the toolbar, click Next.

Speci fy a ti tl e for your si mul ati on

StdVol fl ow basi s for al l fl ow i nputs

Free-water cal cul ati ons

Enter the component IDs and component names shown below:

In the next Component ID field, type OIL-1.

Click the Next button.

In the API gravity field, enter 31.4.

Click the Light Ends tab.

Click the Gravity/UOPK tab.

Click the Next button.

In the API field, enter 34.8.

Click the Light Ends tab.

Click the Gravity/UOPK tab.

Click the Next button.

To specify a blend, select Modify assay/blend specifications.

Enter MIXOIL as the ID.

Select BLEND as the Type.

Click the first Assay ID field and select OIL-1.

In the StdVol Fraction field, enter 0.20.

Click the next Assay ID field and select OIL-2.

In the StdVol Fraction field, enter 0.80.

Click the Next button.

Select the Specify options for generating pseudocomponents.

Enter CRUDE as the new ID, and click OK.

Click the Assay/Blend ID field and select MIXOIL.

Click the Next button.

Select Go to Next required input step, and click OK.

In the Required Assay Data Analysis/Pseudocomponent Generation Input Complete

Click the Check Results button on the Control Panel.

Expand the Components folder.

Expand the Petro Characterization folder.

Click the OIL-1 folder to expand it.

Click the Curves tab.

Select the Percent distilled column by clicking on the column heading.

From the Plot menu, select Y-Axis Variable.

From the Plot menu, select Display Plot.

Double-click the legend box.

Select True boiling pt (vol).

Edit the Text field to read TBP for OIL-1.

Expand the OIL-2 folder in the Data Browser.

Click the Curves tab.

Select the Percent distilled column.

Select the True boiling pt. (liquid volume) column.