Process Simulation -lab | Muhammad Aftab

Lab # 1
Objective
Introduction to ASPEN HYSYS and Simulation of Mixing and Heater.

Tool Used:
Aspen HYSYS and Aspen Plus ( A+¿ ¿) have been used for simulation.

Theory:
Aspen HYSYS and Aspen Plus are typical tools used in Chemical Engineering courses to Analyze
and optimize Chemical Processes. Automation is linking commercial software to third-party
applications built in Excel-Visual Basic for applications. Chemical process engineers deal with
two types of tasks: designing new processes and analyzing existing ones. Aspen Plus and Aspen
HYSYS, are very robust program packages capable of solving complex tasks related to process
engineering and give the opportunity to make fast and complex calculations
(Valverde et al., 2023)
.

Mixer:
Mixing is the random distribution, into and through one another, of two or more initially
separate phases. A single homogeneous material, such as a tankful of cold water, can be
agitated, but it cannot be mixed until some other material (such as a quantity of hot water or
some powdered solid) is added to it. The term mixing is applied to a variety of operations,
differing widely in the degree of homogeneity of the "mixed" material. Consider, in one case,
two gases that are brought together and thoroughly blended and, in a second case, sand, gravel,
cement, and water tumbled in a rotating drum for a long time. In both cases the final product is
said to be mixed. Yet the products are obviously not equally homogeneous
(CHEMICAL ENGINEERI
. Samples
of the mixed gases--even very small samples--all have the same composition. Small samples of
the mixed concrete, on the other hand, differ widely in composition.

Heater:
Heater, a piece of equipment which is integral to the function of power plants and industry
globally. A heat exchanger is a device that is used for transferring thermal energy between two
or more fluids, between a solid surface and a fluid, or between solid particulates and a fluid, at
different temperatures and in thermal contact. Typical applications imply heating or cooling of a
fluid stream of concern and evaporation or condensation of single- or multicomponent fluid
streams (Bedica, 2012).

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 Process Simulation -lab | Muhammad Aftab

Procedure:
1. To Simulate the mixer on Aspen HYSYS first we have to open a new file and add
component from component list.

2. Go to the Fluid Package from Properties (All items) and select the Peng-Robenson from
Property Package selection.

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3. Select the Simulation from left bottom of the ribbon and add mixer to the main flow
sheet.

4. Double click on the mixer, add the inlet (S1,S2), and outlet (S3) steam.

5. Once the steam is added go to the worksheet and enter the given parameters, like
temperature, pressure, and mass flow rate.

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6. Add the molar composition of the water and Ethanol from composition section.

7. The simulation has been completed. Please navigate to the "Condition" section and
examine the outlet temperature of Steam S3, along with various other computed
parameters.

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 Process Simulation -lab | Muhammad Aftab

Simulation on Aspen Plus:

Procedure:
8. Open the Aspen plus and add new blank simulation file.

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 Process Simulation -lab | Muhammad Aftab

9. Add the components from component list.

10. Select the Peng-Robenson base method from properties<All items<Methods.

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11. Add the mixer from Simulation<Model Palettes and their streams from material.

12. Double click on the Streams S1 and then S2 and set the given parameters.

13. Select Block B1 from navigation plan and set the temperature and pressure.

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14. The simulation is completed go the results summary< streams to check the results.

Simulation of heater on Aspen Plus:

Procedure:
15. Open the Aspen plus and add new blank simulation file.

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 Process Simulation -lab | Muhammad Aftab

16. Add the components from component list.

17. Select the Peng-Robenson base method from properties<All items<Methods.

18. Add the heater from Simulation<Model Palettes and their streams from material.

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 Process Simulation -lab | Muhammad Aftab

19. Double click on the Streams S1 to set the given parameters.

20. Double click on S2 to set the heater duty.

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 Process Simulation -lab | Muhammad Aftab

21. Select Block B1 from navigation plan and set the temperature and pressure of outlet
steam.

22. The simulation is completed go the results summary< streams to check the results.

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 Process Simulation -lab | Muhammad Aftab

Simulation of heater on Aspen HYSYS:

Procedure:
23. To Simulate the mixer on Aspen HYSYS first we have to open a new file and add
component from component list.
24. Go to the Fluid Package from Properties (All items) and select the Peng-Robenson from
Property Package selection.

25. Select the Simulation from left bottom of the ribbon and add heater to the main flow
sheet.

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 Process Simulation -lab | Muhammad Aftab

26. Double click on the mixer, add the inlet and outlet steam.

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 Process Simulation -lab | Muhammad Aftab

27. Once the steam is added go to the worksheet and enter the given parameters, like
temperature, pressure, and mass flow rate.

28. Add the molar composition of the water from composition section.

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 Process Simulation -lab | Muhammad Aftab

29. The simulation has been completed. Please navigate to the "Condition" section and
examine the outlet temperature of Steam S3, along with various other computed
parameters.

Results and Discussion:

In a mixer the set temperatures of inlet streams are 25 ℃ and the calculated outlet temperature
is 19.12 ℃ on Aspen HYSYS. Similarly, the mass flow rate of inlets steams are set to be 10 kg/hr,
and the calculated out one is 20 Kg/hr other parameters has been shown in below table 1.
Table 1: Simulation of mixer on Aspen HYSYS.

In the below table 2 the temperature of inlet stream is 20℃ and the outlet temperature 80℃ .
The calculated heat flow E1 is 2596kj/h.
Table 2: Simulation of heater on Aspen HYSYS.

In a mixer the set temperatures of inlet streams are 25 ℃ on Aspen Plus. Similarly, the mass
flow rate of inlets steams are set to be 10 kmol/hr, shown in below table 1. The calculated
parameters are shown in table 3.

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Table 3: Simulation of mixer on Aspen plus

In the below table 4 the temperature of inlet stream is 25℃ and the outlet temperature 729.07
℃ the outlet stream is in vapor phase. The calculated heat flow S2 is 477691.793 Cal/sec.

Table 4: Simulation of heater on Aspen Plus

Conclusion:
The notable difference between the two software tools, Aspen HYSYS and Aspen Plus, lies in
their simulation results for the same mixing process with identical inlet temperatures and mass
flow rates. While HYSYS predicts an outlet temperature of 19.12°C and does not provide heat
flow information, Aspen Plus forecasts an outlet temperature of 729.07°C with a vapor phase
outlet stream and reports a heat flow (E1) of 2596 kJ/h. This significant discrepancy suggests
variations in the underlying thermodynamic models or assumptions employed by the two
software tools, which can lead to substantial differences in process simulation outcomes,
particularly in terms of temperature and phase behavior.

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References:
1. Bedica, B. (2012). FIRE HEATER ENGINEERING ECONOMICS & DESIGN.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/257728119
2. CHEMICAL ENGINEERING VOLUME 2 FIFTH EDITION Particle Technology and Separation
Processes. (n.d.).
3. Valverde, J. L., Ferro, V. R., & Giroir-Fendler, A. (2023). Automation in the simulation of
processes with Aspen HYSYS: An academic approach. Computer Applications in
Engineering Education, 31(2), 376–388. https://doi.org/10.1002/cae.22589

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