CHEMCADTutorials

CC-BATCH Tutorial
ThistutorialwalksyouthroughtheprocessofusingCCBATCHtosimulateabatch distillationcolumn.

Description of the Problem

Thesimulationyouwillcreateisafivestepbatchdistillationcampaign,as illustratedinFigure1134.Theobjectiveistoseparate100lbmolofmixedpropane, butane,pentane,andhexaneintothreeseparatetanks,producing99%purebutane.

Figure 11-34: The batch distillation flowsheet

Thefollowingaredetailedspecificationsforthisproblem: ThermodynamicSelections K-value:PengRobinson Enthalpy:PengRobinson ColumnSpecifications InitialChargeConditions Temperature:Calculated Pressure:16.7psia VaporFraction:0atbubblepoint Totalamountofcharge: 100lbmol InitialChargeComposition(molefrac) Propane: 0.1 N-Butane: 0.3 N-Pentane: 0.1 N-Hexane: 0.5 No.ofinternalstages:8 No.ofoperations:5 Internalstageholdup:0.01ft3 Condenserholdup:0.1ft3 Condenserpressure:14.7psia Columnpressuredrop:2psia

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OperatingStep1 OperatingStep3 Purpose:Butaneproduction Refluxratio:25 Distillatemolarflowrate:2 Stopwhen:Accumulatormole fractionofNButaneis0.99 Materialstobeaddedatstart:20 lbmolofmolefraction40%N Butane/60%NHexane,atits bubblepointat16.7psia OperatingStep4 Purpose:Pentaneremoval Refluxratio:15 Distillatemolarflowrate:2 Stopwhen:Distillatemolefractionof NHexaneis0.2 Materialstobeaddedatstart:None Purpose:Propaneremoval Refluxratio:5 Distillatemolarflowrate:2 Stopwhen:Distillatemole fractionofNButaneis0.2 Materialstobeaddedatstart: None OperatingStep2 Purpose:Propaneremoval Refluxratio:20 Distillatemolarflowrate:2 Stopwhen:Distillatemolefractionof NButaneis0.985 Materialstobeaddedatstart:None

OperatingStep5 Purpose:Pentaneremoval Refluxratio:25 Distillatemolarflowrate:2 Stopwhen:Bottommolefraction ofNHexaneis0.9998 Materialstobeaddedatstart: None

Overview of the Batch Distillation Process

Theprocessofbuildingtheflowsheetandsimulatingthebatchdistillationinvolves thefollowingsteps: 1. Createanewsimulation. 2. Selectengineeringunits. 3. Drawtheflowsheet. 4. Selectthecomponents. 5. Selectthermodynamicoptions.
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6. Specifypotcharge. 7. Specifythedistillationcolumn. 8. Defineoperatingsteps. 9. Runthesimulation. 10. Reviewtheresultsandprintasneeded.

Creating a New Simulation

Startbycreatinganewsimulationandgivingitaname. Todothis,launchCHEMCADandthenSelectFile>SavetoopentheSaveAs dialogbox.Navigatetothedirectorywhereyouwanttostorethesimulation(tryMy Simulations,locatedunderMyDocuments)andgiveyoursimulationaname, leavingthetypeasCHEMCAD6(*.cc6).ThenclickSavetocreatethefileandreturn tothemainCHEMCADwindow.

Selecting Engineering Units

SelectFormat>EngineeringUnitstoopentheEngineeringUnitSelectiondialog box. TheEnglishunitsoptionisthedefaultandiscurrentlyhighlighted.Tochange theengineeringunitssystem,youwouldclicktheAltSI,SI,orMetricbutton;you couldthenchangeanyoftheindividualunitsaswell.Forthistutorial,youwilluse Englishunits,soclickCanceltoexitthisdialogboxwithoutmakingchanges.

Drawing the Flowsheet

AsdescribedinChapter5,creatingaflowsheetisamatterofplacingUnitOpicons onthescreen,connectingthemwithstreams,andthenaddingvariousgraphical objectstoenhancethedrawing.

Placing UnitOps
BeginbyplacingtheBatchColumnunitonthescreen. 1. OntheAllUnitOpspalette,clicktheBatchcolumntool(seeFigure1135) andthenclickinthemainCHEMCADworkspace.Thebatchcolumnicon appearswhereyouclicked.

Figure 11-35: The icon representing a batch column

2. ClicktheTanktool(seeFigure1136).Ontheworkspace,clicktotherightof thebatchcolumntoplaceatankicon.Thenclickjustbelowthefirsttank,and
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clickagainbelowthesecondtank.Whenyouhaveplacedallthreetankson theflowsheet,rightclicktodeactivatetheTanktool.

Figure 11-36: The tank icon

3. ClicktheProducttool(seeFigure1137)andinsimilarfashion,placethree productarrowsontheflowsheet,eachonebelowandtotherightofatank icon.RightclicktodeactivatetheProducttool.

Figure 11-37: The product icon

Drawing Streams
NowthatalloftheUnitOpsareinplace,selecttheStreamtoolandconnecteach tanksoutlettothenearestproductarrow.Thesearetheonlystreamsthatyouneed forthistutorial.
Note:Inthissimulation,thebatchdistillationcolumntransfersproductstothetanks

baseduponbatchoperationparametersthatyouprovide.Streamconnections betweenthecolumnandthetanksarenotnecessary,andareambiguousgiventhe dynamicnatureofsuchstreams. Rememberthateachstreammuststartataredoutletpointontheupstream UnitOp,andendatablueinletpointonthedownstreamUnitOp.Toavoidhavingto reselecttheStreamtooleachtime,makesurethatassoonasyouclicktocomplete onestream,youmovethecursortothenextlocationandclicktostartthenext stream. Asyoudrawstreams,CHEMCADassignsstreamIDs,justasitassignedUnitOp IDswhenyoucreatedthoseitems.ThelabelsforstreamIDsaredisplayedin squares,todistinguishthemfromtheUnitOpIDsdisplayedincircles. Atthispoint,theflowsheetshouldlooksimilartoFigure1134.

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Selecting Components
Nowyouneedtoidentifythecomponentstobeusedinthissimulation.Startby selectingThermophysical>SelectComponents. Forthisexample,youllchoosecomponentsfromthestandardCHEMCAD database.IntheSelectComponentsdialogbox,findandaddeachneeded component. 1. Holddownthe[CTRL]keyonyourkeyboardasyouclickeachofthe followingcomponentsinturn: 4 6 8 10 Propane NButane NPentane NHexane

2. Clicktherightarrowbutton,locatedtotherightoftheAvailableComponents area,toaddalloftheselectedcomponentstoyoursimulation.TheSelect ComponentsdialogboxshouldnowlooklikeFigure1138.

Figure 11-38: The completed Select Components dialog box

3. SaveyourcomponentselectionsbyclickingOK.

Selecting Thermodynamic Options

Assoonasyouhavefinishedcomponentselection,theThermodynamicsWizard appears.Thistoolcansuggestthermodynamicsoptionstousewiththissimulation. CHEMCADsThermodynamicsWizardworkslikethis: 1. First,itlooksatthecomponentlistanddecideswhatgeneraltypeofmodelis required,i.e.,equationofstate,activitymodel,etc. 2. Second,itlooksattemperatureandpressurerangesthatyouprovideand decideswhichequationwithinagivencategoryisbestatthelimitsofthose ranges.
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3. Ifthemethodisanactivitymodel,theprogramthenlooksattheBIP databasetoseewhichmodelhasthemostdatasetsforthecurrentproblem. ItthencalculatesthefractionalcompletenessoftheBIPmatrix.Ifthatfraction isgreaterthantheBIPthresholdparameter,itusesthechosenactivity method;ifnot,itusesUNIFAC. TheThermodynamicsWizardisnoreplacementforengineeringjudgment.Thistool usesanalgorithmbasedongeneralrules,andisthereforefallible.Thesuggested modelmightnotalwaysbethebestmodelforthesystem. Selectingthermodynamicoptionsbasicallymeansselectingamodelormethod forcalculatingvaporliquid(orvaporliquidliquid)phaseequilibrium(calledtheK valueoption)andselectingamethodormodelforcalculatingtheheatbalance(called theenthalpyoption).Thecommandsfortheseselectionsarelocatedonthe Thermophysicalmenu. CHEMCADhasalibraryofdozensofKvaluemodelswithavarietyofoptions andabout12enthalpymodels.Makingtheproperselectionfromtheselibrariescan sometimesbedifficult.Forthepurposesofthistutorial,assumethatyouwanttouse thePengRobinsonmethodforboththeKvalueandenthalpycalculations.Follow thesestepstoselectyourthermophysicaloptions: 1. AcceptthedefaulttemperatureandpressurerangesintheThermodynamics WizardandclickOK. 2. ClickOKagaintoacceptthewizardssuggestedmethodofSRK. 3. WhentheThermodynamicSettingsdialogboxopens,findtheGlobalK ValueOptionselection,intheupperleftcorneroftheKValueModelstab. ThecurrentsettingisSRK,butforthepurposesofthetutorial,youllneedto selectthePengRobinsonmodel.Clickthedownarrowattherightendofthe selectionboxtoviewalonglistofKvaluechoices,thenclickPeng Robinson.

Figure 11-39: The new K-value selection in the Thermodynamic Settings dialog box

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4. NowclicktheEnthalpyModelstab.ThePengRobinsonmethodhasalready beenenteredastheGlobalEnthalpyOptionsselection;thiswasdone automaticallybecauseyouchosePengRobinsonasyourKvaluemethod. Whileyoudohavetheoptiontooverridethischoice,inthiscaseyoullneed tokeepthePengRobinsonmodel;leaveallsettingsastheyareandclickOK toreturntothemainCHEMCADworkspace. Forthepurposeofthistutorial,thethermodynamicselectionsarenowcomplete.

Note:WhileyouarenotrequiredtousetheThermodynamicsWizard,youshould

knowhowtouseit,ifonlyasastartingpointforyoursimulations.Youcanrevisit thewizardatanytimebyselectingThermophysical>ThermodynamicsWizard.

Specifying Pot Charge

Nowthatyouhavethermodynamicsandcomponentsdefinedforthissimulation, andyouhaveabatchcolumnintheflowsheet,youcandefinethepotchargeforthe column. Youwillspecifythepotchargeaccordingtothefollowingrules: TheTempF,Prespsia,VaporFraction,andEnthalpyMMBtu/hfieldsare thethermodynamicpropertiesofthecharge.AccordingtotheGibbsPhaseRule, onceamixturescompositionisgiven,specifyinganytwoofthesefour thermodynamicpropertieswilldefinetheothertwo.Assuch,definingthe composition,temperature,andpressureforamixtureuniquelydefinesits vaporfractionandenthalpy.Alternatively,definingthecomposition, pressure,andenthalpywilluniquelydefinethemixturestemperatureand vaporfraction. Sinceenthalpiesarecalculatedrelativetoadatum,thecalculationofany givenenthalpyisaninvolvedprocesswhichispronetoerrors.Forthis reason,CHEMCADdoesnotpermityoutoenterenthalpyasaconstraint. Inadditiontodefiningthepotcomposition,youmustdefineexactlytwoof thefollowingproperties:temperature,pressure,andvaporfraction.Thetwo variablesthatyouspecifywilldisplayasredtext,whilethethirdvariable andthevalueenthalpywillbedisplayedinblackwhenyouflashthecharge. TheTotalflowunitandCompunitfieldsworktogethertoprovideavariety ofwaystodefinechargecomposition.Iftheselectedcompunitismole,mass, orvolumefraction(eithergloballyorlocally),thentheTotalflowunit selectionisavailable.Iftheselectedcompunitisanamountoption,thenthe totalchargebecomesthesumofthecomponentquantities,andtheTotal flowunitselectionisnotavailable. IftheCompunitfieldselectionisanamountunit(asopposedtoafractional unit),thenthecomponentchargevaluesareautomaticallyaddedasyou enterthem.ThecurrentsumisdisplayedintheTotalflowfield.
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YoucanclicktheFlashbuttonatanytimetoperformaflashcalculation usingthecurrentlyspecifiedcompositionandthermodynamicproperties. Thisenablesyoutoobtainflashcalculationsquicklyandwithoutleavingthe dialogbox. Fractionsthatdonotaddupto1.0areautomaticallynormalizedwhenyou eitherclickFlashorexitthedialogbox.

Withtheserulesandbehaviorsinmind,enterthedataforyourpotcharge: 1. DoubleclickthebatchcolumntoopentheEditBatchChargedialogbox.

Figure 11-40: The Edit Batch Charge dialog box

2. InthePrespsiafield,type16.7,thenpress[TAB]andtype0intheVapor Fractionfield.
Note:Itsimportantthatyouactuallytypea0overtheexisting0entryintheVapor

Fractionfield.ThistellsCCBATCHthatyouarechoosingtospecifyavapor fraction. 3. IntheCompunitfield,selectmolefrac.Youcannowtypeavalueof100in theTotalflowfield. 4. Type0.1inthePropanefield,andtheninsimilarfashion,typethefollowing numbersinthecorrespondingfields: NButane:0.3 NPentane:0.1 NHexane:0.5

5. ClickOKtosavethischargeinformationandcontinue.

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Specifying the Distillation Column

Whenyouhavespecifiedthepotcharge,CCBATCHdisplaystheBatchDistillation Columndialogbox.

Figure 11-41: The Batch Distillation Column dialog box

MakethefollowingentriesontheGeneraltabofthisdialogbox: Numberofstages:8 Numberofoperationsteps:5 Stageholdup:.01 Condenserholdup:1 Condpressure:14.7 Colmpresdrop:2

Whenyouhaveenteredtheseparameters,clickOKtosavethedataand continue.

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Defining the Operating Steps

Whenyouhavecompletedtheinitialcolumnspecification,theBatchOperation Parametersdialogboxappears.

Figure 11-42: The Batch Operation Parameters dialog box

Inthisdialogbox,youlldefinetheparametersforeachoperatingstepofthe batchcampaign.Beforeyoubegin,youneedtounderstandhowCCBATCHhandles tankassignments. TheProductassignmentfieldsidentifytheaccumulatortowhichaproductor decantstreamwillbesent.Youcanusethisoptionevenifyoudonotplacetankson theflowsheet;simplydesignatingaUnitOpIDnumberissufficient.Inthiscase,its importantthatyoudesignateaUnitOpIDthatisnotalreadyinuse. SinceCCBATCHpermitsvaporliquidliquiddistillation,theremaybetwo liquidphasesinthecondenser,possiblygivingrisetodecantingofonephaseorthe other.TheDistillateTank#fieldentryrepresentsthetankthataccumulatesthe distillate.TheDecanterTank#fieldentryrepresentsthetankthataccumulatesthe decantedliquid,ifany.

Operating Step 1
Foroperatingstep1,makethefollowingentriesintheBatchOperationParameters dialogbox: ChangetheStartupoptionfieldto1Startwithtotalreflux. IntheProductassignmentarea,enter2intheDistillatetank#field. IntheFirstspecvaluefield,enter5asthevalueoftherefluxratio. IntheSecondspecvaluefield,enter2.

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IntheOperationstepstopoptionsarea,settheStopwhenoptiontoDistillate, settheMeasuredvariableoptiontoMolefraction,andenter0.2intheStop valuefield.IntheComponentfieldthatnowappears,select2NButane. IntheMin.runtimefield,enter0.5.

Whenyouhavemadetheseentries,clickOKtomoveontothenextoperating step.

Operating Step 2
Foroperatingstep2,makethefollowingentriesintheBatchOperationParameters dialogbox: Enter2intheDistillatetank#field. Enter20intheFirstspecvaluefieldand2intheSecondspecvaluefield. StoptheoperationwhenthemolefractionofNButaneinthedistillateis 0.985.

Whenyouhavemadetheseentries,clickOKtomoveontothenextoperating step.

Operating Step 3
Followthesestepsforoperatingstep3: 1. MakethefollowingentriesintheBatchOperationParametersdialogbox: Enter3intheDistillatetank#field. Enter25intheFirstspecvaluefieldand2intheSecondspecvaluefield. StoptheoperationwhenthemolefractionofNButaneinthe accumulatoris0.99.

2. ClicktheAdditionalSettingstab.Hereyouwillspecifytheadditionof20 molesofmixturetothepot,withacompositionof40%butaneand60% hexane.ChecktheAddmaterialtopotboxandthenclickOKtobringupthe EditBatchChargedialogbox. 3. InthePrespsiafield,type16.7,thenpress[TAB]andtype0intheVapor Fractionfield. 4. Enterthefollowingcompositionsettings: SettheCompunitfieldtomolefrac. Enter0.6intheNButanefield. Enter0.4intheNHexanefield. Enter20intheTotalflowfield.

5. ClickOKtocontinuetothenextoperatingstep.

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Operating Step 4
Foroperatingstep4,makethefollowingentriesintheBatchOperationParameters dialogbox: Enter4intheDistillatetank#field. Enter15intheFirstspecvaluefieldand2intheSecondspecvaluefield. StoptheoperationwhenthemolefractionofNHexaneinthedistillateis0.2. IntheMin.runtimefield,enter0.5.

Whenyouhavemadetheseentries,clickOKtomoveontothefinaloperating step.

Operating Step 5
Foroperatingstep5,makethefollowingentriesintheBatchOperationParameters dialogbox: Enter4intheDistillatetank#field. Enter25intheFirstspecvaluefieldand2intheSecondspecvaluefield. StoptheoperationwhenthemolefractionofNHexaneintheresidual chargeatthebottomofthecolumnis0.9998. IntheMin.runtimefield,enter0.5.

Whenyouhavemadetheseentries,clickOKtocontinue.

The Run Time Information Dialog Box

Atthecompletionofthelastoperatingstep,theRunTimeInformationdialogbox displays.Here,youcanchoosewhichvariableswillbeplottedwhenyourunthe simulation.

Figure 11-43: The Run Time Information dialog box

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Forthisexample,thedefaultdisplayaplotofdistillatemolefractionsforall fourcomponentsiswhatyouwant,soclickOKtobringuptheBatchDistillation menu.

Figure 11-44: The Batch Distillation menu

Thismenuprovidesaccesstotheentryscreensforalldefinedoperationsteps,as wellasoptionsforinserting,deleting,andcopyingoperationsteps.Youmightwant toreviewtheoperatingstepsandverifyyourentriesbeforerunningthesimulation. Whenyouarefinished,clicktheExitbuttontoclosethemenu.

Running the Simulation

Torunthesimulation,clicktheRunAlltoolbarbutton.CCBATCHfirstchecksthe inputdataforerrorsoromissions.Youmayseethefollowingtypesofmessages: Errormessagesmustbefixedbeforethesimulationcanproceed.Under specificationofthebatchcolumnwouldbeanexampleofthistypeoferror. Warningmessagesareusuallyinputomissions,whichmayormaynotcause problemsuponexecution.Thesearenonfatalerrorsthatdonotnecessarily needtobecorrectedpriortosimulation.

Assumingthatyoucorrectlyspecifiedthepotchargeandsubsequentoperation steps,youshouldseenomessages;theprogramwillproceeddirectlytothe calculation. Youwillseethedistillatemolefractionsplottedonthescreeninaplotwindow. Eachtimetheprogramproceedstothenextoperatingstep,anewplotwindowwill open,alongwithanewtabatthebottomofthemainCHEMCADworkspace. Duringtherun,onlythecurrentstepsplotisvisible.Whenthesimulationis finished,thedynamicplotwillquitscrollingandaRunfinishedmessagewillappear atthefarleftendoftheCHEMCADstatusbar. Aftertherun,youcanviewtheplotforaparticularoperatingstepbyclicking thecorrespondingtabatthebottomoftheCHEMCADworkspace.Tocloseany plotstab,clicktheClosebutton(markedwithanX)onthetab.Tocloseallofthe plottabsatthesametime,selectWindow>CloseAllCharts.

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Reviewing and Printing Results

Oncethesimulationiscomplete,youcanreviewtheresultsinteractivelybefore printingahardcopy.ThecommandsneededtodothisarelocatedintheReportand Plotmenus.

Plotting the Results

Forbatchcalculations,themostconvenientwaytoexaminetheoutputistoplotthe results.Todothis,clickyourbatchcolumnUnitOpandthenselectPlot>Dynamic Plots>BatchColumnHistory. ThisbringsuptheBatchColumnPlotsdialogbox.Fromhere,youcangeneratea plotthatencompassestheentirecampaign.Forexample,youcanfollowthesesteps toplotdistillatemolefractionsacrossalloperatingsteps: 1. InthePlotvariablefield,selectthe0Molefractionsoption. 2. IntheOfthefield,selectthe3Distillateoption. 3. IntheComponentstoplotarea,usethefirstfourfieldstoselectthefour componentsfoundinthedistillate.

Figure 11-45: The completed Batch Column Plots dialog box

4. ClickOKtoviewthecompositeplot,whichshouldresembleFigure1146.

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Figure 11-46: Composite plot showing composition of distillate over time

Revieworprinttheresultsasneeded,andthenclosetheplottabtoreturntothe simulation.

Generating Text Reports

Youcanalsoviewcertainbatchresultsintabularformat.Todothis,selectReport> BatchResults.Asummaryoftheresultsofthissimulationdisplaysinaseparate window.Revieworprinttheresultsasneeded,andthenclosethereportwindowto returntothemainCHEMCADwindow.

Generating a Full Report

TheReportmenuoffersabroadarrayoftextreports,asdescribedinChapter8, OutputandReports.Forthepurposeofthistutorial,assumethatyouwanttoview andprintoutareportwiththefollowinginformation: Operatingstepresults Batchcolumnhistory Finalbatchcolumnholdup

Becauseyouwantareportwithabroadrangeofinformationaboutyour simulation,usetheConsolidatedReportoption. 1. SelectReport>ConsolidatedReporttobringuptheConsolidatedReport menu. 2. ClickBatch/DynamicResultstoopentheBatch/DynamicOptionsdialog box.SelectthefirstthreeoptionsPrintoperationresults,Printhistory,and Printfinalholdups.

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Figure 11-47: The Batch/Dynamic Options dialog box

3. ClickOKtoreturntotheConsolidatedReportmenu. 4. Togeneratethereport,clickCalculateandGiveResults.Thereportdisplays inaseparatewindow,withaformatsuitableforprinting.Youcanedit,save, andprintthereportasneeded. 5. Whenyoufinishreviewingandworkingwiththereport,closethereport windowtoreturntothemainCHEMCADworkspace.

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