Lecture3 Simulation of Waste Incineration in Aspen Plus®

I. Overview of Lecture 3 1.1 What is Aspen Plus®?

1.2 What can Aspen Plus® do?

1.3 Basic operation interface

1. Introduction of Aspen Plus®

1.4 Basic simulation process

of Aspen Plus®

2.1 Background

2. Introduction: 2.2 Feedstock information

Waste incineration case
introduction
2.3 Reaction and equipment condition

3.1 Process description

Lecture 3 3. Introduction:
Simulation of 3.2 Simulation approach
waste incineration Model development
in Aspen Plus®
method 3.3 Introduction to reactors

Step 1: Components input

Step 2: Physical property method and NC

properties settings

Step 3: SIZING block development and

settings
4. Action:
Specific model Step 4: Air input settings
development procedures
Step 5: Stream class uniformity

Step 6: Incineration block development

and settings

Step 7: Running model and check

results
Step 8: Sensitivity analysis

Figure I.1 Overview of Lecture 3

1
II. Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of this lecture, students should be able to carry out the following:
1. Know the basic introduction to Aspen plus®
2. Know the basic operation of Aspen plus®
3. Know how to simulate the waste incineration process
4. Know how to carry out sensitivity analysis

III. Contents
1.Introduction
1.1 What is Aspen Plus®?
Aspen Plus® is the market-leading process simulation and optimisation software
used by the bulk, fine, specialty, and biochemical industries, as well as the
polymer industry for the design, operation, and optimization of safe, profitable
manufacturing facilities. [1]

1.2 What can Aspen Plus® do [1]?

 Ensure model accuracy with best-in-class physical properties
 Monitor safety and operational issues in the plant
 Identify energy savings opportunities and reduce GHG emissions
 Perform economic evaluation to realize savings in the process design
 Improve equipment design and performance
 Optimize processing capacity and operating conditions
 Work more collaboratively with peers with tighter integration with
adjacent products
 Reduce costs and improve product quality and throughput of process
involving solids

1.3 Basic operation interface of Aspen Plus®

Figure 1.1 is a overview of Aspen Plus® interface.
Quick Access Toolbar

Ribbon

Windows Tab

Navigation Pane Specific Settings Interface

Flowsheet Area

Environment Buttons
Model Palette

Simulation Status

2
 Figure 1.1 Overview of Aspen Plus® interface

 Quick access toolbar:

Quick access toolbar includes mostly utilised operation buttons such as
"save", "undo", "next input" and "reset", which brings users convenience to
save time during simulation.
 Ribbon:
Click any of the tabs on the ribbon to access a set of related commands.
These commands are split into groups by common functionality. [1]
 Windows tab:
Click windows tab to switch to different settings interfaces or flowsheets.
 Navigation pane:
Users can locate all the settings of simulation from navigation pane. In
addition, the navigation pane also shows the status of each form. When
input is incomplete, the circle below the folder is red and half-filled. When
input is complete, a blue circle with a white checkmark is visible. Not all
folders have required inputs. [1]
 Flowsheet area:
Users can develop flowsheets in this area for simulation.
 Specific settings interface:
All relevant settings of simulation should be complete in specific settings
interface, such as streams and blocks settings.
 Environment buttons:
Users can change the simulation environment here. Normally, components
input and selection of physical property calculation method are finished in
Properties interface. Flowsheet development as well as streams and blocks
settings are finished in Simulation interface.
 Model palette:
Users can select proper ready-made model blocks to develop flowsheet from
model palette.
 Simulation status:
Display the status of simulation, which reflects simulation progress and
results.

@Relevant tips@

Always remember to click NEXT button when you do not know what to do
next, the system can guide you in this way. The next button is on the top of
the screen or in the Home ribbon.

1.4 Basic simulation process of Aspen Plus®

Normally, a simulation process using Aspen Plus® can be summarised as below.
1. Input components
2. Selection of physical properties calculation method
3
 3. Flowsheet development (including stream information input and specific
settings inside flowsheet model)
4. Running model and examine results
5. Other analysis (for example, sensitivity analysis)

2. Introduction: Waste Incineration Case introduction

2.1 Background
 A waste incineration plant treats municipal solid waste (MSW) collected
from the city.
 Before incineration, MSW goes through pre-treatment to realise size
reduction. A miller is utilised to transform MSW into small pieces.
 Then, the MSW is delivered to an incinerator to be combusted.

Figure 2.1 Diagram of MSW incineration process in this case

2.2 Feedstock information

 The mass flow rate of feed MSW before pre-treatment is 100 kg/sec
and the input flow rate of air used for combustion is 25 kmol/sec.
 Both MSW and air are under the conditions of 25℃ and 1 bar before
entering the combustion system.
 The statistics of proximate and ultimate analysis of the MSW are supplied
as below:

Table 2.1 Proximate analysis data of MSW (weight composition: wt%)

Element Value (wt %)
Moisture 3.29
Fixed Carbon 76.7
Volatile Matter 6.94
Ash 13.07

Table 2.2 Ultimate analysis data of MSW (weight composition: wt%)

Element Value (wt.%)
Carbon 58.93
Hydrogen 7.85
Nitrogen 1.85
Chlorine 1.05
4
 Element Value (wt.%)
Sulphur 1.24
Oxygen 16.01

 The sulphur content inside MSW can all be categorized as organic sulphur.

Table 2.3 Sulphur analysis data of MSW (weight composition: wt%)

Element Value (wt%)
Pyritic 0
Sulfate 0
Organic 100

2.3 Equipment condition

 A multiple roll (hardgrove grindability index: 45) is used to treat the MSW.
The maximum particle diameter after miller is 0.2mm.
 The particle size distribution (PSD) of MSW before treatment is supplied as
below:

Table 2.3 Particle size distribution data of MSW

Lower Upper limit Weight Cumulative
Interval
limit (μm) (μm) fraction weight fraction
1 0 20 0.113236 0.113236
2 20 40 0.0421969 0.155433
3 40 60 0.0599124 0.215345
4 60 80 0.0968293 0.312174
5 80 100 0.145926 0.4581
6 100 120 0.10792 0.56602
7 120 140 0.0523056 0.618326
8 140 160 0.0458657 0.664192
9 160 180 0.0584937 0.722686
10 180 200 0.277315 1

 The temperature of the incinerator is set at 900 ℃ [2], and the pressure is
10 bar [3].

3. Introduction: Model development

3.1 Process description
 As introduced in previous section, the incineration process includes pre-
treatment of MSW and combustion of MSW.
3.2 Simulation approach
 A complete flowsheet of MSW incineration is shown in Figure 3.1.

5
 Figure 3.1 Flowsheet of the whole incineration process

 As can be seen from Figure 3.1, the whole MSW incineration process
consists of these several parts: MSW sizing block, stream conversion, air
introduction, and the incineration block.
 Figure 3.1 is the integrated flowsheet of the whole incineration process.
Sub-flowsheets for MSW pre-treatment (SIZING) (see Figure 3.2) and
MSW incineration (INCINERA) (see Figure 3.4) are developed using
hierarchy blocks.
 The other parts of flowsheet, which are not in the two hierarchy blocks, are
used to realise stream class uniformity (see Figure 3.3).
 For this simulation, different stream classes are utilised because of solids
present in the streams.
 Specific introduction about each part is shown as follows:
1. Pre-treatment
The hierarchy block SIZING includes the pre-treatment of MSW. The
flowsheet (Figure 3.2) of pre-treatment is developed for the sizing process.
A miller is used to grind the MSW into smaller pieces, which realises volume
reduction of waste (See Figure 3.2). This is necessary and advantageous to
promote complete combustion. In this step, particle size distribution (PSD)
data is used to estimate the treatment results of the miller.

Figure 3.2 Flowsheet of the MSW sizing process

6
2. Stream class uniformity
 In this simulation, a uniform stream class process is required. Stream class
define structures for simulation streams when solids are present.[5]
 Solids are carried in substreams, which are characterised as either
conventional or nonconventional components, and may have a particle size
distribution (PSD).[5]
 In this simulation, MSW is not only inputted as nonconventional solids, but
also has a PSD. Consequently, a uniform stream class is necessary to avoid
running errors and to get accurate simulation results.
 Stream class changer is a manipulative block used to change stream class
in Aspen Plus®, which should be configured between two streams with
different stream classes.
 However, no stream class changer exists in reality. It is just a virtual block
used in simulation process [5].
 Seen from Figure 3.3, three stream class changers are configured in this
simulation. The first stream class changer SCC1 is configured before the
Rstoic reactor REMPSD. REMPSD is used to remove the PSD
characteristics data from the streams.
 The second stream class changer SCC2 is configured before MSW stream
entering ININERA block. Similarly, the air input stream needs to pass the
third stream class changer SCC3 before entering INCINERA block. These
two stream changes ensure the same stream classes of MSW and air for
the final combustion process.

Figure 3.3 Stream class uniformity process flowsheet

3. Incineration
 After pre-treatment of MSW and stream uniformity, the incineration process
is simulated using another hierarchy block INCINERA. Figure 3.4 shows
the flowsheet for MSW incineration.

7
 Figure 3.4 Flowsheet of the MSW incineration process

 The treated MSW flows into a RStoic reactor DECOMP, which serves as
decomposition stage of incineration.
 In this step, the MSW is decomposed into conventional chemicals such as
O2, H2, N2, H2O and other chemical components.
 The generated simple chemicals from DECOMP are heated to the specific
combustion temperature by a heater, and go through the flash calculations
in the eventual RGibbs reactor COMBUSTO, which is used to simulate the
eventual combustion process.
 In summary, the specific information about blocks and streams in this
simulation is summarise in Tables 3.1 and 3.2 respectively.

Table 3.1 Equipment block information

Block ID Type Function
MILL MILL Simulate MSW pre-treatment process.
SCC1 ClChng Stream class configuration
SCC2 ClChng Stream class configuration
SCC3 ClChng Stream class configuration
REMPSD1 RStoic Remove characteristic of particle size
distribution(PSD)
DECOMP RStoic Simulate MSW decomposition process.
HEATER HEATER Increase the temperature available for combustion.
COMBUSTO RGibbs Simulate the MSW incineration process.

Table 3.2 Stream information

Stream
Type From To Introduction
ID
MSW Material - MILL MSW input to the miller.
S1 Work MILL - Power utilisation for miller.
The products of MSW pre-
S2 Material MILL SCC1
treatment process.
8
 Stream
Type From To Introduction
ID
The products of MSW pre-
PRE-MSW Material MILL SCC1 treatment process. (With
PSD data)
The products of MSW pre-
MSW-STR Material SCC1 REMPSD treatment process. (With
PSD data)
The products of MSW pre-
MSW-
Material REMPSD SCC2 treatment process.
STR2
(Without PSD data)
The products of MSW pre-
TRT-MSW Material SCC2 DECOMP treatment process. (To
incinerator)
Air input to the
AIR Material - SCC3
incinerator.
Air input to the
AIR-
Material SCC3 DECOMP incinerator. (After stream
COMP
class configuration)
COM- MSW for thermal
Material SCC2 DECOMP
MSW decomposition.
The products of MSW
ATOMIC Material DECOMP HEATER
decomposition.
The products of MSW
ATOMS Material HEATER COMBUSTO decomposition after
heating
The products of
PRODUCT Material COMBUSTO -
incineration process

3.3 Introduction to reactors

 RStoic reactor
RStoic reactor is used to represent reaction when reaction kinetics are
unknown or unimportant.
Rstoic requires stoichiometry reaction and molar extent or conversion to run

 RGibbs reactor
RGibbs reactor utilises the principle of free energy minimisation with phase
splitting to calculate equilibrium.
RGibbs does not require chemical reaction stoichiometry.

4. Action: Specific model development procedures

Step 1: Components input
 Open Aspen Plus® V8.4 and create a blank simulation file. This takes you to
the properties interface tab (Figure S1.2).
9
 Under properties interface tab, chemical components, physical property
method are specified.
 Find the Components option from the navigation panel (Figure S1.2).
 Input the components into the model by typing their chemical formula in
the blank under Component ID column.

Figure S1.1 Create a blank simulation

②
③

Figure S1.2 Input all the components

10
 Click the drop down list of Type column to select the component type of
each component listed in Table S1.1 As shown in Figure S1.3

Figure S1.3 Nonconventional solids components settings

 The MSW and ASH are nonconventional compounds, which cannot be

recognised by Aspen Plus® simulation software.
 The type of components C and S should be changed into Solid (Figure
S1.4). Solids sulphur and carbon are generated in the decomposition stage,
which require special input settings.
 Ultimate, proximate and sulphur analysis are used to define the properties
of MSW and ASH for simulation

Figure S1.4 Input components type of S and C

 In summary, the specific information of input components in this simulation

is shown in Table S1.1.
Table S1.1 Information about input components in this simulation
Component ID Type Component name Alias
MSW Nonconventional
ASH Nonconventional
N2 Conventional NITROGEN N2
O2 Conventional OXYGEN O2
AR Conventional ARGON AR
H2O Conventional WATER H2O
CO Conventional CARBON-MONOXIDE CO
CO2 Conventional CARBON-DIOXIDE CO2
H2S Conventional HYDROGEN-SULFIDE H2S
CL2 Conventional CHLORINE CL2
S Solid SULFUR S
C Solid CARBON-GRAPHITE C
SO2 Conventional SULFUR-DIOXIDE O2S
SO3 Conventional SULFUR-TRIOXIDE O3S
CH4 Conventional METHANE CH4
NH3 Conventional AMMONIA H3N
11
 Component ID Type Component name Alias
H2 Conventional HYDROGEN H2

Step 2: Physical property method and NC properties settings

Physical property method selection

 Click NEXT button to move to the next step or select Methods

interface from navigation pane (see Figure S2.1).
 Select PENG-ROB (Peng Robinson) as the appropriate physical property
calculation method (Figure S2.1).

①
②

Figure S2.1 Selection of physical properties calculation methods

 The specific way to choose correct physical property calculation method can
be summarised in Figure S2.2 below:

Figure S2.2 Property method decision diagram [4]

12
  By clicking NEXT button, Aspen Plus® retrieves the binary interaction
parameters from its database automatically (Figure S2.3).

Figure S2.3 Binary interaction parameters settings

NC properties settings
 The MSW and the ash content are inputted as nonconventional solids in this
simulation. NC properties setting is shown in Figure S2.4.

③
①

Figure S2.4 NC properties settings

 Select MSW on the drop down list of Component

 Click the drop down list of the Enthalpy and Density options to select
proper NC properties model. The models HCOALGEN for enthalpy property
and DCOALIGT for density property are used.
Note: The HCOALGEN and DCOALIGT are all pre-defined calculation
models in Aspen Plus® to evaluate enthalpy and density qualities for
nonconventional solids such as coal, biomass and waste
 Repeat the procedure for ASH.

Step 3: SIZING block development and settings

 Click Simulation button at the left bottom corner of the screen to move to
simulation interface (Figure S3.1).
Flowsheet development
 Aspen Plus® provides ready-made unit model in the model palette. Select
the correct models and use material or work streams to connect them
appropriately.
13
①

Figure S3.1 Flowsheet development

 Click Modify button from ribbon tab, then click the drop-down button of
Stream Results to open the Flowsheet Display Options dialog box.
①

③
④

Figure S3.2 Flowsheet display options settings

 Scroll down and find the options shown in Figure S3.2, uncheck as shown
in Figure S3.2. This gives user the liberty to assign stream/unit operation
names, which is convenient for the user.
 The specific steps to develop flowsheet of SIZING block are summarised
as below:

Hierarchy block development

 Select the User Models tab on the model palette.

14
 Click the model Hierarchy block once and move cusor to the flowsheet

area. The cursor changes from select mode into model configuration

mode .
 Click on the flowsheet area to configure the hierarchy block.
 Enter SIZING as hierarchy block name.
 Right click or press ESC button to leave model configuriation mode. The
cusor returns to the select mode.

② ①

Figure S3.3 Configuration of hierarchy block

Sub-flowsheet development
 Double click the SIZING block and a new empty flowsheet area is
obtained. Here, users can start to develop the sub-flowsheet inside the
SIZING block.
 Click the tab Solids and click on the drop-down arrow of Crusher.
 Select the specific type of miller that is shown in Figure S3.4 and configure
it in the empty flowsheet area.
 Enter MILL as block name.

15
 ④

①
②

Figure S3.4 Configuration of miller

Streams configuration inside SIZING

There are three available types of streams, which are material, heat and work
streams, respectively. Users should select correct streams accordingly. In this
simulation, the information of all the streams are concluded in Table 3.2 (Page
10).
 Select the appropriate stream type by clicking the drop-down arrow of
Material (see Figure S3.5).
 Click the Material button on the left to enter stream configuration mode
(see Figure S3.5).
 Move the cursor towards the flowsheet area.

 User can find two changes, first the cursor changes from to .
Secondly, there are two red arrows connecting with the MILL block.
 Under the stream configuration mode, red arrow indicates that streams are
required here in the equipment block.
 Users have to connect streams to this block in order to run the simulation.
 Blue arrows also exist, which means users can configure optional streams.
 Click the top red arrow of MILL, and the cursor will become .
 Drag the mouse away to some other place and click to finish configuring the
inlet material stream of MILL.
 Enter MSW as input stream name.
 Repeat the same procedure for Outlet stream and enter S2 as stream name.

16
 ③
②

Figure S3.5 Stream configuration mode

Figure S3.6 Development and connection of streams

17
 Stream configuration outside SIZING sub-flowsheet
 Click the Main Flowsheet menu tab (see Figure S3.7) to return the main
flowsheet.
 Enter streams configuration mode, click the left red arrow to set the inlet
stream of SIZING block.
 A new dialog box appears. Select the existing stream MSW (IN).
Note: This stream MSW (IN) refers to the stream MSW inside the
SIZING block.
 The outlet material stream (PRE-MSW) and outlet work stream (POWER)
of SIZING block is developed in a similar way.
①

③ ④

Figure S3.7 Streams settings outside hierarchy block

Stream class settings:

 Click the Stream Class interface under Blocks-SIZING-Setup-Stream
class from navigation pane (see Figure S3.8).
 Change the global stream class from CONVEN to MIXNCPSD by clicking
the drop-down list.
 Click the Streams tab under the same interface in Figure S3.8.
 Select MIXNCPSD as the stream class as shown in Figure S3.9.
 Select the corresponding stream from the Available streams.
 Both S2 and MSW are switched to the Selected streams by clicking ">>"
button.

18
 ②
①


Figure S3.8 Stream class settings - Flowsheet -SIZING

Figure S3.9 Stream class settings - Steams –SIZING

Feedstock information input:

 Move to the main flowsheet.
 Double click on stream MSW to enter input conditions.
 Click NC Solid tab.
 Input the temperature, pressure and flow rate of MSW stream according
to Figure S3.10

19
  Click the bottom drop-down arrows of Component Attribute and
Particle Size Distribution to input the proximate analysis, ultimate
analysis, sulphur analysis and PSD data (see Figures S3.10 and S3.11).

①
④

Figure S3.10 Feedstock information input

20
 Figure S3.11 Feedstock information input - other analysis

Miller settings:
 Move to the SIZING hierarchy block and then double click on the miller
model MILL to input its specifications.
 Select the Multiple roll as the crusher type.
 Input the required Maximum particle diameter as 0.2 mm. The other
settings are all by default (see Figure S3.12).

Figure S3.12 Miller settings

 Enter 45 as the Hardgrove Grindability index for NCPSD under the

Grindability tab (Figure S3.13).
Note: The Hardgrove grindability index indicates the ease of grinding solids
based on physical properties such as hardness, fracture, and tensile
strength.

21
 ①

Figure S3.13 Hardgrove grindability index input

 After this step, users can check the simulation status.

 If the status shows “Required Input Complete”, this indicates that the
minimum required specification has been inputted to run the simulation.
 If the status is red showing “Required Input Incomplete”, users can
click button Check Status or Next to complete relevant input.

Figure S3.14 Simulation status

Step 4: Air input settings:

Flowsheet development:
 Enter streams configuration mode to develop a new stream on main
flowsheet.
 Enter AIR as stream name (see Figure S4.1).
 Double click on AIR to enter the stream conditions (see Figure S4.2).
 Temperature and Pressure are selected as the Flash Type.
 The temperature and pressure of air input are 25 ℃ and 1 bar, respectively.
 The flow rate of air input is 25 kmol/sec.
 The specific composition of air is inputted in the table on the right side,
which is in the form of Mole-Frac.

22
 ②

Figure S4.1 Flowsheet development - AIR

Figure S4.2 Air input settings

23
Step 5: Stream class uniformity:
Flowsheet development

Figure S5.1 Flowsheet development - stream class uniform

 Click Manipulators tab from model palette, then click CIChng model.
 Configure three stream class changers at main flowsheet.
 Enter SCC1, SCC2 and SCC3 as the respective block names.
 Select RStoic model under Reactors tab in the model palette.
 Name this RStoic reactor as REMPSD.
 Right click on stream PRE-MSW and Reconnect Destination.

Figure S5.2 Drop-list for stream reconnection

24
 ①

Figure S5.3 Stream reconnection

 The arrow becomes again. Click the red arrow of SCC1 to reconnect
stream PRE-MSW with SCC1.
 Follow the same procedure to reconnect AIR with SCC3.
 Configure the rest of the streams as shown in Figure S5.1.

New stream class definition:

It is important and necessary that stream class of each material stream entering
the INCINERA block are the same.
For this simulation, the stream classes of TRT-MSW and AIR-COMP are
changed to MIXCINC to avoid errors and inaccurate results.
Aspen Plus® itself has some predefined stream classes, which is shown in Figure
S5.4.[5]

Figure S5.4 Predefined stream classes in Aspen Plus® [5]

However, a kind of new stream class MIXNCNC should be created and definied
by users due to deficiency of existing stream class in this simulation . The
MIXNCNC is utilised as a kind of transitional stream class, which is used by
some streams requiring PSD removal.
MIXNCNC comprises three types of substreams MIXED, NC and NCPSD,
which are different from existing pre-defined stream classes in Aspen Plus®

25
(see Table S5.1). Consequently, the process to define MIXNCNC is just to
select the substreams of MIXNCNC.

Table S5.1 Substream used in this model

Stream type Substreams
CONVEN MIXED
MIXCINC MIXED, CISOLID, NC
MIXNCPSD MIXED, NCPSD
MIXNCNC MIXED, NCPSD, NC

 Click on Stream Class settings interface for main flowsheet under Setup
- Stream Class from navigation pane (see Figure S5.5).
 Click on the Stream Class tab to define the stream class.
 Click the <New> at the bottom of drop-down list.
 A new dialog box appears and input the name of new stream class as
MIXNCNC.
 Select the MIXED, NC, NCPSD substreams and click on the "">"" button
to move them as selected substream (See Figure S5.6).

Figure S5.5 creating a new stream class

26
 Figure S5.6 Substreams of MIXNCNC

Stream class change

 Return to the main flowsheet.
 Right click on the stream that needs to be changed.
 Select Change Stream Class... from drop-down list (Figure S5.7).
 A new dialog box appears and select the correct stream class from drop-
down list.
 The streams class information for streams in within main flowsheet are
shown in Table S5.2.

27
 Figure S5.7 Stream class settings in flowsheet

Table S5.2 Results of stream class in this model

Stream ID Stream type
MSW MIXNCPSD
PRE-MSW MIXNCPSD
MSW-STR MIXNCNC
MSW-STR2 MIXNCNC
TRT-MSW MIXCINC
AIR CONVEN
AIR-COMP MIXCINC

Particle size distribution removal:

Although the stream class of MSW-STR is changed into MIXNCNC, the
stream still contains the particle size distribution data, which is not needed in
the following process.
A Rstoic reactor REMPSD is configured to remove the particle size distribution
data.
 Double click on REMPSD in the main flowsheet to enter block conditions.
 Click the Specifications tab.
 The operation conditions of this reactor are set as 1 bar, 0 cal/sec heat
duty (see Figure S5.8).

28
 Figure S5.8 Settings of stoic reactor REMPSD - Specifications

The Rstoic reactor utilises the reaction shown in equation S5.1 to transform
MSW(NCPSD) to MSW(NC) (see Figure S5.9).

𝑀𝑆𝑊(𝑁𝐶𝑃𝑆𝐷) → MSW(NC) equation (S5.1)

 Click Reactions tab and click New... to develop a new reaction.
 Select MSW (NCPSD) from the drop-down list of Reactants. Enter -1
as coefficient.
 Select MSW (NC) from the drop-down list of Products. Enter 1 as
coefficient.
 Enter the 1 as the Fractional conversion, and select MSW (NCPSD)
as converted component.
 Click Close.

②
①
③

Figure S5.9 Settings of stoic reactor REMPSD- Reactions

29
Step 6: Incineration block development and settings:
Sub-Flowsheet development
 Configure a new hierarchy block, and enter INCINERA as block name.
 Reconect TRT-MSW and AIR-COMP streams to the INCINERA.
 Double click on INCINERA to develop the sub-flowsheet.
 Select RStoic reactor. Enter DECOMP as block name.
 Select heater and enter HEATER as block name.
 Select RGibbs reactor and name as COMBUSTO.
 Connect streams as shown in Figure S6.1
 Return to the main flowsheet.
 Create a new outlet material stream for INCINERA and click on PRODUCT
(OUT) (see Figure S6.2). Name as PRODUCT.

Figure S6.1 Flowsheet development inside INCINERA

Figure S6.2 Stream configuration for PRODUCT

Stream class settings:

 Click the Stream Class interface under Blocks-SIZING-Setup-Stream
class from navigation pane (see Figure S6.3).
 Click Flowsheet tab and change the global stream class into MIXCINC.

30
 ②

③
①

① (a)

(b)
Figure S6.3 Settings of stream class for incineration block

 Under Streams tab, select MIXCINC as stream class,

 Switch all available streams to the “selected streams”. (Figure S6.3)

Decomposition of MSW:
In the incineration sub-flowsheet, MSW is first decomposed using a Rstoic
reactor DECOMP.
Note: An important function of decomposition stage is to convert the MSW into
several simple chemicals such as H2O, H2,O2,N2. These simple chemicals can be
then combusted in the RGibbs reactor.
 Double click on the Rstoic DECOMP
 Enter the operating conditions of DECOMP, which are 25 ℃ and 1 bar.
 The chemical reaction is shown in equation S6.1.

31
 𝑀𝑆𝑊(𝑁𝐶) → aH2 O(MIXED) + bO2 (MIXED) + cN2 (MIXED) +

dS(CISOLID) + eCl2 (MIXED) + fASH(NC) + gC(CISOLID) + (equation

S6.1)
hH2 (MIXED)

 a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h are the stoichiometric coefficients for different products.

Note:
- S and C are generated in solid forms, so CISOLID component type should
be chosen as products for these components (see Figure S6.4).
- Normally, a Fortran calculator block in Aspen Plus® is used to calculate the
specific reaction coefficients in equation (S6.1). However, the reaction
coefficients are given in Table S6.1 for simplicity sake.

②
①

Figure S6.4 Chemical reaction input

Table S6.1 Values of coefficients in equation (S6.1)

Coefficient Number Product Coefficient Value
a H2O 0.00182623
b O2 0.0048387
c N2 0.00063867
d S(CISOLID) 0.00037398
e Cl2 0.00014321
f Ash 0.12639997
g C(CISOLID) 0.04744917
h H2 0.03765966

 Under reactions tab, enter the reactant and products according to equation
(S6.1).
 Enter the coefficients according to Table S6.1.
32
 Click on the Component Attr. tab to define the characteristics of ash
content generated in DECOMP.
Note: Here it is assumed that ash content does not partake in the reaction.
 Set the component attribute (PROXANAL, ULTANAL, SULFANAL) of the
ash content as shown in Figure S6.5a,b&c respectively.

①
②

④
③

(a)

(b)

(c)
Figure S6.5 Component attribute settings of ash content

Heater specification
 Double click the HEATER and input relevant conditions according to Figure
S6.6.

33
 ②

Figure S6.6 Settings of heater

RGibbs reactor Specification

 Enter Pressure and Temperature conditions as shown in Figure S6.7.
 Leave the calculation option as default.

Figure S6.7 Settings of Gibbs reactor

Step 7: Running model and check results:

After all the relevant settings are specified,click NEXT button to run the model.
The system will provide a report about the modelling results in the control panel.
If there are no errors with the model, users can look up specific parameters of
different step in the whole process including the yields of all the products and
so on. If there are errors within simulation, users can refer to the control panel
to view which part of the simulation is affected.
Users can check the CO2 yields in the product stream (PRODUCT), which will
be used to carry out sentivity analysis.

34
①

Figure S7.1 Check the report of simulation

Step 8: Sensitivity analysis:

If the model is operated with no errors, further analysis can be taken place by
Aspen Plus®. There are various model analysis functions which are provided by
the software. Here, sensitivity analysis is introduced.
Create a new case
 Create a new analysis case under Model Analysis Tools - Sensivitity
(Figure S8.1).
 Click New... to develop a new sensitivity analysis case.

Figure S8.1 Create a new sensitivity analysis case

Independent variable settings

By varying the incineration temperature of incinerator from 500 to 1000 ℃,
the eventual CO2 yield of product stream from RGibbs reactor COMBUSTO is
investigated. (Although the incinerator cannot be operated at such low

35
 temperature in reality, this is just done to illustrate sensitivity analysis). First,
users need to define the independent (manipulated) variable.
 Under the Vary interface tab, click New.. to develop a new variable (Figure
S8.2).
 Set the manipulated variable according to Figure S8.2.
 Enter the manipulated variable limits (see Figure S8.2). 500 ℃ and 1000 ℃
are set as the lower and upper limits respectively. 50 ℃ is entered as
Increment.

Figure S8.2 Independent variable settings

Dependent variable settings

 Click the Define tab to enter variables that users want to investigate.
(Figure S8.3).

Figure S8.3 Dependent variable settings

 Click New... to develop a new variable and name it CO2YIELD.
36
 Enter the variable reference as shown in Figure S8.3.

Tabulate settings
 Click the Tabulate tab.
 Users can fill the variable by clicking on the "Fill Variables" (see Figure
S8.4).

Figure S8.4 Tabulate settings

 Run the simulation again. The results of sensitivity analysis are summarised
in table, which can be found in the report.
 Click Model Analysis Tools - Sensitivity - S-1 - Results from navigation
panel to check results. (Figure S8.5)

Figure S8.5 Results of sensitivity analysis

Sensitivity curve
 Click the button at the right of ribbon (Figure S8.6).
 Select the curve users want to draft.
 The system can draft the trend curve itself (Figure S8.7).

37
 Figure S8.6 Results Curve button

Figure S8.7Sensitivity Analysis Results

References
[1] Dyment, J., Mantrala, V. (2015) Jump Start: getting started with Aspen
Plus® V8,
https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Ejaz_Haider2/post/User_Kinetics_Fo
rtran_Subroutines_for_Aspen_Plus/attachment/59d62ca879197b807798af
91/AS:347600378187777@1459885796345/download/Jump+Start+Guide
+Aspen+Customer+Modeler.pdf

[2] CCME-TS/WM-TRE003 (1989) Oprtating and Emission Guildines for

Municipal Solid WasteIncinerators,
http://www.ccme.ca/files/Resources/air/emissions/pn_1085_e.pdf.

[3] Sharifi, V.R. (1990) Optimization study of incineration in a MSW

incinerator with a vertical radiation shaft,
http://etheses.whiterose.ac.uk/1810/1/DX189647.pdf.

[4] Wang, M. (2018) Advanced Process Modelling and Simulation, University

of Sheffield.

[5] Aspen Plus®: Aspen Plus® User Guide version 10.2,

38
https://web.ist.utl.pt/ist11038/acad/Aspen/AspUserGuide10.pdf.

39