Process Simulation
Steady-state and dynamic simulation of chemical processes, built around the owner's model of a bio-based ethyl acetate line at a corn ethanol plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa: degrees of freedom and solution strategies, flowsheet building and validation, choice of thermodynamic method and parameter regression, models for flash drums, heat exchangers, reactors and distillation columns, recycle convergence with Wegstein and Newton methods, design specifications and sensitivity studies, optimization, dynamic simulation of control and upsets, data reconciliation, soft sensors and digital twins, ending with a capstone on the ester column and decanter.
CHE-460 Year 4 3 credits 12 lessons · 4 h 15 min ▶ Video lessons coming soon
Offered by HSM University · Chemical Engineering
This is the American version of this course. See the Canadian version.
What you'll learn
- Explain what steady-state and dynamic process simulators do, and state the purpose, accuracy and limits of a model before building it.
- Count degrees of freedom for unit operations and flowsheets, and choose specifications that the plant can actually set.
- Build a flowsheet in stages, produce a closed stream table, and validate the model against data with tolerances set in advance.
- Choose a thermodynamic method from the components, pressure and available data, and regress and check binary interaction parameters.
- Describe and apply the models for mixers, splitters, flash drums and heat exchangers, including the Rachford-Rice equation and zone analysis of condensers.
- Select among yield, stoichiometric, equilibrium and kinetic reactor models, and integrate a plug flow reactor profile numerically.
- Use shortcut, rigorous equilibrium stage, rate-based and reactive models for distillation and liquid-liquid separation.
- Choose tear streams and converge recycles by direct substitution, Wegstein and Newton methods, and recognize accumulation that needs a purge.
- Set up design specifications, sensitivity analyses and case studies, and check that specifications are attainable.
- Formulate and solve process optimization problems with golden section, Nelder-Mead and gradient methods, and report results with their assumptions.
- Build and interpret dynamic models of vessels, controllers and upset scenarios, and explain their use in control design and operator training.
- Apply models in operation for safety, energy, data reconciliation, soft sensors and digital twins, and document and control models as engineering records.
Course content
12 lessons · 4 h 15 min total · final exam
- 1 What process simulation is and how a model is built 24 min · quiz
- 2 Building and validating a flowsheet 22 min · quiz
- 3 Choosing a thermodynamic method 21 min · quiz
- 4 Unit operation models: mixers, splitters, flash drums and heat exchangers 21 min · quiz
- 5 Reactor models 21 min · quiz
- 6 Distillation and separation models 21 min · quiz
- 7 Recycle, tear streams and convergence 21 min · quiz
- 8 Design specifications, sensitivity analysis and case studies 20 min · quiz
- 9 Optimization with process models 18 min · quiz
- 10 Dynamic simulation 21 min · quiz
- 11 Simulation for safety, energy and digital twins 22 min · quiz
- 12 Capstone: simulating and optimizing the ester column and decanter 23 min · quiz
- E Final exam 20 questions
Requirements
Recommended background. You can start any course at any time.
Description
Steady-state and dynamic simulation of chemical processes, built around the owner's model of a bio-based ethyl acetate line at a corn ethanol plant in Cedar Rapids, Iowa: degrees of freedom and solution strategies, flowsheet building and validation, choice of thermodynamic method and parameter regression, models for flash drums, heat exchangers, reactors and distillation columns, recycle convergence with Wegstein and Newton methods, design specifications and sensitivity studies, optimization, dynamic simulation of control and upsets, data reconciliation, soft sensors and digital twins, ending with a capstone on the ester column and decanter.
Part of the Engineering stream, typically taken in year 4.