AixCAPE e.V.
Contact
Tel: +49/241/80 94860
Fax: +49/241/80 92325
Intzestr. 1
52072 Aachen
Germany
Project description: AixCAPE Shortcut Unit Operation
This project aimed at providing a distillation shortcut algorithm for non-ideal mixtures as a CAPE-OPEN
compliant unit operation in order to simplify the assessment of distillation sequences. The shortcut algorithms
employed simplify the determination of feasibility and minimum energy demand of mixtures exhibiting non-ideal
behavior and were developed at the Chair for Process Systems Engineering at Aachen University. The project
was carried out as a collaboration of AixCAPE together with Atofina, BASF, and Degussa in order to assess
the status of the shortcut algorithms developed at the university against industrially relevant problems and to
provide the algorithms in a form that allows their use as part of the daily work of an engineer.
A benefit of the CAPE-OPEN integration for the user is that manual data
transfer is minimized by integrating the shortcut algorithms into the flowsheet
of a CAPE-OPEN compliant simulator. The simulator automatically iterates the
mass balances including recycles as they usually occur in the distillation of
mixtures exhibiting azeotropic behavior. The definition of each separation step
in a sequence is supported by the shortcut toolbox algorithms by providing a
list of azeotropes occurring in the mixture and determining the feasibility of
the separation task.
Project description: IK-CAPE with CAPE-OPEN interfaces
In the late eighties, a consortium of German companies called IK-CAPE
developed a specification of routines to calculate thermophysical properties in
FORTRAN. An implementation according to this specification was also developed
and used in several in-house simulation codes and academic research projects. In
a joint project with Bayer Technology Services, AixCAPE has equipped this
IK-CAPE package with a CAPE-OPEN thermodynamic interface to permit the use of
the existing property data input files in state-of-the-art simulation
environments. Successful tests have been made with Aspen Plus, Pro/II, COCO,
gPROMS, and Simulis Thermodynamics.
Benefits achieved
CAPE-OPEN provides an ideal basis for the projects described as it allows the
algorithms to be used within a software environment that is widely available in
chemical engineering companies. Engineers can continue to work with the tools
they are accustomed to, instead of having to be trained on new software.
Further, the integration of existing thermodynamic data and models is greatly
simplified.
Other information
More information is available upon request.
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