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Prepare a Flowsheet for Energy Analysis in Aspen Plus and Aspen HYSYS
Introduction
Activated Energy Analysis, introduced in Aspen Plus and Aspen HYSYS V8, enables simulation users to quickly
evaluate the energy saving potentials and identify changes to a flowsheet to reduce process energy usage. Activated
Energy Analysis runs Aspen Energy Analyzer in the background to perform the energy target calculations and retrofitting
studies.
Successful data extraction is the prerequisite of using this powerful feature. Although significant efforts have been spent
on improving the data extraction engine, the simulation user is strongly encouraged to review the flowsheet to avoid
possible errors in extracting streams and heat exchangers into Aspen Energy Analyzer.
In the heat exchanger details table (Fig. 2) a blue circle indicates that a heat exchanger experienced successful data
extraction and is feasible in Aspen Energy Analyzer. A yellow triangle indicates that a heat exchangers data was
extracted, but is infeasible in Aspen Energy Analyzer. A red circle represents a heat exchanger that is not extracted in
Aspen Energy Analyzer.
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Prepare a Flowsheet for Energy Analysis in Aspen Plus and Aspen HYSYS
Figure 3. Navigation to the Not Solved and Under-Specified Folders in Aspen HYSYS
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Prepare a Flowsheet for Energy Analysis in Aspen Plus and Aspen HYSYS
After increasing the number of data points acquired, run the simulation to ensure that it converges without errors.
Next, plot the HCurves and inspect the heating curve for any non-monotonic behavior. To plot the heating curve, begin by
switching to the Results tab of the HCurve form. Then, select the Custom plotting option from the Home ribbon.
Specify Heat duty as the X-axis and Temperature as the Y-axis, and click OK to draw the heating curve. These steps are
illustrated in Figure 5.
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Prepare a Flowsheet for Energy Analysis in Aspen Plus and Aspen HYSYS
If any non-monotonic behavior exists, check and adjust the column pressure or reboiler configuration to eliminate the
non-monotonic behavior.
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Prepare a Flowsheet for Energy Analysis in Aspen Plus and Aspen HYSYS
Figure 6. Example Flowsheet Showing Steam Stream Modeled as Utility Rather than Process Stream
In order to work around this problem, in Aspen Plus, always create a utility stream for the flow of utilities that can be
optimized and specify the utility type in the required blocks. In Aspen HYSYS, always specify the utility type for the
energy stream in the associated blocks.
From the example shown in Figure 6, create a folder named Utilities STM300 under the Utilities tree. Using either a
heater or a HEATX block with one side stream connection, specify the STM300 as a utility in the heater or HEATX block.
By doing so, STM300 will be extracted as a utilities stream in Aspen Energy Analyzer and its duty will be able to be
optimized.
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Prepare a Flowsheet for Energy Analysis in Aspen Plus and Aspen HYSYS
However, this representation also makes it difficult for Aspen Energy Analyzer to understand the temperature variation.
For example, if the splitting fraction is between 0 and 1, the temperature profiles for the streams highlighted are nonmonotonic. As Aspen Energy Analyzer extracts the streams, it creates a process stream in Aspen Energy Analyzer with a
supply temperature of 50C (i.e. the temperature of the material stream FEED highlighted in Figure 9) and target
temperature 120C (i.e. the temperature of material stream HOT-FEED highlighted in Figure 9). However, material
stream 3 in Figure 9, coming out of the block HTR, has a temperature of 140C. This often causes data extraction to fail.
Figure 9. Streams in Bypass Setup that Can Cause Data Extraction Errors
To work around this problem, either completely bypass the heat exchanger with a small flow to the heat exchanger branch
(e.g. 1.0e-6), or model without bypass flow at all.
Non-Isothermal Mixing
Energy saving potential could be reduced with non-isothermal stream mixing. Thus, care must be taken to model these
mixings in the simulation model before carrying out energy analysis.
In the following example in Figure 10, Stream A at 120C is mixed with stream B at 70C and then heated to 210C. The
mixed stream temperature is 87C. Assuming that the process pinch temperature on the cold side is 110C, Aspen Energy
Analyzer extracts the stream with supply temperature 87C and a target temperature 210C. However, non-isothermal
mixing causes cross pinch heat transfer and thus increases the heating target, which would not be recognized when
performing an energy analysis.
2013 Aspen Technology, Inc. AspenTech, aspenONE, the Aspen leaf logo, the aspenONE logo, and OPTIMIZE are trademarks of Aspen Technology, Inc. All rights reserved.11-3457-0513
Prepare a Flowsheet for Energy Analysis in Aspen Plus and Aspen HYSYS
Figure 10. Aspen Plus Flowsheet with Non-Isothermal Mixing Causing Data Extraction Errors
In order to work around this problem, separate the streams in the simulation model and use a heater/heat exchanger
block to heat/cool each stream to the target temperature and then mix the streams together at that target temperature.
Figure 11. Reworked Aspen Plus Flowsheet to Eliminate Non-Isothermal Mixing Errors
Unit Operation and Streams that Share the Same Name Cannot Be Extracted
Unit operations and streams can share the same names in a main flowsheet or subflowsheet in Aspen HYSYS. However, if
a block and stream have the same name, they cannot be processed by the data extraction in Aspen Energy Analyzer.
To work around this problem, rename the unit operation block with a different name.
Figure 12. Example HYSYS Flowsheet with Shared Stream and Block Naming
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Prepare a Flowsheet for Energy Analysis in Aspen Plus and Aspen HYSYS
Summary
Data extraction is often overlooked, yet it is an essential task in performing an energy analysis using Activated Energy
Analysis in Aspen Plus and Aspen HYSYS. Identifying possible problems in the flowsheet causing data extraction errors
can be a time consuming process, therefore Activated Energy Analysis provides valuable guidance on the location of data
extraction errors. After sifting through potential flowsheet problems and known sources of data extraction error, the
simulation user is advised to carefully inspect the identified areas and make changes accordingly to correctly pass the
data into Aspen Energy Analyzer.
2013 Aspen Technology, Inc. AspenTech, aspenONE, the Aspen leaf logo, the aspenONE logo, and OPTIMIZE are trademarks of Aspen Technology, Inc. All rights reserved.11-3457-0513
About AspenTech
AspenTech is a leading supplier of software that optimizes process manufacturingfor energy, chemicals,
engineering and construction, and other industries that manufacture and produce products from a
chemical process. With integrated aspenONE solutions, process manufacturers can implement best
practices for optimizing their engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain operations. As a result,
AspenTech customers are better able to increase capacity, improve margins, reduce costs, and become
more energy efficient. To see how the worlds leading process manufacturers rely on AspenTech to
achieve their operational excellence goals, visit www.aspentech.com.
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