An Introduction to Aspen Properties in Aspen Plus

Webinar Q&A
This document summarizes the responses to questions posed before and during the webinar. Additional
questions should be directed to AspenTech Support.
Q: How do you specify properties for non-conventional components, such as biomass or
catalyst?
A: Non-conventional components should be specified in the component list as non-conventional. To
specify component attributes in NC props, go to the methods portion of the navigation tree. Nonconventional components are characterized by atomic analysis (ultimate analysis), C,H,O,N,S, etc., with
special models for coal.
Catalysts are usually treated as non-volatile inert components in the MIXED substream. You can set the
Antoine vapor pressure parameters (PLXANT) to -30,0,0 to force a component to be non-volatile in Aspen

Plus . You can also declare components as solid, which are treated as pure phases. You can optionally
specify the particle size distribution for solids, as well.
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Q: I need to calculate the cloud point of mixtures of PAG and water for my model. This system
splits into water and polymer phases above the cloud point temperature. Can this be completed
from the available data in Aspen Properties?
A: You can characterize polymer components as POLYMER or OLIGOMER on the components form.
Both are characterized by the segments (repeat units) they are composed of. OLIGOMER is specified
by a specific molecular structure. POLYMER components have variable structures specified by
component attributes. For property analysis, use OLIGOMER.
In Aspen Plus V8.4 or higher, we introduced cloud point predictions. TCLOUD and PCLOUD property
sets return the cloud point temperature or pressure of a given stream or composition. You can use
TCLOUDL or PCLOUDL to search for the lower cloud point, or TCLOUDU, PCLOUDU to find the upper
cloud point in systems that exhibit upper and lower cloud points.
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Q: When Aspen Plus retrieves physical properties, does it retrieve actual data points or does it
calculate physical properties using an EOS?
A: Aspen Plus includes the NIST database with over 4 million experimental data measurements. You can
access these easily in the software and use them to fit parameters for models. Properties are always
calculated from models. There are two types of property methods to calculate phase equilibrium; activity
coefficient models and equations of state. Aspen Plus includes the most comprehensive set of property
models and parameters available on the market today.

Q: Can we use Aspen Properties to determine the dielectric constant?

A: Dielectric constant (CPDIEC) is a property parameter used in several Aspen Plus property models.
The databases include parameters to predict the dielectric constants for common solvents such as water
and methanol.
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Q: How can I obtain the latent heat of vaporization of a mixture for a range of pressure and
temperature?
A: You can create a stream in Aspen Plus with the mixture of interest and a specified temperature (or
pressure) with a specified vapor fraction of zero. Run the stream through a FLASH block with the same
temperature (or pressure) as the feed stream with the vapor fraction set to 1. Create a sensitivity study to
vary the feed stream pressure (or temperature) and report the duty of the flash block. The reported duty
will be the heat of vaporization for the mixture.
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Q: What is the extent of accuracy in property estimation using Aspen Plus?
A: Aspen Plus uses well-known estimation methods based on molecular structure. You have control over
the calculation methods used. By default, the system will use the most accurate method available.
Accuracy depends on the component type and the property being estimated. A small amount of
experimental data can make the estimates much more accurate. For example, the predicted slope of the
vapor pressure curves are generally accurate, but the absolute values may be off by tens of degrees.
Providing the estimate with a single measured boiling point temperature makes the estimate much more
accurate over the full range of temperatures.
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Q: Can we cite any data referenced in our work?
A: Any data pulled from the NIST Source Databank contains a source which is citable. You can also cite
the version of Aspen Plus database used, along with the property methods selected.
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Q: Which equation of state is best for cryogenic modeling?
A: With Aspen Plus version 8.4, we recommend GERG for natural gas systems (methane, ethane, or
propane) and REFPROP for refrigerants such as ammonia or air separations.
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Q: Is it possible to get properties of ionic liquids?
A: Aspen Plus and Aspen Properties includes state-of-the-art models for aqueous and non-aqueous
electrolytic solutions, including mixed solvent systems.
Ionic liquids (polyelectrolytes) are a rapidly emerging class of solvents. Several of our customers have
used Aspen Properties to fix experimental data for these systems. However, we have not added ionic
liquids to our databases since there are few published parameters for these systems.
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Q: Can Aspen Properties provide RON and MON properties for a gasoline stream?
A: Yes, the property sets ROC-NO (research octane number) and MOC-NO (motor octane number)
are available in Aspen Plus.

Q: Can powderized rubber and rubber chunks be characterized using Aspen Properties?
A: There are many options to characterize these types of species. They can be treated as nonconventional components, simple solids, or polymers. If the particle size distribution is important, it is best
to treat the rubber chunks as solids.