Construction of an initialization procedure for simulating distillation columns in an equation-oriented process simulator

• Grant number: 24/05814-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2024
• End date: November 30, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Engineering - Chemical Engineering - Chemical Process Industries
• Principal Investigator: Felipe Fernando Furlan
• Grantee: Breno Henrique Ferreira Batista
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Distillation is one of the main unit operations in the chemical industry, despite having high energy consumption. Therefore, optimizing the design and operation of distillation columns is essential for the energy efficiency of plants. Achieving this goal requires models that accurately describe the behavior of these equipment. General models of steady-state operation are widely applied to describe this unit operation in the main process simulators. However, carrying out a rigorous simulation of a distillation column is not a computationally easy task as it requires solving a complex system of non-linear equations. Solving these models is particularly complex for equation-oriented simulators, in which all equations are solved simultaneously, preventing the use of specific numerical calculation procedures to solve the system. In these simulators, the convergence of the system of equations is closely linked to the correct initialization of the variables, providing initial values close to the solution. Such initialization is complex due to the high number of variables and the lack of knowledge of the system solution. One possible approach is to use simplified models of the system of equations, which are easy to solve, to automatically provide initial values for the variables. Different simplifications and orders of solving these simplified models are possible. In this sense, the present project seeks to study the implementation of methods for system initialization and convergence using an equation-oriented simulator, EMSO. Once a generic model containing different types of simplified models has been implemented, the order and types of these simplified models that provide greater robustness and efficiency in solving the system of equations will be investigated. The results of this proposed procedure will be compared to those of the ASPEN process simulator, widely used for simulating industrial chemical processes.