CHEMCADTutorials

CC-BATCH Tutorial
ThistutorialwalksyouthroughtheprocessofusingCCBATCHtosimulateabatch
distillationcolumn.

Description of the Problem

Thesimulationyouwillcreateisafivestepbatchdistillationcampaign,as
illustratedinFigure1134.Theobjectiveistoseparate100lbmolofmixedpropane,
butane,pentane,andhexaneintothreeseparatetanks,producing99%purebutane.

Figure 11-34: The batch distillation flowsheet

Thefollowingaredetailedspecificationsforthisproblem:
ThermodynamicSelections

ColumnSpecifications

K-value:PengRobinson

No.ofinternalstages:8

Enthalpy:PengRobinson

No.ofoperations:5

Internalstageholdup:0.01ft3

Condenserholdup:0.1ft3

Condenserpressure:14.7psia

Columnpressuredrop:2psia

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InitialChargeConditions

InitialChargeComposition(molefrac)

Temperature:Calculated

Pressure:16.7psia

VaporFraction:0atbubblepoint

Totalamountofcharge:
100lbmol

Propane: 0.1
N-Butane: 0.3
N-Pentane: 0.1
N-Hexane: 0.5

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OperatingStep1

OperatingStep2

Purpose:Propaneremoval

Purpose:Propaneremoval

Refluxratio:5

Refluxratio:20

Distillatemolarflowrate:2

Distillatemolarflowrate:2

Stopwhen:Distillatemole
fractionofNButaneis0.2

Stopwhen:Distillatemolefractionof
NButaneis0.985

Materialstobeaddedatstart:
None

Materialstobeaddedatstart:None

OperatingStep3

OperatingStep4

Purpose:Butaneproduction

Purpose:Pentaneremoval

Refluxratio:25

Refluxratio:15

Distillatemolarflowrate:2

Distillatemolarflowrate:2

Stopwhen:Accumulatormole
fractionofNButaneis0.99

Stopwhen:Distillatemolefractionof
NHexaneis0.2

Materialstobeaddedatstart:20
lbmolofmolefraction40%N
Butane/60%NHexane,atits
bubblepointat16.7psia

Materialstobeaddedatstart:None

OperatingStep5

Purpose:Pentaneremoval

Refluxratio:25

Distillatemolarflowrate:2

Stopwhen:Bottommolefraction
ofNHexaneis0.9998

Materialstobeaddedatstart:
None

Overview of the Batch Distillation Process

Theprocessofbuildingtheflowsheetandsimulatingthebatchdistillationinvolves
thefollowingsteps:
1. Createanewsimulation.
2. Selectengineeringunits.
3. Drawtheflowsheet.
4. Selectthecomponents.
5. Selectthermodynamicoptions.
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6. Specifypotcharge.
7. Specifythedistillationcolumn.
8. Defineoperatingsteps.
9. Runthesimulation.
10. Reviewtheresultsandprintasneeded.

Creating a New Simulation

Startbycreatinganewsimulationandgivingitaname.
Todothis,launchCHEMCADandthenSelectFile>SavetoopentheSaveAs
dialogbox.Navigatetothedirectorywhereyouwanttostorethesimulation(tryMy
Simulations,locatedunderMyDocuments)andgiveyoursimulationaname,
leavingthetypeasCHEMCAD6(*.cc6).ThenclickSavetocreatethefileandreturn
tothemainCHEMCADwindow.

Selecting Engineering Units

SelectFormat>EngineeringUnitstoopentheEngineeringUnitSelectiondialog
box.
TheEnglishunitsoptionisthedefaultandiscurrentlyhighlighted.Tochange
theengineeringunitssystem,youwouldclicktheAltSI,SI,orMetricbutton;you
couldthenchangeanyoftheindividualunitsaswell.Forthistutorial,youwilluse
Englishunits,soclickCanceltoexitthisdialogboxwithoutmakingchanges.

Drawing the Flowsheet

AsdescribedinChapter5,creatingaflowsheetisamatterofplacingUnitOpicons
onthescreen,connectingthemwithstreams,andthenaddingvariousgraphical
objectstoenhancethedrawing.

Placing UnitOps
BeginbyplacingtheBatchColumnunitonthescreen.
1. OntheAllUnitOpspalette,clicktheBatchcolumntool(seeFigure1135)
andthenclickinthemainCHEMCADworkspace.Thebatchcolumnicon
appearswhereyouclicked.

Figure 11-35: The icon representing a batch column

2. ClicktheTanktool(seeFigure1136).Ontheworkspace,clicktotherightof
thebatchcolumntoplaceatankicon.Thenclickjustbelowthefirsttank,and
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clickagainbelowthesecondtank.Whenyouhaveplacedallthreetankson
theflowsheet,rightclicktodeactivatetheTanktool.

Figure 11-36: The tank icon

3. ClicktheProducttool(seeFigure1137)andinsimilarfashion,placethree
productarrowsontheflowsheet,eachonebelowandtotherightofatank
icon.RightclicktodeactivatetheProducttool.

Figure 11-37: The product icon

Drawing Streams
NowthatalloftheUnitOpsareinplace,selecttheStreamtoolandconnecteach
tanksoutlettothenearestproductarrow.Thesearetheonlystreamsthatyouneed
forthistutorial.
Note:Inthissimulation,thebatchdistillationcolumntransfersproductstothetanks

baseduponbatchoperationparametersthatyouprovide.Streamconnections
betweenthecolumnandthetanksarenotnecessary,andareambiguousgiventhe
dynamicnatureofsuchstreams.
Rememberthateachstreammuststartataredoutletpointontheupstream
UnitOp,andendatablueinletpointonthedownstreamUnitOp.Toavoidhavingto
reselecttheStreamtooleachtime,makesurethatassoonasyouclicktocomplete
onestream,youmovethecursortothenextlocationandclicktostartthenext
stream.
Asyoudrawstreams,CHEMCADassignsstreamIDs,justasitassignedUnitOp
IDswhenyoucreatedthoseitems.ThelabelsforstreamIDsaredisplayedin
squares,todistinguishthemfromtheUnitOpIDsdisplayedincircles.
Atthispoint,theflowsheetshouldlooksimilartoFigure1134.

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Selecting Components
Nowyouneedtoidentifythecomponentstobeusedinthissimulation.Startby
selectingThermophysical>SelectComponents.
Forthisexample,youllchoosecomponentsfromthestandardCHEMCAD
database.IntheSelectComponentsdialogbox,findandaddeachneeded
component.
1. Holddownthe[CTRL]keyonyourkeyboardasyouclickeachofthe
followingcomponentsinturn:

Propane

NButane

NPentane

10

NHexane

2. Clicktherightarrowbutton,locatedtotherightoftheAvailableComponents
area,toaddalloftheselectedcomponentstoyoursimulation.TheSelect
ComponentsdialogboxshouldnowlooklikeFigure1138.

Figure 11-38: The completed Select Components dialog box

3. SaveyourcomponentselectionsbyclickingOK.

Selecting Thermodynamic Options

Assoonasyouhavefinishedcomponentselection,theThermodynamicsWizard
appears.Thistoolcansuggestthermodynamicsoptionstousewiththissimulation.
CHEMCADsThermodynamicsWizardworkslikethis:
1. First,itlooksatthecomponentlistanddecideswhatgeneraltypeofmodelis
required,i.e.,equationofstate,activitymodel,etc.
2. Second,itlooksattemperatureandpressurerangesthatyouprovideand
decideswhichequationwithinagivencategoryisbestatthelimitsofthose
ranges.
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3. Ifthemethodisanactivitymodel,theprogramthenlooksattheBIP
databasetoseewhichmodelhasthemostdatasetsforthecurrentproblem.
ItthencalculatesthefractionalcompletenessoftheBIPmatrix.Ifthatfraction
isgreaterthantheBIPthresholdparameter,itusesthechosenactivity
method;ifnot,itusesUNIFAC.
TheThermodynamicsWizardisnoreplacementforengineeringjudgment.Thistool
usesanalgorithmbasedongeneralrules,andisthereforefallible.Thesuggested
modelmightnotalwaysbethebestmodelforthesystem.
Selectingthermodynamicoptionsbasicallymeansselectingamodelormethod
forcalculatingvaporliquid(orvaporliquidliquid)phaseequilibrium(calledtheK
valueoption)andselectingamethodormodelforcalculatingtheheatbalance(called
theenthalpyoption).Thecommandsfortheseselectionsarelocatedonthe
Thermophysicalmenu.
CHEMCADhasalibraryofdozensofKvaluemodelswithavarietyofoptions
andabout12enthalpymodels.Makingtheproperselectionfromtheselibrariescan
sometimesbedifficult.Forthepurposesofthistutorial,assumethatyouwanttouse
thePengRobinsonmethodforboththeKvalueandenthalpycalculations.Follow
thesestepstoselectyourthermophysicaloptions:
1. AcceptthedefaulttemperatureandpressurerangesintheThermodynamics
WizardandclickOK.
2. ClickOKagaintoacceptthewizardssuggestedmethodofSRK.
3. WhentheThermodynamicSettingsdialogboxopens,findtheGlobalK
ValueOptionselection,intheupperleftcorneroftheKValueModelstab.
ThecurrentsettingisSRK,butforthepurposesofthetutorial,youllneedto
selectthePengRobinsonmodel.Clickthedownarrowattherightendofthe
selectionboxtoviewalonglistofKvaluechoices,thenclickPeng
Robinson.

Figure 11-39: The new K-value selection in the Thermodynamic Settings dialog box

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4. NowclicktheEnthalpyModelstab.ThePengRobinsonmethodhasalready
beenenteredastheGlobalEnthalpyOptionsselection;thiswasdone
automaticallybecauseyouchosePengRobinsonasyourKvaluemethod.
Whileyoudohavetheoptiontooverridethischoice,inthiscaseyoullneed
tokeepthePengRobinsonmodel;leaveallsettingsastheyareandclickOK
toreturntothemainCHEMCADworkspace.
Forthepurposeofthistutorial,thethermodynamicselectionsarenowcomplete.
Note:WhileyouarenotrequiredtousetheThermodynamicsWizard,youshould

knowhowtouseit,ifonlyasastartingpointforyoursimulations.Youcanrevisit
thewizardatanytimebyselectingThermophysical>ThermodynamicsWizard.

Specifying Pot Charge

Nowthatyouhavethermodynamicsandcomponentsdefinedforthissimulation,
andyouhaveabatchcolumnintheflowsheet,youcandefinethepotchargeforthe
column.
Youwillspecifythepotchargeaccordingtothefollowingrules:

TheTempF,Prespsia,VaporFraction,andEnthalpyMMBtu/hfieldsare
thethermodynamicpropertiesofthecharge.AccordingtotheGibbsPhaseRule,
onceamixturescompositionisgiven,specifyinganytwoofthesefour
thermodynamicpropertieswilldefinetheothertwo.Assuch,definingthe
composition,temperature,andpressureforamixtureuniquelydefinesits
vaporfractionandenthalpy.Alternatively,definingthecomposition,
pressure,andenthalpywilluniquelydefinethemixturestemperatureand
vaporfraction.
Sinceenthalpiesarecalculatedrelativetoadatum,thecalculationofany
givenenthalpyisaninvolvedprocesswhichispronetoerrors.Forthis
reason,CHEMCADdoesnotpermityoutoenterenthalpyasaconstraint.
Inadditiontodefiningthepotcomposition,youmustdefineexactlytwoof
thefollowingproperties:temperature,pressure,andvaporfraction.Thetwo
variablesthatyouspecifywilldisplayasredtext,whilethethirdvariable
andthevalueenthalpywillbedisplayedinblackwhenyouflashthecharge.

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TheTotalflowunitandCompunitfieldsworktogethertoprovideavariety
ofwaystodefinechargecomposition.Iftheselectedcompunitismole,mass,
orvolumefraction(eithergloballyorlocally),thentheTotalflowunit
selectionisavailable.Iftheselectedcompunitisanamountoption,thenthe
totalchargebecomesthesumofthecomponentquantities,andtheTotal
flowunitselectionisnotavailable.

IftheCompunitfieldselectionisanamountunit(asopposedtoafractional
unit),thenthecomponentchargevaluesareautomaticallyaddedasyou
enterthem.ThecurrentsumisdisplayedintheTotalflowfield.
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YoucanclicktheFlashbuttonatanytimetoperformaflashcalculation
usingthecurrentlyspecifiedcompositionandthermodynamicproperties.
Thisenablesyoutoobtainflashcalculationsquicklyandwithoutleavingthe
dialogbox.

Fractionsthatdonotaddupto1.0areautomaticallynormalizedwhenyou
eitherclickFlashorexitthedialogbox.

Withtheserulesandbehaviorsinmind,enterthedataforyourpotcharge:
1. DoubleclickthebatchcolumntoopentheEditBatchChargedialogbox.

Figure 11-40: The Edit Batch Charge dialog box

2. InthePrespsiafield,type16.7,thenpress[TAB]andtype0intheVapor
Fractionfield.
Note:Itsimportantthatyouactuallytypea0overtheexisting0entryintheVapor

Fractionfield.ThistellsCCBATCHthatyouarechoosingtospecifyavapor
fraction.
3. IntheCompunitfield,selectmolefrac.Youcannowtypeavalueof100in
theTotalflowfield.

4. Type0.1inthePropanefield,andtheninsimilarfashion,typethefollowing
numbersinthecorrespondingfields:

NButane:0.3

NPentane:0.1

NHexane:0.5

5. ClickOKtosavethischargeinformationandcontinue.

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Specifying the Distillation Column

Whenyouhavespecifiedthepotcharge,CCBATCHdisplaystheBatchDistillation
Columndialogbox.

Figure 11-41: The Batch Distillation Column dialog box

MakethefollowingentriesontheGeneraltabofthisdialogbox:

Numberofstages:8

Numberofoperationsteps:5

Stageholdup:.01

Condenserholdup:1

Condpressure:14.7

Colmpresdrop:2

Whenyouhaveenteredtheseparameters,clickOKtosavethedataand
continue.

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Defining the Operating Steps

Whenyouhavecompletedtheinitialcolumnspecification,theBatchOperation
Parametersdialogboxappears.

Figure 11-42: The Batch Operation Parameters dialog box

Inthisdialogbox,youlldefinetheparametersforeachoperatingstepofthe
batchcampaign.Beforeyoubegin,youneedtounderstandhowCCBATCHhandles
tankassignments.
TheProductassignmentfieldsidentifytheaccumulatortowhichaproductor
decantstreamwillbesent.Youcanusethisoptionevenifyoudonotplacetankson
theflowsheet;simplydesignatingaUnitOpIDnumberissufficient.Inthiscase,its
importantthatyoudesignateaUnitOpIDthatisnotalreadyinuse.
SinceCCBATCHpermitsvaporliquidliquiddistillation,theremaybetwo
liquidphasesinthecondenser,possiblygivingrisetodecantingofonephaseorthe
other.TheDistillateTank#fieldentryrepresentsthetankthataccumulatesthe
distillate.TheDecanterTank#fieldentryrepresentsthetankthataccumulatesthe
decantedliquid,ifany.

Operating Step 1
Foroperatingstep1,makethefollowingentriesintheBatchOperationParameters
dialogbox:

ChangetheStartupoptionfieldto1Startwithtotalreflux.

IntheProductassignmentarea,enter2intheDistillatetank#field.

IntheFirstspecvaluefield,enter5asthevalueoftherefluxratio.

IntheSecondspecvaluefield,enter2.

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IntheOperationstepstopoptionsarea,settheStopwhenoptiontoDistillate,
settheMeasuredvariableoptiontoMolefraction,andenter0.2intheStop
valuefield.IntheComponentfieldthatnowappears,select2NButane.

IntheMin.runtimefield,enter0.5.

Whenyouhavemadetheseentries,clickOKtomoveontothenextoperating
step.

Operating Step 2
Foroperatingstep2,makethefollowingentriesintheBatchOperationParameters
dialogbox:

Enter2intheDistillatetank#field.

Enter20intheFirstspecvaluefieldand2intheSecondspecvaluefield.

StoptheoperationwhenthemolefractionofNButaneinthedistillateis
0.985.

Whenyouhavemadetheseentries,clickOKtomoveontothenextoperating
step.

Operating Step 3
Followthesestepsforoperatingstep3:
1. MakethefollowingentriesintheBatchOperationParametersdialogbox:

Enter3intheDistillatetank#field.

Enter25intheFirstspecvaluefieldand2intheSecondspecvaluefield.

StoptheoperationwhenthemolefractionofNButaneinthe
accumulatoris0.99.

2. ClicktheAdditionalSettingstab.Hereyouwillspecifytheadditionof20
molesofmixturetothepot,withacompositionof40%butaneand60%
hexane.ChecktheAddmaterialtopotboxandthenclickOKtobringupthe
EditBatchChargedialogbox.
3. InthePrespsiafield,type16.7,thenpress[TAB]andtype0intheVapor
Fractionfield.
4. Enterthefollowingcompositionsettings:

SettheCompunitfieldtomolefrac.

Enter0.6intheNButanefield.

Enter0.4intheNHexanefield.

Enter20intheTotalflowfield.

5. ClickOKtocontinuetothenextoperatingstep.

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Operating Step 4
Foroperatingstep4,makethefollowingentriesintheBatchOperationParameters
dialogbox:

Enter4intheDistillatetank#field.

Enter15intheFirstspecvaluefieldand2intheSecondspecvaluefield.

StoptheoperationwhenthemolefractionofNHexaneinthedistillateis0.2.

IntheMin.runtimefield,enter0.5.

Whenyouhavemadetheseentries,clickOKtomoveontothefinaloperating
step.

Operating Step 5
Foroperatingstep5,makethefollowingentriesintheBatchOperationParameters
dialogbox:

Enter4intheDistillatetank#field.

Enter25intheFirstspecvaluefieldand2intheSecondspecvaluefield.

StoptheoperationwhenthemolefractionofNHexaneintheresidual
chargeatthebottomofthecolumnis0.9998.

IntheMin.runtimefield,enter0.5.

Whenyouhavemadetheseentries,clickOKtocontinue.

The Run Time Information Dialog Box

Atthecompletionofthelastoperatingstep,theRunTimeInformationdialogbox
displays.Here,youcanchoosewhichvariableswillbeplottedwhenyourunthe
simulation.

Figure 11-43: The Run Time Information dialog box

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Forthisexample,thedefaultdisplayaplotofdistillatemolefractionsforall
fourcomponentsiswhatyouwant,soclickOKtobringuptheBatchDistillation
menu.

Figure 11-44: The Batch Distillation menu

Thismenuprovidesaccesstotheentryscreensforalldefinedoperationsteps,as
wellasoptionsforinserting,deleting,andcopyingoperationsteps.Youmightwant
toreviewtheoperatingstepsandverifyyourentriesbeforerunningthesimulation.
Whenyouarefinished,clicktheExitbuttontoclosethemenu.

Running the Simulation

Torunthesimulation,clicktheRunAlltoolbarbutton.CCBATCHfirstchecksthe
inputdataforerrorsoromissions.Youmayseethefollowingtypesofmessages:

Errormessagesmustbefixedbeforethesimulationcanproceed.Under
specificationofthebatchcolumnwouldbeanexampleofthistypeoferror.

Warningmessagesareusuallyinputomissions,whichmayormaynotcause
problemsuponexecution.Thesearenonfatalerrorsthatdonotnecessarily
needtobecorrectedpriortosimulation.

Assumingthatyoucorrectlyspecifiedthepotchargeandsubsequentoperation
steps,youshouldseenomessages;theprogramwillproceeddirectlytothe
calculation.
Youwillseethedistillatemolefractionsplottedonthescreeninaplotwindow.
Eachtimetheprogramproceedstothenextoperatingstep,anewplotwindowwill
open,alongwithanewtabatthebottomofthemainCHEMCADworkspace.
Duringtherun,onlythecurrentstepsplotisvisible.Whenthesimulationis
finished,thedynamicplotwillquitscrollingandaRunfinishedmessagewillappear
atthefarleftendoftheCHEMCADstatusbar.
Aftertherun,youcanviewtheplotforaparticularoperatingstepbyclicking
thecorrespondingtabatthebottomoftheCHEMCADworkspace.Tocloseany
plotstab,clicktheClosebutton(markedwithanX)onthetab.Tocloseallofthe
plottabsatthesametime,selectWindow>CloseAllCharts.

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Reviewing and Printing Results

Oncethesimulationiscomplete,youcanreviewtheresultsinteractivelybefore
printingahardcopy.ThecommandsneededtodothisarelocatedintheReportand
Plotmenus.

Plotting the Results

Forbatchcalculations,themostconvenientwaytoexaminetheoutputistoplotthe
results.Todothis,clickyourbatchcolumnUnitOpandthenselectPlot>Dynamic
Plots>BatchColumnHistory.
ThisbringsuptheBatchColumnPlotsdialogbox.Fromhere,youcangeneratea
plotthatencompassestheentirecampaign.Forexample,youcanfollowthesesteps
toplotdistillatemolefractionsacrossalloperatingsteps:
1. InthePlotvariablefield,selectthe0Molefractionsoption.
2. IntheOfthefield,selectthe3Distillateoption.
3. IntheComponentstoplotarea,usethefirstfourfieldstoselectthefour
componentsfoundinthedistillate.

Figure 11-45: The completed Batch Column Plots dialog box

4. ClickOKtoviewthecompositeplot,whichshouldresembleFigure1146.

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Figure 11-46: Composite plot showing composition of distillate over time

Revieworprinttheresultsasneeded,andthenclosetheplottabtoreturntothe
simulation.

Generating Text Reports

Youcanalsoviewcertainbatchresultsintabularformat.Todothis,selectReport>
BatchResults.Asummaryoftheresultsofthissimulationdisplaysinaseparate
window.Revieworprinttheresultsasneeded,andthenclosethereportwindowto
returntothemainCHEMCADwindow.

Generating a Full Report

TheReportmenuoffersabroadarrayoftextreports,asdescribedinChapter8,
OutputandReports.Forthepurposeofthistutorial,assumethatyouwanttoview
andprintoutareportwiththefollowinginformation:

Operatingstepresults

Batchcolumnhistory

Finalbatchcolumnholdup

Becauseyouwantareportwithabroadrangeofinformationaboutyour
simulation,usetheConsolidatedReportoption.
1. SelectReport>ConsolidatedReporttobringuptheConsolidatedReport
menu.
2. ClickBatch/DynamicResultstoopentheBatch/DynamicOptionsdialog
box.SelectthefirstthreeoptionsPrintoperationresults,Printhistory,and
Printfinalholdups.

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Figure 11-47: The Batch/Dynamic Options dialog box

3. ClickOKtoreturntotheConsolidatedReportmenu.
4. Togeneratethereport,clickCalculateandGiveResults.Thereportdisplays
inaseparatewindow,withaformatsuitableforprinting.Youcanedit,save,
andprintthereportasneeded.
5. Whenyoufinishreviewingandworkingwiththereport,closethereport
windowtoreturntothemainCHEMCADworkspace.

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