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1. Aspen Introduction

ASPEN is a process simulation software package widely used in industry today. Given a process design and an
appropriate selection of thermodynamic models, ASPEN uses mathematical models to predict the performance
of the process. This information can then be used in an iterative fashion to optimize the design. This accurate
modeling of thermodynamic properties is particularly important in the separation of non-ideal mixtures, and
ASPEN has a large data bases of regressed parameters. ASPEN can handle very complex processes, including
multiple-column separation systems, chemical reactors, distillation of chemically reactive compounds, and
even electrolyte solutions like mineral acids and sodium hydroxide solutions.
ASPEN does not design the process. It takes a design that the user supplies and simulates the performance of
the process speci ed in that design. Therefore, a solid understanding of the underlying chemical engineering
principles is required to supply reasonable values of input parameters and to evaluate the suitability of the
results obtained. For instance, a user should have some idea of the column behavior before attempting to use
ASPEN. This information could come from an approximate method, such as the McCabe-Thiele approach,
general modeling of the T-x-y behavior, or residue curve maps.
ASPEN cannot tell you how many stages to use for a given separation. You must set the number of stages and
see what type of separation results. Some preliminary or 'back of the envelope' calculations are generally
recommended.
MSU has a variety of Aspen packages for different simulations. Brie y, here are the programs and capabilities:
Aspen Adsim - Fixed bed adsorption for pressure swing adsorption, etc.
Aspen Chromatography - Fixed bed adsorption, simulated moving bed chromatography. Runs independent of
Aspen Plus.
Aspen Custom Modeler - A utility to permit the creation of user unit operations.
Aspen Distil - Aspen's 'Conceptual Engineering Product' for planning for processing schemes. Runs
independent of Aspen Plus.
Aspen Dynamics - Unsteady-state simulator.
Aspen Plus - Steady-state process simulator.
Aspen Properties - Modeling of properties and phase equilibria. Incorporated into most other components,
though it can be run as a stand-alone subset. All of the phase equilibria and mixture property methods
discussed on this site are accessible in either Aspen Plus or Aspen Properties.
Aspen Polymers - Modeling of polymerization reactors and polymer thermodynamics. This package is available
within Aspen Plus or Aspen Properties rather than via an external menu.
BatchSep - Batch distillations. Runs independently of Aspen Plus.
Normally undergraduate student projects will involve Aspen Plus or Aspen Properties . To start either of these
packages, be sure to look for the corresponding User Interface on the start menu.

1.1 Getting more help

This document is intended to be an overview. ASPEN has extensive online help. Do not try to contact ASPEN
directly. They do not respond to student requests. Work through your instructor and TA for getting answers to
your questions. If your questions are not answered with online help, see the pdf documents available from the
ASPEN documentation folder available on the START menu. Most common tasks are covered.
To nd descriptions/equations for the thermodynamic models and parameter variables, are in online
Properties Help, Chapter 3.

2. Getting Started with Aspen Plus or Aspen Properties

Normally undergraduate student projects will involve Aspen Plus or Aspen Properties .
To start either of these packages, be sure to look for the corresponding User Interface
on the start menu. When you are prompted to connect to the engine (license) con gure
the window as shown, and click OK.

Figure 2.1 Connection

dialog

3. Specification of Flowsheet in Aspen Plus

If you are working with Aspen Properties, you may skip to section 4 of this document.
To demonstrate how to build a process simulation using ASPEN, we will develop a distillation column for
separation of ethanol and water.
The rst step in developing a simulation is to develop the process ow diagram (PFD), which consists of the
unit operations (blocks) and streams that feed and connect the blocks. The blocks are listed by category at the
bottom of the main window (columns, reactors, etc.) in a toolbar known as the 'Model Library', a portion is
shown in Figure 3.1. There are a wide variety of block available. Documentation for the algorithm for each
block is provided in the ASPEN documentation.
The rst step is to choose the column type for the ethanol-water separation. Click on
columns to view the different column simulations available. The two types of common
interest are 'DSTWU', which is the multicomponent shortcut distillation method, and
'RadFrac', which is the rigorous simulation of a single column.
Figure 3.1
- Column
and
Stream
menu

For the ethanol + water system, the short-cut will not be appropriate since the system has an azeotrope.
Choose 'RadFrac'. Click on the small arrow on the right side of 'RadFrac' to select the column icon that you
want to use on the PFD. The menu will disappear; move the crosshairs to the desired location on the main
owsheet window and click the mouse button.
Next you have to add streams to the block. Click on the small arrow to the right of the
STREAMS button at the lower left corner of your screen (as shown in Figure 3.1), and
choose the stream icon you want from the menu (material, energy or work). For this

example, set up the feed stream: choose the Material stream by clicking on it. The column
will now show arrows where the stream can be connected; red arrows indicate required
streams as shown in Figure 3.2

Figure 3.2
- Required
and
optional
stream
connection
points

To set up the feed stream to the column, move the crosshair on top of the red feed
position and left click once. Now, move the mouse to the left and click again. You should
now have a de ned feed stream (Stream 1). For the outlet streams click the column outlet
rst to connect the bottoms (Stream 2) and liquid distillate (Stream 3).
If you make a mistake and want to delete a stream or block, click on the arrow (select)
button at the upper left of the Model Library toolbar, then click on the stream or block
you want to delete and hit the DELETE key.

Figure 3.3
- Column
after
connection
of material
streams

Now that you have de ned the unit operations to be simulated and set up the streams into and out of the
process, you must enter the rest of the information required to complete the simulation. Within Aspen Plus,
the easiest way to nd the next step is to use one of the following equivalent commands: (1) click the Next
icon (blue N ->); (2) nd 'Next' in the Tools menu; or (3) use keyboard shortcut F4. Any option will open the
Data Browser.

4. Configuring Units and Settings

In the Data Browser, you are required to enter information at locations where there are red semicircles. When
you have nished a section, a blue checkmark will appear. However, providing some 'Setup' settings is often
desirable.
You can change default units by opening the Setup Folder as shown below.

You can browse the unit sets to see the choices. The base 'unit-set' names shown above are reserved names
and you cannot modify them. However, if you right-click on a unit set, you can rename it and then modify it.
Once you have viewed the units you can specify the choice by using the drop down boxes.

If you are running Aspen Plus, you may wish to have stream results summarized with mole fractions or some
other basis that is not set by default. Use the 'Report Options' as shown below.

5. Specifying Components

Here you have to enter all the components you are using in the simulation. The opening screen is shown
below.

5.1 Entering compound information

The easiest way to enter component information is to click on the 'Find' button and enter the name of the
component. Start by typing 'ethanol', and then select ETHANOL from the list of components that appears. Click
the 'Add' button to add it to the components list. Repeat to add water to the components list. The Component
ID is an arbitrary name of your choice that will be used to label the component in your calculations. The Type
is a speci cation of how ASPEN will calculate thermodynamic properties. For uid processing of organic
chemicals, it is usually appropriate to use Conventional. If you make a mistake adding a component, right
click on the row to specify deletion.

6. Specification of Thermodynamic Methods

Aspen furnishes a "Property Method Selection Assistant" to assist in selection of a reasonable thermodynamic
model, Tools>Property Method Selection Assistant. Also, Appendix D of the "Introductory Chemical
Engineering Thermodynamics by Elliott and Lira furnishes a owchart to assist with model selection.
You need to be aware of the manner in which Aspen implements parameter values because Aspen offers
temperature-dependent functions in place of parameters, and sometimes uses different signs on parameters
than the same models in the literature.
To nd information on the property models, access the online help le, and on the page "Accessing other Help",
use the link for "Aspen Properties Help". Then browse to "Aspen Properties Reference". Then, to nd the model
description and parameters implementation click in the help window, click on "Physical Property Methods and
Models". Look in Chapter 3 for descriptions of the EOS and activity models. If you have trouble nding
"Physical Property Methods and Models" via the online help links, load the correct help le C:\Program
Files\AspenTech\APrSystem V7.1\GUI\Xeq\aprsystem.chm. You may also nd a pdf le by browsing from the
Start menu to C:\Program Files\AspenTech\Documentation\Aspen Engineering V7_1\Aspen
Properties\AspenPhysPropModelsV7_1-Ref.pdf.
The screen to select the property method is shown below.

The Process Type will narrow down the choices for thermodynamic methods. Often for undergraduate design,
Chemical will provide a wide range of methods. However to access the van Laar model, you must select 'all'.
The Base method will specify the default calculation method for all blocks though you can control which
method is used in individual blocks by editing the setup for the individual blocks. You will generally not use
Henry Components or Free water. For the example here, select UNIQUAC, a well-accepted model for nonideal multicomponent liquid mixtures at low pressure.

By clicking the N-> button, you will be shown the binary parameters as shown in the screenshot below. When
you close the window or click 'Next', you have provided approval of the values, and you will receive no further
prompting for parameter values. If parameters are blank, zeros will be used. This does not imply that the ideal
mixture assumption will be used because many models predict non-ideal behavior with parameter values of
zero.

Understanding Aspen Binary Parameters

The form of the thermodynamic model parameters usually differs from the form in the published literature
because ASPEN often replaces parameters with functions of temperature. To nd the form of equation used in
Aspen, open the Help le, and from the 'index' tab, search for the index for the model name (e.g. UNIQUAC),
click on the resulting model name in the index pane, select the entry with the 'model' name (e.g. 'UNIQUAC
activity coef cient Model'). You should then see equations very similar to the published literature. To
understand where you are within the help le system, switch back to the Contents tab of the help folder and
you will see links to the other activity coef cient methods. You will be in Chapter 3 of the Physical Properties
Methods and Models Manual.
For UNIQUAC the typical published form of the parameters is
tau.ij = exp(-a.ij/T)
In ASPEN, this is implemented as
tau.ij = exp(a.ij + b.ij/T + c.ij*lnT + d.ij * T + e.ij/T^2)
So the published parameters are related to the aspen parameters:
b.ij (aspen) = -a.ij (published)

WHEN THE ASPEN UNITS ARE SET TO K (See the dialog box above, note the temperature units are speci ed in
the top row of the table).
To verify the pure component values (e.g. UNIQUAC R and Q), in the data browser, click the 'Components'
folder. Then in the right pane on the 'selection' tab, click the 'Review' button at the bottom right. The listing
will include constants pulled from the Aspen databases, including GMUQR and GMUQQ and GMUQQ1. For our
purposes GMUQQ and GMUQQ1 are the same. These should match the values from the textbook.

7. Specifying Stream and Block Information

This section applies to Aspen Plus; if you are working with Aspen Properties, skip to the Section 8.
Click on 'Next'. Stream speci cations will appear. You must choose the stream composition, ow rate, and state
for feed streams. The state is speci ed by pressure, temperature, and vapor fraction. For this example, for the
feed stream (1) choose a pressure of 1 atm and a temperature of 25 oC. Now enter the component molar ow
rates as 20 kmol/hr for EtOH and 980 kmol/hr for water. (If you enter feed composition as mole fractions, you
also have to specify the total ow rate.)

Click on Next. The block (RadFrac) setup will appear. For this rigorous simulation, you must specify the column
con guration. Enter the number of stages as 33 and specify total condenser. In the 'Operating Speci cations'
section, set the distillate ow rate to 23 kmol/hr, and set the boilup rate at 1500 kmol/hr as shown below.

Hit 'Next' and the 'Stream' page appears. Locate the feed stream (1) on stage 17. Hit 'Next' to get to the
'Pressure' page. Specify the 'Stage 1/Condenser' pressure as 1 atm. By leaving the other sections of the
pressure page alone, pressure drop through the column will be ignored in this calculation.

7.1 Running the simulation

All required information should now be complete. Click 'Next'. You should now get a message that all required
information has been entered. If you don't, complete the required form or look at the menu on the left for any
red semicircles. To run the simulation, click OK on the message, or you can run the simulation on Run in the
'Run' pulldown menu.

7.2 Viewing Results

To view results, click on the blue folder in the toolbar. Choose 'Stream' to view stream properties, or 'Block' to
view column properties. In 'Streams', you can look at the streams you wish and place a streams table on your
PFD by clicking the 'Stream Table' button. (Note: pasted stream tables are NOT updated if you modify the
simulation and rerun). To view the RadFrac Block properties, click on Blocks (B1) in the left pane of the data
browser.
In a complex simulation, it is sometime more convenient to work with the PFD to nd results. Right-click on a
block or stream for a short-cut menu to results.
You can bring up compiled reports by going to the 'View' menu and clicking on the desired information. The
information in the reports is controlled somewhat by the report options introduced in Section 4.

7.3 Reviewing Column Behavior

You can study the behavior of the column by looking at the column pro les as shown below from the 'Results'
data browser. An example table is shown below.

You can plot the column pro les using "Plot>Plot Wizard...". For compositions, choose the composition tool,
specify liquid mole fractions. The analysis below shows that there may be more stripping stages than
necessary for the given column 33 stages, owrates, re ux and boilup. Naturally, compositions at the top of
the column are limited by the azeotrope.

7.4 Printing your work

See the note about the ASPEN print bug workaround at the top of this web page.
You can print the process owchart and include the stream table if you have pasted it onto the PDF. Go to the
'Setup' page, and click on 'Use Speci ed Font Size' in order to get a readable printout. Then select 'Print'. To
print 'Input Summary', 'History', or results ('Report'), go to the 'View' menu and select your choice. Save the
information as a Notepad (.txt text) le, which you can then import into Word or Excel and print much more
ef ciently. The default reports have more information than you typically need. Avoid printing reports without
reviewing them or pasting them in a Word document or you will use up print quota quickly!

7.5 Saving your Work

As you work with Aspen plus and Aspen Properties, saving les in the 'backup' format will assure that they can
be opened in the next version of Aspen. Currently it is not possible to open 'standard' les when upgrading
Aspen. The backup format ends with an 'bkp' as the last part of the le extension.

7.6 Running the simulation again, and reinitializing

You will want to modify your process parameters to run the case again. After modifying, you can click the
'Next' button, or the 'Run' button. The 'Run' button is blue '>' triangle in the main toolbar.
Aspen will 'reuse' the last state to start the next simulation. When a case crashes, this is usually not desirable.
To reinitialize, use the '|<' button in the main toolbar.
Be sure to explore the phase behavior of the systems in your design. It can be frustrating to try to get Aspen to
give a physically impossible result, but many students have struggled with this, and blame Aspen. Not all
separations are possible because of azeotropes, pinch points, and/or distillation boundaries.

8. Additional Features to Explore Thermodynamic Behavior

8.1 Obtaining a complete set of thermodynamic parameters.

The default folder views do not give you a full view of the parameters used by APSEN. To get a full view, use
Tools -> Retrieve Parameter Results.
8.2 Stream Reports with Additional Property Information
To see mole fractions of each phase in a mixed stream of multiple phases, you can add mole fractions as
property sets for the speci c phases. If you build you simulation from a specialty chemical template, the
property sets XTRUE (liquid mole fraction) and VMOLFRAC (vapor mole fraction) are available. If these
property sets are not available because your simulation did not use the template, you can create custom
property sets that include the vapor and liquid mole fractions. (Properties->Prop-Sets->New... and then choose
the mole fractions as the 'Physical Properties' and the appropriate phases on the 'Quali ers' tab).
To add these property sets to a stream report, Setup -> Report Options -> Stream Report Tab -> Click the
'Property Sets' button and select the desired property sets to add to the stream report.
Note that it also possible to add activity coef cients, fugacity coef cients in this manner. To view special
properties, create a custom view of the stream report.

8.3 Calculating Pure Properties, Binary Phase Behavior or Ternary Residue Curves

Once all data has been loaded, you may use Tools -> Analysis -> Pure or Tools -> Analysis -> Binary or
Tools -> Analysis -> Residue to evaluate properties.

For example, after setting up a acetic acid + water system to use the Hayden-OConnell method for vapor
fugacities and the UNIQUAC method for liquid properties, a T-x-y diagram can be quickly generated using
Tools -> Analysis -> Binary. Be sure to edit the Valid phases box if you expect there may be VLL equilibria.
(Do not use Free Water unless you can safely assume that an aqueous liquid phase is pure water. This
assumption can sometimes be used in petroleum processing of hydrocarbons, but is not valid for most
functional organics).

The diagram is displayed:

When you close the diagram you will nd the table with some intermediate calculations. If you would like to
get the values into Excel, drag the mouse over the columns, and copy. Then paste into Excel.
Here is another example for methanol + benzene.

8.4 Calculating Mixture Properties

It is also possible to plot fugacity coef cients, activity coef cients, or other properties as a function of
composition or temperature, etc. Mixture properties typically require that you specify a property set and then
'run' the case.
First, specify the components as shown in Section 5. To get properties as a function of composition at a xed T
and P, you will have to set up a property set and then request execution of the set.
8.4.1 Establishing the property set
Open the folder for 'Properties>Prop-Sets'.

Click 'New...'
Give the 'Property Set' a name that will help you remember the calculated properties. In this example the
property set is called 'PHIMIX'. On the 'Properties' tab, select the APSEN name for the property that you want
to tabulate. You will probably need to consult the documentation to nd the ASPEN name for the property. In
this case, I will select 'PHIMX', the ASPEN name for the component fugacity coef cient in a mixture. Enter the
units if appropriate for your property.

On the 'Quali ers' tab, set the other details for the calculation. In the case of fugacity coef cients, I chose to
calculate them for the vapor phase.

To instruct ASPEN how to use the property set, you next specify the analysis to be performed.

8.4.2 Specifying the Analysis to run for the property set.

Select the folder for 'Properties>Analysis'. The screen will look much like the 'Property Set' page in Section
8.4.1 'Establishing the Property Set'. Click 'New' and name the analysis set. I will call mine 'PhiCalc'. Also for
most properties you will want to select 'Generic' unless it is clearly an envelope or residue curve. T-x-y, P-x-y
and residue curves are accessible more easily as shown in Section 8.3 'Calculating Pure Properties, Binary
Phase Behavior or Ternary Residue Curves'.

On the 'Systems' tab, if you intend to specify the temperature and pressure, specify 'Point(s) without a ash'. It
will be necessary to set the ow rates even though there isn't any real process stream. If not necessary for the
calculation, ASPEN will ignore them.

On the 'Tabulate' tab, specify the Property Sets for the analysis, and move them to the right list box:

For summary of the output, click the button on the page for 'Table speci cations' and give the table a name
and specify the precision desired, as shown below.

On the variable tab of the 'Property Analysis' set, you will specify the xed state variables and the adjusted
variables as shown below. Note that the upper section of the form is for the Fixed state variables, in this case
set to be 120C and 1 atm. The lower table has been edited to vary the mole fraction of acetic acid. Before
leaving the form, the values or range for the adjusted variables must be speci ed. To provide this information,
rst put the cursor in the variable eld (e.g. the variable 'Mole fraction' is selected below), and then click the
form button named 'Range/List' to specify the range/list for that variable.

Specify the Range or List of Values to be varied as shown below. Here the range will be from 0 to 1 at intervals
of 0.05.

8.4.3 Generating the calculated values

At this point, ASPEN has enough information to calculate the desired information. Click the 'Run' button on
the toolbar. The 'Run' button is the blue triangle in the top tool bar (it is 'grayed out' on all screen shots on
this web page). You can tell that results are available when the 'Analysis' folder changes to blue as shown
below. Note that the blue 'PHICALC' folder has 'Results' available. The columns of calculations as shown below
can be copied to the Windows clipboard by dragging the mouse over the column titles, using the Edit menu (or
Ctrl-C). The clipboard contents can be pasted into Excel.

8.5 Sharing parameter values between simulation files

When a signi cant number of user parameters have been entered, it is convenient to transfer them to another
le in a more ef cient method than a copy/paste method. This section discusses a method to export
parameters and import them into a new simulation.
As an overview, Aspen Properties les hold all the pure component and binary parameter information, but
none of the process schematic information. They also include information about the property 'methods'
including customization of how the vapor phase fugacity is calculated, etc., and all reaction chemistry, etc.
Plus they hold user parameters that have been used to specify property information and binary interaction
parameters.
So it is possible to export an Aspen Properties le from one aspen simulation using File>Export, and then
import it into the other simulation. When you export, choose the Aspen Properties backup format, *.aprbkp for
greatest compatibility. I also strongly suggest that you open the exported le using the Aspen Properties
interface and enter a good description of the properties le in the description window (Setup>Description).
This description is viewable when using the File>Open dialog box which is helpful. Resave the properties le
after documenting the le.
When you import to a new simulation using File>Import, you must select from a list the properties that you
wish to import, and there are two options: merge or replace. I have not studied these closely, but it in my
trials, I had to use 'replace' to overwrite the binary parameters. Also, I did not have the patience to gure out
which row in the property list imports the binary interaction parameters. I just used shift-click to select all
rows and used the 'replace' button.

*If you notice any errors or outdated information on this page, please contact Professor Lira who maintains
this content.

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