Process

Simulation using
ASPEN HYSYS
Introduction.
Starting with HYSYS.
Equation of State.
Pump.
Expander.
Compressor.
Prof. Dr. Marwan Batiha
Department of Chemical Engineering Heat Exchanger.
Faculty of Engineering
Al-Hussein Bin Talal University
Flash Separator.
Email: mmbatiha@[Link] Conversion Reactor.
 Introduction
 Aspen comes from the original project: Advanced System for Process
Engineering (ASPEN) Project which was granted to MIT by US
Department of Energy in 1981 in order to build a software able to model
industrial scale chemical processes.
 Aspen HYSYS (HYSYS for short, a portmanteau from Hyprotech and Systems) is
the one of the top leading Chemical Process Simulator in the market (or at least in
the Chemical Engineering World).
 Aspen HYSYS (or simply HYSYS) was first created by the Canadian company
Hyprotech, founded by researchers from the University of Calgary.
 HYSYS is a chemical process simulator used to mathematically model chemical
processes, from unit operations to full chemical plants and refineries.
 HYSYS is able to perform many of the core calculations of chemical engineering,
including those concerned with mass balance, energy balance, vapor-liquid
equilibrium, heat transfer, mass transfer, chemical kinetics, fractionation, and
pressure drop. HYSYS is used extensively in industry and academia for steady-state
and dynamic simulation, process design, performance modeling, and optimization.
 HYSYS is a huge and complex simulator, therefore it is impossible to cover all of it in
this course. This course focuses primarily on the fundamental of HYSYS. It is
believed that once these foundations are well understood, the student will be able to
learn advanced topics easily by using the information in the Help menu.
 Aspen Plus Vs. HYSYS? What’s The Difference?
 What should you choose? What do you want to model? Which
software is better for electrolytes, which one is better for
petroleum? Are you going to simulate steady state plants or
dynamic state? Do you want to do plenty of recycling streams or
simple, straight forward process?

 HYSYS is supposed to be more user friendly but it is actually dependent

on personal taste.
 HYSYS: Petrochemical + Petroleum Refining, Oil Assays and all related
Industry.
 Aspen PLUS: fine chemistry, general chemistry, electrolytes, polymers,
etc…
Then, simply base your software of choice based on the industry:
Going to model petroleum assays? use HYSYS
Going to model polymer reactivity? use PLUS
 What can be modeled and simulated?

There are a lot of

processes which can be
modeled:
 Heat Exchanges.
 Reactors.
 Pressure Changers
(Valves, Pumps,
Compressors, etc.).
 Distillation Columns.
 Absorption Columns.
 Extractors.
 Flash systems.
 Separators & Mixers.
 Various unit operations in HYSYS
These are some of the unit operation models available in HYSYS.
The whole list is available in HYSYS Operations Guide.

 Reactors:  Pre-built columns:

– Continuous-stirred tank – Absorber.
reactor (CSTR). – Distillation.
– Conversion Reactor. – Liquid-liquid extractor.
– Equilibrium reactor. – Reboiled absorber.
– Plug flow reactor (PFR). – Refluxed absorber.
– Three phase distillation.
 Heat transfer equipment:
– Air cooler.  Solid handling:
– Cooler. – Baghouse filter.
– Heat exchanger. – Cyclone.
– Heater. – Hydrocyclone.
 Rotating equipment: – Rotary vacuum filter.
– Compressor. – Simple solid separator.
– Expander.
– Pump.
Getting started with Aspen
HYSYS V10
Getting started

Path: Start/Aspen HYSYS

/Aspen HYSYS V10

Start HYSYS
Getting started

Select X
HYSYS Interface

Menu bar
Toolbar
Start a new
flowsheet
Open an
existing file
 Basic simulation steps
Sequence of input steps for a
Basic computational elements simulation problem
in process simulator
Select chemical components 1
Component
1 database
Select thermodynamic model 2
Thermodynamic
2 model solver Input topology of flowsheet 3

3 Flowsheet builder
Select units and select feed
4
stream properties
Unit operation
4
block builder
Select equipment parameters 5
Data output
5 generator Select output display options 6

6 Flowsheet solver
Select convergence criteria
7
and run simulation
* Other commonly found features: file control
options, eng units options, data regression, etc.
 Before any simulation can occur, HYSYS needs to undergo an initial
setup. During an initial setup, the components and the fluids package
that will be used will be selected.

2. Simulation Basis Manager

Aspen HYSYS used the concept of the fluid package to contain all necessary
information for performing flash and physical property calculations. This
approach allows you to define all information (property package, components,
hypothetical components, interaction parameters, reactions, tabular data, etc.)
inside a single entity.
There are four key advantages to this approach:
 All associated information is defined in a single location, allowing for easy
creation and modification of the information.
 Fluid packages can be stored as completely defined entities for use in any
simulation.
 Component lists can be stored out separately from the Fluid Packages as
completely defined entities for use in any simulation.
 Multiple Fluid Packages can be used in the same simulation. However, they are
defined inside the common Basis Manager.
 3. Creating A New Simulation

Before proceeding any further, save your file in an appropriate location. Select File/Save As
and select where to save the file. Do not save the file to the default location.
 4. Adding Components To The Simulation

The first step in establishing the simulation basis is to set the chemical
components which will be present in your simulation.
1. To add components to the simulation, click on the Add button in the Simulation
Basis Manager.
2. Clicking on Add will bring up the Component List View which is a list of all the
components available in HYSYS.
 3. Select the desired components for your simulation. You can search
through the list of components in one of three ways:
a. Simulation Name
b. Full Name
c. Formula

Select which match term you want of the three above types by selecting the
corresponding button above the list of components. Then type in the name of
the component you are looking for. For example, typing in water for a Simulation
Name narrows the list down to a single component. If your search attempt does
not yield the desired component, then either try another name or try searching
under full name or formula.
4. Once you have located the desired component, either double click on the
component or click <--- Add Pure to add it to the list of components for the
simulation.
 5. Selecting A Fluids Package
Once you have specified the components present in your simulation, you can
now set the fluid package for your simulation. The fluid package is used to
calculate the fluid/thermodynamic properties of the components and mixtures
in your simulation (such as enthalpy, entropy, density, etc.).
Therefore, it is very important that you select the correct fluid package since this forms the
basis for the results returned by your simulation.
1. From the simulation basis manager, select the Fluid Pkgs tab.
 2. Click the Add button to create a new fluid package as shown below:

3. From the list of fluid packages, select the desired thermodynamic package. The list of
available packages can be narrowed by selecting a filter to the left of the list (such as EOSs,
activity models etc.).
4. Once the desired model has been located, select it by clicking on it once (no need to
double click). For example, select Peng-Robinson property package for your simulation.
5. You can give your fluid package a name at the bottom of the fluid package screen (e.g.
the name in the Figure is Basis-1).
 Add a fluid
package

Search for
Peng-
Robinson

Then, Click here to

enter into Simulation
Environment
6. Selecting Thermodynamics Model
When faced with choosing a thermodynamic model, it is helpful to at least a
logical procedure for deciding which model to try first. Elliott and Lira (1999)
suggested a decision tree as shown in the following Figure.
 The following table lists some typical systems and recommended correlations.

PR=Peng-Robinson; PRSV=Peng-Robinson Stryjek-Vera; GS=Grayson-Streed; ZJ=Zudkevitch

Joffee; CS=Chao-Seader; NRTL=Non-Random-Two-Liquid.
For oil, gas and petrochemical applications, the Peng-Robinson (PR) is generally
the recommended property package.
7. Enter Simulation Environment
Once you have specified the components and fluid package, and entered the
simulation environment, you will see the view as shown in Figure.
Object Palette
On the right hand side of the following Figure, you will notice a vertical toolbar.
This is known as the Object Palette. If for any reason this palette is not visible,
got to the Flowsheet pulldown menu and select Palette or press F4 to display
the palette. It is from this toolbar that you will add streams and unit operations
to your simulation.
 8. Adding Material Streams
Material Streams are used to transport the material components from process
units in the simulation. A material stream can be added to the flowsheet in one
of three ways:
1. Click on the blue arrow button on the Object Palette.
2. Selecting the “Flowsheet” menu and selecting “Add Stream”
3. Pressing F11

Using any of the above

methods will create a new
material stream (a Blue
arrow) on the flowsheet,
refer the following Figure.
The HYSYS default names
the stream in increasing
numerical order (i.e. the
first stream created will
be given the name “1”).
This name can be
modified at any time.
 Specifying Material Streams
To enter information about the material stream, double click on the stream to
show the window shown in the following Figure. It is within this window that
the user specifies the details regarding the material stream. For material stream
that will be used as an input, we need to specify four variables. Within HYSYS
environment, input material stream always have four degree of freedoms.
Meaning, we need to supply four information in order to fulfill the requirement
for HYSYS to start its calculations.

Tips: Four variables needed for input stream are composition, flowrate, and two from
temperature, pressure or vapor/phase fraction.
 From the previous Figure, you will see the warning yellow message bar at the
bottom of the window indicating what information is needed (unknown
compositions). Just follow what the message wants, for example, the first thing
that you need to supply is compositions. In order to specify the composition of
the stream, select the “Composition” option from this list to display the window
in the next Figure.
It is within this window that the user specifies the composition of the stream. Note that
only the components that you specified in the simulation basis manager will appear in this
list. You can specify the composition in many different ways by clicking on the “Basis…”
button. The HYSYS default is mole fractions, however the user can also specify mass
fractions, liquid volume fractions, or flows of each component. If the user is specifying
fractions, all fractions must add up to 1. Enter mole fraction of 1 in the H2O section to
indicate 1 mole fraction of water.
 Next, the warning yellow message bar indicates that you need to specify the
input temperature for this stream. In order to specify the temperature of the
stream, select the “Conditions” option from this list to display the window in
Figure. It is within this window that the user specifies the temperature of the
stream.
When entering the conditions for a stream, it is not necessary to enter the values in the
default units provided. When the user begins to enter a value in one of the cells, a drop
down arrow appears in the units box next to the cell. By clicking on this drop down arrow,
the user can specify any unit for the corresponding value and HYSYS will automatically
convert the value to the default unit set. Enter the temperature of 25 in the temperature
section to indicate the temperature of 25 ºC.
Next, the yellow warning message bar indicates that you need to specify the
input pressure for this stream. In the same window, enter the pressure of 1 in the
pressure section to indicate the pressure of 1 bar as shown in Figure.
Next, the last variable that you need to specify is flowrate. For this, you have two
options either to specify molar flowrate or mass flowrate. In the same window,
enter the molar flowrate of 100 kgmole/h in the molar flowrate section to
indicate the flowrate of 100 kgmole/h as shown in Figure.
 Once all of the stream information has been entered, HYSYS will calculate the
remaining properties and data provided it has enough information from the rest
of the flowsheet. Once a stream has enough information to be completely
characterized, a green message bar appears at the bottom of the window within
the stream input view indicating that everything is “OK” (See Previous Figure).
Otherwise, the input window will have a yellow message bar at the bottom of
the window indicating what information is missing.
 Values shown in blue have been specified by the user and can be modified while values
shown in black have been calculated by HYSYS and can not be modified. For example, in
Figure the temperature, pressure and molar flowrate have been specified while all other
values shown have been calculated.
 The following color code for material streams on the flowhseet indicates whether
HYSYS has enough information to completely characterize the stream:

Therefore, if the arrow for the material stream is royal blue, then all of its properties have
been calculated. At any time, the specifications and calculated properties for a stream can
be viewed and modified by simply double clicking on the desired stream.
Save your case.
Once all of the stream information
has been entered, HYSYS will
calculate the remaining properties
and data provided it has enough
information from the rest of the
flowsheet.
 Problems

1. Create one materials stream that contains only water with following
conditions:
-- Fluid Package: Peng-Robinson
-- Flowrate: 100 kgmole/h
-- Pressure: 1 atm
-- Vapor/Phase Fraction: 1.00
What is the temperature of this stream? ________________

2. Repeat the above procedures by replacing pressure with temperature of 150

ºC.
What is the pressure of this stream? ___________________

3. With the same condition in (2), reduce the temperature to 70 ºC.

What is the new pressure of this stream? ________________
 Water Cooling Example

Water ?? ºC
100 kPa & 120ºC

120 kJ/h

 Water stream (50 kg/h) of 120ºC is cooled by a

chiller (heat exchanger).
 A total of 120 kJ/h of heat is to be removed
from the chiller.
 Task: determine the outlet temperature from
the chiller.
Start a New Flowsheet
Let’s get started now… Click the first icon on the left to start a new flowsheet.

Start a new
case
Simulation Basis Manager
A new window will appear. This is called the “Simulation Basis Manager”. For
this simple example, we will need to enter specification into these 3 tabs.

Component
database tab
Thermodynamic
model tab
Reaction tab
Let’s get started by registering new components from the database. Click on
the “Add” button, a new window will appear. This is the interface between the
user and HYSYS component database. Type “Water” in the Match cell, and the
water component will appear. Add water to the system by either: 1. Click the
“Add Pure” button; 2. double click water; or 3. click the ENTER key.

Add Type water

component Add water here here
here @ double click
@ click ENTER

• Simuation name:
Remove (only if you name appearing within
have added wrongly)
simulation
• Full Name/ Synonym:
IUPAC name & synonyms
• Formula: chemical
formula of component
 View Component Properties
Let’s see what properties of water. Select “H2O” and click “View Component”.
Browse the properties by viewing each tab. Close the windows when you are
done…

Double Click
to View
properties
Define thermodynamic model
Let’s click on the Fluid Pkgs tab. This is where we will identify the
thermodynamic model (called as Fluid Package in HSYSY) to be used. Click on
the “Add” button & look for Peng-Robinson from the list. You may also rename
the model that you have chosen. Close the window when you are done.

Add a fluid
package
Search for
Peng-
Robinson

Then, Click here to

enter into Simulation
Environment
The Simulation Environment
In the Simulation Environment, we will see a PFD where the icon for the main
flowsheet of the process will be drawn. The Object Palette on the right is the
most commonly found unit operations that we will need for the simulation. We
may open or close it by pressing the F4 button on the keyboard.

The Object Palette

• to add streams and
unit operations
• open or close by F4

The Flowsheet
Case
File saving

Click here
to save
your file
A saved Case
A file that is saved will have its name appear on top of the window.

File name
 Flowsheet Topology
Select the Cooler from the Object Palette & locate that in the middle of the
flowsheet. Note the colour code of the icon. Next, select a Material Stream from
the Object Palette & locate that on the left of the Cooler.

Select a Material Stream

Select an Energy Stream

Select a Cooler

Color Code of HYSYS:

Red - A major piece of information is missing
• Yellow - All major info is present, but the stream / operation has
not been solved because 1 or more degrees of freedom is present.
• Green - The stream/operation is completely defined & solved.
Connecting the stream (attach mode)
We next proceed to connect the inlet stream with the cooler. To do that, we
need to switch to the Attach mode. Click the attach mode & follow the
instruction in the box.

Attach mode

Steps for making a connection:

1. Ensure you see a small transparent
box appears at the cursor tip, with a
pop-up description attached to the
cursor tail (“Out” in this case)
2. Left-lick and hold the cursor, the
transparent box becomes solid black,
indicating that you are beginning a
connection.
Connecting the stream (continue)
Follow the instruction in the box.

Steps for making a connection:

3. Drag the cursor (while still
clicking on it) toward the left
side of the Cooler.
4. Place the cursor near the
connection point, and release
the cursor, the stream will snap
to that point.
Do the same for outlet stream
We next proceed to connect the inlet stream with the cooler. To do that, we
need to switch to the Attach mode. Click the attach mode & follow the
instruction in the box.

Steps for making a connection:

1. Position the cursor over the
right end of the Cooler icon.
2. Left-click and hold the cursor.
3. Move the cursor to the right of
the Cooler.
4. Release the cursor.
An energy stream is needed for a cooler
Beside the mass stream, we also need an energy stream for the cooler (note:
this is not needed in other simulation software). We next proceed to connect
the inlet stream with the cooler. To do that, we need to switch to the Attach
mode. Click the attach mode & follow the instruction in the box.

Energy stream

The icon change

to yellow now

Colour code for streams:

• Light blue:
incompletely specified
• Royal blue: properly
specified
 Feed stream specification
Double click on the inlet stream & put in the necessary info.

Double click on
the streams

Temp = 120 ºC;

Pressure = 100 kPa
(key in value &
press ENTER)
Feed stream specification
Click on “Composition” & click the Edit button.

Click on
Composition

Click on Edit
Feed stream specification
Enter the flowrate for water (Mass Flows). Click OK to exit.

Enter 50 kg/h &

press ENTER

Select Mass
Flows

Enter OK to
exit
 Equipment specification
Note that the inlet stream turns to royal blue colour once its properties are well
defined. We then double click the cooler & a new window will appear. The first
layer interface display the connections associated with this equipment. Click on
the 2nd layer interface, i.e. Parameters, specify that the cooler has a 0 pressure
drop (Delta P), and with a duty of 120 kJ/h. Please take note on the unit for the
duty. Just select the right one from the drop down list.

Stream change to
Double click on Royal blue Close to
the Cooler (properly specified) return to PFD

Click on
Parameters

Delta P = 0 kPa;
Duty = 120 kJ/h
Customize the Unit Set (Optional)
On the Menu Bar, go to Tool/Preferences, select the variable tab & pick the SI
unit, so that all output units are displayed in SI system.

Select SI
unit
 Simulation execution
For most simulators in the market, we need to press a button to execute the
simulation. However, we don’t need to do that for HYSYS. The default setting in
HYSYS is always in Solver Active mode. Hence, whenever we completed the
specification for the inlet stream and the unit, the model is solved automatically.

Stream
result
 View simulation results (Workbook)
 We may also view the simulation result using the Workbook.
 Click the Workbook icon on the Toolbar to activate the Workbook. Note that
the phase change of the water stream, i.e. from vapour to liquid phase. This
means that condensation happens in the cooler.

The Final
Temperature
 If we change the total heat to be removed from the chiller is 120
MJ/h in stead of 120 kJ/h, what will be the final temperature?

120 MJ/h
Remember to save your file…
 1- Equation of State

 Solving equations of state allows us to find the specific volume of a

gaseous mixture of chemicals at a specified temperature and pressure.
Without using equations of state, it would be virtually impossible for us to
design a chemical plant. By knowing this specific volume, we can
determine the size and thus the cost of the plant.
 HYSYS currently offers the enhanced Peng-Robinson (PR) and Soave-
Redlich-Kwong (SRK) equations of state. Of these, the Peng-Robinson
equation of state supports the widest range of operating conditions and
the greatest variety of systems. The Peng-Robinson and Soave-Redlich-
Kwong equations of state generate all required equilibrium and
thermodynamic properties directly.
 The PR and SRK packages contain enhanced binary interaction
parameters for all library hydrocarbon-hydrocarbon pairs (a combination of
fitted and generated interaction parameters), as well as for most
hydrocarbon-nonhydrocarbon binaries.
 This section will guide you to determine the specific volume of a gaseous
mixture of chemicals at a specified temperature and pressure.
 Equations Of State – Mathematical Formulations
 The ideal gas equation of state, which relates the pressure,
temperature, and specific volume, is a familiar equation:

The term p is the absolute pressure, V is the volume, n is the number if moles, R is
the gas constant, and T is the absolute temperature.
The units of R have to be appropriate for the units chosen for the other variables.
This equation is quite adequate when the pressure is low (such as one
atmosphere). However, many chemical processes take place at very high
pressure. Under these conditions, the ideal gas equation of state may not be valid
representation of reality.
 Other equations of states have been developed to address chemical
processes at high pressure. The first generalization of the ideal gas law was
the van der Waals equation of state:
 This extension is just a first step, however, because it will not be a good
approximation at extremely high pressures. The Redlich-Kwong equation of
state is a modification of van der Waal’s equation of state, and then was
modified further by Soave to give the Soave-Redlich-Kwong (SRK) equation of
state, which is a common one in process simulators. Another variation of Redlich-
Kwong equation of state is Peng-Robinson (PR) equation of state.
A comparison of the formulation used in HYSYS for the SRK and PR equations of state:
 Building The Simulation
Problem: Find the specific volume of n-butane at 500 K and 18 atm
using the following equation of state:
• Soave-Redlich-Kwong (SRK).
• Peng-Robinson (PR).
Start HYSYS and open a new case. Then enter the following values in the
specified fluid package view:

Click the Enter Simulation Environment button when you are ready to start
building the simulation. Add a stream with the following values:

Save the file

Go to the Tools menu and select Workbooks or click Ctrl+W as shown in Figure.
Next, click View and the Bookwork can be seen as shown in Figure.
 The Molar Volume value is presented in the Workbook as shown in the following
Figure.

What is the Molar Volume of n-butane?_____________________________________

 2- Pump

 Pumps are used to move liquids. The pump increases the pressure of the
liquid. This section begins with a problem to find the pump outlet
temperature when given the pump efficiency or vice versa. You will
operate a pump operation in HYSYS to model the pumping process.
 The Pump operation is used to increase the pressure of an inlet liquid
stream. Depending on the information specified, the Pump calculates
either an unknown pressure, temperature or pump efficiency.
Problem Statement
Water at 120 ºC and 3 bar is fed into a pump that has only 10% efficiency.
The flowrate of the water is 100 kgmole/h and its outlet pressure from the
pump is 84 bar. Using Peng-Robinson equation of state as a fluid package,
determine the outlet temperature of the water.

Building the Simulation

Start HYSYS and open a new case. Then enter the following values in the
specified fluid package view:
 Click the Enter Simulation Environment button when you are ready to
start building the simulation. Add a stream with the following values:

Add a second stream with the following properties.

This will install a pump on the PFD as shown in Figure:
 Double-click on the Pump P-100 icon to open the pump window as
shown in Figure:

The warning red message bar at the bottom of the window indicating that we
need an energy stream.
 To create an energy stream for the pump, click to the space in the
Energy, and type work. This will create energy stream name work for
the pump as shown in Figure :

Once a pump has enough information, a green bar appears at the bottom of the
window indicating that everything is “OK”.
 Tips: For pump to have enough information, it only requires outlet
pressure assuming that the inlet stream is fully specified.

Default efficiency for the pump is 75%. To change the efficiency, do the following:
1. Click on the Design tab of the pump window.
2. Then click on Parameters.
3. In the Adiabatic Efficiency box on the parameters page, enter 10. The units
should be in per cent as shown in Figure:
After the efficiency is entered the streams of the pumps should be
solved. Click on the Worksheet tab to view the results as shown in
Figure :

The outlet
temperature
of the water
is 138.1 °C
 This example shows that pumping liquid can increase their temperature. In this
case, the pump was only 10% efficient and it caused 18 °C in the temperature of
the water. The less efficient a pump is, the greater the increase in the
temperature of the fluid being pumped. This arises because in a low efficient
pump, more energy is needed to pump the liquid to get the same outlet pressure
of a more efficient pump. So the extra energy gets transferred to the fluid.

If the efficiency of the pump is 75%

The outlet temperature of the water is 121.2 °C. In this case , the pump was 75% efficient
and it cused 1.2 °C in the temperature of the water.
 3- Compressor
 This section begins with a problem to find the compressor outlet
temperature when given the compressor efficiency. You will
operate a compressor operation in HYSYS to model the
compressing process. At the end of this section, you will determine
the compressor outlet temperature when given compressor
efficiency or vice versa.
 The Compressor operation is used to increase the pressure of an inlet gas
stream. Depending on the information specified, the Compressor
calculates ether a stream property (pressure or temperature) or
compression efficiency.

Problem Statement
A mixture of natural gas (C1, C2, C3, i-C4, n-C4, i-C5, n-C5, n-C6, C7) at
100 ºC and 1 bar is fed into a compressor that has only 30% efficiency. The
flowrate of the natural gas is 100 kgmole/h and its outlet pressure from the
compressor is 5 bar. Using Peng-Robinson equation of state as a fluid
package, determine the outlet temperature of the natural gas.
Defining the Simulation Basis
Enter the following values in the specified fluid package view:

Adding a Feed Stream

Add a new Material stream with the following values.
Adding a Compressor
On the Connections tab, add a Compressor and enter the
following information as shown in Figure:
Switch to the Parameters page. Change the Adiabatic Efficiency to
30%.
Go to the Worksheet tab. On the Conditions page, complete the page as
shown in the following figure. The pressure for Comp_Out will be 5 bar.

What is the outlet temperature of the compressor? ___________________

 Discussion

This example shows that compressing gases can increase their

temperature. In this case, the compressor was only 30% efficient and it
caused 165.8 °C increase in the temperature of the natural gas. The less
efficient a compressor is, the greater the increase in the temperature of the
gases being compressed.
 4- Expander

 This section begins with a problem to find the expander outlet temperature
when given the expander efficiency. You will operate an expander
operation in HYSYS to model the expansion process. At the end of this
section, you will determine the expander outlet temperature when given
expansion efficiency or vice versa.
 The Expander operation is used to decrease the pressure of a high
pressure inlet gas stream to produce an outlet stream with low pressure
and high velocity. An expansion process involves converting the internal
energy of the gas to kinetic energy and finally to shaft work. The Expander
calculates either a stream property or an expansion efficiency.
 There are several methods for the Expander to solve, depending on what
information has been specified. In general, the solution is a function of
flow, pressure change, applied energy, and efficiency. The Expander
provides a great deal of flexibility with respect to what you can specify and
what it then calculates. You must ensure that you do not enable too many
of the solution options or inconsistencies may result.
 Problem Statement

A mixture of natural gas (methane, ethane and propane) at 25 ºC and 20 bar

is fed into an expander that has only 30% efficiency. The flowrate of the
natural gas is 100 kgmole/h and its outlet pressure from the expander is 5
bar. Using Peng-Robinson equation of state as a fluid package, determine
the outlet temperature of the natural gas.

Defining the Simulation Basis

1. Enter the following values in the specified fluid package view:

2. Click the Enter Simulation Environment button when you are ready to
start building the simulation.
 Adding a Feed Stream
Add a new Material stream with the following values.

Adding an Expander
On the Connections tab, add a expander and enter the following
information as shown in Figure:
 Go to the Worksheet tab. On the Conditions page, complete the
page as shown in the following figure. The pressure for Out will be
5 bar.

What is the outlet temperature of the expander? ___________________

Discussion
This example shows that expansion gases can decrease their temperature.
In this case, the expander was only 30% efficient and it caused 31°C
decrease in the temperature of the natural gas. The less efficient a
compressor is, the less the decrease in the temperature of the gases being
expanded.
 5- Heat Exchanger

 This section begins with a problem to find the flowrate of the cold stream
passing through the heat exchanger at the given stream conditions. In this
section, HYSYS’s shell and tube heat exchanger will be used to model the
process. The heat exchanger performs two-sided energy and material
balance calculations.
Problem Statement
Hot water at 250°C and 1000 psig is used to heat a cold stream of water in a
shell and tube heat exchanger. The inlet temperature and pressure of the
cold stream is 25°C and 130 psig, respectively. The outlet temperatures of
the cold and hot streams are 150°C and 190°C, respectively. If the flow rate
of the hot stream is 100 kg/h, determine the flow rate of the cold stream
passing through the exchanger.

Building the Simulation

Start HYSYS and open a new case. Then enter the following values in the
specified fluid package view:
 Click the Enter Simulation Environment button when you are ready to start
building the simulation. Add a stream with the following values:

Add another new Material stream with the following values.

Adding a Heat Exchanger

The heat exchanger performs two-sided energy and material balance calculations. The
heat exchanger is capable of solving the temperatures, pressures, heat flows (including
heat loss and heat leak), material stream flows, and UA.
 Shell in

Tube in

Tube out
Shell out
Double-click on the Heat Exchanger button on the Object Palette. On
the Connections page, enter the following information:
Switch to the Parameters page. Complete the page as shown in the
Figure. The pressure drops for the Tube and Shell sides, will be 0 kPa.
 Go to the Worksheet tab. On the Conditions page, complete the page as
shown in the following figure. The temperature for Shell out and Tube
out will be 150 ºC and 190 ºC, respectively.

The mass flowrate of the cold stream is 55.21 kg/h

At the given stream conditions and a hot stream flowrate of 100 kg/h, the flowrate of the
cold stream passing through the heat exchanger is approximately 55.21 kg/h.
 6- Flash Separator

 This section begins with a problem to find the flowrate of the liquid and
vapor outlet streams of the flash separator. In steady state mode, the
Separator divides the vessel contents into its constituent vapor and liquid
phases. The vapor and liquid in the vessel are allowed to reach
equilibrium, before they are separated.
 A Flash Separator is performed to determine the product conditions and
phases. The pressure at which the flash is performed is the lowest feed
pressure minus the pressure drop across the vessel. The enthalpy is the
combined feed enthalpy plus or minus the duty.
 The Separator has the ability to back-calculate results. In addition to the
standard application (completely defined feed stream(s) being separated
at the vessel pressure and enthalpy), the Separator can also use a known
product composition to determine the composition(s) of the other product
stream(s), and by a balance the feed composition.
 Problem Statement

We have a stream containing 15% ethane, 20% propane, 60% i-butane and
5% n-butane at 50 ºF and atmospheric pressure, and a flowrate of 100
lbmole/hr. This stream is to be compressed to 50 psia, and then cooled to 32
ºF. The resulting vapour and liquid are to be separated as the two product
streams. What are the flowrates and compositions of these two streams?

Defining the Simulation Basis

1. Enter the following values in the specified fluid package view:

2. Click the Enter Simulation Environment button when you are ready to
start building the simulation.
 Adding a Feed Stream
Add a new Material stream with the following values.

Adding a Compressor
1. Double-click on the Compressor button on the Object Palette.
2. On the Connections page, enter the following information
Go to the Worksheet tab. At the Conditions page, complete the
page as shown in the following Figure. The pressure for the Comp
Gas is 50 psia.
Adding a Cooler
1. Double-click on the Cooler button on the Object Palette.
2. On the Connections page, enter the following information:
3. Switch to the Parameters page and complete the page as shown
in the Figure. The pressure drop is 0 psia and the duty is 896
MJ/hr.
Adding a Flash Separator
1. Double-click on the Separator button on the Object Palette.
2. On the Connections page, enter the following information:
Results
 7- Conversion Reaction

 This section begins with a problem to develop a model that represents the
partial oxidation reaction of methane to produce hydrogen. The partial
oxidation method relies on the reaction of the methane with air in order to
produce carbon oxides and hydrogen.
 This reaction type does not require any thermodynamic knowledge. You
must input the stoichiometry and the conversion of the basis reactant. The
specified conversion cannot exceed 100%. The reaction will proceed until
either the specified conversion has been reached or a limiting reagent has
been exhausted.
 Conversion reactions may not be grouped with any other form of reaction
in a reaction set. However, they may be grouped with other conversion
reactions and ranked to operate either sequentially or simultaneously.
Lowest ranking occurs first (may start with either 0 or 1). Just as with
single reactions, simultaneous reactions cannot total over 100%
conversion of the same basis.
 Conversion reactions cannot be used with Plug Flow Reactors or CSTRs.
In general, they should only be used in Conversion Reactors.
 Problem Statement

The interest in production of hydrogen from hydrocarbons has grown

significantly in the last decade. Efficient production of hydrogen is an
enabling technology, directly related to the fuel cell energy conversion
device. The conversion of fuels to hydrogen can be carried out by the partial
oxidation. The partial oxidation method relies on the reaction of the fuel for
example methane with air in order to produce carbon oxides and hydrogen.

Develop a model that represents partial oxidation of methane to produce

hydrogen.

Building the Simulation

Start HYSYS and open a new case. Then enter the following values in the
specified fluid package view:
 Adding the Reactions
Reactions in HYSYS are added in a manner very similar to the method used to add
components to the simulation:
1. Click on the Reactions tab in the Simulation Basis Manager view. Note that all of the
components are shown in the Rxn Components list.
 Adding the Reactions
Reactions in HYSYS are added in a manner very similar to the method used to add
components to the simulation:
1. Click on the Reactions tab in the Simulation Basis Manager view. Note that all
of the components are shown in the Rxn Components list.

2. Click the Add Rxn button, and choose Conversion as the type from the displayed
list. Enter the necessary information as shown:
3. For the second reaction, enter the information as shown:
 Adding the Reaction Sets
Once all two reactions are entered and defined, you can create a reaction set
for the conversion reactor.

1. Still on the Reactions tab, click the Add Set button. Call the reaction set Oxidation Rxn
Set, and add Rxn-1 and Rxn-2. Reactions are added by highlighting the <empty> field in the
Active List group, and selecting the desired reaction from the drop down list. The view
should look like this after you are finished:
Then, Click
on Add to FP
 Making Sequential Reactions
Conversion reactions can be grouped with other conversion reactions and
ranked to operate either sequentially or simultaneously. Lowest ranking occurs
first (may start with either 0 or 1).
To make the reactions operate sequentially, in the Oxidation Rxn Set, click the Ranking…
and enter the information as shown:

Attaching Reaction Set to the Fluid Package

After the reaction set has been created, it must be added to the current fluid package in
order for HYSYS to use them.
1. Highlight the desired Reaction Set and press Add to FP.
2. Select the only available Fluid Package and press the Add Set to Fluid Package button.
3. If desired, you can save the Fluid Package with the attached reaction sets. This will allow
you to reopen this FP in any number of HYSYS simulations.
Once the reaction set is added to the Fluid Package, you can enter the Simulation
Environment and begin construction of the simulation.
Adding a Feed Stream
Add a new Material stream with the following values.
Add another new Material stream with the following values
 Adding the Conversion Reactor
1. From the Object Palette, click General Reactors. Another palette appears
with four reactor types: Gibbs, Equilibrium, Conversion and Yield. Select the
Conversion Reactor, and enter it into the PFD.

Conversion Reactor Icon

2. Name this reactor

Oxidation Reactor and
attach Methane and Air as
feeds. Name the vapor
outlet Ox_Vap and even
though the liquid product
from this reactor will be
zero, we still must name
the stream. Name the
liquid product stream as
Ox_Liq.
3. On the Details page of the Reactions tab, select Oxidation Rxn Set as the
reaction set. This will automatically connect the proper reactions to this
reactor.
4. Go to the Worksheet tab. On the Composition page, analyze the composition
in the Ox_Vap stream.

Save Your Case

 8- CSTR

 In this section, a flowsheet for the production of propylene glycol is

presented. Propylene oxide is combined with water to produce propylene
glycol in a continuously-stirred-tank reactor (CSTR).
 The propylene oxide and water feed streams are combined in a mixer. The
combined stream is fed to a reactor, operating at atmospheric pressure, in
which propylene glycol is produced.

Defining the Simulation Basis

1. Enter the following values in the specified fluid package view:
 Providing Binary Coefficients
The next task in defining the Fluid Package is providing the binary interaction
parameters.
1. Click the Binary Coeffs tab of the Fluid Package property view.

In the Activity Model Interaction Parameters group, the Aij interaction table appears by
default. HYSYS automatically inserts the coefficients for any component pairs for which
library data is available. You can change any of the values provided by HYSYS if you have
data of you own.
In this case, the only unknown coefficients in the table are for the 12C3Oxide/12-C3diol pair.
You can enter these values if you have available data, however, here, you will use one of
HYSYS’s built-in estimation methods instead.
 2. Next, you will use the UNIFAC VLE estimation method to estimate the
unknown pair.

3. Click the Unknowns Only button. HYSYS provides values for the unknown pair. The final
Activity Model Interaction Parameters table for the Aij coefficients appears below.

4. To view the Bij coefficient table, select the Bij radio button. For this case, all the Bij
coefficients will be left at the default value of zero.
 Defining the Reaction
1. Return to the Simulation Basis Manager
2. Click the Reactions tab. This tab allows you to define all the reactions for the
flowsheet. The reaction between water and propylene oxide to produce
propylene glycol is as follows:

These steps will be followed in defining our reaction:

i. Create and define a Kinetic Reaction.
ii. Create a Reaction Set containing the reaction.
iii. Activate the Reaction Set to make it available for use in the flowsheet.
Creating the Reaction
1. In the Reactions group, click the Add Rxn button. The reactions property view appears.
2. In the list, select the Kinetic reaction type, then click the Add Reaction button. The
Kinetic Reaction property view appears, opened to the Stoichiometry tab. Enter the
necessary information as shown:
HYSYS provides default values for the Forward Order and Reverse Order based on the
reaction stoichiometry. The kinetic data for this case is based on an excess of water, so
the kinetics are first order in Propylene Oxide only.
3. In the Fwd Order cell for H2O, change the value to 0 to reflect the excess of water.
The stoichiometry tab is now completely defined and appears as shown below.
 The next task is to define the reaction basis.
4. In the Kinetic Reaction property view, click the Basis tab.
5. In the Basis cell, accept the default value of Molar Concn.

6. Click in the Base Component cell. By default, HYSYS has chosen the first
component listed on the Stoichiometry tab, in this case Propylene oxide, as the
base component.
7. In the Rxn Phase cell, select CombinedLiquid from the drop-down list. The
completed Basis tab appears below.
8. Click the Parameters tab. On this tab you provide the Arrhenius parameters for
the kinetic reaction. In this case, there is no Reverse Reaction occurring, so you
only need to supply the Forward Reaction parameters.
9. In the Forward Reaction A cell, enter 1.7 E13.
10. In the Forward Reaction E cell (activation energy), enter 3.24 E4 (btu/lbmole).
The status indicator at the bottom of the Kinetic Reaction property view changes
from Not Ready to Ready, indicating that the reaction is completely defined. The
final Parameters tab appears below.
11. The next task is to create a reaction set that will contain the new reaction. In
the Reaction Sets list, HYSYS provides the Global Rxn Set which contains all of
the reactions you have defined. In this case, since there is only one reactor, the
default Global Rxn Set could be attached to it. Add Rxn-1 to Global Rxn Set.
12. The final task is to make the set available to the Fluid Package,
which also makes it available in the flowsheet. Add the Reaction Set to
the Fluid Package. Once the reaction set is added to the Fluid Package,
Click Enter the Simulation Environment and begin construction of the
simulation.
Add the Reaction
Set to the Fluid
Package
 Adding a Feed Stream

Add a new Material stream with the following values.

Add another new Material stream with the following values.

Installing Unit Operations
Now that the feed streams are known, your next task is to install the necessary
unit operations for producing the glycol.
Installing the Mixer
The first operation is a Mixer, used to combine the two feed streams. Enter the
necessary information as shown:
Installing the Reactor
1. From the Object Palette, click CSTR, and enter it into the PFD.
2. Name this reactor CSTR and attach Mix_Out as feed. Name the
vapor outlet CSTR Vent and the liquid product stream as CSTR
Product.
3. On the Details page of the Reactions tab, select Global Rxn Set as
the reaction set. This will automatically connect the proper reactions
to this reactor.
 4. The next task is to specify the Vessel Parameters. In this case, the
reactor has a volume of 280 ft3 and is 85% full.
5. Click the Dynamics tab, then select the Specs page.

6. In the Model Details group, click in the Vessel Volume cell. Type 280 (ft3).
7. In the Liq Volume Percent cell, type 85.
 8. Click on the Worksheet tab. At this point, the reactor product
streams and the energy stream coolant are unknown because the
reactor has one degree of freedom. At this point, either the outlet
stream temperature or the cooling duty can be specified.
9. Initially the reactor is assumed to be operating at isothermal conditions,
therefore, the outlet temperature is equivalent to the feed temperature, 75o ºF.
In the CSTR Product column, enter 75 at the Temperature cell.
10. There is no phase change in the Reactor under isothermal
conditions since the flow of the vapor product stream CSTR Vent is
zero. In addition, the required cooling duty has been calculated and is
represented by the Heat Flow of the Coolant stream.
 11. The next step is to examine the Reactor conversion as a function of
temperature. Click the Reactions tab, then select the Results page. The
conversion appears in the Reactor Results Summary table.

Under the current conditions, the Actual Percent Conversion (Act.% Cnv.) in the
Reactor is 99.96% and the reaction extent is 68.01. The conversion appears in
the Reactor Results Summary table.
 9- Absorber

This section introduces the use of Aspen HYSYS to model a continuous gas
absorption process in a packed column. The only unit operation contained in
the Absorber is the Tray Section, and the only streams are the overhead
vapor and bottom liquid products. There are no available specifications for
the Absorber, which is the base case for all tower configurations. The
conditions and composition of the column feed stream, as well as the
operating pressure, define the resulting converged solution. The converged
solution includes the conditions and composition of the vapor and liquid
product streams.

Problem Statement
CO2 is absorbed into propylene carbonate in a packed column. The inlet gas
stream is 20 mol% CO2 and 80 mol% methane. The gas stream flows at a
rate of 2 m3/s and the column operates at 60 ºC and 60.1 atm. The inlet
solvent flow is 2000 kmol/h. Use Aspen HYSYS to determine the
concentration of CO2 (mole%) in the exit gas stream, the column height (m)
and the column diameter (m).
 Defining the Simulation Basis
Enter the following values in the specified fluid package view:

Adding a Feed Stream

Click the Enter Simulation Environment button and Add a new Material
stream with the following values.
 Add another new Material stream with the following values.

Adding an Absorber
Double-click on the Absorber button on the Object Palette. On the
Connections page, enter the following information:
Click Next, and then enter the following information as shown in the
following Figure:
Click Next, and then enter the following information as shown in Figure.
Then, click the Done… button.
By clicking on the done button, HYSYS will bring up a window as shown in
Figure.
 Running the Simulation
When the column window as shown in the previous Figure pops up, click on
the Run button located near the bottom of the window. The red
Unconverged box should turn to green Converged if all the above
procedure was followed.
 10- Separation Columns

 Recovery of natural-gas liquids (NGL) from natural gas is quite common

in natural gas processing. Recovery is usually done to:
 Produce transportable gas (free from heavier hydrocarbons which may
condense in the pipeline).
 Meet a sales gas specification.
 Maximize liquid recovery (when liquid products are more valuable than
gas).

 HYSYS can model a wide range of different column configurations. In this

simulation, an NGL Plant will be constructed, consisting of three columns:
 De-Methanizer (operated and modelled as a Reboiled Absorber column).
 De-Ethanizer (Distillation column).
 De-Propanizer (Distillation column).
Process Overview
 Column
Overviews

DC1: De-Methanizer
 Column
Overviews

DC2: De-Ethanizer
 Column
Overviews

DC3: De-Propanizer
 Defining the Simulation Basis
Start a new case.
2. Select the Peng Robinson EOS.
3. Add the components: N2, CO2, C1 - C8.
4. Enter the Simulation Environment.
Adding the Feed Streams
1. Add a Material Stream with the following data:
2. Add another Material Stream with the following data:
 I- Adding De-Methanizer
The De-Methanizer is modelled as a reboiled absorber operation,
with two feed streams and an energy stream feed, which
represents a side heater on the column.

1. Add an Energy stream with the following values:

2. Double-click on the Reboiled Absorber icon on the Object Palette. The

first Input Expert view appears.
3. Complete the view as shown below:
4. Click the Next button to proceed to the next page.
5. Supply the following information to the Pressure Estimates
page. If you are using field units, the values will be 330 psia and
335 psia, for the Top Stage Pressure and Reboiler Pressure,
respectively.
6. Click the Next button to proceed to the next page.
7. Enter the temperature estimates shown below. In field units, the
top stage temperature estimate will be -125°F, and the reboiler
temperature estimate will be 80°F.
8. Click the Next button to continue.
9. For this case, no information is supplied on the last page of the
Input Expert, so click the Done button.
When you click the Done button, HYSYS will open the Column
property view. Access the Monitor page on the Design tab.
Before you converge the column, make sure that the
specifications are as shown above. You will have to enter the
value for the Ovhd Prod Rate specification. The specified value is
1338 kgmole/h (2950 lbmole/hr). Once this value is entered, the
column will start running and should converge.
What is the mole fraction of Methane in DC1 Ovhd? _____________
What is the flowrate of the overhead product, DC1 Ovhd? _____________
 Adding a Pump
The pump is used to move the De-Methanizer bottom product to
the De-Ethanizer.

Install a pump and enter the following information:

II- Adding De-Ethanizer

The De-Ethanizer column is modeled as a distillation column, with 16
stages, 14 trays in the column, plus the reboiler and condenser. It operates
at a pressure of 2760 kPa (400 psia). The objective of this column is to
produce a bottom product that has a ratio of ethane to propane of 0.01.
1. Double-click on the Distillation Column button on the Object
Palette and enter the following information.
 2. Click the Run button to run the column.

What is the flowrate of C2 and C3 in DC2 Btms?

C2__________, C3_____________, Ratio of C2/C3___________

3. On the Specs page, click the Add button to create a new specification.
4. Select Column Component Ratio as the specification type and provide the
following information:

5. On the Monitor tab, deactivate the Ovhd Vap Rate specification and
activate the C2/C3 specification which you created.
What is the flowrate of DC2 Ovhd? _______________
 Adding a Valve
A valve is required to reduce the pressure of the stream DC2 Btm
before it enters the final column, the De-Propanizer.

Add a Valve operation and provide the following information:

III- Adding De-Propanizer

The De-Propanizer column is represented by a distillation column consisting
of 25 stages, 24 trays in the column plus the reboiler. (Note that a total
condenser does not count as a stage). It operates at 1620 kPa (235 psia).
There are two process objectives for this column. One is to produce an
overhead product that contains no more than 1.50 mole percent of i-C4 and
n-C4 and the second is that the concentration of propane in the bottom
product should be less than 2.0 mole percent.
 1. Add a distillation column and provide the following information:

What is the mole fraction of C3 in the overhead and bottoms products?

__________ and __________
 3. Create two new Component Fraction specifications for the
column.

4. Deactivate the Distillate Rate and Reflux Ratio specifications.

5. Activate the iC4, and nC4, and C3 specifications which you created.
 Utilizing HYSYS for Process Engineering Problem
Solving: A Project Report

Introduction:
This project aimed to enhance students' proficiency in utilizing HYSYS by
engaging them in solving various process engineering problems. Through
this project, students were expected to manipulate the HYSYS interface,
generate process flow diagrams (PFDs) from text descriptions, explore
process modeling options, evaluate the impact of thermodynamics property
packages on simulation results, and extract relevant physical properties from
HYSYS.

Objective:
The primary objective of this project was to empower students with practical
skills in utilizing HYSYS for solving process engineering problems. By the
end of the project, students were expected to demonstrate proficiency in
navigating the HYSYS interface, translating textual descriptions into PFDs,
analyzing different process engineering options, assessing the influence of
thermodynamics property packages on simulation outcomes, and extracting
pertinent physical properties from HYSYS.
 Methodology:
he project comprised several case studies wherein students were
presented with text descriptions of process engineering problems.
They were required to utilize HYSYS to solve these problems by
following a systematic approach. The process involved manipulating
the HYSYS interface to input relevant parameters, select appropriate
thermodynamics property packages, and analyze simulation results.
Results and Discussion:
Through the project, students successfully demonstrated their ability to
manipulate the HYSYS interface and produce accurate PFDs from text
descriptions. They effectively explored various process engineering options
within HYSYS and evaluated the impact of different thermodynamics
property packages on simulation outcomes.
Conclusion:
The project served as a valuable learning experience for students, enabling
them to enhance their proficiency in utilizing HYSYS for solving process
engineering problems. By actively engaging with HYSYS, students
developed practical skills in process simulation, analysis, and interpretation.
Moving forward, the knowledge and experience gained from this project will
undoubtedly benefit students in their academic and professional endeavors
within the field of process engineering.
 Case 1: Process Involving Reaction and
Separation

Toluene is produced from n-heptane by dehydrogenation over a Cr2O3

catalyst:

The toluene production process is started by heating n-heptane from 65 to

800 ºF in a heater. It is fed to a catalytic reactor, which operates isothermally
and converts 15 mol% of the n-heptane to toluene. Its effluent is cooled to 65
ºF and fed to a separator (flash). Assuming that all of the units operated at
atmospheric pressure, determine the species flow rates in every stream.
Solution
1. Start HYSYS and File/New/Case.
2. Simulation Basis Manager will pop up. Click Add. Fluid Package window
will be opened. Choose Peng Robinson as Base Property Package.
3. Open Component page of Fluid Package window and add components
(toluene, n-heptane, and hydrogen) and close the Fluid Package.
4. Click Enter Simulation Environment at the bottom of Simulation Basis
Manager.
 5. Click Heater in the Object Palette and click it on Process Flow
Diagram (PFD). Click General Reactor, three different reactors will
pop up, click conversion reactor and click it on PFD. Do the same
for the Cooler and Separator.
6. Name inlets and outlets of all process units as shown in PFD diagram on
the Figure.
7. You will notice that the reactor is colored red with the error message,
“Need a reaction set.” Now we need to input what the reaction is. Click
Flowsheet/Reaction Package. Add Global Rxn Set. Then, click Add Rxn at
the lower right side of the window and choose Conversion. Add three
components (n-Heptane, Toluene, Hydrogen) and Stoich Coeff (-1, 1, 4).
Click Basis page, and type 15 for Co (this is the conversion). Close windows
until you see PFD.
8. Double click reactor. Choose Global Rxn Set as Reaction set and close
the window.
9. Now, open worksheet, and type in all the known conditions for the
streams. Note that only blue colored fonts are the values that you specified.
If you more information than the degree of freedom allows, it will give you
error messages.
 Case 2: Process Involving Recycle

Ethyl chloride will be produced by the gas-phase reaction of HCl with

ethylene over a copper chloride catalyst supported on silica as

The feed stream is composed of 50 mol% HCl, 48 mol% C2H4, and 2 mol%
N2 at 100 kmol/hr, 25 ºC, and 1 atm. Since the reaction achieves only 90
mol% conversion, the ethyl chloride product is separated from the unreacted
reagents, and the latter is recycled. The separation is achieved using a
distillation column, where it is assumed that a perfect separation is
achievable. The process is operated at atmospheric pressure, and pressure
drops are ignored. To prevent the accumulation of inerts in the system, 10
kmol/hr is withdrawn in a purge stream, W.
Show the effect of the flowrate of the purge stream W on the recycle R and
on the composition of the reactor feed.
 Solution

1. Start HYSYS and choose Peng Robinson as Base Property Package.

Open Component page of Fluid Package window and add components
(ethylene (or ethene), hydrogen_chloride, ethyl_chloride, and nitrogen) and
close the Fluid Package.
2. Click Enter Simulation Environment and click Mixer in the Object
Palette and click it on Process Flow Diagram (PFD). Do the same for the
Conversion Reactor, component Splitter, Tee (Tee is at the right side of
mixer in Object Pallette), and Recycler as shown in the Figure.
3. Name all streams as shown in the Figure.
4. Click Flowsheet/Reaction Package. Add Global Rxn Set. Then, click Add
Rxn at the lower right side of the window and choose Conversion. Add three
components (ethylene, hydrogen_chloride, and ethyl_chloride) and Stoich
Coeff (-1, -1, 1). Click Basis page, and type 90 for Co for Ethylene as a
basis. Close windows until you see PFD.
5. Double click the Conversion Reactor. Choose Global Rxn Set as Reaction
set and close the window.
 Solution

6. Double click the Recycle and set your Parameter/Tolerance to be all “1.”
7. Since it was assumed that the components were separated perfectly, ethyl
chloride was recovered in the bottom at 100% purity, with the other three
components in the overhead product. This can be specified by double clicking
Component Splitter and Clicking Splits (Under Design) and filling in 0 for ClC2
and 1’s for other three components.
8. Now open Workbook. Check the units to see if it is in SI units. Otherwise,
change the unit by clicking Tools/Preferences/Variables. Choose SI and click
Clone and change the units so that it is most convenient to you.
9. Fill in the Workbook with all the given condition, starting from the Feed
stream: temperature (25 ºC), pressure (1 atm), and molar flow (100 kmol/hr).
Double click 100 (molar flow rate), and fill in the composition and close.
10. Continue to fill in the Workbook for the R* stream with the flow rate of zero
and the condition and composition equal to those of the feed, to allow
computations to proceed. Fill in the temperature (25 ºC) of the streams S3,
S4, and P. Fill in the pressure (1 atm) of the streams S4 and P.
11. Specify the molar flow rate of the stream of W to be 10 kmol/hr. Now you
can open the Worksheet to see the result of the calculation.