CHE-S406

Process Simulation Lab

(CHEMCAD)

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Introduction
CHEMCAD is a powerful and effective software tool for chemical process simulation. This
process simulation software has been developed by Chemstations Inc, Houston, Texas, USA.
CHEMCAD has a variety of applications which include:
• Project/Process Design - initial design of new processes
• Optimization or de‐bottlenecking of existing processes
• Performance monitoring of processes
• Design and rating of process equipment such as vessels, columns, heat exchangers, piping
, valves, and instrumentation
• Evaluation of safety relief devices
• Pressure and flow balancing of complex piping networks
• Economic comparisons of process alternatives
• Advanced process control (APC), including model predictive control (MPC), real‐
time optimization (RTO), and operator training systems (OTS)
• Scale‐up of processes from lab‐scale to pilot‐scale, and from pilot‐scale to fullscale
• Batch reaction rate regression from process or lab data

Apart from being widely used as a teaching tool in academic programs across the world,
CHEMCAD is used in industries such as Refining, Pharmaceuticals, Commodity chemicals, Fine
and speciality chemicals, Engineering and construction, Process Equipment Manufacturing etc.

CHEMCAD has a user‐ friendly state-of-the-art graphical user interface (GUI) which makes
creating flow sheets and running simulations fast and easy. CHEMCAD has an extensive
chemical component database, a large library of thermodynamic data, and a library of the most
common unit operations.
In addition, the program is customizable to allow custom chemicals, thermodynamics, unit operati
ons, calculations, and reporting. CHEMCAD is capable of modeling continuous, batch, and semi‐
batch processes, and it can simulate both steady‐state and dynamic systems.
The version used in this laboratory is CHEMCAD version 7.0. The suite includes CC-STEADY
STATE, CC-THERM, CC-BATCH, CC-DYNAMICS and CC-SAFETY NET software.

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Different modules of CHEMCAD

The CHEMCAD suite consists of several modules that serve specific purposes.

CC-STEADY STATE

The main CHEMCAD product, known as CC-STEADY STATE, enables one to design new
processes, rate existing processes, and optimize processes in steady state.

CC-DYNAMICS

The module known as CC‐DYNAMICS can be used to design and rate existing processes using a
dynamic simulation. This module is fully integrated with CHEMCAD to make switching between
steady state and dynamics easy and intuitive. Using CC‐DYNAMICS one can easily simulate
everything from simple vessel accumulation to complex control systems on columns. This module
also provides tools for simulation of continuous stirred‐tank reactors (CSTRs), including complex
reaction rate and pressure calculation.

CC-BATCH

The CC‐BATCH product enables one to design, rate, or optimize a batch distillation column.

CC-THERM

The CC‐THERM product can be used to design a single heat exchanger, or to rate existing
exchangers in new service, or to perform calculations on hypothetical situations.
CCTHERM can simulate shell‐and‐tube, air‐cooled, plate‐and‐frame, double‐pipe exchangers.

CC-SAFETY NET

CCSAFETY NET provides the capability to design or rate piping networks and safety relief
devices and systems, in both steady‐state and dynamic systems. The steady‐state features of CC‐
SAFETY NET are included with CCSTEADY STATE. This product can be used to
make simultaneous flow‐ and pressure‐balanced simulations even in reverse‐flow situations—
for single‐ or multi‐phase flow.

CC-FLASH

The CC‐FLASH module provides physical property and phase equilibrium data, as well as
property prediction and regression. CC‐FLASH is a subset of CC‐STEADY STATE.

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CHE-S406 Process Simulation Lab Syllabus
CHEMCAD Process simulation software used for

Sl.
Topic
No.
1. Comparing different models for computing thermodynamic and transport
properties such as K-values, Enthalpy, VLE data etc. for pure substances and
mixtures; Flash calculations and VLE of azeotropic mixtures
2. Design of flow network consisting of fittings, pumps and piping (horizontal,
vertical & inclined); single and multiple branches
3. Calculations for performances of pumps, compressors, expanders, valves etc

4. Preparing steady state process flow sheets (equipment selection, numbering,

stream designation) and carrying out mass and energy balances with and
without recycle for chemical processes
5. Design and rating of heat exchangers (with and without phase changes); double
pipe, shell and tube, plate and frame heat exchangers
6. Design and rating of separation processes - simple distillation column with
different reflux ratios (short cut design), rigorous column design; multi-
component distillation column design, sequencing of distillation columns,
absorption and stripping, liquid-liquid extraction
7. Simulating performance of different reactor models for reversible and
irreversible reactions
8. Batch reactor rate regression from process or lab data
9. Control of simple unit operations

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List of problems

Sl. No. Problem Sheet No. Topic Page

No
1. Problem Sheet 1 Selection of K-value models and Enthalpy models 10
VLE data – Estimation of dew points and bubble points
2. Problem Sheet 2 12
of mixtures
Calculation for performances of pumps, compressors,
3. Problem Sheet 3 14
expanders and valves
Development of flow networks consisting of horizontal,
4. Problem Sheet 4 vertical & inclined piping, fittings, valves and pumps having 16
single and multiple branches
5. Problem Sheet 5 Design of flow network as per given diagram 18
Material and energy balances for a process without
6. Problem Sheet 6 20
recycle
7. Problem Sheet 7 Material and energy balances for a process with recycle 21
Development of flow-sheets and simulation of the given
8. Problem Sheet 8 23
processes
9. Problem Sheet 9 Design of Stoichiometric reactor, CSTR and PFR 24

10. Problem Sheet 10 Design and rating of double pipe heat exchangers 26

11. Problem Sheet 11 Design and rating of shell and tube heat exchangers 27
Design and rating of distillation column by the short-cut
12. Problem Sheet 12 29
method
13. Problem Sheet 13 Performance study of a control valve 31

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How to create a basic simulation in CHEMCAD

The basic procedure for creating a simulation can be broken down into the following steps:

1. Start a new simulation –

Open a new, empty workspace. The screen will display the Menu bar on the top, the Workspace
in the middle and the unit Operations Pallete showing icons on the right side. Select File > Save
As to save your simulation file. Specify a name and the location for saving for the file. Create a
Folder in the Desktop of your PC and write your name and roll no as the Folder name. Save all
your simulation files in this folder. The file extention to all CHEMCAD simulation files is .CC7.

2. Select engineering units for the simulation –

The engineering units for this simulation can be chosen by going to the ‘Format’ icon in top Menu
and the ‘Engineering Units’. The choice of units can be made as per the problem
requirement. Click ‘OK’ to select.

3. Select chemical components for the process –

This is done by going to the ‘Thermophysical’ icon on top Menu and then to ‘Select components’.
This box shows Available components on the left side and the Selected components on the right
side. The components required for your problem can be located by either going down the list in
available components or typing the name of the component in the in the search field. The selected
component can then be moved to the right hand active area by clicking the > button. If your
desired compound is ‘ethane’, then tying this in the search field will first highlight ‘methane’ (as
the letters ‘ethane’ is contained in the word ‘methane’). Pressing the Next button (once or more as
the case may be) will take you to your desired component ‘ethane’.
Pressing ‘OK’ after choosing the components will get you to the ‘Thermodynamic Wizard’ Dialog
Box where Temperature and Pressure ranges need to be mentioned. Enter the values according to
your problem.

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4. Select K‐value and enthalpy options for the process –

Selecting ‘OK’ after entering temperature and pressure ranges will take you to the
‘Thermodynamic Settings’ page. The software selects the models for Enthalpy calculations and K
value calculations as per the components and temperature and pressure ranges given. In the initial
stages it is advisable to go with the models chosen by the software.
5. Create a flowsheet with the appropriate streams and unit operations –

To create the flow sheet for your simulation, you will need to add the appropriate Unit Operation
icons to your workspace and connect those Unit Operations to one another with streams. The tools
for drawing the flow sheet are located in the Palette pane. The Unit Op icons are divided into
different Unit Op categories or all of them can be viewed in the All UnitOp category.

The flow sheet should start with a ‘Feed’ arrow for each feed stream. Similarly the ‘Product’
arrow should be used to indicate each of the final product streams. The stream used to join two
units must start from the red port of the first unit and reach the blue port of the second one.

As you start adding the different UnitOp icons to create your flow sheet, you will observe that the
units are numbered starting from left to right. The unit number (UnitOp ID) is enclosed in a circle.
Similarly the streams are also numbered from left to right. In this case the stream numbers
(Stream ID) are enclosed by a square.

6. Define the feed streams used in the process –

Now you need to define the feed streams by double‐clicking the stream. The Edit Stream dialog
box will pop up. You must specify exactly two of the following three variables:
• Temperature
• Pressure
• Vapour fraction

In order to define the stream composition, you will need to specify a composition unit (select from
the drop down list) and the amount of each component that is present in the stream.

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If you enter your component amounts as fractions, then you must also enter a total flow rate. If yo
u enter composition amounts using quantitative flow units, CHEMCAD calculates the total flow r
ate .
On pressing the ‘Flash’ button CHEMCAD will the third variable (among temperature, pressure
and vapour fraction) and enthalpy based on the variables specified and thermodynamic methods
selected.

7. Enter specifications for the unit operations –

Specifications for each unit operation can be entered by double clicking the UnitOp icon. The
necessary data that need to be entered will depend on the particular unit operation. For eg., for a
stream divider unit one has to specify the split in terms of flow ratio or molar flow rate; for a heat
exchanger you may have to enter the desired outlet temperature of a stream.

8. Run the simulation –

Now that you’ve drawn the flowsheet and added detail to the streams and UnitOps that make up t
he flowsheet, you can run the simulation. You can either select Run > Run > Run All or simply
click the blue Run All button on the toolbar. If required you can also simulate each UnitOp at a
time. This can be done by right clicking on the particular UnitOp and then choosing ‘Run This
Unit Op’ option from the drop-down list.

When you run a simulation, CHEMCAD calculates material and energy balances throughout the
entire flowsheet and returns any errors or warnings discovered in the flowsheet. If the run comple
tes successfully, a Run finished message appears at the far left of the status bar, at the very botto
m of the CHEMCAD window.

9. Review the results of the simulation –

After a simulation has successfully run, it is possible to generate individual text-based reports or
graphical plots. Reports can provide data on any single stream or UnitOp or any group of streams
or UnitOps.

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Instructions for preparing lab report

1. Lab reports must be submitted in a transparent clip file.

2. The first page of the report should have the name of the student; roll no., allotted computer
no. and course name and code.
Name:
Roll No:
Computer No:
Process Simulation Lab (CHE-S406)

3. The next page should have the index as per the following
Date Problem Topic Page no. Teacher’s Signature
sheet no. remark
This page should be updated before submitting each report.

4. The student should go through the lab manual and should write a brief introduction about
the topic before starting each problem sheet.

5. The results of the problems must be recorded in the written report for each problem sheet.

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 Problem Sheet 1

The selection of K-value and Enthalpy models is the most critical step in process simulation. An improper
selection leads to unreliable results.

Once you have selected the engineering units (from the format menu) and all the components involved in
the process (from the Thermophysical menu), the Thermodynamics Wizard dialog box will appear. This
has the temperature and pressure ranges. You can click ‘OK’ to select the default values or enter your own
parameter range and the click ‘OK’. Next would be the suggested models for calculating K values and
Enthalpy values. Clicking ‘OK’ on the subsequent sheets would mean that the default value suggested by
the software is chosen. The software usually suggests models based on the components and the
temperature and pressure ranges.

In case you want to choose your own models, you can do so by selecting the desired model from the drop
down menu for Global K-value Model. In the K-value Models tab, change the Global Phase Option to
Vapor/Liquid/Liquid/Solid from Vapor/Liquid/Solid if there is a chance of liquid-liquid equilibrium
existing. Make sure you draw two product streams if the above possibility exists. You can also change the
Enthalpy model by clicking on the Enthalpy model tab and selecting the desired model from the drop down
menu. Click OK to accept the selection.

It is also possible to choose different models to calculate the Transport Properties (third tab) such as
density, viscosity, surface tension, thermal conductivity etc. Unless you are absolutely sure about a
particular model that you want to use for these calculations, it is best to use the default options suggested
by the software.

Problems on comparing different K-value models and Enthalpy models:

(a) A 100 kmol/h non-ideal equimolar mixture of Acetonitrile and Benzene (Temp = 350 K,
Pressure = 101325 Pa) is flashed at specified Pressure = 101325 Pa and vapor fraction = 0.5.
The default K-value model suggested by the software is NRTL and the default Enthalpy
model is LATE (Latent Heat).
Use the different models such as (A) Ideal vapour phase (Raoult’s law)
(B) UNIQUAC
(C) UNIFAC
and compare the results with that of the default (D) NRTL model. Do not change the enthalpy
model.
Compare the following values using the four different models: (i) Temp in flash drum (ii)
amount of liquid and vapour (iii) composition of liquid and vapour (in mol frac) (iv) K values
for acetonitrile and benzene (v) enthalpies of feed, vapour and liquid streams

Does the acetonitrile-benzene system form an azeotrope? Plot the TPXY plot using the NRTL
model to determine this. Does the azeotropic point change if the K-value model is changed
from NRTL to UNIFAC?

Does more than one liquid phase exist for the acetonitrile-benzene system?

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(b) An equimolar mixture of Benzene and Water (Temp = 375 K, Pressure = 101325 Pa) is
flashed at a pressure of 101325 Pa and for vapour fraction = 0.5. Use UNIFAC as K-value
model and LATE as Enthalpy model. Report the details of the product streams after
‘running’ the flash vaporizer.
How many liquid phases exist for this system? What does this indicate?

(c) A 100 kmol mixture of hydrocarbons (ethane = 30 kmol/h, propane = 50 kmol/h, n-butane
= 10 kmol/h) and water (10 kmol/h) is flashed at T = 300 K and P = 690 kPa.
Specifying process conditions as: Temperature range (260-360 K) and pressure range
(101325-700000 Pa) in the Thermodynamics Wizard box.
Considering the components and the T and P range, the Wizard selects the Soave-Redlich-
Kwong (SRK) as both the K-value and Enthalpy models. Notice that the
Water/Hydrocarbon Solubility is marked as "Immiscible." As a result, one stream will
have pure water.
Report the results after ‘running’ the flash vaporizer.
Choose Peng-Robinson (PR) instead of SRK as the K-value and Enthalpy model and
report results. Does choosing PR give a different result for the flash calculation?
Report the K values for the different components and observe the huge difference in the
values between the different components.

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 Problem Sheet 2

In Vapor-Liquid Equilibrium (VLE) liquid and vapor phases coexist in equilibrium. If the overall
composition is known (feed composition) then two variables are required to fix the state of the system.
The Flash UnitOp modes offer combinations of variables to be specified: Temperature, Pressure, Vapor
Fraction, and Duty.
Based on the feed composition and conditions, the Flash UnitOp calculates the other variables, as well as
the quantities and compositions of the vapour and liquid phases in equilibrium.

P,T - Flash General Flash

Use inlet T and P (Mode 0) OR Specify T and Heat (Mode 3)

Specify T and P (Mode 2) Specify P and Heat (Mode 5)
Flash calculates V/F and Heat Flash calculates V/F and P/T respectively

2 17

1
6

1
16

3
18

Bubble Temperature Bubble Pressure

Specify P and V/F (Mode 1) Specify T and V/F (Mode 4)

Set V/F = 0 Set V/F = 0
Flash calculates T and Heat Flash calculates P and Heat

5 8

2 3

4 7

6 9

Dew Temperature Dew Pressure

Specify P and V/F (Mode 1) Specify T and V/F (Mode 4)

Set V/F = 1 Set V/F = 1
Flash calculates T and Heat Flash calculates P and Heat

11 14

4 5

10 13

12 15

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Problems on estimating dew and bubble points of mixture:

(a) Determine the bubble pressure and dew pressure of a 30% benzene, 30% toluene and 40%
ethyl benzene mixture at 150oC. Draw the P-x-y plot.

(b) (i) Calculate the bubble temp and the composition of the first bubble of the following
mixture at 8.3 bar.
(ii) What is the dew temperature and the composition of the first dew for the mixture at 8.3
bar.
Component Molar flow rate (kmol/h)
Propane 5
i-butane 15
n-butane 25
i-pentane 20
n-pentane 35

(c) A feed stream containing 30% n-pentane, 30% n-hexane and 40% n-heptane is
continuously fed to a flash vaporizer maintained at 200 kPa and 90oC. Determine the
compositions of liquid and vapour streams leaving the unit and the fraction of feed
vaporized in the unit.

(d) A 500 kmol/h feed consisting of 40, 20, 15, 25 mole% of propane, n-butane, n-pentane and
n-hexane respectively enter a flash chamber at 110 psia and 200oF. The flash drum
operates at 100 psia and 200 oF. Compute the composition of the exit streams.

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 Problem Sheet 3

(I) The Compressor/Expander module simulates an isentropic or polytropic

compressor/expander operation. Output pressure, pressure ratio (P out/P in), or actual work
required/generated by the compressor/expander may be specified. If output pressure or
pressure ratio is specified, the output stream condition and actual work is calculated. If the
actual work is specified, the output pressure as well as output stream conditions are
calculated. The adiabatic efficiency of the compressor/expander can also be calculated if both
the output pressure and the actual work are specified.
Compressor/Expander model type:

1. Adiabatic compression/expansion - This is the default setting. In this mode, the unit will perform
adiabatic (isentropic) compression/expansion.
2. Polytropic compression/expansion - In this mode, we will calculate Cv rigorously using an
equation of state enthalpy model.
3. Polytropic with ideal Cp/Cv - In this mode, CHEMCAD will calculate Cv based on the ideal gas
correlation Cp-Cv=R. Note that this is not accurate for most real gases.

Problem:

1.(a) In a high pressure process for the production of polystyrene, ethylene is compressed in
several steps. Estimate the work required to compress 10 kmol/h of ethylene to 25 MPa in a
two-stage compressor. A reciprocating compressor operating on polytropic compression will
be used with efficiency of 86%. The gas is initially at 0.1 MPa and 25oC and cooled to 25oC
after the first-stage compression.

In case of multi stage compressors, the interstage pressures are normally selected to give
approximately equal work in each stage. The compression ratio should be the same in each
stage.
1⁄
𝐹𝑖𝑛𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑛
Compression ratio = (𝐼𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑎𝑙 𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒) where n = no. of stages

1.(b) Energy is extracted from the tail gases from a nitric acid adsorption tower by expanding it
from a higher to a lower pressure. The tail gas composition can be assumed to be : O2 = 371.5
kmol/h, N2 = 10014.7 kmol/h, NO = 21.9 kmol/h. The gases leave the adsorption tower at 6
atm, 25oC and are expanded to 1.5 atm. Assume adiabatic process and efficiency of 75%.

(i) Calculate the expander (turbine) exit gas temperature and the power recovered from the
gases.

(ii) If the gases are preheated to 400oC before introducing them into the turbine, calculate exit
gas temperature and the power recovered from the gases in this case.

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 (II) The liquid pump module is used to increase the pressure of a liquid stream. Either the outlet
pressure or the pressure increase may be specified. In either case, the required work is
calculated.

The pump has several modes for use. Select your mode:

1. Specify outlet pressure - Specify a fixed outlet pressure for the pump.
2. Specify pressure increase - Specify a pressure increase for the pump.
3. Enter characteristic equation - Specify parameters for the pump characteristic equation listed
below.
4. Specify performance curve - Specify data points from one or more performance curves. The outlet
pressure and efficiency will be calculated based on the performance curves. When you click OK at
the pump dialog, you will be prompted to complete performance curve dialogs.

On detailed flow sheets, NPSHa can be calculated based on inlet pressure and vapour pressure of the
fluid. If the inlet pressure to the pump or the outlet temperature is not accurate, the NPSHa will not be
accurate.

Problem:

2.(a) A water feed at a temperature of 20oC and pressure 1 bar is pumped at the rate of 100 kg/h to
an output pressure of 50 bar. Find out the power required and head developed if the pump
efficiency is 0.7.

(b) Find out the total installed cost of this pump if it was a (i) centrifugal pump (ii) reciprocating
pump. Use Install factor = 2.8

(III) The valve UnitOp performs an adiabatic flash calculation at output pressure on the input
stream. Output pressure, pressure drop, dew point temperature or bubble point temperature
can be specified.

This UnitOp will serve as a phase separator if more than one output stream is specified.

Problem:

3. Air at a rate of 10 kg/h passes through a valve and undergoes a drop in pressure of 2 bar. If the
inlet air is 50oC and 5 bar, what is the temperature and pressure at the exit of the valve?

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 Problem Sheet 4

Flow networks consisting of horizontal, vertical & inclined piping, fittings, valves and pumps having single
and multiple branches can be created using CHEMCAD. Several modules such as the Pipe module, Pump
module, Compressor module, Control valve module, Stream mixer module, Stream divider module etc. can
be used for this purpose. The flow network may have single or multiple branches.

The PIPE module calculates the size of a particular segment of pipe or the pressure drop through that
segment.

Problem 1:

(a) Water at 100oF and 50 psia with a flow rate of 500 gpm flows through a 6 inch, 600 feet
pipeline. Estimate the pressure of the outlet stream.
(b) Water at 100oF and 50 psia with a flow rate of 500 gpm flows through a 6 inch, 600 feet
pipeline. Estimate the pressure of the outlet stream if the pipeline is at an elevation of 20 ft.
(c) If the pipe line in the above problem has six gate valves, four ball valves and two 90o tee
(flow thru run), what is the pressure drop in the pipeline? Assume no elevation of the
pipeline.
(d) Water flowing through two separate pipelines is mixed in a mixer to form one outlet stream.
Both the pipelines have 6 inch inner diameter. The length of the first pipe is 600 ft and the
length of the second pipeline is 250 ft. Water enters both the pipelines at 100oF and 50 psia.
What are the pressures in the outlet streams of each pipeline? What is the pressure of the
outlet stream from the mixer? Does this seem reasonable?
(e) Water at 100oF and 50 psia with a flow rate of 500 gpm flows through a 6 inch, 600 feet
pipeline. This is mixed with water flowing through a 6 in inner diameter, 250 ft pipeline. Use
a controller module to estimate the flow rate of the water in the second pipeline such that the
pressures in the outlet streams from both the pipelines are equal.

Problem 2:

Water flows through a pipeline at 80 oF and 14.7 psia (Start with an initial flow rate of 1 gpm).
This stream is then divided into two branches by means of a divider such that the first stream has
60% of the flow while the second one has 40%. Before splitting the stream, the pressure of this
water feed is increased by means of a centrifugal pump in order to take care of the losses later on
in the network. The pipeline in the first stream has a 4 inch diameter and is 100 ft long while the
pipeline in the second stream has 3.5 inch diameter and a length of 77 ft. The water in each stream
flows through heat exchangers in order to increase the water temp to 100 oF. The pressure drop in
the heat exchanger in the first stream is 2 psi while that in the heat exchanger in the second stream
is 4 psi. Controllers can be used in the two branches of the flow to ensure that the pressure in the

16
exit streams from the heat exchangers in both the branches is 14.7 psia. The controller in the first
stream can be used to adjust the inlet flow of water so that the exit stream in the first branch is at
14.7 psia. The controller in the second branch can be used to adjust the pump outlet pressure to
make sure that the exit pressure in the second branch is also 14.7 psia.

17
 Problem Sheet 5

Develop a piping network for the following problem.

The piping system shown must be designed to transport 120 gpm of glacial acetic acid initially
at 70°F. The final temperature of the acid should be 140 oF. The pressure at the inlet is 20 psia,
and the out let pressure should also be 20 psia. The piping system must be sized using design
mode. Pipelines having Schedule No 40 may be used. The length of pipe segments can be
estimated from the figure and the fittings and valves in each segment are mentioned below.

The pump (with an efficiency of 75%) is used to increase the pressure in order to take care of the
losses in the pipeline. The control valve has a flow coefficient (Cv) of 75.
The valve position should be set at 75%, and the operating mode should be set to Fix flow and
position, calculate P out. The heat exchanger increases the temperature from 70 to 140oF and the
pressure drop in this unit is 2 psi.
Determine the NPSHa and head developed in the pump.

Pipe segment #1 Pipe segment #2 (before control valve)

1 entrance loss, well rounded 1 swing check valve, clearway
2 ball valves 2 ball valves
4 standard elbows, 90-degree 2 tee, flow-through run
1 tee, flow-through branch 1 orifice plate (Kr =10.72)

Pipe segment #3 (after control valve) Pipe segment #4 (after E‐1515)

2 ball valves 1 ball valve
2 tee, flow-through run 4 standard elbows, 90-degree
3 standard elbows, 90-degree 1 tee, flow-through run
1 exit loss from pipe 1 well rounded entrance loss
1 exit from pipe

18
Specify the pump outlet pressure at some arbitrary value (try 35 psia) and make a trial run. Check
the calculated outlet pressure. You can then iterate to find the required pump head.

This can also be achieved by using a Controller.

The Controller UnitOp can adjust this pressure for you.
In a CHEMCAD steady-
state model, the term feedback control refers to a mathematical controller.
It is a math tool used to adjust a variable on a flow sheet until a target value reaches a specific
value.
A feedback controller in CHEMCAD has nothing to do with process control valve or PID settings.

In the Controller dialog box, specify the following and then click OK:
• Controller mode: Feed-backward
• Adjust this variable: UnitOp, ID number 2, Variable 2 Output pressure
• Until this: Stream, ID number 8, Variable 2 Pressure
• Is equal to this target: Constant 20, Units 4 Pressure

19
 Problem Sheet 6

Construction of process flow sheet and study of material and energy balances for the process
without recycle.

Here we shall learn the use of CHEMCAD UniOps STOICHIOMETRIC REACTOR.

STOICHIOMETRIC REACTOR: The stoichiometric reactor module simulates one reaction, for a given set
of stoichiometric factors, key component and fraction of conversion. The reactor can be adiabatic,
isothermal, or have a specified heat duty. If the specified conversion would require more of any reactant
than is available in the feed, the conversion will be reduced so the flow rate of the limiting reactant
becomes zero in the output. This prevents the calculation of a negative reactant to satisfy the conversion
specification.
Specify the mode of operation, key component and fractional conversion and stoichiometric factors. Enter
a consistent set of stoichiometric factors; negative for reactants, positive for products, and zero (blank) for
inerts. .

(1) (a) Sulphur dioxide is oxidised to sulphur trioxide in 100% excess air. 90% conversion of
SO2 is achieved in the reactor. The gases enter the converter at 400 0C and leave at 450 0C.
The convertor is operated in the isothermal mode. How many kilocalories/hour are absorbed
in the heat exchanger of the converter per kilogram-mole of SO2 introduced?

(b) What is the value of heat duty if reactor is operated adiabatically? Note the temperature of
the product stream.

(2) Carbon mono oxide at 200 0C is burned under atmospheric pressure with dry air at 5000C in
90% excess of that theoretically required. The products of combustion leave the reaction
chamber at 1000 0C. The reactor is operated in the isothermal mode. Find the heat evolved in
the reaction chamber in kcal per kilogram-mole of CO burned, assuming
(a) complete combustion
(b) 80% conversion of CO.

(3) Ethylene dichloride is manufactured by the oxychlorination of ethylene:

2𝐶2 𝐻4 + 4𝐻𝐶𝑙 + 𝑂2 → 2𝐶2 𝐻4 𝐶𝑙2 + 𝐻2 𝑂
Ethylene and air are supplied in excess of 5% and 10% respectively, than what is required for
complete conversion of hydrogen chloride. The conversion attained is 90%.
For 500 kmol of HCl supplied, calculate the following using a stoichiometric reactor:

(i) the moles of reactants and products

(ii) the mass of reactants and products
(iii) the composition of the reactant stream in weight percent
(iv) the composition of the product stream in weight percent

20
 Problem Sheet 7

Construction of process flow sheet and study of material and energy balances for the process with
and without recycle.

Here we shall learn the use of CHEMCAD UniOps COMPONENT SEPARATOR and STREAM DIVIDER.

COMPONENT SEPARATOR: The component separator serves as a black-box separator which splits an
input stream into two output streams of different compositions and thermal conditions. By specifying split
fraction or split flow rate component by component, almost any kind of separation can be performed.
Various output temperature specifications are provided for the product streams including bubble point,
dew point, subcooled, and superheated conditions. This module can be used to model an "abstract"
separator, such as isolating a pure component from a mixture or separating the solid components from a
process stream before a rigorous VLE calculation is performed.

Specify top and bottom stream temperatures and pressure. Choose a split basis split fraction and specify
split destination whether top or bottom stream. Then specify split fractions for different components
appearing in the list.

STREAM DIVIDER: The divider splits an input stream into several output streams of the same
composition and intensive properties. Splits based on the flow ratio or flow rate can be specified.

(1) Methanol is synthesised from a feed containing 67.3% H2, 32.5% CO and 0.2% inert CH4
according to reaction CO + 2H2 = CH3OH. The feed enter (100 moles, at 25 °C) an isothermal
stoichiometric reactor operated at 170 °C. The once through conversion of the CO is 18%. The
product stream then goes to a separator where complete removal of a product from unreacted
reactants and inert takes place. The separated stream is recycled and fed to reactor after purge so
that the concentration of the inert in exit from the separator is no more than 3.2 mole %.
Construct the flow sheet for above process by selecting suitable unit operations. Find out
the flow rate composition of all streams in case of
(a) Separated stream is not recycled.
(b) Separated stream is recycled.

(2) Ammonia is synthesised from a feed containing 1:3 nitrogen –hydrogen mixture in a converter
resulting in a 25% conversion to ammonia. The fresh feed (400 °C, 200 atm) contains 0.20 part of
inert argon to 100 parts of N2-H2 mixture. The exit from reactor is sent to separator when product
NH3 is complete removed. Construct the flow sheet on the basis of 100 moles of N2-H2 mixtures
for following cases

(a) Separated Stream having unreacted N2-H2 & Ar is withdrawn without sending it for recycle.
Find composition & flow rate of all streams for the case the exit

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(b) Modify the flow sheet for the steady state recycled process and find out the flow rate and
composition of all streams. Given that toleration limit of argon entering the reactor is 5 parts to
100 parts of N2 & H2 by volume. Also calculate recycle ratio (R/F) and purge ratio (P/R).

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 Problem Sheet 8

1. Benzene is recovered from a stream containing hydrogen, methane, benzene and toluene
according to the process shown below. Prepare a flow sheet and run the simulation to
determine the amount of benzene recovered.

2. A stream containing 100 kg/h water and 100 kg/h methanol at 50oC and 2 bar is mixed with
another stream containing methanol and water in the ration 1:2 (total flow rate of this stream
= 600 kg/h) at 80oC and 2 bar. The mixed stream is then heated in a heat exchanger to 150oC.
The hot stream is compressed to 10 atm in a compressor (efficiency = 0.75, adiabatic). Part of
this compressed stream is recycled back to the mixer after cooling to 90oC and the rest is
removed. The pressure drop in the valve present in the recycle line is 0.1 bar. Draw a flow
sheet for the above simulation. Find the composition and conditions of the recycle stream. Use
TP boxes to represent the temperature, pressure and flow rate of each stream.

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 Problem Sheet 9

This sheet has problems on Stoichiometric Reactor and the Kinetic Reactor

The Stoichiometric Reactor module simulates one reaction, for a given set of stoichiometric factors, key
component and fraction of conversion.
The reactor can be adiabatic, isothermal, or have a specified heat duty.
(You have been introduced to this from of reactor earlier)

The Kinetic Reactor model enables you to rate or design plug flow (PFR) and continuous stirred tank
reactors (CSTR).

In the Design mode, the user specifies the required fractional conversion of a key component and
CHEMCAD calculates the required volume of the reactor. The Rating mode allows the user to specify the
available volume, and CHEMCAD calculates the outlet composition and conditions. Either reactor (PFR
or CSTR) may be applied to the liquid or vapour phase. Mixed phase reactors are allowed, but the
reactions take place in only one phase.

I. The following reversible reaction is carried out in different reactors:

Ethanol + Acetic Acid → Ethyl acetate + Water

The frequency factor and the activation energy of the forward and backward reactions are as
follows:
Reaction Frequency factor Activation energy (BTU)
Forward 29000 7150
Backward 7380 7150

1. (a) 10 kmol/h of acetic acid and 10 kmol/h of ethanol is introduced into an isothermal
stoichiometric reactor at 50oC and 1 atm pressure. Find the outlet composition if the conversion
of ethanol is 75%.
(b) Find the outlet temperature of the products if the reactor is operated under adiabatic
conditions.

2. (a) Now the reversible reaction is carried out in a CSTR under isothermal conditions (50oC).
Calculate the reactor volume if the conversion of ethanol is 50%.
(b) What would be the reactor volume if the conversion is 75%?
(c) What would be the outlet temperature of the products and the reactor volume for 50%
ethanol conversion if the CSTR is operated adiabatically?
(d) How would the isothermal reactor volume change for 50% ethanol conversion if the
reaction is considered to be irreversible?

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3. (a) If the reversible reaction is carried out in a PFR under isothermal conditions (50oC).
Calculate the conversion if the reactor volume is 10 m3.
(b) What would be the outlet temperature of the products and the conversion if the 10 m3 PFR
is operated adiabatically?
(c) What would be the outlet temperature of the products and the conversion if the 10 m3 PFR
is operated adiabatically and the reaction is considered irreversible?
(d) What would the isothermal PFR volume for 50% ethanol conversion if the reaction is
considered to be irreversible?
(e)

II. Propylene glycol is produced by the hydrolysis of propylene oxide according to the reaction

CH2-CH-CH3 + H2O → CH2-CH-CH3

O OH OH
𝐸 32400
𝑘 = 𝐴𝑒 −𝑅𝑇 = 16.96 × 1012 𝑒 − 𝑅𝑇 k is in h-1 and E is in Btu/lbmol

The feed is a mixture of 43.04 lbmol/h of propylene oxide, 71.87 lbmol/h of methanol and
802.8 lb/h of water. The feed is at 58 oF and 50 psia pressure. The reaction is carried out at
75oF in set of two CSTRs.
Determine the volumes of the two reactors if the conversion in the first reactor is 40% and the
overall conversion at the outlet of the second reactor is 80%.

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 Problem Sheet 10

Heat exchanger sizing is done in CHEMCAD using CC-THERM.

For double pipe heat exchangers, CC-THERM offers the following modes for calculation:

• Design: The inlet and outlet streams are taken from the flowsheet. The user must specify certain basic
geometry specifications, which CC-THERM will then use to select the geometry and size of the
exchangers. The program runs optimization to determine the smallest number of heat exchangers that
can be used in parallel or in series to satisfy all design criteria.
• Rating: The inlet and outlet streams are taken from the flowsheet and the user supplies the complete
details of the exchanger geometry and dimensions. The program determines whether the exchanger is
too large or too small for the given application.
• Fouling rating: The inlet and outlet streams are taken from the flowsheet and the user supplies the
complete details of the exchanger geometry and dimensions. The program calculates the fouling
factors required to obtain the specified performance from the exchanger.

1. Benzene from the condenser at the top of a distillation column is cooled at a rate of 1000
kg/h from 75 oC to 50 oC in a counter current double pipe heat exchanger. The exchanger is
of hairpin type with an effective length of 15 m. The inner tube is of carbon steel, 25 mm
o.d., 21 mm i.d., wall thickness 2.2 mm. The outer pipe has i.d. of 41 mm and o.d. of 48
mm. Benzene flows through the annulus. The coolant water which flows through the inner
tube enters at 30 oC and leaves at 40 oC. Check if the exchanger is capable of the above
duty?

2. A double pipe heat exchanger is used to cool 5500 lb/h of aniline from 200oF to 150oF
using toluene as a cooling medium which flows in the counter-current fashion. Toluene
has a flow rate of 8600 lb/h and enters the outer tube at 100 oF. What is the outlet
temperature of toluene?
Use the design mode to design the double pipe heat exchanger.
Assume,
the pipe length (straight pipe) of the exchanger to be 40 ft.
Outside diameter of inside pipe = 0.1458 ft
Wall thickness of both pipes = 0.0125 ft
The outer tube can have two possible dimensions - Outer diameter of outside pipe = 3
inches or Outer diameter of outside pipe = 3.3 inches
Which tube should be chosen such that the excess area (difference between total area and
required area) is between 10%-15%?

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 Problem Sheet 11

For Shell and Tube Heat Exchangers, CC-THERM offers the following modes for calculation:

• Design: The inlet and outlet streams are taken from the flowsheet. The user must specify certain basic
geometry specifications, which CC-THERM will then use to select the geometry and size of the
exchangers. The program runs optimization to determine the smallest number of heat exchangers that
can be used in parallel or in series to satisfy all design criteria.
• Rating: The inlet and outlet streams are taken from the flowsheet and the user supplies the complete
details of the exchanger geometry and dimensions. The program determines whether the exchanger is
too large or too small for the given application.
• Fouling rating: The inlet and outlet streams are taken from the flowsheet and the user supplies the
complete details of the exchanger geometry and dimensions. The program calculates the fouling
factors required to obtain the specified performance from the exchanger.

1. Design a shell and tube heat exchanger to cool methanol condensate from 95oC to 40oC. Flow
rate of methanol is 100,000 kg/h. Water at 1 atm is used as a coolant with a temperature rise from
25oC to 40oC.

(a) Use a TEMA R exchanger with bonnet head and fixed tubes. Try the design for a 1-1 pass
exchanger.

(b) Design the exchanger by optimizing the number of passes.

2. It is required to cool 50 tons per day ethyl benzene from a temperature of 135oC to 40 oC by
means of cooling water. The cooling water inlet temperature is 30 oC which may be heated to 40
o
C. A 1-4 shell and tube heat exchanger is available for this purpose. The exchanger has 44 tubes
(id 15.7 mm, od 19 mm, length 3000 mm) arranged in a 60o triangular pitch. The shell diameter is
254 mm and there are 18 baffles with 25% cut. Check if this shell and tube heat exchanger can be
used for the above duty.

3. 175000 lb/h of distilled water enters an exchanger at 93oF and leaves at 85oF. The heat will be
transferred to 280000 lb/h of raw water coming from supply at 75oF. The stream pressures both in
tube and shell side is 30 psi. A fouling factor of 0.0005 for distilled water and 0.0015 for raw
water is provided when the tube velocity is exceeds 6 ft/s. Available for this service is a 15 ¼ in.
ID exchanger having 180 tubes with ¾ inch OD, 18 BWG tube (tube thickness 0.049 in) 16 ft
long and laid out on 15”/16” triangular pitch. The bundle is arranged for two passes, and 12
segmental baffles with 35% cut are present. A 10 psi pressure drop may be allowed on both
streams.

(a) Estimate the outlet temperature of raw water?

(b) Will the exchanger be suitable? Check in terms of area required and allowed pressure drop.

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 Problem Sheet 12

The shortcut distillation module uses the Fenske-Underwood-Gilliland method to simulate a

simple distillation column with one input stream and two product streams (distillate and bottom).
Both rating and design cases can be estimated. The feed location can be calculated by the Fenske
or Kirkbride equations. R/Rmin in the specified ranges can be varied to review its effects on
column performance.

1. Binary distillation column

A saturated liquid feed having a flow rate of 200 mol/h at the boiling point contains 42 mol%
heptane and 58 mol% ethyl benzene. This is to be fractionated at 101.32 kPa absolute to yield a
distillate containing 97 mol% heptane and bottoms containing 1.5 mol% heptane.

(a) Estimate and report the boiling point of feed mixture at 101.32 kPa. Use this temperature as
the feed temperature.
(b) Report the molar flow rate (in mol/h) of distillate and bottom product
(c) Determine the number of stages and the feed tray location if the recycle ratio is varied from 1
to 8.
(d) Report the Condenser and Reboiler duty (in MJ/h) for each case.

2. Multicomponent distillation column

A distillation column (butane-pentane separator) is to separate 4750 mol/h of feed composed of

37% n-butane, 32% iso-pentane, 21% n-pentane and 10% n-hexane. The feed is at 30oC and is
25% (by mole) vapour. The column operates at a pressure of 2 bar. The distillate product should
contain 95% n-butane and about 5% iso-pentane. The reflux ratio used is 1.5 times the minimum
reflux ratio. Simulate the following separation in a distillation column using the short-cut method
(design mode using Kirkbride equation for feed tray location) and report the following:

a) Molar flowrate (in mol/h) of distillate and bottom product

b) Dew temperature (in oC) of the distillate and Bubble temp (in oC) of the bottom product
c) Minimum and actual reflux ratio
d) Number of stages
e) Feed stage
f) Condenser and reboiler duty (in MJ/h)

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3. Sequencing of columns for separating multi-component mixtures –
A mixture of benzene, toluene and o-xylene (1000 kg/h of each) is separated in a sequence of
two columns into three streams each at least 99 mass% pure by selecting a better separation
process out of the following configuration. Each column has 20 stages.
Case 1: Remove o-xylene from the bottom of the first column and then separate benzene-
toluene in the second column
Case 2: Remove benzene from the top of the first column and then separate toluene-xylene in
the second column.
Which is a better arrangement?

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 Problem Sheet 13

USE OF CONTROL VALVE (CVAL)

The control valve calculates the flow rate through the valve based on the output signal it receives
from a controller. The control valve was originally intended to be used in dynamic flowsheets with
a PID Controller. It is possible to use the CVAL in steady state flow sheets to calculate flow as a
function of position (or vice versa).

The control valve can handle compressible and incompressible flow as well as critical and sub-
critical flow. The control valve calculates the following variables at each time step:

• The valve position

• The flow through the valve

The output from a linked controller is used by the control valve to determine the steady state valve
position. The steady state valve position is how far open (in percentages) the valve is at any point
in time.

Control Valve Operating modes:

Critical flow rate, pressure drop, and valve position are coupled variables. Specify which
variables should be considered as specifications. Note that entering a PID Controller or changing
the Valve Operation (second page of the dialog) may override this setting.

Fix flow rate, adjust valve This mode allows valve position to be calculated, based
position on flow rate through the valve. Unless a downstream
pressure is specified (or detected from a downstream
UnitOp) the valve may have difficulty converging. This
mode will not be used if you specify a PID controller
for the valve.
Fix valve position, adjust flow In this mode, the flow rate of the inlet and outlet streams
rate will be reset to the calculated flow through the control
valve.

In this mode, the valve position can be set by the signal

from a PID controller. The valve position is used to
calculate a critical flow rate through the valve. The flow
rate entering the valve is adjusted to match the
calculated flow rate. This mode is meant to be used when
the stream entering the valve comes from a Feed arrow,
to avoid mass balance issues. It is not required to use a
PID controller with this mode.
Fix flow Valve position and flow rate are used as specification.

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and The pressure drop will be calculated as a function of
position, flow rate. Be careful that you do not specify a flow rate
calculate which exceeds critical flow through the valve at given
Pout position. This mode will not be used if you specify a
PID controller for the valve.

The PID controller continuously measures the user-specified variable, and based upon the
specified setpoint for that variable, sends a controller output signal (in milliamps) to the control
valve. The controller can include proportional, derivative, and/or integral action in its signal
computation. The controller is actually a sensor and controller, i.e., it measures its own input as
well as calculating its output. The controller measures some variables in the flowsheet (generally
a vessel reactor variable) and from this computes the controller input in milliamps. From this
input and the user defined setpoint, the controller calculates its input, which is subsequently used
by the control valve.

1. Input a water stream at the rate of 1000 kg/h at temperature 25 °C and pressure 1.0 bar to a
pump which increases the pressure to 5.0 bar before the entrance of a straight horizontal pipe of
diameter 10 cm and length 10 m. Pump efficiency can be taken as 75%.

(a) Use a linear control valve at the exit of the pipe and find the valve position in %, so that the
downstream pressure from the valve is 1.0 bar. Ignore PID controller specifications and warning.
Use default values of rangeability (10) and critical flow factor (0.98). Use valve flow coefficient
as 5.0.

(b) Use the same valve to find the maximum possible flow rate through pipe line if valve position
is set 50% and downstream pressure is 1.0 bar.

(c) Now use the same valve with flow 1000 kg/h and 50% opening to calculate downstream
pressure.
(d) Repeat the above (a), (b) and (c) with equal percentage valve.

2. Use a PID controller with control valve and use all the three operating modes with suitable
settings. Report controller output, valve position and flow rate etc.

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