Aspen Plus 12.

Getting Started
Modeling Processes
with Electrolytes
Part Number: Aspen Plus® 12.1
June 2003
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Contents
Introduction 1-1
Why Use Electrolyte Simulation? ....................................................................................1-2
What is an Aspen Plus Electrolyte Model?......................................................................1-2
Sessions in this Book .......................................................................................................1-3
Using Backup Files ..........................................................................................................1-4
Related Documentation ....................................................................................................1-4
Getting Started Guides .........................................................................................1-4
Installation Guide .................................................................................................1-4
User Guide............................................................................................................1-4
Technical Support ............................................................................................................1-5
Online Technical Support Center.........................................................................1-5
Contacting Customer Support ..............................................................................1-5
Hours ....................................................................................................................1-5
Phone....................................................................................................................1-6
Fax........................................................................................................................1-7
E-mail ...................................................................................................................1-7

Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry 2-1

Electrolyte Chemistry Flowsheet .....................................................................................2-2
Starting Aspen Plus ..........................................................................................................2-2
To Start Aspen Plus..............................................................................................2-2
To Select the Template Option ............................................................................2-2
To Specify the Application Type and Run Type for the New Run......................2-2
Drawing the Graphical Simulation Flowsheet .................................................................2-4
Specifying Title, Stream Properties, and Global Options ................................................2-5
To Specify Flows on a Mole Basis for this Simulation........................................2-6
Reviewing Report Options ...................................................................................2-6
Specifying Components ...................................................................................................2-6
To Rename H2O to Water....................................................................................2-7
The Electrolyte Wizard.....................................................................................................2-7
To Remove Salts from the Solution Chemistry ...................................................2-9
Examining Generated Chemistry ...................................................................................2-11
To Examine the Generated Chemistry ...............................................................2-11
To View a Particular Reaction ...........................................................................2-12
To View the Equilibrium Constants for the Salt Reactions................................2-13
Selecting Electrolyte Property Models...........................................................................2-14

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Contents • iii

 Entering Stream Data .....................................................................................................2-16
Specifying the Flash Block ............................................................................................2-17
Specifying Additional Stream Properties .......................................................................2-17
To Specify Additional Properties .......................................................................2-18
Running the Simulation..................................................................................................2-19
Examining Simulation Results .......................................................................................2-19
Exiting Aspen Plus .........................................................................................................2-21

Modeling a Sour Water Stripper 3-1

Sour Water Stripper Flowsheet ........................................................................................3-2
Starting Aspen Plus ..........................................................................................................3-3
To Start Aspen Plus..............................................................................................3-3
To Select the Template Option ............................................................................3-3
To Specify the Application Type and Run Type for the New Run......................3-3
Drawing the Graphical Simulation Flowsheet .................................................................3-4
Specifying Title, Stream Properties, and Global Options ................................................3-5
To Review the Report Options Specified in the Selected Template.....................3-6
To Move to the Next Required Input Sheet .........................................................3-6
Specifying Components ...................................................................................................3-7
The Electrolyte Wizard ....................................................................................................3-7
To Remove Ammonium Carbamate Formation from the Solution Chemistry ....3-8
To Remove the Salts from the Solution Chemistry..............................................3-8
Examining Generated Chemistry ...................................................................................3-11
To Examine the Generated Chemistry ...............................................................3-11
To View the Generated Chemistry.....................................................................3-11
Entering Stream Data .....................................................................................................3-14
Specifying the RadFrac Block .......................................................................................3-15
To Review the Types of Specifications that You Can Make for RadFrac.........3-15
To Specify that this Column Operates Isobarically at 15 psia ...........................3-17
To Define the First Design Specification...........................................................3-17
To Define Another Design Specification ...........................................................3-18
To Define the First Manipulated Variable .........................................................3-18
To Define the Second Manipulated Variable.....................................................3-19
To Change the Report ........................................................................................3-20
Running the Simulation..................................................................................................3-21
Examining Simulation Results .......................................................................................3-22
To View RadFrac Results ..................................................................................3-22
To View Design Spec Results............................................................................3-23
To View Vary Results ........................................................................................3-23
To View Composition Profiles...........................................................................3-23
To View these Results........................................................................................3-24
Converting to True Components ....................................................................................3-26
To Tell Aspen Plus to Use the True Component Approach...............................3-26
To Revise the RadFrac Design Specification to Apply to the Apparent
Composition of NH3 ..........................................................................................3-26
Running the True Component Simulation .....................................................................3-28

iv • Contents Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes

 To View Selected Results of the True Component Simulation .........................3-28
Exiting Aspen Plus .........................................................................................................3-29

Connecting to the Aspen Plus Simulation Engine 4-1

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Contents • v

vi • Contents Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 CHAPTER 1

Introduction

You can easily model all types of electrolyte systems with Aspen
Plus, including systems with strong electrolytes, weak electrolytes,
salt precipitation, and even mixed solvents.
The two sessions in this book - Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry
and Modeling a Sour Water Stripper- introduce you to simulating
electrolyte systems with Aspen Plus by guiding you through two
simulations.
Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes assumes that
you have an installed copy of the Aspen Plus software.

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Introduction • 1-1

 Why Use Electrolyte Simulation?
A rigorous treatment of electrolytes is needed to model many
industrial systems. With the Aspen Plus electrolyte capabilities,
you can model:
Sour water solutions. Water containing dissolved H2S, NH3, CO2,
HCN, sometimes with additional solvents
Aqueous amines for gas sweetening. Water containing DGA,
MEA, DEA, or MDEA for the removal of H2S and CO2
Aqueous acids or bases. HCl, HBr, H2SO4, H3PO4, HNO3, HF,
NaOH, KOH, and others, in aqueous solution, sometimes with
additional solvents
Salt solutions. NaCl, KCl, Na2SO4, CaSO4, CaCO3 in solution,
sometimes with participation

What is an Aspen Plus Electrolyte

Model?
In Aspen Plus, an electrolyte system is defined as one in which
some of the molecular species dissociate partially or completely
into ions in a liquid solvent, and/or some of the molecular species
precipitate as salts. These dissociation and precipitation reactions
occur fast enough that the reactions can be considered to be at
chemical equilibrium. The liquid phase equilibrium reactions that
describe this behavior are referred to as the solution chemistry. In
Aspen Plus, solution chemistry is often referred to simply as
Chemistry.
Solution chemistry has a major impact on the simulation of
electrolyte systems. For nonelectrolyte systems, chemical reactions
generally occur only in reactors. In Aspen Plus, all unit operation
models can handle electrolyte reactions.
Solution chemistry also impacts physical property calculations and
phase equilibrium calculations. The presence of ions in the liquid
phase causes highly nonideal thermodynamic behavior. Aspen Plus
provides specialized thermodynamic models and built-in data to
represent the nonideal behavior of liquid phase components in
order to get accurate results.

1-2 • Introduction Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes

 Sessions in this Book
The two sessions in the book illustrate the following concepts:
• Types of electrolyte components
− Solvents
− Solutes
− Ions
− Salts
• Types of reactions in electrolyte solution chemistry
− Complete dissociation
− Partial dissociation (equilibrium reaction)
− Salt precipitation (equilibrium reaction)
• Automatic Chemistry generation
• Recommended physical property methods for electrolytes
• Methods for calculating and reporting electrolyte systems
− True component approach
− Apparent component approach
• Use of stream properties (Property Sets) for electrolytes

Follow the steps in this To learn how to

chapter
2 Modeling Electrolyte • Define electrolyte components.
Chemistry • Use automatic chemistry generation.
• Examine Chemistry data.
View electrolyte databank parameters.
• Use the true component modeling
approach.
3 Modeling a Sour Water • Modify the generated Chemistry.
Stripper • Use the apparent component approach
for electrolytes.
• Convert from apparent component
approach to true component approach.

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Introduction • 1-3

 Using Backup Files
We recommend that you perform all sessions sequentially, because
Chapter 3 assumes you are familiar with the concepts presented in
Chapter 2.
Aspen Plus provides backup files containing all problem
specifications and results for each tutorial session. You can use the
backup files to check your results.

Related Documentation
In addition to this document, a number of other documents are
provided to help users learn and use Aspen Plus. The
documentation set consists of the following:
Getting Started Aspen Plus Getting Started Building and Running a Process Model
Guides Aspen Plus Getting Started Modeling Processes with Solids
Aspen Plus Getting Started Modeling Petroleum Processes
Aspen Plus Getting Started Using Equation-Oriented Modeling
Aspen Plus Getting Started Customizing Unit Operation Models

Installation Guide Aspen Engineering Suite Installation Manual

User Guide Aspen Plus User Guide

1-4 • Introduction Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes

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Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Introduction • 1-5

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1-6 • Introduction Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes

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Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Introduction • 1-7

1-8 • Introduction Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 CHAPTER 2

Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry

In this simulation mix and flash two feed streams containing

aqueous electrolytes.
You will:
• Define electrolyte components
• Use the Electrolytes Expert System
• Examine Chemistry data
• View electrolytes databank parameters
• Use the true components modeling approach
• Allow about 45 minutes to do this simulation.

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry • 2-1
 Electrolyte Chemistry Flowsheet
The process flow diagram and operating conditions for this
simulation are shown in the process diagram below: Electrolyte
Chemistry. Two feed streams, one containing water and HCl, the
other water and NaOH, are fed to a mixer. The mixer outlet is
flashed to evaporate water and cause NaCl to precipitate. Use the
MIXER model for the mixer and the FLASH2 model for the flash.
HCL VAPOR

Temp = 25 C
Pres = 1 bar
10 kmol/hr H2O
1 kmol/hr HCL

NAOH MIX MIXED FLASH Isobaric

Molar vapor fraction = 0.75
Temp = 25 C MIXER FLASH2
Pres = 1 bar
10 kmol/hr H2O Isobaric
1.1 kmol /hr NAOH Adiabatic
LIQUID

Electrolyte Chemistry

Starting Aspen Plus

To Start Aspen Plus 1 From your desktop, select Start and then select Programs.
2 Select AspenTech | Aspen Engineering Suite | Aspen Plus
12.1 | Aspen Plus User Interface.
The Aspen Plus Startup dialog box appears. Aspen Plus
displays a dialog box whenever you must enter information or
make a selection before proceeding. In this simulation, use an
Aspen Plus template.
To Select the 1 Select Template and click OK.
Template Option The New dialog box appears.
2 Use the New dialog box to specify the Application Type and
the Run Type for the new run. Aspen Plus uses the Application
Type you choose to automatically set various defaults
appropriate to your application.
To Specify the 1 Select the Electrolytes with Metric Units template.
Application Type and The default Run Type, Flowsheet, is appropriate for this
Run Type for the New simulation.
Run 2 Click OK to apply these options.

2-2 • Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 It takes a few seconds for Aspen Plus to apply these options.
Note: If the Connect to Engine dialog box appears, see Chapter 4.
The Aspen Plus window is now active.

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry • 2-3
 Drawing the Graphical Simulation
Flowsheet
In this simulation you will begin to build the process flowsheet.
Since you will enter your own block and stream IDs, turn off the
default options to automatically assign block IDs and stream IDs.
1 From the Aspen Plus menu bar, select Tools and then select
Options.
The Options dialog box appears.
2 Select the Flowsheet tab.
3 Clear the Automatically assign block name with prefix and
the Automatically assign stream name with prefix options.

4 Click OK to close the Options dialog box and apply the

changes.
The process flow diagram and simulation definition for this
simulation are shown in the process diagram entitled
Electrolyte Chemistry on page 2-2.

2-4 • Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 Place a Mixer block, a Flash2 block, and five material streams
to create the graphical simulation flowsheet as follows:

5 Click to guide you to the next required input.

The Flowsheet Complete dialog box appears.
6 Click OK to continue.

Specifying Title, Stream Properties,

and Global Options
The Data Browser window appears. The Setup | Specifications |
Global sheet displays defaults which Aspen Plus uses for other
sheets.
Use this sheet to give your simulation a title, and to review the
stream properties and global options that were set when you
selected the Electrolytes with Metric Units template.
The Run Type field displays Flowsheet, which is appropriate for
this simulation.
It is always good practice to enter a title for the simulation.
• In the Title field, enter Getting Started with Electrolytes -
Simulation 1.
The Electrolytes with Metric Units template sets the following
global defaults for electrolytes applications:
• The Input data and Output results fields are set to
METCBAR units (Metric units with temperature in degrees
Centigrade and pressure in bars)
• The Flow basis field is set to Mass for all flow inputs.
In this simulation, we actually want to use a mole-flow basis.

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry • 2-5
 To Specify Flows on a In the Flow basis field, click and select Mole.
Mole Basis for this
Simulation

Reviewing Report To review the report options specified in the selected template:
Options 1 From the Data Browser menu tree, select the Setup | Report
Options form.
2 Click the Stream tab.
Based on the Electrolytes with Metric Units template, Aspen
Plus displays the following defaults for calculating and
reporting stream properties:
• Flow Basis of Mole, Mass, and Std. liq. volume: Aspen
Plus will report the component flow rates on a mole, mass,
and standard liquid volume flow basis. Aspen Plus will not
report flows on a fraction basis.
• ELEC_M Stream Format: Aspen Plus formats the Stream
Summary sheet for electrolytes using Metric units.
You will return to this sheet and specify stream properties later
in this simulation.

Specifying Components
From the Data Browser, select the Components | Specifications
form. The Components | Specifications | Selection sheet appears.
The apparent (or base) components for this simulation are H2O,
HCl, and NaOH.
Because you chose an electrolytes template, water already appears
on the sheet.

2-6 • Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 1 Specify the remaining components by entering HCL and
NAOH on the next two rows of the Component ID column.
Aspen Plus automatically fills in the rest of the data for these
components.

To Rename H2O to 1 In the first Component ID field, select the text H2O and
Water replace it with WATER. Press Enter.
2 When the Aspen Plus dialog box appears, click Rename.

The Electrolyte Wizard

Use the Electrolyte Wizard to define the ionic species and salts that
can be generated from the base components entered on the
Components | Specifications | Selection sheet, and to generate the
reactions that occur among these components in the liquid phase.
1 Click Elec Wizard.
The Electrolyte Wizard dialog box appears.
Use this wizard for defining automatic chemistry generation.

2 From the Electrolytes Wizard dialog box, click .

The Base Components and Reactions Generation Option
dialog box appears. In this dialog box, there is a set of options
for Hydrogen ion type. The default is Hydronium ion H3O+,
but Hydrogen ion H+ is also available. Aspen Plus can treat
acidic species as either H+ or H3O+. However, use of H3O+ is
strongly recommended, because the presence of H3O+ in the
solution chemistry is better able to represent the phase and
chemical equilibrium of almost all electrolyte systems.

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry • 2-7
 3 Click to move all components in the Available
components column to the Selected components column.

4 Click to continue.
The Generated Species and Reactions dialog box appears:

Aspen Plus generates all possible ionic and salt species and
reactions for the H2O-NAOH-HCL system.

2-8 • Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 In the Reactions section in the Generated Species and Reactions
dialog box, different style arrows denote the following reaction
types:
<===> Denotes ionic equilibrium or salt precipitation
---> Denotes complete dissociation
In this example, three types of reactions are generated: ionic
equilibrium, complete dissociation, and salt precipitation.
The dissociation of water and the dissociation of HCl are
equilibrium reactions. NaCl precipitation/dissolution is also an
equilibrium reaction. In contrast, NAOH dissociates completely
and irreversibly into Na+ and OH–.
To Remove Salts In this simulation, the NaOH and the NaOH*W salts are not
from the Solution relevant. Remove these unnecessary species and their reactions.
Chemistry 5 From the Salts list, select NaOH(S) and NaOH*W(S).
6 Click Remove.
Now that you have removed these salts from the system,
Aspen Plus automatically removes all reactions involving
NaOH(S) and NaOH*W(S) from the Reactions list.

Note: Any time you know that a reaction can be neglected

because of expected process conditions, remove it from the
solution chemistry to decrease the execution time required for your
simulation.

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry • 2-9
 7 On the Generated Species and Reactions dialog box click
to accept the remaining generated species and
reactions.
The Simulation Approach dialog box appears, allowing you
to choose between the true component approach and the
apparent component approach.
8 Select the True component approach option.
When you use the true component approach, Aspen Plus solves
the equations describing solution chemistry simultaneously
with the unit operation equations. The unit operations deal
directly with the ions and salts formed by solution chemistry.
In addition, the true component approach defines how Aspen
Plus reports the simulation results. Results are reported in
terms of the ions, salts, and molecular components that are
actually present, not in terms of the original base components.
For example, the generated chemistry for this system specifies
that NaOH fully dissociates into NA+ and OH–. If you choose
the true component approach, Aspen Plus will report NaOH
flow in terms of NA+ flow and OH– flow, not in terms of the
NaOH base component flow. You can request that composition
and flows also be reported in terms of the apparent (base)
components. You will do this later in this simulation.

9 Click to move to the next dialog box.

The Summary dialog box appears, providing Aspen Plus
electrolytes expert system information.
10 Click Finish to close the dialog box.
On the Components | Specifications | Selection sheet,
Aspen Plus has now added the generated electrolyte
components. Since all components are databank components,
Aspen Plus automatically retrieves all relevant physical
property parameters. Note that the salt NACL(S) is identified
as type Solid.

2-10 • Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 11 Click to continue.
The Components | Henry Comps | Global | Selection sheet
appears. The Electrolyte Wizard has already filled in this sheet.
Use this sheet to see which components have been declared as
Henry's Law components by the Electrolytes Wizard. If you
had additional Henry's Law components in your simulation
(such as nitrogen and oxygen), you would add them to the list
on this sheet.

Examining Generated Chemistry

In the previous step, the Aspen Plus Electrolyte Expert System
automatically generated the chemistry definition for your
simulation and named it GLOBAL.
To Examine the 1 From the Data Browser, select the Reactions folder.
Generated Chemistry 2 From the Reactions folder, select Chemistry and then Global.

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry • 2-11
 The Reactions | Chemistry | Global | Stoichiometry sheet
appears:

To View a Particular 1 Select a Reaction and click Edit.

Reaction The Equilibrium Reaction Stoichiometry dialog box appears,
with the data for the selected reaction.

The first equilibrium ionic reaction shown is for water

dissociation.
2 Close the dialog box and view the other reactions using the
same steps.
3 Select the Equilibrium Constants sheet.

2-12 • Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 The optional equilibrium constant coefficients have been
automatically retrieved from the Aspen Plus reactions database.

The Aspen Plus reactions database contains over 600 reactions,

which cover virtually all common electrolyte applications.
4 Click to the right of the Equilibrium reaction field to select
another equilibrium reaction and view the equilibrium
constants.
The second equilibrium ionic reaction is for HCL dissociation.
There are no equilibrium constant coefficients for this reaction.
Instead of calculating the equilibrium constant directly, Aspen
Plus will calculate the chemical equilibrium from the Gibbs
free energy of the participating components.
To View the The reaction for NACL(S) precipitation and its equilibrium
Equilibrium constant coefficients are also available on this sheet.
Constants for the Salt 1 In the Equilibrium constants for option, select Salt.
Reactions
2 If you had additional salt dissolution reactions you could click
and to view them, but since there is only one salt, these
buttons are unavailable.
For the complete dissociation reaction of NaOH, no constants are
shown. Since this is a complete dissociation reaction, it does not
require an equilibrium constant.
If you had your own equilibrium constant coefficients, you would
enter them directly on this sheet. If you had additional reactions to
include, you would enter them on the Stoichiometry sheet and
then perhaps add equilibrium data here.

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry • 2-13
 Selecting Electrolyte Property Models
The Properties | Specifications | Global sheet is used to enter the
thermodynamic methods used to calculate the properties used in
the simulation.
1 From the Data Browser, open the Properties folder and select
Specifications.
The Properties | Specifications | Global sheet appears. The
Electrolyte Wizard has already completed this sheet:

The Electrolyte-NRTL activity coefficient model, ELECNRTL,

is the recommended option set for simulations with
electrolytes. ELECNRTL calculates liquid phase properties
from the Electrolyte-NRTL activity coefficient model. Vapor
phase properties are calculated from the Redlich-Kwong
equation of state.
ELECNRTL can represent aqueous and aqueous/organic
electrolyte systems over the entire range of electrolyte
concentrations with a single set of binary interaction
parameters. In the absence of electrolytes, the model reduces to
the standard NRTL model.
Aspen Plus contains a databank of binary interaction
parameters between water and over 600 electrolyte ion pairs. If
the binary interaction parameters between any solvent and an
electrolyte ion pair are missing from the databank, and you do
not provide values, Aspen Plus provides reasonable default
values.

2 Click to continue.

2-14 • Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 The Binary Interaction | HENRY-1| Input sheet appears.
Use this sheet to view the Henry's Law parameters retrieved by
the electrolytes expert system. If you had your own Henry's
Law parameters, you would enter them on this sheet.

3 Click to continue.
The Binary Interaction | VLCLK-1 | Input sheet appears.
Use this sheet to view the Clarke density parameters retrieved
by the electrolytes expert system. If you had your own Clarke
density parameters, you would enter them on this sheet.
4 From the Data Browser, select the Properties | Parameters |
Electrolyte Pair folder.
The Electrolyte Pair sheets define the electrolyte pair
parameters: GMELCC, GMELCD, GMELCE, and GMELCN.
If you had your own pair parameters, you would enter them on
these sheets.

5 Click to continue.
The Electrolyte Pair | GMELCC-1 | Input sheet appears.

6 Click to continue.
The Electrolyte Pair | GMELCD-1 | Input sheet appears.

7 Click to continue.
The Electrolyte Pair | GMELCE-1 | Input sheet appears.

8 Click to continue.
The Electrolyte Pair | GMELCN-1 | Input sheet appears.

9 Click to continue.
The Required Properties Input Complete dialog box
appears:

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry • 2-15
 Correct representation of physical properties is essential to
process modeling. For many simulations, the only physical
property specification that you must provide is the selection of
a property method. This dialog box shows that the Aspen Plus
physical property system has many optional capabilities to
increase the accuracy of the physical property calculations.
Because the Aspen Plus electrolytes database has data for all
components and pairs in this simulation, you don't need to
provide any optional specifications or data.
Now that the Components and Properties specifications are
complete, complete the rest of the flowsheet specifications in
the same way as for nonelectrolytes. There are no stream or
block restrictions in using Aspen Plus electrolytes. You can use
all Aspen Plus unit operation models in an electrolytes
simulation.
10 Click OK to move to the next required input.

Entering Stream Data

The Streams | HCL | Input | Specifications sheet appears. Aspen
Plus requires two thermodynamic specifications and enough
information to calculate the flow rate of each component.
1 On the Streams HCL Input Specifications sheet, enter the
following:
Temperature 25 C

Pressure 1 bar

WATER flow value 10 kmol/hr

HCL flow value 1 kmol/hr

You entered the flow specifications for this stream in terms of
the base components (the apparent components). Although you
are using the true component approach in this simulation,
Aspen Plus can accept stream specifications in terms of the
apparent components as well as the true components. Aspen
Plus converts the apparent component flow specifications to
true component specifications.

2 Click to continue.

2-16 • Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 The Streams | NAOH | Input | Specifications sheet appears.
3 Enter the following data
Temperature 25 C

Pressure 1 Bar

WATER flow value 10 kmol/hr

NAOH flow value 1.1 kmol/hr

4 Click to continue.

Specifying the Flash Block

The Blocks | FLASH | Input | Specifications sheet appears. For
this simulation, specify the pressure drop and vapor fraction.
1 In the Temperature field, click , select Vapor fraction, and
then enter 0.75.
2 In the Pressure field, enter 0 (indicating there is no pressure
drop).

3 Click to continue.
The Blocks | MIX | Input | Flash Options sheet appears. As
the prompt says, the zero default pressure indicates a zero
pressure drop, which is correct for this simulation.

4 Click to continue.
The Required Input Complete dialog box appears informing
you that all required input is complete and asking if you want
to run the simulation.
Before running the simulation, request that certain optional
properties be included in the stream report.
5 Click Cancel to close the dialog box without running the
simulation.

Specifying Additional Stream

Properties
By default, the only component properties that Aspen Plus
calculates and reports for this simulation are component mass
flows. Since you are using the true component approach, the
component flows will be in terms of the components actually
present at equilibrium, not the apparent (base) components.

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry • 2-17
 To Specify Additional 1 From the Data Browser, select the Setup folder and then select
Properties Report Options.
2 Select the Stream tab.
On the Setup | Report Options | Stream sheet, you specify the
stream properties to be calculated and reported. For this
simulation, request that component mass fractions be
calculated and reported.
3 Under Fraction Basis, select the Mass checkbox .
You can also define additional stream properties to be
calculated and reported, using Aspen Plus property sets. Aspen
Plus provides a number of built-in property sets based on the
Application Type you selected. You can also define your own
property sets. In this simulation, you will use a built-in
property set to report the bubble point of each stream, and a
second built-in property set to report the mass fractions of the
apparent components in each stream.
4 Click Property Sets.
The Property Sets dialog box appears.
5 From the Available Property Sets column, select TBUBBLE
and WXAPP.
6 Click to move the selected property sets to the Selected
Property Sets column.

7 Click Close.

8 Click to continue.

2-18 • Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 Running the Simulation
The Required Input Complete dialog box appears.
1 Click OK to run the simulation.
The Control Panel appears.
As the run proceeds, status messages appear in the Control
Panel.
Aspen Plus has a special databank it searches only when you
use the ELECNRTL option set, as in this simulation. Some
physical property parameters in this databank may be different
from the parameters in the standard non-electrolyte databanks.
The values of the physical property parameters in the special
databank were determined to provide a better fit for electrolyte
systems, and are not generally applicable.
When values are retrieved from this special databank, Aspen
Plus generates messages in the Control Panel to inform you
what properties are retrieved for which components.
2 Use the vertical scrollbar to the right of the Control Panel
window to see the messages.
When the calculations finish, the message Results Available
appears in the status area at the bottom right of the main
window.
3 Examine the results of your run.

Examining Simulation Results

1 From the Control Panel, click .
The Results Summary | Run Status | Summary sheet
appears, indicating that the simulation completed normally.

2 Click in the Data Browser toolbar to move to the next

results sheet.
The Results Summary | Streams | Material sheet appears.
3 Review the results on this sheet.
4 Use the horizontal and vertical scrollbars to review results that
are off the screen.

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry • 2-19
 Since you selected the True Component approach, results for
Mass Flow and Mass Frac are in terms of true components.
Although you specified the flow rates in terms of the apparent
components (1 kmol/hr HCl and 10 kmol/hr H2O), Aspen Plus
calculated the flow rates of the true components. In stream
HCL, there is only a trace of molecular HCL remaining.
Virtually all of the HCl is dissociated into H3O+ and Cl–. Since
the HCl dissociation consumes a mole of water, the overall
H2O flow rate is reduced from 180 kg/hr (10 kmol/hr) to 162
kg/hr (9 kmol/hr).
You also specified stream NAOH in terms of apparent
components (1.1 kmol/hr NaOH and 10 kmol/hr H2O). NaOH
dissociates completely into Na+ and OH–. This is reflected by
the complete disappearance of molecular NaOH in this stream.
Stream HCL and Stream NAOH are added together in block
MIX to form Stream MIXED. Because water dissociation is
included as one of the electrolyte reactions, MIX allows H3O+
and OH- to recombine to form water. The heat of this reaction
raises the temperature of Stream MIXED from 25 ºC (the
temperature of both inlets) to 61 ºC. This demonstrates that the
heat of electrolyte reactions (including the heat of mixing) is
automatically included in Aspen Plus electrolytes calculations.
Stream MIXED feeds into a Flash2 block where water is boiled
off. Because ions and precipitated salts are nonvolatile, Stream
VAPOR only contains pure water. As the ions are concentrated
in Stream LIQUID, the solubility limit of NaCl in water is
exceeded, causing 30 kg/hr of molecular NaCl(S) to
precipitate.

2-20 • Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 Examine the bubble temperature for stream MIXED and stream
LIQUID. Stream MIXED is subsaturated in NACL and stream
LIQUID is saturated with NACL. Aspen Plus correctly
calculates the bubble point of LIQUID (109 C) as greater than
the bubble point of MIXED (103 C), which is greater than the
boiling point of pure water at 1 bar (99.6 C).
Compare the apparent mass fractions for the liquid phase with
the true component mass fractions in stream LIQUID. Even
though stream LIQUID has precipitated NaCl(S), the apparent
mass fraction of NaCl(S) is zero because Aspen Plus does not
consider precipitated salts to be apparent components. The
apparent mass fractions of the ions Na+, H3O+, OH–, and Cl–
are also zero. Precipitated salts and ions can only be true
components.
Since the precipitated NaCl(S) is not an apparent component, it
is represented in the apparent component approach in terms of
the original species that combined to form NaCl(S): NaOH,
and HCl. This is why the apparent component basis mass
fraction of NaOH is 0.209 even though the true component
basis mass fraction of NAOH is zero.
You have now viewed the most relevant results for an
electrolytes simulation.

5 This simulation has other Results sheets. Click to view

them, if you choose.

Exiting Aspen Plus

1 From the Aspen Plus menu, select File and then select Exit.
The Aspen Plus dialog box appears.
2 Click No.
– or –
Click Yes if you want to save the run, and enter a Run ID when
prompted.
This simulation (using the apparent approach) is delivered as
backup file elec1 in the Aspen Plus Examples Library. Use this
backup file to check your results.

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry • 2-21
2-22 • Modeling Electrolyte Chemistry Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 CHAPTER 3

Modeling a Sour Water Stripper

In this simulation, use a distillation column to strip NH3 and H2S

from a sour water feed stream.
You will:
• Modify the generated Chemistry
• Use the apparent component approach for electrolytes
• Define a stream property (Property Set)
• Convert the simulation from the apparent approach to the true
approach
Allow about 45 minutes to do this simulation.

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling a Sour Water Stripper • 3-1
 Sour Water Stripper Flowsheet
The process flow diagram and operating conditions for this
simulation are shown in the Process Diagram: Sour Water Stripper.
Two feed streams, one containing sour water, the other steam, are
fed to a stripper to remove CO2, H2S, and NH3 from the sour water.
Use RadFrac to simulate the stripper.

VAPOR
saturated vapor distillate
Temperature = 190 F
Pressure = 15 psi Condenser temperature = 190 F
Total flow = 10,000 lb/hr
Mass fraction H2S = 0.001
Mass fraction NH3 = 0.001
Mass fraction CO2 = 0.001
Mass fraction H2O = 0.997
Above
SOURWAT Stage 3

9 Theoretical stages + condenser

Pressure = 15 psi
Estimated molar reflux ratio = 25

On Stage
STEAM 10

Pressure = 15 psi
Saturated vapor BOTTOMS
Estimated H2O
flow rate = 2,000 lb/hr
5.0 ppm NH3

Process Diagram: Sour Water Stripper

The specifications for the column are:

• 10 theoretical stages total (includes one for the condenser)
• Distillate product as saturated vapor (partial condenser)
• Initial estimate for molar reflux ratio = 25
• No reboiler
• Feed stream SOURWAT above stage 3
• Feed stream STEAM on stage 10
• Column pressure of 15 psi (isobaric)
• Vary the reflux ratio and stream STEAM feed rate to achieve a
bottoms product with 5 ppm (mass) of NH3 and a condenser
temperature of 190° F

3-2 • Modeling a Sour Water Stripper Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 Starting Aspen Plus
To Start Aspen Plus 1 From your desktop, select Start and then select Programs.
2 Select AspenTech | Aspen Engineering Suite | Aspen Plus
12.1 | Aspen Plus User Interface.
The Aspen Plus Startup dialog box appears. Aspen Plus displays
a dialog box whenever you must enter information or make a
selection before proceeding. In this simulation, use an Aspen Plus
template.
To Select the 1 Select the Template radio button and click OK.
Template Option The New dialog box appears.
2 Use the New dialog box to specify the application type and the
run type for the new run. Aspen Plus uses the application type
you choose to automatically set various defaults appropriate to
your application.
To Specify the 1 Select the Electrolytes with English Units template.
Application Type and The default Run Type, Flowsheet, is appropriate for this
Run Type for the New simulation.
Run 2 Click OK to apply these options.

It will take a few seconds for Aspen Plus to apply these options.
Note: If the Connect to Engine dialog box appears, see Chapter 4.
The Aspen Plus window is now active.

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling a Sour Water Stripper • 3-3
 Drawing the Graphical Simulation
Flowsheet
In this simulation, begin to build the process flowsheet. Since you
will enter your own block and stream IDs, turn off the default
options which automatically assign these IDs.
1 From the Aspen Plus menu bar, select Tools | Options.
The Options dialog box appears.
2 Select the Flowsheet tab.
3 Clear the Automatically Assign Block Name with Prefix and
the Automatically Assign Stream Name with Prefix options.

4 Click OK to close the Options dialog box and apply the

changes.

3-4 • Modeling a Sour Water Stripper Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 5 Place a RadFrac blocks and streams to create the graphical
simulation flowsheet as follows:

Note that the distillate stream is connected to the Vapor

Distillate port.

6 Click to guide you to the next required input.

The Flowsheet Complete dialog box appears.
7 Click OK to continue.

Specifying Title, Stream Properties,

and Global Options
The Data Browser window appears. The Setup | Specifications |
Global sheet displays default Aspen Plus settings and units used
for other sheets.
Use this sheet to give your simulation a title, and to review the
stream properties and global options that were set when you
selected the Electrolytes with English Units application type.
The Run type field displays Flowsheet, which is appropriate for
this simulation.
The Electrolytes with English Units application type sets the
following global defaults for electrolytes applications:
• ENG units (English units)
• Mass Flow basis for all flow inputs
It is always good practice to enter a title for the simulation.
In the Title field, enter Getting Started with Electrolytes -
Simulation 2.

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling a Sour Water Stripper • 3-5
 To Review the Report 1 From the Data Browser, select the Setup | Report Options
Options Specified in form.
the Selected Template 2 Select the Stream sheet.
Aspen Plus displays the following defaults for calculating and
reporting stream properties taken from the Electrolytes with
Metric Units template:
• Flow Basis of Mass: Aspen Plus will report the component
flow rates on a mass flow basis.
• ELEC_E Stream Format: Aspen Plus formats the Stream
Summary sheet for electrolytes.
To Move to the Next 3 From the Data Browser, select the Components folder and
Required Input Sheet then select Specifications.

3-6 • Modeling a Sour Water Stripper Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 Specifying Components
The Components Specifications Selection sheet appears.
The apparent (or base) components for this simulation are H2O,
NH3, H2S, and CO2. Because you chose an electrolytes Application
Type, water already appears on the sheet.
1 Enter the following components in addition to the predefined
water:
NH3 Ammonia
H2S Hydrogen-Sulfide
CO2 Carbon-Dioxide
Because the formula for ammonia is represented as H3N in the
Aspen Plus databank, you must identify NH3 by entering either
the Component name (ammonia) or the Formula (H3N).
2 Click Elec Wizard.
The Electrolyte Wizard dialog box, for defining automatic
chemistry generation, appears.

The Electrolyte Wizard

Use the Electrolyte Wizard dialog box to define the ionic species
that can be generated from the base components you specified on
the Components | Specifications| Selection sheet, and to generate
the reactions that occur among these components in the liquid
phase.

1 On the Electrolyte Wizard dialog box, click .

2 Click to move all components in the Available

components column to the Selected components column.

3 Click to continue.

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling a Sour Water Stripper • 3-7
 4 The Generated Species and Reaction dialog box appears:

Aspen Plus generates all possible ionic species and reactions

for the H2O-NH3-H2S-CO2 system.
In the Generated Reactions list, the following arrows denote
different reaction types:
<===> Denotes ionic equilibrium and salt precipitation
--->> Denotes complete dissociation
For this simulation, you know that ammonium carbamate
formation can be neglected.
To Remove 5 Select NH2COO– in the Aqueous species list.
Ammonium 6 Click Remove.
Carbamate Formation
7 Now that you have removed NH2COO– from the Generated
from the Solution
Aqueous Species list, Aspen Plus automatically removes all
Chemistry
reactions involving NH2COO– from the Reactions list.
The salts are also not relevant.
To Remove the Salts 8 Select NH4HS(S) and NH4HCO3(S) from the Salts list.
from the Solution 9 Click Remove.
Chemistry

3-8 • Modeling a Sour Water Stripper Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 Note: Any time you know that a reaction can be neglected
because of expected process conditions, remove it from the
solution chemistry to decrease the execution time required for your
simulation.
In this example, only ionic equilibrium reactions are generated.
The remaining six generated reactions represent partial
dissociation of water, partial dissociation of H2S to HS– and
S–2, partial dissociation of CO2 to HCO3– and CO3–2, and
partial dissociation of NH3 to NH4+.
10 On the Generated Species and Reactions dialog box click
to accept the generated species and reactions.
The Simulation Approach dialog box appears, allowing you
to choose between the true species approach and the apparent
component approach. For this simulation, use the apparent
component approach.
When you use the apparent component approach, Aspen Plus
solves the equations describing solution chemistry as part of
the physical property calculations. Aspen Plus modifies the
physical properties of the apparent components to account for
the reactions described by the solution chemistry. The ions and
precipitated salts are not seen by the unit operation models.
The apparent component approach also defines how Aspen
Plus reports simulation results. The component flow rates for

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling a Sour Water Stripper • 3-9
 ions are not reported. Instead, Aspen Plus reports the
component flow rates of the apparent components as if no
dissociation occurred.
For example, the generated Chemistry for this system specifies
that H2S partially dissociates into HS- and S-2. If you choose
the apparent component approach, Aspen Plus will report a
value for the mole flow rate of H2S that includes molecular
H2S, HS-, and S-2.
11 Select the Apparent component approach option.

12 Click to move to the next dialog box.

The Summary dialog box appears, providing Aspen Plus
electrolytes expert system information.
13 Click Finish to close the dialog box.
On the Components | Specifications | Selection sheet, Aspen
Plus has now added the generated electrolyte components.
Since all components are databank components, Aspen Plus
automatically retrieves all relevant physical property
parameters.

14 Click to continue.
The Components | Henry Comps | Global | Selection sheet
appears. Use this sheet to see which components have been

3-10 • Modeling a Sour Water Stripper Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 declared as Henry's Law components by the electrolytes expert
system in the Henry Comps group it created, GLOBAL. If you
had additional Henry's Law components in your simulation
(such as nitrogen and oxygen), you could add them to the list
on this sheet.

Examining Generated Chemistry

In the previous step, the Aspen Plus Electrolyte Wizard
automatically generated the chemistry definition for your
simulation and named it GLOBAL.
To Examine the 1 From the Data Browser, select the Reactions folder.
Generated Chemistry 2 From the Reactions folder, select the Chemistry | Global.
The Reactions | Chemistry | Global | Stoichiometry sheet
appears.
To View the 1 Select a Reaction and click Edit.
Generated Chemistry The Equilibrium Reaction Stoichiometry dialog box appears,
with the data for the selected reaction that was generated by the
Electrolytes Wizard.
2 Close the dialog box and view the other reactions using the
same steps.

3 Click the Equilibrium Constants tab. Select the various

reactions in the Equilibrium reaction field. All six reactions
have equilibrium constants that have been retrieved from the
Aspen Plus reactions database.

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling a Sour Water Stripper • 3-11
 4 From the Data Browser, select the Properties folder and then
select Specifications.
The Properties | Specifications | Global sheet appears. The
Electrolyte Wizard has already completed this sheet:

5 Ensure that the Use true-components checkbox is cleared.

6 Click to continue.
The Binary Interaction sheet appears for the binary
parameters HENRY-1. Use this sheet to view the Henry's Law
parameters retrieved by the electrolytes expert system. If you
had your own Henry's Law parameters, you could enter them
on this sheet.

7 Click to continue.
The Binary Interaction sheet appears for the binary
parameters NRTL-1. Use this sheet to view the molecule-
molecule interaction parameters retrieved by the electrolytes
expert system. If you had your own molecule-molecule
interaction parameters, you could enter them on this sheet.
8 From the Data Browser, select the Properties folder, then
select the Parameters folder, and then select the Electrolyte
Pair folder.
The Electrolyte Pair sheets define the electrolyte pair
parameters: GMELCC, GMELCD, GMELCE, and GMELCN.
If you had your own pair parameters, you could enter them on
these sheets.

9 Click to continue.
The Electrolyte Pair GMELCC-1 Input sheet appears.

3-12 • Modeling a Sour Water Stripper Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 10 Click to continue.
The Electrolyte Pair GMELCD-1 Input sheet appears.

11 Click to continue.
The Electrolyte Pair GMELCE-1 Input sheet appears.

12 Click to continue.
The Electrolyte Pair GMELCN-1 Input sheet appears.

13 Click to continue.
The Required Properties Input Complete dialog box
appears:

Correct representation of physical properties is essential to

process modeling. For many simulations, the only physical
property specification that you must provide is the selection of
an option set. This dialog box shows that the Aspen Plus
physical property system has many optional capabilities to
increase the accuracy of the physical property calculations.
Because the Aspen Plus electrolytes database has data for all
components and pairs in this system, you don't need to provide
any optional specifications or data.
Now that the Components and Properties specifications are
complete, complete the rest of the flowsheet specifications in
the same way as for non-electrolytes. Use all Aspen Plus unit
operation models in an electrolytes simulation.
14 Click OK to move to the next required input.

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling a Sour Water Stripper • 3-13
 Entering Stream Data
The Streams | SOURWAT | Input | Specifications sheet appears.
Aspen Plus requires two thermodynamic specifications and enough
information to calculate the molar flow rate of each component.
1 Enter the following data:
Temperature 190 F

Pressure 15 PSI

Total flow Mass 10000 LB/HR

2 In the Composition field, click and select Mass-Frac.

3 Enter the following mass fraction values:
H2O 0.997

NH3 0.001

H2S 0.001

CO2 0.001

4 Click to continue.
The Streams | STEAM | Input | Specifications sheet appears.
5 In the Temperature field, click and select Vapor fraction.

3-14 • Modeling a Sour Water Stripper Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 6 Enter the following data:
Vapor fraction 1

Pressure 15 PSI

Composition Mass-Flow

H2O Mass flow value 2000 LB/HR

7 Click to continue.

Specifying the RadFrac Block

The Blocks | B1 | Setup | Configuration sheet appears.
To Review the Types
1 Click , then click the words Operating specifications on
of Specifications that
the Configuration sheet.
You Can Make for
RadFrac 2 Click the link Operating Specifications Descriptions.
3 Review the types of specifications, then when you are ready to
continue, close the Help window.
4 On the Blocks | B1 | Setup | Configuration sheet, enter the
following:
Number of stages 10 (9 theoretical stages and condenser)

Condenser Partial-Vapor

Reboiler None

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling a Sour Water Stripper • 3-15
 5 In the Operating specifications section, at the Reflux Ratio
field, select Mole and specify 25 as the initial estimate for
reflux ratio. The other operating specification is disabled
because you can only specify one spec when Reboiler is None.
6 The Blocks | B1 | Setup | Configuration sheet is complete:

7 Click to continue.
The Blocks | B1 | Setup | Streams sheet appears. Use this
sheet to describe how the streams are connected to the RadFrac
block.
8 For the SOURWAT feed stream, enter 3 in the Stage field and
Above-Stage in the Convention field.
9 For the STEAM feed stream, enter 10 in the Stage field and
On-Stage in the Convention field.
Because stream VAPOR is connected to the vapor distillate
port, Aspen Plus automatically assigns stream VAPOR as a
vapor phase product from stage 1. Similarly, Aspen Plus
assigns stream BOTTOMS as a liquid phase product from
stage 10. The Streams sheet does not allow flow specifications
for distillate product or bottoms product streams.

10 Click to continue.
The Setup | Pressure sheet appears.

3-16 • Modeling a Sour Water Stripper Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 To Specify that this 1 In the Stage 1 / Condenser pressure field, enter 15 psi.
Column Operates
2 Click to continue.
Isobarically at 15 psia
The Required Input Complete dialog box appears, indicating
that all required input specifications have been entered:

3 Click Cancel to close the dialog box.

You can now enter optional specifications. These specifications
include setting up two design specifications. The first will be a
concentration of 5 ppm NH3 in BOTTOMS, and the second will be
a condenser temperature of 190°F.
To Define the First 1 Click the Blocks | B1 | Design Specs folder.
Design Specification The Design Specs object manager appears.
2 Click New.
The Create new ID dialog box appears:
3 Click OK to accept the default ID of 1.
The Design Specs | 1 | Specifications sheet appears.
4 In the Type field, click and select Mass purity.
5 In the Target field, enter the value 5.0E-6.

6 Click to continue.
The Design Specs | 1 | Components sheet appears. Use this
sheet to specify where this specification is to be applied, and
what component and phase it applies to.
7 In the Components area, from the Available components
column, select NH3 (ammonia) and click .

8 Click to continue.
The Design Specs | 1 | Feed/Product Streams sheet appears.
9 From the Available streams column, select BOTTOMS and
click .

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling a Sour Water Stripper • 3-17
 The Design Specs | 1 sheet is complete:

To Define Another 1 From the Data Browser, select the Design Specs folder.
Design Specification The Design Specs object manager appears.
2 Click New.
3 In the Create new ID dialog box , click OK to accept the
default ID of 2.
A new Design Specs | 2 | Specifications sheet appears.
4 In the Type field, select Stage temperature.
5 In the Target field, enter 190 F.
6 In the Stage field, enter 1.

7 Click to continue.
The Vary Object Manager appears.
Define two manipulated variables to meet the two design
specifications. In this simulation keep free the steam feed rate
and the reflux ratio specifications provided on the Blocks | B1 |
Setup sheet. Aspen Plus adjusts the steam feed rate and reflux
ratio to achieve the NH3 bottoms concentration specification
and the condenser temperature specification.
To Define the First 1 Click New and then click OK.
Manipulated Variable The Vary | 1 | Specifications sheet appears.
On this sheet, specify which input variables you want to keep
free in order to meet the design specifications you provide.
2 In the Type field, select Feed rate.

3-18 • Modeling a Sour Water Stripper Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 3 In the Stream name field, select STEAM.
4 In the Lower bound field, enter 50 lbmol/hr.
5 In the Upper bound field, enter 200 lbmol/hr.
On the Streams | STEAM form you specified a Mass-Flow for
stream STEAM. However, when you select the variable type
Feed rate on the Vary form, Aspen Plus assumes the Feed rate
to be on a mole basis. In this case, varying the Feed rate on a
mole basis from 50-200 (lbmol/hr) is equivalent to varying the
Mass flow from 900-3600 (lb/hr).

To Define the Second 1 From the Data Browser, select the Vary folder.
Manipulated Variable 2 Click New and then click OK.
3 In the Type field, select Reflux ratio.
4 In the Lower bound field, enter 15.
5 In the Upper bound field, enter 50.
As with Feed rate, Aspen Plus always varies the reflux ratio on
a mole basis, even if you specify a mass reflux ratio on the
Blocks | B1 | Setup form.

6 Click to continue.
The Required Input Complete dialog box appears, indicating
that all required specifications are complete.
7 Click Cancel.

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling a Sour Water Stripper • 3-19
 By default, Aspen Plus displays results only for stages that
have feeds, products, heaters, or a maximum or minimum flow,
and for the stages immediately above and below those stages.
Modify the default stage report so that results are reported for
all stages.
To Change the Report 1 From the Data Browser, select Blocks | B1 | Report.
The Report | Property Options sheet appears.
2 Click the Profile Options tab.
3 On the Profile Options sheet, in the Stages to be included in
report section, select All Stages.
By default, Aspen Plus reports only temperature, pressure, total
mole flows, enthalpy, mole fractions and K-values for the
selected trays. Request that additional properties be reported by
selecting additional property sets on the Properties sheet.
Specify that Aspen Plus report pH and true component mole
fractions using two built-in Property Sets.
4 Click the Properties tab.
5 In the Defined property sets column, select PH and XTRUE
and click to move the selected property sets into the
Selected property sets column.

3-20 • Modeling a Sour Water Stripper Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 Running the Simulation
1 Click to continue.
The Required Input Complete dialog box appears.
2 Click OK to run the simulation.
The Control Panel appears.
As the run proceeds, messages appear in the Control Panel. It
takes a few moments for Aspen Plus to process input
specifications and perform the simulation.
As in simulation 1, Aspen Plus displays messages indicating
that some properties have been retrieved from a special
databank.
When the calculations finish, the message Results Available
appears in the status area at the right of the main window
toolbar.
3 When the message Results Available appears in the status bar,
click to view the results of your run.

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling a Sour Water Stripper • 3-21
 Examining Simulation Results
Aspen Plus generates many results for this simulation. Examine
any results that are of interest to you. This example guides you
through a review of some of the simulation results.
To View RadFrac 1 In the Aspen Plus menu bar, select Window | Process
Results Flowsheet Window.
2 On the flowsheet, select the RadFrac block.
3 Click the right mouse button and select Results.
The Blocks | B1 | Results Summary sheet appears. This sheet
reports the flows, temperatures, and duties for the top and
bottom stage of the column.

4 Click to move to the next results sheet.

The Balance sheet appears. The block is in mass balance, but
is not in enthalpy balance, because heat is being removed from
the RadFrac block in the condenser. The enthalpy would have
balanced if you had assigned a heat stream to the condenser
duty.
A summary of the results of the design specifications is located
on the Design Specs | Results sheet. This sheet reports the
specified values and the final values for all of the design
specifications.

3-22 • Modeling a Sour Water Stripper Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 To View Design Spec 1 From the Data Browser, select the Blocks | B1 | Design Specs
folder.
Results
2 Click the Results tab to view the Design Spec results.

A summary of the results of the manipulated variables is

located on the Vary | Results sheet. This sheet reports the
specified bounds and the final values for all manipulated
variables.
To View Vary Results 1 From the Data Browser, select the Blocks | B1 | Vary folder.
2 Click the Results tab to view the Vary results.

The Profiles | Compositions sheet lists the mole fractions of

each component for every stage. Since you chose the apparent
component approach for this simulation, only the apparent
components are reported.
To View Composition 1 From the Data Browser, select the Blocks | B1 | Profiles
Profiles folder.
2 Select the Compositions sheet to view the results.
3 In the View field, click and select Liquid.

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling a Sour Water Stripper • 3-23
 The Profiles | Properties sheet reports the actual composition
of molecular components and ions.
To View these 1 Select the Properties sheet. You may need to click the arrows
Results at the right end of the row of tabs to reach it.

Consider the results for Stage 1. The true composition of NH3

and NH4+ sum to 0.03147 on Stage 1. This value is slightly
different from the apparent mole fraction of NH3 reported on
the Compositions sheet: 0.03138. This slight difference is
caused by the solution chemistry.
In general, the total number of moles is not conserved by
solution chemistry. In this simulation, the fourth equilibrium
reaction consumes 3 moles of reactants and generates two
moles of products:
CO2 + 2 H 2 O ⇔ H 3 O + + HCO3−
The total number moles on an apparent component basis will
be different from the total number of moles on a true
component basis. Thus XNH3 (apparent basis) is not exactly
equal to XNH3 (true basis) + XNH4+ (true basis).
The liquid composition of apparent NH3 on stage 1 is:
XNH3 = 0.03138
2 Select the Compositions sheet.
3 In the View field, select Vapor.
The vapor composition of apparent NH3 on stage 1 is:
YNH3 = 0.21116
From these two values, you can calculate a K-value for NH3
on stage 1:
K = YNH3/XNH3 = 6.73

3-24 • Modeling a Sour Water Stripper Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 4 Select the K-Values sheet.

The K-value for NH3 on stage 1 is 6.73. These results

demonstrate that when you use apparent components, Aspen
Plus also reports the K-values calculated by RadFrac (or any
flash) on an apparent basis.
5 Close all open windows.

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling a Sour Water Stripper • 3-25
 Converting to True Components
Choosing between the true component approach and the apparent
component is a matter of personal preference. For all simulations,
the simulation results should be equivalent. To demonstrate this,
you will convert this simulation from the apparent component
approach to the true component approach.
To convert the simulation to the true component approach, you
must tell Aspen Plus to use the true component approach, and you
must adapt the Design Spec in the RadFrac block (5 ppm mass
apparent NH3 in the bottoms).
To Tell Aspen Plus to 1 From the Aspen Plus menu bar, select Data | Properties.
Use the True 2 On the Properties | Specifications | Global sheet, select the
Component checkbox next to Use true-components.
Approach
For the RadFrac block, you entered a desired specification of 5.0
ppm (mass) of apparent NH3 in the bottoms. However, this
specification is incorrect for the true component approach, because
a significant portion of the apparent NH3 is present as NH4+.
To Revise the 1 On the flowsheet, select the RadFrac block.
RadFrac Design 2 Right-click on the RadFrac block and select Input.
Specification to Apply
3 From the Data Browser, select the Design Specs folder.
to the Apparent
Composition of NH3 The Design Specs object manager appears.
4 Select Design Spec ID 1, and click Edit.
The Design Specs | Specifications sheet appears. Modify
Design Spec 1 to specify a stream property for the apparent
mass fraction of NH3.
5 In the Type field, click and select Property value.
6 In the Target field, enter 5.0E-6.
7 In the Property set field, click the right mouse button and
select New.
8 In the Aspen Plus dialog box, enter XNH3APP as the new
property set name.
9 Click OK.

3-26 • Modeling a Sour Water Stripper Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 10 Select the Feed/Product Streams sheet.
11 In the Available streams column, select BOTTOMS and click
to move the stream to the Selected stream column.

12 Click to continue.
The Properties | Prop-Sets | XNH3APP | Properties sheet
appears. Aspen Plus uses this property set to calculate the
apparent mass fraction of NH3 in the liquid phase.
13 Click Search.
14 In the Search Physical Properties dialog box, enter apparent
component mass fraction in the first field.
15 Click Search.
The system searches for valid physical properties and displays
them in the second field of the Search Physical Properties
dialog box.
16 Select Apparent component mass fraction (alias WXAPP) from
the search results.
17 Click Add.
The system adds the selected physical property and displays it
in the third field of the Search Physical Properties dialog box.
18 Click OK.
19 Select the Qualifiers sheet.
20 In the Phase field, click and select Liquid.
21 In the Component field, click and select NH3.

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling a Sour Water Stripper • 3-27
 22 Click to continue. The Required Properties Input
Complete dialog box appears.
23 Click OK.

Running the True Component

Simulation
The Required Input Complete dialog box appears informing you
that all specifications are complete and the simulation can be run.
1 Click OK.
When the calculations finish, the message Results Available
appears in the status area at the right of the Main Window
toolbar.
2 Close all open windows, and the Control Panel.

To View Selected 1 On the flowsheet, select the RadFrac block.

Results of the True 2 Right-click inside the RadFrac block and select Results.
Component
3 From the Data Browser, select the Profiles folder.
Simulation
4 Select the Compositions sheet to view the results.
5 In the View field, click and select Liquid.
This sheet reports the liquid phase mole fraction for all
components, including the ions. Stage 1 reports the following
compositions:
X NH3 = 0.02093
X NH4+ = 0.01054
6 In the View field, click and select Vapor.
Note that all ions have a mole fraction of zero in the vapor
phase. Stage 1 reports the following composition:
Y NH3 = 0.21115
From these values, a stage 1 K-value for NH3 can be
calculated.
K = YNH3/XNH3 = 10.09
7 Select the K-Values sheet.
On stage 1, the reported K value for NH3 matches the value
you just calculated. This demonstrates that when true
components are used, the K-values calculated by RadFrac (or
any flash) are also reported on a true basis.

3-28 • Modeling a Sour Water Stripper Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 Note that the K-value calculated in the apparent simulation is
not equal to the K-value calculated in the true simulation due
to the partial dissociation of ammonia.
The table below compares a number of the values calculated in
the true component simulation and the apparent component
simulation.
Parameter Apparent True
Condenser duty (BTU/HR) -1.46E6 -1.46E6
Condenser Temperature (F) 190 190
Bottom Stage Temperature (F) 213 213
Steam Feed Rate (lb/hr) 1787 1787
Molar Reflux Ratio 29.5 29.4
All values are virtually identical. This demonstrates that the
results calculated by the true approach and the apparent
approach are equivalent, even if they are not numerically equal.

Exiting Aspen Plus

1 From the Aspen Plus menu bar, select File | Exit.
The Aspen Plus dialog box appears.
2 Click No.
– or –
Click Yes if you want to save the run, and enter a Run ID when
prompted.
This simulation (using the apparent approach) is delivered as
backup file elec2 in the Aspen Plus Examples Library. Use this
backup file to check your results.

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Modeling a Sour Water Stripper • 3-29
3-30 • Modeling a Sour Water Stripper Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes
 CHAPTER 4

Connecting to the Aspen Plus

Simulation Engine

If either of the following conditions exist, you will be prompted to

specify the host computer for the Aspen Plus simulation engine
after you start the Aspen Plus User Interface:
• The simulation engine is not installed on your PC.
• The simulation engine is installed on your PC, but the
Activator security device is not connected to your PC.
In these cases, the Connect to Engine dialog box appears.
1 In the Server type field, click and select the type of host
computer for the simulation engine.
2 If you choose Local PC as the server for the simulation engine,
you do not need to enter any more information into the dialog
box. Click OK to continue.
If you choose Windows 2000 or XP server as the server for the
simulation engine, enter the following additional information:
3 In the Node name field, enter the node name of the computer
on which the Aspen Plus simulation engine will execute.
4 In the other fields, enter the following information:
User name Your user name for the specified
host/server.
Password Your password for the above user name.

Working The associated working directory.

directory

Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes Connecting to the Aspen Plus Simulation Engine • 4-1
 5 Click OK.
When the network connection is established, the message
Connection Established appears in the message box.
If the Connection Established message does not appear, see
your Aspen Plus system administrator for more information on
network protocols and host computers for the Aspen Plus
simulation engine.

4-2 • Connecting to the Aspen Plus Simulation Engine Getting Started Modeling Processes with Electrolytes