ChE 450 Computer Laboratory #1

Spring 2015
Objectives:
1. Introduction to ChE 450 process design computing laboratory
2. Refresher on ASPEN PLUS software
3. Begin and complete the ASPEN PLUS tutorial

Directions:
1. Log on to a PC in FRNY 1033. Your user name and password should be the same as those for your Career
account. If you have problems with your account, please send an email to cheq@ecn.purdue.edu.
2. Go to Blackboard course content and download the Aspen manual files (Get Started Guide for Aspen Plus
v8 and 450_aspenmanual_version10). DO NOT PRINT THE DOCUMENTS! The Aspen Plus Manual
has been prepared for Aspen Plus versions prior to version 8.0. The Get Started Guide for Aspen Plus v8
will help you understand the user interface of version 8 and will give the necessary basic information to
properly use Aspen Plus. Read Get Started Guide for Aspen Plus v8.
3. Although everyone has some familiarity with Aspen Plus, skim through the first chapter "Aspen Plus
Basics of the Aspen Plus manual. DO NOT RUN ANYTHING FROM CHAPTER ONE. ASPEN
WILL CRASH HORRIBLY AND UNRECOVERABLY IF YOU DO.
4. Beginning with chapter 2-1 (page 33 of the document), start the tutorial Building and Running a Process
Simulation Model. The tutorial is well-written and several diagrams make it easy to follow. Follow the
directions and input the example values into the required ASPEN PLUS fields. After you have input all the
necessary information, run the simulation and make sure you have no errors and get results similar to those
in the tutorial.
5. Finish the tutorial to the end, including creating the report (.rep) file. However, when you quit ASPEN
PLUS, save your file in the backup (.bkp) format. To do this, go to File Export and select the .bkp option
or File Save As and select the .bkp option. Make sure to keep this base backup file since we will use it as
a starting point for other labs!
6. Exit ASPEN PLUS and use a text editor (Notepad or WordPad) and open your report file. Note the size,
layout, and the information in the file. These are the same results that were displayed in the windows. From
the report file (.rep), copy/paste the following results into a new file and save the file as lab1.txt to your
account. The results to extract from the report are:
a. the problem-status information (that all blocks completed normally, etc.)
b. the stream report (stream names, flows, etc.)
The purpose of this is for you to familiarize yourself with the different sections of the report. DO NOT
copy/paste the whole file.
7. Submit the file lab1.txt you just created.
Open Blackboard. Sign in using your career account. Go to Assignments, Click on Lab 1 and add your
completed lab as an attachment. In the comments section, list your name and section.
8. It will be useful if you start a ChE 450 file in your N directory.

9. Chapter 3
Continue through chapter 3 of the manual. After completing Chapter 3, you should be able to quickly
perform an additional sensitivity analysis for the mole fraction of toluene in the distillate. This will
require that you define a variable name for toluene in the distillate, include this variable in the tabulate
form and re-run the simulation. (Hints: To get back to the Sensitivity: (1) Select Model
Analysis>Sensitivity from the left menu bar under the Simulation Tab or Click on Sensitivity button
under Home tab of the top menu bar. In the Define form (Model Analysis Tools -> Sensitivity -> Input
-> Define), use XTOLU for the variable name. The rest of the fields should be similar to those of
XMCH, except for the component. Do not forget to go to Sensitivity. Tabulate and make additions. Use
the Next button to continue and run the simulation.)
Plot the sensitivity results of toluene fraction in distillate versus the phenol rate as you did for the MCH
distillate purity.
Save the plot as one of the following formats: PDF (*.pdf), JPEG (*.jpg) or Microsoft Office Document
Image Writer (*.mdi) file (File -> Print->PDFCreator, etc. Upload your completed file lab1_ch3.pdf to
blackboard by going to Assignments Lab 1. In the comments, please put your name and lab
section (1-8) and then click submit.
10. Exercise for Chapter 4
Continue through chapter 4 of the manual. Determine the phenol solvent feed flow rate required to
maintain an MCH distillate purity of 99.0% +/-0.001%. Manipulated variable limits may need to be
changed. Save the results of the design specifications as a text file. (Home -> Report, Choose
Convergence from the Display Report For list). Submit the file as lab1_ch4.txt as stated above with the
page title Lab 1: Chapter 4 Solution.
Do not be afraid to explore some of the options with ASPEN PLUS. The best way to get comfortable with a
software package is to play with it.
Good luck and have fun!