Modeling Industrial Chemical Processes with MATLAB and

Simulink
By Ahmad Fani Yazdi, HUGO PETERSEN GmbH
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Sulfuric acid is used in the manufacture of fertilizers, petrochemical products, synthetic fber, steel, and a wide range of other industrial
materials. Used acid and waste gases are recycled in processing plants that must meet stringent safety and environmental requirements
for working with these chemicals.
HUGO PETERSEN GmbH has a decades-long track record of engineering safe and effcient sulfuric acid and gas cleaning plants. Until
recently, however, our development process was highly labor-intensive. All preliminary design work and process modeling was done
using a complex system of spreadsheets. This manual approach slowed development and introduced the potential for human error.
Model-Based Design with MATLAB

and Simulink

has provided a cost-effective way to simplify and automate our design workfow by
enabling chemical process engineers and controls engineers to work in the same environment. While the chemical process engineers
model the complex thermodynamic and kinetic interactions within the plant, controls engineers model the control algorithms. The plant
and its control system can then be tested in dynamic and steady-state closed-loop simulations.
The new approach is 5 to 10 times faster than the spreadsheet-based approach, and much less susceptible to human error.
Too Complex for Spreadsheets
A typical sulfuric acid plant includes numerous subsystems, such as chemical reactors, heat exchangers, and absorption towers.
Calculating the thermodynamic and kinetic interactions within each subsystem is inherently diffcult. Capturing these processes in
spreadsheets compounded the challenge. Many manual steps were required: The outputs from one subsystem had to be copied to a new
spreadsheet for use as input to the next step in the process, and so on. A single error at one stage could throw off the results for the entire
process. With so many interconnected spreadsheets, it was diffcult to identify and fx such errors.
Creating a Library of Subsystem Models
The frst step in the new workfow was to create a library of reusable modules, one for each subsystem, which the chemical process
engineers could then combine in Simulink system models. To manage the overall complexity of our designs, we defned each module as a
MATLAB class, enabling us to apply object-oriented design patterns to the development of the entire library.
An absorption tower, for example, is defned as a MATLAB class, as are the fuid and gas streams that it takes as input. In the actual
tower, the gas enters at the bottom of a column and is partially absorbed by the liquid, which enters through the top of the tower and
runs down through the column. We modeled the thermodynamic and kinetic processes in MATLAB using the classes we had developed.
The classes perform all the operations that were previously done in spreadsheets, as well as several new calculations that were enabled by
the switch to MATLABfor example, calculation of the heat generated by the absorption of SO
3
in different concentrations of sulfuric
acid. The outputs of the absorption tower model, one gas object and one fuid object, capture the results and are used as input to the next
subsystem in the plant. Our process engineers can use the blocks by simply dragging and dropping them into the Simulink environment,
but they can also study the underlying MATLAB code and develop new MATLAB classes, as well as create new libraries in Simulink.
Simulating Chemical Processes
Using a library of MATLAB models for the key plant subsystems, our chemical process engineers can quickly build larger plant designs
in Simulink and simulate them. Several absorption towers, for example, can be connected in Simulink to form a larger absorption unit
(Figure 1).
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Figure 1. An absorption unit for a sulfuric acid plant modeled in Simulink.
Using the subsystem blocks in the library, the engineers can rapidly design and simulate sophisticated new plants, assess changes to
existing plants, or evaluate new processes. For example, they might link two chemical reactors and a static mixer for quench gas (Figure
2). Sensors can be included to monitor temperature, pressure, fow, and other variables throughout the simulation.
Figure 2. A converter comprising two chemical reactors and a static mixer for quench gas.
Simulations enable the engineers to visualize key aspects of the process (Figure 3) and help ensure that it complies with environmental
regulations. For example, if the air has not been treated suffciently to meet regulatory standards, this condition is fagged with a red
marker, which indicates that further treatment or other changes to the process may be required.
Figure 3. A sample visualization: plot of oxidation versus temperature for sulfur dioxide processing.
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Once the chemical process engineers have designed, simulated, and verifed the entire process in Simulink, they use Spreadsheet Link
EX to export the simulation results to a Microsoft

Excel

spreadsheet (Figure 4). This report typically includes the dimensions of the
various subsystems, as well as fow rates, temperatures, and pressures at key points in the process. It is shared with the HUGO
PETERSEN customer who initiated the project, the construction team that will build the plant, and the suppliers who will provide
components. A supplier of blowers, for example, can determine the size and type of blower needed by extracting the relevant fow rate
and gas density from the report.
Figure 4. Spreadsheet showing results from a Simulink simulation of a plant process.
Simulating Control Systems and Plant Startups
To verify the control algorithms, engineers combine the control system model with the plant model and run closed-loop simulations.
These simulations enable both teams to assess the steady-state and dynamic performance of the entire plant. They can simulate startup
and shutdown procedures, as well as faults and hazardous conditions that would be diffcult or unsafe to test on an actual plant.
We continue to use the system model during the plant startup process. If the onsite feld engineers need to know how the plant will
behave under specifc conditions, we run a simulation back at the offce and send them the results. This greatly reduces the risk inherent
in startups because the team knows that the steps they are about to perform will work as expected.
From Ideas to Production
Model-Based Design with MATLAB and Simulink has enabled us to evaluate many design ideas for each project. Because the designs we
create are fexible, we can quickly respond to changing customer requirements. The shared environment has improved communication
between the control and chemical process engineers, making it easy to collaborate to solve problems and optimize performance.
Overall, MATLAB and Simulink have enabled us to cut costs and reduce development time by a factor of 5 to 10. We have designed and
simulated systemsincluding the largest oleum plant in the worldthat were far too complex to handle with our spreadsheet-based
approach. Just as importantly, quality has increased, as we now can fnd and eliminate errors much faster.
This approach has made it easier to demonstrate plants and new design concepts to our customers. We can simulate a model of a
production plant and show that the simulation results match the actual performance of the plant. This gives new customers a great deal
of confdence in our ability to design and deliver a plant to their specifcations.
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Products Used
MATLAB

Simulink

Spreadsheet Link EX
Learn More
Model-Based Design for Process Automation Systems and
Industrial Controls
Modeling and Advanced Control Strategies for the Process
Industries
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Published 2012
91988v00
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2012 The MathWorks, Inc. MATLAB and Simulink are registered trademarks of The MathWorks, Inc. See www.mathworks.com/trademarks
for a list of additional trademarks. Other product or brand names may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
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