I.

Introduction
II. Accessing ASPEN PLUSTM
III. Creating a Reaction Engineering Process Model
A. Building a Process Flowsheet
B. Entering Process Conditions
IV. Running the Process Model
A. Interpreting the Results
B. Changing Process Conditions and Rerunning the
Model
V. Example Problems
A. 8-5: Adiabatic Production of Acetic Anhydride
B. 8-5: Operation of a PFR with Heat Exchanger
VI. Other Need-to-Knows
A. Saving your Process Model
B. Printing your Process Model
C. Changing Names of Streams and Unit Operations
D. Changing Units of Parameters
E. Exiting ASPEN PLUSTM
VII. Credits

INTRODUCTION TO ASPEN PLUS™ 12.1

Engineers are constantly being called upon to predict the
behavior of systems. Chemical engineers in particular must be
able to predict the actions of chemical species, a very difficult
task. As chemical engineering students, when confronted with
a large chemical system, you might ask, "Where do I even
begin? Mass balances? Energy balances? Thermodynamic
properties? Reaction Kinetics?" Over the past few years as a
student you've learned about each of these crucial topics
separately, however, "real world" situations will require an
engineer to incorporate all of these areas.

This is where the idea of a process model is helpful. A process

model can be defined as an engineering system's "blue print."
The process model is a complete layout of the engineering
system including the following:

1. Flowsheet
The process model flowsheet maps out the entire system.
The flowsheet shows one or more inlet streams entering
into the system's first unit operation (i.e., heat
exchanger, compressor, reactor, distillation column, etc.)
and continues through the process, illustrating all
intermediate unit operations and the interconnecting
streams. The flowsheet also indicates all product
streams. Each stream and unit operation is labeled and
identified.

2. Chemical Components
The process model specifies all chemical components of
 the system from the necessary reactants and products, to
steam and cooling water.
3. Operating Conditions
All unit operations in the process model are kept under
particular operating conditions (i.e., temperature,
pressure, size). These are usually at the discretion of the
engineer, for it is the operating conditions of the process
that effect the outcome of the system.

Sound confusing? Well can you imagine keeping track of all of

this by hand, then solving all the mass and energy balances,
determining thermodynamic behavior, and using reaction
kinetics just to determine what size reactor to use, or how
much product you'll achieve?

ASPEN PLUSTM allows you to create your own process model,

starting with the flowsheet, then specifying the chemical
components and operating conditions. ASPEN PLUS TM will take
all of your specifications and, with a click of the mouse button,
simulate the model. The process simulation is the action that
executes all necessary calculations needed to solve the
outcome of the system, hence predicting its behavior. When
the calculations are complete, ASPEN PLUSTM lists the results,
stream by stream and unit by unit, so you can observe what
happened to the chemical species of your process model.

So continue on and check out how to use ASPEN PLUS TM as a

tool in solving some reaction engineering problems.

ACCESSING ASPEN PLUSTM

At the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
ASPEN PLUSTM is installed on CAEN computers and the
Duderstadt Center computers. ASPEN PLUS runs on Windows™
computers throughout the Dederstadt Center. See the CAEN
office, 2nd floor Media Union, for locations of CAEN labs on
campus.

At Other Universities

Inquire at your computing sites about the ASPEN PLUSTM

software package. It may be installed on an on-line directory, or
on an individual computer's.

Getting Started

At the University of Michiugan, once you are logged on to a

computer with ASPEN PLUS™, follow these instructions to open
for ASPEN PLUSTM. If you not at the University of Michigan open
ASPEN PLUS and go to step 4 .

1. Click the Start button in the lower left of the screen and
select All Programs
2. Put your cursor over Engineering Applications then Aspen
Tech and then Aspen Engineering Suite
3. Move the cursor over Aspen Plus 12.1 and click on Aspen
Plus User Interface. ASPEM PLUS™ will open and a widows
installer window will also open. If the installer asks you to
specify the location of a file, click on Cancel and then again
on Cancel in the Windows installer window.
4. Once ASPEN PLUS™ opens, you have to choose between
using a template or a blank flowsheet. Check the Template
box and select ok.

5. Then select the template you want to use from the

Simulations tab and hit ok. For this tutorial we will use
General with English Units
6. ASPEN PLUS™ will then be ready to connect to the
simulation engin. At the University of Michigan select Local
PC from the Server Type pulldown menu. (Again a
Windows Installer window will apear. Select Cancel if you
are asked to specify the location of a file.) At other
universities please refer to the help desk at your computer
site for the appropriate selection and information to
connect to the simulation engine.
 7. Once ASPEN PLUS™ connects to the simulation engine, you
are ready to begin entering the process system. Your
screen should look similar to the one below.

CREATING A REACTION ENGINEERING

PROCESS MODEL
Now that you have gained access to ASPEN PLUSTM, you are
ready to begin creating a process model. The following series of
steps will create a process model for the tubular reactor (PFR)
example problem 4-3 taken from the 4th Edition of Elements of
Chemical Reaction Engineering by H. Scott Fogler.

Here is a summarized version of the problem:

Example 4-3

Determine the plug-flow reactor volume necessary to produce

300 million pounds of ethylene a year from cracking a feed
stream of pure ethane. The reaction is irreversible and
elementary. We want to achieve 80% conversion of ethane,
operating the reactorisothermally at 1100K at a pressure of 6
atm.

C2H6 (g) C2H4 (g) + H2 (g)

A B+C
Where A is gaseous ethane, B is gaseous ethylene, and C is
gaseous hydrogen.

Other information:

 Fao = 0.425 lbmol/s (calculated from 300 million pounds of

ethylene at 80% conversion)
 k = 0.072s-1 at 1000K
 Activation Energy, E = 82 kcal/gmol

Building the Process Flowsheet

The first step in creating a process model is drawing the

flowsheet in ASPEN PLUSTM, much like you would on paper. Note
that while you're constructing the flowsheet, text in the lower
right corner will state "Flowsheet Not Complete." This will
change to "Required Input Incomplete" when the flowsheet is
finished.

Unit Operations

The easiest way to create the flowsheet is to start with the Unit
Operation and add the streams to it.

1. Along the bottom of the window there are several tabs

with different types of equipment as labels. Click on the
Reactors tab.
2. There are seven different types of reactor models in ASPEN
PLUS™ 12.1. For this example we are going to use RPlug
3. Click on the RPlug button once and then click again on the
blank process flowsheet. You will notice on the left of the
different reactor buttons there is a down arrow wich brings
up a pulldown menu. You can change the icon that appears
on the process flow sheet from this menu. There will be no
difference in the calculations ASPEN PLUS™ performs. The
icon affects only the appearence of the flowsheet.
 4. You should now see an icon for a plug flow reactor on the
process flow sheet. It will arbitrarily be named B1. (you
can change the name later)

Inlet (Feed) Streams

Next we need to add the inlet stream.

1. There is a button labled Material STREAMS at the lower left

of the window. Click on this button.
2. When you move the cursor onto the process flowsheet you
will see two red arrows and two blue arrows appear on the
reactor. These arrows indicate places to attach streams to
the reactor.

3. Move the cursor over the red arrow at the top of the
reactor. This is the feed stream. Click once when the arrow
is highlighted and move your cursor so that the stream is
 in the position you want. Then click once more. You should
see a stream labled 1 entering the top of the reactor icon.

You have finished adding the inlet stream. Note this example
only has one arrow (representing the ethane feed). More than
one inlet stream can be drawn. Note also that if you have more
than one reactant in the feed, you do not need more than one
inlet stream in ASPEN PLUS™. You can specify multiple
components in one stream.

At this point your screen should look something like this:

To finish our flowsheet we need an outlet stream

Outlet (Product) Streams

You are now ready to add the outlet stream (containing both
ethylene and hydrogen) to your flowsheet. Repeat the steps
described above for the inlet stream, however instead of
highlighting the red arrow at the top of the reactor, highlight the
red arrow ar the bottom. Of course, for other examples, there
could be more than one outlet stream.

Your screen should now look like this:

Connecting the Streams to the Unit Operation

If you did not connect the stream to the unit when you created
the stream, you can still attatch it to the unit.

1. To attatch a stream already on the flowsheet, first click on

the arrow button, directly abovee the Material STREAMS
button.
2. Double click on the end of the stream you wish to connect
to the unit. Your mouse will now control the end of the
stream.
3. To attach the stream simply move the end of the stream
over one of the red or blue arrows on the unit. While the
arrow is highlighted click once more and the stream will be
attatched to the unit.

Entering Process Conditions

Now that the process flowsheet is complete, it is time to enter

the process conditions. In the bottom right of the screen the
warngin message has changed from "Flowsheet Not Complete"
to "Required Input Incomplete". This means that entering
conditions, operating conditions or kinetic information is
missing. ASPEN PLUSTM will guide you through the required input

windows, simply click on the next button near the middle of

the main toolbar. When each input is complete, a will appear
next to the completed section in the explorer window on the left.
 1. Click Next with the left mouse button. A window will
prompt you that the flowsheet is complete and asks
whether the next input form should be displayed. Click OK
(At the University of Michigan, a Windows Installer window
appears again. As before you should cancel the Installer (it
may take several times before the Installer finally quits).
2. The first input window will be called Setup Specifications.
With the left mouse button, click once on the Title box to
highlight it, enter the title of your process model.
3. Check that the desired units are correct. You can change
the units in the pull-down menu under Units of
measurement. Click on the desired units.
4. A should appear next to Specifications in the navigation
window on the left. Click Next.

The next input window is Components Specifications. Here is

where all of the chemical species in your process model are
specified.

5. For this particular example, the components are: ethane,

ethylene, and hydrogen. Start with the second to last
column called Component name. Click on the first row in
the column and type in: ethane. Hit Enter.

***Note: If you are unsure of how to spell the chemical

name, or do not know whether it's in the ASPEN PLUS TM
library, simply click the Find button below the components
table. From here you can search for the correct chemical.

6. Ethane is in the ASPEN PLUSTM chemical library. Notice how

the molecular formula automatically appears after typing it
in. Now click under Component ID. Enter an id name (to
show up in results) for ethane, perhaps ETHA. Hit Enter.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for ethylene and hydrogen. In this
example, the component id names used were ETHY and H2,
respectively.
8. appears. Click Next.

The next window to appear is Properties Specifications. Here is

where you specify the solving engine used to simulate your
process model.

9. From the Property method pulldown menu select SYSOP0

Hit Enter.
10. appears. Click Next.

Once the required properties information has been input and you
click the next button, a window will pop up asking weather to
continue to the next step or to modify the properties. Check the
circle next to Go to Next required input step.
The next window to appear is Streams. Here is where you specify
the components, temperature and pressure of input streams.

11. Under "State variables" go to the menu that says

Temperature. Enter 1100 and from the pulldown menu to
the right of the entry select K for Kelvin.
12. In the Pressure entry type 6 and select atm from the
pulldown menu.
13. Now look to the right and find the Composition table.
From the first pulldown menu select Mole-flow and change
its units to lbmol/sec from the right pulldown menu.
14. Since ethane is the only component of the inlet stream,
click in the box next to ETHA and enter 0.425 for the molar
flowrate.
15. appears. Click Next.

The next input window is titled B1. This window is where you
will specify the operating conditions of the PFR. This is the
window you will come back to upon running the simulation to
change any operating conditions as well.

16. You start at the Specifications tab. From the Reactor

type pulldown menu select Reactor with specified
temperature.
17. In the Operating conditions section mark the first
choice: Constant at inlet temperature
18. Click Next
19. Click in the Length box and enter a value. 10 feet is a
good starting point. Be sure the units are ft. Change the
units accordingly via the pull down menu method if
necessary.
20. Do the same for the Diameter box. 3 feet is a good
guess for the diameter. Be sure the units are in ft.
 ***Note. You are solving this problem by guessing a
volume. When you run the simulation you will see what
conversion is achieved with the guessed volume. You will
keep changing the volume (increasing/decreasing the
length while keeping the diameter constant) and rerunning
the simulation until the desired conversion is achieved.
Remember that a PFR is a cylinder with a volume of V =
(Pi/4)D2L.

21. Hit the next button. (The will not show up yet)
22. The next window asks you to select a reaction set.
However, you have not created a reaction set yet. From
then navigation menu on the left, double click on the
Reactions folder. Two subfolders will appear. Click on the
Reactions subfolder.

This is where you will specify the stoichiometry of the reaction

occurring in the PFR.

22. In this window, selct New

23. Enter a name for the reaction ID (for this example we
used R-1) and then selcet LHHWH from the Select type
pulldown menu. Hit ok.
24. This takes you to the Stoichiometry tab. From here
select New....
25. Under Reactants, select ETHA from the Component
pulldown menu.
26. Now look at the balanced reaction equation in the
problem statement. The coefficient of ethane is 1 so enter
1 in the Coefficient box. Notice that ASPEN PLUS™
automatically changes coefficients of reactants to negative
numbers.
27. Under Products, select ETHY from the Component
pulldown menu. Enter a 1 in the coefficient box. Then
select H2 from the Component pulldown menu and enter 1
for the coefficient. Click on the Next button to close the
window and again to advance to the next input.

The next input is under the Kinetic tab. Here you will describe
the rate law of the reaction in the PFR.

28. The reaction you just entered should be shown in the

first pulldown menu. From the Reacting Phase pulldown
menu select Vapor
29. Then enter the information in the Kinetic Factor
section.
30. Enter 0.072 for k, 82 for E, and 1000 for To. Make sure
the units for E are kcal/mol and K for To.
31. Lastly, the rate law must be entered. To do this click
on the Driving Force button to the right.
 32. This example has an elementary rate law, hence, -rA=
kCA. Therefore, under the Reactants, enter 1 in the box
next to ethane (ETHA). Type 1 for the Exponent.
33. Under Products, Enter 0 for the Exponents of both
ethylene and hydrogen (ETHY and H2).
34. Enter 0 for all four driving force constants (A, B, C, D)
at the bottom of the window.
35. from the Enter term pulldown menu, select Term 2.
Since this was an elementary reaction and there is no
second term enter 0 for all exponents and B, C, and D
coefficients.
36. Due to the method ASPEN PLUS™ uses to specify
reactions, you must enter a very large negative number for
coefficient A. -10000000 should work. This will make term
2 essentially 0, leaving us with the elementary rate law.
Click Next to close the window.
37. Click Next
38. This takes you back to the B1 block. If you remember,
we did not specify a reaction set for the PFR becasue we
did not have one created. Now that we are done creating
our reaction set, we need to add it to blcok 1. Select R-1
(or whatever you titled the reaction) and select the
button.

You are finished entering all the required data for the process
model! You will see Required Input Complete in the bottom right
corner of the window. Click the Next button again and a window
will appear asking if you wish to run the simulation. Click OK.

RUNNING THE PROCESS MODEL

Congratulations on completing the flowsheet and entering the
process model conditions. Now you are ready to put your model
to the test. Example 4-3, the cracking reaction, can now be
simulated.

Once you've clicked OK to run the process model, the Control

Panel window will appear. This window gives you a look at the
ASPEN PLUSTM "thinking process." Phrases indicating the PFR
block is being executed will scroll across the screen. When the
simulation is complete, the Control Panel will read: Simulation
calculations completed.

Interpreting the Results

1. Once the simulation is complete, click the Next button
on the Control Panel.
2. A window will pop up with three choices. Mark the first
choice, Display Run-Status results form, and click ok.
 3. A window titled Results Summary will appear. Click on
Streams in the navigation window on the left.

For the Example 4-3 simulation the stream results screen should
look like this:

Note that, down the left side of the screen, are the different
parameters: temperature, pressure, mole flow, etc. Along the top
row are the stream id names, in this case 1 and 2 (inlet and
product). This forms a grid of information that can be interpreted
easily.

In Example 4-3, the problem asks for the PFR volume that will
achieve an 80% conversion. As you recall, when entering the
process model conditions, you guessed a volume by entering an
arbitrary length and diameter of the PFR. In order to complete
the problem, you must see what conversion your process model
obtained. Recall that conversion is defined as:

X = (moles of limiting reagent reacted)

(moles of limiting reagent fed)

Where moles reacted = moles in - moles out

To solve for conversion, do the following with the results:

1. Under Mole Flow for ethane, calculate the moles of ethane

that reacted: stream 1 - stream 2
 2. Divide this number by the molar flowrate of ethane into the
PFR: stream 1.

If you followed the example exactly, using a length of 10 feet

and a diameter of 3 feet, you should get a conversion of 76%.

X = stream 1 - stream 2
stream 1

X = 1530 lbmol/hr - 361.641 lbmol/hr

1530 lbmol/hr

X = 0.76 = 76%

The dimensions of the PFR did not achieve an 80% conversion.

Therefore, you need to go back and adjust them. It is easiest to
vary the length of the PFR while holding the diameter constant.
In this example, since the conversion was too low, you must
INCREASE the length of the PFR.

Changing Process Conditions and Rerunning the Model

Adjusting the input conditions is very straightforward, just

follow these steps:

1. With the mouse pointer, click on the close button for the
Results window and then the Control Paenl window (do not
close ASPEN PLUS™)

2. You should now see the input specifications window

(where you entered information on reaction kinetics,
reactor size, etc...)
3. Browse to the Blocks > B1 > Setup page from the left
explorer window and click on the Configuration tab.
4. Click in the box of the value you wish to change. In this
case change the Length to a value greater than 10 feet
(Hint: Try 11.42 feet!).
5. Use the explorer window on the left to browse through the
input data if you need to change more parameters. If not,
keep clicking Next until you are prompted with "Run
Simulation Now?"
6. Rerun the simulation, and check your results.

In Example 4-3, you will find that a length of 11.42 feet and a
diameter of 3 feet will achieve an 80% conversion. To finish the
problem, the volume of a PFR with these dimensions is V = 80.72
ft3.
ASPEN PLUS™ EXAMPLE PROBLEMS
This section is devoted to example reaction problems. The
problems were taken from the 4th Edition of Elements of
Chemical Engineering by H. Scott Fogler. Both problems come
from Example 8-5, the first is an adiabatic reactor and the
second is a PFR with constant cooling temperature. Please note,
it is assumed that the user knows how to create a flowsheet and
enter process conditions, since these examples explain only the
values to enter for each input window.

Example 8-5 Adiabatic Production of Acetic Anhydride

Jeffreys, in a treatment of the design of an acetic anhydride

manufacturing facility, states that one of the key steps is the
vapor-phase cracking of acetone to ketene and methane:

CH3COCH3 CH2CO + CH4

He states further that this reaction is first-order with respect to

acetone and that the specific reaction rate can be expressed by

ln k = 34.34 - 34,222/T (E8-5.1)

where k is in reciprocal seconds and T is in Kelvin. In this design,

it is desired to feed 8000 kg of acetone per hour to a tubular
reactor. If the reactor is adiabatic, the feed pure acetone, the
inlet temperature 1035K, and the pressure 1 62 kPa (1.6 atm), a
tubular reactor of what volume is required for 20% conversion?

Creating the Flowsheet

The flowsheet consists of one inlet stream, a PFR, and one

product stream. It should look like this:
Create a flowsheet like this in ASPEN PLUSTM. If you do not know
how, see Example 4-3. When the flowsheet is complete,
Required Input Incomplete should appear in the lower right
corner of the screen. Click the Next button. Click OK when
prompted to Enter Required Data.

Entering Process Conditions

This section will explain what values to type in for each input
window. If you do not know how to enter values, change units,
or navigate through the input windows, see Example 4-3.

Setup

1. Title: Enter any title you wish.

Components
1. Under Component Name type the following in a column:
ACETONE, KETENE, METHANE
2. Under Comp ID type in any id names for the above
components: A, K, C1
3. Click Next

Properties

1. From the Property method pull-down menu select SYSOP0

2. Click Next.
 3. Click OK when prompted about continuing entering stream
input.

Stream

1. Description: Enter any description of stream 1.

2. Temp: 1035 K (change units if necessary)
3. Pres: 1.6 atm (change units if necessary)
4. Composition: Change to MASS-FLOW KG/HR
5. For a mass flowrate of A (acetone) type 8000. Leave
ketene and methane at zero (no mass flow in reactant
stream).
6. Total: Change to MASS-FLOW and enter 8000 KG/HR
7. Click Next.

Blocks

1. Description: Enter any description for PFR, perhaps

Adiabatic PFR.
2. Type: ADIABATIC
3. Length: Need to guess a length, 3 METERS is a good
starting point.
4. Diam: Need to guess a diameter, 1 METER is a good
starting point.
5. Click Next
6. After you create the reaction set, add it in the Reactions
tab

Reactions - Stoichiometry

1. Select New...
2. Reaction Name: enter a name for the reaction set
3. Select Type: LHHW
4. Select OK
5. In Stoichiometry select: New
6. Under Rectants: select acetone from the components pull-
down menu and set the coefficient to -1
7. Under Products: select ketene and methane and set both
coefficients to 1
8. Click Next.

Reactions - Kinetic

1. Select the reaction from the pulldown menu

2. Change Reacting Phase to Vapor
3. Enter 1.125 for k
4. Enter 1000 K for To
5. Enter the activation energy E of the Arrhenius equation,
67999 CAL/MOL. This value was solved for using equation
E8-5.1:
 k (s-1) = 8.2x1014exp(-32,444/T)
(Note that R is missing in the denominator.)

Activation Energy = E = (32,444)(R)

E = (32,444)(1.987 cal/mol K) = 67999 cal/mol

Reactions - Kinetic - Driving Force

1. Under Reactants: set acetone exponent to 1

2. Under Products: set ketene and methane exponent to 0
3. Set constants to 0
4. Select Term 2 from the pull-down menu
5. Set all Exponents and constants B, C, and D to 0
6. Set constant A to -1000000
7. Click Next.

Running the Simulation and Interpreting the Results

Click Next again until you are prompted to run the simulation.
Click OK. When the simulation is complete, click next and choose
to Display Run-Status results form. If you do not know how to
interpret the results window, see Example 4-3. Otherwise, check
the conversion (X = moles reacted/moles fed). Does X = 20%?
If X < 20%, you must increase the length of the PFR. If X >
20%, you must decrease the length of the PFR.

In this case where length = 3 m, diam = 1m, the conversion was

greater than 20%. Therefore, you need to go back to the PFR
and input a smaller length. You must access the Rplug.Main
window to do this. If you do not know how to reenter inputs, see
Example 4-3.

This time, try a length of 2.5 m while holding the diameter

constant at 1 m. When you rerun the simulation, you will find
that X = 20%! Finishing up the example, the volume of the PFR
with these dimensions is V = 1.96 m3.

Reference: G. V. Jeffreys, A Problem in Chemical Engineering

Design: The Manufacture of Acetic Anhydride, 2nd ed. (London:
Institution of Chemical Engineers, 1964).

Example 8-5 Operation of a PFR with Heat Exchanger

We again consider the vapor-phase cracking of acetone used in

Example 8-5:
 CH3COCH3 CH2CO + CH4

The reactor is to be jacketed so that a high-temperature gas

stream can supply the energy necessary for this endothermic
reaction (see Figure E8-5.1). Pure acetone enters the reactor at
a temperature of 1035K and the temperature of the external gas
in the heat exchanger is constant at 1150K. The reactor consists
of a bank of one thousand 1-in. schedule 40 tubes. The overall
heat-transfer coefficient is 110 J/m2-s-K. Determine the
temperature profile of the gas down the length of the reactor.

Figure E8-5.1

Creating the Flowsheet

Use the same flowsheet as the adiabatic example.

Entering Process Conditions

Follow instrctions for Setup, Components, Properties, Stream,

Reactions - Stoichiometry, reactions - Kinetic, and reactions -
Kinetic - Driving Force. The only chnage from the adiabatic
example is in the Block input data.

Blocks

1. On the Specifications tab, change reactor type to: Reactor

with constant coolant temperature.
2. Enter the heat transfer parameter U: 110 J/sec-sqm-K.
3. Enter the coolant temperature: 1150 K
4. Length: Need to guess a length, 3 METERS is a good
starting point.
5. Diam: Need to guess a diameter, 1 METER is a good
starting point.
6. Click Next.
7. If the reaction set has already been made add it in the
Reactions tab

Run the simulation. Again, adjust the length until the conversion
is X = 20%. In this example, the proper length was 1.9 m with a
diameter of 1 m. Thus the volume was V = 1.49 m3.
Temperature Profiles down the Length of the PFR

To see the temperature profile down the length of the PFR, do

the following:

1. In the left explorer window, double click on blocks and

then select B1
2. From the main file menu, select Plot and then Plot Wizard
3. In the window that appears, hit next, and then select
Temperature. Hit Next
4. Find the "Which X-axis variable would you like to plut?"
Mark the reactor Length choice. Change any other options
(such as units) and when you are done select Finish. You
will see the plot of temperature as a function of reactor
length.

You should see a plot of the temperature profile that looks like
this:

OTHER USEFUL INFORMATION

Saving Your Process Model

It is wise to save your process model periodically while working.

To save the model:
 1. Select the File pull-down menu from the tool bar. Click on
Save As.
2. Enter a name for your process model and find a directory
to save it to. Click Save.
3. There will be 6 files created everytime you Save As. If you
are saving to a floppy disc or to your AFS space it is
possible to only keep two or three of those files to
successfully re-open your process model. If you are not
sure which ones are necessary, simply keep all of them.
4. The name of your process model will now appear on the
window. From this point on, select Save under the File
menu to save your process while you work.

Printing Your Process Model

The flowsheet and results are valuable documents verifying your

work. ASPEN PLUS™ allows you to individually print a flowsheet,
stream-by-stream result pages, and a history file.

The Flowsheet. To print your process model's flowsheet do the

following while the flowsheet window is active:

1. Select the File pull down menu from the tool bar. Click on
Print or Print Preview.
2. select the correct printer from the pull-down menu and hit
OK.

Stream-by-Stream Results. To print the stream-by-stream

results, follow steps 4 above while the results window is active.

The History File. Printing the history file of your process model
will allow you to step through all of the computer code used in
solving the simulation. The history file keeps track of all previous
ASPEN PLUS™ runs executed while you've been logged on.
Depending on the complexity of the process model, the history
file can be very lengthy (100 pages or more!). Therefore,
evaluate whether a hard copy of this file is necessary before you
print.

ASPEN PLUS™ creates the history file after completing one run of
the process simulation. To print the history file do the following:

1. Browse to the directory with your saved ASPEN PLUS™

files. Find the file with a ".his" extension. It will have this
as its icon.

2. Double click on the file and it will open in Notepad or a

similar program.
3. From Notepad select Print from the File pull-down menu.
Changing Names of Streams and Unit Operations

ASPEN PLUSTM arbitrarily assigns ID names to all streams and

unit operations on the flowsheet you create. If you wish to
change the ID name, do the following:

1. With the RIGHT mouse button, click on the ID box of the

stream to pull down a menu.
2. About half of the way down the menu, select Rename Block
or Rename Stream whichever the case may be.
3. When the Rename box appears, type in the desired ID
name and click OK.

Exiting ASPEN PLUS™

When finished with your process model, do the following to exit

the ASPEN PLUS™ program:

1. Pull down the File menu.

2. Click on Exit.
3. A window will appear asking if you wish to save your
process model run. Click No if you do not wish to save the
run, or Yes if you do.
4. The ASPEN PLUS™ window will disappear and you will
return to the Windows™ desktop.