UNIVERSITY OF CAPE TOWN

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

CHE4049F PROCESS SYNTHESIS AND EQUIPMENT DESIGN
2017
PROJECT 2: ASPEN SIMULATION
DESIGN BRIEF

Introduction
In this project you will make use of ASPEN PLUS to simulate the production of formaldehyde from
methanol.

Process Description
Formaldehyde (CH2O) in the form of formalin (i.e. 37 wt. % formaldehyde in water) is to be
commercially manufactured on an industrial scale from methanol and air in the presence of a
sliver catalyst or the use of a metal oxide catalyst as shown in reactions (1) and (2). The desired
reaction is the first which is exothermic, while the second is an endothermic reaction. The
project’s target is to design/simulate a plant with a capacity of 60,000 tons formalin/year. This
plant is to include three major units; a reactor, an absorber and a distillation column. Also it
includes pumps, compressors and heat exchangers. All are to be designed and operated according
to this production capacity.
𝟏
𝑪𝑯𝟑 𝑶𝑯 + 𝑶
𝟐 𝟐
→ 𝑯𝑪𝑯𝑶 + 𝑯𝟐 𝑶 (1)
𝑪𝑯𝟑 𝑶𝑯 → 𝑯𝑪𝑯𝑶 + 𝑯𝟐 (2)
The silver catalyzed reactions are operated at atmospheric pressure and very high temperatures
(600℃ – 650℃) presented by the two simultaneous reactions (1) and (2). The standard
enthalpies of these two reactions are ∆𝐻°1 = -156 kJ and ∆𝐻°2 = 85 kJ respectively. The first
exothermic reaction produces around 50 % - 60 % of the total formed formaldehyde. The rest is
formed by the second endothermic reaction. These reactions are usually accompanied by some
undesired by-products such as carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (CO2), methyl formate
(C2H4O2) and formic acid (CH2O2). Table 1 shows these side reactions that may take place in the
process.
Table 1: Side reactions that may table place during the production of Formalin.

The reactor in this project’s problem is to receive two streams; the first is a mixture of fresh
methanol (25℃, 1 atm) and recycled methanol (68.3℃, 1.2 atm) pumped to 3 atm and vaporized
to 150℃. The second stream to the reactor mixed with the first is compressed fresh air (25℃, 1
atm). The absorber receives the reactor’s outlet (343℃) and a fresh stream of water (30℃, 138
kpa). Absorption of 99% is expected where the liquid outlet is heated to 102℃. The distillation
column receives the liquid then separates the overhead methanol stream (68.3℃, 1.2 atm) then
recycles it back to methanol fresh feed mixing point. The bottom formaldehyde stream is pumped
and mixed with deionized water forming (37 wt. % formaldehyde) formalin stream which is sent
for storage. The mixing is presented as follows:

Formaldehyde Water Formalin

The catalyst to be incorporated in the reactor’s design is silver wired gauze layers or catalyst bed
of silver crystals (to be decided) with a bulk density of 1500 kg catalyst/ m 3 of reactor’s volume.
The catalyst is spherical with 1 mm diameter and a void fraction or porosity of 0.5. The common
design of the silver catalyst is a thin shallow catalysing bed with a thickness of 10 to 55 mm. The
capacity that the catalyst can handle could reaches up to 135,000 ton/year. The usual life span of
this catalyst is three to eight months, where the silver can be recovered. The purity of the feed
flowrates is very crucial due to the fact that the catalyst is very receptive to poisoning that would
kill the reaction and reduces the production to zero if traces of sulphur or a transition metal are
present.

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 DESIGN BRIEF

1. Submit the following five items:

a. A Process Flow Diagram (PFD) of the process, which has been drawn. This is NOT
the same as the Aspen Plus graphical user interface or the process diagram provided.
(1 A3 page)
b. A stream table which is consistent with the stream numbers AND names on the PFD
and your Aspen file. The stream table should include all component (and total) flow
rates (in kg/h and kmol/h), mass and mole fractions, as well as temperatures,
pressures and phases. (A3 pages as needed neatly)
c. Report the overall utility flow rates as well as the duties for any non-adiabatic
operations in your flow sheet. (1 page max.)
d. An equipment list (1 page max.)
e. An Aspen Plus simulation of the process according to the specifications. The
electronic file for the final model (i.e. the one used to generate the data for step 1
above) should be uploaded to VULA. Upload the .BKP file. Use your student people
soft number as the file name (e.g. 14113158.bkp)
The stream table and list of equipment duties should reflect your final Aspen Plus model (i.e.
you can only collate this data once you have completed the steps below).

2. Discuss the thermodynamic property methods available in Aspen Plus. Note that Aspen
uses the term “(Physical) Property Method”. This has the same meaning as the term
“thermodynamic model(s)”. You should specifically address the issue of Equation of State
models vs Activity Coefficient models. You must also discuss Henry’s Law components. You
are required to justify the reasons behind choice of the particular model. You will be penalised
for plagiarism from the Aspen Help Menu (or other sources) [Max. 1 page].

3. Justify, with graphs and modelling, the thermodynamic property methods that you have
chosen for your simulation (this may be more than one). You will need to investigate the
ability of your thermodynamic property methods to accurately reflect the vapour-liquid
equilibria in your system. So, you will need to determine if your selected property methods
are suitable for the application by examining whether the model VLE predictions match those
given by experimental data. You will need to specify your final choice with a justification [Max.
4 pages]

4. Make a list of all of the Aspen model library components (this is your equipment) that you
have used in your simulation. Explain why each model component was necessary and what
function it fulfils in the simulation. Give an overall motivation for how the model library
components have been put together. Also state your assumptions made with justification on
these [Max. 3 pages].

Other information:

For the two or more streams to mix, they must be at identical pressures. Pressure reduction may
be accomplished by adding a valve. Flow occurs from higher pressure to lower pressure. Pumps
increase the pressure of liquid streams, and compressors increase the pressure of gas streams.

You should assume that a year equals 8160 hours. This is about 340 days, which allows for
periodic shut-down and maintenance.

Utilities:
Low-Pressure Steam 446 kPa, saturated
Medium-Pressure Steam 1135 kPa, saturated
 High-Pressure Steam
Natural Gas or Fuel Gas
Boiler Feed Water
Cooling Water
Refrigerated Water
4237 kPa, saturated
446 kPa, 25°C
549 kPa, 90°C
Available at 516 kPa and 30°C.
Return pressure ≥ 308 kPa
Return temperature ≤ 15°C above the inlet temperature.
Available at 516 kPa and 10°C.
Return pressure ≥ 308 kPa
Return temperature ≤ 20°C

Final comments:

As with any open-ended problem, i.e., a problem with no single correct answer, the problem
statement above is deliberately vague. You may need to fill in some missing data by doing a
literature search, Internet search, or making an assumption. The possibility exists that as you
work on this problem, your questions will require revisions and/or clarifications of the problem
statement. You should be aware that these revisions/clarifications may be forthcoming and time
consuming.

Moreover, in some areas you are given more data and information that what is needed. You must
exercise engineering judgment and decide what data to use. Also you should also seek additional
data from literature or internet to verify some of the data, e.g. thermodynamic properties used.

DESIGN REPORT

Your project report should be typed in Arial Font size 11 with 1.15 line spacing. The standard
MSWord template uses margins of 2.54cm. The marking scheme has a penalty for not sticking to
this specification.

You should NOT give your name on the report. You must label your submission using your
student peoplesoft number.

In the main body of the report, you should not exceed the maximum length requirements given
above. However, you may include additional information in appendices, as long as the
appendices are clearly referred to in the main body of the report. Remember that engineers are
expected to present their work professionally, and this will be taken into account in the marking
of your project.

Do not present your graphs straight from Aspen Plus unless you have formatted them for outside
consumption i.e the axes labels and titles of all graphs should be intelligible outside of the Aspen
environment.

Your report should be submitted to the submission box outside the Design Studio by

10h00 (10 am) on Friday 28th April 2017

A copy of your report (collated in PDF, i.e. into one file) should also be uploaded on the VULA
site under the P2 submissions folder. Failure to do so will be considered a non-submission of
report. The file should be saved using your student peoplesoft number (e.g. 123456.bkp).

Penalty for late submission will be 2[(n+1)!] percentage points, where n is the number of days (or
part thereof) that your project is late. Please note that n is cumulative over all projects, e.g. if you
were two days late for Project 1, n will start at 3 for Project 2.

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The penalty for not “following general instructions” is also cumulative. If you have already
received a penalty for 2% penalty for Project 1, then your penalty for Project 2 will be 4%. If you
have not already received a penalty for Project 1, then your penalty for Project 2 will be 2%.

Your report should be accompanied by the standard University/ Department statement that the
submission reflects your own, unaided work.

All diagrams and flow sheets should be computer-generated (i.e. no hand-drawn material to be
submitted).

Equipment items must be numbered on all diagrams using a logical code system (e.g. TK-01 for
tank 1), and all references to these codes must be consistent throughout the text of the report.

Streams must be identified on the process flow diagram and the stream table using a logical
numbering system, and all references to these stream numbers must be consistent throughout
the text of the report.

Your report should include:

i. Cover page giving the title of the design brief and student number.
ii. Page 1 to be a table of contents, with page numbers and word count.
iii. Remaining sections of report as defined in the project brief above
iv. Second Last Page: References, using Harvard system format.
v. Last Page to be a standard UCT plagiarism declaration, signed by you.

MARK ALLOCATION

Description Maximum mark

1. PFD/stream table/ overall utility flow rates & equipment 35 + 15 (Aspen
duties/equipment list/Aspen Plus simulation Simulation file)
2. Discussion of Thermodynamic Property Method(s) 10
3. Basis for property method(s) selection 20
4. Discussion of model components used 10
5. General document presentation 10
Not following general instructions (each offence) -2% or -4%
TOTAL 100
Note that, although the above table gives a mark allocation for each section, the final overall mark
may be adjusted to take into account the total quality of the work.

References
1. Felder, R. M. and R.W. Rousseau, Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes (3rd ed.),
Wiley, New York, 2000.
2. Perry, R.H. and D. Green, eds., Perry’s Chemical Engineering Handbook (7th ed.), McGraw-
Hill, New York, 1997.