Modeling and analysis of air combustion and steam regeneration in methanol to olefins processes

Light olefins is the incredibly important materials in chemical industry.Methanol to olefins(MTO),which provides a non-oil route for light olefins production,received considerable attention in the past decades.However,the catalyst deactivation is an inevitable feature in MTO processes,and regeneration,therefore,is one of the key steps in industrial MTO processes.Traditionally the MTO catalyst is regenerated by removing the deposited coke via air combustion,which unavoidably transforms coke into carbon dioxide and reduces the carbon utilization efficiency.Recent study shows that the coke species over MTO catalyst can be regenerated via steam,which can promote the light olefins yield as the deactivated coke species can be essentially transferred to industrially useful synthesis gas,is a promising pathway for further MTO processes development.In this work,we modelled and analyzed these two MTO regeneration methods in terms of carbon utilization efficiency and technology economics.As shown,the steam regeneration could achieve a carbon utilization efficiency of 84.31%,compared to 74.74%for air combustion regeneration.The MTO processes using steam regeneration can essentially achieve the near-zero carbon emission.In addition,light olefins production of the MTO processes using steam regeneration is 12.81%higher than that using air combustion regeneration.In this regard,steam regeneration could be considered as a potential yet promising regeneration method for further MTO processes,showing not only great environmental benefits but also competitive economic performance.

Phase equilibrium data prediction and process optimizationin butadiene extraction process

In response to the lack of reliable physical parameters in the process simulation of the butadiene extraction,a large amount of phase equilibrium data were collected in the context of the actual process of butadiene production by acetonitrile.The accuracy of five prediction methods,UNIFAC(UNIQUAC Functional-group Activity Coefficients),UNIFAC-LL,UNIFAC-LBY,UNIFAC-DMD and COSMO-RS,applied to the butadiene extraction process was verified using partial phase equilibrium data.The results showed that the UNIFAC-DMD method had the highest accuracy in predicting phase equilibrium data for the missing system.COSMO-RS-predicted multiple systems showed good accuracy,and a large number of missing phase equilibrium data were estimated using the UNIFAC-DMD method and COSMO-RS method.The predicted phase equilibrium data were checked for consistency.The NRTL-RK(non-Random Two Liquid-Redlich-Kwong Equation of State)and UNIQUAC thermodynamic models were used to correlate the phase equilibrium data.Industrial device simulations were used to verify the accuracy of the thermodynamic model applied to the butadiene extraction process.The simulation results showed that the average deviations of the simulated results using the correlated thermodynamic model from the actual values were less than 2%compared to that using the commercial simulation software,Aspen Plus and its database.The average deviation was much smaller than that of the simulations using the Aspen Plus database(>10%),indicating that the obtained phase equilibrium data are highly accurate and reliable.The best phase equilibrium data and thermodynamic model parameters for butadiene extraction are provided.This improves the accuracy and reliability of the design,optimization and control of the process,and provides a basis and guarantee for developing a more environmentally friendly and economical butadiene extraction process.

Simulation Research on the Effect of Spreading Process Parameters on the Quality of Lunar Regolith Powder Bed in Additive Manufacturing

Lunar surface additive manufacturing with lunar regolith is a key step in in-situ resource utilization.The powder spreading process is the key process,which has a major impact on the quality of the powder bed and the precision of molded parts.In this study,the discrete element method(DEM)was adopted to simulate the powder spreading process with a roller.The three powder bed quality indicators,including the molding layer offset,voidage fraction,and surface roughness,were established.Besides,the influence of the three process parameters,which are roller’s translational speed,rotational speed,and powder spreading layer thickness on the powder bed quality indicators was also analyzed.The results show that with the reduction of the powder spreading layer thickness and the increase of the rotational speed,the offset increased significantly;when the translational speed increased,the offset first increased and then decreased,which resulted in an extreme value;with the increase of the layer thickness and the decrease of the translational speed,the values for voidage fraction and surface roughness significantly reduced.The powder bed quality indicators were adopted as the optimization objective,and the multi-objective parameter optimization was carried out.The predicted optimal powder spreading parameters and powder bed quality indicators were then obtained.Moreover,the optimal values were then verified.This study can provide informative guidance for in-situ manufacturing at the moon in future deep space exploration missions.

Photolithography Process Simulation for Integrated Circuits and Microelectromechanical System Fabrication

Simulations of photoresist etching,aerial image,exposure,and post-bake processes are integrated to obtain a photolithography process simulation for microelectromechanical system（MEMS） and integrated circuit（IC） fabrication based on three-dimensional （3D） cellular automata（CA）. The simulation results agree well with available experimental results. This indicates that the 3D dynamic CA model for the photoresist etching simulation and the 3D CA model for the post-bake simulation could be useful for the monolithic simulation of various lithography processes. This is determined to be useful for the device-sized fabrication process simulation of IC and MEMS.

Water Resources Operation and Management Model and Its Simulation Process Research

Based on the status quantity of water resources in Xi′an region, a commentary on many math models is given for water resources operation and management, and the visual model is provided to solve practical problems. In this model, the information for decision is visible in GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and topological figures. With object orientation methods, the objects are described in proprieties, methods, relations and time periods. The simulation process of the model is developed with Delphi and MapInfo, and the real decision scheme could be examined and practice decision process can be simulated from which. Decision analysis conducted from visual conditions is believable. The exploration to visual model is a beginning of practice research, much more study of which still needs to do.

Computational Mass Transfer Method for Chemical Process Simulation

The recent works on the development of computational mass transfer （CMT） method and its applications in chemical process simulation are reviewed. Some development strategies and challenges in future research are also discussed.

Process simulation and optimization of flow field in wet electrostatic precipitator

To improve the dust removal performance of the wet electrostatic precipitator(WESP), a flow field optimization scheme was proposed via CFD simulation in different scales. The simplified models of perforated and collection plates were determined firstly. Then the model parameters for the resistance of perforated and collection plates, obtained by small-scale flow simulation, were validated by medium-scale experiments. Through the comparison of the resistance and velocity distribution between simulation results and experimental data, the simplified model is proved to present the resistance characteristics of perforated and collection plates accurately. Numerical results show that after optimization, both the flow rate and the pressure drop in the upper room of electric field regions are basically equivalent to those of the lower room, and the velocity distribution in flue inlet of WESP becomes more uniform. Through the application in practice, the effectiveness and reliability of the optimization scheme are proved, which can provide valuable reference for further optimization of WESP.

Modeling and Simulation of Production Process on Dimethyl Ether Synthesized from Coal-based Syngas by One-step Method

As a result of shortage supply of oil resources, the process for the alternative coal-based fuel, dimethyl ether （DME）, has emerged as an important process in chemical engineering field. With the laboratory experiment data about DME synthesis and separation, the production process for DME with high purity is proposed when one-step synthesis of DME in slurry bed reactor from syngas is adopted. On the basis of experimental research and process analysis, the proper unit modules and thermophysical calculation methods for the simulation process are selected. Incorporated the experimentally determined parameters of reaction dynamic model for DME synthesis, regression constants of parameters in non-random two-liquid equation （NRTL） model for binary component in DME separation system with built-in properties model, .the process flowsheet, is.developed and simulated on the Aspen Plus platform. The simulation results coincide well with data obtained in laboratory experiment. Accordingly, the accurate simulation results offer useful references to similar equipment design and process operation optimization.

Virtual Reality Based Process Integrated Simulation Platform in Refinery:Virtual Refinery and Its Application

With the combination between system simulation and virtual reality,we have established an integrated virtual refinery simulation platform,and analyzed the overall design and principal architecture.This paper introduces a simulation algorithm about a refinery based on virtual reality,and explains how the algorithm can be applied to the virtual refinery integrated simulation platform in detail.The virtual refinery simulation platform,which consists of a three-dimensional scene system,an integrated database system and a dynamic-static simulation system,has many applications,such as dynamic-static simulation of key process unit used as process control and oil tank blending simulation for scheduling.With the visualization and human-computer interaction for acquiring production and process data,this platform can provide effective supports on staff training related with monitoring,control and operation in refinery.Virtual refinery can also be web published through the internet and it is helpful for the distance training and education.

Multiscale Simulation Starting at the Molecular Level for Adsorption Process Development

This article presents a multiscale simulation approach starting at the molecular level for the adsorption process development. A grand canonical Monte Carlo method is used for the prediction of adsorption isotherms of methanol on an activated carbon at the molecular level. The adsorption isotherms obtained in the linear region （or adsorption constant） are exploited as a model parameter required for the adsorption process simulation. The adsorption process model described by a set of partial differential equations （PDEs） is solved by using the conservation element and solution element method, which produces a fast and an accurate numerical solution to PDEs. The simulation results obtained from the adsorption constant estimated at the molecular level are in good agreement with the experimental results of the pulse response. The systematical multiscale simulation approach addressed in this study may be useful to accelerate the adsorption process development by reducing the number of experiments.

Flue gas analysis for biomass and coal co‑fring in fuidized bed:process simulation and validation

Coal-conversion technologies,although used ubiquitously,are often discredited due to high pollutant emissions,thereby emphasizing a dire need to optimize the combustion process.The co-fring of coal/biomass in a fuidized bed reactor has been an efcient way to optimize the pollutants emission.Herein,a new model has been designed in Aspen Plus®to simultaneously include detailed reaction kinetics,volatile compositions,tar combustion,and hydrodynamics of the reactor.Validation of the process model was done with variations in the fuel including high-sulfur Spanish lignite,high-ash Ekibastuz coal,wood pellets,and locally collected municipal solid waste(MSW)and the temperature ranging from 1073 to 1223 K.The composition of the exhaust gases,namely,CO/CO_(2)/NO/SO_(2)were determined from the model to be within 2%of the experimental observations.Co-combustion of local MSW with Ekibastuz coal had fue gas composition ranging from 1000 to 5000 ppm of CO,16.2%–17.2%of CO_(2),200–550 ppm of NO,and 130–210 ppm of SO_(2).A sensitivity analysis on co-fring of local biomass and Ekibastuz coal demonstrated the optimal operating temperature for fuidized bed reactor at 1148 K with the recommended biomass-to-coal ratio is 1/4,leading to minimum emissions of CO,NO,and SO_(2).

Simulation analysis of construction process of high rock slope's stabilization

A self-developed elasto-plastic finite element program was used to analyze the construction sequence of high rock slope's stabilization in a coal-coking plant, and the result was compared with that employing the ultimate equilibrium method. Based on the results of finite element analysis, the stress contour graphs and displacement vector graphs at different construction steps were obtained, and the behavior of the slope during stabilization construction process was analyzed quantitatively. Based on the analysis of safety factors of three different schemes of stabilization and two different construction schemes, the assessment of stability and bracing design of the construction process were performed. The results show that the original reinforcement design is improper; the stability of the rock slope is controlled by a developed structural plane, the stability factor after excavation is less than 1, and the free surface should be braced in time; for stability, the construction sequence should adopt that bracing follows excavation step by step up to down; the local slide occurred during the construction process agrees with the dangerous slide determined by the numerical analysis, which proves the validity and rationality of the adopted method.

Machine learning-based ionic liquids design and process simulation for CO_(2) separation from flue gas

Rational design of ionic liquids(ILs),which is highly dependent on the accuracy of the model used,has always been crucial for CO_(2)separation from flue gas.In this study,a support vector machine(SVM)model which is a machine learning approach is established,so as to improve the prediction accuracy and range of IL melting points.Based on IL melting points data with 600 training data and 168 testing data,the estimated average absolute relative deviations(AARD)and squared correlation coefficients(R^(2))are 3.11%,0.8820 and 5.12%,0.8542 for the training set and testing set of the SVM model,respectively.Then,through the melting points model and other rational design processes including conductor-like screening model for real solvents(COSMO-RS)calculation and physical property constraints,cyano-based ILs are obtained,in which tetracyanoborate[TCB]-is often ruled out due to incorrect estimation of melting points model in the literature.Subsequently,by means of process simulation using Aspen Plus,optimal IL are compared with excellent IL reported in the literature.Finally,1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium tricyanomethanide[EMIM][TCM]is selected as a most suitable solvent for CO_(2)separation from flue gas,the process of which leads to 12.9%savings on total annualized cost compared to that of 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)amide[EMIM][Tf_(2)N].

Simulation and design of a heat-integrated double-effect reactive distillation process for propylene glycol methyl ether production

A double-effect reactive distillation(DERD)process was proposed for the production of propylene glycol methyl ether from propylene oxide and methanol to overcome the shortcoming of low selectivity and high-energy consumption in the tubular plug-flow reactor.A single-column reactive distillation(RD)process was conducted under optimized operating conditions based on sensitivity analysis as a reference.The results demonstrated that the proposed DERD process is able to achieve more than 95%selectivity of the desired product.After that,a design approach of the DERD process with an objective of the minimum operating cost was proposed to achieve further energy savings in the RD process.The proposed DERD configuration can provide a large energy-savings by totally utilization of the overhead vapor steam in the high-pressure RD column.A comparison of the single-column RD process revealed that the proposed DERD process can reduce the operating cost and the total annual cost of 25.3%and 30.7%,respectively,even though the total capital cost of DERD process is larger than that of the RD process.

Simulation of the Accumulation Process of Biogenic Gas Hydrates in the Shenhu Area of Northern South China Sea

Previous work has largely discussed the relations between sediment structures and accumulation of gas hydrates in the Shenhu area of South China Sea, but has not documented why the gas hydrates occurred at the seafloor topographic highs. Many gas hydrate exploration examples abroad also indicate that the saturation of gas hydrates was higher at seafloor topographic highs. This work aims to understand why gas hydrates accumulated at topographic highs and why their saturation is higher.

Hierarchy-Based Team Software Process Simulation Model

According to the characteristic of Team Software Process （TSP）, it adopts a hierarchy-based model combined discrete event model with system dynamics model. This model represents TSP as form of two levels, the inner level embodies the continuity of the software process, the outer embodies the software development process by phases, and the structure and principle of the model is explained in detail, then formalization description of the model is offered. At last, an example is presented to demonstrate the simulation process and result. This model can simulate team software process from various angles, supervise and predict the software process. Also it can make the management of software development become more scientific and improve the quality of software.

A Study on Numerical Simulation of Core-Shooting Process

In order to evaluate the main factors influencing the core-shooting process and to optimize the design of core boxes, the fluid-particle (air-sand) model has been built based on the two-phase flow theory. The fluid phase, air, and the particulate phase, sand granules, have been treated as a continuum. By using this model, it is possible to simulate the flow and compaction behavior of sand particles during the core-shooting process. To benchmark the calculated results, the shooting process has been recorded with a digital high speed camera, and the inlet condition of sand particles has also been achieved by using the camera. The preliminary results have showed that the calculation is in agreement with the testing results.

Numerical simulation study of the failure evolution process and failure mode of surrounding rock in deep soft rock roadways

Based on the safety coefficient method,which assigns rock failure criteria to calculate the rock mass unit,the safety coefficient contour of surrounding rock is plotted to judge the distribution form of the fractured zone in the roadway.This will provide the basis numerical simulation to calculate the surrounding rock fractured zone in a roadway.Using the single factor and multi-factor orthogonal test method,the evolution law of roadway surrounding rock displacements,plastic zone and stress distribution under different conditions is studied.It reveals the roadway surrounding rock burst evolution process,and obtains five kinds of failure modes in deep soft rock roadway.Using the fuzzy mathematics clustering analysis method,the deep soft surrounding rock failure model in Zhujixi mine can be classified and patterns recognized.Compared to the identification results and the results detected by geological radar of surrounding rock loose circle,the reliability of the results of the pattern recognition is verified and lays the foundations for the support design of deep soft rock roadways.

CFD simulation of effect of anode configuration on gas–liquid flow and alumina transport process in an aluminum reduction cell

Numerical simulations of gas–liquid two-phase flow and alumina transport process in an aluminum reduction cell were conducted to investigate the effects of anode configurations on the bath flow, gas volume fraction and alumina content distributions. An Euler–Euler two-fluid model was employed coupled with a species transport equation for alumina content. Three different anode configurations such as anode without a slot, anode with a longitudinal slot and anode with a transversal slot were studied in the simulation. The simulation results clearly show that the slots can reduce the bath velocity and promote the releasing of the anode gas, but can not contribute to the uniformity of the alumina content. Comparisons of the effects between the longitudinal and transversal slots indicate that the longitudinal slot is better in terms of gas–liquid flow but is disadvantageous for alumina mixing and transport process due to a decrease of anode gas under the anode bottom surface. It is demonstrated from the simulations that the mixing and transfer characteristics of alumina are controlled to great extent by the anode gas forces while the electromagnetic forces(EMFs) play the second role.

Three-Dimensional Rigid-Plastic FEM Simulation of Bulk Forming Processes with New Contact and Remeshing Techniques

Some techniques such as die surface description, contact judgement algorithm and remeshing are proposed to improve the robustness of the numerical solution. Based on these techniques, a three-dimensional rigid-plastic FEM code has been developed. Isothermal forging process of a cylindrical housing has been simulated. The simulation results show that the given techniques and the FEM code are reasonable and feasible for three-dimensional bulk forming processes.