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Problem Statement: How can I get the workspace object count using Excel VBA automation? Explain with an example.

Solution: Please refer to attached sample Excel VBA automation file that you can open it with MS Excel version 2007 or later. For detail information please download it and look into the VBA code. Keywords: VB, VBA, Excel automation References: None

Problem Statement: Event Scheduler Demonstration Model

Solution: This event scheduler demo complements the example seen in solution 110095 The demo covers the following features: 1. Step up/down variable values, using temperature variable type as example Sequence UpFeed2TempBy10 step up stream Feed2 temperature by 10F Sequence DpwnFeed2TempBy15 step down stream Feed2 temperature by 15F 2. Ramp up/down variable values, using pressure variable type as example Sequence RampProdPresUp ramp up stream Prod pressure by roughly 1atm Sequence RampProdPresDown ramp down stream Prod pressure by roughly 1atm Notes: The sequences run the scripts rampup.scp and rampdn.scp, which in turn drives transfer function TRF-2. Transfer function block generates ramp signal. Since direct variable ramp is not available on the event action list yet, so we use scripts to drive transfer function to ramp variables By chaining script, transfer function and spread sheet together in a sequence, we show the collaboration of various features within Hysys. 3. Continuously conduct periodic steps changes on a variable, using flow rate and duty types as examples Sequence ChangeFeed1FlowPeriodically step changes Feed1 mole flow roughly every minute. It runs continuously and uses both the script method and the "Specify Variable" action. Sequence ChangeHeaterDutyPeriodically continuously step changes the duty spec on the Heater unit 4. Continuously conduct periodic ramp changes on a variable, using valve position type as example Sequence RampValvePosPeriodically continuously ramps Valve unit's desired position It uses script files down22%in3min.SCP and up22%in3min.SCP to manipulate TRF-1 and it in turn ramps Valve position in roughly 3 minutes cycle. 5. Show how a master sequence can control other sequences in the schedule. Sequence HoldContinuousSequences put the continuous sequences ChangeFeed1FlowPeriodically, ChangeHeaterDutyPeriodically and RampValvePosPeriodically into holding mode in one shot. Sequence ResumeContinuousSequences resume the continuous sequences ChangeFeed1FlowPeriodically, ChangeHeaterDutyPeriodically and RampValvePosPeriodically in one shot. Note that the demo does not cover power failure and fire cases. Instead they are taught in Hysys Dynamics training classes. Also note that most of the behavior parameters in a schedule are seen in the schedule interface itself. But there are a few parameters that actually reside in script files, i.e., the *.SCP files that come with the Hysys model file. Use tools | Script Manager to record scripts and then manually edit. To run the demo: 1. Download all the files to a folder 2. Run the Hysys model 3. Observe the trend chart dispay for the variables manipulated by the sequences in the event scheduler. 4. On the event staus panel with the windows title "Event Scheduler Demo", clicking each row and click the buttons at the bottom of the window to take actions that control how the sequence should function. Each row is a sequence defined in the schefule. 5. Observe the outcome via the trend chart. 6. The last 2 sequences in the schedule manages the 3 continuous sequences in one step. To view each sequence, double click a row in the staus panel to open up individual windows to inspect the details. Alternatively, go to menu Simulation and then Event Scheduler to pull up the main scheduler interface. Keywords: Ramp, Script, Transfer Function, Event, Schedule, Sequence, Spread Sheet, Fire, Power References: None

Problem Statement: What is the best way to model the CO2 Capture Process by TEA using Aspen Plus?

Solution: In 2006.5, new Amines property packages for MEA and MDEA with H2S and CO2 were developed and delivered as application examples. These models are being improved, updated, and extended to other amines and solvents. They are posted on the support web site as soon as they are reviewed and ready for public use. These examples include the relevant components, electrolyte reaction and chemistry, property methods, and data. Both equilibrium and kinetics reactions are considered. Properties were compared to literature data and parameters were re-regressed where needed. These property packages are now our recommended standard for modeling these systems rather than our older data packages or electrolyte inserts. The applicability of the property packages is demonstrated by modeling the CO2 capture process using our rate-based distillation model RateSep within RadFrac. These CO2 capture columns are generally rate-limited rather than at equilibrium; hence, RateSep rather than RadFrac was used for accurate modeling. A valid RateSep license is needed to run RateSep. Process results are compared to literature data. Details of these excellent models are fully documented. Even if a RateSep license is not available, the user can still leverage the data in other equilibrium-based calculations. This file describes an Aspen Plus rate-based model of the CO2 capture process by aqueous TEA (Triethanolamine) solution from a gas mixture of H2 and CO2. The model consists of an absorber. The operation data of a gas purification unit in Chemopetrol Litvinov (Czech Republic) were used as feed conditions and unit operation block specifications in the model. Thermophysical property models, transport property models and reaction kinetic models are based on the works of Aspen Technology (2007) and Pinsent (1956). These models and model parameters have been validated against experimental data from open literature. The model presented here includes the following key features: ? True species including ions ? Electrolyte NRTL activity coefficient model for liquid phase and RK equation of state for vapor phase ? Concentration-based reaction kinetics ? Electrolyte transport property models ? Rate-based models for absorber with packing Documentation and an Aspen Plus 2006.5 backup (.bkp) file are attached. There were numerous bug fixes and new features added in 2006.5 to make the transport property models work properly. The model parameters will not work properly in earlier versions. Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: What is the best way to model the CO2 Capture Process by DEPG using Aspen Plus?

Solution: In 2006.5, new Amines property packages for MEA and MDEA with H2S and CO2 were developed and delivered as application examples. These models are being improved, updated, and extended to other amines and solvents. They are posted on the support web site as soon as they are reviewed and ready for public use. These examples include the relevant components, electrolyte reaction and chemistry, property methods, and data. Both equilibrium and kinetics reactions are considered. Properties were compared to literature data and parameters were re-regressed where needed. These property packages are now our recommended standard for modeling these systems rather than our older data packages or electrolyte inserts. The applicability of the property packages is demonstrated by modeling the CO2 capture process using our rate-based distillation model RateSep within RadFrac. These CO2 capture columns are generally rate-limited rather than at equilibrium; hence, RateSep rather than RadFrac was used for accurate modeling. A valid RateSep license is needed to run RateSep. Process results are compared to literature data. Details of these excellent models are fully documented. Even if a RateSep license is not available, the user can still leverage the data in other equilibrium-based calculations. This document describes an Aspen Plus model of the CO2 capture process by the physical solvent DEPG from a gas mixture of CO, CO2, H2, H2O, N2, Ar, CH4, NH3, and H2S from gasification of Illinois No. 6 bituminous coal. The operation data from an engineering evaluation design case by Energy Systems Division, Argonne National Laboratory (1994) are used to specify the feed conditions and unit operation block specifications in the process model. Since only the equilibrium stage results are available in the literature, the process model developed here is based on the equilibrium stage distillation model instead of the more rigorous rate-based model. DEPG is a mixture of the dimethyl ethers of polyethylene glycol with formula CH3O(C2H4O)nCH3 where n ranges from 2 to 9. However, DEPG in this model is represented by an Aspen Plus databank component, also called DEPG (dimethyl ether of polyethylene glycol), with the average molecular weight of 280 - corresponding to n = 5.3. DEPG data from Coastal Chemical for vapor pressure, liquid density, heat capacity, viscosity, and thermal conductivity are used to determine parameters in thermophysical property and transport property models used in this work. For all other components, thermophysical property models have been validated against DIPPR correlations , which are available in Aspen Plus, for component vapor pressure and liquid density. Vapor-liquid equilibrium data from Xu (1992) between DEPG and selected components are used to adjust binary parameters in thermophysical property models. The designed packing information from the literature is also included in the process model, which allows rigorous rate-based simulation to be performed. The model presented here includes the following key features: ? PC-SAFT equation of state model for vapor pressure, liquid density, heat capacity, and phase equilibrium ? Transport property models ? Equilibrium distillation model for absorber with designed packing information from the literature Documentation and an Aspen Plus 2006.5 backup (.bkp) file are attached. There were numerous bug fixes and new features added in 2006.5 to make the transport property models work properly. The model parameters will not work properly in earlier versions. Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: What is the best way to model the CO2 Capture Process by NH3 using Aspen Plus?

Solution: In 2006.5, new Amines property packages for MEA and MDEA with H2S and CO2 were developed and delivered as application examples. These models are being improved, updated, and extended to other amines and solvents. They are posted on the support web site as soon as they are reviewed and ready for public use. These examples include the relevant components, electrolyte reaction and chemistry, property methods, and data. Both equilibrium and kinetics reactions are considered. Properties were compared to literature data and parameters were re-regressed where needed. These property packages are now our recommended standard for modeling these systems rather than our older data packages or electrolyte inserts. The applicability of the property packages is demonstrated by modeling the CO2 capture process using our rate-based distillation model RateSep within RadFrac. These CO2 capture columns are generally rate-limited rather than at equilibrium; hence, RateSep rather than RadFrac was used for accurate modeling. A valid RateSep license is needed to run RateSep. Process results are compared to literature data. Details of these excellent models are fully documented. Even if a RateSep license is not available, the user can still leverage the data in other equilibrium-based calculations. This file describes an Aspen Plus model for the CO2 capture process by NH3. This model consists of an absorber and a stripper. As there are no industrial or pilot plant data available for aqueous ammonia separation processes, single stage flash model is used for both the absorber and the stripper to simulate the feasibility of CO2 removal by ammonia. The thermophysical properties, transport properties and reaction kinetic models are based on the works of Aspen Technology (2007) and Pinsent (1956) and, wherever possible, model parameters have been validated against experimental data from open literature. The model presented here includes the following key features: ? True species including ions ? Electrolyte NRTL activity coefficient model for liquid phase nonideality and RK equation of state for vapor phase ? Concentration-based reaction kinetics ? Electrolyte transport property models Documentation and an Aspen Plus 2006.5 backup (.bkp) file are attached. There were numerous bug fixes and new features added in 2006.5 to make the transport property models work properly. The model parameters will not work properly in earlier versions. Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: What is the best way to model the CO2 Capture Process by DGA using Aspen Plus?

Solution: In 2006.5, new Amines property packages for MEA and MDEA with H2S and CO2 were developed and delivered as application examples. These models are being improved, updated, and extended to other amines and solvents. They are posted on the support web site as soon as they are reviewed and ready for public use. These examples include the relevant components, electrolyte reaction and chemistry, property methods, and data. Both equilibrium and kinetics reactions are considered. Properties were compared to literature data and parameters were re-regressed where needed. These property packages are now our recommended standard for modeling these systems rather than our older data packages or electrolyte inserts. The applicability of the property packages is demonstrated by modeling the CO2 capture process using our rate-based distillation model RateSep within RadFrac. These CO2 capture columns are generally rate-limited rather than at equilibrium; hence, RateSep rather than RadFrac was used for accurate modeling. A valid RateSep license is needed to run RateSep. Process results are compared to literature data. Details of these excellent models are fully documented. Even if a RateSep license is not available, the user can still leverage the data in other equilibrium-based calculations. This file describes an Aspen Plus rate-based model of the CO2 capture process by DGA (Diglycolamine) from a gas mixture of CH4, CO2 and H2S. The model consists of only an absorber. The performance test data of a commercial absorber reported by Dingman (2001) were used to specify feed conditions and unit operation block specifications in the model. Thermophysical property models and reaction kinetic models are based on the works of Aspen Technology (2007) and Pacheco (2000). Transport property models and model parameters have been validated against experimental data from open literature. The model presented here includes the following key features: ? True species including ions ? Electrolyte NRTL method for liquid and RK equation of state for vapor ? Concentration-based reaction kinetics ? Electrolyte transport property models ? Rate-based models for absorber with valve trays Documentation and an Aspen Plus 2006.5 backup (.bkp) file are attached. There were numerous bug fixes and new features added in 2006.5 to make the transport property models work properly. The model parameters will not work properly in earlier versions. Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: What is the best way to model the CO2 Capture Process by Methanol (MeOH) using Aspen Plus?

Solution: In 2006.5, new Amines property packages for MEA and MDEA with H2S and CO2 were developed and delivered as application examples. These models are being improved, updated, and extended to other amines and solvents. They are posted on the support web site as soon as they are reviewed and ready for public use. These examples include the relevant components, electrolyte reaction and chemistry, property methods, and data. Both equilibrium and kinetics reactions are considered. Properties were compared to literature data and parameters were re-regressed where needed. These property packages are now our recommended standard for modeling these systems rather than our older data packages or electrolyte inserts. The applicability of the property packages is demonstrated by modeling the CO2 capture process using our rate-based distillation model RateSep within RadFrac. These CO2 capture columns are generally rate-limited rather than at equilibrium; hence, RateSep rather than RadFrac was used for accurate modeling. A valid RateSep license is needed to run RateSep. Process results are compared to literature data. Details of these excellent models are fully documented. Even if a RateSep license is not available, the user can still leverage the data in other equilibrium-based calculations. This document describes an Aspen Plus rate-based model of the CO2 capture process by methanol (MeOH) from a gas mixture of H2, CO2, CO, N2, CH4, H2S and COS from gasification of Western Kentucky coal char. The operation data from a pilot scale absorber are used to specify the feed conditions and unit operation block specifications in the model. Thermophysical property models have been validated against DIPPR correlations for component vapor pressure and liquid density, and literature data for vapor-liquid equilibrium from Semenova (1979) and Leu (1992). Transport property models have been validated against literature data for viscosity, thermal conductivity, surface tension, and diffusivity. The model presented here includes the following key features: ? PC-SAFT equation of state model for vapor pressure, liquid density, and phase equilibrium ? Transport property models ? Equilibrium distillation model for absorber with ceramic Intalox saddles packing Documentation and an Aspen Plus 2006.5 backup (.bkp) file are attached. There were numerous bug fixes and new features added in 2006.5 to make the transport property models work properly. The model parameters will not work properly in earlier versions. Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: What is the best way to model the CO2 Capture Process by DEA using Aspen Plus?

Solution: In 2006.5, new Amines property packages for MEA and MDEA with H2S and CO2 were developed and delivered as application examples. These models are being improved, updated, and extended to other amines and solvents. They are posted on the support web site as soon as they are reviewed and ready for public use. These examples include the relevant components, electrolyte reaction and chemistry, property methods, and data. Both equilibrium and kinetics reactions are considered. Properties were compared to literature data and parameters were re-regressed where needed. These property packages are now our recommended standard for modeling these systems rather than our older data packages or electrolyte inserts. The applicability of the property packages is demonstrated by modeling the CO2 capture process using our rate-based distillation model RateSep within RadFrac. These CO2 capture columns are generally rate-limited rather than at equilibrium; hence, RateSep rather than RadFrac was used for accurate modeling. A valid RateSep license is needed to run RateSep. Process results are compared to literature data. Details of these excellent models are fully documented. Even if a RateSep license is not available, the user can still leverage the data in other equilibrium-based calculations. This document describes an Aspen Plus rate-based model of the CO2 capture process by DEA (Diethanolamine) from a gas mixture of CH4, C2H6, C3H8, N2, CO2 and H2S. The model consists of an absorber and a stripper. The operation data from a natural gas treating unit at Poyte, Texas (1975) were used to specify feed conditions and unit operation block specifications. Thermophysical property models and reaction kinetic models are based on the works of Aspen Technology (2007) and Rinker (1996). Transport property models and model parameters have been validated against experimental data from open literature. The model presented here includes the following key features: ? True species including ions ? Electrolyte NRTL method for liquid and RK equation of state for vapor ? Concentration-based reaction kinetics ? Electrolyte transport property models ? Rate-based models for absorber and stripper with valve trays Documentation and an Aspen Plus 2006.5 CP3 backup (.bkp) file are attached. There were numerous bug fixes and new features added in 2006.5 CP3 to make the transport property models work properly. The model parameters will not work properly in earlier versions. Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: Is it possible to model a urea synthesis loop?

Solution: AspenTech has developed a data package for this type of system. It has been included with the general Aspen Plus V7.1 release in the Favorites\Applications directory. The package is our proprietary work. Consulting may be needed for technology transfer and further model development and validation. Urea Data Package Contents: Attached is an example of this process. This example will run in Aspen Pus 2006.5. Due to a bug in the how the reactions are calculated for the column, this example gives incorrect results in V7.1. This issue was resolved for V7.2. Please do not use this example in V7.1. To use the package, put all of the simulation files in one directory. The Fortran files have been compiled and linked into the urea.dll; therefore, a Fortran compiler is not needed to use the basic package. These Fortran files are AspenTech's intellectual property not promised as a product deliverable. This example describes the steady-state Aspen Plus? model of the high-pressure synthesis loop of a urea plant, with a capacity of about 1,100 metric tons of prilled urea per year. This simulation is based on the Stamicarbon CO2 Stripping Process, which a popular and fast growing processes for manufacturing urea. The work demonstrates the capability of Aspen Plus to rigorously model the urea synthesis process. The modeling is complicated due to the formation of ammonium carbamate, an intermediate product on the urea synthesis, in the process, for which a special property package has to be developed. This type of model is useful to analyze the plant performance and to improve plant operation, including: 1. Energy saving studies to improve economics of the plant. 2. Studies of individual pieces of equipment with a view of increasing their throughput and/or improving their performance. 3. Flowsheet modification for better plant operation. 4. Identifying bottlenecks. 5. As a basis for optimization study and for developing on-line control system of the plant. While this report describes the simulation of the Stamicarbon CO2 stripping process, the accurate results obtained support the applicability of Aspen Plus and the data package to other urea processes. KeyWords: sulfuric sulfur trioxide electrolyte H2SO4 SO3 insert package oleum Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: Is it possible to model a cogeneration process?

Solution: Attached is an example of this process. This example will run in Aspen Plus 2006.5 and higher. Introduction This model simulates an Integrated Cogeneration process. It includes the following features: ? A set of conventional chemical species for this process. ? Typical process areas including: burning, compression, heat exchange, power generation, and the main streams connecting these units. ? Property methods and unit operation models used in this process. Components The table below lists the components modeled in the simulation. Component ID Type Component name Formula H2O CONV WATER H2O N2 CONV NITROGEN N2 O2 CONV OXYGEN O2 CO CONV CARBON-MONOXIDE CO CO2 CONV CARBON-DIOXIDE CO2 ARGON CONV ARGON AR METHANE CONV METHANE CH4 ETHANE CONV ETHANE C2H6 PROPANE CONV PROPANE C3H8 Process Description An outline of the cogeneration process which includes the letdown, Gas Turbine and Steam Generation sections is shown in Figure 1. Figure 1: Cogeneration Overall Process The feedstock of this cogeneration process is natural gas, which contains Methane (83.62%wt), Ethane (7.33%wt), Propane (7.25%wt) and Argon (1.8%wt). Firstly, a turbine is used in the letdown area to utilize the internal energy of the natural gas to generate electrical power. After expanding, the gas pressure drops from 19.5 bar to 8 bar while generating 0.60MW of power. Secondly, mixed with steam (8 bar) and compressed air (1324000kg/hr), the gas is burned completely in the burner to produce hot gas at 979 C. The hot gas is passed through a gas turbine to produce 103.4 MW of electrical power. As a result, its temperature drops to 551 C and its pressure drops from 8 bar to 1.1 bar. Thirdly, the hot gas is passed to the steam generation area to recover heat. The gas runs through 5 heat exchangers and is cooled down by water or steam as follows: ? E100 - cooled from 551to 492 C ? E101 - cooled from 492 to 320 C ? E102 - cooled from 320 to 238 C ? E103 - cooled from 238 to 234 C ? E104 - cooled from 234 to 175 C Then the outlet stream HOTGAS6 from E104 is split into HOTGAS7A and HOTGAS7B. HOTGAS7A is cooled to 108 ℃ in E106 and HOTGAS7B is cooled to 131C in E105. Afterwards these two streams are mixed again and are vented out of the process. The BFW (boiler feed water) used in this area includes two pressure grades, one at 76.5 bar and the other at 6.9 bar. Heated by the hot gas, BFW turns to steam. Then the steam is let down through a turbine to produce electrical power. Finally, three steam products, each at different pressure grades, are obtained and 37.6MW of electrical power is generated. Process summary Area Purpose Let Down Uses the internal energy of the natural gas to generate electrical power Gas Turbine Burns the natural gas to generate electrical power using a gas turbine Steam Generation Recovers the heat from the hot gas to generate steam and electrical power using steam turbines Physical Properties The PR-BM property method (Peng-Robinson equation of state with Boston-Mathias modifications) is used for the properties of the natural gas and combustion products. For the steam system in the steam generation area the STEAMNBS property method is used. Chemical Reactions The only reactor unit in this process is the burner modeled with RGibbs which uses the Gibbs free energy minimization method. This determines the equilibrium composition of the products resulting from the many reactions that can occur. Simulation Approaches Unit Operations - The major unit operations are represented by Aspen Plus models as shown in the following table: Aspen Plus Unit Operation Models Used in the Model Unit Operation Aspen Plus Model Comments / Specifications Heat exchanger HeatX Simplified shortcut design calculations. Flash Flash2 Rigorous simulation of gas-liquid equilibrium. Compressor/Turbine Compr Calculates electric power required or produced. Simulation Results The Aspen Plus simulation flowsheet is shown in Figures 2, 3, and 4. Figure 2: Flowsheet of Letdown area Figure 3: Flowsheet of Gas Turbine area Figure 4: Flowsheet of Steam Generation area No errors occur in the simulation. Key simulation results are shown in the following table: Key Stream Simulation Results Flowsheet Variable Value Unit Feed NATGAS total 25000 kg/hr NATGAS-Methane 20905 kg/hr NATGAS-Ethane 1832.5 kg/hr NATGAS-Propane 1812.5 kg/hr NATGAS-Ar 450 kg/hr Steam for Burner 45000 kg/hr Boiler feed water (High Pressure) 180800 kg/hr Boiler feed water (Low Pressure) 42600 kg/hr Air for Burner 1324000 kg/hr Product Steam 9 (24bar) 27120 kg/hr Steam 21 (5bar) 6390 kg/hr Steam 23 (1bar) 185659 kg/hr Electrical Power 141689.7 kW Waste Water 5125 kg/hr Exhaust Hot Gas 1394000 kg/hr Key Process Simulation Results Key Process Variable Value Unit Temperature of Burner 978 C Pressure of Burner 8 bar Discharge Pressure of the NATGAS Turbine 8 bar Discharge Pressure of the HOTGAS Turbine 1.1 bar Discharge Pressure of High Pressure Steam Turbine 24 bar Discharge Pressure of Medium Pressure Steam Turbine 5 bar Discharge Pressure of Low Pressure Steam Turbine 1 bar Heat Balance in Steam Generation Area Heat Balance of Steam Generation Process Value Unit Inlet Enthalpy of Hotgas(hotgas1) -309485 kW Outlet Enthalpy of Hotgas(hotgas9) -495631 kW Heat Energy Supply of Hotgas 186146 kW Enthalpy of Inlet Water 1 -786876 kW Enthalpy of Inlet Water 14 -185583 kW Enthalpy of Outlet Water 24 -18290 kW Enthalpy of Outlet Steam 9 -96704 kW Enthalpy of Outlet Steam21 -23231 kW Enthalpy of Outlet Steam 23 -686151 kW Heat Energy Absorption of Water in total 148083 kW Electrical Power Generated in STMGEN Process 38067 kW Steam and Power Generation per 1 kg of Natural Gas Product Name Product Quantity Steam at 24bar pressure 1.085 kg Steam at 5 bar pressure 0.256 kg Steam at 1 bar pressure 7.426 kg Electrical Power 20404.8 kJ Conclusions The Cogeneration model provides a useful description of the process. The simulation takes advantage of Aspen Plus's capabilities for modeling. The model may be used as a guide for understanding the process and the economics, and also as a starting point for more sophisticated models for plant design and process equipment specification and purchase. Keywords: None References: s V. I. Dlugosel'skii, V. E. Belyaev, N. I. Mishustin and V. P. Rybakov, "Gas-turbine units for cogeneration", Thermal Engineering, 54:1000-1003, 2007. Ligang Zheng and Edward Furimsky, ?ASPEN simulation of cogeneration plants?, Energy Conversion and Management, 44: 1845-1851, 2003

Problem Statement: What is the best way to model the CO2 Capture Process by AMP using Aspen Plus?

Solution: In 2006.5, new Amines property packages for MEA and MDEA with H2S and CO2 were developed and delivered as application examples. These models are being improved, updated, and extended to other amines and solvents. They are posted on the support web site as soon as they are reviewed and ready for public use. These examples include the relevant components, electrolyte reaction and chemistry, property methods, and data. Both equilibrium and kinetics reactions are considered. Properties were compared to literature data and parameters were re-regressed where needed. These property packages are now our recommended standard for modeling these systems rather than our older data packages or electrolyte inserts. The applicability of the property packages is demonstrated by modeling the CO2 capture process using our rate-based distillation model RateSep within RadFrac. These CO2 capture columns are generally rate-limited rather than at equilibrium; hence, RateSep rather than RadFrac was used for accurate modeling. A valid RateSep license is needed to run RateSep. Process results are compared to literature data. Details of these excellent models are fully documented. Even if a RateSep license is not available, the user can still leverage the data in other equilibrium-based calculations. This document describes an Aspen Plus rate-based model of the CO2 capture process by AMP (2-amino-2-methyl-1-propanol) from a gas mixture of N2 and CO2, resulting from coal-fired power plants. The model consists of an absorber and a stripper. The pilot plant operation data from Gabrielsen (2007) were used as feed conditions and unit operation block specifications in the model. Thermophysical property models and reaction kinetic models used in the simulation are based on the works of Aspen Technology (2007) and Xu (1996). Transport property models and model parameters have been validated against experimental data from open literature. H2S and its related chemistry and physical property parameters are included in the model for completeness. However, since there is no H2S in the pilot plant studies of Gabrielsen (2007), H2S is not included in any of the streams of the current model. The model presented here includes the following key features: ? True species including ions ? Electrolyte NRTL method for liquid and RK equation of state for vapor ? Concentration-based reaction kinetics ? Electrolyte transport property models ? Rate-based models for absorber and stripper with packing Documentation and an Aspen Plus 2006.5 backup (.bkp) file are attached. There were numerous bug fixes and new features added in 2006.5 to make the transport property models work properly. The model parameters will not work properly in earlier versions. Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: How do I trap the Planning Board Activity Split type? We have had an issue with the ?Split By Controls? not working correctly after forcing a correction for one of the other split types.

Solution: The macros $PBBEF (before) and $PBAFT (after) can be used to trap user initiated planning board activities. These sets should have codes MOVE, CREATE, DUPLICATE, SPLIT, DELETE, COMBINE, EDIT corresponding to the various actions the user can initiate via the planning board interface. If no "trapping" is desired for a particular, the description for that action can be blank. If "trapping" is desired for a particular action, the description should give the command to be executed (generally a call to a macro or rule) to trap the action. Most likely, you will want to trap this action before it is taken using $PBBEF. Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: You have a requirement to convert SCOLOR names to HEX values. Does AspenTech have a list of HEX values that can be cross referenced back to the original mimi colors? You have a need to use some of the new fx in graphs and dialogs, but these are not compatible with color names - such as "chocolate" - they only understand the #nnn formats. The question Is there a list that converts this?

Solution: By using the attached spreadsheet, you can convert HEX to SCOLOR and vice versa. Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: After installing new license file, getting error "Not licensed for M Commands".

Solution: In order to run an M command in SCM, your license file must contain the SLM_mimischd feature. Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: You recently upgraded your Excel version. Afterwards, any attempt to export data to excel generates an error.

Solution: You must change your location for Excel in the FMTFDEV table. This must reflect your new location for Excel. Keywords: FMTDATA Excel 2003 References: None

Problem Statement: You have just installed a new license file which contains the SLM_mimischd feature, however, you are still unable to run any M command.

Solution: Check the license file for which bucket said feature exists in. If not in the default bucket, you must add this through the SLM Configuration Wizard. Thus, we need to set up the SLM Configuration wizard to read said bucket as well as the default. Here is a screen shot example of where you need to set it. Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: After upgrading Aspen SCM to release 2006.5, user gets the following error message: "Error associated with msvcr80.dll"

Solution: This error is caused by an outdated release of .NET being installed. Users reporting this error have .NET 1.0 or 2.0. Installing .NET 3.0 will resolve this problem. To obtain the latest .NET installation, visit the Microsoft site. Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: In the Specification Blend section of the Full

Solution: report, you will see marginal values for properties that are at a limit. For example, as shown below, the DON (Road Octane) spec is at its limit (MIN DON = 91), therefore it shows a marginal value, in this case of 1.033 (it can also be -1.033, depending on the sign convention chosen for PI values; see solutions 118167 and 117670) How do you interpret this value? Solution The blending specification row has units of Property*Flow (e.g. DON*bbl/day). For example, the row NDONUPR (blending specification for MIN DON for gasoline UPR) will compare the sum of DON bbl or m^3 provided by the blending component vs. the minimum DON bbl or m^3 that are needed in the final blend. The marginal value of this blending specification row is the PI value of this row. In qualitative terms, the marginal value for a MIN specification indicates the incentive to relax (i.e. lower) it, and for a MAX specification, it indicates the incentive to relax (i.e. increase) that specification. Also, the bigger the number, the higher the incentive to relax the specification. On a quantitative basis, the reported marginal value (MV) can be used to calculate the change in the OBJFN for a small incrase/decrease in the specification: This relation is only true in the range of validity of the marginal value (which can be very small and then change). An interesting piece of information is the incentive per unit of specification (i.e. lower the MIN DON from 91 to 90). You have to calculate the Marginal Value Per Specification (MVPerSpecification) from the given marginal value as follows: Now the relation to calculate the change in the Objective Function becomes: In the example, the Actual Marginal Value is 1.013 $/(DON*bbl) and the Total Blend Volume is 2,500 bbl/day. Therefore, the marginal value of the DON specification is 1.013*2,500 = 2532.5 $/(DON*day). That means, that if you lower the specification of DON for this gasoline by a 0.05 units, i.e. the MIN DON is , the OBJFN will increase by 2532.5 * 0.05 = 126.62 $/day. This is valid if the total blend volume remains constant and for the range of validity of the Marginal Value. In this particular example, this marginal value is only valid for a change of ~ 0.05 in the specification, i.e. lowering the MIN DON to 90.95 or increasing it to 91.05. Keywords: Marginal Value PI Value Blend Specification References: None

Problem Statement: What methods are available in ABML to blend D86 T10/T90 temperatures? What are the differences?

Solution: There are 3 different correlations to obtain blended D86 T10/T90 temperatures: ? D86ONE10INDEX, D86ONE90INDEX and their reverse transformations, D86ONE10BLEND, D86ONE90BLEND ? T10INDEX, T50INDEX, T90INDEX ? D86TOPERCENTOFF, D86FROMPERCENTOFF 1) D86ONE10INDEX, D86ONE90INDEX and reverse transforms D86ONE10BLEND and D86ONE90BLEND The D86ONE10INDEX and D86ONE90INDEX correlations are intended to transform the blend component's D86 T10/T90 values respectively into an index value that blends linearly. The components are blended by this index to the specification. Then, by using the reverse transforms, D86ONE10BLEND and D86ONE90BLEND, the final value of the blend is transformed from the index into the D86 T10/T90 value. Note: There are only correlations for T10 and T90. The T50 value is assumed to blend linearly, so no index correlation is provided. Limitations of the D86ONE10INDEX, D86ONE90INDEX, D86ONE10BLEND and D86ONE90BLEND methods: ? Motor Gasoline D86 only ? Narrow boiling components do not work well (there must be a difference of at least 2-3 degrees F between T10-T50 and T50-T90) ? Non-hydrocarbon materials do not work well 2) T10INDEX, T50INDEX, T90INDEX T10/50/90Index are blend values and they are another alternative to the previous correlations. Blend values are like indexes but after you blend, you do not need to do a reverse transform. In other words, the blended index is the property of the blend. In each of these correlations, the T10, T50 and T90 are input values to calculate the output D86 temperature. Limitations of the T10INDEX, T50INDEX, T90INDEX methods: ? Motor Gasoline D86 only ? Narrow boiling components do not work well (there must be a difference of at least 2-3 degrees F between T10-T50 and T50-T90). ? Non-hydrocarbon materials do not work well 3) D86TOPERCENTOFF and D86FROMPERCENTOFF The D86TOPERCENTOFF correlation transforms the component D86 seven-point distillation curve and converts those values to true boiling point temperature (TBP). The TBP curve is converted into a 10-point percent off curve. This curve is blended linearly with the percent off curves of the other components, i.e. each percent off value is blended linearly for the components. Then, the D86FROMPERCENTOFF correlation is used to transform back from the blend's 10-point percent off curve into the D86 TBP curve, from which the blended T10, T90 (and intermediate TBP values too, e.g. T30, T50) are obtained. The D86TOPERCENTOFF, D86FROMPERCENTOFF provides more accuracy than the other methods, but requires more data input. It also requires some testing from the user on the conversion method between ASTM D86 and TBP values, as we allow for these 4 conversion methods (they are described in detail in the PIMS Help File, under the topic "ASTM and TBP Conversion Methods" in the ABML Correlations section): ? APIDataBook3A1 (THREEA11) ? APIDataBook6th (SIXORDER) ? HCProcessing (HC94) ? None Keywords: ABML D86ONE10INDEX D86ONE90INDEX D86ONE10BLEND D86ONE90BLEND T10INDEX T50INDEX T90INDEX D86TOPERCENTOFF D86FROMPERCENTOFF T10 T50 T90 References: None

Problem Statement: A stream STR is a blending component to a CARB gasoline. The T10, T50, T90 properties in the blend are calculated from the percentage off (e.g. percentage distilled at 130, 150, 170, etc., the properties are typically called 130, 150, etc.) by using ABML correlation D86FROMPERCENTOFF. No apparent source is available for properties 130, 150, 170, etc. for stream STR: not in BLNPROP, not in PCALC, not recursed. However, PIMS calculates the properties correctly. Where are the missing properties coming from?

Solution: When using ABML, Aspen PIMS will look for the input properties from the following sources: recursion, T. BLNPROP, T. PCALC. Additionally, if the properties are listed in PGUESS (even though there is no recursion for those properties for the given stream), Aspen PIMS will take them as fixed values (as if they came from BLNPROP), and use them in the calculation. However, there are some caveats on this way of handling with properties: If the only source of properties is in table PGUESS: ? PIMS will generate the messages " *** Warning. Recursion Row RprpSTR not Found. PGUESS Entry Ignored." ? For each of these properties, however, it will use these values as if they came from BLNPROP and use them for all the remaining calculations. ? There is no message telling the user that PIMS is using the these values in the ABML calculations. This can confuse about the source of the data. If there is no source for the required properties, not even in PGUESS: ? Aspen PIMS will NOT generate any warning message about missing properties for STR (input required for the ABML calculations). ? The model may become infeasible or give strange results, but the reason for it (missing properties) is very difficult to track down. Recomendation If you are going to use fixed properties then place them in T. BLNPROP, not in PGUESS. Keywords: ABML Property Properties PGUESS BLNPROP References: None

Problem Statement: Warning 639, "CARB Constraints CNX, THC, POT Lower Cased to cnx, thc and pot" may appear when you are using CARBOB2 and CARBOB3 gasolines in the same model and running with XNLP, i.e. you are using types 5-10 together with 12-13 for reformulated gasolines in table BLNSPEC. The message can mislead you to make you change the name of the specifications in table BNLSPEC for these properties from capital letters to lower case. However, if you do so, the model will not run. What should you do?

Solution: Aspen PIMS uses ABML for the reformulated gasoline (CARBOB2 and CARBOB3) calculations, either explicitly (set up by the user) or accessing it for the internal calculations. To avoid name conflicts for the specifications, PIMS will automatically create lower cased cnx, thc and pot specifications for CARBOB2 gasolines. This warning is informational only and you should perform no action, i.e. you are NOT supposed to change the tags of the specifications in table BLNSPEC to lower case. You can suppres this warning by using table REPORT: write W639 as the ROWNAME and under column SUP, type a 1. The warning message will still appear in the WARN.LST report. Keywords: Warning 639 W639 CARBOB2 CARBOB3 AMBL References: None

Problem Statement: Can you use VBA Automation to control Aspen PIMS as an OLE automation server? What automation methods are available? Where can you get a sample automation code?

Solution: Description: Aspen PIMS can be controlled as an OLE automation server. This means that another Windows program such as Excel or a custom-client program can control the execution of Aspen PIMS with the use of Aspen PIMS automation methods. To use Aspen PIMS automation methods, a basic knowledge of Visual Basic or COM programming is useful. Using Aspen PIMS OLE automation should be straightforward for those familiar with Microsoft Visual Basic or Visual Basic for Applications within Microsoft Excel. Most Aspen PIMS automation methods correspond to items you can modify or executed directly from the PIMS user interface. For example, you can use PIMS automation methods to perform any of the following tasks: ? Adding input tables to the Aspen PIMS model tree ? Execute a Aspen PIMS model ? Modify Aspen PIMS model settings For a complete list of Aspen PIMS automation methods, see the Help topic titled Automation Methods. Example: A PimsMacro.xls file is also installed in the same directory as the PIMSWIN.exe, for a fully functional VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) example. It is best to examine the commented VBA program within this Microsoft Excel workbook. To execute the macros in the PimsMacro.xls file, it may be necessary to change the directory path of the sample model. This file is also attached to this document. Warning: Do not run the macros in the PimsMacro.xls file if you have the Always Import Tables on the Spreadsheet tab of the General Program Options dialog box selected. Note: Many PIMS automation methods were created in response to specific client requests. If the current offering of PIMS automation methods does not fit your specific needs, please submit a request for enhanced functionality. Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: How do I get the MIP Vol / MIP Recipe (Mixed Integer Programming) check boxes to show on the Optimize Blend form? I have selected the same Blending user settings as the demo model. (The demo model shows the check boxes.) The MIP check boxes are available on the Blend form, but not visible on the Optimize form. Blend dialog box: Optimize dialog box:

Solution: The reason is that you are not using the Normalized Event tables. In the CONFIG table NORMALIZED_EVENTS is N. If you turn it to Y, there are no events in the screen. You need first to update your database in order that all events will be populate in the new ATOrionEvent tables (using DBUpdate tool) and after change NORMALIZED_EVENTS to "Y". Using Normalized Event tables, the Optimize Blend dialog box shows MIP options: Keywords: -MIP Volume/MIP recipe - CONFIG table - Normalize_Events References: None

Problem Statement: When I tried to Export the Blend information from the Blend Optimization dialog box, the message said the report is exported, but I cannot find it anywhere.

Solution: When you click the EXPORT button to publish the information from the Optimize Blend dialog box , Blend Optimization details are stored in the following tables: ? AB_BLN_EVENTS (output): Store the published list of blend events for the current model. ? AB_BLN_QUALITIES (output):Store the published quality specifications for the blend events identified in table AB_BLN_EVENTS. ? AB_BLN_RECIPES (output): Store the published recipes for the blend events identified in table AB_BLN_EVENTS. Keywords: - Export blends -AB_BLN_EVENTS -AB_BLN_QUALITIES -AB_BLN_RECIPES References: None

Problem Statement: Using MBO version 5.2.12 The Component Rundown list shows one (1) day less than the campaign duration. For instance, if the campaign is 7 days long, the rundown list shows only 6 days.

Solution: This is a bug caused by Daylight Savings time. This causes MBO to incorrectly calculate the days to show for the Component Rundowns (see the purpose of this, below). CQ00270550===> This bug has been fixed in MBO v. 5.2.13. Component Rundowns Dialog Box Purpose: Use the Component Rundowns dialog box to display and modify default properties values for specific components. A component rundown is material produced by the refinery and stored onsite in a component tank. Note: Component rundown details entered or modified in this dialog box are stored in the following tables: COMP_RD and COMP_RD_FILTER Keywords: Daylight Saving Time Component Rundown References: None

Problem Statement: In Aspen MBO version 3.9.6, we would populate the AB_ Tables via Publish All. We would then use the data in these tables to create our operator reports. In version 4.5.9, Publish All does not populate the AB_ tables. In the Publish menu there is a new item, called Export Blends. Does this feature populate the AB_ tables?

Solution: Since MBO v.4.5.0 you can select Blends to Export using the "Select Blends to Export Dialog box" appears when you select: Click Events|Publish|Export Blends. (First, simulate MBO.) Below is an excerpt from the Aspen MBO Help system. For more details please refer to the Help system entry, "Select Blends To Export Dialog Box". Use the Select Blends to Export dialog box to select the blends you want to export. The information associated with the blends you select is published to the following tables: . AB_BLN_EVENTS :Use this table to store the published list of blend events for the current model. . AB_BLN_QUALITIES :Use this table to store the published quality specifications for the blend events identified in table AB_BLN_EVENTS. . AB_BLN_RECIPES :Use this table to store the published recipes for the blend events identified in table AB_BLN_EVENTS. . AB_TANK_QUALITIES :Use this table to store the published tank qualities for the blend events identified in table AB_BLN_EVENTS Only the blends included in the current problem (i.e. currently visible Gantt Screen) can be exported (Events | Publish | Export Blends). When doing this, MBO clears the AB_ tables of previously exported data for the current Event screen only, leaving previously exported data from other Event screensintact. Some additional information about the description of AB_BLN_QUALITIES and AB_TANK_QUALITIES tables appear in the attached document (AB_Tables.doc). Keywords: AB_ tables Publish data Export Blends Blend Events References: None

Problem Statement: Does Aspen Refinery Multi-Blend Optimizar(MBO) use the trend min/max and min working/max working to execute any action? Apparently the MBO tanks/trends limits works differently than Aspen Petroleum Scheduler(Orion) .

Solution: Aspen Refinery Multi-Blend Optimizer (MBO) uses the trend limit min/max and not the minw/maxw to do the Optimization. As far as difference between MBO/SBO and ORION/SBO, there are differences. One is that Orion uses the available volume, MBO uses the trend limit. MBO takes into account component rundown, Orion does not. Keywords: - Trend limits - Trend chart References: None

Problem Statement: Several new automation methods have been added which are associated with blend groups with your Aspen MBO .

Solution: Ten new Automation methods are: 1. AddBlendGroup : Use this method to create a blend group 2. AddEventsToBlendGroup :Use this method to add blend events to an existing group 3. AddModifyPropertySpecsToBlendGroup : Use this method to add or modify a property specification associated with an existing blend group 4. DeleteBlendGroup : Use this method to delete an existing blend group 5. GetBlendGroups : Use this method to get the list of blend groups. Use "GetNrBlendGroups" to set the array size 6. GetNrBlendGroups : Use this function to get (retrieve) the number of blend groups 7. RemoveEventsFromBlendGroup :Use this method to remove a blend event or events from the existing group 8. RemovePropertySpecsFromBlendGroup :Use this method to remove property specifications from an existing blend group 9. SetRecipeFixedToBlendEvent :Use this method to set the recipe as fixed for the blend event 10. SetSameRecipeToBlendGroup :Use this method to set or reset the same recipe to an existing blend group More details about each automation method can be find in Aspen MBO Help file documentation under "Automation overview" item. Keywords: Automation methods Blend Events References: None

Problem Statement: I use the Aspen MBO V2006.5 demo to test the Case and State Comparison feature. Aspen MBO gives me information like: Cannot read trend data file for case TEST. Probably file C:\..............\TREND_TEST.DTA does not exit. To create this file you must simulate the case. I do not find the TREND_TEST.DTA file in the working folder Can you give me details about the Case and State Comparison?

Solution: Use the Case Comparison interface to compare the trend data for multiple cases on a single trend chart. Before using this interface, save the current trend data, which is stored in Trends.dta files. This interface compares the data stored (saved) in the Trends.dta files for the selected cases. To compare two cases, please follow the next steps: 1. Open the model selecting a case, for instance, BASE case 2. Make the schedule changes needed, optimize the model (in MBO) / Simulate the model (in Orion) 3. Save the model (in this step the Trends.Base.dta file will be created in the working folder you defined in settings dialog box) 4. Select/create a new case, for example, TEST case, make all the changes needed, optimize the model(in MBO) / Simulate the model (in Orion) 5. Save the model (in this step the Trends.Test.dta file will be created in the working folder you defined in the settings dialog box) 6. Select "Case and State Comparison" in order to compare the trend data for both cases. For more details, review the item called "Working with the Case Comparison Interface" in the Orion/MBO Help file. Keywords: Case Case Comparison interface Trend data References: None

Problem Statement: If the Aspen MBO model is a subset of a larger Aspen Orion model (integrated), then ALL the Event Screens set up for the Orion model will also be listed on the tree in the Aspen MBO model. Many of these will be of no use in Aspen MBO. What needs to be displayed is only those Event Screens that have relevance in Aspen MBO.

Solution: GANTT_LIST table has a field (column) called BLENDING (Type: Yes/No) that is used as a Flag to control whether the screen is enabled for Aspen MBO. GANTT_LIST Table Description: Name Type Size Description ID Text 50 ID that identifies an event screen DESCRIPTION Text 255 Description of the event screen Note: This is the description that appears in the event screen dropdown list X_SEQ AutoNumber Integer Internal row identifier (assigned by system) X_UPDATED Date/Time -- Date/time at which the last update was performed X_BY Text 50 ID that identifies the user who performed the last update BLENDING Yes/No -- Flag that controls whether the screen is enabled for Aspen MBO SHOW_BLN_COMPS Yes/No -- Flag that controls whether the blend component is displayed in the Gantt Chart of a specific event screen As an example , Orion/Demo model: when you open the model using Orion you can see all Event Screens but when open the model using MBO just only see Blending Event Screen: This is an Orion/MBO model opening from Orion: Same model opened from Aspen MBO: Keywords: - GANTT_LIST table - Event Screen References: None

Problem Statement: Some questions about how the Optimization works in Aspen Refinery Multi-Blend Optimizer(MBO)

Solution: 1. If there are no Product Sales prices in the model is there any reason for optimizer to try to blend ceiling amount of products? AT answer: When the product price is zero, the optimizer will try to find the feasible solution that costs the least. It needs to satisfy all fixed shipments and also to keep the tanks (component and product) from exceeding limits. 2. All tanks in the model have min, max volume and work_min, work_max volume. How can I compel the optimizer to keep work_min_volume of components in the tanks during optimization? AT answer: Aspen Refinery Multi-Blend Optimizer (MBO) uses the trend limit min/max and not the min working/max working to do the Optimization. Aspen Petroleum Scheduler uses min/max working capacity. 3. Sometimes I find a "Component remainders"-section at the end of optimization report. But sometimes it is absent. Why? AT answer: It happens when you select in MBO dialog box the option called "Generated Final Blends" , this option automatically creates blends for each product (defined) at the end of the schedule to consume unused material. When you include a final blend in a schedule, the optimizer considers the component requirements for the final blend during the optimization of the schedule and reserves the necessary components Keywords: - MBO Optimization -Final Blend -Trend References: None

Problem Statement: A Project has a requirement of MIP (Mixed Integer Programming) to control the minimum blend quantity for each blend component (component can be "0" or between Min and Max). It is possible to add this feature for MBO?

Solution: The MIP (Mixer Integer Programming) capability has been available in Aspen MBO since release 2006. The MBO Optimizer now incorporates the ability to solve mixed-integer nonlinear optimization problems. Aspen MBO allows discrete decisions through binary (0-1) or semi-continuous variables (0 or between Lower Bound and Upper Bound). The new structures are automatically created and the user controls everything through configuration check-boxes. Purpose of MIP: Use this feature when the optimal solution contains volumes or recipe percents that are so small that they are impractical. This is sometime referred to as teaspoon blending. The MIP feature allows you to specify a threshold amount below which the solver will force the volume or recipe percent of a product or blend to 0.0. For example, if the threshold volume for a blend is set to 1000 barrels and the solver identifies a solution in which 999 barrels are produced, the solver will force the volume of the blend to 0.0 rather then recommending the production of 999 barrels. The following types of threshold MIP are available for implementation: 1. Volume MIP: This is available for all Event types 2. Recipe MIP: This is available for Blend Events only To implement Volume MIP: 1. Double-click the Event for which you want to implement volume MIP to display the Event dialog box. 2. Select the MIP Volume option. Note: The minimum volume or weight becomes the threshold volume or weight. Alternatively, from the Event interface, right-click the event, and then select the MIP volume option. To implement Recipe MIP for Blend Event: 1. Click Event | Blend Event to access the Blend Event dialog box. 2. Select the MIP Recipe option. Alternatively, access the Optimize Blend dialog, and the select the MIP Recipe option: When the MIP Recipe box is checked, the Composition grid at the bottom of the dialog box will display an additional column titled MIP. If you select the check box in the MIP column, the associated MIN % column will display the threshold recipe % values. If de-selected (cleared), the MIN % column continues displays the minimum percent value. The threshold values entered in this dialog box applies only to the selected event. To enter a default threshold recipe % for a product: 1. Click Model | Products to access the Product Definition dialog box. 2. Under the Components section of the dialog box in the Threshold column, enter the default threshold recipe % value for the product. To consider Blend Events that occur before a designated Start date for recipe MIP: 1. Click View | Settings to display the Settings dialog box, and then click Blending tab. 2. Select the Number of MIP Recipe Days option, and then enter the number of days from the start of the campaign for which a blend event must occur to be considered for recipe MIP. Keywords: MIP MIP Recipe MIP Volume References: None

Problem Statement: This Knowledge Base article provides steps to resolve the following error message received when trying to create an Aspen Aspen Operations Domain Model (ODM) database in an MS SQL Server 2005: Error: Microsoft SQL Native Client: An error has occurred while establishing a connection to the server. When connecting to SQL Server 2005, this failure may be caused by the fact that under the default settings SQL Server does not allow remote connections.

Solution: There is a Microsoft Knowledge Base article 914277 (see link below) http://support.microsoft.com/kb/914277/en-us which provides general steps to resolve the above-mentioned error message. Please complete these steps before continuing. In addition, the following ODM specific steps may be necessary if you have multiple instances of SQL Server on the target server: 1- After selecting SQL Server name from the pull down list in the Aspen ODM Database Connection Wizard, you will need to manually type in the "instance" reference as shown in the screen capture below: 2 - The ODM account used in the connection string MUST be an SQL Server account, not a Windows account. Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: When I change a component property, for example by opening the Properties tab in SBO and changing the SUL of a component then click the CALCULATE / Optimize NLP button I get the following results: 1. Open the Optimizer dialog box- See Property Specifications window 2. Change the SUL value for RIMF component to 4% (instead of 3.5%wt) and apply CALCULATE button: SUL changed to 3.060, as expected 3. Apply "Optimize NLP" button: Get same SUL Value (2.963%wt) as step #1. 4. Close the blend event and reopen it. The modified property has been forgotten (3.402 instead of 4) Expected Outcome: 1) "Optimize NLP" should calculate with modified component properties 2) Property overwrites should be preserved on closing the blend event

Solution: Aspen MBO is working as designed. The new SBO solver (XNLP solver) was designed to mimic Aspen MBO's results (SBO's results more closely match Aspen MBO"s results). Essentially, it fixes all events around the single blend. It is supposed to take into account all the events that are happening around this single blend. The information in the component grid (lower set of grid) is a duplicate copy of what SBO "effectively" will be using as input. Changing those values will make no difference to the optimizer (Optimize NLP) because they will be regenerated using the simulator in the form the solver will ultimately use. The CALCULATION button will use the information in the grids. The first version of SBO "optimize" (Optimize LP) uses the data in the grids of the dialog and feeds the SLP solver. It is the same way in the Orion SBO dialog. The new SBO solver (Optimize NLP), SBO switched over to using MBO's matrix generator and pull the component data not from the grid but from simulated values. Both solvers "Optimze LP" and "Optimize NLP" are a SLP solver that calls XPRESS . Using "Optimize LP" some features like MIP and Running gauge are missing. Suggestions: 1) If you require to change or tweak the Component Property and then re-calculate the numbers, then make the changes and hit CALCULATE button. After, hit the EXPORT button to publish this blend to AB_BLN_QUALITIES table for PIMS BCI (or any other application you have) to pick up . 2) As to saving the changes to the components back into the model, this is not allowed by design. If you want to make permanent changes to the component properties , use Tank Property Change events. 3) If you want to optimize the blend like the "Old" solver (Using "Optimize LP") use the SBO_USE_LP config switch in CONFIG table, value=Y (available for version 2006.5) 4) This switch turns on another button in the SBO dialog called "Optimize LP". This is actually a SLP (nonlinear solver) similar to the XSLP used by Aspen MBO and the new SBO. In other words, it solves the non-linear problem. Again, it does not have all the features of the new solver like MIP and running gauge. Keywords: - Optimize LP -Optimize NLP - XNLP solver - SBO dialog box - CONFIG tab -CALCULATE button References: None

Problem Statement: Tank Property Change Events have been added to Aspen MBO version 2006.5 that allow you to alter the inventory or quality of a tank at a specific point in time during a schedule.

Solution: Use a Tank Property Change Event to alter the inventory or quality of a tank in the middle of a schedule at a specific point in time. This may be necessary, for example, in blending situations where lab results on a specific tank arrive through the day requiring inventory or quality adjustments. Adding a tank property change provides a way to correct tank properties in a model. Important considerations: ? New Events table is required (version 2006/2006.5) ? Any non-derived tank properties can be changed. ? It is advisable to change volume, weight and SPG as a set to keep them consistent. ? Do not apply a Tank Property Change event to a tank during a time when it is involved in a blend event. ? All events that precede the Tank Property Change event and involve the tank whose property is being modified will become fixed volume and fixed recipe. This is necessary to prevent the optimizer from exploiting the Tank Property Change. Tank Property Change Dialog Box: Tank property change details entered or modified in this dialog box are stored in the following tables: ATORIONEvents : store Event details ATORIONEventTanks : store tank details associated with an event ATORIONEventComments? : store comments associated with events ATORIONEventProps :store property details associated with an event. A tank property change is represented as a triangle on the event screen, as shown below: For more details, please see the following topics availables on the MBO Help documentation file: "Tank Property Change Event Dialog Box" "Working with Tank Property Change Events". Keywords: Tank Property Change Event ATORIONEvents tables Events References: None

Problem Statement: Users requested a new error message for Orion and MBO if UBML correlations are used but UBML.dll is not available.

Solution: Warning/error is now generated if UBML correlation(s) used but UMBL.dll is not available. For MBO warning message W1025 and Error E2006 have been added if UBML.dll doesn't exists. Model Error Log report shows the information: For ORION a Model Errors dialog box will pop up when reload simulator/ simulate or publishing all results. Keywords: ? UBML.dll file ? Error message ? Warning message References: None

Problem Statement: This knowledge base Article discusses the "Error 1402. Could not open key..." message, which can be seen sporadically during the installation of aspenOne Manufacturing Suite products that require Aspen Process Data:

Solution: This error message is related to the Windows Installer not being able to access a particular Windows Registry key, and it may occur even though you are logged in using an Administrator account. This issue can be fixed by changing the permission settings for the registry key in question: NOTE: It is recommended to back up your registry before making any changes 1. Write down the path to the key referred to in the error: HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\MSFlexGridLib.MSFlexGrid.1\CLSID. 2. Go to Start > Run, and type regedit in the Open dialog box. 3. Press Ctrl+F to open the Find dialog. Search for the text that follows "UNKNOWN" in the error message. When the exact key is found, right-click on the parent of the key referred to in the error message and select Permissions. 4. In the Permissions dialog box, click on the Advanced button and select "Inherit from parent the permission entries that apply to child objects. Include these with entries explicitly defined here" and "Replace permission entries on all child objects with entries shown here that apply to child objects". Click on Apply and OK to continue. 5. Close the Permissions dialog box for the parent key and open up the Permissions box for the key specific to the error(CLSID in this case) by right-clicking on the key and selecting Permissions. Verify that the group SYSTEM is present in the Group or user names list. Click on the group and verify that it has Full Control. 6. Close the Registry Editor and proceed with the installation. Sometimes it will be necessary to repeat the same procedure for different registry keys that the installer does not have access to. In rare cases, allowing full control to the SYSTEM group will not solve the problem. If that is the case, the try adding the EVERYONE group to the list and select the Full Control permission. Keywords: Error 1402 Could not open key Process Data Install References: None

Problem Statement: Is it possible to navigate the Aspen Supply Chain Connect (ASCC) Administration Management pages when ASCC is installed on a 64-bit Windows Operating System? When the Aspen Supply Chain Connect | Administration Management page is clicked, the navigation area displays error "Microsoft XML V3 not installed" as shown in the picture below. ASCC 2006.5 was installed on Windows Server 2003 Standard x64 Edition.

Solution: Aspen Supply Chain Connect 2006.5 (and below) is not compatible with Windows 64-bit operating systems. We recommend to install it on 32-bit Windows OS. Informatica does not support 64-bit platforms yet. To view the Informatica PowerCenter 8 Operating System Support information, please visit the Availability section of the following web page: Informatica Announces General Availability of PowerCenter 8. The document provides an overview of the Informatica supported Operating Systems. Keywords: Navigation Error -2 Microsoft XML V3 not installed Failed to create Msxml Navigation system 64Bit Installation References: None

Problem Statement: Problem Description In PowerCenter 8.1.x, the following exception appears in the Admin Console URL and Catalina.out when you start the Informatica Service: 2007-12-10 11:02:09 ApplicationDispatcher[/adminconsole] Servlet.service() for servlet org.apache.jsp.WEB_002dINF.pages.layouts.LoginTemplate_jsp threw exception java.lang.NoSuchMethodError: javax.servlet.jsp.PageContext.getVariableResolver()Ljavax/servlet/jsp/el/VariableResolver;

Solution: This exception occurs when the CLASSPATH environmental variable has the JAR jsp-api.jar located in a path different from that which is shipped by Informatica. The exception says that the Method VariableResolver is not found. This particular method is available in the JAR jsp-api.jar which is located either in C:\Informatica\PowerCenter8.1.1\server\tomcat\common\lib or $INFA_HOME\server\tomcat\common\lib. To resolve this issue you need to set the Environmental Variable CLASSPATH to include the jar file shipped by Informatica so that the service can pick the right path. Example Windows CLASSPATH = C:\Informatica\PowerCenter8.1.1\server\tomcat\common\lib\jsp-api.jar;%CLASSPATH% Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: While installing Aspen Supply Chain Connect (ASCC), the user has to provide a service account name as mentioned in the screen shot below: How are you supposed to change the password at specific intervals?

Solution: The user name and password entered in this screen will only be used if there is a Windows service installed with the installed product. If you are installing ASCC 2006.5, you don?t need to worry about this at all since there will be no Windows service installed. This screen is a standard step from AspenOne installer. You can skip typing in user and password. In the case there is indeed a windows service installed, the you can enter the user name and password and change it using Windows administrative tools under Windows Control Panel. Keywords: References: None

Problem Statement: This Knowledge Base article shows how to add a company logo to a dashboard display.

Solution: Dashboard Editor only supports images of jpeg and gif format; it does not support bitmap files. The company logo image will need to be converted into a jpeg (preferred) or gif format first. 1) In the RTView Display Builder open the Object Palette. 2) Select any object with a computer and add it to the graphic. 3) Find the field called Image and type in the path to the image. Below is a sample screen capture illustrating the above steps. Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: This Knowledge Base article provides steps to resolve the following error: Could not Invoke Environment Variables due to Setup Problems. which may be encountered in Aspen Business Process Explorer (BPE) Administrator when upgrading to Aspen Framework 2006.5.

Solution: Try re-registering BpeLocalVars.dll file. Following two commands are to be executed from a DOS window in the sequence shown below: regsvr32 /u "C:\Program Files\AspenTech\BPE\BpeLocalVars.dll" regsvr32 "C:\Program Files\AspenTech\BPE\BpeLocalVars.dll" Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: Understanding Lab Sample Age Limit

Solution: The following is a brief explanation to understand what Lab Sample Age Limit really does. A user has a lab sample taken every three days. A possible problem is that the CV was going bad before the next lab sample, for this issue the user simply needs to increase the Measurement Timeout for the CV to at least three days. There is no 24 hour max on the Measurement Timeout. The only thing the Lab Sample Age Limit is used for is to validate the Sample Age when a new lab value is entered. Normally the control room gets the results back from the lab in a few hours and they are entered (manually or automatically) into the controller. The controller needs to know when the lab sample was taken. If it is too old, it will be rejected. The user gets to say how old is too old, but we set a maximum of 24 hours on that limit. The maximum value for the Lab Sample Age Limit is 24 hours and this limit is enforced by the software. This number is used for validating the age of the lab sample which entered by the operator in PCWS. Development did not envision lab measurements taking more than 24 hours to come back from the lab, so the design of the PCWS GUI provides no way to enter a sample age greater than 24 hours. This was the rationale for setting a maximum on the Lab Sample Age Limit. Keywords: SSC, SampleAge, Production Control Web Server References: None

Problem Statement: With all versions prior to v2006.5, the Event Management Rules Engine was a Blaze Rules Engine. This has been replaced by some freeware called Bean Shell that can do just about everything that Blaze could do but for free. If a user really wants to use the old Blaze Engine with 2006.5 does he have any options ?

Solution: Upgrading to 2006.5 on the same PC should leave the old Blaze Engine in place. If Upgrading to a different PC then the user would need to first install an older version and then Upgrade Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: This Knowledge Base article answers several questions regarding Aspen Role-Based Visualization (RBV) v7.1 compatibility with RBV v2006.5.

Solution: Q1: Will the content developed for RBV v2006.5 be fully reusable after we upgrade to RBV v7.1? A1: Yes. Content will be reusable. Users may need to re-enter the deployment variables because of the recent product name changes. Q2: Will RBV v7.1 still run on SharePoint 2007? A2: Yes. Q3: Are there any major changes between RBV v2006.5 and 7.1 we should be aware of before we upgrade? A3: RBV v7.1 will have the following product name changes: RBV has been renamed to Aspen Visualization Framework, Web.21 has been renamed to InfoPlus.21 Browser. Also, a new licensing feature has been introduced which will record RBV usage to SLM. Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: When you use a web part page as a content page for the Ops Nav site (that is when you use the Aspen Operations Manager editor to add URL attribute to the hierarchy nodes and that URL points to a web part page in a SharePoint library), you will have a problem of nested heading. This problem is caused by the default master page. The default master page is used in SharePoint 2007. SharePoint 2003 does not use master pages so this problem does not occur in the older versions of Aspen Role-Based Visualization (RBV) (prior to RBV 2006.5).

Solution: To resolve this problem, you will need to install the "RBV Master Page Solution" attached to this Knowledge Base article. This SharePoint solution, once installed and deployed, will provide a feature to change the default Master page to an RBV custom master page. The new RBV custom master page will remove the nested heading above. Before you download and install the attached solution, please read the Read_Me file for detailed installation and configuration instructions. Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: What is the meaning of the error message below that I received when I tried to run a tool from the Model tree? How do I correct it?

Solution: This means that Aspen Orion cannot find the executable at the path specified in the tool properties. To fix it, right click on the tool in the tree and select properties. You should enter the path to the executable in the Filename field (e.g. C:\Program Files\AspenTech\Templates\Aspen ORION\Demo\Access 00\) and the actual executable name in the Command String field (e.g. RollForward.exe). There is a slight bug in 9.x of Aspen Orion where if you use the button to navigate to the executable file then it puts the path and the executable name in the Filename box. You will need to take the Filename part off and just leave the path. Tool Properties Dialog Box: Use the Tool Properties dialog box to add tools, reports, or interfaces to the model. Note: Tool property details are stored in table COMMAND_LIST. To access this dialog box: - From the Model Tree, right-click the Report, Tools, or Interface icon on the model tree, and then select Add New from the context menu. This dialog box contains the following fields and options: -Command String: This field contains the command string for the report, interface, or tool you are adding. - Description: This field contains a description of the report, interface, or tool. - Category: Select the category (branch on the model tree) under which the new command is to reside. If you want to add a new category, enter the new category name in this field. The new category will appear as a new node on the model tree. - Command Type: Click the drop down list button to select the appropriate command type (ExcelMacro, AccessMacro, AccessFunction, Executable). - Filename: Enter the file location of the report, interface, or tool you are adding. COMMAND_LIST Table: Use table COMMAND_LIST to define the commands that can be executed from the model tree. You can add new interfaces, reports, or tools (in the form of Access macros, Excel macros, Access functions, or executables) to the model tree by adding a row to the COMMAND_LIST table. Once you define the interface, report, or tool in table COMMAND_LIST, it appears as a separate node on the model tree. To access this table: - From the model tree, right-click the Report, Interface, or Tools branch of the model tree, and then choose Display Command Table from the context (right-click) menu. Keywords: COMMAND_LIST Table Tool Properties Dialog Box References: None

Problem Statement: How do I delete parameters in value units from Aspen Petroleum Scheduler?

Solution: Launch Aspen Petroleum Scheduler model, follow up these steps: 1.- Select a Value Unit opening the Flowsheet Interface.Select "Parameters" field 2.- Double click on the row that want to delete, for instance, first row for parameter 1, then the next window appears asking about :insert, delete or cancel, click "delete" and Ok 3.- Re-open the value unit and verify parameters associated to the Value unit: 4.- Save the model: 5.- Checking the database, table related to parameters unit, ATOrionUnitParam table, it should show as following: Check in ATOrionUnitDef table the unit seq number corresponding with the corresponding Value Unit: Unit Seq number:93 ATOrionUnitParam table shows only 2 parameters instead of 3 is as expected. Keywords: - Delete Parameters - Value Unit -ATORIONUnitParameter table References: None

Problem Statement: When we change an existing crude event or add a new crude event in our model. the system starts simulation . When I modify a Crude Run or Unit Operation event, Excel is always put on top.

Solution: The reason for this behavior is as follows: 1. Crude Transfer Event: In your Excel file (Units.xls) you have defined #SIMULATE into the CRDTRAN sheet . When you use this keyword in Units workbook is because you want to simulate from the last change to the start time of the event before performing the User Calc. To avoid this, delete the row that contains #SIMULATE keyword. 2. Crude Run or Operation Events : In your Excel file (Units.xls) you have defined #SHOW into sheets : CRDRUN, CRDTRAN, CRDCPT, UNITPARAM, BLEND. When you use this keyword in Unit workbook , Units.xls excel file will be show. This is useful when you want the Excel window visible when the UserCalc macro is running. To avoid this, delete the row contains #SHOW. DEFINITIONS: #SHOW: Showing the Units Workbook during User Calc Execution. Use this keyword to do the following: 1. Give the Excel window the focus and then run the User Calc macro. This is useful when you want the Excel window to be visible in its default size while the User Calc macro is running. 2. Give the Excel window the focus, but minimize the Units workbook, and then run the User Calc macro. This is useful when you are running a macro that displays a VBA form, and you want the VBA form to appear on top of the application interface without seeing the Excel window. 3. Maximizes the Excel window, gives the Excel window the focus and then run the User Calc macro. This is useful when you want the Excel window visible while the User Calc macro is running. It can be use only on Events worksheet . #SIMULATE : Simulating to the beginning of the Event. Use this keyword in a User Calc worksheet to notify the simulator to simulate to the beginning of the event before executing the user calculations. It can be use only on Events worksheet . Keywords: - #SHOW - #SIMULATE - User Calc - Keywords References: None

Problem Statement: Is Aspen Web Fulfillment Management v2006.5 supported on Windows Server 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition 64-bit operating system?

Solution: Aspen Web Fulfillment Management v2006.5 is not supported on Windows 2008 R2 Enterprise Edition 64-bit and it was not officially tested by our QE. Note: Retail v2006.5 software itself (the main application) does not run and is not supported on 64-bit platforms (like Windows Server 2008 R2) Keywords: Web Fulfillment Management eChain Windows Server 2008 R2 64-bit 64bit References: None

Problem Statement: How does the IVR call transfer work?

Solution: If a customer calls during terminal operating hours and selects the *0# option, the caller is transferred to the first of the Voice Fulfillment Management phone numbers defined in Terminal Setup. If there is no response, the caller is transferred to subsequent phone numbers according to the sequence defined in Terminal Setup. Enter the phone numbers to the terminal operator to which customers are transferred if they select the *0# (transfer) option. Up to ten numbers can be specified Note: Operating hours (startTime and endTime) are defined in the RetIVR.ini File. If the time of the call is within operating hours, the call transfers to the Live Operator Phone Number(s) specified in the Voice Fulfillment Management phone list in terminal setup. The first number on the list for a given terminal is used for a call transfer. Intelligent call transfer confirms that the transfer is successful before releasing the line. If the first number is busy or there is no answer, the line is released and the call is transferred to the next phone number in the transfer sequence. If all numbers in the transfer sequence are unavailable, Voice Fulfillment Management dials the first transfer number again and allows the caller to leave a message. Note: To always transfer the call to the transfer sequence, startTime must be set at ?0? and endTime must be set at ?23:59? in the RetIVR.ini file. Outside of Operating House If the time of a call is outside of operating hours, the call is automaticallytransferred to the phone number established in the transferNumberMain setting in the RetIVR.ini file and is prompted to leave a message. Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: I need information (demo model or documentation) to model a distribution network of a company including a complicated business process : integer variables, new constraints, and additions to the optimization objective function. Can you provide me with some documentation?

Solution: Here are 3 sample models around Incentive pay : ? DPO Problem 10B - Incentive Pay.zip ? DPO Problem 10C- Fixed FEE and Variable.zip ? DPO Problem 10D- Take or Pay.zip The attached presentation called "Class Problem 10 to 10d" contains details about what the models are trying to do . Keywords: DPO examples References: None

Problem Statement: Sometimes it is difficult in PPIMS to achieve the desired targets for the inventoried products without forcing these inventories in table PINV by setting MIN=MAX=TARGET. Here are some considerations that aim to explain the different inventory configurations that can appear, and how to deal with them. The matrix structure developed from the PINV coefficients as well as operational considerations are taken into account for this discussion.

Solution: We will review how the inventory policy is defined in terms of the optimization matrix. Based on that information, we will review how to operate on these matrix coefficients to achieve the desired results for the inventory. Relation between matrix coefficients and inventory policy For product abc, the main columns (variables) which are part of the OBJFN (Objective Function) in the matrix controlling the inventory policy are: ? IEXCabcP: accounts for the EXCESS of inventory over the TARGET for product abc in period P (i.e. Actual Inventory - Target if actual > Target) ? IDEFabcP: accounts for the DEFECT of inventory under the TARGET for product abc in period P (i.e. Target - Actual Inventory if actual < Target) ? CINCabcL: accounts for the INCREASE in inventory between Opening of the FIRST period and the Closing inventory of the LAST period L ? CDECabcL: accounts for the DECREASE in inventory between Opening of the FIRST period and the Closing inventory of the LAST period L For a detailed descriptions on the matrix coefficients that multiply these terms and how they are calculated based on entries in table PINV, please refer to the following solution: http://support.aspentech.com/webteamcgi/SolutionDisplay_view.cgi?key=103932. In the document attached to that solution, look for section 2, "Calculation of the OBJFN" In the matrix, the coefficients for columns IDEFabc and IEXCabc are negative, which means that they represent a cost in the OBJFN. This implies that if any of these columns have activity (i.e. the final inventory is different from the TARGET), a penalty is paid that reduces the OBJFN value. That is why this is called a "Soft Constraint": there is a restriction, but it can be violated. In all cases, the optimization will drive the activity of these inventory columns to be as small as possible to increase the OBJFN. In most cases, the final activity of these columns will be zero, however, sometimes it might be better from an economical point of view to violate the TARGET and pay a penalty for this violation. The option we have here is to increase the value of the penalties, so that a small or zero deviation from the TARGET becomes a better decision again. To increase the values of the penalties you have to operate on HCOST and PCOST. As a general rule, a higher HCOST value will yield an higher penalty for IEXCabcP and a higher PCOST will yield a higher penalty for IDEFabcP. However, they are not directly proportional: the coefficient for IDEFabcP is a function of PCOST - Coefficient for IEXCabcP, therefore if HCOST is increased more than PCOST, the coefficient for IDEFabcP will be reduced. The actual equations for these coefficients based on HCOST and PCOST are shown here: Operative restrictions that can interfere If increasing the penalties to higher values does not help to achieve the TARGET, review for any operational restriction that would interfere. For example, if MAX purchase for abc is 10, OPEN inventory is 20 and TARGET for the first period is 40, it wouldn't be possible to achieve this, because the Maximum final inventory could be 30 at most. Therefore, in this case, it won't be able to achieve the TARGET no matter how high the penalties are. Considerations for the last period's inventory In the last period, additional considerations need to be made, as there are four variables (IEXCabcP, IDEFabcP, CDECabcL, CINCabcL) for product abc that control the inventory, as described above. A partial view of the last period's OBJFN is shown below: From the sign in the OBJFN, we can see that the coefficients for IEXCabcP, IDEFabcP, CDECabcL are penalties (product i is abc in this case), as they are subtracted from the OBJFN. However, the coefficient for CINCabcL has a + sign, which means there is an incentive to increase the inventory from the start of the first period to the end of the last period. Therefore, there are three different situations when the TARGET inventory from the last period is compared to the OPEN inventory of the first period. 1) OPEN of first period < TARGET of last period In this case, there is a double incentive to meet the TARGET: ? a) An increase in inventory from OPEN of first period to CLOSE of last period, as required in this case, makes the OBJFN bigger, because CINCabc*CoefCINC has a positive sign. ? b) If TARGET is not met, a penalty would be paid because of the Excess or Defect in inventory (probably the Defect) =>In Table PINV, increase PCOST if it is below TARGET, or increase HCOST and decrease CPRICE if it is above target. 2) OPEN of first period = TARGET of last period In this case, the incentive from CINCabc*CoefCINC to increase inventory exists, but on the other hand, the penalty for deviating from the target also exists through the IEXC and IDEF columns. So, if the incentive to increase inventory is higher than the penalty paid, it will increase the inventory. =>Try first reducing CPRICE in table PINV, and on a second instance, increase HCOST and/or PCOST depending if there is an excess or defect in inventory respectively. 3) OPEN of first period > TARGET of last period In this case, CDECabc*CoefCDEC will incentive to leave the CLOSE inventory equal to the OPEN inventory to the first period, because it penalizes the decrease. Also, CINCabc*CoefCDEC will incentive the increase of inventory. On the other hand there are penalties through IEXCabc and IDEFabc which incentive to achieve the TARGET. => Try the following changes: a. Reduce OCOST in table PINV so that CoefCDEC gets smaller, and therefore the penalty for decreasing the inventory is reduced. b. Reduce CPRICE in table PINV so that CoefCINC gets smaller, and therefore the incentive to increase the inventory is reduced. c. Increase HCOST if inventory is above TARGET d. Increase PCOST if inventory is below target (in this case, you don't need to modify OCOST, CPRICE or HCOST). KeyWords Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: In the Matrix Analysis Program, when looking at the final matrix of my model, I see two values reported: Row Activity and Row Activity Sum. What are these two values and where do they come from?

Solution: While these two entries target the same thing, they come from two different places. The Row Activity is read from the database (or .xlp file in AO), while the Row Activity Sum is calculated based on the sum of the coefficients*activity for all row entries. Due to round-off errors and differences in storage methods, there can be minor differences. Generally, the Row Activity is the more accurate value, but this can become corrupted easily if the .mps file is moved around, so we display both. Note that we have seen a few instances where larger discrepancies appear. If this happens, please try turning off the XPRESS presolve (setting IFPRES). Keywords: Matrix analysis tool References: None

Problem Statement: At the end of an Aspen PIMS run, when it tries to generate the reports, the following error message is displayed: The reports are not generated. What is the cause and how can it be fixed?

Solution: Starting with Aspen PIMS 2006, it requires at least Microsoft .NET version 2 to generate the reports. This problem is related to an incorrect version or a corrupt installation of Microsoft .NET. To solve it try the following steps: 1. First check in the Aspen PIMS installation folder if there is a file called "pimswin.exe.config": if it is there, save a backup copy in another folder, and then delete it. This file forces PIMS to use .NET v 1.1; it was required in Aspen PIMS versions prior to 2004.1 (version 16) The required version for Aspen PIMS 2006 and higher is at least .NET v.2.0 Try again running a model to see if the problem persists. 2. Request assistance from your IT department to uninstall/reinstall Microsoft .NET: ? Restart your computer. ? Uninstall Microsoft .Net Framework 1.0 , 1.1 , 2.0, 3.0 (i.e all the versions that you have) ? Reinstall them again in the same sequence 3. Alternate to Step 2, if all the .net version are already installed in your computer try repairing them as shown in Figure Keywords: System.EnterpriseServices.Wrapper.dll References: None

Problem Statement: Table CRDMIX and CRDBLEND, are both tables that define mixtures of crude oils. What is the difference between table CRDMIX and CRDBLEND from the function angle?

Solution: Table CRDBLEND is available in both standard and periodic models, Table CRDMIX is available in periodic model only. Regarding the LP structural difference, if CRDBLEND is defined, PIMS automatically generates mixed assay data. An ESTxxx row for the mix must be defined in table CRDDIST so the crude mix which is defined by CRDBLEND can go to the appropriate Crude Units. Table CRDMIX is related with other PPIMS tables (RECEIVE, CRDTANKS, CRDALLOC). The crude mix which is defined by CRDMIX does not go to a Crude Unit but instead goes to Crude Tanks. The destination tank is defined by table RECEIVE. PIMS automatically generates de-pooling structure for the calculation of crude tank compositions. If Column CrudeMix and %XXX (XXX; crude tag) are defined in table RECEIVE, PIMS automatically generates RECEIVE_CRDMIX.xls and adds it to CRDMIX model tree branch. Keywords: PPIMS CRDMIX CRDBLEND References: None

Problem Statement: This knowledge base article describes why you may get an excel warning message during report generation in Aspen PIMS.

Solution: The warning message shown in the figure below pops up during report generation in Aspen PIMS if the user does not have sufficient privileges for the working folder. This can be verified by inspecting the security profile under Properties | Security dialog. If the Full Control item is not checked, it implies that the user do not have sufficient privileges. In order to fix this we recommend the user to discuss with their IT department to grant privileges or allow checking the check box for the Full control item. Keywords: Excel warning PIMS report generation Excel security PIMS Excel report References: None

Problem Statement: Can MINOBJ and other Aspen PIMS settings be changed from Table CASE?

Solution: Yes, many Aspen PIMS settings can be changed from table CASE by using reference to TABLE SETTINGS. An example of how to do this is shown below. CASE 2 Modify Model Settings TABLE SETTINGS TEXT VALUE GenerateOn 1 MINOBJ 850 VOL BBLS WGT MTONS Not all Aspen PIMS model settings can be changed this way. For a current list of enabled settings and the corresponding keywords, please refer to your Aspen PIMS HELP and find the topic titled "MODEL SETTING KEYWORDS". Keywords: model settings case References: None

Problem Statement: The McAfee Antivirus program is erroneously flagging the AspenTech SLMCommute.exe file as a virus for users who have updated to the McAfee Virus Scan Dat file #5353 which was released on 4-Aug-2008.

Solution: McAfee released an updated Virus Scan dat file (Dat file #5353) on 4-Aug-2008. This updated Virus Scan data file erroneously flags one of our license manager commuter license utility file (SLMCommute.exe) as a virus. This can cause this utility file to be deleted from a user's machine. AspenTech has worked with McAfee to address this issue. McAfee has confirmed that this is a false positive and they have released a new Dat file (Dat file #5354) on 5-Aug-2008 that fixes this problem. You should do the following to retrieve the original SLMCommute.exe file: 1. Update to the latest Dat file by right clicking on the McAfee icon on your system tray then selecting "Update Now.." 2. Confirm you have Dat version #5354 dated 5-Aug-2008 by select "About VirusScan..." from the system tray or VirusScan Console 3. Restore the file from within the Quarantine Manager (in the VirusScan Console) by clicking on the "Manager" tab then right click on the file and select restore For users who have already purged the SLMCommute.exe file from the Quarantine Manager, you may download the attached SLMCommute.exe from this Knowledge Base article by selecting the file for your aspenONE product version. Please review the attached README file to identify which version of SLMCommute.exe you need. Keywords: Commute SLM Virus Quarantine McAfee DAT Update References: None

Problem Statement: Pucks for the filling work center are left on Phantoms during the "Rescheduling " function. This is illustrated below:

Solution: When bringing in new production into the Scheduling model and running the "Reschedule" function the filling pucks are not being scheduled and remain on the phantom facility. This was occurring due to an incorrect setting You need to change INDSV?s code size to 5. Go into the set catalog, find INDSV, open its ?attributes? and change the code size from 4 to 5. IND is the set that defines the schedule data. There are some other temporary sets that contain a subset of IND entries filled and used by various functions. These are named IND*. All are defined with code=5 except INDSV which is 4. This is a problem because the Oakwood schedule contains more than 9999 activities. INDSV is used by rescheduling to hold the activity indexes of the fillings linked to the thin-down being rescheduled. Some of the filling activities have indexes greater than 9999. Changing INDSV will get almost all the fillings scheduled. The few left seem to be linked to thin-downs frozen at the start of the schedule. Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: After installing Supply Planner on a new machine, cannot get SQL connection working (Oracle 8.1.x)

Solution: In the ODBC Data Source Administrator, Aspen uses the System DSN tab, not the User DSN tab. You must ensure it is configured with the correct service name in the User DSN tab and with the incorrect service name in the System DSN tab. Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: In the help file, the SEQ field in EV_DAILY is described as "Number that uniquely identifies an event. Note: This number is assigned by the system and appears as the X_SEQ value in table EVENTS. Set as index (duplicates allowed) to improve performance during publishing" Should this read ".. in table _EVENTS "? Records in EVENTS may be deleted subsequently if a user deletes an event in the schedule, whereas I understand _EVENTS is part of the publish data so it should be retained. Also, what are the fields X_SEQ and Z_SEQ used for in _EVENTS? Should they retain the event ID from EVENTS or do they get new values when publishing?

Solution: Orion Help documentation file should refer _EVENTS instead of EVENTS (or ATORIONEvents). The unique numbers in the published _EVENTS table are completely independent of the numbers in the EVENTS table. When publishing _EVENTS the X_SEQ column is initially copied directly from EVENTS. The Z_SEQ values are automatically generated by the database. After writing the Z_SEQ column is copied to the X_SEQ column for clarity. The EV_ tables are then created using the ID numbers in Z_SEQ and X_SEQ. The Help file was modified with the right information from version 10.5.8. Keywords: - _EVENTS table - EV_ Tables - X_SEQ number References: None

Problem Statement: I am testing pulling a capacity row activity, P row value and a column activity in the Aspen PIMS to Aspen Petroleum Scheduler (Aspen Orion) interface model. I am trying to pull each of the following to parameter #1 of an Orion XPM unit however after running the model it keeps getting "zeros" for parameter values. - Mapping section/ MapUnitOp table: - After running the model:

Solution: Remove the mapping tables in "access" format and create them in "excel sheet" format. Also, remove all "access" tables in the mapping section. It only works with excel. We have a functionality where we write PIMS data to excel and read back the modified value from excel. This really cannot work in access. This conversion is done for different UOMs in Aspen PIMS and Aspen Petroleum Scheduler (Aspen Orion) After running the model and select "View UnitOp" option, the information related to the Parameter values is correct: Keywords: -PIMS to Orion Interface application - Mapping tables References: None

Problem Statement: How to import the Crude composition for a Crude Receipt into the staging table, ORION_MGR_EVENT_IMPORT. Does the crude composition get populated into a field in this table or another table? If it is the ORION_MGR_EVENT_IMPORT table, what field and what format?

Solution: Crude composition is populated into the staging table called : ORION_MGR_EVPROP_IMPORT. You have to put the same APPLICATION_ID and MOVEMENT_ID appear in table ORION_MGR_EVENT_IMPORT and after , on field " PROP_ID" (type: Text; NotNull) you should put crude composition . See the following example: 1.- If you have the following selected import event (Crude receipt) in ORION_MGR_EVENT_IMPORT Table. 2.- Select Integration | Import | Events: In New Events pane, you can see under CRUDE column: KIR( it means 100% KIR -crude composition) 3.- If you look at this new event into the ORIO_MGR_EVPROP_IMPORT table, it has 100% defined for KIR crude. 4.- If you change this configuration adding other crude or crude composition such as 50% KIR; 50% KUW: 5.- Save and re-open Integration| Import| Events- Select CRUDE column: It was changed successfully. Selecting "Crudes" button, see the new crude composition. Keywords: - Event Import - Integration - ORION_MGR_EVENT_IMPORT table - Staging tables References: None

Problem Statement: _TANKS does not include a published crude weight for the first day in version 2006.5. For Process tanks, there is a weight published for the first day even though TNKINV does not contain a weight value. This is not true for Crude tanks, where there is no weight published for the first day. Sometimes for reporting purposes, It would be good that _TANKS includes weight to be published for crudes on the first day.

Solution: For this purpose was added in CONFIG table a switch called PUBLISH_AT_10_SEC Value:Y, that allows to publish WGT property for Crudes on the Model Start Date. Keywords: -_TANKS table -Publish data -CONFIG table References: None

Problem Statement: Aspen Petroleum Scheduler takes around 45 minutes and sometimes the timeout error appears when publishing data( SQL server)

Solution: The Ethernet Port Configuration can be a possible cause of this behavior. Please, check the server and the Ethernet port configuration. For example, if it is set to 100Full then switch it to "Auto" and it will be running at "Gig" Full. It should be fixed this issue. Keywords: - Publish - Ethernet Port Configuration References: None

Problem Statement: Can you please indicate if the CONFIG keywords SYS, VBDLL and VAC are used, and when I should see values for them? I don't see values for them in the CONFIG table in my models but in the help file I see the following: VAC: Number of Vacuum Cuts VBDLL: Registered VB DLL File SYS : System Directory

Solution: VAC and SYS are no longer used. VBDLL is the name of the VB unit file and this defines that. The default is OrionVb.dll. The documentation will be updated in version 7.1 with this information ("Setting Keywords: " for CONFIG table) Keywords -CONFIG table - Settings References: None

Problem Statement: How does Orion XT update events in a multi-user environment?

Solution: Here is a summary of some different situations: Basis: User 1 - is working in the 1st 5 days User 2 - is working in day 6 and beyond (and includes days 1 to 5) User 1 and User 2 are working in the same case Situation # 1: User 2 updates some events and does not save. User 1 updates different events and then saves. User 2 will get a notification that events have changed. User 2 then pushes the "Refresh Events" button and is prompted to "Save/Refresh" or "Refresh". - If User 2 pushes the "Save/Refresh" button he/she will save the changes made and see the changes saved by User 1 - If User 2 pushes the "Refresh" button, he/she will loose their own changes and get the changes made by User 1 Situation # 2: User 1 updates some events and then saves User 2 updates different events and then saves, the screen will refresh with User 1 changes Situation # 3: User 1 updates some events and then saves User 2 updates the same events and then saves, the events updated by User 1 will be over written Publishing is a different issue. When publishing, the last set published will be what is in the database. One other item to keep in mind that the user can publish without saving. If a user makes changes, then publishes, and then exits without saving, the published data will be different than the "saved" data. Review the following topics : "Refreshing the Model"and "Notifying other Users of an Update to the model" in Orion Help Documentation file for more details. Keywords: - Multi User Environment - Refreshing the model -Publishing in Multi-User environment References: None

Problem Statement: Is it possible to disable a tank in Aspen Orion XT?

Solution: A tank cannot be disabled directly in Aspen Orion XT. However, Aspen Orion XT has the capability to assign service to a tank (Material service Event ) and one could assign a tank service to be out of service. This would not, however, prevent the tank from showing up on a drop down list on an event dialog, for example. Material Service Event: Use a Material Service event to identify the material or material group present in each tank at the start of the schedule. Note: You must have the following tables present in your model to add material service events: ? MATERIAL ? TANK_SERVICE To add a material service event: 1. From the Event interface, click Events | Add Event | Material Service to display the Material Service Event dialog box. 2. Complete the fields in the dialog box as necessary. 3. Click the OK button to save your changes in memory and exit the dialog box. Keywords: Material Service Event References: None

Problem Statement: While using Aspen Orion XT 2006.5 to open a model made with Aspen Orion XT 2006 or earlier, you may see the following warning message.

Solution: This warning message indicates that you should use the Normalized Event Table option and your model requires upgrading. Step 1: If you want to retain the existing un-normalized event table, then open Config table in the Orion Model, and add the following record as suggested in the message. Step 2: Now save the Table and reopen the model using Orion version 2006.5 It is highly recommended to use Normalized tables, because un-normalized table structure will not be supported in future versions. For more information about this Table structure, please review our solution 120838. Step 4: If you want to use the Normalized table structure, then please upgrade your model with DBUpdate.exe utility and then set the above option as "Y". For upgrading the model with DBUpdate.exe , please refer solution:119565 Keywords: warning error normalized open event table dbupdate upgrade References: None

Problem Statement: When in a Trend Limit Dialog Box for a given Event Screen, if the user sets a trend limit for a tank that is not shown in this dialog box, then the trend limits that come up are not the ones for the tank specified, but for the first tank in the dialog box. Why?

Solution: Essentially there are 3 sources of the trend limit, table TREND_LIMIT, TREND_SCREEN and TANKS and the pecking order is as listed. When you change an existing trend variable to another tank that isn't already on the trend list for that screen then the new tank assumes the trend limits of the original tank rather than go an fetch the new tank tank limit. This is behaving as designed. This is equivalent to changing the ID in the Trend_Screen table and because the limits in this table take precedence over the limits in the tanks table, it is behaving as expected. If there were entries in the TREND_LIMIT table for this screen, then it would take precedence which is what is happening if you switch to a tank that is already on the trend list for this screen. If you add the new tank to the list in an empty row, then there are no values in either the trend_screen or the trend_limit table and then we pick the value from the tank table. For future version, Orion makes the trend limits more visible in the trend list dialog or add a configuration switch to allow the user to switch to a new pecking order. Keywords: - TREND_LIMIT table - TREND_SCREEN table -TREND_LIMIT table -Trend limits References: None

Problem Statement: Orion/SBO crashes for Gasoline blending Event Screen after apply Optimize button.

Solution: The problem here is that the number of specifications in the blend exceeded 50 which is the hard limit for the blends. In v7.2 the following error message was added when this happen: "The maximum number of specs for a blend is 50. Minimum specs of 0.0 and maximum specs of EMPTY are ignored and thus not counted toward this 50" The Documentation has been added to the BLEND_SPEC and SPEC table descriptions with this information. In addition, documentation was added to the Optimize tab of the Optimize Blend dialog box. These changes can be seen in both the Aspen Refinery Multi-Blend Optimizer (MBO) and Petroleum Scheduler (Orion) Help file. Keywords: -SPEC table -BLEND_SPEC table -Error message References: None

Problem Statement: In my database I have a custom table. It is possible to link this table to Aspen Aspen Orion XT so that the information can be updated by the model administrator directly from Aspen Orion XT?

Solution: The custom table can be added to the database table tree in Aspen Orion XT by adding a record in the MODEL_TABLES table. This would allow the administrator to modify the table directly from Orion. If the category for the table is set to ADMIN in MODEL_TABLES then only someone in the ADMIN group may see this branch. This can be used to limit who has access to this table. MODEL_TABLES table: Use table MODEL_TABLES to control the appearance of the Data Tables branch of the tree. Each unique entry in the DB column of MODEL_TABLES table appears as a separate node under the Data Tables branch of the Tree view. DESCRIPTION OF COLUMNS: Keywords: MODEL_TABLES table Cross- References:

Problem Statement: It is possible to specify a timeout on the adapter requests when using web services? E.g. when the Aspen Orion scheduler hits import inventories and qualities can they specify in a config file somewhere how long it will wait? If not what is the current timeout?

Solution: There is a timeout setting which can be specified for every request service. Select the Request Services folder | Request_Supply_Demand - Request Tab, then change the timeout. Keywords: - Timeout - Orion Adapter References: None

Problem Statement: Users may see the warning message "ADAPTER INITIALIZATION FAILED" when trying to import Events into Orion (Integration| Import Events) even if they are NOT using the adapters.

Solution: This can happen if during the Orion installation procedure, the adapter components option was selected by error. To fix this problem follow up these steps: 1. In CONFIG table, verify/add the register called "CHECK_OMII_REGISTRY" with value = 'N' 2. Remove/delete from the following: 2.1.- C:\WINNT\Assembly AspenTech.EnterpriseConnect.ATAdapter.XXXXX 2.2.- Registry Editor (HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT) AspenTech.EnterpriseConnect.ATAdapter.XXXXX 3. Un-install ORION 4. Re-install ORION without the Orion Adapter selected during the products selection Keywords: - Adapter Initialization failed warning message - Adapter - CONFIG table References: None

Problem Statement: Is it possible to display Crude Properties other than API and SUL in the standard "Crude Yields and Properties" Dialog Box? (via "Events", "Show Crude Yields" in the Menu Bar)

Solution: The answer is yes. Additional Crude Properties may be defined in data table CRUDES. The following procedure will illustrate how to accomplish this. 1.-Open table CRDPROPS : 2.-Add the property that you want to have ( CRDID (name of the crude), PROPID (CRD), PROPID (name of property, check that it already exists in PROP table, for example, RVP ) ,VALUE_ (put the property value) : 3.-Check CRUDES table, it should be updated with a new column called "CRDRVP". Be sure you save the model after making the changes. 4.- Open " Crude Yields and Properties" dialog box, the new property RVP should be there: Keywords: - CRUDES table - CRDPROPS table - CRUDE YIELD AND PROPERTIES dialog box - Crude Properties References: None

Problem Statement: It would be very helpful if the Scheduler had another way to quickly detect problems like overage and shortages in addition to the red /green dots (points at which bounds have not been maintained) shown on the Trend Screens (Gantt interface).

Solution: Aspen Orion XT has a feature called "Inventory Problems" that allows you to display inventory problems caused by events in your schedule. To access the "Inventory Problems" dialog box do the following: ? Click Events | Inventory Problems. This dialog box displays a list of inventory problems (overage and shortages): This dialog box contains the following buttons: ? Add Event: Click this button to add an event to correct the inventory shortage or overage. ? Edit Event: Click this button to edit the event that triggered the inventory problem. ? Close: Click this button to exit the dialog box. ? Help: Click this button to access dialog-level Help. Double click one of the tanks that has inventory problem, another window pops up showing the Event types related to this tank / event screen. Once you select the type of Event, you can modify the Event in order to fix the deviation: Keywords: Inventory Problems dialog box References: None

Problem Statement: When importing a PIMS Unit Operation Event to ORION using PIMS to Orion interface, the PIMS event won't delete preview event and will display duplicate event on screen.(Ex. VDU has 09/01 to 10/15 and import PIMS event for VDU from 10/01 to 10/30, after, go to VDU event screen and check. The VDU event will have two events, one is preview and one is PIMS event.)

Solution: PIMS to Orion interface will only delete an existing (previous) Orion event if the Orion event start and stop exactly matches the imported PIMS event start and stop. For more information about PIMS-Orion interface, there is a full help file called ORIONPIMSInt.chm. This file should be in the same location as the Orion program executable. Keywords: -PIMS to Orion Interface References: None

Problem Statement: The IsConnected property returns true in ACM when a port of a submodel is linked. If the model is exported, the property IsConnected returns false in Aspen Plus. This is causing some problem in ACM below v7.1. The problem does not occur in ACM v7.1 and higher We have the following: model acm_noop in_f as input molefractionport; ... end model acm_bigmodel in_f as input molefractionport; b as acm_noop link in_f and b.in_f; ... end So when a block in ACM is created with the model acm_bigmodel, b.in_f.Isconnected returns TRUE. On the other hand, it returns FALSE in Aspen Plus.

Solution: This was a deficiency of the IsConnected property in ACM older than v7.1. This is not a problem with v7.1 and higher versions. The attached file shows the expected behaviour as per design. The rest of this section applies only to versions older than v7.1, which are no longer supported. This is only for historical reference if you need to update old models. If in the submodel, you need to detect is a port is linked, you should use the following condition: if in_f.IsConnected or in_f.IsLinked then // some statements endif instead of if in_f.IsConnected then // works only in ACM endif This will ensure the code behaves in the same way in ACM and Aspen Plus exported model. In fact, one could argue that only IsLinked should be used in the condition, but it should be quite exceptional that a different treatment should be applied whether the port is connected or linked. Using the combination of IsLinked and IsConnected allows to cover the case where an instance of the submodel is created directly on the flowsheet in ACM. The deficiency (CQ00300267) has been fixed in ACM v7.1 and higher. Keywords: None References: None

Problem Statement: This knowledge base article describes the possible causes for the following error message which can be logged in the cimio_msg.log file. CIMIO_SOCK_GETSERV_FAIL, Error looking up service name WNT Error=11004 The requested name is valid and was found in the database, but it does not have the correct associated data being resolved for.

Solution: This error message usually indicates that there is a problem with the entries in the services file. The services file is located in the following folder: WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc Ensure that the services listed in your services file match the entries in your cimio_logical_devices.def file. Ensure that the entries match in the services files on the Aspen Cim-IO client and server machines. Ensure that your services file does not contain any invalid characters. Ensure the services file contains a carriage return (a blank line) at the bottom of the file (otherwise the last line in the services file will be ignored.) This error message can also occur when firewalls are used around the Aspen Cim-IO server. If you are using Windows XP SP2 please make sure that the personal firewall is disabled, or Aspen Cim-IO traffic is allowed through the firewall. If you have any other firewalls around your Aspen Cim-IO server please make sure they are disabled, or Aspen Cim-IO traffic is allowed through them as well. Keywords: Blocked Transfer References: None

Problem Statement: Where are my Aspen PIMS Family Sample Models?

Solution: In the 2006.5 release of Aspen PIMS (version 17.5), the location of the Aspen PIMS Family Model templates has been moved from <Program Installation Directory>\Aspentech\Templates\<Application Name>\<Files> to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Shared Documents\AspenTech\<Application Name>\<Files> Please note that this folder and its contents are normally hidden, so you will need to enable viewing of hidden files and folders to access this location. The location of the sample models has changed several times since the 2006 release. This is being done to stay current with Microsoft's recommended installation structure. Windows Vista users will find that application data files located in the Program Installation Directory will no longer be accessible. As a reminder, Aspen Technology recommends that you create copies of any Sample Model you wish to run or modify into your own work space so the original structure and data of the Sample Models can be maintained in case there exists a need to recover these. Keywords: Windows Vista Aspen PIMS models Aspen PIMS models Aspen ORION models Aspen MBO models Aspen DPO models Aspen Report Writer templates References: None

Problem Statement: How do I calculate the activity coefficient for a stream in Aspen HYSYS through automation?

Solution: Currently, there is not a direct way to get the NRTL activity coefficient from Aspen HYSYS. Although Aspen HYSYS internally calculates them, it is not exposed to user interface. It is planned to be available in the future release. In attached file, MS excel macro is written to obtain the BIPs' value for all components and calculate the activity coefficient based on NRTL model. Keywords: Automation, NRTL, activity coefficient References: None

Problem Statement: The purpose of this solution is to provide more information about various XNLP/XSLP settings and highlight which settings are most important. There are many settings related to the nonlinear model building (XNLP) and solving (XSLP) in PIMS. Whatever the setting is, our goal is to come up with a default setting so that the average user is not burdened to discover and learn the details of each and every setting. Note that if we change the default value in the future, then it is automatically adopted assuming that the user was using the default setting originally. In this document only the important settings are highlighted. Also the settings for External Models and Shortcut Distillation are not covered in this document. It is better to leave the settings that are not mentioned in this document as default. The user is advised to check the PIMS Help System for the other settings and to direct potential questions to the User Support for further explanation whenever it is necessary.

Solution: XNLP Settings XNLP Settings are the settings used when generating the nonlinear model formulation as described in the XMPS.mps file. Remember that the model is separate from the solver in PIMS-AO (Advanced Optimization). Advanced Tab ? Use Tighter Bounds on Qualities A detailed explanation of this setting is provided in the PIMS Help System (See Bounding of Quality Variables in XSLP). The original thinking was that the tighter the bounds on quality variables, the faster the solver would be. We have noticed that this setting caused more problems and it did not really speed up the solver. However this setting is automatically turned on when proving global optimization since they are based on bound relaxation algorithms. Keep this option off. The default is off as well. ? Automatic Volume/Weight Quality Balancing PIMS takes into account SPG implications for blending. For instance, if you have a sulfur (e.g. SUL) specification for a gasoline blend (e.g. URG) i.e. XSULURG in a volume-based model, each component?s blend vector (e.g. BCC1URG, where CC1 is the first blend component going into URG) is multiplied by its specific gravity in order to convert its activity from volume to weight. The same is not true for submodels including crude units. If you turn on this setting, then proper pooling structures are built in the submodels to handle gravimetric implications. For further details on this topic, please see the paper entitled ?Gravimetric Qualities in Submodels using XNLP? presented at the PIMS Users Conference in April 2004, San Francisco, USA. Keep this option off unless you know what you are doing. The default is off as well. ? Inventory in Specification Blends in Recursed Pools This option is similar to the RECINVSP option in Recursion (DR) settings. This is a critical setting for periodic (PPIMS) models. See Understanding the RECINVSP Settings white paper for additional information (solution number 108138). Use ?Include Inventory in Pool and Blend Specifications? option. The default is ?Do Not Include Inventory?. ? Verify Solution by Resolving Historically, one would solve the model in DR and attach the resulting PGUESS/PDIST tables to the model tree and solve again to test a particular solution?s validity. In XNLP, you can achieve the same goal much more effectively using this setting. When turned on, it restarts the problem with the obtained solution and solves again. If it obtains the same solution as before, then the solver stops. Two related settings govern how the solver stops. The solver stops either because the objective function difference between two consecutive solves is within tolerance as provided in ?Relative Resolve Tolerance?, or because the ?Maximum Resolve Passes? is hit. The default for relative tolerance is 0.001, i.e. the solver will stop solving the problem again if the objective function is within one in a thousand of the previous solution. The solver will also stop solving if the maximum resolve passes is encountered. The default is four, i.e. it will not make more than four solves even the objective functions between two consecutive solves are not within tolerance. This option assumes that the ?Improve Local Solution? option is turned on. If this option is not turned on, then there is no reason for the subsequent solve to solve to a different value. Turn this option on when you would like to test the validity of a solution. The default is off. General Tab ? Use Linear Initialization If a solution file (i.e. Input Solution on the Run dialog) is not provided, then an initial linear solution is performed in order to initialize linear variables. This process however becomes ineffective if there are external models attached. Note that one should always use a solution file if one is available. Turn this option on if no solution file is provided. Turn off this option if external models are used with this model. The default is on. ? Nonlinear Presolve LP solvers eliminate unnecessary structures to speed up solution. Similarly, we eliminate nonlinear structures that are redundant if this option is on. A classical example would be a recursed quality that is not used downstream. Turn this option off to test if some structures are removed by mistake. The default is on. Global Optimization Tab ? Perform Global Optimization This option must be turned on in order to use either Prove or Test global optimality for a model. Prove option is based on the convex relaxation technique. At the end, it proves that the solution is the best that can be obtained. However it does not yet support any of the nonlinearities introduced by RFG, CARB, PIMS-SI, ABML, external models, or nonlinear formulas. It only supports traditional pooling nonlinearities. Prove global optimality takes a long time to solve and it is only practical for small models. Multi Start (Test) option essentially solves the same model starting from different initial points and tests to see if a better solution can be obtained. This approach is practical and fully functional for all types of nonlinearities. The time it takes to run is user adjustable. This method, however, does not prove that a particular solution is the global solution. Turn on this option when you would like to investigate global optimization. The default is off. ? Multi-Start... This button is only enabled when ?Perform Global Optimization? option is on and ?Multi Start Only? is selected. Clicking this button brings up the following dialog: Point Distribution Function Choose the distribution function to use when generating random initial points. Apart from uniform, normal and triangular, there are also variations of random and triangular distribution with the mean value being the initial value provided in the input solution file. Switch to the ?triangular at initial value? distribution for a more conservative random point generation if the random initial points do not solve readily. The default is uniform. Variable Type to Randomize Choose which type of variables to randomize: all variables, quality or non-quality variables. Select non-quality variables for a more robust solution since randomly varying qualities might be tough on the solver. The default is non-quality variables. Max MultiStart NLP Solver Calls This option indicates how many times the problem will be solved starting from different initial points. The default is 20. ? Global Optimization Bounding There is no need to use global optimization bounding when using Multi Start Only option. The default is off. ? Bound Wizard... The Bound Wizard is a utility for setting proper bounds on variables. For a given solution, it allows to set some quick bounds. When ?Save Bound Table? is selected, GOBounds.xls file is created. This table can be attached to the model tree under Miscellaneous/GOBOUNDS. These bounds are obeyed during global optimization if the ?Global Optimization Bounding? option is turned on. Otherwise these bounds are used when generating random numbers for the Multi Start Only option. Steps to follow when setting up Multi Start Only option for Global Optimization 1) The selected case should solve successfully before trying global optimization. First use ?Verify Solution with Resolving? option to make sure that the obtained solution is good and stable. Use this solution file as the input solution for the global optimization. 2) Switch to the Global Optimization Multi Start Only option. Use Bound Wizard to set up GOBOUNDS table and attach it to the model tree. 3) Run the model with the default options. 4) If there are many failed NLP solves, then switch the ?Point Distribution Function? to ?Triangular at initial point?. 5) If there are particular questions about a model, please contact to the User Support for further help. XSLP Settings XSLP Settings are the settings used when solving the nonlinear model with the XSLP solver. Remember that the model is separate from the solver in PIMS-AO. Advanced 1 Tab ? Improve Local Solution Most often, starting with a pool of zero initial value might lead into a local solution. There are various techniques to force these pools to be non-zero such as providing non-zero minimum capacities for critical submodels. This option achieves this goal much more effectively by introducing non-zero temporary bounds to all the pool collector columns. These temporary bounds are forced for the number of iterations specified in ?Improve Local Solution Iterations? option. After that number of iterations, the temporary bounds are dropped off. A pool collector column?s initial value is modified based on the value provided in the ?Smallest Initial Pool Collector Column Activity? setting. Note that this setting only changes the initial value of the pool collector column if its initial value was lower that the specified value. The same value is also used as the temporary bound if the ?Improve Local Solution? option is turned on. For example, if the smallest initial pool collector column (PCC) activity was set to 0.1 and the initial value for that PCC was 0.09, then its initial value would be set as 0.1. If ?Improve Local Solution? option was turned on with three iterations, then a temporary bound of 0.1 would be enforced for that PCC for three iterations. Turn off this option only if you would like to investigate the initial residuals for a previous solution. In that case, you have to set the smallest initial PCC activity to zero as well. The default is on. ? Smallest Initial Pool Collector Column Activity See above. Advanced 2 Tab ? Relax Objective Convergence Criteria Two criteria must be satisfied when deciding that the solver has converged to a solution: Residual Convergence and Objective Convergence. If this option is selected, then the objective convergence requirement is dropped only if the trust region is activated during the solution process. Turn off this option to avoid some local solutions. The default is on. ? Use Complementarity Sets DR does not update a quality value if its corresponding pool collector column activity is below a certain tolerance indicated with the FSMALL setting. In XSLP, all the variables are updated for each iteration. If the pool collector column goes to zero, then the qualities carried by that pool become undetermined. DR solves this issue by not updating the qualities i.e. leaving them at their initial values. In XSLP, LP would solve these qualities to their lower or upper bounds. If this option is on, then XSLP would not modify the quality just like DR. Turn on this option when you would like to keep qualities unchanged whenever the corresponding pool activity goes to zero. The default is off. ? Exclude Derived Properties Trust region algorithm squeezes all the variables when a vortex solution is not available. Derived properties are the qualities that are computed from other qualities. Typical examples of derived properties are RFG/CARB qualities that are computed as a function of other properties such RVP, Benzene, Olefins, etc of the blend. Turn this option so that the Trust Region algorithm does not unnecessarily squeeze these qualities. The default is on. Keywords: XNLP settings XSLP settings MultiStart Global Optimization Advanced Optimization References: None

Problem Statement: Is it possible to model a sulfuric acid process?

Solution: Attached is an example of this process. This example will run in Aspen Plus 2006.5 and higher. Introduction This model simulates the production process of sulfuric acid from sulfur in a typical double absorption plant. The model includes the following features: ? A set of electrolyte components for this process ? Typical process areas including: sulfur burning, sulfur dioxide conversion, absorption of sulfur trioxide and the main streams connecting these units. ? Definition of methods for calculating and reporting electrolyte systems ? Supports rigorous design, rating, or simulation by interfacing with the Tasc+ program. Components The table below lists the components modeled in the simulation. Component ID Type Component name Formula H2O CONV Water H2O H2SO4 CONV Sulfuric acid H2SO4 SO2 CONV Sulfur dioxide O2S SO3 CONV Sulfur trioxide O3S S CONV Sulfur S N2 CONV Nitrogen N2 O2 CONV Oxygen O2 C10H22 CONV n-Decane C10H22-1 H3O+ CONV Hydronium ion H3O+ HSO4- CONV Bisulfate ion HSO4- SO4-- CONV Sulfate ion SO4-2 CO2 CONV Carbon-Dioxide CO2 SO2, O2, N2 and CO2 are selected Henry's components. The Electrolytes Expert System can be used to generate electrolyte species and reactions. In this model, acidic species are treated as hydronium ion H3O+ and choose components H2O and H2SO4 for the electrolytes system. In addition, we use the apparent component approach. Process Description Figure 1 shows the process flowsheet which includes: air drying, sulfur burning, sulfur dioxide conversion, double absorption of sulfur trioxide, gas-to-gas heat exchangers, strong acid system and energy recovery system (steam system). _____________________________________________________________________ Figure 1: Sulfuric Acid Process Flowsheet Sulfur is mixed with the dry air after the removal of water from the feed air in the drying column. An oxidation reaction takes place in the sulfur burner. Then the sulfur dioxide gas and the unreacted air are cooled from 2010F to 750F prior to entering the first pass of the converter where sulfur dioxide is converted to sulfur trioxide. Sulfur dioxide and air undergo the catalytic oxidation reaction in the converter. Since the heat released from the sulfur dioxide oxidation will increase the temperature of the catalysts, the equilibrium conversion rate will decrease. So the sulfur dioxide conversion process is divided into 4 stages and the temperature of the catalysts in each stage can be kept suitable by stepwise cooling among the stages. Thus the reaction can get higher conversion and reaction rate. In, the double absorbtion process, the gas (SO2, air and SO3) from the third converter pass enters the interpass tower . After the generated sulfur trioxide is absorbed, the residual gas (SO2, air) is heated again and enters into the fourth pass of the converter. The interpass absorber removes the SO3 so the conversion in the fourth pass of the converter is increased. The gas out from the fourth pass of the converter enters the final absorption column. Stack SO2 concentration is lowered below 500ppm so the exhaust gas can be discharged to atmosphere. The sulfuric acid (98.5%) from the interpass absorption column splits into three streams including the product stream, stream Abs-1ToDryer and stream Abs-1ToAbs-2. Stream Abs-1ToDryer will go to the dry column as dehydrant. Stream Abs-1ToAbs-2 will go to the final absorption column as the absorbent. The sulfuric acid solution (98.9%) from the final absorption column and the sulfuric acid solution (97.7%) from the dry column will both enter the interpass absorption column as absorbent. Process summary Area Purpose Dryer Dry feed air Sulfur Burning Preparation of sulfur dioxide Sulfur Dioxide Conversion Preparation of sulfur trioxide Absorption of Sulfur Trioxide Preparation of sulfuric acid Steam System Heat removal and steam generation Physical Properties The global property option used in this model is ELECNRTL. This option set is used for the simulations with nonideal electrolyte solutions. ELECNRTL calculates liquid phase properties from the Electrolyte-NRTL activity coefficient model. Also, Henry's Law is used to calculate gas (SO2, O2, N2 and CO2) solubility in sulfuric acid. The Ideal property option is used for vapor phase at high temperature in the converter and heater unit operation. The STEAMNBS property option is used for the steam system (economizers, boiler, and superheater) unit operations. The property methods can be modified by creating a new route or entering an existing route ID to modify an existing route in the Properties | Advanced | Routes form, the table below lists the specification of this model. Route Property Model name Data Set PHILPC01 (Pure component liquid fugacity coefficient pressure correction) PL PLXANT 1 VL VLOCONS 1 The model name for VL is modified. It changes to constant liquid pure component molar volume from the default Rackett model for saturated liquid pure component molar volume. The change will have great impact on K-value profiles. Chemical Reactions The chemical reactions in this process include gas reactions, absorption reactions and acid chemistry. The reactors are modeled with the built-in models RGibbs for the sulfur burner, and RCSTR for the converter passes. And the sulfur trioxide absorption reaction takes place in RadFrac column. The table below lists the reaction units and corresponding Aspen Plus models: Reaction Unit Reaction Type Aspen Plus Model Sulfur Burn Equilibrium Rgibbs Converters Kinetic RCSTR Absorption reaction Equilibrium RadFrac Reactions in each reactor and their specifications in Aspen Plus model are listed as follows: Sulfur Burn Component Valid Phases N2 Vap O2 Vap SO2 Vap CO2 Mixed H2O Mixed Sulfur Burn is modeled using the Gibbs free energy minimum method in the RGibbs model. This determines the equilibrium composition of the products resulting from the many reactions that can occur. Converters Rxn No. Specification type Stoichiometry 1 Kinetic SO2 + 0.5O2 --> SO3 The four converter passes in this process are modeled using four RCSTR reactors with user reaction kinetics. FORTRAN subroutine USRKIN represents the kinetics in all converter passes. USRKIN is included compiled and linked in file Rate1.dll. File sulfuric.opt holds the pointer to the .dll file. It is recommended you place all three files (.bkp, .dll, and .opt) in the same directory. Converter Reaction ID Subroutine Name Values for parameters 1st Rate1 USRKIN Integer Real 1 27000 2 1.8 2nd Rate2 USRKIN Integer Real 1 31000 2 1.8 3rd Rate3 USRKIN Integer Real 1 30000 2 1.8 4th Rate4 USRKIN Integer Real 1 42000 2 1.8 The first Real parameter of USRKIN is the volume of catalyst in liters. The second Real parameter is the activity of the catalyst. You may adjust these parameters to calibrate the model to reflect the performance of your plant. Absorption Reaction Reaction Type Stoichiometry 1 Equilibrium SO3 + H2O <--> H2SO4 Absorption reaction is modeled using Radfrac. Acid Chemistry Reaction Type Stoichiometry 1 Equilibrium H2SO4 + H2O <--> H3O+ + HSO4- 2 Equilibrium HSO4- + H2O <--> H3O+ + SO4-- Ionic equilibrium reactions in the liquid phase are modeled using Chemistry and the apparent components approach. Simulation Approach Unit Operations - The major unit operations are represented by Aspen Plus models as shown in the following table (excludes reactor units): Aspen Plus Unit Operation Models Used in the Model Unit Operation Aspen Plus Model Comments / Specifications Drying and Absorbing Towers RadFrac Rigorous absorption, including absorption reaction and acid chemistry. Use a ?pumparound? to model acid-cooling and recirculation Blower Compr Typical pressure rise ~142 in H2O. Comp Block may also be used to model the steam turbine driver if you choose to add one. Boiler, Superheater, Economizers, Gas-to-Gas Heat Exchangers MHeatX / HeatX Using MHeatX block to model heat exchanger usually leads to faster and easier flowsheet convergence; HeatX block supports rigorous design, rating, or simulation by interfacing with the Tasc+ program. Streams - Streams represent the material. Design-Specs, Calculator Blocks and Convergence - The simulation is augmented with a combination of flowsheeting capabilities such as Convergence, Design Specs and Calculator Blocks. The following tables outlines the key flowsheeting capabilities used in this model: Design Specs Used in the Sulfuric Acid Model Spec Name Spec (Target) Manipulated Variables BURN-SO2 Set the SO2 Mole Fraction out of SBURN to 0.11 Sulfur (Feed of SBURN) mole flow DS-1 Set the H2SO4 Mass Fraction of product acid IPAT to 0.985 MUWATER (Pure Feed Water to IPAT) mass flow STEAM Set the temperature of steam from BLER to 750F BFWC (Pure Feed Water of EC4A) mass flow Calculators Used in the Sulfuric Acid Model Name Purpose C-1 Transfers the mass flow unit of stream IP-PRD from lb/hr to tons/day. Shows the temperature profiles of the burner and converters, UA of heat transfer equipment and flow and concentration of production. Uses Excel to perform this calculation. The Excel file is embedded in the file with extension .apmbd. Note: In the simulation flowsheet, DUPL blocks are used to duplicate streams entered into the heat exchanger. All the duplicated streams are connected to a Hierarchy model in which HeatX blocks are used to simulate heat exchangers. In this way, the flowsheet is not only faster and easier to converge, but supporting rigorous design, rating, or simulation by interfacing with the Tasc+ program. Simulation Results This simulation will complete with run status ?Results Available?. Key simulation results are shown in the following table: Key Stream Simulation Results: Flowsheet Variable Value Unit Feed Air Feed 224000 lb/hr Sulfur Feed 26906 lb/hr Air/Sulfur 9.36 Mole ratio Water for Absorption Column 2236 lb/hr Water Steam for Heat Exchange 109164 lb/hr Product Sulfuric Acid 83317 lb/hr Steam Production 109164 lb/hr 650 psi Waste Exhaust Gas 179826 lb/hr Process Simulation results: Process Variable Value Unit Sulfur Burner Temperature 1099 F Water Content of Feed Air 0.029 Mole Frac Water Content of Dry Air 5.53 PPM Converter Temperature In Out Del-T F PASS1 750 1114 364 F PASS2 824 954 130 F PASS3 810 858 48 F PASS4 759 802 43 F SO2 in Stack 283 PPM Sulfuric Acid Concentration 98.5% Wt Sulfuric Acid Production 1000 STPD Conclusions The Sulfuric Acid model provides a useful description of the process. The simulation takes advantage of Aspen Plus's capabilities of modeling electrolyte components. This includes automatic chemistry generation and the capacity of handling electrolyte reactions for all unit models. Aspen Plus provides specialized thermodynamics models and built-in data to represent the nonideal behavior of liquid phase components in order to get accurate results. The model may be used as a guide for understanding the process and the economics, and also as a starting point for more sophisticated models for plant designing and process equipment specifying. Keywords: None References: s 1. Anton A. Kiss, Costin S. Bildea and Peter J.T. Verheijen. Optimization studies in sulfuric acid production. Computer Aided Chemical Engineering, Volume 21, Part 1, 2006, Pages 737-742 2. Tor-Martin Tveit. A simulation model of a sulphuric acid production process as an integrated part of an energy system. Simulation Modeling Practice and Theory, Volume 11, Issues 7-8, 15 December 2003, Pages 585-596