Plant simulation game genetics software#
This paper focuses on the relevance of the simulation conducted with a software specialized for simulating chemical process plant operations and the conclusions obtained after comparing simulation results with the real results obtained from the plant operation. To achieve this objective and follow the authors as, a simulation process for study the sulphuric acid and electric energy production was proposed. In this context, the company set the following objective: improving the plant performance through the optimization of the production processes involved. This kind of work enables the company to generate both products, partially meeting the needs of the market requiring sulphuric acid and obtaining additional profits by selling electric energy. The company reports 240,000 tons/year of sulphur consumption for both products. On the other hand, by means of an efficient cogeneration process, the company injects SING with about 145 GWh per year, efficiently using the heat produced during the sulphuric acid production process.
To do this, about 680 tons of sulphur must be used daily. Previous experiences as those described in indicate that the plant design allows producing input for a profitable activity such as copper mining.Īccording to the plant design, production amounts approximately to 2,060 metric tons of sulphuric acid per day, representing 24,720 metric tons per year (about 5% of its capacity). The plant is designed for producing 720,000 tons of sulphuric acid annually and, due to the heat generated by sulphur combustion, it can also produce 26 MW of electric energy. The company is obtaining good profits with this process nevertheless, it is far from achieving optimal performance, according to its installed capacity. In northern Chile, particularly in Antofagasta Region, an elemental sulphur combustion process is being used to produce sulphuric acid and electric energy, which is utilized for its own consumption (about 30% of the electric energy produced annually), the rest being incorporated into the electric network in the called Big North Interconnected System (SING, for its acronym is Spanish). One way of producing sulphuric acid is using solid sulphur as input. As an alternative for this energy consumption and as a kind of circular economy, in some specific production plants, electric energy production is currently being implemented in conjunction with the same sulphuric acid production cycle. In a typically industrial process, the sulphuric acid production usually consumes great amounts of energy. Recently, the production of sulphuric acid has increased, particularly in the last few decades, owing to the creation of leaching piles, as an attempt to make copper mining more sustainable and a respectful activity for the environment. In copper mining production by leaching, one of the most important inputs is sulphuric acid.
Plant simulation game genetics simulator#
Based on the findings, a new operational scenario was created, and the economic indicators of the simulator implementation were determined: and % with a 6% monthly production increase. The real results show a 99.9% of adjustment concerning the values obtained using the simulation. The simulation result was validated using design operational data provided by the company. To do it, a working method has been proposed and the software Aspen HYSYS® was used for the simulation. For the simulation process, converter input variables such as temperature and gas flow to later observe the oxidation behavior under different operational scenarios were considered.
This sulphuric acid production plant is designed for producing 720,000 tons of sulphuric acid annually, with a production capacity of 26 MW, which is used for both its own consumption and the Big North Interconnected System (SING, for its acronym in Spanish) and a sulphur consumption of 240,000 tons/year. For this process, the data generated by simulation between the fixed beds of a catalytic reactor versus the results obtained using real data from a sulphuric acid production plant in the Antofagasta Region, Chile, have been used. This document describes the development and validation of a simulation-based computer process for generating sulphuric acid. The integration of both sensors and simulation in some industrial processes has received a large increase in the recent years, thanks to results such as increase in production indices or improvement in economic indicators.
0 kommentar(er)
