Efficient Exergy Analysis of Chemical Processes through Process Engineering Software

Authors

  • J.L. Valverde Valverde

    Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Castilla La Mancha, Avenida Camilo José Cela 10, 13071 Ciudad Real, Spain

  • V.R. Ferro

    Department of Chemical Engineering, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, C. Francisco Tomás y Valiente 7, Fuencarral-El Pardo, 28049 Madrid, Spain

  • L.V. Postolache

    Department of Environmental Engineering and Management, Gheorghe Asachi Technical University of Iasi, 73 Prof. dr. doc. D. Mangerom, 700050 Iasi, Romania

  • A. Giroir-Fendler

    Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, CNRS, IRCELYON, 2 Avenue Albert Einstein, Villeurbanne F-69622, France

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/jcsr.v6i3.6720
Received: 3 June 2024 | Revised: 13 June 2024 | Accepted: 1 July 2024 | Published Online: 29 July 2024

Abstract

In this work, authors present a simple methodology for computing physical, chemical and total exergies, and the exergy destruction and the exergetic efficiency of simple and complex processes by using the object linking and embedded (OLE) automation by connecting Aspen HYSYS to MS Excel VBA. For this purpose, a simple flowsheet was added to the main one with the same number of streams as that of the components. By introducing all these streams in a mixer and then consecutively conducted to a heater to condition the outlet stream, a separator and a mixer, the VBA application was able to compute the chemical exergy of the different streams of the main flowsheet. To demonstrate the procedure here described seven cases were considered: single streams, a CO2 mixer, a cooler, a distillation column, a reactor, a multiple recirculation process, and different configurations of separating components by distillation, which can be extended to very complex processes.  The former was selected to validate the methodology here proposed whereas the rest of cases were used to demonstrate the potential of the tool here developed, which in turn could be used for discriminating among different process alternatives.

Keywords:

Automation; Simulators; MS Excel-VBA; Exergy analysis

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How to Cite

Valverde, J. V., Ferro, V., Postolache, L., & Giroir-Fendler, A. (2024). Efficient Exergy Analysis of Chemical Processes through Process Engineering Software. Journal of Computer Science Research, 6(3), 23–44. https://doi.org/10.30564/jcsr.v6i3.6720

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