Crude Tower Simulation – Aspen Plus v8.

Steps to set up a simulation in Aspen Plus v8.6 to model a crude tower system consisting of:
 Crude Oil Preheat Train
 Atmospheric Crude Tower
 Vacuum Crude Tower
 Debutanizer to stabilize the overhead naphtha stream from the Atmospheric Crude
Tower

The feedstock to the crude system will be an equal mix of Light, Medium, & Heavy Crude
oils.

When the simulation is set up the overall PFD should look like the following figure.

Create new simulation file

Start the program from Start, All Programs, Aspen Tech, Process Modeling V8.6, Aspen Plus,
Aspen Plus V8.6. When the program opens choose the new button. there are several
templates that can be chosen. Select the Refinery option in the left‐hand column & chose the
Petroleum with English Units template. Press Create.

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Save as you go

One of the things you’ll want to do is to save your files as you go. The first time you go to
the Save As option you’ll have several formats from which to choose. There are advantages
to save as the Aspen Plus Backup (BKP) format – the files tend to be smaller & less likely to
become corrupted.

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Define the Components & the Property Models

Specify components, fluid property packages, & crude oil assays

The first step is to add a set of pure chemical species to represent the light components of
the crude oils. The Component ‐ Specifications form should be the default. (If not, press the
Specifications item under Components in the left‐hand column.) W will want to add the
following pure components: water, methane, ethane, propane, i‐butane, n‐butane, i‐
pentane, & n‐pentane. One of the direct ways to do this is to press Find & use the search
form to find the desired components. The following form shows a search for H2O; key
phrases can be used to with the Equals or Contains options to find all components. For each
succeeding compound you will be asked to replace one of the compounds or add to the list;
choose add to the list.

Process Design & Simulation

Link
https://plus.google.com/+ChemicalEngineeringAspenTech

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Aspen Plus will retrieve information about each component & also create a Component ID
for this simulation. You are free to change these IDs to match your personal desires. For
example, you change the ID for METHA‐01 to C1 by doubling clicking on that text item; after
changing the text value & pressing enter Aspen Plus will verify that you want to Rename the
component & not change it to something else. This can be done for all of the components to
create (IMHO) more reasonable IDs.

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Aspen Plus can guide you through the process of defining your simulation. This is done by
pressing the Next button ( , either in the ribbon or in the quick access bar). Doing this
shows that the next step is to pick a fluid property package on the Methods – Specifications
form. From the Base Method pull‐down list choose PENG‐ROB.

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Click the button. The next form allows us to modify values for the Peng‐Robinson binary
interaction coefficients. We will not change any of them from the defaults.

We now want to add assay data for the three crude oils: Light Crude, Medium Crude, &
Heavy Crude. The data to be added is shown in the following Tables 1 to 3.

Click the button. But, since we want to add crude assay data & this is not an option on
this form. Press Cancel.

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 Table 1. Assay Data for Light Crude
Light Crude
Cumulative Yield
[wt%] Density API Sulfur Light Ends Analysis
IBP EP @ IBP @ Mid lb/ft3 Gravity wt% [wt%]
Whole Crude 53.27 34.17 1.77 Ethane 0.000
31 160 0 2.5 42.75 74.91 0.019 Propane 0.146
160 236 5 7.5 45.40 62.90 0.031 i‐Butane 0.127
236 347 10 15 48.33 51.09 0.060 n‐Butane 0.702
347 446 20 25 50.46 43.38 0.379 i‐Pentane 0.654
446 545 30 35 52.38 36.97 1.064 n‐Pentane 1.297
545 649 40 45 54.18 31.37 1.698
649 758 50 55 56.04 25.96 2.159
758 876 60 65 57.92 20.86 2.554
876 1015 70 75 60.05 15.45 3.041
1015 1205 80 85 62.84 8.94 3.838
1205 1350 90 92.5 64.92 4.44 4.503
1350 FBP 95 97.5 70.64 ‐6.57 6.382

Table 2. Assay Data for Medium Crude

Medium Crude
Cumulative Yield
[wt%] Density API Sulfur Light Ends Analysis
IBP EP @ IBP @ Mid lb/ft3 Gravity wt% [wt%]
Whole Crude 55.00 28.97 2.83 Ethane 0.000
88 180 0 2.5 43.47 71.51 0.022 Propane 0.030
180 267 5 7.5 47.14 55.69 0.062 i‐Butane 0.089
267 395 10 15 49.42 47.08 0.297 n‐Butane 0.216
395 504 20 25 51.83 38.78 1.010 i‐Pentane 0.403
504 611 30 35 54.08 31.67 2.084 n‐Pentane 0.876
611 721 40 45 55.90 26.36 2.777
721 840 50 55 57.73 21.36 3.284
840 974 60 65 59.77 16.15 3.857
974 1131 70 75 62.30 10.15 4.706
1131 1328 80 85 65.74 2.74 5.967
1328 1461 90 92.5 68.08 ‐1.87 6.865
1461 FBP 95 97.5 73.28 ‐11.08 8.859

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 Table 3. Assay Data for Heavy Crude
Heavy Crude
Cumulative Yield
[wt%] Density API Sulfur Light Ends Analysis
IBP EP @ IBP @ Mid lb/ft3 Gravity wt% [wt%]
Whole Crude 55.20 28.36 2.8 Ethane 0.039
26.8 153.6 0 2.5 42.92 74.11 0.005 Propane 0.284
153.6 255.1 5 7.5 45.75 61.40 0.041 i‐Butane 0.216
255.1 400.5 10 15 49.44 46.98 0.341 n‐Butane 0.637
400.5 523.4 20 25 52.23 37.47 1.076 i‐Pentane 0.696
523.4 645 30 35 54.49 30.47 1.898 n‐Pentane 1.245
645 769.6 40 45 56.62 24.36 2.557
769.6 901.9 50 55 58.77 18.65 3.185
901.9 1043.8 60 65 61.09 12.95 3.916
1043.8 1198.1 70 75 63.61 7.24 4.826
1198.1 1380.5 80 85 66.63 0.94 5.990
1380.5 1499.7 90 92.5 68.71 ‐3.07 6.775
1499.7 FBP 95 97.5 73.10 ‐10.78 8.432

The following steps show how to enter the data for Light Crude. Similar steps should be
used for the other crude oils.
 Select Assay/Blend under Components in the left‐hand column. Click on the New…
button.

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  Call the new crude assay LIGHT & choose Assay from the Select Type drop‐down list.
Press OK.

 Make sure the Dist Curve tab is active. Make the API gravity option active & enter the
value from Table 1. In the Distillation Curve type drop‐down list make the True
boiling point (weight basis) option active. In the table enter the cumulative yield
values vs. associated temperatures. Note that the yield values should be entered as
percentages, scaled from 0 to 100.

 Now we’ll add in the composition of the light ends. Make the Light‐Ends tab active &
the form will change to allow you to enter the compositions. Select the components
to be used to define the light ends (based on the component list previously
specified). Change the Fraction type to Mass. Enter the values from Table 1. Note
that these are in terms of mass fraction, not percent, and are scaled from 0 to 1.

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  Now we’ll add in the API Gravity data. Make the Gravity/UOPK tab active. Make the
API gravity option active in the Data type area. Add the data from Table 1. Note that
the yield values should be entered as percentages, scaled from 0 to 100.

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  Even though we can now characterize the pseudo components for the flash
calculations we still need to add the sulfur distribution so that the sulfur content can
be tracked. First we’ll have to need to define sulfur as a property; this will only have
to be done once, not for every crude assay. Select Property Sets in the left‐hand
column. Note that there are over a dozen property pre‐defined by our selecting the
Petroleum template. On the form press New… Set the ID as SULFUR. On the next
form pull down the Physical Properties list & select SULFUR.

Now we will define the sulfur distribution in the crude oil assay. Check for LIGHT in
the left‐hand column under Components & Assay/Blend. Notice there is now a
subheading for Property Curves; select this. On the next form pull down the Property
Name list and select SULFUR. Enter the Bulk value (i.e., the sulfur content of the
whole crude) and then the distribution.

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 At this point you could press the Run button ( in either the Ribbon or the Quick
Access toolbar). Now you can select Results and see many of the calculated values
form the input data, such as the conversion of the light ends analysis to vol% & mole
fraction bases, breakdown of the distillation curve into narrow boiling fraction
pseudo components, etc.

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Repeat the steps for the Medium & Heavy Crudes.

Specify crude oil blend, & install into flowsheet

Now we’ll create a blend of the three crudes and use that as our feedstock in the simulation.
Select Assay/Blend under Components in the tree structure of the left‐hand column. Press
the New… button. Call the blend MIXOIL & choose Blend from the Select Type drop‐down
list. Press OK.

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On the Specifications tab select each crude oil in the pull‐down list in the Assay ID column.
Set the Stdvol Fraction value for each to 0.3333.

You can press the Run button & view the Results.

One more thing you may want to check. Select Specifications under Components. Note that
the crude oil assays & the blend are listed as single items. The pseudo component
representations are not shown in this component list.

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Set up & Solve the Flowsheet

Crude Oil Feed & Preheat

When you activate the Simulation you’ll see a blank Main Flowsheet. We can now start
adding streams & units to represent our process.

The following are the conditions to be set on the operations.

 Crude Oil Feed: 100°F, 300 psig, 101,000 bpd
 Preheat‐1 outlet: 260°F, 294 psig
 Desalter outlet: 260°F, 294 psig, 500 bpd of water
 Preheat‐2 outlet: 450°F, 260 psig

In the Model Palette click on the Material stream. Click & draw a stream on the Main
Flowsheet. Click a 2nd time to finish drawing the stream. When prompted name the stream
CRUDEOIL; click OK.

Let’s define this feed stream. Either double‐click on the stream in the flowsheet or choose
CRUDEOIL in the left‐hand column under Streams. Specify the temperature & pressure for
the Flash Type; specify 500°F, 300 psig, & 101000 bpd in the State variables section. We
will use the mixed representation of the blended crude by specifying the Stdvol‐Frac of
MIXOIL as 1.

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Let’s add in the equipment & other streams for the preheat train before we specify rates &
operating conditions. Add two Heaters and material & heat streams to give a configuration
as shown at the beginning of this topic.

We can use the Next button to step us through what needs to be added before we run the
simulation. The first thing we should do is define the water carried over from the Desalter.
Enter the information as shown. Note that we don’t really know an appropriate
temperature for the water before it is mixed with the crude, rather, the temperature after
the mixing. For now specify the temperature as 260°F.

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The next recommendation is to specify the operating conditions for the 1st Preheater.
Specify the outlet temperature & pressure.

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The next recommendation is to specify the operating conditions for the 2nd Preheater.
Specify the outlet temperature & pressure.

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Pressing Next shows that all of the required specifications have been made. Press OK to run
the simulation. A tab for the Control Panel should open up & indicate that the simulation
has run successfully.

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What are some of the results? We can get an overview by posting summary conditions on
the flowsheet. Click on Stream Results in the Modify tab of the ribbon. Select Temperature,
Pressure, Volume flow rate, & Heat/Duty. Press OK. Now these numbers are posted on the
flowsheet; note that the volumetric flowrate shown in the actual volumetric flowrate (at
the flowing temperature & pressure conditions), not the standard volumetric flowrate (that
we have been specifying).

We can see more detailed results by examining the individual streams & units. For example,
if we select Results for WETCRUDE & use the Format PETRO_E then we can see the

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calculated temperature (257.4°F), the standard liquid volume flowrate of the components
(including the pseudo components used). At the bottom of the list you can find the total
volumetric flow and distillation curves (on a dry basis). We can see these same results (and
more) by selecting the Stream Results for ADDWATER.

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Notice that we would like the temperature of the crude/water mixture to be 260°F, but the
result of the mixing operation is a little bit lower, 257°F. Is this a significant deviation from
the specifications? Not for anything downstream of the 2nd preheater; this preheater sets

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the overall temperature & is not dependent on the inlet conditions. However, it will cause a
slight difference in the duty in the 2nd preheater; having a slightly higher inlet temperature
will reduce the duty required to bring the outlet temperature up to 450°F. There are two
reasonable ways to do this:
 We could change ADDWATR to a “dummy” Heater & set the temperature of the
mixture.
 We could adjust the temperature of the WATER stream so that it gives the proper
outlet temperature. This adjustment could be done either manually (trial & error) or
using a Design‐Spec block.

If we adjust the conditions of the water stream we find out that the water has to be set as a
steam/liquid mixture to get the right properties of WETCRUDE. Since we’re not really
interested in the conditions of this added water, let’s take the dummy heater approach.
Highlight the Mixer ADDWATR & delete. Let’s put a Heater in its place; choose a block for its
icon; call the block ADDWATR. Right‐click on WARMCRD1, select Reconnect Destination, &
connect to ADDWATR. Do the same for WATER. Right‐click on WETCRUDE, select Reconnect
Source, & connect to ADDWATR. In the left‐hand column select ADWATR under Blocks.
Specify the outlet temperature & pressure. Press Run. Now when we look at the Stream
Results for ADDWATR we see that the outlet temperature is correct. From the Flowsheet
we can see that, indeed, the duty on the 2nd preheater has been reduced slightly, from 150
MMBtu/hr to 148 MMBtu/hr.

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Atmospheric Distillation Column

The next step is to set up the Atmospheric Distillation Column. Table 4 contains the
conditions & configuration for this column.

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 Table 4. Definitions for Atmospheric Distillation Column
Type Operating Parameter
Trays & Efficiencies 50 trays. Numbering from top:
Trays 1 to 6: 80%
Trays 7 to 10: 50%
Trays 11 to 16: 70%
Trays 17 to 30: 50%
Trays 31 to 39: 30%
Tray 40: 100%
Trays 41 to 50: 30%
Condenser Type Total Condenser; 130°F (approximate)
Distillate product 410°F D86 T95; 30,200 bpd (approximate)
Reboiler Type None, Direct Fired Heater
Pressures Condenser: 4 psig
Top Tray: 12 psig
Bottom Tray: 22 psig
Temperatures Top Tray #1 250°F (estimate)
Bottom Tray #50 650°F (estimate)
Feed Locations Crude oil to Tray #40
Stripping Steam at bottom (Tray #50) – 20,000 lb/hr @ 500°F, 150 psig
Feed Heater Outlet @ 25 psig & 635°F
Desire is 2,500 bpd overflash (liquid rate from tray above feed, Tray #39)
Side Strippers Kerosene Stripper
10 trays @ 30% efficiency
Kerosene draw from Tray #10, vapor returned to Tray #6
Stripping steam @ bottom (Tray #10) – 2500 lb/hr @ 500°F & 150 psig
Kerosene product 525°F D86 T95; 8800 bpd product (approximate)
Diesel Stripper
10 trays @ 30% efficiency
Diesel draw from Tray #20, vapor returned to Tray #16
Stripping steam @ bottom (Tray #10) – 2500 lb/hr @ 500°F & 150 psig
Diesel product 645°F D86 T95; 10,240 bpd product (approximate)
AGO Stripper
10 trays @ 30% efficiency
AGO draw from Tray #30, vapor returned to Tray #26
Stripping steam @ bottom (Tray #10) – 2500 lb/hr @ 500°F & 150 psig
AGO product 750°F D86 T95; 3835 bpd product (approximate)
Pumparounds Kerosene Pumparound
Draw from Tray #10, returned to Tray #7
25,000 bpd flow, 200°F return temperature

Diesel Pumparound
Draw from Tray #20, returned to Tray #17
15,000 bpd flow, 250°F return temperature
AGO Pumparound
Draw from Tray #30, returned to Tray #27
10,000 bpd flow, 350°F return temperature

Aspen Plus has a specific module for efficiently solving crude tower type problems, the
PetroFrac model (not RadFrac). On the Columns tab select the list arrow for PetroFrac. Now

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we can choose an icon that will most closely represent out column; choose CDU10F, the one
with a condenser, fired heater, 3 pumparounds, & 3 side strippers. (This choice only
changes the icon, not the ability to specify side operations or the number of each). Place on
the flowsheet & name ATMCOL. Highlight the icon on the flowsheet & grab a corner to
resize (make it much bigger than the icons representing the preheat train).

Let’s make the stream connections. Right‐click WARMCRD2, select Reconnect Destination,
& connect to ATMCOL. Create the following additional streams & connect to ATMCOL:

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  Material stream ATMSTM to Main Column Feed connections.
 Material streams KEROSTM, DIESSTM, & AGOSTM to Stripper Steam Feed
connections.
 Material product streams NAPHTHA from the Distillate Product connection ,
ATMWTR from the Condenser Water Decant connection, & ATMRESID from the
Bottoms Product connection.
 Material product streams KERO, DIESEL, & AGO from the Bottoms Product from
Stripper connection.
 Heat streams Q‐ATMC from the Condenser Heat Stream connection; Q‐PA1, Q‐PA2,
& Q‐PA3 from the Heat Stream from Pumparound connection;

Your flowsheet should have a column that looks something like the image below. You can
“clean up” the image by clicking the column icon, “grabbing” the colored inlet or outlet
arrows and moving the arrows to make an overall image that looks more reasonable; see
the second image below. The new image does not change any connections but rather shows
a more logical flow path.

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Clicking the Next arrow will step through required steps to set up this distillation column.
The first thing required will be the steam streams: ATMSTM, KERSTM, DIESTM, & AGOSTM.
All streams will be 500 F & 150 psig; each has to be set up with the proper mass flowrate.

Once past the steam streams the configuration for the column itself comes up. The
Configuration tab allows you to set up the most basic information for the column. Note that
Aspen Plus counts the condenser as a stage, so the total number is 51 (1 for the condenser
& 50 for the trays). On this form enter the estimate for the distillate rate (i.e., the rate for
the unstabilized naphtha, NAPHTHA).

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Click Next. Now we’ll set up the external feeds to the column. The crude oil will go through
the furnace first (the furnace is calculated as part of the column algorithm); remember that
the condenser is Stage #1 so we have to add this to the tray numbering for the feed
location. The steam if introduced to the bottom stage; remember to mark this as On‐Stage
so that there is vapor traffic to this stage.

Click Next. Now we will enter the pressures.

Click Next. Now we will enter the furnace information. Select Single stage flash so that
Aspen Plus will perform a flash for the outlet temperature of the furnace.

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Click Next. Now we are to enter configuration information for the pumparounds. But first
let’s rename the pumparounds to match the product sections. Select Pumparounds under
ATMCOL in the left‐hand column. Select each row & click Rename. Change names to
PA‐KERO, PA‐DIESL, & PA‐AGO.

Now let’s get back to the Pumparound configuration forms. Select PA‐KERO in the left‐hand
column. When specifying the Draw stage & Return stage remember to add 1 to account for
the condenser as Stage 1. Do the same for PA‐DIESL & PA‐AGO.

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Click Next. Now we are to enter configuration information for the side strippers. But first
let’s rename the side strippers to match the product sections. Select Strippers under
ATMCOL in the left‐hand column. Select each row & click Rename. Change names to S‐KERO,
S‐DIESL, & S‐AGO.

Now let’s get back to the side stripper configuration forms. Select S‐KERO in the left‐hand
column. When specifying the Draw stage & Return stage remember to add 1 to account for
the condenser as Stage 1. Do the same for S‐DIESL & S‐AGO.

Click Next. Now a form comes up to verify connectivity. We’ve already connected all of the
material streams, now we have to connect the heat streams. The heat stream is connected
to the condenser by virtue of how they were originally connect to ATMCOL. But we still
have to do the pumparound heat streams. Select PA‐KERO under Pumparounds in the left‐
hand column. Now select the Heat Stream tab; select the pull‐down list for Outlet & select
one of the Q‐PA streams. Do the same for PA‐DIESL & PA‐AGO.

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Click Next. We have now entered enough information to run the simulations. However we
have not entered the stage efficiencies nor the ASTM D86 specs. Let’s press OK and run the
simulation anyway. It converges very quickly, in about 4 outer‐loop iterations. What do the
results look like? We can select the Stream Results tab to look at flowrates & T95 results.
Note the following:
 The stream flowrates listed (the 2nd image) are lower than the specifications made
on the column; that is because this shows the flowrate on a dry basis (i.e., with the
water neglected) & the specification is on a total basis (with the water included).
 The T95 results for the distillation curves are close but not what is desired. We will
want to adjust the draw rates to get the desired T95 values.

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We’ll now set the T95 specifications. Select Design Specifications under ATMCOL in the left‐
hand column. Press New… You cannot name the design specs, only number them; accept
the numbers when presented in the Create New ID form; press OK. Let’s first specify the
T95 value for the naphtha. Pull down the Type list on the Specifications tab; select ASTM
D86 temperature (dry, liquid volume basis). Set the Target value as 410°F & the Liquid % as
95. Select the Feed/Product Streams tab; highlight the NAPHTHA stream & press > to move

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it to the Selected Stream column. Select the Vary tab; pull down the Type list & select
Distillate flow rate.

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Specifying the T95 values for the kerosene, diesel, & AGO streams is done in a similar
manner except when specifying what to vary. For the kerosene stream select the Vary tab;
pull down the Type list & select Bottoms flow rate & then select S‐KERO from the Stripper
name list. Do similar specifications for the diesel & AGO streams.

We now have replaced the 4 flowrate specifications with the 4 T95 specifications. Select
Run. It should again take about 4 outer‐loop iterations to solve the column equations.

We can again look at the product streams by choosing Stream Results.

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We still haven’t added the stage efficiencies to model actual trays. For the main column
select Efficiencies under ATMCOL in the left‐hand column. Select the Murphree/Vaporization
tab. You do not have to specify the efficiencies for each individual stage but rather they can

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be grouped. Remember to add 1 stage to account for the condenser being Stage #1; the
efficiency of the condenser will be 100%.

The efficiencies for the side strippers are done in their corresponding section. For the
kerosene side stripper select Efficiencies under S‐KERO in the left‐hand column. Select the
Murphree/Vaporization tab. Do similar operations for the diesel & AGO side strippers.

We can now rerun will all specifications. Select Run. It will take more iterations but should
still converge in less than 25 outer‐loop iterations. We can again look at the product
streams by choosing Stream Results.

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Debutanizer Column

Next, let’s do the simpler of the two remaining columns, the Debutanizer Column (i.e., the
Naphtha Stabilizer). We will want to operate the Debutanizer at a higher pressure than the
Atmospheric Distillation Column, so we will need a pump for the Unstabilized Naptha. We
will also preheat the feed entering the column. Table 5 shows the operating conditions for
the column & the feed’s pump & preheater.

Table 5. Definitions for Debutanizer Column

Type Operating Parameter
Feed Prep Increase pressure to 250 psig; use default adiabatic efficiency for pump (75%)
Preheat to 250°F; assume negligible pressure drop through exchanger
Trays & Efficiencies 45 trays. Number from top. All trays 80% efficiency
Condenser Type Total condenser
1.5 reflux ratio
Reboiler Type Kettle reboiler
Pressures Condenser: 150 psig
Top Tray: 150 psig
Bottom Tray: 160 psig
Reboiler: 160 psig
Temperature No other estimates needed
Feed Locations Unstabilized Naphtha to Tray #22
Products Overhead LPGs, 5,500 bpd
Stabilized naphtha from bottom

Place a Pump & Heater on the flowsheet & define the connections as shown on the
flowsheet. Click Next & we’re to fill in the feed heater information; set the value for Pressure
to 0 to signify a zero pressure drop. Click Next again & we’ll fill in the feed pump
information; click for Discharge pressure & set the Pump efficiency to 0.75.

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Now we can define the Debutanizer. Just like with the Atmospheric Distillation Column
we’ll pick an option from PetroFrac. Choose the icon on the bottom row with just a reboiler
& a condenser (FRACT). Connect FEEDDEC4 as a feed, create products streams LPGS &
S‐NAP, overhead water DEC4WTR, & heat streams for the condenser & reboiler.

Click Next to start filling in information for this Debutanizer. Remember to add 2 to the
Number of stages to account for the condenser & the reboiler. Also note that the feed
location chosen is Above‐Stage; this means that liquid from the feed will be introduced to
the stage whereas vapor will be put to the stage above (just as if a feed nozzle is put into

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the vapor space above a tray). Remember to add one to the stage location to account for the
condenser being Stage #1.

The simulation be run but we need to add the stage efficiencies first. Select Efficiencies
under DEC4 in the left‐hand column. Select the Murphree/Vaporization tab. You do not have
to specify the efficiencies for each individual stage but rather they can be grouped.
Remember to add 1 stage to account for the condenser being Stage #1 & 1 stage for the
reboiler being Stage #47; the efficiencies of the condenser & reboiler will be 100%.

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Now we can click Next to run the simulation. It should converge in less than 10 outer‐loop
iterations.

Vacuum Distillation Column

The final step is to define the feed heater & Vacuum Distillation Column. Additional steam
is injected into the Vacuum Feed Heater to increase velocity & minimize coke formation
within the heater. Even though the Vacuum Column is packed it will be modeled as “trays,”
i.e., sections of non‐equilibrium stages.

Place a Mixer on the flowsheet downstream from the Atmospheric Column. Next let’s place
the Vacuum Distillation Column. Just like with the Atmospheric Distillation Column we’ll
pick an option from PetroFrac. Choose the icon with just a fired heater & two pumparounds
(VACUUM1F). Connect the outlet from the Mixer & a steam stream to the VACCOL as feeds,
create products streams LVGO, HVGO, & SLOPWAX as Side Products from Main Column,
overhead vapor VACOVHD, & heat streams for the two pumparounds.

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 Table 6. Definitions for Vacuum Distillation Column
Type Operating Parameter
“Trays” & Efficiencies 14 trays. Numbering from top:
Tray 1: 100%
Trays 2 to 11: 50%
Tray 12: 100%
Trays 13 to 14: 30%
Condenser Type No condenser, LVGO pumparound liquid return to top stage
Reboiler Type None, Direct Fired Heater
Pressures Top Tray: 50 mmHg
Bottom Tray: 62 mmHg
Temperatures Top 180°F (controlled by top LVGO pumparound)
Feed Locations Crude oil to Tray #12
Stripping Steam at bottom (Tray #14) – 20,000 lb/hr @ 500°F, 150 psig
Feed Heater 20,000 lb/hr steam injected into heater coils with the Atmospheric Resid feedstock
(500°F & 150 psig)
Outlet @ 180 mmHg & 760°F; would like 3,000 bpd excess wash liquid (liquid rate from
tray above feed, #11)
Pumparounds LVGO Pumparound
Draw from Tray #4, returned to Tray #1
22,300 bpd flow, outlet temperature adjusted to control top temperature of tower;
approximately 85°F, 40 MMBtu/hr cooling
HVGO Pumparound
Draw from Tray #8, returned to Tray #5
50,000 bpd flow, 150°F cooling approximately 400°F, 40 MMBtu/hr cooling
Products LVGO from Tray #4; 915°F D1160 T95; 5,000 bpd (approximate)
HVGO from Tray #8, 1050°F D1160 T95; 21,000 bpd (approximate)
Slop Wax from Tray #11, 1,000 bpd
Vacuum resid from bottom

First define the steam stream going to the Vacuum Heater Coils. Select COILSTM under
STREAMS in the left‐hand column. Do the same for the steam stream going to the bottom of
the Vacuum Distillation Column, VACSTM

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Let’s configure the Vacuum Distillation Column itself. Select VACCOL under Blocks in the
left‐hand column. Even though the column will be packed we’ll model it with a set of non‐
equilibrium stages. On the Configuration tab pick the Condenser option None‐Top
pumparound. On the Streams tab denote that VACFEED goes through a fired heater before
going to Stage #12 & the VACSTM goes directly On‐Stage to #14. Set the top & bottom
pressures on the Pressure tab. On the Furnace tab specify the Furnace type as Single stage
flash with liquid runback & set the outlet temperature & pressure.

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Rev 0.0 ‐ 46 ‐ November 9, 2014
Now let’s setup the pumparounds. Change the names to PA‐LVGO & PA‐HVGO. Set draw
rates & conditions on the Specifications tab. Let’s apply the approximate specs as Heat duty
specs (since these are the most likely to converge). Note that the Heat duty values are
specified as a negative numbers since they represent cooling (i.e., heat removal). Connect
the appropriate heat stream on the Heat Streams tab.

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Let’s specify the stage efficiencies. Select Efficiencies under VACCOL in the left‐hand column.
Select the Murphree/Vaporization tab. You do not have to specify the efficiencies for each
individual stage but rather they can be grouped.

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To aid in the convergence of the column let’s add a couple temperature estimates. Click on
the Estimates item in the left‐hand column. Specify values for trays #1, #2, & #14.

Let’s apply the first design spec before trying to run the simulation, the one for the top
temperature. This is achieved by adjusting the operation of the top pumparound, PA‐LVGO.
Click on Design Specifications in the left‐hand column, click New, and select OK for the
default name 1. The spec Type is Stage temperature for Stage 1; we’ll Vary the Pumparound
duty for PA‐LVGO (since this is the spec we applied to this pumparound).

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Run the simulation. The Vacuum Column should converge in about 10 iterations.

We have not applied all of the design specs, but let’s see how close we come to the desired
performance. We are most interested in the D1160 T95 values for the LVGO & HVGO as
well as the runback liquid from the section about the feed tray (i.e., the liquid rate from
Tray #11). Note that the D1160 values (corrected to 1 atm) above 50% are the TBP values.
The T95 values can be found when selected the Stream Results in the left‐hand column; the
TBP values are 768.3°F for the LVGO & 913.9°F for the HVGO. The liquid runback to the
feed tray can be calculated from the information in the Profiles table. Normally the net flow
of liquid from one tray to the one below would be the amount in the Liquid flow column
minus the amount in the Liquid product column. However, for the feed heater chosen, all of
the net liquid is fed back to the front of the heater & is considered “liquid product,” too. So,
the net liquid is really the amount in the Liquid product column minus the Slop Wax rate
produced; here this is 186,800 bpd.

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To increase the T95 value of a side draw we would normally increase the draw rate. We
have to be careful, though, not to exceed the values going into each section (and cause that
section to dry up). Let’s address the HVGO first. Create a new design spec & vary the HVGO
draw rate to achieve this. Rerun the simulation; it should converge in less than 20
iterations. Now we have withdrawn 30,676 bpd HVGO to make this T95 spec. The liquid
runback has reduced considerably, now down to 3,050 bpd.

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Now let’s look at the LVGO results. For 5,000 bpd LVGO rate the D1160 T95 value is too
low. Since the T95 value is too low, we will have to increase the LVGO draw rate to try to
meet this spec. However, there is only 3,518 bpd runback above the feed tray, so we
normally think that can’t raise the rate above this amount. However, we can actually raise it
considerably & not dry up the top of the Vacuum Column. Note that if we raise the LVGO
spec to 4,000 bpd we can do this and actually increase the runback. How? Because the
HVGO rate decreases by more than 3,000 bpd to keep its T95 spec. So let’s apply the LVGO
T95 spec; now we’ve made both T95 specs without drying up the top of the Vacuum
Column.

The final spec that we need to achieve is the liquid rate from above the feed tray. The
current rate is 6,776 bpd, higher than necessary. We can reduce this rate by reducing the
feed heater’s outlet temperature (which will reduce the amount of the feed vaporized). We
can adjust the feed heater temperature manually to 739.5°F and get a liquid runback rate of
2,990 bpd (just a little bit too low). Can we adjust this automatically to determine the actual
temperature? We could add a design spec to modify the furnace temperature make the
liquid rate from Tray #11; in past experience this will tend to crash the program. Instead
we will use the built‐in facility to modify the furnace’s outlet conditions by specifying the
fractional overflash in the column. Since the total standard flow to the column is 53,632
bpd then 3,000 bpd overflash means a fractional value of 0.05594. Making this specification
will give the correct overflash value & results in a furnace outlet temperature of 739.56°F.

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The results of all of these steps are summarized in the following table.

Vacuum Column Results When Applying Different Specs

LVGO D1160 HVGO D1160 Runback from
LVGO Rate HVGO Rate Slop Was Rate
T95 T95 Tray #11
[bbl/day] [bbl/day] [bbl/day]
[°F] [°F] [bbl/day]
1,000  768.4 21,000  924.4 1,000  186,810
1,000  797.1 30,676 1050  1,000  3,050
4,000  825.9 27,220 1050  1,000  3,562
16,487 915  13,855 1050  1,000  6,776
16,835 915  13,185 1050  1,000  2,990
16,808 915  13,212 1050  1,000  3,000

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