modeling utilities in CHEMCAD

Steam. Cooling water. Thermal fluids. Air. Nitrogen. Fuel. Almost every facility has them, and they can represent a great opportunity to improve your processes’ efficiency and reduce costs. Knowing if your equipment (pumps, compressors, cooling towers, heat exchangers, piping, etc.) is properly sized and your maintenance regimen (water treatment, equipment cleaning, etc.) is properly timed can represent both capital and operating cost improvements. This topic is covered in some detail in our training courses, and I’ve seen the “idea bulb” above trainees' heads when they realize the ease with which they can chase down significant process improvements.

One example we cover is the use of a distillation column UnitOp to model a cooling tower. You can add as much or as little complexity to the simulation as you like, and in our training course, we even go into details such as aqueous electrolytes and blowdown. We’ve also helped customers with models of incredibly extensive piping networks that deliver steam and cooling water throughout large facilities. Again, depending on your needs, the level of detail can vary, but we’ve seen everything from simple heat and material balances all the way to rigorous piping pressure-drop calculations, control valves, dynamic response, and even reverse flow (more on reverse flow and hydraulic balancing in a future post here--stay tuned).

Just remember: don’t let the process side dominate your thinking about how and when to use process simulation software. The utility side can be just as important and valuable!

If you need some help getting started, contact our technical support group, and we can direct you to an example or discuss your specific questions.