NGL Fractionation Train 1

NGL Fractionation Train

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Workshop
Recovery of natural-gas liquids (NGL) from natural gas is quite common in natural
gas processing. Recovery is usually done to:

 Produce transportable gas (free from heavier hydrocarbons which may

condense in the pipeline)
 Meet a sales gas specification
 Maximize liquid recovery (when liquid products are more valuable than
gas)

Aspen HYSYS can model a wide range of different column configurations. In this
simulation, an NGL Plant will be constructed, consisting of three columns:

 De-Methanizer (operated and modeled as a Reboiled Absorber column)

 De-Ethanizer (Distillation column)
 De-Propanizer (Distillation column)

Learning Objectives
After you have completed this section, you will be able to:

 Add columns using the Input Experts

 Add extra specifications to columns

Prerequisites
Before beginning this module you need to complete modules 1, 2, and 3.

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Process Overview

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Column Overviews
DC1: De-Methanizer
Figure 1

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DC2: De-Ethanizer
Figure 2

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DC3: De-Propanizer
Figure 3

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Building the Simulation

Defining the Simulation Basis
1. Start a new case.

2. Select the Peng-Robinson EOS.

3. Add the following components:

 Nitrogen  n-Butane
 CO2  i-Pentane
 Methane  n-Pentane
 Ethane  n-Hexane
 Propane  n-Heptane
 i-Butane  n-Octane
4. Enter the Simulation Environment.

Adding the Feed Streams

1. Add a Material Stream with the following data:

In this cell... Enter...

Name Feed1
Temperature -95°C (-140°F)
Pressure 2275 kPa (330 psia)
Flowrate 1620 kgmole/h (3575 lbmole/hr)
Component Mole Fraction

Nitrogen 0.0025
CO2 0.0048
Methane 0.7041
Ethane 0.1921
Propane 0.0706
i-Butane 0.0112
n-Butane 0.0085
i-Pentane 0.0036
n-Pentane 0.0020
n-Hexane 0.0003
n-Heptane 0.0002
n-Octane 0.0001

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2. Add a Material Stream with the following data:

In this cell... Enter...

Name Feed2
Temperature -85°C (-120°F)
Pressure 2290 kPa (332 psia)
Flowrate 215 kgmole/h (475 lbmole/hr)
Component Mole Fraction

Nitrogen 0.0057
CO2 0.0029
Methane 0.7227
Ethane 0.1176
Propane 0.0750
i-Butane 0.0204
n-Butane 0.0197
i-Pentane 0.0147
n-Pentane 0.0102
n-Hexane 0.0037
n-Heptane 0.0047
n-Octane 0.0027

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Adding the Unit Operations

De-Methanizer
The De-Methanizer is modeled as a reboiled absorber operation, with two feed
streams and an energy stream feed which represents a side heater on the column.

1. Add an Energy stream with the following values:

In this cell... Enter...

Name Ex Duty
Energy Flow 2.1e+006 kJ/h (2.0e+06Btu/hr)

Note:
In HYSYS, there are two types of
streams you can create:
Blue arrow – Material Stream
Red Arrow – Energy Stream

2. Double-click the Reboiled Absorber icon on the Object Palette. The first Input
Expert view displays.
Reboiled Absorber Column
icon
3. Complete the view as shown in the following figure:

Figure 4

The Input Experts provide

the new user with step by
step instruction for defining
a column.

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4. Click the Next button to proceed to the next page.

5. Supply the following information to the Pressure Estimates page. If you are
using field units, the values will be 330 psia and 335 psia for the Top Stage
Pressure and Reboiler Pressure, respectively.

Figure 5

The Next button is only

available when all of the
necessary information has
been supplied.

6. Click Next to proceed to the next page.

7. Enter the temperature estimates shown in the following figure. In field units, the
top stage temperature estimate will be -125°F, and the reboiler temperature
estimate will be 80°F.

Figure 6

Temperature estimates are

not required for the column
to solve, but they will aid in
convergence.

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8. Click Next to continue.

9. For this case, no information is supplied for the Boil-up Ratio on the last page
of the Input Expert, so click Done.

Figure 7

The basic Reboiled

Absorber has a single
Degree of Freedom (DOF)

10. When you click the Done button, Aspen HYSYS will open the Column
property view. Select the Monitor page on the Design tab.

Figure 8

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Before you converge the column, make sure that the specifications are as shown in
the preceding figure. You will have to enter the value for the Ovhd Prod Rate
specification. The specified value is 1338 kgmole/h (2950 lbmole/hr).

11. Click Run to run the column.

What is the mole fraction of Methane in DC1 Ovhd? ________________________________

Although the column is converged, it is not always practical to have flow rate
specifications. These specifications can result in columns which cannot be
converged or that produce product streams with undesirable properties if the column
feed conditions change or if there is insufficient feed component.

A better and alternative approach is to specify either component fractions or

component recoveries for the column product streams.

1. Go to the Specs page on the Design tab of the Column property view.

Figure 9

2. Click the Add button in the Column Specifications group to create a new
specification.

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3. Select Column Component Fraction from the list that displays.

Figure 10

4. Click the Add Spec(s) button.

5. Complete the spec as shown in the following figure.

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Figure 11

6. When you have finished, close the view.

The Monitor page of the Column property view shows 0 Degrees of Freedom even
though you have just added another specification. This is because the specification
was added as an estimate, not as an active specification.

7. Go to the Monitor page. Deactivate the Ovhd Prod Rate as an active

specification and activate the Comp Fraction specification (C1 in Overhead)
that you created.

What is the flowrate of the overhead product, DC1 Ovhd? ____________________________

After the column has converged, you can view the results on the Performance tab.

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Figure 12

Adding a Pump
The pump is used to move the De-Methanizer bottom product to the De-Ethanizer.
Pump icon
Install a pump and enter the following information:

In this cell... Enter...

Connections

Inlet DC1 Btm

Outlet DC2 Feed
Energy P-100-HP
Worksheet

DC2 Feed Pressure 2790 kPa (405 psia)

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De-Ethanizer
The De-Ethanizer column is modeled as a distillation column, with 16 stages, 14
trays in the column, plus the reboiler and condenser. It operates at a pressure of 2760
kPa (400 psia). The objective of this column is to produce a bottom product that has
a ratio of ethane to propane of 0.01.

1. Double-click the Distillation Column button on the Object Palette and enter the
following information.
Distillation Column icon

In this cell... Enter...

Connections

Name DC2

No. of Stages 14

Inlet Stream/Stage DC2 Feed/6

Condenser Type Partial

Overhead Vapour Product DC2 Ovhd

Overhead Liquid Product DC2 Dist

Bottoms Liquid Outlet DC2 Btm

Reboiler Duty Energy Stream DC2 Reb Q

Condenser Duty Energy Stream DC2 Cond Q

Pressures

Condenser 2725 kPa (395 psia)

Condenser Delta P 35 kPa (5 psi)

Reboiler 2792 kPa (405 psia)

Temperature Estimates

Condenser -4°C (25°F)

Reboiler 95°C (200°F)

Specifications

Overhead Vapour Rate 320 kgmole/h (700 lbmole/hr)

Distillate Rate 0 kgmole/h

Reflux Ratio 2.5 (Molar)

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Click the Run button to run the column.

What is the flowrate of Ethane and Propane in DC2 Btms?

C2_________________, C3____________________, Ratio of C2/C3_____________________

2. On the Specs page, click Add to create a new specification.

3. Select Column Component Ratio as the Column Specification Type and

provide the following information:

In this cell... Enter...

Name C2/C3
Stage Reboiler
Flow Basis Mole Fraction
Phase Liquid
Spec Value 0.01
Numerator Ethane
Denominator Propane

4. On the Monitor tab, deactivate the Ovhd Vap Rate specification and activate
the C2/C3 specification that you created.

What is the flowrate of DC2 Ovhd? __________________________________

Adding a Valve
A valve is required to reduce the pressure of the stream DC2 Btm before it enters the
final column, the De-Propanizer.
Valve icon

Add a Valve operation and provide the following information:

In this cell... Enter...

Connections

Inlet DC2 Btm

Outlet DC3 Feed
Worksheet

DC3 Feed Pressure 1690 kPa (245 psia)

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De-Propanizer
The De-Propanizer column is represented by a distillation column consisting of 25
stages, 24 trays in the column, plus the reboiler. (Note that a total condenser does not
count as a stage.) It operates at 1620 kPa (235 psia). This column has two process
objectives:

Distillation Column icon  To produce an overhead product that contains no more than 1.50 mole
percent of i-Butane and n-Butane combined
 To keep the concentration of propane in the bottom product less than 2.0
mole percent

1. Add a distillation column and provide the following information:

In this cell... Enter...

Connections
Name DC3
No. of Stages 24
Inlet Streams/Stage DC3 Feed/11
Condenser Type Total
Ovhd Liquid Outlet DC3 Dist
Bottom Liquid Outlet DC3 Btm
Reboiler Duty Energy Stream DC3 Reb Q
Condenser Duty Energy Stream DC3 Cond Q
Pressures

Condenser 1585 kPa (230 psia)

Condenser Delta P 35 kPa (5 psi)
Reboiler 1655 kPa (240 psia)
Temperature Estimates

Condenser 38°C (100°F)

Reboiler 120°C (250°F)
Specifications

Liquid Rate 110 kgmole/h (240 lbmole/hr)

Reflux Ratio 1.0 Molar

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2. Run the column.

What is the mole fraction of Propane in the overhead and bottoms products?

__________ and __________

3. Create two new Component Fraction specifications for the column.

In this cell... Enter...

i-Butane and n-Butane in Distillate
Name iC4 and nC4
Stage Condenser
Flow Basis Mole Fraction
Phase Liquid
Spec Value 0.015
Components i-C4 and n-C4
Propane in Reboiler Liquid
Name C3
Stage Reboiler
Flow Basis Mole Fraction
Phase Liquid
Spec Value 0.02
Component C3

4. Deactivate the Distillate Rate and Reflux Ratio specifications.

5. Activate the new specifications that you created.

Save your case!

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Advanced Modeling
The column is a special type of sub-flowsheet in Aspen HYSYS. Sub-flowsheets
contain equipment and streams and exchange information with the parent flowsheet
through the connected streams. From the main environment, the column appears as a
single, multifeed multiproduct operation. In many cases, you can treat the column in
exactly that manner.

The column subflowsheet provides a number of advantages:

 Isolation of the Column Solver. The Column Build Environment allows

you to make changes and focus on the column without the re-calculation of
the entire flowsheet.
 Optional use of different fluid packages. Aspen HYSYS allows you to
specify a unique (different from the main environment) fluid package for
the column subflowsheet. This is useful when
o A different fluid package is better suited to the column (for
example, Gas Plant using PR may contain an Amine Contactor that
needs to use the Amines Property Package), or
o The column does not use all of the components used in the main
flowsheet, so by decreasing the number of components in the
column, you may speed up column convergence
 Construction of custom templates. In addition to the default column
configurations, which are available as templates, you may define column
setups with varying degrees of complexity. Complex custom columns and
multiple columns may be simulated within a single subflowsheet using
various combinations of subflowsheet equipment. Custom column examples
include:
o Replacing the standard condenser with a heat exchanger, or
o Replacing the standard kettle reboiler with a thermosyphon
reboiler
 Ability to solve multiple towers simultaneously. The column
subflowsheet uses a simultaneous solver through which all operations
within the subflowsheet are solved simultaneously. The simultaneous solver
permits the user to install multiple, interconnected columns within the
subflowsheet without the need for recycle blocks.

You can enter the column subflowsheet by clicking the Column Environment icon
on the Column property view. Inside the column environment, you can return to the
parent environment by clicking either the Parent Environment button on the
Enter Parent Simulation Column runner view or the Enter Parent Simulation Environment icon in the tool
Environment icon
bar.

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Exploring the Simulation

Challenge
After simulating your De-Methanizer, use Aspen HYSYS to determine the UA for
the De-Methanizer Reboiler. Assume that you have 1000 kgmole/h of saturated 100
psi steam available for the shell side and a 5 psi pressure drop on the steam side.
The presence of the green
“Up Arrow” icon in the tool Your overhead Methane spec of 0.96 (mole) must still be met.
bar and the Environment:
Name (COL1) indicates Remember to add water to your component list. Instead of changing the
that you are in the column
subflowsheet.
configuration of the column (changing the solver type to Modified HYSIM Inside-
Out), you can create an internal stream on the Flowsheet tab. This stream represents
the liquid that flows from the bottom tray to the reboiler, which can then be added to
a heat exchanger in the Main Flowsheet. Use steam to exchange heat with the
process stream.
Figure 13

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Recommended Reading
1. Knowledge Base Solution 109245
Why are the stream properties of my external stream different from those of my
internal stream?

2. Knowledge Base Solution 109248

I have supplied the correct number of specs for my distillation column, but the
degrees of freedom are still showing as `1. How could this be happening?

3. Knowledge Base Solution 117866

Why am I seeing two different views on the Design tab/Connections page of the
Column's property view.

4. Knowledge Base Solution 120472

Tips and tricks for distillation column simulation

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