Starting with this release, the program no longer makes the user choose between the 'Designer' (or 'System') DB and the 'User' DB as source for registering a resource (like Pure Component, Stock Mixture, Heat Transfer Agent, Consumable, etc.). All resources available for the user to engage in his/her process model can now be drawn from one database: The 'SuperPro (User)' database.
Previously, the 'Designer' database was kept as a secure fall back for resource registration and a place where the program was certain to find the definition of some "essential" resources that are needed to minimally allow any simulation to produce results: e.g., definitions for "Water", "Oxygen", "Nitrogen", "Air", "Steam", "Cooling Water", etc. needed to exist. Now, those resources can be found in the 'SuperPro (User)' database and are not allowed to be deleted (but they are allowed to have their properties modified if so desired). The old 'Designer' database was also stocked with few other extra resources that were there always, but could NOT be modified by the user. That was a significant shortcoming when his/her resource definition for such a resource (e.g. "Steam") didn't match (e.g. the supply temperature for their "Steam" was not 152°C but 180°C), then their only course of correction could be applied only AFTER "Steam" was automatically registered in a process model. And this correction had to be done each and every time a new process model was started. Furthermore, some of component properties are changing in time (e.g. prices). In order to accommodate such variations, the user had to deposit a copy of a component in the 'User' database and remember next time to use that record to register in his/her next process model.
This approach was tedious and error-prone. Starting with this release, we give our users the best of both worlds (databases). The 'SuperPro (User)' database starts pre-populated with many entries for resources (we call them "basic resources"), including definitions for the "essential" ones (like "Water" or "Steam"). Users can change their properties if they see so fit and from that time on, SuperPro will auto-register, the modified description of the resource, as set by the user. For example, if you believe that "DIPPR" property-based "Water" component has more appropriate behavior, you can modify the standard "Water" in your 'SuperPro (User)' database to be based on DIPPR. From then on, every new process model file you start, will auto-register a DIPPR-based "Water" component.
Furthermore, you are allowed to delete a resource that you may deem unnecessary (except the 'essential' ones, like "Water", "Oxygen", etc.). For example, we pre-populate the component database with over 1,200 components (we call them "basic" components). If you think that you don't need some, and they are simply "noise" when you are attempting to register a component for a new design case file, then you can go ahead and delete them. The same applies to all other resources (Mixtures, consumables, heat transfer agents, etc.) Of course, we won't let you delete the definitions of "essential" resources like "Steam". We even give you the option to recall all basic resources (at any time). If you delete them and later regret the decision, you can always bring all the 'basic' resources with a click of a button. For example, if you have deleted the definitions of "Brine" and "Freon" from the databank of heat transfer agents, and later you wish to bring them back, a one-click button will do so for you.
Starting from this release, over 600 new definitions of pure components have been added to the list of available ingredients to directly register when creating a new process model. Most of the new components are inorganic materials engaged in metallurgy.
When browsing the list of components (or mixtures) in your databank, sometimes it is hard to find the component you want by just scrolling through the list (there are now over 1200 entries). A new searching tool engine has been added that makes locating the component of your interest very easy. First you select at the bottom of the table, the index by which you wish the entries to be ordered and searched (Name, CompanyID, Formula or CAS Number). Then you type a string that you think matches your desired component's index value and click on "find next' or 'find previous':
or 
The search engine will automatically move the selection forward (or backward from current selection) to find the next match. Strings can be matched anywhere in the index or from the starting position of the index (depends if the search mode button 
is selected or not).
The above screen is from the component database interface; the stock mixture database interface features the same search options.
When in need to register a component in a process model, you are asked to select it from the list of ALL components in your component databank. Given that this list is dauntingly long, it may not be easy to locate the one you want. Starting with this release, we allow users to tag some components in the databank as belonging to a special list ('My List'); once you do that, then when registering a new component, simply click on "My List" checkbox, and the list of choices will ONLY show you the components tagged to be in 'My List', making the selection choice a lot easier.
Sometimes, for a given component, users may not know (or do not care to find) vapor property correlations that produce reasonable values. Perhaps this component is rarely in vapor phase, or perhaps under their specific modeling conditions the component is not expected to appear in vapor phase. In previous releases of the software, users were forced to provide some values (however unrealistic) sometimes leading to erroneous calculations (and results). Starting with this release, a new option has been added: "All Vapor Parameters Are Unknown (or Irrelevant)" (see below):
When this option is checked the program will disable the entries for the following (vapor) properties:
- Gaseous Cp (Ideal Gas Cp)
- Heat of Vaporization
- Saturated Vapor Pressure
You do not need to find valid property estimation parameters for such components. HOWEVER, once a component is declared that it has "Unknown/Irrelevant Vapor Parameters", then the program will enforce modeling settings in such ways that this component will never appear in the vapor phase. More specifically, such components will :
a) Set their default (and only allowed) shortcut VLE criterion to be "Liq/Sol Only"
b) Added to the list of components excluded from any rigorous VLE calculations
c) Will not be allowed to be checked as "Emitted" in any emission data tables (for any operation)
e) Will not be allowed to be checked as "Evaporated" from any operations that perform phase change (e.g. evaporation, drying)
f) Will be excluded from any emission reports (incl. the MACT/EPA report)
g) If participating in a reaction, and the enthalpy is provided by the user (or calculated by the reaction enthalpy calculator), its assumed physical state (PS) cannot be vapor.
Of course, if at any point in time later, users decide that they wish to allow this component to appear in the vapor phase in their models, they can always revisit its component properties dialog, uncheck the "All Vapor Parameters Are Unknown (or Irrelevant)" box and provide appropriate values for the estimation of Ideal Gas Cp, Heat of Vaporization and (maybe) Vapor Pressure estimation. Then all of the above restrictions will be lifted. Note that even DIPPR (or PPDS) component can be declared as having "All Vapor Parameters Unknown (or Irrelevant)".
Please note that if you wish to allow a component to be present as gas (at some point during your model process), but you don't have any values for its vapor properties, we have added an interface that can be invoked from the 'T-Dependent Properties tab' (of the component properties dialog) that can help you 'borrow' estimation parameters from other components (perhaps with similar behavior). Check for the green highlighted button above, with the title "Search for a Component with a Similar NBP..."; clicking on this button will bring up this dialog:
From the bottom row, you can select which property you want to copy the estimation parameters, select a component row and then click with "Copy Props & Exit"; upon exit, the program will have copied the estimation parameters for the selected properties from the source component back to your component.
When you register a resource (such as a pure component or stock mixture) into your process model, it is defined with properties that are copies of the values as they exist in the database. Since we know that prices are for certain changing in time, a common exercise for SuperPro users is to have to frequently update prices of all materials (or other resources like power, labor etc.) and then re-assess the economic viability of their project. In versions prior to this release, you could accomplish this, but you would have to visit separate dialogs (one for each resource) to accomplish it. For a complex project engaging many types of resources (consumables, components, mixtures, heat transfer agents, etc.) this exercise could take a long time. Staring with this release, you can accomplish all the price/cost updates for all resources from one dialog:
The above dialog comes up when you select Tasks / Update Resource Cost Data... from the main menu of the application. You can include/exclude any resource category or any member of a category. The program will remember your choices, so next time, will update accordingly.
Sometimes, users may decide to replace the existence of one component (in a recipe) with another: what if I replaced "Sucrose" for "Glucose" for example? To accomplish this prior to this release, you would have to first delete "Glucose" (which will force the deletion of all related data - like, rejection coefficients, etc.); then introduce "Sucrose" and visit all unit procedures/operations where previously "Glucose" appeared and redefine properties. This is clearly a very tedious task. Starting with this release, there's a new way to accomplish this task from one dialog:
The dialog appears when selecting the Tasks / Pure Components / Replace... menu option. The replacement will keep all component-related specs (like flows or mass fractions on input streams, rejection coefficients on filtration operations, etc.) intact.
Sometimes, users may decide to replace the services of one stock mixture (in a recipe) with another: what if I replaced "NaOH (1M)" for "NaOH (2M)" for example? To accomplish this prior to this release, you 'd have to first delete "NaOH (1M)" (which will force the deletion of all related data - like, amounts in input streams, presence on CIP cleaning schemes, etc.); then introduce "NaOH (2M)" and visit all streams and operations where previously "NaOH (1M)" appeared and redefine values. This is clearly a very tedious task. Starting with this release, there's a new way to accomplish this task from one dialog:
The dialog appears when selecting the Tasks / Stock Mixtures / Replace... menu option. The replacement will keep any values for flows or percentage participation in input streams intact.
The same need of replacing one component (or stock mixture) with another, can appear in replacing some other resource with another. What if I replaced a "Std Power" with a "Solar Power" source for power everywhere. Would the new price make a significant difference in the economic indices of the project? What if I replaced a certain consumable with another? etc. You can now accomplish just that from one single interface:
The dialog appears when selecting the Tasks / Other Resources / Replace Resource... menu option. Some replacements will not be allowed: for example, you can't replace a "heating" heat transfer agent with a "cooling" heat transfer agent.
Given that SuperPro Designer's pure component database records include a component's enthalpy of formation, there's now a new tool in SuperPro that can help users estimate the enthalpy of a reaction at a given (reference) temperature:
The figure above shows a typical reaction operation's tab (common to stoichiometric and kinetic chemical reaction or fermentation, as well as to environmental reactions); when you click on the highlighted button, the following "Reaction Enthalpy Calculator" interface appears:
If you click on "OK, Set Values", the program will take the calculated value for the enthalpy of the reaction and copy it back to appropriate field in the previous dialog.
We always listen to our users' requests for adding more functionality to SuperPro Designer's COM Engine.
In response, we have added the following new services (at the flowsheet level) as part of Get/SetFlowsheetVarVal():
| productionLevel_VID | set/get the operation production level at a given year of operation (for cash flow analysis) |
| currency_VID | set/get the currency setting when presenting any cost-related items in this model. |
| currencyExchRate_VID | set/get the exchange rate (with respect to the US$) of the process set currency (above) |
A new function has been added to address access to a labor type (Get/SetLaborVarVal()).
For a given labor type, users now can access the following properties:
| laborAmt_VID | get the total labor demand for the section. The total is in time reference that is specified in the argument list (per batch, per year or per kg MP) |
| secLaborAmtItemized_VID | get the total amount of labor as calculated by summing up the demands for each operation included in this section (calculated value); it is in labor hours per time reference specified in the argument list (per batch, per year or per kg MP) |
| secLaborAmtLumpedEst_VID | set/get the total amount of labor specified as 'lumped estimate' (in addition of itemized estimate above); it is in labor hours per time reference specified in the argument list (per batch, per year or per kg MP) |
| directUtilFCont_VID | set/get the direct time utilization factor (0 -1) (fraction of time devoted to process continuous activities) |
| qcSecLaborFactor_VID | set/get the quality control labor cost factor for a section (as a percent of total labor) |
| qcSecFixedCost_VID | set/get the fixed cost estimate for a section |
| qcSecItemizedCost_VID | get the (calculated) total labor after umming up the cost from each procedure in a section |
| materialAmount_VID | get the (calculated) material consumption (for a given material) for a procedure or a section; the result can be per batch, per h, per year, per kg MP or per campaign (specified by last argument) |
When accessing properties of a section (Get/SetSectionVarVal()) the following new additions have been made:
| laborAmt_VID | get the total labor demand for the section. The total is in time reference that is specified in the argument list (per batch, per year or per kg MP) |
| secLaborAmtItemized_VID | get the total amount of labor as calculated by summing up the demands for each operation included in this section (calculated value); it is in labor hours per time reference specified in the argument list (per batch, per year or per kg MP) |
| secLaborAmtLumpedEst_VID | set/get the total amount of labor specified as 'lumped estimate' (in addition of itemized estimate above); it is in labor hours per time reference specified in the argument list (per batch, per year or per kg MP) |
| directUtilFCont_VID | set/get the direct time utilization factor (0 -1) (fraction of time devoted to process continuous activities) |
| qcSecLaborFactor_VID | set/get the quality control labor cost factor for a section (as a percent of total labor) |
| qcSecFixedCost_VID | set/get the fixed cost estimate for a section |
| qcSecItemizedCost_VID | get the (calculated) total labor after umming up the cost from each procedure in a section |
| materialAmount_VID | get the (calculated) material consumption (for a given material) for a procedure or a section; the result can be per batch, per h, per year, per kg MP or per campaign (specified by last argument) |
For several operation types, new set of VIDs have been added to facilitate accessing of their properties (Get/SetOperVarVal())
More specifically in this release we have added the following new VIDs:
|
Any Reaction Operation |
reactionEnthalpy_VID |
set/get the enthalpy (heat) of a reaction in a reaction type operation (e.g. stoichiometric reaction, or kinetic fermentation, etc.) |
| reactionEnthalpyRefComp_VID | reaction enthalpy must specified per unit mass (or mole) of a reaction participant; this sets/gets that reference component used when the set enthalpy applies | |
| reactionEnthalpyRefTemp_VID | the assumed reference temperature that the reaction enthalpy applies | |
| reactionEnthalpyRefPSForComp_VID | set/get the assumed physical state (PS) of a component in order for the set reaction enthalpy to apply | |
| Custom Mixing & Pull-in Operation | outCompMolFrac_VID | set/get the mole fraction of a preferred component after the custom mixing (or after the pull-in operation). |
| Pull-in Operation |
massRatio_VID |
set/get the mass ratio advanced specification in a pull-in operation |
| volRatio_VID | set/get the volume ratio advanced specification in a pull-in operation | |
| Fed-Batch Fermentation | bConsiderFedBatchSupply_VID | enables the option to consider fed-batch line into a fermentation operation |
| fedBatchSpecType_VID | set/get the fed-batch specification option: it can be one of three values: - Amount & Reaction Time, - Flow Rate & Reaction Time or - Amount & Flow Rate |
|
| fedStream_VID | set/get the stream (by name) to be used for fed batch inlet (user must make sure that the stream, exits and it's appropriate to be used, i.e. it is not used by other operations). |
|
| bUseAvailOnStream_VID | sets the amount to be taken from the stream (however much is there) | |
| mass_VID | sets the amount of fed batch requirement (as mass, in kg) | |
| volume_VID | sets the amount of fed batch requirement (as volume, in m3) | |
| massFlow_VID | set/get the flow rate (mass) of the fed batch line | |
| volFlow_VID | set/get the flow rate (vol) of the fed batch line | |
| keyReactantComp_VID | set/get the specific component whose concentration is targeted to achieve certain level (set below) | |
| keyReactantCompConc_VID | set/get the concentration of the key reactant component (it will determine the amount of material to be fed into the operation). | |
| CIP Operation | wasteTreatCost_VID | set/get the waste treatment cost ($/kg) for the waste generated by a CIP step (if not connected to a receiving unit). |
| Flash Evaporation | designCompVapFrac_VID | set/get the required evaporation fraction of a key component (also specified on this call) |
| vaporizationFraction_VID | set/get the feed evaporation fraction achieved by the flash operation | |
| exitTemperature_VID | set/get the exit temperature; if called, sets the thermal mode to 'Isothermal'. | |
| adiabaticSpec_VID | sets the thermal operating mode to 'Adiabatic' | |
| operPress_VID | set/get the operating pressure (key variable) for this operation | |
When accessing properties of a section (Get/SetStreamVarVal()) the following new additions have been made:
| discretePurchasePrice_VID | set/get the purchase price for a discrete entity |
| discreteSellingPrice_VID | set/get the selling price for a discrete entity |
When solving to find out the vapor-liquid equilibrium (VLE) state of components using non-ideal VLE models (e.g. EOS, gamma-phi), instead of taking the zero composition as initial condition (or all vapor, or all liquid) which often could lead to no solution, the solver now executes the (easier) ideal solution flash, and uses that solution as initial conditions. This was found to improve robustness (and overall speed) in solving the more complex non-ideal case. Also for cases where the traditional approach to solving the flash equations fails to converge, users can resort to alternative approaches that (depending on the specifics of a given case) may yield a solution.
A new example has been added in the "Misc" folder that presents a sensitivity analysis of a flash output in a CO2 / Ethanol / Water mixture modelled with a non-ideal (Peng-Robinson) equation of state. Several charts are generated showing the concentration of CO2 in the liquid output at various flash conditions. A good example to study for the use of COM library in performing sensitivity analysis on a base case design.
Also, another example added under the "Food Processing", that demonstrates Monosodium Glutamate (MSG).
Typically enthalpy value contributions for each component in a mixture (stream) are computed as an enthalpy difference between the current state of the component (T, P and physical state) and a global enthalpy reference state (H-Tref, H-Pref, H-PSref) - typically 0°C, 1 bar and 'Liquid/Solid'. Using such a global set of Physical State forces enthalpy trajectories that go through infeasible states of components, where heat capacity correlations produce highly doubtful values. Of course, in cases where a component does not change phases, any such error introduced cancels out being present on both enthalpy terms. However, in cases where the enthalpy differences are calculated between two states of a stream involving one or more components in different states (one as liquid the other as vapor), significant errors can enter the results (due to non-perfect Cp correlations and non-perfect heat of vaporization estimations). Starting with this release, each component uses as its reference state 'vapor' or 'liquid/solid' smartly: the phase that is determined by the normal boiling point criterion at the H-Tref and H-Pref. So, for H2, "vapor" is used (H2 is vapor at 0°C and 1 bar) whereas for H2O, "liquid/solid" is used (water is "liquid/solid" at 0°C and 1 bar). This assumption, along with the adoption of using as transition point from "Liquid/Solid" to "Vapor" (or vice versa) always the NBP of that substance (where the heat of vaporization is best known) reduces significantly errors in enthalpy calculations (and thus energy balances and temperature or load calculations.
When a fermentation reaction produces the designated "Main Biomass" component (and "Water"), if the "Main Biomass" component has been assigned a given intra-cellular amount of water, the program now automatically turns a portion of the available water as "intra-cellular" to satisfy the intra-cellular biomass specification. If not enough water is available in the product stream (or equipment contents after fermentation operation), a warning is generated.
In releases up to now, in operations where throughput is an operating parameter (e.g. "Pumping", or "Pasteurization"), the program would require the user to provide a process time (always) when the equipment was in design mode. The principle behind it was that unless the user provides a duration, the program would be unable to provide a demand for throughput (by dividing the total amount per batch that needs to be processed divided by process time) and size the equipment. We have now opened up the option whereby the user can instead specify an operating throughput (per unit); this assumption automatically assumes a single unit and of course, can only be valid if the value is below the MAX available throughput (for that type of equipment); or, in some equipment whose sizing variable is not throughput directly but a throughput-derivable value (e.g. Power in pumps), the specification of throughput would map to a value of power (per unit) and this will only be feasible if that value is below the max available. If that is the case, then, the program will calculate a single unit and will calculate the time from the set throughput and the available amount for processing per batch. As an example, you can view the interface for air filtration (see below):
When registering a resource into a process file that depends on another (e.g. a CIP template that depends on the definition of some components and/mixtures, or a Mixture that depends on the definition of all its ingredients), the program would offer to automatically register all the pre-requisite resources. Unfortunately, in some cases, some components or mixtures registered (implicitly) this way, would create subtle conflicts with existing (already registered) components or mixtures and went unnoticed. A process model cannot have two components or a component and a mixture with formal names, local names or company IDs matching (in any way) with each other. If previous cases of such conflicts are found, they are fixed by creating unique names (quietly) and the name change is reported when a past file is opened and up-converted to this version number.
When viewing the Materials tab of the Process Explorer, the program displays the list of all registered pure components and stock mixtures. Two new columns have been added to display the normal boiling point and the molecular weight of each pure component (see below):
Starting with this release SuperPro Designer will seek the presence of SchedulePro's Recipe database under either the name "SchedulePro Recipe DB v1" (old name) or "SchedulePro Recipe DB" (newer name).
When a new unit procedure is created, a new equipment is also created to host the procedure. The equipment is assumed to have a default material of construction, with an associate value of material factor. The material factor is a number that is applied to purchase cost estimates from the built-in cost model to reflect better match to current values. Users can modify current values of material factors (for each equipment type) as well as add more. When a new equipment is first created a material name is assumed (usually "SS-316"), and up until this release, a default material factor was assigned (typically 1.0). Starting with this release, the material factor for the assumed material is looked up in the user's db instead of assuming a default value.
When a user has selected a designated component ("Activity Component") on the Component Registration Dialog, and an "Activity Basis" value, SuperPro Designer will display for all streams their activity value (strength). Since activity values can take a wide range of values, the standard scientific notation is more suitable for displaying such values and starting with this release, that is how it is shown on stream dialogs (see below):
MS-Access has adopted a new format for keeping the data in its files : ".accdb". The old format (".mdb") has been deemed as less secured and abandoned. As a consequence, all of SuperPro Designer's database files (for the 'System DB', "User DB", "Process DB") are now delivered in the new format. Note that the ODBC entries created by SuperPro Designer's installation will STILL support the old (".mdb") format in order to continue supporting past user's databases.
SuperPro users were always able to share information records kept in their own 'User DB' with others in their organization in multiple ways:
a) They could simply make their 'User DB' file available on a network drive, and direct other users to simply point to that location for their 'User DB' (from their own copy of SuperPro Designer), or
b) Offer a copy of their 'User DB' file, and the recipient could use either the entire file or import from it the data definitions (for Heat Transfer Agents, Components, Mixtures, etc.) that they wished to import in their own 'User DB' (using the Databanks / Import Data into the Active SuperPro (User) DB option from the main menu).
However, in both cases (a & b) above, it was required that the ENTIRE contents of the 'User DB' be available for sharing with another user. If you only wanted to share parts of you data alone (e.g. just the Heat Transfer Agent definitions, or just the CIP Template definitions) but not the rest that was not possible. Starting with this release, you can deposit in an originally provided empty User DB file ('PDUser.Empty.v12.accdb') continue supporting past user's databases. This can be done using the (new) option: Databanks / Export Data into Another SuperPro (User) DB option from the main menu:
For example, in the settings above, it was decided to share ONLY the components and stock mixtures currently included in 'My List' and all the CIP Template and Heat Transfer Agent definitions. Click on "Export" and then you can deliver the newly created DB file ('PDUser.Empty.v12_Exp.accdb') to your colleague and share just the data that you wanted and no more.
In all previous releases, when users provide a labor demand for an operation it was always interpreted as labor hours per operating hour, and regardless of how many equipment where engaged in parallel. Therefore, if sizing determined that, say 5, chromatography columns were needed to be engaged and operate simultaneously (in parallel) to carry out that chromatography step, the amount of labor did not change. Starting with this release, we provided a setting for your model that it turned on, all labor specifications will scale with the number of equipment.
This option is available under the documents context menu (right-click menu) and after selecting the Cost Options... entry:
This example analyzes a sophorolipid production process. Sophorolipids are glycolipids with surface-active properties. They can be produced via fermentation by non-pathogenic yeast species. After the fermentation the sophorolipids phase is recovered and purified. The functionality of sophorolipids makes them suitable ingredient for several applications in agriculture, food, biomedicine, homecare and cosmetics industries.
When SHIFT+Clicking on a stream connected to an input port of a procedure, SuperPro showed the operation(s) using this stream and how much material is being used by each operation (if more then one are using that stream) - see below -
The amount utilized by each operation was reported on a mass basis (in mass units as chosen on that stream's i/o dialog).
The same information is also presented if a user SHIFT+Clicks on an output stream.
Starting with this release, if the user holds the CTRL key down when SHIFT+Clicking on a stream then the amount information is in volume (and the volume units chosen on the stream's i/o dialog) instead of mass.
An SMB Chromatography (Short-Cut) Procedure can be created by selecting the following menu option:
Unit Procedures > Chromatography/Adsorption > SMB Chromatography (Short-Cut).
This unit procedure can be used to simulate the continuous separation of mixtures based on simulated moving bed technology that uses a single adsorbent bed separated into several sections (typically 8-12) by internal distributors. For the separation of carbohydrates (sugar molecules), each section has a bed height of 50 to 100 cm. The difficulty of separation determines the number of sections and, hence, the total bed height. For instance, the separation of the fructose/dextrose solution typically requires a 10 bed system and a specific solutes loading rate in the order of 1.4 kg/m3-min.
The simulation model of the host equipment (Single-Column SMB) focuses on determining the size of the entire column (i.e., column height and diameter) and the number of units (columns). Additional design parameters such as the bed height and number of sections (beds) are not considered (for simplicity).
An Electrowinning procedure has been added under:
Unit Procedures > Continuous Reactions > Stoichiometric > in a Electrowinning Cell
This unit procedure can be used to simulate an electrowinning operation. Electrowinning, also known as electrolysis, is a typical operation of hydrometallurgical engineering that is used to reduce (win) a metal ion (from the solution of the ore that contains the metal) onto a cathode at the expense of externally-provided electric current. The reduction of an electroactive species onto the cathode is accompanied by the oxidation of another or more species at the anode. The Electrowinning operation is performed in equipment called electrolytic cells. A new operation (Electrowinning) and a new equipment resource type (Electrowinning Cell) has been created to support the above procedure.
A new equipment resource type named Electrowinning Cell has been added to host an Electrowinning procedure. The Electrowinning Cell equipment resource is supposed to represent an electrolytic cell used to perform an electrowinning operation. An electrolytic cell is a tank in which cathodes and anodes are typically arranged in alternating order. It is part of an electrolytic unit that has three main components: an electrolytic cell, a pump and a rectifier that supplies the electric current. The pump and rectifier are not included in this equipment resource.
The SMB Chromatography (Short-Cut) operation can be used to simulate the continuous separation of mixtures based on simulated moving bed technology that uses a single adsorbent bed separated into several sections (typically 8-12) by internal distributors. For the separation of carbohydrates (sugar molecules), each section has a bed height of 50 to 100 cm. The difficulty of separation determines the number of sections and, hence, the total bed height. For instance, the separation of the fructose/dextrose solution typically requires a 10 bed system and a specific solutes loading rate in the order of 1.4 kg/m3-min.
The main objective of this operation is to calculate the flow and composition of the product and by-product streams, and also, if the equipment is in Design Mode, the size of the entire column (i.e., column height and diameter) and the number of units (columns). Additional design parameters such as the bed height and number of sections (beds) are not considered (for simplicity).
A new has been added to model electrowinning. Electrowinning, also known as electrolysis, is a typical operation of hydrometallurgical engineering that is used to reduce (win) a metal ion (from the solution of the ore that contains the metal) onto a cathode at the expense of externally-provided electric current. The reduction of an electroactive species onto the cathode is accompanied by the oxidation of another or more species at the anode. The Electrowinning operation is performed in equipment called electrolytic cells.
The main objective of this operation is to calculate the flow and composition of the product and by-product streams, and also, if the equipment is in Design Mode, the size of the entire column (i.e., column height and diameter) and the number of units (columns). Additional design parameters such as the bed height and number of sections (beds) are not considered (for simplicity).
Typically a 2-way component splitter is utilized to represent some sort physical operation that SPD doesn't have an adequate model. When splitting a stream into two and specifying the individual component composition of each outlet, previous versions of SuperPro did not balance the enthalpies. Starting with this release they do. Users can specify if the operation is supposed to be isothermal (all outputs come out at a given temperature), or at the temperature of the inlet stream, or they can provide specific temperatures for each outlet stream. Then, the program will report the load (heating or cooling) that is needed to balance out the enthalpies between the input and the output streams.
Besides balancing out the enthalpies (see previous enhancement), this release allows for ambient interaction with the temperatures calculated of the output and/or the required load. This feature was first included in the N-way component splitting operation in a previous release. It is now part of the 2-way splitting as well.
Besides balancing out the enthalpies (see previous enhancement), this release allows for ambient interaction with the temperatures calculated of the output and/or the required load. This feature was first included in the N-way component splitting operation in a previous release. It is now part of the 2-way splitting as well.
Sometimes the emission calculations may fail to produce meaningful results. The root of the issue may be in any one of different areas:
Inappropriate VLE properties (at least for the range of temperature and pressure applied)
Poor initial conditions
Poor operating conditions (esp. when a condenser is active)
No available head space
No components set to be emitted are present
...
We've tried to improve the feedback from such failed calculations so that the user can take a more appropriate corrective action.
The model simulating "gasification" has been redesigned to simplify the user-specifications: the "Carbon Conversion %" is no longer a calculated variable - the user must now set it at all times. This was necessary to improve the accuracy of the calculation of the rest of produced variables (CO, CO2, CH4 and H2 composition of product gas). The M&E balances have been significantly improved as is robustness. A "thermal mode" option has been added to allow for isothermal as well as adiabatic gasification conditions.
When a component is not 100% in the liquid phase (within a vessel), and SuperPro's emission calculation engine takes over, if the user has chosen to set an emission percentage for such a component, SuperPro used to complain because the emission engine such components (with a set emission percentages) are left aside the VLE calculation. The vapor composition is calculated and an amount of emissions is set so that the remaining vapors satisfy the pressure criterion (atmospheric pressure if open vent, or the vent setting if closed vent). However, when these vapors are placed back in the equipment contents, if the components left aside had ANY leftover gaseous amount, it will be added and therefore the ACTUAL pressure will be higher than what it was supposed to be. Of course, if the user set that emission percentage to be 100%, no such problem would appear. Starting with this release, the program will NOT complain if for such components the emission percentage is set to 100%.
These four models are trying to capture the same core unit operation : liquid-liquid extraction; yet, their interfaces where quite dissimilar before. Starting with this release we've made an effort to unify their interfaces (and user-specifications).
Up till now, you could setup a custom mixing operation whereby the add-in stream was adjusted to achieve a user-set, mass-fraction for a selected component. A new option now has been added so that users can set the mole fraction of a component at the exiting stream (instead of mass fraction). The same option has been added to the Pull-in operation.
The min working-to-vessel volume has been removed from the following equipment types:
PFR, Raceway Pond, Aeration Basin, PF Aeration Basin, Anoxic Reactor, Anaerobic Digester, Wet Air Oxidizer, Decanter, Silo, Solids Bin, Solids Drum, Solids Tote, Sphere Dryer, Cone Screw Dryer, Double Cone Dryer, Granulator, Hopper, Tumble Mixer, Discrete Bin, Discrete Drum, Discrete Tote, Freeze-Thaw Module and Discrete Freeze-Thaw Module.
It has also been removed from many operations:
All continuous stoichiometric reactions and fermentations operations, all solids storage operations, cone screw drying, granulation, tumble mixing, hopping, all continuous storage operations, transfer in/out operations for solids, pull-in (or out) operations for solids and discrete entities, tablet coating.
All environmental operations (WM Aerobic Bio-Oxidation, WM Stoich Aerobic Bio-Oxidation, PF Stoich Aerobic Bio-Oxidation, Aerobic Bio-Oxidation and Trickling Filtration) now support the engagement of vacuum pumps when necessary to maintain vacuum (for emissions). Vacuum pumps were introduced first in v11 (as an 'essential' aux equipment type) and were engaged (when needed) to maintain vacuum in most operations that perform emission calculations or venting.
Pumping, compression and gas transport (by centrifugal fan) can result in significant heat added to the main process stream by virtue of heat dissipation due to the (large) amount of power that is input to the system. This could cause a significant temperature increase on the process stream being handled, and it can now be accounted for.
The Rigorous Batch Vaporization operation allows the setting "Liquid Volume" to be scaleable when a scale up/down factor is applied to the entire process.
The Homogenization operation now allows the user to specify how to perform the energy balances:
- Isothermally
- Adiabatically
- Under a constant (fixed) heating or cooling load.
Selection View / Component Properties Table... is supposed to show a table that has as many rows as the components registered in the process and show in columns a user-selected set of property values (e.g. Molecular Weight, Normal Boiling Point, Liq/Sol Heat Capacity, etc.). If a component property depends on temperature, then its value at a user-selectable temperature is shown. If the component property is meaningless at the chosen temperature (e.g. Liq/Sol Heat Capacity of N2 at 25°C), starting with this release a "-" will be shown. Also, since some components can be declared with "Unknown/Irrelevant Vapor Properties", no values are shown for Heat of Vaporization, Ideal Gas Cp and Vapor Pressure for such components.
Previous releases didn't check to make sure the solvent(s) involved in a batch extraction operation were present. Starting with this release, the model will complain if a solvent required is not present in the mix.
In previous releases, when a fed-batch specification was requested and the amount of added air was asked to be calculated from a VVM (volume-per-volume-rate) spec, the amount of air was calculated using as reference the volume of the initial amount (before reaction/fermentation started). Since the amount at the end (after the fed-batch material is added) can be significantly more, it now utilizes the average volume before and after the fed-batch addition as a reference to better estimate the air demand.
Besides balancing out the enthalpies (see previous enhancement), this release allows for ambient interaction with the temperatures calculated of the output and/or the required load. This feature was first included in the N-way component splitting operation in a previous release. It is now part of the 2-way splitting as well.
When venting gases from a continuous reaction operation and the user chose to set the emission (venting) percentage of several components, the program would show the amounts (as requested by the user) on the emission line, but didn't remove them from the bottoms (liquid/solid) output stream. This has now been fixed. Also, the temperature shown on the vent line, didn't match the temperature of the reaction. This also has been fixed.
When choosing to replace a fermentation operation with a perfusion operation (or vice versa) some settings related with the perfusion settings (or a possible fed-batch specification) were not correctly set. This has now been fixed.
When scaling up a process containing a perfusion fermentation, the perfusion rate was scaled as well. However, if after the scaling up, it turned out that multiple fermentors were needed (in design mode), the perfusion amount would increase once more. This has now been fixed.
When showing the activity grid for a procedure where the default initialization mechanism is active, the default stream carrying material into the procedure would appear as active in the first line ("After Auto-Init") but also as part of the first operation in the procedure queue (by mistake). The same mistake also appeared at the end of the procedure where the default output stream would appear twice. This has now been fixed.
When showing the equipment occupancy data chart, the legend is supposed to explain each bar displayed (Occupancy time, idle time, etc.). Due to a glitch, the bars colors were incorrectly labelled.
Besides balancing out the enthalpies (see previous enhancement), this release allows for ambient interaction with the temperatures calculated of the output and/or the required load. This feature was first included in the N-way component splitting operation in a previous release. It is now part of the 2-way splitting as well.
When depositing a resource in the 'SupePro (User)' database with a definition that includes other resource definitions (e.g. components or mixtures), before the resource definition is deposited, the prerequisite resources must also be deposited as well. Otherwise, they cannot be used again from another process model. Sometimes, SuperPro failed to auto-deposit such resources. This has now been fixed.
Taking advantage of the ability to exchange (swap) one unit procedure for another in the same family, users could replace an existing 'Fanning' procedure with a 'Compressing' procedure. Unfortunately, due to a glitch, a crash could occur when this specific substitution was carried out. This has now been fixed.
Due to a programming glitch, the estimated cost for decanters was significantly off. The built-in cost model has now been fixed to provide reasonable estimates.
Due to a programming glitch, the estimated annual cost of consumables, the annual operating hours for the equipment involved were miscalculated (when the flowsheet was operating in continuous mode), and when the consumable cost was set on a per-equipment-hour basis, the annual consumable cost was overestimated. This has now been fixed.
Due to a programming glitch, when the generic wash was asked to affect the contents of a vessel (either through a loss percentage or a carry-out percentage) the amounts of material showing on the output (wash out) stream were incorrectly calculated. This has now been fixed.
Due to a programming glitch, when the generic wash was asked to calculate the amount of wash required based on a user-set wash rate, the amount (demand) was not properly back-propagated onto the wash inlet streams. This has now been fixed.
Due to a programming glitch, when users attempted to share (or un-share) equipment between two unit procedures that had different i/o configurations (e.g. one was a 11x9 while the other was 14x11) would lead to a crash (eventually). First some stream wouldn't show as connected and then when attempting to move the procedure or change any of the contained operations' data the program would crash. This has now been fixed.
|
f01. |
|
|
f02. |
|
|
f03. |
|
|
f04. |
|
|
f05. |
|
|
f06. |
|
|
f07. |
|
|
f08. |
|
|
f09. |
|
|
f10. |
Please note that new examples are being added with each build release (or even minor release).
For more information and to find out the latest example processes included with the software please check the latest 'ReadMe' file of your release.
Lithium-Ion Batteries (LIBs) are high-capacity accumulators that find wide application in portable electronics and electric vehicles. The cathode of LiBs is made of a lithium transition metal oxide layered on aluminum foil whereas the anode consists of porous carbon graphite layered on copper. During charge, lithium ions flow from the cathode to the anode through an electrolyte. During discharge, lithium ions flow back to the cathode,thereby ensuring power generation.
The key component in LiBs is the cathode material, which accounts for around 30% of the total battery weight. Early LiBs were based on pure lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) cathodes. Due to the low specific power and lifespan and to the high cost of Co, LiCoO2 was later replaced by pure lithium manganese oxide (LiMn2O4). Exhibiting higher power and safety but less capacity and lifespan than LiCoO2, LiMn2O4 has been gradually replaced by multi-metal oxides. The newest commercialized technology in battery cathode materials is based on a mixture of lithium cobalt-manganese-nickel oxide, namely NMC. In this material, a proper modulation of the Ni:Mn:Co ratio provides the LiBs with a desirable balance of power, energy, capacity and lifespan. Early NMC materials utilized NMC with Ni:Mn:Co ratio of 1:1:1. The current tendency is to decrease the cobalt and manganese content at the advantage of nickel.
In 2015, the total amount of battery cathode material placed in the market was 140,000 metric tons (MT). This amount has been increasing constantly over the last years and is expected to increase up to 10 times following the switch to electric mobility. Electric vehicles will represent 20% of the total automotive market by 2030 and the majority by 2035. Therefore, the production of LiBs, today around 750,000 MT/year, is expected to increase to up to 4,000,000 MT/year by 2025, corresponding to about 1,200,000 MT/year of cathode material.
The example model and relevant extensive documentation can be found in the 'Battery Cathode Material' folder of the 'Metallurgy' group under the 'Example' collection of files. You can fast-open the relevant file (or any of the other files in the 'Metallurgy' group) by searching the Process Library with the keyword 'Example Group::Metallurgy'.
This example analyzes the recycling of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) for portable electronics through a mixed physico-hydrometallurgical process. The physical pretreatment section frees the electrode powder and separates the other valuable components through thermal and mechanical operations. In the hydrometallurgical line, all valuable metals contained in the electrode powder are brought in solution through a leaching procedure. Following leaching, the metal-rich solution undergoes purification by precipitation and solvent extraction. The precipitation removes Fe, Al, and Cu. The solvent extraction separates Mn first, using bis(2-ethylhexhyl phosphate (D2EHPA), and Co later, using bis(2,4,4-trimethylpentyl) phosphinic acid (CYANEX 272). Mn, Co and Li are recovered from their aqueous solutions by crystallization; Mn and Co are crystallized as sulfates, while Li is crystallized as carbonate. Ni is recovered by precipitation as carbonate. The process runs in a mixed continuous-batch mode. The physical operations and the crystallization units run in continuous mode whereas the chemical operations (leaching, precipitation, solvent extraction) run in batch mode.
The plant processes around 11,000-12,000 MT/year of Li-ion batteries, corresponding to 4,266 kg of battery material per batch. This example includes two SuperPro Designer files (Cases A and B). In Case B, two reaction steps have access to extra equipment operating in staggered mode in order to reduce the overall process cycle time and increase the throughput of the plant. Detailed information on the subject will be provided later in this document .
The example model and relevant extensive documentation can be found in the 'Battery Recycling' folder of the 'Metallurgy' group under the 'Example' collection of files.You can fast-open the relevant file (or any of the other files in the 'Metallurgy' group) by searching the Process Library with the keyword 'Example Group::Metallurgy'.
The Cu-Ni matte leaching example analyzes a hydrometallurgical process for the extraction and separation of nickel from copper minerals present in Cu-Ni matte. The whole process treats 31,680 MT of matte per year in continuous mode. After feed preparation, the Cu-Ni matte undergoes pressure leaching at 170°C. Through acidic oxidation and metathesis, leaching produces a stream containing nickel and minor impurities as well as a solid residue rich in reduced copper minerals. Nickel is recovered as NiCO3 upon crystallization and precipitation of the co-crystallized iron impurities. The process also results in the removal of the arsenic impurities as crystalline scorodite. The main chemicals utilized in the process include H2SO4 for pressure leaching and Na2CO3 for neutralization-precipitation. The main product is NiCO3, which is sold for $4.24/kg (11% moisture). The leaching residue containing copper minerals is concentrated by flotation and constitutes another important revenue of the process, with a selling price of $1.88/kg (16% moisture).
The Cu-Ni matte leaching process exhibits a potential gross margin of 7.5% and a return on investment of 15%. The cost analysis suggests that this process would generate total revenues of $82 million per year, resulting in a payback time of about 6 years. Clearly, the economic evaluation results strongly depend on the assumed prices of raw materials and products .
The example model and relevant extensive documentation can be found in the 'Cu-Ni Matte Leaching' folder of the 'Metallurgy' group under the 'Example' collection of files. You can fast-open the relevant file (or any of the other files in the 'Metallurgy' group) by searching the Process Library with the keyword 'Example Group::Metallurgy'.
This example analyzes metallurgical production of battery grade Li2CO3 from spodumene ore, the most common raw material in lithium manufacturing. It was assumed that spodumene ore contains 80% spodumene in the presence of quartz, silica and biotite impurities. This ore, which is initially present as a refractory ?-Spodumene, is first converted into Spodumene by decrepitation at a temperature above 1070 °C. The decrepitated material is then reacted with sulfuric acid at 250 °C in a sulfation-roasting operation that convert spodumene, alumina, and the solid biotite mixture to their respective sulfates. The sulfate mixture is dissolved in water and neutralized with Ca(OH)2 to precipitate gypsum and silica while concentrating the main elements in solution. The liquid stream which is rich in Li2SO4 undergoes a double purification by neutralization-precipitation at pH 6 and pH 10 to remove iron, aluminum and magnesium as hydroxides. Lithium carbonate is recovered from this purified solution upon carbonation with Na2CO3 and evaporation-crystallization. The evaporation-crystallization step removes 40% of the water prior to cooling down to 35 °C to induce the crystallization of Li2CO3. The obtained Li2CO3 crystals constitute the main revenue of the process upon separation and drying.
The capital investment for such a facility is around $70 million. The annual operating cost is around $72 million and the annual revenues around $95 million. This results in a return on investment in the order of 33% and a payback time of about 3 years.
The example model and relevant extensive documentation can be found in the Lithium Extraction' folder of the 'Metallurgy' group under the 'Example' collection of files. You can fast-open the relevant file (or any of the other files in the 'Metallurgy' group) by searching the Process Library with the keyword 'Example Group::Metallurgy'.
The Rare Earth Processing example analyzes a physico-hydrometallurgical process for the obtainment of rare earth elements from rare earth ore containing 4% REO as LREEs. The process is based on mineral processing and hydrometallurgical operations. The mineral processing features comminution, magnetic separation, and flotation to recover marketable fractions (magnetite, Fe-Nb concentrate, monazite concentrate) and generate a bastnaesite-parisite concentrate to be treated hydrometallurgically. Hydrometallurgical operations determine the extraction, separation and recovery of cerium, lanthanum, neodymium and praseodymium oxides from the concentrate by means of sulfatation-roasting, leaching, precipitation, solvent extraction and precipitation-calcination.
The whole process treats 396,00 MT of raw ore per year in continuous mode to generate 74,686 MT/year of Fe3O4, 122,000 MT/year of a Fe-Nb concentrate (1% Nb, >80% Fe), 15,400 MT/year of a 33% monazite concentrate, 17,186 MT/year of a 25% CaF2 concentrate, 9,900 Mt/year of CeO2, 4,910 MT/year of La2O3, and 4,356 MT/year of a mixture NdO3-Pr6O11.
Under the assumption of an ore basket price accounting 25% of the actual price, the process exhibits a potential gross margin of 3.32% and a return on investment of 15%. The cost analysis suggests that this process would generate total revenues for about $524 million per year, resulting in a payback time slightly higher than 6 years. Clearly, the economic evaluation results strongly depend on the assumed prices of raw materials and products.
The example model and relevant extensive documentation can be found in the 'Rear Earth Elements' folder of the 'Metallurgy' group under the 'Example' collection of files.You can fast-open the relevant file (or any of the other files in the 'Metallurgy' group) by searching the Process Library with the keyword 'Example Group::Metallurgy'.
The model of this example analyzes a metallurgical process to produce ZrO2 from zircon sand ore. Other co-products generated in the process include a mixture of UO2 and ZrO2, a Hf-rich raffinate solution, and SiO2. The main raw material is a crude zircon sand ore containing 68.6% of ZrSiO4 and minor amounts of UO2 and HfO2. This ore is processed first in a mineral processing circuit for the removal of light clay minerals (10% of the weight ore), thus increasing the zircon concentration up to 80% on a dry-solid basis. The enriched material is then fused with NaOH and leached in hot water first and H2SO4 later to extract all zirconium, hafnium, and uranium. Then, iron and aluminum are removed from the leach solution by precipitation, prior to a solvent extraction circuit for the separation of zirconium, uranium, and hafnium. This solvent extraction is conducted in a cross-current flow, using TOA to extract uranium and zirconium while leaving hafnium in the raffinate. ZrO2 and UO2 are then recovered from their respective solutions by precipitation (and calcination in the case of zirconium) whereas the raffinate solution rich in hafnium represents a revenue stream as it is. The process also generates SiO2 from the Fe-Al precipitation sludge.
The process runs in continuous mode, enabling the treatment of 41,976 MT of ore per year to produce 18,454 MT/year of ZrO2. The main chemicals utilized in the process include H2SO4 for leaching and stripping and NaOH and NH4OH for neutralization-precipitation.
The economic evaluation highlights process revenues for about $158M/year in the face of $52M capital investments. This results in a return on investment in the order of 25% and a payback time of 4 years. Clearly, the economic evaluation results strongly depend on the assumed prices to raw materials and products, whose consistency must be thoroughly verified.
The example model and relevant extensive documentation can be found in the 'Zircon Processing' folder of the 'Metallurgy' group under the 'Example' collection of files. You can fast-open the relevant file (or any of the other files in the 'Metallurgy' group) by searching the Process Library with the keyword 'Example Group::Metallurgy'.
This example analyzes a sophorolipid production process. Sophorolipids are glycolipids with surface-active properties. They can be produced via fermentation by non-pathogenic yeast species. In fermentation media that consist of lipids or fatty acid molecules, among other nutrients, the microorganisms cannot have access to the water insoluble oil phase and cannot utilize the hydrophobic carbon source. For this reason, the microorganisms, which exist in the aqueous phase, produce glycolipids in order to emulsify and be able to utilize the hydrophobic carbon source.
Our objective of this example is to present a simple sophorolipid production model in SuperPro Designer that is easy to understand and follow. As indicated in the preceding analysis, a plant with a capacity of around 15,800 metric tons of sophorolipids per year requires a total CAPEX of around $91 million and annual operating expenditures (including depreciation) of around $58 million. The predominant cost is the cost of raw materials, followed by the facility-dependent costs. The payback time of this investment was estimated to be about 6.4years.
The example model and relevant extensive documentation can be found in the 'Sophorolipis' folder of the 'Bio-Materials' group under the 'Example' collection of files. You can fast-open the relevant file (or any of the other files in the 'Bio-Materials' group) by searching the Process Library with the keyword 'Example Group::Bio-Materials'.
This example analyzes a rhamnolipids production process. Rhamnolipids like sophorolipids, the other biosurfactant production example of SuperPro Designer, are glycolipids with surface-active properties. Both substances can be produced via fermentation of yeast species and bacteria, and as such they are called biosurfactants. The fermentation media consist of lipids or fatty acid molecules, among other nutrients. The microorganisms, which are grown in the aqueous phase cannot have access to the water insoluble oil phase and cannot utilize the hydrophobic carbon source. A widely accepted speculation is that microorganisms produce glycolipids in order to emulsify and be able to utilize the hydrophobic carbon source.
The global effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and the public’s preference for biodegradable chemicals produced from renewable sources favours the use of biosurfactants rather than the traditional synthetic surfactants. This market trend is expected to continue in the coming years, allowing for growth opportunities in the global production of rhamnolipids and biosurfactants in general, even if their production cost is currently considerably higher than the synthetic alternatives. The global biosurfactants market was slightly larger than $1.5 billion in 2018. Figure 1a shows the market share and growth forecast of different biosurfactants. Rhamnolipids accounted for around 20-30% of the market size. Europe and North America were the largest markets. Figure 1b shows the breakdown of the North America biosurfactants market by industry. The largest consumer was the household detergent market, followed by personal care. Similar trends are evident in the global market with food and oil industry having slightly larger percentage of the total market. The global market of biosurfactants is expected to grow to more than $2.4 billion by 2025.
The example model and relevant extensive documentation can be found in the 'Rhamnolipids' folder of the 'Bio-Materials' group under the 'Example' collection of files. You can fast-open the relevant file (or any of the other files in the 'Bio-Materials' group) by searching the Process Library with the keyword 'Example Group::Bio-Materials'.
This example analyzes a yeast extract production process. Yeasts, as intact cells, are the most important and most frequently used microorganisms in the food industry (e.g. in bread-making). Yeast extract is also one of the most frequently used substrates in the fermentation industry, but also an ingredient in the food industry. Yeast cells consists of a number of macromolecules, mainly proteins but also nucleic acids, DNA, RNA and complex carbohydrates. Each macromolecule offers a functionality to the cell. Yeast extract consists of cell contents of yeast without the cell walls.
As demonstrated by the model, a yeast extract producing plant with capacity of about 7300 ton of yeast extract per year requires a total CAPEX of around $55 million and annual operating expenditures (including depreciation) of around $44.2 million. The predominant cost is the cost of the 95.5% glucose syrup raw material, followed by the cost of depreciation for a new facility. This clearly indicates that depreciated facilities have a considerably lower production costs. The payback time of this investment was estimated to be about 9.3 years.
The example model and relevant extensive documentation can be found in the 'Yeast Extract' folder of the 'Bio-Materials' group under the 'Example' collection of files. You can fast-open the relevant file (or any of the other files in the 'Bio-Materials' group) by searching the Process Library with the keyword 'Example Group::Bio-Materials'.
Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) is the sodium salt of glutamic acid, which was first prepared in 1908 by a Japanese biochemist (Kikunae Ikeda) from an edible seaweed. Glutamic acid is naturally found in many food items such as tomato, cheese and meat and gives these foods a savory flavor known as umami. Monosodium glutamate is used as a flavor enhancing ingredient in many Japanese and Chinese foods and forms a basis of a roughly $7.2 billion Industry (2020).
As demonstrated by the model, a plant with capacity of around 48,900 metric tons of monosodium glutamate per year requires a total CAPEX of around $76 million and annual operating expenditures (including depreciation) of around $65.4 million. The predominant cost is the cost of raw materials, especially the glucose syrup, followed by the facility-dependent costs. The payback time for such as investment was estimated to be around 6 years.
The example model and relevant extensive documentation can be found in the 'MSG' folder of the 'Bio-Materials' group under the 'Example' collection of files. You can fast-open the relevant file (or any of the other files in the 'Food Processing' group) by searching the Process Library with the keyword 'Example Group::Food Processing'.
B03, SBN 2101/2100 (doc no 12.0304), Release Date (03/22/2022)
B03, SBN 2101: Older Process Model Files with a Continuous GBX Unit Procedure May Fail to be Read and Saved Properly (Bug Fix)
Older versions of continuous GBX unit procedures didn't handle emissions from their continuous reaction. In later releases, this constraint has been relaxed and if no separation is used then emissions are allowed. Due to a bug in the code, the transition was not handled properly. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 2101: Exporting Heat Transfer Agent Breakdowns to Excel (via the Custom Excel Report) Sometimes Would Cause the Application to Crash (Bug Fix)
When exporting the tree-like breakdown of consumption amounts of a heat transfer agent in a process model from the Custom Excel report, sometimes the code would yield a crash. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 2100: Couldn't Password-Protect Documents when Logged in without Administrative Privileges (Bug Fix)
SuperPro Designer allows users to save documents with a built-in password to prevent unauthorized users from either opening the document or modifying the document. This feature would not work unless the user of the software was running it under an account with administrative privileges. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 2100: COM Calls to Set Feed Amount (Mass or Volume) in Fed Batch Options Didn't Go Through (Bug Fix)
Because the user-option to switch automatically from take what's on the stream to 'set-by-user', attempts to set the fed batch mass or volume amounts were not accepted. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 2100: New COM Interfaces Added to Set/Get Fill Level in the Filling Operation (Improvement)
New interface calls have been added to the Fill operation that allows users to set/get the amount (or volume) of the filling material. Use of mass_VID or volume_VID specifies which of the two the call affects.
B03, SBN 2100: Copy-and-Paste a PBA Chromatography Column Procedure with a Flow-Through Operation Could Lead to a Crash during Solve M&E Balances (Bug Fix)
When copying a unit procedure of type "PBA Chromatography Column" that contains a "PBA Column Flow-Through" operation and then pasting into the same (or a different) model, the clone operation would not be properly initialized and as a result when solving the new model it would lead to a crash. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 2100: Sizing of Labeling Unit Would Fail when the Process Time of the Operation Dependents on a Master Operation (Bug Fix)
When a labelling unit contained an operation whose process time was matched to another (master) operation, the sizing code would fail to pick up the correct time and calculated the proper throughput to size the unit. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 2100: When Switching Process Library Root Directory the Program Was Checking for Validity of the Previous Location (Bug Fix)
This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 2100: Improved Cost Estimation for Distillation Columns (Improvement)
The cost estimates for distillation columns did not include the cost for the reboiler and condenser. Starting with this release these two additional cost elements have been added to the estimate for a distillation column.
B03, SBN 2100: Improved Cost Estimation for Blending Tanks, Decanters, Mixer-Settlers and Stirred-Jacketed Vessels (Improvement)
The cost of blending (storage) tanks and vessels used for CSTR (stirred, jacketed) was consistently estimated on the high side. The correlations used for such estimated have been modified to better fit up to date, industry-wide charts for such costs. As always, users should be advised that there is a wide diversification of options for such vessels and costs can vary significantly in specific contexts.
B03, SBN 2100: When Viewing the Equipment Contents Hosting a Batch Procedure in a Continuous Process, the Amounts Shown Were Incorrect. (Bug Fix)
When showing the equipment contents when the host equipment is in batch mode but the overall process is in continuous mode, the amounts displayed are supposed to whatever is transferred in as kg/h multiplied by the procedure's holdup time. This last factor was not considered appropriately and the amounts where incorrect. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 2100: Flash Calculations Didn't Proceed as Expected when the Negative Flash Concept Was Selected (Bug Fix)
This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 2100: Switching Between the Shortcut and Rigorous Toolbox Resulted in All Components Checked as Emitted (Bug Fix)
When the rigorous model was selected and then the user switched back to shortcut toolbox all components that participated in VLE calculations were checked as emitted.
B03, SBN 2100: A New Example Process Has Been Introduced in the Bio-Materials Group: Production of Polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHA) (Improvement)
This example analyzes the production of polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs), which are biodegradable bioplastics that have the potential to replace traditional plastics in various packaging applications, disposable goods, electronic accessories, etc. The bioconversion process utilizes bacteria Cupriavidus necator in 300 m3 fermentors, operating in fed-batch mode, using soybean oil as the main carbon source. After fermentation, the intracellular PHA granules are released by cell disruption and purified with a surfactant / enzyme treatment. The plant analyzed in this example produces 8,300 metric tons of PHAs per year.
For more details, please review the complete documentation on this example as well as the SuperPro model capturing the entire production in the files that can be found in the "BioPolymer" subfloder of the "Examples\Bio-Materials" group.
B03, SBN 2000/2001/2005 (doc no 12.0304), Release Date (02/18/2022)
B03, SBN 2005: Copy-and-Paste Across Flowsheets of Anoxic Reaction or Well-Mixed Aerobic Bioxidation Procedure May Fail (Bug Fix)
When copying a unit procedure of Anoxic Reaction or Well-Mixed Aerobic Bioxidation, some of the information contained in the source procedure was not properly reset (namely the references to the wasting streams) and therefore this could lead eventually to problems in the destination flowsheet. This has now been fixed and this information is reset before pasted.
B03, SBN 2005: COM Scripts that Accessed Any Drying Operation's Variables Lead to a Freeze (Bug Fix)
When running a COM script that accesses a variable from any drying operation (Spray Drying, Drum Drying, etc.) resulting in the script freezing. This issue has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 2005: Condensation Operation May Include a Non-Volatile Component with a Non-Zero Vapor Fraction (Bug Fix)
When creating a new condensation operation, the initial value of all components that do NOT have known vapor parameters (so they are designated and non-volatile) should be started with a value of liquid-solid fraction as 100%. Due to an omission, this was not done and when the calculation was mode was switched out to condensation fractions as "set by user" those values remained frozen to an unrealistic value. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 2001: When Defining the Cost of a Heat Transfer Agent on a per-volume Basis the Density Value Is Relevant (Bug Fix)
When specifying the properties of a heat transfer agent, two important attributes are:
a) Consumption Reporting basis (per-mass or per-volume), and
b) Price (on a per-mass-unit basis e.g. $/kg or $/lb or a on per-volume-unit basis e.g. $/gal or $/L).
Since consumption rates are always calculated from energy balances on a per-mass basis, if the reporting is to be done using volume units or the costing needs to engage a price that is per-volume-units, the program needs to convert the amounts to volumetric flows (at 'Standard Conditions' or STP) and therefore a density is needed (at STP). Previously the field of density was visible if the consumption basis was selected to be per volume but - due to a glitch - it was not open for editing if the price set was on a per-volume basis. This has now been fixed in the context of the definition of a heat transfer agent and a sink material unit.
B03, SBN 2001: When Showing the Power Demand Breakdown Tree Some Power Rates May Be Inaccurate (Bug Fix)
When showing the power demand breakdown from the total to each procedure in each section, in cases of continuous mode flowsheets some of the values of the power rates where not properly converted. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 2001: When Exporting the Heat Transfer Agent and/or Labor Demand Breakdown Tree To Excel Some Entries where not Converted Properly to the Selected Time Reference (Bug Fix)
When exporting the breakdown demand trees of heat transfer agent demand and/or labor demand, some entries may have not been appearing with proper values due to a miscalculation for the selected time reference. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 2000: CIP & SIP Operations in Generic Box Procedures Will NOT Complain if Pressure is Found to be above Atmospheric (Bug Fix)
Normally a CIP or SIP operation in a vessel cannot handle inheriting contents that are pressurized since it does not have access to an emissions (or gas out) line to relieve the extra gaseous contents. Users should take proper care for this not to happen (de-pressurize or vent contents before the CIP and/or SIP operation applies). For procedures in GBX equipment that don't have emission lines to begin with, that is not possible. So the complain is suppressed in such UPs.
B03, SBN 2000: Neutralization Operation Improved to Handle Reactants (Other than Neutralizing Agent) Present in the Add-in Line (Bug Fix)
Until now, the program assumed that the neutralization's add-in line ONLY contains the neutralizing agent. Since this could commonly not be the case as the agent can be in solution, the results weren't accurate. Furthermore, if some other reactant(s) were present on the add-in line the calculations were not done properly. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 2000: Introducing a New Component in the Process from Reaction Stoichiometry Interface Could Lead into M&E Balance Errors (Bug Fix)
Users normally introduce new components from the Component Registration interface (under the Task menu). However, there are few other places where components are supposed to be selected (e.g. input stream composition initialization, reaction stoichiometry definition, etc.) where SuperPro allows (for convenience) the addition of new components without ever leaving the original interface. If such an addition was made while a bio-stoichiometric or bio-kinetic reaction operation is being edited, the intra/extra cellular fraction of the newly created component was improperly initialized leading to eventual M&E balance issues in downstream operations that distinguish between intra- and extra- cellular portions of components (e.g. centrifugation). This issue has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 2000: Component Property Correlations Resulting in Poor Property Estimations Are Better Reported (Bug Fix)
When a component property estimation relation results in poor (or illegal) values for a component property (e.g. zero or extremely small or negative value) the program will not accept the correlation and convey the issue to the user. If the calculated value was extremely small (but not zero!) the message appeared misleading by reporting the value as zero. Starting with this release the actual value is reported (in exponential format so that it can always be displayed) thus making the issue clearer.
B03, SBN 2000: Several Additional Components/Stock Mixtures/Heat Transfer Agents Have Been Added (Improvement)
This release of SuperPro Designer comes with definitions of additional pure components (most notably components commonly found in bio-fuel production schemes) and stock mixtures (e.g. "Natural Gas") as well as updated prices for all heat transfer agent utilities ("Steam", "Steam (High P)", "Steam (Low P"), "Glycol", "Hot Water", etc.).
B03, SBN 2000: Biomass Water Content Value Was not Converted to 0 - 100% (Bug Fix)
When a 'biomass' component has been declared as 'Primary Biomass', the application keeps track of the portion of water that is part of the biomass growth based on the Biomass Water Content value provided by the user. This value is visible (and allowed to be edited by the user) for bio-reactions (stoichiometric or kinetic). The interface implied that the value was supposed to be viewed and edited in 0 - 100% range when it was actually in the 0 to 1 range. This has now been fixed and the value is actually displayed in 0 - 100% .
B03, SBN 2000: Volumetric Flowrate of a Stream May Be Incorrect When an 'STP' Unit Is Chosen (Bug Fix)
When viewing the i/o simulation dialog of a stream, typically the units for volumetric flow are "L" or "gal" or "m3" and the program displays the the volumetric flow at the conditions (temperature and pressure) of the stream. Sometimes, for gaseous streams, it may be desirable to see the volumetric flows in reference ("standard") conditions (or 'STP' conditions); in such cases, a user may choose the appropriate unit (e.g. "gal (STP)" or "L (STP)" etc.) the the application will convert the displayed value to the chosen unit. Due to a glitch in the conversion (while the dialog is up) the displayed value was incorrect. This has now been fixed. Note that this glitch would not appear if the new 'STP' unit is selected, the dialog closed and then re-opened.
B03, SBN 2000: Depositing Wilson Coefficients in the Database Only Committed the i-j Value (but not the j-i value) (Bug Fix)
When dealing with non-ideal models, users can define values for binary mixtures that are used in the estimation of fugacities (liquid and/or vapor) which in turn allow for better estimation of vapor-liquid distribution of each component in a mixture. The Wilson model allows for the estimation of liquid fugacities. For each pair of pure components there are two values: the i-j and the j-i. When committing such values from a process model file to the user's database (for later use) the program used to only commit the i-j pair but not the j-i. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 2000: Exporting Recipe to SchedulePro DB May Fail when Exporting a Purge Operation (Bug Fix)
When attempting to export a .spf recipe file into the SchedulePro database, sometimes, due to an error in calculation of vacuum pump power requirements, the power value is illegal and therefore could not be exported and lead to an error. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 2000: User-Defined Stock Mixtures in the Databank Were NOT Tagged Automatically as Members of "My List" (Bug Fix)
Since the original release of v12, SuperPro no longer distinguishes between the "Designer" and the "User" database (as distinct sources of information). Instead, there's only one pool, the "SuperPro" DB, as possible source of information for component definitions (as opposed to "DIPPR" or "PPDS"). Any new components (or Stock Mixtures) created by the user is kept there as well. To allow for users to quickly see a small subset of all the available components, you can tag a set of components as belonging to "My List" and when selecting a component, request to see only the members of "My List". SuperPro is supposed to automatically add in "My List" all user-created components and mixtures. Due to a glitch, user-defined stock mixtures were not tagged appropriately and therefore were not included automatically in "My List" of mixtures. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 2000: Exporting a CIP Template to the Databank May Not Export the Name of Agent's Used Properly (Bug Fix)
A CIP template contains the full description of a sequence of cleaning steps (timing, agent's name etc.). When a template references an ingredient (mixture or pure component) that does not exist in the databank, that ingredient must also be exported. Due to a glitch, the name of such ingredients (as referenced by the CIP template) wasn't properly exported so the next time the CIP template was introduced to a process model, the required ingredient appeared to not be in the databank. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 2000: Target Concentration Calculator Mismatch in Concentration Calculations (Bug Fix)
When invoking the target concentration calculator in the context of defining a stock mixture composition to meet certain concentration targets, the initial presentation of (current) values of concentrations and future calculations of concentrations (while on the interface) were done slightly differently leading to slight mismatches in the required mass percentages. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 2000: A New Example Process Has Been Introduced in the Bio-Materials Group: Lactic Acid Production (Improvement)
This example analyzes a lactic acid production process from corn stover. Lactic acid is the simplest organic acid that has an asymmetric carbon atom and as such it is present in two optically active forms; the L(+) and the D(-) lactic acid. Only the L(+) isomer is found in the metabolism of humans and other mammals, although both enantiomers are found in the metabolism of different bacterial strains.
Lactic acid is produced on industrial scale. Its main applications are in the food, chemical, pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. Lactic acid is the main feedstock to produce PLA, a biodegradable plastic. The production of PLA is the largest lactic acid application, with a share of 28%. Lactic acid as a food ingredient has multiple use such as enhancing flavor, increasing shelf life, and controlling the development of pathogenic microorganisms. It is a significant ingredient in canned vegetables, yogurt, and butter. It is a preservative and acidulant in pickled vegetables and olives. Moreover, it is a natural solvent used for metal cleaning and other mechanical cleaning applications. In the pharmaceutical industry it has increasing application in drug manufacturing and as an electrolyte in intravenous solutions. Finally, in the personal care category it is used in skin care products and moisturizers.
The model for the production of lactic acid can be found under the "Lactic Acid" subfolder in the "Examples\Bio-Materials" group.
B03, SBN 2000: A New Example Process Has Been Introduced in the Pharmaceuticals Group: Production of Streptomysin (Improvement)
Penicillin's success in fighting bacterial infections motivated many scientists and researchers to look for additional antibiotics. One such endeavor in the fall of 1943 by a scientist named Albert Schatz under the supervision of Dr. Selman A Waksman of Rutgers University led to the discovery and isolation of streptomycin. Waksman and his students have also been credited with discovering numerous other antibiotics such as actinomycin, neomycin, clavacin, etc.
Streptomycin produced by Streptomyces griseus (S. griseus) is a broad-spectrum antibiotic that is highly effective against both Gram-negative and Gram-positive organisms. Streptomycin has been found to be very useful in treating infections caused by Gram-positive bacteria such as Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which are particularly resistant to penicillin. It is also useful in combating plant diseases caused by bacteria because it acts systemically in plants. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), streptomycin is the safest drug used to treat tuberculosis. Streptomycin has been added to the WHO's list of essential medicines for public healthcare.
The worldwide streptomycin market is projected to reach $600 million by 2025 and grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 0.7% in the forecast period between 2020 and 2025.
The process model depicting the production of streptomycin (along with more detailed documentation) can be found in the "Streptomycin" subfloder of the "Examples\Pharmaceuticals" group.
B03, SBN 2000: A New Example Process Has Been Introduced in the Pharmaceuticals Group: Viral Vaccine Production (Improvement)
Vaccines are considered the most effective way to prevent infectious diseases [1], saving millions of lives every year [2]. In the case of viral diseases, vaccines are even more crucial given that many of them cannot be cured by antiviral drugs. Examples of viral vaccines include those that immunize against influenza, hepatitis A & B, poliomyelitis, measles, rubella, chickenpox, mumps, and, more recently, COVID-19.
The manufacturing processes of the various types of whole virus vaccines (here including live attenuated, inactivated whole virus, and viral vector vaccines) have many similarities among each other given that they all involve the inoculation, replication, recovery, and purification of entire viral particles (VPs). VPs are usually produced in one of three manners: (1) hen eggs; (2) adherent cell culture; or (3) suspension cell culture. Virus production in hen eggs is a traditional process dating back to 1931 still widely employed today, especially for influenza vaccines. However, it has several drawbacks (mainly it is labor-intensive and time-consuming); also, manufacturing in eggs is vulnerable to avian disease outbreaks, which could wipe out the supply of eggs and thus jeopardize vaccine production. In addition, the supply of eggs might be insufficient for vaccine production in the case of a pandemic. For all these reasons, vaccine manufacturing has been moving away from eggs to cell culture-based processes..
Two such models are included in the the "Viral Vaccine" subfolder in the "Examples\Pharmaceuticals" group. One somewhat simplified and another in more detail. A comprehensive "ReadMe" file is also included in the same folder.
B03, SBN 1601 (doc no 12.0303), Release Date (12/17/2021)
B03, SBN 1600: Equipment Contents Set to Initialize with Final Contents from Previous Run Did not Work Properly (Bug Fix)
Users can request the initial contents of a vessel, instead of being initialized with the default agent ("Air"), to have either some user-specified contents, or the contents of another equipment in this or another model file or simply the final contents of that equipment form the previous run. If the user had copied-and-pasted an equipment with such a non-default content initialization, and due to a glitch in the code, the initial contents of the equipment weren't properly set. This has now been fixed and when an equipment (or input stream) set to initialize its contents in a special way is copied the auto-initialization strategy is reset to default.
B03, SBN 1600, Release Date (12/15/2021)
B03, SBN 1600: Equipment Contents Set to Initialize with Final Contents from Previous Run Did not Work Properly (Bug Fix)
Users can request the initial contents of a vessel, instead of being initialized with the default agent ("Air"), to have either some user-specified contents, or the contents of another equipment in this or another model file or simply the final contents of that equipment form the previous run. If the user had copied-and-pasted an equipment with such a non-default content initialization, and due to a glitch in the code, the initial contents of the equipment weren't properly set. This has now been fixed and when an equipment (or input stream) set to initialize its contents in a special way is copied the auto-initialization strategy is reset to default.
B03, SBN 1600: Copying-and-Pasting Operations with Contained Reactions (e.g. Extrusion) Across Flowsheets Didn't Properly Reset Standard Resources for the Contained Reaction (Bug Fix)
Some operations allow you to carry out reaction calculations before or after their main objective. For example, various drying operations, extrusion, screw pressing, etc. When such an operation was copied-and-pasted across two process models (.spf files) the contained reaction's resource references were not switched to refer to the new host's default resources (such as power, labor, etc.). This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 1600: Viewing the Auto-Initialization Setting of a Specific Equipment's Contents from the Central (Document) Interface Fails (Bug Fix)
After selecting from the document's context menu "Auto-Initialization Links / View..." and double-clicking on an entry that corresponds to equipment contents, the application could crash. Inlet stream entries worked fine. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 1500: Displayed Component Concentrations Now Use Entire Amount (not just the Extra-Cell Portion) to Report Their Values (Improvement)
Up till now, a stream's dialog would display a component's concentration by dividing the extra-cellular portion of a component present in that stream (or equipment contents) divided by the volumetric flow of the stream. Starting with this release, the ENTIRE amount of the component is used and not just the extra-cellular portion. This was deemed necessary since concentration values calculated for kinetic expressions are also based on the entire amount of a component.
B03, SBN 1500, Release Date (11/22/2021)
B03, SBN 1500: Component Concentrations Displayed on Stream Dialogs Use Entire Amount of Component (not just extra-cell portion) (Improvement)
Up till now, stream dialogs would display the concentrations of components as the ratio of the extra-cellular portion of the component's mass (or mole) florwrate divided by the stream's volumetric flowrate. Since in all stoichiometric and kinetic reactions conversions (and rate expressions) would always refer to the entire amount of a component (not just the extra-cellular portion of it), SuperPro now displays the concentration of components using the entire mass (or mole) flowrate of a component divided by the stream's volumetric flowrate.
B03, SBN 1500: New Example in the Pharmaceuticals Group: mRNA Production in Vaccines (Improvement)
The production of messenger RNA (mRNA) vaccines such as those developed against COVID-19 by Moderna and Pfizer / BioNTech. mRNA is synthesized in a cell-free (enzymatic) reaction (in vitro transcription), which is carried out in a rocking bioreactor. The product is purified by ultrafiltration / diafiltration, affinity (oligo-dT) chromatography, and hydrophobic interaction chromatography. The purified mRNA is encapsulated within lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) using microfluidic mixers and formulated with an adequate buffer. This example is recommended to users interested in biopharmaceutical and enzymatic (cell-free) processes.
There are two variations of the production model: one simplified and one detailed. Both models (.spf files) and extended documentations can be found in the "mRNA Vaccines" folder under the "Examples\Pharmaceuticals" group.
B03, SBN 1500: New Example in the Pharmaceuticals Group: pDNA Production (Improvement)
The subject of this pair of process models is the production of pharmaceutical grade plasmid DNA (pDNA). Plasmids are circular DNA molecules that find applications in gene therapy, vaccines, and molecular biology research. In this example, pDNA is produced in bacteria Escherichia coli by fed-batch fermentation. The cells are disrupted by alkaline lysis to release the pDNA. Most contaminants are subsequently removed by selective precipitation. Finally, pDNA is purified by ultrafiltration / diafiltration, anion-exchange chromatography and hydrophobic interaction chromatography. This example is recommended to users interested in the production of biopharmaceuticals and highly viscous biomolecules.
There are two variations of the production model: one simplified and one detailed. Both models (.spf files) and extended documentations can be found in the "pDNA" folder under the "Examples\Pharmaceuticals" collection of example processes.
B03, SBN 1500: BPG Connectivity Is Checked After Stream Connectivity Is Verified (Bug Fix)
Before M&E balances are executed, SuperPro's simulation engine performs various checks to make sure that the M&E balances have a chance to be done correctly. As part of those checks it verifies that:
(a) All streams needed by the operations included in each unit procedure are present and
(b) Any stream with flow that needs to be back-propagated from the initiating operation to the BPG terminal operation (that satisfies the demand) are proper.
In prior releases those checks were done for each procedure sequentially (first for connectivity then for BPG connectivity). However, since the BPG connectivity may require probing other procedures which may not have their regular connectivity cleared, this could lead in a crash. Starting with this release, first the regular stream connectivity is checked for all operations in all procedures and then the BPG connectivity is checked.
B03, SBN 1500: BPG Back-Compatibility with Previous Models Including Anoxic Reactor (Bug Fix)
The original release for build 03, when opening previous files that included an anoxic reactor, due to a glitch a crash may occur. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 1500: Use of Consumables with per-cycle Replacement Basis when Used for Continuous Equipment will Fail Converting to per-hour (Bug Fix)
When using a consumable (either as a required or as optional) whose replacement frequency was set on a per-cycle basis in the user database, in association with equipment operating in continuous mode the program neglected to convert the frequency to per-hour basis. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 1100, Release Date (10/30/2021)
B03, SBN 1100: Stream Descriptions Are Now (Optionally) Displayed on the Stream Summary Table (Improvement)
SuperPro Designer's provides for two identification strings for each stream:
(a) The stream's name (that is automatically composed by the program every time a new stream is created) and
(b) The stream's description (that is empty by default).
By default only the stream name is displayed on the stream's tag on the flowsheet but users can change that by modifying the stream's display style. The Stream Summary Table (SST) displays an aggregate table of information for a user-selectable set of stream attributes for a user-chosen set of streams. The SST is displayed on a separate toolbar but can also be exported to an Excel worksheet using the Link-to-Excel feature of SST. Starting with this release, users can optionally display the stream's description string (right under the stream's name). This would also allow the stream's description be part of the Excel table should such a link-to-excel be created by the user.
B03, SBN 1100: The Resource Breakdown Trees Can Now Be Exported to Excel (Improvement)
SuperPro Designer's displays a thorough breakdown of any resource consumption (Materials, Heat Transfer Agent, Power, Labor and Consumables) down to the operation that engages or consumes it. Those trees are viewed from the interface by selecting View / Resource Demand Breakdown / Materials ... , View / Resource Demand Breakdown / Heat Transfer Agents.. etc. from the main menu.
Starting with this release, a Link-to-Excel definition will allow for this information to be automatically exported to an Excel worksheet and automatically be updated every time the M&E balances are done (if the auto-update is enabled). The process of creating an Excel link is started from the interface dialog that displays the breakdown:
Note that there are a set of options available to the user to customize the contents of the breakdown:
- How the top nodes are ordered (1): by Name alphabetically ascending/descending order or sorted by time of earliest use
- The level of detail for reporting amounts (2): all the way down to operations, or just procedures, or just sections or just ingredients (totals)
- Show or Hide Sections and Cycles (3)
- Exclude some ingredients (if so desired) (4)
- Determine the source of consumption (5): As Raw Materials, Part of Heat Transfer Agents, As Cleaning Agents, On (input) Revenue Streams or On unclassified (input) streams
Whatever settings are chosen on this dialog, they will be used to create the contents of the table that will be exported to the Excel spreadsheet according to the location captured by the Excel Link Information structure.
Please note that the same mechanism for exporting breakdowns of resource demand is also available for all resources:
- Materials
- Heat Transfer Agents
- Power
- Labor
- Consumables
B03, SBN 1100: The Resource Breakdown Trees Can Now Be Exported to Excel (Improvement)
The exact same breakdown tree as shown above can also be included in the Custom Excel Report. The option to include such a breakdown table can be found as a paragraph in the corresponding chapter (Materials or Utilities). For instance, to include the same material consumption breakdown table shown above in the Custom Excel report, the option can be found here (the dialog shown is after selecting Report / Options ... from the main menu and then the "Custom XL" tab):
Please note that the content (i.e. level of detail, order of top nodes, etc.) of the inserted breakdown table is determined by whatever was selected the last time the user-interface corresponding resource breakdown tree was viewed.
B03, SBN 1100: All Chromatography Column Operations (Load, Elute etc.) When Displaying Component-Related Tables now Feature the Show All vs Show With Flow Only Option (Improvement)
When displaying component-related information on an the i/o simulation dialog of an operation it is often very useful to see entries only for components that have presence in that operation. Since typically a process simulation file may engage a few dozen components, showing all components makes it cumbersome to hone into the components that are relevant for that operation. Having the option to display only the components with flow in that operation accomplishes exactly that. Starting with this release, all chromatography-related operations (PBA simplified, PBA detailed, GLF, MA etc.) when showing such a table with component-related info feature the option to show all components or just those with presence in the operation. For instance, here's the new dialog for the GLF Column Load operation:
It should be noted that since before M&E balances are performed no components can be detected in the procedure, the "Show All" option is selected by default and the "Show with Flow" is disabled. After at least one M&E balance execution, by default the "Show with Flow" option will be shown when the dialog is first opened but of course, users can opt to see the entire list if necessary.
B03, SBN 1100: Sorption Percentages and Intra-Cellular Percentage Values in Bioreactions or Environmental Reactions Work Together (Improvement)
There's a dual improvement included in this release as it relates to the sorption percentage. SuperPro Designer uses the Sorption percentage as a modeling tool for a user to describe the fact that certain (heavy) metals may be attached to the Primary Biomass molecules and leave the reaction contents as such. That means if biomass is separated later (through some filtration procedure) a good portion of those metals will go with it. However, the same can be said for reaction products (such as water) that are produced by a bioreaction where Primary Biomass is one of the products and it includes a certain amount of intracellular water. For this capture, the regular bioreactions have an extra specification available to the user for each such product: the Extra-Cellular percentage. This column was not available to the environmental reactions but starting with this release all the stoichiometric and kinetic environmental reaction models will allow for this extra specification. Note that this also applies to the Photo-Bioreaction operation.
Since the two interfaces (Reaction Stoichiometry and Sorption % Specification) could be leading to conflicting values, the sorption percentage is NOT allowed to be edited by the user for components that appear as products in a reaction that generates the Primary Biomass component. For such components, users are asked to provide the value from the stoichiometry table specification.
B03, SBN 1100: A New Example Process Has Been Added: Boric Acid Production (Improvement)
This example presents the production of Boric Acid from Colemanite concentrate. This model is based on the original work of prof. Mehmet Gunen and his collaborators at Suleiman Demirel University (2021).
Boric acid is a fundamental boronic compound produced from various boron-based minerals (e.g., colemanite, tincal and ulexite) or naturally occurring boron brines. It is a white, odorless powder that exhibits a monoclinic crystalline structure and has good solubility in water and other polar solvents. It is generally used as a starting material for the production of many boron-based chemicals such as borate esters, synthetic organic borate salts, boron carbine, boron trihalides and fluoroborates, which are used in high-tech applications such as heat and scratch-resistant glasses for smartphones, computers and TVs.
The process runs in continuous mode with a processing capacity of 15 metric tons (MT) of colemanite concentrate per hour, corresponding to 123,000 MT/year. This results in 10.76 MT/h (88,192 MT/year) of boric acid (H3BO3), which is the only product generated in the process.
The process model file and a detailed description about the process model can be found in the Inorganic Materials subfolder of the Examples folder.
B03, SBN 1100: When Attempting to View the Composition of a Stock Mixture in Pure Components the Program Crashes (Bug Fix)
When attempting to click on the button next to the "Mole % vs Mass %" options that is supposed to bring up a new table to display the composition of the stock mixture directly in pure components the program crashes. This was a glitch introduced accidentally in a previous v12 release and has been fixed now with this release.
B03, SBN 1100: When Attempting to Exit the i/o Dialog of an Environmental Reaction Operation a Bogus Error Message Would Prevent Exiting (Bug Fix)
If we visit the Vent/Emissions tab of any of the environmental reaction operations' dialog, and simply attempt to click on another tab or attempt to exit the dialog, an error message reporting that the selected emission stream is inappropriate would prevent us from doing so. The error message clearly is inappropriate since the vent is off (by default). This bug was created with a previous release of v12 and has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 1100: Some Options of Formatting the Stream Summary Table Didn't Work (Bug Fix)
The contents of the stream summary table are highly customizable both in terms of contents (which stream attributes to include in the rows of the grid) as well as in appearance (text color, number precision, background color, etc.) for the values in the grid. Some options didn't work as expected. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 1100: Exporting the Stream Summary Table to Excel Could Leave Behind Some Leftover Content (Bug Fix)
When two successive exports of the stream summary table to an excel file were carried out, if the second export included fewer columns (or rows) the previous content was not erased. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 1100: When Attempting to Open .spd Files of Older Generation with an Absorber Module the Application may Crash (Bug Fix)
Due to some new feature that was introduced to an absorption module (namely, the ability to carry out a reaction with emissions and a vacuum pump) some older files didn't properly update the absorption module and that (in some cases) would lead to the file being unreadable from the latest release. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 1100: The Warning Message that "Reactant Is Depleted" Has Been Removed from Continuous Kinetic Reactions & Fermentations (Improvement)
SuperPro Designer's simulation engine when working on a continuous kinetic reaction (or fermentation) it would present the message that "<a-Comp-Name> (reactant) Has Been Depleted" unnecessarily. The reason was that the integration algorithm, in its attempt to find the 'proper' time step, it may attempt calculating the mass balances in multiple future times. If it so happens, one of the reactants (at those future time points) was depleted this message would appear multiple times unnecessarily leading to some confusion on the part of the user. It was deemed more appropriate to remove the message altogether.
B03, SBN 1100: Condensation Will Accept Cooling Agents Used Counter-Currently (Improvement)
The Condensation operation now assumes counter-current heat exchange and as such will be more accepting of cooling agents as long as their supply temperature is below the condensation temperature and their return temperature is below the inlet temperature of the stream being condensed (but not necessarily below the condensation temperature).
B03, SBN 1100: Condensation Will Adjust Accordingly if a Pure Component's Vapor Parameters Are Declared as 'Unknown/Irrelevant' (Improvement)
If a component's liquid fraction has been set to anything other than 100%, its vapor parameters must be known. Therefore, when a new condensation operation is created, the corresponding percentage for all (existing) components with unknown vapor parameters is initialized to 100% (instead of 0%). Also, if the user chooses to set the liquid fraction of components during condensation, the liquid percentages for all such components (with unknown/irrelevant vapor parameters) is kept at 100% and not allowed to be editable by the user.
B03, SBN 1100: Mass Balances in Continuous Centrifugal Extraction Were Incorrect when the Split Percentages Were Set for the Bottom Stream (Bug Fix)
When users opted to set the split percentages for the bottom stream (as opposed to K-values) in a continuous or centrifugal extraction operation, the program inadvertently would interpret those split percentages for the top stream and therefore the mass balances would be incorrect. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 1100: Rotary Drying : Power, Specific Power & Power per Unit Didn't Get Updated (Bug Fix)
When users entered the value of specific power or the value of the total power, the program was supposed to update the rest (power per unit and whichever of the two - total power or specific power - was not set by user) but due to a glitch this was not being done. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 1100: Centrifugation Operation May Lead to a Crash when Reporting Error Messages (Bug Fix)
When the simulation run included a centrifugation operation and the running conditions lead to the reporting of an error message, due to glitch in the composition of the error string, a crash may result. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 1100: Sorption Percentages May no Longer Be Needed if Primary Biomass Component Is Defined (Improvement)
The improvements related to the specification of sorption percentages affect the Continuous Stoichiometric Reaction operation in a Photobioreactor, a WM Aerobic Bioxidation, PF Aerobic BioOxidation, Anaerobic Digestion and Anoxic Reaction.
If the primary biomass components is defined, users no longer are allowed to set neither the sorption of the primary biomass component (that's by definition 100%) nor the sorption of any reaction products (since those are directly defined on the reaction stoichiometry table as the intracellular percentage of each reaction product.
B03, SBN 1100: Continuous Crystallization Allows for a Component to Be Set as Evaporated when no Vapor Propertiess Are Known (Bug Fix)
When specifying the evaporation percentages of components in a continuous crystallization operation, the application should not allow users to set non-zero values for components that have been declared with unknown vapor properties (e.g. "Crystal Sugar" below):
This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 1100: Advertising Expenses and Running Royalties when Defined per MP don't Convert Right (Bug Fix)
When specifying running royalties for a process (or the advertising sales) a per main product reference rate (on the dialog shown below)
if the main product rate was set to be at a mass unit other than kg, any change in the units of the rate reference rate would not be reflected properly in the values for the ad or royalty expenses. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 1100: R&D Variable Expenses and Other Variable Expenses when Defined per MP don't Convert Right (Bug Fix)
When specifying R&D costs or the 'other' costs for the annual operating cost of a section on the dialog below:
if the main product rate was set to be at a mass unit other than kg, any change in the units of the rate reference rate would not be reflected properly in the values for the RYD and 'other' expenses. This has now been fixed
B03, SBN 1100: Specifying the Purchase Price of a Stock Mixture (from the Process Explorer) Does not Get Properly Converted (Bug Fix)
If you double-click on a Stock Mixture (SM) entry as shown in the process explorer toolbar, then visited the "Economics" tab and attempted to set the price of that material in $ per something other than kg, after exiting the dialog the price would not be saved in the proper units, so when displayed it would be of incorrect value. Note that this issue does not appear if the price is edited starting from the stock mixture registration dialog.
B03, SBN 1100: Editing a Stock Mixture's Composition Incorrectly Complains about Composition Fractions Not Adding up to 100% (Bug Fix)
If you double-click on a Stock Mixture (SM) entry as shown in the process explorer toolbar, then visited the "Composition" tab and attempted to add/remove a component and adjust appropriately the composition percentages so that they add up to 100%, when attempting to exit the dialog, the program would (incorrectly) complain that the mass percentages don't add up to 100%. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 1100: When Customizing the Visual Style of a UP's Icon, the Color should not be Editable (if it's Section's Color Is Set to be Different than the Default Icon Color) (Bug Fix)
SuperPro Designer has a default style for a unit procedure's icon; that style encompasses a large selection of features such as icon color, appearance (or not) of the icon's name label, description label, info tag, location of info tag etc. By default, each new UP created will follow the default icon style attributes with the exception of icon color. Icon color can be set to be special (different from default icon color) for each section to visual distinguish all UPs that belong to that section. As such, when the user chooses to customize the style of a specific icon (that belongs in such a section with a 'special' color) the user should NOT be allowed to edit the icon's color (otherwise it will not be distinguishable as pertaining to that section). This restriction was not enforced previously in SuperPro but starting with this release it has.
B03, SBN 1100: When Applying the Visual Style of an Icon, the Icon's Color Should Still Follow the Section's Color Code (Bug Fix)
If pick-up the style of a procedure's icon that belongs to a section-A (color coded with color A) and then apply the style to another unit procedure icon that belongs to section B (color coded with color B), the visual style of the source icon should copy all attributes of the source icon except color; the color of icon B should still follow the color of the section it belongs to.
B03, SBN 1100: CIP and SIP Operations Complain if Applied when the Vessel Contents Are Pressurized (Improvement)
In practice you cannot apply CIP cleaning or SIP sterilization when a vessel is under pressure. Therefore, these operations now will complain if they inherit vessel contents under pressure.
B03, SBN 1100: CIP and SIP Operations Leave Vessel Contents at Ambient Pressure (Improvement)
Once either a CIP or an SIP operation has been executed the vessel contents will always end up at ambient pressure. Starting with this release this policy is applied whenever the CIP or SIP operation is included in equipment that keep track of the pressure (i.e. they have volume and distinguish between solid/liquid and vapor contents). If the contents coming into the operation were NOT at ambient, then the operation will add air to make up the difference.
B03, SBN 1100: SIP Operations Allow for the User to Specify the Exit Temperature of the Condensate (Improvement)
SIP operations now allow the user to specify the temperature that the spent SIP agent (condensate) is collected. This value, even though it does not affect any of the performance output variables of the operation, it can affect the temperature of a collection point (material sink) if the waste is designated to be collected.
B03, SBN 1100: Material Sinks (Collection Points) now Mix Each Deposit at Ambient Pressure (Improvement)
When material wastes are designated a material sink (or collection point), the program will keep track of the amount, composition and temperature of the collected materials. Since each material deposit could come at different pressures, in prior releases, the (adiabatic) mixing was done at a pressure that was the lesser of the two (contents vs new deposit line). Starting with this release, the mixing is always done assuming atmospheric pressure (ambient). Essentially, this assumes that IF there was an actual vessel behind that material sink, its volume is assumed to be always large enough to accommodate any vapors at 1.013 bar. Normally, such collection points should not have any material in gaseous state but if they do, they will be at atmospheric pressure.
B03, SBN 1100: Grinding and Shredding Operation: Throughput Unit Selection Didn't Convert Values Appropriately (Bug Fix)
When selecting throughput units other than kg/h on the shredding or grinding operation, the value of throughput was not appropriately converted. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 1100: Centrifugation Operation in Gas Cyclone: Power Was Always Disabled (Bug Fix)
When viewing the i/o dialog of a centrifugation operation in a Gas Cyclone, the power value was always disabled, even if the option "Power Set By User" was chosen. Clearly that was inadvertent and it has been fixed.
B03, SBN 1100: Centrifugation Operation in Gas Cyclone: Power Consumption Neglected Fan Power (Bug Fix)
When calculating the power consumption requirements for this operation, SuperPro included the power consumption of the air compressor but not the power consumption of the assumed integrated fan. This has now been fixed.
B03, SBN 1100: Gas Transport by Centrifugal Fan: Outlet Stream's Enthalpy (and Temperature) Were Slightly Incorrect (Bug Fix)
When calculating the enthalpy of the fan's exiting stream, care was taken to add the power dissipated as heat onto the outlet stream. However, due to a mistake in the calculation, the final enthalpy of the stream was not added up properly and therefore the temperature of the outlet stream would be inaccurate. This has now been fixed.
B02, SBN 2300, Release Date (07/25/2021)
B02, SBN 2300: The Number of Units Required to Operate in Staggered Mode in Order to Meet the Procedure's Cycle Time is always Displayed (Improvement)
There are several instances where a batch procedure is set to operate an in order to meet the requirements of its cycle time, multiple sets of equipment units are needed. For example, if a procedure's cycle time is either set by the user or set to match one of its contained operations, but the cycle duration happens to be larger than the cycle time, multiple sets of equipment units are required. The same holds true for independently cycling procedures even in a batch flowsheet.
Starting with this release, the necessary set of staggered units to meet the cycle duration to cycle time mismatch will be calculated and displayed (as shown in the above dialog). Plelase note that since the cycle duration may involve some operation's cycle time that is calculated during simulation, the displayed suggestion may be incorrect (outdated) until the next M&E are executed.
B02, SBN 2300: When Reaction Products Were Set to Be Vented, they Were NOT listed in the Table when "Components with Flow" Were Shown (Improvement)
Tables that show component-related properties, may only display components "with flow" if the corresponding option was checked (under the table). Typically the program would check either in the equipment contents right before the operation whose i/o dialog is being displayed (if the operation is part of a batch procedure) or it may check all the feeds to the procedure (if the operation is part of a continuous procedure). However it would only check on the feed (input) side and not on the product (output) side. So, if a component set as vented was a product it wouldn't have shown when the show components "with flow" option was checked. This has now been fixed.
B02, SBN 2300: Continuous Kinetic Reactions / Fermentations No Longer Display a Warning About Reactant(s) Being Depleted (Improvement)
SuperPro Designer's simulation engine proceeds to simulate continuous kinetic reactions and fermentations by integrating their first order differential equations (in concentrations and possibly temperature) over a very long time (several times the residence time). Due to the fact that time points may have been taken past the actual residence time, it was possible to generate warnings that a reactant 's concentration was zero (or negative). This was merely and artifact of the calculation approach and such warnings are no longer displayed.
B02, SBN 2200, Release Date (07/15/2021)
B02, SBN 2200: Spray Drying Operation's i/o Dialog Crashes Upon Opening (Bug Fix)
Due to some improvements made in the SBN 2100 release that allow some drying operations to simulate a reaction along with the drying, when attempting to open a spray drying operation's data dialog the program would crash. This has now been fixed.
B02, SBN 2200: External Heating Is Allowed in Rotary Drying Operation even if a Reaction Is also Included (Improvement)
Previous releases of the program allowed the inclusion of a reaction operation as part of drying but in those cases the use of external heating was not allowed. Starting with this release this restriction has been lifted.
B02, SBN 2200: The UV Radiation Operation Miscalculates the Reaction's Extension (Bug Fix)
When using a UV radiation operation the program models its output as a continuous kinetic reaction. Due to an error, the calculated extension percentage was zero (in some cases). This has now been fixed.
B02, SBN 2200: Plug-Flow Reaction No Longer Expects Emission Data (Bug Fix)
Due to a glitch, a PF reaction operation was equipped with emission data; however, the equipment does not feature an emission line and that could lead to some unexpected issues. This has now been fixed.
B02, SBN 2200: The i/o Dialog of a Discrete Shredder (or Grinder) Would Lead to a Crash (Bug Fix)
When visiting the i/o simulation dialog of a grinding (or shredding) operation, a crash may occur. This has now been fixed.
B02, SBN 2200: Reaction Option Added to Discrete Grinder and Discrete Shredder (Improvement)
Bulk shredder and bulk grinder have had the option of allowing a reaction to occur right after the main operation of shredding or grinding. Starting with this release the same option has been added to the discrete version of these operations.
B02, SBN 2200: The Inhibition Term in a Kinetic Rate Expression Could Become Zero (Bug Fix)
When defining the rate expression, the inhibition term involves the definition of two constants (K1 and K2) and two species (Cm and Cn) whose concentrations participate in determining the value of the denominator in the rate expression. Care was not taken to make sure that:
a) The K1 constant was not set to 0.0 while the two species (Cm ad Cn) were not identified (this condition would make the term 0.0 all the time)
b) The m- and n- species identified must be products of the reaction (otherwise this is not a meaningful inhibition term - in fact if m- or n- species are reactants this term would blow up reactants near extinction).
B02, SBN 2200: A New Example Process Model Has Been Added: Omega-3 Fatty Oil Production (Improvement)
This example presents an industrial unit for the production of Omega-3 oils. Omega-3 oils are polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) that have been shown to support improved brain health and reduced risk for heart disease. The manufacturing plant analyzed in this example utilizes microalgae fermentation and produces around 380 kg/h of purified omega-3 oils. Case A (this model) utilizes hexane for product extraction. Case B utilizes supercritical CO2 for production extraction.
The process model file and a detailed description about the process model can be found in the Pharmaceuticals subfolder of the Examples folder.
B02, SBN 2100, Release Date (06/30/2021)
B02, SBN 2100: Custom XL Report Couldn't Be Created (Bug Fix)
Due to some improvements made in the SBN 2000 release in the use of Excel from SuperPro Designer, an undesirable side effect was causing issues with the generation of Custom XL Reports. This has now been fixed.
B02, SBN 2100: Differential Extraction Operations Now Can Back-Calculated the K-Factors of Participating Components (Improvement)
All extraction operations were equipped with the option to be supplied with the split fractions of components instead of their K-values (in v12 Build 02). Furthermore, users could request for the K-values to be computed given the split percentages in a specific extraction step. This option was useful in order to use the calculated K-values in other extraction steps were the separation percentages were not known. All extraction models except the differential extraction were capable to function in this manner. Starting with this release the differential extraction can also calculate K-values.
B02, SBN 2100: Continuous Kinetic Reactions & Fermentations Produce More Relevant Message when Reactant is Depleted (Improvement)
All continuous kinetic reactions (chemical and environmental) as well as kinetic fermentations are simulated by integrating the kinetic models for a very long upper time limit, to a point in time that equilibrium has been established. If the rate of depletion of a reactant is larger than the rate of incoming material it is possible that a reaction will not be able to proceed. If that is detected the program will produce a related warning message (similar to what happens in a batch reaction situation but different).
B02, SBN 2100: Closing the Application with UPs in the Clipboard from a Previously Closed Document Could Lead to a Crash (Bug Fix)
When a set of unit procedures and streams are copied (CTRL+C) and placed on the clipboard the program must 'record' the originating document so that the UPs and streams are pasted in another flowsheet, care is taken to make sure all the required resources (e.g. pure components, stock mixtures, heat transfer agents, etc.) referenced by the pasted objects will be registered prior to pasting the objects in the destination flowsheet. If the user closes the source document (where the UPs came from) SuperPro makes sure to keep a clone of the original document so that when the user pastes the objects all pertinent information (about resources) is still available. If the user attempted to close the application (after closing the document that the clipboard objects came from) a crash could happen. This has now been fixed.
B02, SBN 2000, Release Date (06/15/2021)
B02, SBN 2000: GBX Operations Allow for Emission Calculations (Improvement)
A GBX procedure is supposed to represent a set of operations carried out in a some vessel of sorts that is not currently well represented by SuperPro Designer. For batch GBX procedures you have a choice of 1x1, 3x3, 5x5 or 10x10 configurations (input x output streams), whereas for continuous GBX procedures besides the 1x1 pass-through GBX (that really is an inactive operation) you have choices between a 1x1, 1x2, 2x2, 3x2 or 5x2 configurations and each one of them can capture a continuous stoichiometric reaction followed by a separation. Currently, even though a GBX has 'volume' and therefore contents, all operations carried out in GBX containers were not capable of carrying out emission calculations. Starting with this release, they are. However, users must understand that in order for emission calculations to be performed the user must designate a single output stream as the 'emission stream'. That stream cannot be shared by other operation(s) in the GBX procedure (in case of a batch GBX UP) nor can it be used by the continuous GBX reaction/separation operation as well (e.g. as an outlet when separation is requested). Of course, in the case of 1x1 GBX containers (batch or continuous) no emission calculations are possible since there's only one output port used by the main process material.
As a result of the above improvement, now the family of procedures that can be interchanged for batch GBX UPs now include all configurations (incl. the 1x1 that was previously excluded).
B02, SBN 2000: 1x1 GBX Procedure (Batch) Is now a i/o Configuration in the NxN GBX (Batch) Group (Improvement)
The 1x1 Batch GBX Procedure was not considered previously just an i/o configuration of the general group of NxN batch procedures (along with the 3x3, 5x5 and 10x10) mainly because some operations could not be supported in the 1x1 GBX equipment (e.g. 'Load and Split'). Also, all operations that supported emission calculations options, again, they couldn't be allowed to present such an options since there's only one output and that output must be reserved for the main (process) input flow to come out of the procedure. Starting with this release, we managed to accommodate the 1x1 as a member group of the NxN and deal with the restrictions. For example, if a 5x5 batch GBX procedure contains in its list of operations a member that is not supported by the 1x1 i/o configuration, switching to this options is disallowed (see below):
B02, SBN 2000: Help Content Can Now Optionally Be Restricted to Come only from Local .chm File (Improvement)
Starting with the previous release (v12 Build 02 SBN 1000) help content presented to the user when requested from within the application (by clicking on a "Help" button or hitting F1) was presented by consulting the 'live' web-based content from Intelligen's SuperPro Help web location. For users who don't have a fast connection (or no connection at all) to the Internet when running the application, they can now uncheck the following option:
from the dialog that appears when selecting File / Application Settings... and the program will never go out to seek the latest web-based content but instead use the local content from the .chm file copied during your latest installation. Intelligen Inc also periodically updates that file as well so users can go download it from: www.intelligen.com/static/downloads/Designer.chm
B02, SBN 2000: Excel Collaboration Revised (Improvement)
Upon several occasions SuperPro needs to invoke the services of MS-Excel (e.g. tables requested by the user to be embedded and updated every time a new M&E balances concludes). For that purpose, SuperPro used to start Excel upon startup. This created issues later (esp. if the user later started Excel him/herself to view a file that was supposed to be accessed by SuperPro during simulation). In such cases, Excel links into files couldn't be updated if the file(s) were currently viewed by the user. SuperPro now only engages Excel when it needs it and if it's open already it uses that instance; accessing the open files this way, will NOT generate sharing violations. However, users are strongly discouraged from actively editing any open .xls files that are also been updated by SuperPro Designer's simulation engine.
B02, SBN 2000: Flow Design Spec Re-Designed (Improvement)
A Flow Design Spec procedure is a procedure with just one operation that acts like a controller that attempts to achieve a goal - e.g. a given flow or temperature or concentration on the stream that it is placed on by manipulating the flow of some process input stream. Up until this release the program would allow the flow target to be set on a per-batch or per-ave-hour basis for processes that are batch. The conversion between per-batch and per-ave-hour was done by using the recipe's cycle time (RCT). The problem with this approach is that when the controller converts the 'set-point' from per-hour to per-batch it will use the CURRENT value of RCT and then based on the error (difference between current value and set-point) it will set a new value to the manipulated variable (some process input flow) that attempts to correct the value.
However, once the new flow of the process input is set, it is possible that it may lead to a NEW value for RCT. For example, if the RCT is tied to a filter's operating time which is set to be calculated based on a set flux, the higher the input flow the larger the filter's process time and thus RCT. So, by the time the simulation has ended the new calculated value of the target flow would be incorrect (even though on a per batch basis would have been correct). This will eventually result in the flowsheet calculations not converging. To avoid such pitfalls, the option of setting a target on a per-time-ave basis is eliminated when the process operating mode is batch. Note that the same restriction (of not allowing to set targets per-time-ave when the process is in batch mode) has been also taken away from Custom Mixing, Custom Splitting, Flow Adjusting and 2-Way Component Splitting.
The Flow Design Spec operation was also expanded to allow for users to request a given volumetric flowrate (instead of mass flowrate) if that is more convenient (see above).
B02, SBN 2000: Centrifugal Extraction, Mixer-Settler Extraction, Differential Extraction and Decanting Operations Can Back-Calculate the Separation Factors (Ki) (Improvement)
All extraction operations (Centrifugal, Mixer-Settler, Differential) as well as the Decanting operation, allow the user to provide his/her own split percentages (instead of the K-factors) to do the calculations. Starting with this release, the program will not only do the calculations based on the user-provided split percentages (essentially performing like a component splitter) but also will back-calculate the K-values that correspond to such a separation (see below):
This was requested by some of our users in order to have the K-values that can be used (for that mixture) in other similar extraction instances where the split percentages are not known. It should be noted that since the models that produce the results in all extraction operations assume that the volumetric flows of the heavy phase and light phase are constant (between the inlet and outlet as well as along each stage if multiple stages are involved) but in reality this is rarely the case (due to the fact that several other components may be changing phases) the results are subject to some error.
B02, SBN 2000: When the 'Find Dialog' Was Resized the Options Could not Be Selected Properly (Bug Fix)
After resizing the 'Find Dialog', the radio buttons that allowed the specification of what to search (Equipment/Procedure/Operation/Stream and/or Name/Type) would not work properly. This has now been fixed.
B02, SBN 2000: Cooling in a Cooling Tower Emission Port Unselectable (Bug Fix)
Cooling in a cooling tower allows for some gas (if present in the cooled down water) to be emitted and join the upcoming stream of air. Due to a glitch, when the emissions tab was shown, the top output port sometimes it was now shown as the emission port of choice (only choice really) even though the drop-down selection control was disabled. This has no bbeen fixed.
B02, SBN 2000: Labor Total Demand Incorrectly Reported on the Section's Dialog (Bug Fix)
When reporting the total labor costs (for each labor type) SuperPro collects information about the direct labor hours required for each task (operation) and that amounts to the direct labor. Since an operator's time is usually divided between supervising a specific task as well as other activities, this amount is adjusted by the indirect labor factor to produce the total labor demand (in hours). The adjustment factor depends on whether the activity was continuous (in nature) or batch. In most places where labor totals are reported (per section or for entire process) the labor hours are tallied up from each unit procedure and adjusted with the appropriate factor (depending on the UP's mode).
However, the section's dialog (under the tab) collected all labor hours for the section and then adjusted the ENTIRE amount by a factor that depends on the entire process' operating mode. This of course, will lead to inaccuracies in case of a mixed mode process. This has now been fixed.
B02, SBN 1000, Release Date (05/15/2021)
B02, SBN 1000: Resource Consumption Charts Can Be Generated Focused on One or More Sections (Improvement)
When generating the consumption chart for any resource (Heat Transfer Agent, Material, Power Type, Labor, or Consumable) SuperPro used to incorporate sources from the entire process model. Sometimes users have expressed the desire to focus on just one or may be a few sections of the process, not the entire process. Starting with this release this feature has been added:
You can select any (or all) sections currently defined in the process model. Only sources of consumption (unit procedures belonging in those sections and/or input/output streams connected to such procedures) will be considered when the chart is showing. Once a specific section(s) are chosen, the next time the same resource chart is shown (or another resource chart is attempted to be shown) the selection will be remembered allowing you to focus all your following charts on the same selection of section(s).
B02, SBN 1000: Rotary Drying Operation Allows for a Reaction to Be Included (Improvement)
When simulating a rotary drying procedure, the main operation allows now for the simulation of a continuous stoichiometric reaction to be carried out on the dried material (right after drying is simulated). This option currently is only available if "No Heating Agent" is included.
If the user provides in the feed, along with the material that is to be dried, an amount of fuel, a combustion reaction can be simulated that will provide the heat necessary to bring the dried material at high temperatures where a calcination reaction may also take place (in the dried material). This option was added in order to approximate the operation of a high temperature kiln.
B02, SBN 1000: All Context-Sensitive Help Topics Are now Accessed from the Web (Improvement)
All context-sensitive help (up until this release) was contained in a single file ('Designer.chm') that was deployed on the user's PC upon installation. When contents was changed the user would have to re-download (manually) the newer version of that file in order to receive the latest content. Starting with this release, all online help is published on Intelligen's web servers and any new additions/modifications are instantly available to all users. If a user is running the program without access to the Internet, the old 'Designer.chm' file is being accessed as a fall back strategy.
B02, SBN 1000: Depleted Reactant Is Reported by Kinetic Reaction Models (Improvement)
When simulating a kinetic reaction, it is possible that the rate becomes zero because one (or more) of the participating reactants gets depleted (from this or another reaction). When this happens, even if the rate expression does not contain that reactant's concentration in it, the rate becomes zero. This event is now reported by the simulation engine (along with the time point when it happened).
B02, SBN 1000: A New Example Process Model Has Been Added: Bio-Aromatics (Improvement)
This example presents the production of Bio-Aromatics via fermentation. More specifically, it is a case study on the production of p-Hydroxybenzoic Acid (pHBA) using a strain of Corynebacterium Glutamicum. The plant engages production fermentors operating in staggered mode, each having a working volume of 257 m3 (approx. 68,000 gal). It generates 23 metric tons (MT)of pHBA per batch, resulting in an annual throughput of 30,000 MT.
The process model file and a detailed description about the process model can be found in the Bio-Materials subfolder of the Examples folder.
B02, SBN 1000: A New Example Process Model Has Been Added: Probiotics (Improvement)
This example presents an industrial unit for the production of probiotics. Probiotics are live bacteria that have been reported to confer multiple health benefits on the recipients thus being of high interest to the food and biopharmaceutical industry. Probiotic seed cultures are prepared to a dedicated seed bioreactior train and the main product is cultivated in large-scale fermentors. The bacteria are harvested via centrifugation and are blended with a carbohydrate protectant mixture prior to freeze-drying. There's a "ReadMe" file that explains several fundamental modeling concepts and functionalities of SuperPro, including equipment sharing and staggered mode operation of equipment resources.
The process model file and a detailed description about the process model can be found in the Pharmaceuticals subfolder of the Examples folder.
B02, SBN 1000: A New Example Process Model Has Been Added: Aluminum Production (Improvement)
The process model of this example presents a flowsheet for the production of primary aluminum from bauxite ore based on the Bayer and Hall-Heroult processes. The Feed Preparation section of the flowsheet performs the comminution and desilication of the ore by grinding and alkaline leaching. In the Leaching And Precipitation section, aluminum is leached out of the ore and dissolved in the alkaline pregnant solution as aluminate. Within the same section, the dissolved aluminum is hydrolyzed and precipitated as aluminum hydroxide. Finally, in the Electro-reduction section, the precipitated hydroxide is first washed to remove the retained aluminate solution and then calcined to anhydrous alumina, melted and reduced to aluminum metal via electro-reduction on carbon anodes.
The process model file and a detailed description about the process model can be found in the Metallurgy subfolder of the Examples folder.
B02, SBN 1000: A New Example Process Model Has Been Added: Hyaluronic Acid (Improvement)
This example describes the microbial production of Hyaluronic Acid. Hyaluronic Acid is a highly viscous and hygroscopic polysaccharide that has numerous medical and cosmetic applications. In this example, Hyaluronic Acid is produced by fed-batch fermentation, recovered by centrifugation, and purified by ultrafiltration, activated carbon treatment and isopropanol precipitation. The 'Readme' file for that example, explains how to model fermentation processes in fed-batch mode. This example is recommended to users interested in the production of medium-to-high value bioproducts, such as cosmetic ingredients.
The process model file and a detailed description about the process model can be found in the Pharmaceuticals subfolder of the Examples folder.
B02, SBN 1000: Vacuum Pump Support Added to Several Environmental Reactions (Improvement)
In the following environmental reactions:
- Anoxic Reaction Stoichiometric
- Anoxic Reaction Kinetic
- Anaerobic Digestion Stoichiometric
- Anaerobic Digestion Kinetic
We have added support for vacuum pump calculations. If the operating pressure is less than ambient, it is now possible to set or calculate the power consumption of the vacuum pump used to create the vacuum in the equipment, and it is also possible to account for the cost of that vacuum pump.
B02, SBN 1000: Access from COM Engine Consumption Amounts for Any Resource (Improvement)
Using the COM engine of SuperPro Designer, you can now access the amount of consumption for any of the resources (HX agent, power, etc.) either for a specific section or a specific procedure or a the entire flowsheet.
For the entire flowsheet: GetFlowsheetVarVal3 (varID, value, resourceName, resourceUseTimeRef)
For a section: GetSectionVarVal3 (branchName, sectionName, varID, value, resourceName, resourceUseTimeRef)
For a procedure: GetUPVarVal3 (procedureName, varID, value, resourceName, resourceUseTimeRef)
The amount returned can be on a per-time-reference basis that is also flexible (set by the last parameter in all above calls):
- per year (per_yr_URTR)
- per batch (per_batch_RUTR) - for processes in batch mode only -
- per campaign (per_campaign_RUTR)
- per unit of main product (per_MP_RUTR) or
- per hour (per_hr_RUTR) - for processes in continuous mode only -
B02, SBN 1000: Electrowinning Cell's Current Density and Max Current Density Are Properly Utilized (Improvement)
When including an Electro-Winning cell operation, the program now makes best use of the key operating parameter: Current Density.
This parameter is the ration of current (in Ampere) going through the plates during operation (as an average) over the available plate area (the sum of all plates included in a cell).
When we are designing (i.e. selecting the collection size of the plates) the equipment, users provide a desired current density. Based on the contents of the cell (in terms of reactive materials) and the provided extent of reaction(s), the program will calculate an equivalent current (once the valency of ions is known) and then using the desired current density will calculate the required plate area. When the equipment operates in rating mode, the user is expected to provide a maximum current density. In rating mode the program will calculate again the current density based again on the cell's contents in terms of reactive materials and the user-provided extents of reaction(s) and valencies of products and of course, the available plate area. If that value exceeds the maximum value (set by the user in Rating Mode) the program will complain. The ratio of current densities (operating vs maximum) yields the capacity utilization of the procedure.
B02, SBN 1000: Electrowinning Cell's Model Now Supports Multiple Reactions (Improvement)
The Elecrowinning operation used to allow only for one reaction (the overall electrowinning reaction), making it possible in rating mode to calculate the conversion with respect to the limiting component based on the specification of the current density, and complain if the calculated conversion exceeded the specification of maximum conversion. For added flexibility, now this operation allows for the specification of multiple reactions but this has the downside that the way the calculations are done in rating mode had to change. Now, in rating mode the program calculates the current density based on the specified conversion for each individual reaction. If the calculated current density exceeds the specification of a maximum current density, the program displays a warning to indicate that the available total active surface area is not sufficient.
B02, SBN 1000: The Main Revenue's Stream Rate Are Reported using the Flow Ref. Units Selected on the Stream (Improvement)
Up until now the main revenue's stream rate was reported in the same units as the selling price's reference units. For example, if the selling price as $10/kg, then the main revenue's rate was reported in kg (regardless of the user's choice on that stream). Starting with this release, the main revenue's rate is reported based on the rate reference units selected on the revenue's stream i/o dialog.
B02, SBN 1000: Sludge Waste Stream Selection Improved (Improvement)
The Elecrowinning operation used to allow only for one reaction (the overall electrowinning reaction), making it possible in rating mode to To specify a sludge wasting stream in the Anoxic Rxn (Stoichiometric/Kinetic), Anaerobic Digestion (Stoichiometric/Kinetic) and WM Aerobic Bio-Oxidation (Stoichiometric/Kinetic) operations, one had to pick a stream from the entire list of process output streams, which could sometimes be inconvenient. Now, it’s possible to specify the stream’s source procedure first, and then pick a stream from the list of output streams for that procedure only.
B02, SBN 1000: Warning Generated when a Pure Component (or a Stock Mixture) Participating in the Definition of a Process Step Is About to Be Deleted (Improvement)
When attempting to delete a component from the component registration dialog, a warning message will appear to alert you of all the places that the current component participates:
Of course, you can still proceed with the deletion of the selected component after acknowledging that the intention was deliberate.
A similar message will be shown if a stock mixture was about to be deleted as well.
B02, SBN 1000: Expanded List of "Locations" Displayed now For Registered Pure Components and Stock Mixtures (Improvement)
When clicking on the 'Location' button in the Process Explorer when showing the registered stock mixtures and pure components, the program used to display up to now the points in the flowsheet where the selected component entered (or exited) the process. Starting with this release, the list of "Locations" is expanded with other places where the material participates in the definition of a process step (e.g. a reaction participant):
B02, SBN 1000: Added a Reaction Operation to Rotary Drying Operation (Improvement)
When describing a rotary drying operation, user now has the option of requesting to model a continuous stoichiometric reaction operation as well. The reaction will be simulated after the material has dried out according to the user's specifications. Users can have emissions from the reaction products be added to the evaporated material that comes off after drying. The energy balance of the drying is integrated with any enthalpy changes incurred from the reaction operation which is assumed to have been carried out isothermally at the exit temperature of the died product.
B02, SBN 1000: Absorption's Reaction Option Allows for Emissions to Be Included (Improvement)
When describing an absorption operation, users have been given the option to account for a continuous reaction to happen on the liquid side to at least partially simulate reactive absorption. Since a product of the reaction could be gaseous and leave the absorption or stripping column from the top (with the gaseous outlet) the program, starting from this release, will also present an emissions page that allows the user to direct any gaseous products of the reaction to leave from the top of the column (as gases). If a gaseous produce is not set to be 'vented' then it will leave at the bottom of the column (as gas dissolved with the liquid outlet).
B02, SBN 1000: Extra-Cellular % of Components in a Homogenization Operation Were Not Reset (Bug Fix)
If the user has specified a "Primary Biomass Component" (from the component registration dialog) then any interfaces that allow for reactions they present an extra column so that the user provides the percentage of a product that is produced as extra-cellular (vs intra-cellular). However, the actual primary biomass component's extra-cellular percentage can only be 100%. This was not enforced in homogenization reactions and not it is. Furthermore, when the definition of a primary biomass component is withdrawn, all component's extra-cellular percentages must be reset to 100%. This was not done properly for components around a homogenization reaction and has now been fixed.
B02, SBN 1000: Partial Condenser Option in Rigorous Distillation Models Lead to File Saving/Reading Crash (Bug Fix)
If the user specified that a rigorous distillation model engages a partial condenser for its distillate, the process model would be saved with (apparently) no issue but when the process file was attempted to be read, a crash would occur. This has now been fixed.
B02, SBN 1000: Energy Recovery Leftover Load Calculation Sometimes Was Incorrect (Bug Fix)
The Energy Recovery interface allows users to match streams that are currently being cooled down by utilities to be used instead as 'heat donors' to other locations of the process were heat is needed and currently the heating is being accomplished by steam (or other similar heating agents). Since a single heat donor could have a load that can be matched with several recipients (provided the temperatures are favorable) SuperPro Designer's interface would calculate the leftover load and new supply temperature from such heat donors after one or more matches. In some rare circumstances, the leftover load was incorrectly calculated. This has now been fixed.
B02, SBN 1000: Better Handling of Reactions Set to Execute After an Absorption or Shredding or Screw Pressing Operation (Bug Fix)
There are currently four (continuous) operations that allow you to specify (optionally) a continuous stoichiometric reaction to be carried out before-or-after the main operation. Some minor glitches related to such (rare) cases have been fixed.
B02, SBN 1000: Process Library's Expanded Search Results May Show Entries Multiple Times (Bug Fix)
The Process Library allows the user to search to locate process files that meet a given set of criteria then, expand the list of results, with the set of process models that meet another set of criteria. For example, in the screen shown below a search on process models with the keyword 'Energy Integration' was performed. Now we want to expand the search to include any further process models with the keyword 'Energy Recovery'. After the new criteria are selected, we can click on "Expand Search". This will add to the list any process model files that include the keyword 'Energy Recovery'.
Due to a glitch, if a process model was found that had the new criterion (in this case keyword 'Energy Recovery' but was already listed in the result set, the process file as re-introduced a second time. This has now been fixed.
B02, SBN 1000: Capacity Utilization Factor for Continuous Vessels Corrected (Bug Fix)
The capacity utilization fraction is supposed to represent for each equipment the percent capacity that is currently utilized by the process model (at the current level of production). For example, if a unit procedure fills up a vessel up to a maximum of 70% but the limit is 90% then its capacity utilization factor is : 0.7 / 0.9 = 77.8 % Due to a bug, the capacity utilization for continuous vessels was reported as 0.0 incorrectly. Should be the ratio of current liquid-to-vessel ratio over the max-allowed-liquid-to-vessel ratio. This has now been fixed.
B02, SBN 1000: Utilization Indices Chart Didn't Include Proper Set of Procedures (Bug Fix)
The utilization indices chart is supposed to show the capacity utilization factor (ratio of current capacity utilization over maximum), the time utilization (current time occupancy per recipe cycle time over recipe cycle time) and the combined utilization (as the product of the two). The idea here is that the procedures reporting the highest values (close to 100%) are going to be the bottlenecks if we decide to expand the throughput of the process. Of course, unit procedures hosted by equipment in design mode, since their size is not an issue as it will always be adjusted by the model, should not be included. Due to a mistake, batch procedures hosted by equipment in design mode used to be included in this chart. This has now been fixed.
B02, SBN 1000: When Adding an Operation in a UP of the type Generic Boxes / Bulk Flow / Batch, the Emissions Tab Allows for Selection of Vent Stream (Bug Fix)
When adding an operation in a unit procedure created as Generic Box / Bulk Flow / Batch, e.g. a "Charge", the emissions tab previously didn't offer any choices for venting/emissions performed by that operation. This has now been fixed and any outlet stream other than the default output is allowed to be selected as a "Vent/Emissions" stream.
B02, SBN 1000: Flow Adjusting Mixing Procedure's Options for Alternative i/o Configurations Was Incorrect (when streams were present) (Bug Fix)
Under some connectivity-related conditions, namely, when streams were already connected to the procedure, the i/o configuration options offered as alternative i/o configurations for a Flow Adjusting procedure were incorrect. This has now been fixed.
B02, SBN 1000: Wash (Generic) Operation May Lead to a Crash if Flowrate and Wash Time Were Set By User (Bug Fix)
When accessing the i/o simulation dialog of a generic wash operation, when the user attempted to set the was flowrate and the wash time and attempted to exit the dialog, a crash could be produced. This has now been fixed.
B02, SBN 1000: Gasification Operation Calculated the Adiabatic Temperature Incorrectly (at times) (Bug Fix)
Due to a glitch in the M&E balances of the gasification operation, previous releases may have been calculating an incorrect value for the gasification temperature (if the operation was chosen to be adiabatic). This has now been fixed.
B02, SBN 1000: Pumping power of Homogenization Operation Was Calculated Incorrectly (Bug Fix)
The pumping efficiency of equipment was not accounted for when calculating the pumping power requirements for a homogenization operation. This has now been fixed.
B02, SBN 1000: Rorary Drying and Drum Drying Were Calculating their Drying Times Slightly Incorrectly (Bug Fix)
When the procedure's operating mode was set to 'Batch/Semi-Continuous' the process time of the above two operations can be calculated from the specific evaporation rate. Due to a glitch in the calculations, that drying time was calculated in error. This has now been fixed.
B02, SBN 1000: Enthalpy Values Calculated for Pure Components Using the DIPPR or PPDS Prediction Models Were Sometimes Incorrect (Bug Fix)
Due to an error in the calculations, enthalpy values calculated at various temperatures for components drawn from the PPDS or DIPPR database were incorrectly calculated. This could have resulted in an error of adiabatic temperature calculations or heating/cooling loads in isothermal calculations. This error has now been fixed.
B02, SBN 1000: Design Spec Controllers for Flow Wouldn't Work if Set Point was on a per-hour Basis in Batch Flowsheets (Bug Fix)
Previous releases allowed users to select the set-point flowrate for a flow design spec to be in "<mass-units>/RCT-h" basis where the denominator was the recipe's cycle time. Unless the recipe's cycle time was specified by the user, such settings would not ever converge since the value depends on the final scheduling calculations (when the recipe cycle time is calculated). Such specifications are no longer allowed.
B02, SBN 1000, Release Date (05/15/2021)
B02, SBN 1000: New Components without Vapor Properties or without Vapor Pressure Params Are Properly Handled (Bug Fix)
When introducing a new component in a process model whose vapor pressure parameters are not known or none of its vapor parameters are known (Cp, DHvap, etc.) they should be excluded from any VLE calculations and not be allowed to have certain VLE shortcut criteria (such as Vapor Only, or Antoine). This was missed in previous releases and it is fixed in this release.
B02, SBN 1000: Better Handling of Reactions Set to Execute After an Absorption or Shredding or Screw Pressing Operation (Bug Fix)
There are currently four (continuous) operations that allow you to specify (optionally) a continuous stoichiometric reaction to be carried out before-or-after the main operation. Some minor glitches related to such (rare) cases have been fixed.
B02, SBN 1000: Auxiliary Equipment Sharing Violations Across Batches Are Better Reported (Improvement)
Auxiliary equipment (such as CIP skids, transfer panels etc.) are typically used by several operations and across batches; in other words, the sequence of use can have some activity from batch #1 then some activity from batch #2 and then back to batch #1. If an equipment sharing violation is detected, now the activities involved (as operation name / cycle number and batch number) are also reported to facilitate their resolution.
B01, SBN 3001, Release Date (02/25/2021)
B01, SBN 3001: New Components without Vapor Properties or without Vapor Pressure Params Are Properly Handled (Bug Fix)
When introducing a new component in a process model whose vapor pressure parameters are not known or none of its vapor parameters are known (Cp, DHvap, etc.) they should be excluded from any VLE calculations and not be allowed to have certain VLE shortcut criteria (such as Vapor Only, or Antoine). This was missed in previous releases and it is fixed in this release.
B01, SBN 3001: Better Handling of Reactions Set to Execute After an Absorption or Shredding or Screw Pressing Operation (Bug Fix)
There are currently four (continuous) operations that allow you to specify (optionally) a continuous stoichiometric reaction to be carried out before-or-after the main operation. Some minor glitches related to such (rare) cases have been fixed.
B01, SBN 3001: Auxiliary Equipment Sharing Violations Across Batches Are Better Reported (Improvement)
Auxiliary equipment (such as CIP skids, transfer panels etc.) are typically used by several operations and across batches; in other words, the sequence of use can have some activity from batch #1 then some activity from batch #2 and then back to batch #1. If an equipment sharing violation is detected, now the activities involved (as operation name / cycle number and batch number) are also reported to facilitate their resolution.
B01, SBN 3000, Release Date (02/20/2021)
B01, SBN 3000: After Applying Undo or Redo the Contents of the 'Find' Dialog not Updated (Bug Fix)
After executing an undo or redo command the contents of the 'Find' dialog were still reflecting the previous state (instead of the current state). As such, some of the possible choices may no longer apply. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 3000: A New Example Model Has Been Added to the Metallurgy Group: Solar Panel Recycling (Improvement)
This example process and pertinent extensive documentation can be found under the "Solar Panel Recycling" sub-folder of "Metallurgy" collection of processes ("Examples\Metallurgy").
This example presents a physico-chemical process for recycling end-of-life PV panels. The process involves dry pretreatment, wet chemical treatment and hydrometallurgical processing. The dry pre-treatment includes the manual dismantling of the aluminum frames, comminution and sieving. The chemical treatment is based on the altercation of the ethylene acetate (EVA) used as encapsulating agent by means of cyclohexane, thus resulting in the separation of Tedlar, glass, metal contents and EVA sheets. Glass and metal particles are separated and recovered by air classification. The silver and silicon encapsulated within the EVA layers are recovered by hydrometallurgical operations upon thermal decomposition of EVA. The overall recovery is higher than 90%.
B01, SBN 3000: A New Example Model Has Been Added to the Bio-Fuels Group: Wood Biomass Pyrolysis (Improvement)
This example process and pertinent extensive documentation can be found under the "Wood Pyrolysis" sub-folder of "Bio-Fuels" collection of processes ("Examples\Bio-Fuels").
This example analyzes a wood biomass pyrolysis process. Pyrolysis is a thermal treatment at increased temperatures in a non-oxidizing environment which converts the organic raw materials to solid char, liquid bio-oil and gases.
B01, SBN 3000: A New Example Model Has Been Added to the Environmental Group: Food Industry Wastewater Treatment (Improvement)
This example process and pertinent extensive documentation can be found under the "FoodIndWastewater" sub-folder of "Environmental" collection of processes ("Examples\Environmental").
This example presents a plant that treats food industry wastewater. Anaerobic digestion is utilized to reduce the environmental load and generate biogas, which is consumed on site to produce electricity. The output of the anaerobic digesters undergoes aerobic oxidation to further reduce the organic load.
B01, SBN 3000: When Occupancy Conflicts Are Identified Across Batches the Cycle No and Batch No of the Conflicting Activities Is Also Reported (Improvement)
When procedures sharing equipment are allowed to use the equipment across batches and/or across cycles, it is possible that future batch executions may end up creating equipment sharing violations. Even though such conflicts were previously detected and reported by the scheduling engine of SuperPro, the exact activities (cycle no/batch no) were not reported. The user had to view the equipment occupancy chart (EOC) to identify them. Starting with this release, the pair of activities that are responsible for the conflict are reported.
B01, SBN 3000: COM Enhancement: You Can Now Replace a HX Agent, Power Type, Labor Type or Consumable in a Section or the Entire Process (Improvement)
Staring with v12 release of SuperPro a user can request the replacement of one type of resource (e.g. Heat Transfer Agent) with another either within just one section or in the entire process. The same could be done for other resources (Power type, Labor type or Consumable). This is now also possible to be done using the COM interface of SuperPro. Note that this is a powerful command and users should exercise caution when using it. Even though the execution of the COM call will prevent you from replacing obviously incompatible resources (e.g. a heating agent with a cooling agent, or a filter cartridge with a storage bag), it has no way of enforcing if the newly installed replacement will perform appropriately (e.g. the new heating agent's supply/return temperatures are as appropriate as the one it replaced). If the replacement resource is inappropriate, it will yield an error when M&E balances are attempted.
B01, SBN 3000: COM Enhancement: You Can Request to Fetch Warning/Errors During M&E Balances Over a Given Filter Level (Improvement)
Just as you can by the interface request to echo on the Error/Warning pane only messages above a certain filter level, you can similarly now request to fetch such errors (at or above a given filter level) from the COM interface of SuperPro. The new COM function is: GetOutputErrorMsgs(). This is most important if you need to verify that the M&E balances finished without any severe or non-severe errors (but only warnings).
B01, SBN 3000: Pasteurizer Showed the Wrong Size (Bug Fix)
When a pasteurization procedure was part of a loop of procedures that needed to be solved iteratively, it was possible that in the end the pasteurizer equipment was sized incorrectly. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 3000: A Reaction Operation Executed After a Shredding Operation Didn't Perform M&E Balances Properly (Bug Fix)
It is possible to request that a reaction transformation happens after the shredding operation. In such cases, a stoichiometric reaction would be applied to the results of the shredding operation. Due to a glitch in the code, the reacting mixture was not properly set up and therefore the mass and energy balances due to the reaction operation were not properly carried out. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 3000: Several Operations Did not Respect their Own PS Toolbox Settings (Bug Fix)
SuperPro decides the phase of a component (vapor or liquid/solid) using what it called a Physical State Toolbox (or PS Toolbox for short). A general setting at the process (document) level exists and it is by default applied everywhere. However, users can intervene and make changes where appropriate. For example, if it is convenient for the purposes of a reaction procedure that HCl is to be considered in as part of the liquid phase even at temperatures above its normal boiling point (and thus can participate in a liquid phase reaction) it is possible to visit that procedure's PS Toolbox and make that change. The scope of the new PS toolbox would be only for all operations in that procedure (one if UP is continuous or many if the procedure is batch) and it is also applied to the output streams. For some operations (mostly continuous like pumping, compressing, fanning, drying etc.) the PS toolbox of that procedure was not consulted thereby resulting in potentially unexpected results. Also, several vessel reactions (stoichiometric and kinetic) didn't use their own PS toolbox appropriately. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 3000: Relocated a Vent Stream to Another Port Replaces its PS Toolbox Appropriately (Bug Fix)
When a vent stream is created and attached to the emissions port of a procedure, its PS toolbox is automatically set to consider every component as 'vapor' and it is also classified as 'Emission'. However, SuperPro allows you to click-and-drag a stream from one port to another. If such a stream was relocated and before it was assigned to any operation in the procedure, its PS toolbox was not reset to the default (following the UP's toolbox). Also, if a stream that was connected to a regular port of a UP was dragged and left connected to the emissions port, the program didn't appropriately set its toolbox (whereby all components are considered as 'vapor'). This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 3000: New Components Registered without Vapor Pressure Parameters Were NOT Automatically Excluded from VLE Calculations (Bug Fix)
When a new component is registered in a process model, it may be that its Vapor Pressure Correlation parameters (Antoine or otherwise) are not known. If that is the case, the appropriate check box must be set. Upon exit of the registration dialog, the program should automatically add this component to the list of components excluded from rigorous VLE calculations and prevent the "Antoine Criterion" be chosen as the shortcut criterion for that component. If this wasn't done, then those components would have been allowed to participate in emission calculations as well as in any simulation requiring a rigorous VLE model (e.g. Flash) and since for such calculations the vapor pressure estimation was needed, an error would be produced. This did not used to happen but it has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 3000: Scheduling Conflict Messages Were Being Accumulated in the Error/Warning Output Pane (Bug Fix)
Before requesting to view a scheduling chart (Operations Gantt Chart or Equipment Occupancy Chart) if some operating parameter has changed, the program will request permission to do the M&E and scheduling calculations again (since some scheduling outputs may have changed). If a scheduling violation was detected, the program would echo the issue on the Warning/Error pane but it neglected to wipe out any previous messages and therefore such messages would seem to accumulate and be repeated multiple times. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 3000: Steam Generation / ME Evaporation Inadvertently Set Non-Zero Vapor Fractions of Components without Vapor Parameters (Bug Fix)
This would later produce warnings/errors since some vapor parameters of those components (like Cp or Heat of Vaporization) were needed by the calculations but of course were not available. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 3000: When Requesting to See a Procedure's Contents the Wait Cursor is Put up (Improvement)
It is possible that requesting to see the contents of a unit procedure requires a lengthy processing (esp. if the PS toolbox of the procedure is a non-ideal model). In such cases, the application seemed to freeze. Now the wait cursor is shown along with an appropriate feedback message.
B01, SBN 3000: Evaporator's Middle Output Could Have Wrong Value of Enthalpy and Not All Components Liquid (Bug Fix)
The middle output of a ME evaporation procedure is supposed to contain the condensed vapors from one or more effects. If several effects are specified, then the contents of the stream is a hypothetical mix of all such stages (effects). Since all such outlets come at different pressures, but the final stream can only have one pressure specification, it was possible that some components may show as vapors at the final pressure setting. This was unfortunate. Now they all appear as liquids. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 3000: Electrowinning Operation in Equipment in Rating Mode Uses Max Current Intensity as Constraint (Improvement)
Instead of using a max conversion (which is hard to know) to complain if an electrowinning operation is requested to go beyond the design of an EW cell, the program now uses a more realistic variable: the max current intensity. If that value is exceed (based on the EW area - known in rating mode) a warning is produced.
B01, SBN 3000: When Copying-and-Pasting a Procedure a User-Specified Cycle Duration and/or Any i/c Settings Were Not Copied (Bug Fix)
When copying a procedure whose cycle duration was set directly by the user or which was set to cycle independently from main batch the pasted procedure did NOT carry over those settings. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 3000: Batch Heating Would Compute an Incorrect Heating Load (in Some Rare Cases) (Bug Fix)
When the emissions setting for a batch heating operation was set to open vent with the valve setting (at a given pressure ceiling), the energy balances for the calculation of heating duty were performed at atmospheric pressure (by mistake) leading to an incorrect amount of duty (usually very large demand). This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 3000: Changing the Default PS Toolbox of a Batch Procedure to a Custom Shortcut Sometimes May Lead to a Crash (Bug Fix)
When changing the default PS toolbox of a batch (or semi-continuous) procedure that contains at least one operation that can only use a rigorous toolbox, after exiting the dialog a crash could occur. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 3000: When Equipment Sharing Violation Is Detected the Batch Number and Cycle Number Are Reported (Improvement)
Before presenting the equipment occupancy chart, as well as at the end of M&E balance calculations, SuperPro checks to make sure that there are no shareable resources with occupancy violations. For example, if there are equipment hosting multiple procedures and they are allowed to be used across batches (or across cycles) then it's possible that an equipment sharing violation maybe detected across batches. When a violation is detected the actual batch number and cycle number of the activities executed at overlapping times is now reported to help facilitate their resolution. Of course, such equipment sharing violations are more common with the use of auxiliary equipment that are allowed to be used across batches and therefore such a conflict can easily present itself.
B01, SBN 3000: Hold Operation, when Used in Cont. Procedure's Set in Semi-Continuous Mode Should not Allow for Heat Losses (Bug Fix)
When using a Hold operation as part of a sequence of operations in a procedure that is continuous by nature (e.g. Pumping) set to operate in a semi-continuous mode, since the procedure's contents are never accessed by the main (or any other) operation in the sequence, a Hold operation should not be allowed to interact w/ the contents. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 2100, Release Date (01/10/2021)
B01, SBN 2100: A New Example Model Has Been Added to the Bio-Materials Group: Vanillin Production from Lignin (Improvement)
This example analyzes the industrial production of vanillin from lignin. Vanillin is one of the most prominent flavoring agents and its sustainable production is of high interest to the food processing industry. Lignin is introduced to the facility in an aqueous alkaline solution received from the pulp and paper industry and is oxidized to produce vanilin and other phenolic compounds. Product purification involves several processing steps, including liquid-liquid extraction, distillation, crystallization, centrifugation and drying. The accompanying 'ReadMe' file explains several advanced modeling concepts such as solvent in pull-mode, steam and electricity co-generation, and heat integration (or heat recovery). In the documentation file you will also find detailed information on the material requirements and the economics of the process, coupled with sensitivity analysis to investigate the impact of production scale to economics. The model can be found in the 'Lignin' folder under the "BioMaterials" collection in the "Examples" folder.
B01, SBN 2100: COM Enhancement: You Can Now Query Material Deposits to a Storage Receiving Unit from a Single Procedure or All Procedures in a Section (Improvement)
As more and more of our users take advantage of SuperPro Designer's COM engine the requests for more and more advanced access of information are coming in and we try to satisfy as many as we can and as quickly as we can. In this build, we've added new VIDs that allow calls to come in and return the amount of material deposited to a given receiving storage unit (SU unit) from either a single procedure or all procedures in a section. As always, any additions to the COM engine can only become available to existing SuperPro installations only if you explicitly re-register the "Designer.tlb" file (part of the patch installation script) or if you use the full script to re-install the new release. Simply applying the incremental patch will NOT update your COM engine's ability to reflect recent additions. You can consult your Windows help to learn how to install a .tlb file manually.
B01, SBN 2100: After Visiting the 'Materials Exiting' Interface Some of the Associated Component/Mixture Props May Have Changed Unexpectedly (Bug Fix)
When a user visits the list of "Materials Exiting" the process (under Tasks/Resources/Materials Exiting...) if the user attempted to choose prices in units other than SI and due to a glitch in the code, it was possible that the properties of the material could be incorrectly converted and kept internally in SI units. This would result in the next viewing of the component's properties to have values that were unexpected. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 2100: After Exiting the Component Registration Dialog the Properties of Some Streams (T, P, Enthalpy) May Change Unexpectedly (Bug Fix)
After opening the Component Registration Dialog and exiting with OK, or saving and reopening a process model (without resolving the M&E balances) the properties of some streams may change unexpectedly. This is a rare event and only affecting streams whose physical state of all constituents is not determined by their own PS toolbox but set by the governing operation directly (e.g. exit streams of a continuous distillation, or vent stream of a dryer, etc.). This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 2100: When Upgrading User DB that Originally Was Part of v10 (or earlier) You May Encounter an Error Message (Bug Fix)
As with any new major release of SuperPro Designer, the format of its databases has changed. You can, of course, carry over any previously collected data stored in your older version's User DB to the new release by simply hooking up the old-formatted file to the new installation (or using a dedicated command from the Databanks/Upgrade an Older Version of a User DB...). For users who are upgrading from v10 or from v11 but carrying over a User DB that was originally supplied to them as part of v10, it is possible that they may encounter an error while having their User DB file upgraded from SuperPro v12. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 2000, Release Date (01/04/2021)
B01, SBN 2000: A New Example Added: Cu-Au Bioleaching (Metallurgy Group) (Improvement)
A new process model has been added: Cu-Au Bioleaching. This model captures a bio-hydrometallurgical process to extract and recover copper and gold from a Cu-Au refactory concentrate. The process utilizes bioleaching of the concentrate to dissolve the metal sulphides while leaving gold and solid residue. Copper is recovered from the bioleach pregnant solution by electrowinning, after purification by solvent extraction. Gold is extracted from the bioleach residue by thiosulfate-ammonia leaching and recovered from the pregnant leach solution also by electrowinning following purification by ion-exchange. The process presented in this example treats 328,000 MT/year of concentrate and produced 87,000 MT/year of copper and 4.7 MT/year of gold. The .spf for this process model as well as extensive documentation can be found in the "Cu Au Bioleaching" folder under the "Metallurgy" group in the 'Examples' folder.
B01, SBN 2000: Cost Correlation for Air-Lift Fermentors Modified (Improvement)
Earlier releases of SuperPro Designer, imposed a fairly high minimum size for costing Air-Lift Fermentors. As a result, it appears that even though the size of the unit changed its cost remained flat. The costing equations have now been adjusted to allow for a more flexible pricing of such equipment.
B01, SBN 2000: Energy Recovery Feasibility Match-ups Incorrectly Allowed for Infeasible Pairings of Heating/Cooling Loads (Bug Fix)
SuperPro Designer allows for matching locations (operations) in your model where currently heat needs to added (and currently heating is performed using utilities such as 'HP Steam') with locations were currently cooling is needed (and currently is performed using a cooling agent such as 'Cooling Water'). If such matches are thermodynamically feasible (even partially) they would result in double-savings of utilities. The 'Energy Recovery' interface (accessible from the flowsheet's right-click menu) allows the user to make such match-ups. Unfortunately, due to a glitch, some match-ups allowed were not thermodynamically feasible, even in a counter-current heat exchanger. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 2000: When Depositing Binary Coefficients for a Given Mixture Some Parameters (not specified) May Appear as Having Very Small (but not zero) Values (Bug Fix)
If you have provided directly into your model (.spf file) some binary parameters (for example for Peng-Robinson equation of state) for a given binary mixture of components (e.g. "Acetic Acid" and "Water") and later decide to keep them by depositing them in the Binary Coefficient databank, the values deposited for the parameters left unspecified were committed into the database as some extremely small numbers but not zero, and the next time the binary mixture appeared in a model file the unspecified parameters would appear as strange values (e.g. "-1.54E-99"). This has now been fixed and any such parameters left unspecified will appear as 0.0.
B01, SBN 2000: Condensation and Thin Film Evaporation Wouldn't Correctly Update the Value of Throughput (Bug Fix)
When viewing the i/o simulation dialog of a condensation operation or thin-film evaporation operation as part of procedure in continuous mode, the value of throughput (per unit) was not properly updated. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 2000: Attempting to Set by COM the Filtrate Flux Would Produce an Error Message (Bug Fix)
When attempting to set the filtrate flux of a membrane filtration operation by COM, the program would produce the following error:
" Could not set the filtrate flux in operation <op-name> of procedure <proc-name>: Must set the equipment in Rating Mode".
Since this is clearly feasible regardless of the equipment's size mode (Rating vs Design), this was due to a glitch in the code. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 2000: Default Values for SIP Operation Were Improved (Improvement)
New instances of an SIP operation will now come with the following defaults:
Duration: 1 hr (60 min)
Steam Consumption: 50 kg / m3 of equipment volume
After consultation with industry experts it was deemed that the above settings are more appropriate than what was used previously (Duration = 30 min and consumption rate 100 kg/h.
B01, SBN 2000: Continuous Crystallization Operation Now Supports Master-Slave Relationship for Process Time (Improvement)
Starting with this release the continuous crystallization operation now supports the option of having its process time be set by a master-slave relationship (when operating in semi-continuous mode).
B01, SBN 2000: Adjustments Needed to Be Made When Switching from Rating to Design Mode by COM Call (Bug Fix)
When setting the equipment's size mode from 'Rating' to 'Design' (or vice versa) sometimes some adjustments need to be made on the setup of operations hosted by the equipment. For example, some operations do NOT support the option to have their process time be calculated from throughput when the equipment is in 'design mode' but they do when the equipment has a known size (i.e., it is in 'rating mode'). Even though making the change from SuperPro's interface takes care of the adjustments, making the change by COM call it didn't. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 2000: Initial Guess for the V/(L+V) Fraction Can Be Set by User (Improvement)
Solving a rigorous flash can be a challenging task (esp. if the thermodynamic correlations for Ki (T) are complex and not smooth. SuperPro's approach is quite robust in most cases by solving the problem using the inside-out approach where the outer iteration converges the temperature and the inner iteration solves for the V/(L+V) (vapor fraction). Even though typically users don't need to bother to provide initial values for T and/or vapor fraction (there's a sophisticated logic that chooses appropriately) in some extreme cases the choice for initial value can be the difference between a successful solution that finds the appropriate T and P vs a failed solution that cannot find appropriate T & P for the flash. Starting with this release, we allow the user to provide their own value to be used as the initial guess for the vapor fraction as sometimes this approach can lead to convergence.
B01, SBN 2000: Copy-and-Paste from One Flowsheet to Another or Using the 'Insert File' Feature May Result in a Crash (Bug Fix)
When copying and pasting a group of procedures and/or streams that contained one or more rigorous PS toolbox information may result in a crash. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 2000: Unnecessary Warning May Appear when Solving a Process Model that Contained a Component Declared with 'No Known Vapor Properties' (Improvement)
In some (rare) cases, solving the M&E balances in a process model that contained a component declared with "No Known Vapor Parameters" may yield a spurious message that "The Heat of Vaporization Was Requested for <a-component> When Declared that it has no known vapor parameters". This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 2000: Centrifugation Operation's Oper. Conds Tab Now Shows Sigma-Factor Related Data even if the Equipment's Sizing is Based on Throughput (Improvement)
In previous releases, SuperPro would hide data related to the calculation of sigma factor for centrifugation operations hosted by a centrifuge whose sizing (and number of units) was based on throughput. However, for Bowl Centrifuge and Disk Stack Centrifuge, we still need to calculate the sigma factor for costing purposes (even if the sizing is based on throughput) and therefore such data must be displayed on the operation's i/o simulation dialog. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 2000: When Calculating the Purchase Cost using a User-Defined Cost Model Program Complained unnecessarily if the Size was Lower than the Low Threshold of the Lowest Range (Bug Fix)
When a user provides a user-defined cost model that essentially provides a power-law type cost estimation with a base cost and an exponential that depend on which range a given size falls, the program would complain if the actual size that need to be fed into the UDCM is below the lowest threshold of ranges. It should not since in that case, the program automatically will return the cost for the equipment as if its size matched that lowest threshold (in other words, it assumes there's a minimum cost for all such equipment below the threshold). This has now been fixed and the program complains ONLY if the size exceed the highest end of the highest range, since in that case, the program must extrapolate and thus the calculated value could be incorrect (sometimes these power laws tend to look like hyperboles that bend down for higher values so it may appear that the cost for larger capacities actually could be going down).
B01, SBN 2000: After Visiting the 'Materials Entering' Interface Some of the Associated Component/Mixture Props May Have Changed Unexpectedly (Bug Fix)
When a user visits the list of "Materials Entering" the process (under Tasks/Resources/Materials Entering...) if the user attempted to choose prices in units other than SI and due to a glitch in the code, it was possible that the properties of the material could be incorrectly converted and kept internally in SI units. This would result in the next viewing of the component's properties to have values that were unexpected. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 2000: When Generating a Batch Sheet or a Input Data Report, Power & Labor Type Variable Values and Stock Mixture Property Values Were Included in Internal (SI) Units - not the User-Selected Units (Bug Fix)
This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 2000: Heat Transfer Agent Amount, Labor Amount and Power Amount Added Options from COM Calls (Improvement)
In previous releases, you could only call by COM and retrieve amounts for heat transfer agent consumption, labor hours and power consumption on an annual basis only. Starting with this release you can specify on the COM call the reference time frame for the consumption amounts:
- 1 (per year)
- 2 (per batch)
- 3 (per campaign)
- 4 (per kg-of-Main-Product or per-Entity)
- 5 (per hour)
This offers an extra flexibility that pre-existed for consumption of materials but not for other resources.
B01, SBN 2000: You Can Now Retrieve the Number of Entities Consumed (Entering) a Process (Improvement)
Sometimes raw materials enter the process in the form of discrete entities (not bulk amounts). Starting with this release you can request to receive the amounts of entity entering the process or section. You can use the 'entityAmount_VID' along with the entity name and a proper time reference (see above) to receive the consumption of that entity per year, per batch, etc.
B01, SBN 1100, Release Date (12/15/2020)
B01, SBN 1100: Several Operations Will Not Allow Process Time Be Set to 'Calculated' (Bug Fix)
Earlier releases of v12, would not allow several operations that normally offer to calculate their process time (based on some user-set rate, or flux or similar). For example, a charge or other type of transfer in/out operations would disable the option to have their process time be set to 'calculated'; sometimes the option was active only if the host equipment was in 'rating' mode (unnecessarily). This has been fixed. Note that for some operations this option to have the process time be calculated may only be active when the host equipment is in rating mode (e.g. cloth or membrane filtration operations).
B01, SBN 1100: Cooling Tower Procedure May Crash When Copy-and-Pasted to a Different Flowsheet (Bug Fix)
When attempting to copy-and-paste a cooling tower procedure from a file created with a pre-v12 release of the application to another file the pasted procedure was faulty and when attempting to save the file it would lead to crash. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 1100: Reading Very Old Files with a Concentration Unit Setting May Lead to an Error (Bug Fix)
When attempting to read older files containing operation(s) that kept a concentration unit setting it was possible that the up-conversion of the file failed to read a past unit setting. When viewing the i/o dialog of the relevant operation an error message would be generated to report the unrecognizable unit setting. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 1100: Sizing of Equipment Hosting a Continuous (by Nature) Procedure Set in 'Batch Mode' May Produce Incorrect Size (Bug Fix)
When a continuous (by nature) procedure hosted by a Vessel-type equipment (e.g. 'Continuous Storage') was set to operate in 'Batch/Semi-Continuous' mode, if a size-neutral operation was added to the operation queue the equipment sizing would be reported incorrectly. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 1100: Extrusion Operation Would Reject Cooling Agents Unnecessarily (Bug Fix)
When using 'Cooling Water' as the cooling agent in an extrusion operation set to operate at high temperatures, the program would find using 'Cooling Water' inadequate (as it incorrectly perceived 25°C as the output temperature - ambient - and not the temperature set by the operation. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 1100: Injection Molding: Entity Flow Incorrectly Set to 0.0 (Bug Fix)
When setting the entity flow on an extrusion operation, after solving the M&E balances, the value would be reset to 0.0. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 1100: Process Library Search Would Miss to Include Some Types of Operations or Procedures or Equipment (Bug Fix)
In some (rare) cases, the process library search options will fail to include some operation or procedure or equipment types if one type's string description is a an exact match with an existing plus few more characters (e.g. "Distillation" and "Distillation (rigorous)"). This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 1100: When Prompted to Save a Data ASCII File (*.dat) or an Unformatted Excel File (*.xls) the File Dialog Would not Show Other Similar Extension Files in the Folder (Bug Fix)
When selecting to save some date (e.g. "Liquid Level Info") into a text file ('LiquidLevel.dat') - as a space-formatted ASCII file or unformatted Excel file ('LevelInfo.xls') the file 'save as' dialog that appears is supposed to show any other files (of same extension '.dat' or '.xls') if they exist in the selected folder; it didn't. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 1100: Selecting a Long Process Library File Would Lead to an Apparent Freeze (Bug Fix)
When selecting to link to a previously existing process library file (e.g. after upgrading from a previous release), if the file is relatively large, the program should refresh its top listing of the contents of this new process library database. Since, this could be a lengthy operation and now 'wait' indication was shown, it appeared that the program froze (or crashed). This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 1100: Creating the ICR on Older Files May Lead to a Crash (Bug Fix)
When generating an ICR, a crucial choice is to decide if you request to see a breakdown of the cost reported on an annual basis or on a per-main-product basis. The latter option is only available if a main product stream/flow has been chosen. If the choice was "per unit of main product" but later the main product stream definition was nullified, the program should automatically revert to annual basis. This is done now but in some older files the unavailable choice was still kept so when these files are up-converted to v12 and the ICR is generated a crash may be encountered. This has been fixed.
B01, SBN 1100: Up-converting an Older User DB May Lead to Errors During Pure Component Transfer (Bug Fix)
As with every major release of SuperPro Designer, a whole new database structure is deployed with the System and the User database. For older users who have accumulated lots of data in their current (older version) database, in order to make their data available for future use, they need to attach their older user database instead of the one that comes with the program installation. When this attachment happens (using the Databanks/Database Availability, Passwords and Locations... interface) the program will detect the user db being of older format and automatically offer to convert it to current format. In some (rare) cases, some of the existing component records would produce an error when ported to the new format. This issue has been addressed. In order to accomplish the transition more smoothly, SuperPro allows now components in the User DB to have records with the same 'Local Name'. Since nothing references components by this name index, there's no problem in keeping component and/or stock mixture records with same 'Local Name'. However, when two such components are attempted to be registered in the same process file, the second component's 'Local Name' must be changed before the registration is accepted by the application.
B01, SBN 1100: When Bulk Density Is Set in Non-SI Units Equipment Volume Calculations Are Incorrect (Bug Fix)
Some unit operations (e.g. Drying/Granulation, Transfer of Solids, Solids Storage) allow the user to set the 'Bulk Density' of the contents (since they are not in liquid/solid state). This value is supposed to be passed on to the equipment contents (after the operation) in order for the contents volume to be properly calculated and size the vessel. If the bulk density is set in units other than SI (default) and due to a mistake in the code, the volume of contents was inappropriate calculated leading to an incorrect number of units (when equipment is in design mode). This has been fixed.
B01, SBN 1100: Emission Line Pressure Is Set to Ambient when a Vacuum Pump Is Assigned (Improvement)
When an operation is venting gaseous material (e.g. as part of emissions or as part of drying or evaporation) in some cases this action happens under vacuum conditions (i.e. the vent pressure setting is below ambient). In such cases, the emissions/vent material contributed by this operation would carry a pressure setting that matches the vacuum setting of the operation. If, however, a vacuum pump has been assigned (as auxiliary equipment) to implement this vacuum, then the vent line resulting from that operation carries a pressure setting back to ambient (since it's assumed that it's the result of added pressure from the vacuum pump's power). This implementation provides the user with flexibility as to how they want to deal with that emission/vent line. If they need it to preserve the vacuum setting then they should NOT attach a vacuum pump to it.
B01, SBN 1002, Release Date (12/2/2020)
B01, SBN 1001: Basket Centrifugation Operation i/o Dialog Could Lead to a Crash (Bug Fix)
When opening an .spf file created with previous releases of SuperPro Designer that contained a cloth filtration operation in a basket centrifuge, after it was saved with an early release of v12, the application could crash. This was due to a transient behavior that has now been fixed with this release.
B01, SBN 1001, Release Date (11/25/2020)
B01, SBN 1001: Decanting Operations i/o Dialog May Lead to a Crash (Bug Fix)
When opening an .spf file created with previous releases of SuperPro Designer that contained a Decanting operation, then saving the file it would introduce a bug in the data of the decanting operation. When this file was later opened with v12 application, it would lead to a crash. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 1001: Power Generated from Some Equipment Was Not Reported (Bug Fix)
Power generating equipment (like Fuel Cell, Gas Turbine and Internal Combustion Engine), even though they are capable of generating power the produced power was not added to the total amount of power generated by a model. This has now been fixed.
B01, SBN 1001: Power Type not Selectable in Power Generating Equipment (Bug Fix)
A common way to keep track of all the power generated is to introduce a new type of power and assign that to be the type of power generated by the power-generating equipment (like gas turbines or fuel cells). Due to a glitch, users could NOT assign a power type to the operations carried by such equipment. This has now been fixed.