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Plant Operations Reacts Quickly to Market Demand with Aspen Plus
Technology Category
- Analytics & Modeling - Process Analytics
- Application Infrastructure & Middleware - Data Exchange & Integration
Applicable Industries
- Chemicals
Applicable Functions
- Process Manufacturing
Use Cases
- Predictive Maintenance
- Process Control & Optimization
Services
- Software Design & Engineering Services
The Challenge
Oxiteno, a leading manufacturer of surfactants and chemicals, needed a plant-wide model to evaluate options that could increase plant capacity and quickly and accurately respond to market demand. With constant fluctuations in feedstock and energy prices, reacting to economic changes quickly was vital to capitalize on the most profitable assets. In the past, unit operations were modeled separately and case studies could not be analyzed quickly and accurately. It was very difficult to increase plant throughput by evaluating individual pieces of equipment without the ability to examine the effect of changing process variables on downstream processes.
About The Customer
Oxiteno is a Brazilian chemical company that operates worldwide. Founded in 1970, it is a wholly owned subsidiary of Ultra Group. Oxiteno has an installed production capacity of about two million tons per year and is the largest surfactant producer in Latin America. The company is also a leading manufacturer of chemicals. Their products include integration of raw materials, ethylene oxide and natural fatty alcohols, in addition to other specialty chemicals. Oxiteno aims to envision business opportunities and develop solutions for the sustainable evolution of society and the world.
The Solution
Oxiteno used the aspenONE Engineering suite to build a plant-wide model of an ethanolamines plant using Aspen Plus and Aspen Simulation Workbook (ASW). The model was matched to plant data, which supported capacity increase with accuracy. Existing equipment models were combined onto a single flowsheet and the three main sections of the plant (reaction, ammonia recovery, drying and purification) were successfully integrated into a single simulation. The use of Aspen Economic Evaluation is currently being explored to benefit process optimization systems and project feasibility evaluation. Aspen Plus and ASW gave Oxiteno the agility they needed to keep pace with demand and production requirements.
Operational Impact
Quantitative Benefit
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