Process Systems Enterprise Limited
email this page print this page
pdf overview


gSOLIDS and gCRYSTAL are powerful and user-friendly tool for scientists and engineers that use high-fidelity predictive models validated with experimental or operating data to provide accurate information for support of design and operational decisions.

The model-based engineering approaches embedded in these tools can save businesses millions of dollars of capital or annual operating cost through optimal design and operation and reliable scale-up.

Seminar details

This free seminar describes the concepts behind a model-based engineering approach to the design and optimisation of solids and crystallisation processes, and provides an opportunity for attendees to use gSOLIDS or gCRYSTAL to solve typical practical problems. Attendees of the hands-on session will be offered evaluation licences.

You can see the detailed agenda here

Target audience Technical management and process engineers from companies with solids and/or crystallisation processes: bulk & fine chemicals, food, pharmaceuticals, mining, FMCG and other sectors
Outline A half-day seminar describing the application of model-based engineering approaches to the design and operation of solids and crystallisation processes, using gSOLIDS or gCRYSTAL [including hands-on sessions].
Date Friday 1 October 2010
Time 11:00-15:30, including lunch. Registration 10:30
Location Yokohama Creative City Centre
Cost FREE
Presenters Dr Sean Bermingham, VP Strategic Business Development

Further information

The key differentiators of gSOLIDS and gCRYSTAL are their capabilities to address true dynamics, robustly handle large numbers of recycles and go beyond just simulation to model validation, process optimisation and scale-up.

Challenges in the design and operation of solids processes

Specific challenges and some typical questions facing designers and operators of crystallisation processes include:

  • How to increase plant throughput
  • How to determine the optimal recycle size
  • How to size surge bins
  • Selection of the correct equipment for new plants.
  • How to optimise procedures for start-up, shut-down and grade change.

How gSOLIDS addresses these challenges

gSOLIDS provides a comprehensive set of powerful and easy-to-use capabilities that include:

  • A library of common unit operations for solids processes
  • Drag-and-drop flowsheeting for creating solids process flowsheets
  • Dynamic simulation capabilities for modelling start-up, grade-change and other transient operations
  • Dynamics and graphical scheduling for batch and semi-continuous processes
  • The ability to robustly and efficiently handle large numbers of recycles and to optimise recycle flows
  • Upstream integration with gCRYSTAL and liquid and gas models for simultaneous design optimisation
  • A stream structure that includes particle size distributions, chemical compositions and temperature
  • Parameter estimation facilities for fitting models to experimental or operating data for maximum predictive capability
  • Dynamic and mixed-integer optimisation capabilities for true process optimisation taking into account many decision variables
  • The ability to add custom models of proprietary equipment or processes

Challenges in the design and operation of Crystallisation processes

Specific challenges and some typical questions facing designers and operators of crystallisation processes include (see more detail):

  • Processing of experimental data to estimate model parameters
  • Designing targeted experiments that provide maximum information at minimum cost
  • Determine the impact of scale-up and geometry changes on crystalliser design and performance
  • Optimising of operating conditions, such as cooling profiles
  • Quantifying and managing risk associated with activities such as scale-up.
Model-based engineering can be applied in all these areas to bring significant revenue enhancement and cost savings.

How gCRYSTAL addresses these challenges

gCRYSTAL provides a comprehensive set of powerful and easy-to-use capabilities that include (see more detail):

  • a library of common crystalliser configurations:
      – batch, semi-batch and continuous operations
      – supersaturation generation through cooling, evaporation, anti-solvent addition and reaction
      – seeded and unseeded
      – single and multi-stage
  • population balance modelling to represent the crystal size distribution; separate population balances for each solid phase, e.g. to handle polymorphism
  • representation of key phenomena such as primary and secondary nucleation, growth, attrition, agglomeration and breakage with detailed first-principles models
  • drag-and-drop flowsheeting for creating process flowsheets
  • dynamic simulation and optimisation (including mixed-integer optimisation) capabilities
  • the ability to link with CFD models to capture hydrodynamic effects, e.g. for reliable scale-up
  • parameter estimation facilities for fitting models to experimental or operating data
  • model-based data analysis capabilities including the ability to process multiple, dynamic experiments simultaneously and reporting of statistical significance of parameter estimates
  • experiment design capabilities to assist in targeted experimentation
  • design and process optimisation for batch and continuous processes
  • downstream integration with gSOLIDS and upstream integration with liquid and gas models to allow wider process optimisation
  • a stream structure that includes crystal size distributions and chemical compositions
  • the ability to add custom models of proprietary equipment or methods.

PSE. Advanced Process Systems Engineering tools