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Press release

15 December 2009

gPROMS to include SAFT advanced thermodynamics

Tools for complex fluids open new possibilities in optimal process plant design

Press materials

Jackson, Adjiman and Galindo

LONDON, 15 December 2009 --- Process Systems Enterprise (PSE), today announced an exclusive agreement with Imperial College London (ICL) to provide the SAFT-VR advanced thermodynamic technology within its world-leading gPROMS advanced process modelling software.

The Statistical Associating Fluid Theory (SAFT) approach uses physically-realistic models of molecules and their interactions to accurately predict many different thermodynamic properties of pure components and mixtures over a wide range of operating conditions.

The SAFT-VR technology was developed by Imperial College London's Molecular Systems Engineering group, partly funded by a £3.6m EPSRC grant for the development of robust and reliable thermodynamic modelling tools for industry.

Its key advantage, says George Jackson, professor of chemical physics, is the ability to predict very accurately the behaviour of complex strongly-associating systems such as azeotropic refrigerant mixtures, aqueous solutions of non-ionic surfactants and strong electrolyte solutions, as well as high molecular weight components such as polymer-gas systems. These systems are often poorly characterised by conventional techniques.

gPROMS is used by large process industry companies in the oil & gas, chemicals and petrochemicals, power generation, clean energy, food & beverage, pharmaceutical and other process sectors to accelerate innovation, manage technology risk and optimise process design and operation through the application of high-accuracy mathematical models.

PSE will release a package of SAFT-based technologies as a new product, gSAFT. Further Imperial College SAFT developments will be delivered to market within the gSAFT framework as they arise.

PSE Managing Director Costas Pantelides says "The coupling of SAFT with gPROMS's advanced optimisation technology opens up new possibilities for process design, allowing both molecular-level and process design decisions to be taken into account to ensure that the resulting design is optimal." An example is recent work on solvent-based carbon capture processes, where the optimal molecular structure for the solvent and process design parameters and operating conditions were determined simultaneously.

Prof Pantelides adds, "We are committed to delivering the best of new technology emerging from university research to process engineers throughout industry and academia within the gPROMS framework".

Materials

Standard "About PSE" and "About gPROMS"

About PSE
About gPROMS

About Imperial College London

Rated as the world's fifth best university in the 2007 Times Higher Education Supplement University Rankings, Imperial College London is a science-based institution with a reputation for excellence in teaching and research that attracts over 12,000 students and 6,000 staff of the highest international quality.

Innovative research at the College explores the interface between science, medicine, engineering and management and delivers practical solutions that improve quality of life and the environment - underpinned by a dynamic enterprise culture.

With 66 Fellows of the Royal Society among our current academic staff and distinguished past members of the College including 14 Nobel Laureates and two Fields Medallists, Imperial's contribution to society has been immense. Inventions and innovations include the discovery of penicillin, the development of holography and the foundations of fibre optics. This commitment to the application of our research for the benefit of all continues today with current focuses including interdisciplinary collaborations to tackle climate change and mathematical modelling to predict and control the spread of infectious diseases.

The College's 100 years of living science was celebrated throughout 2007 with a range of events to mark the Centenary of the signing of Imperial's founding charter on 8 July 1907.

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"The SAFT researchers take a well-earned break"; "Dr Amparo Galindo, Dr Claire Adjiman, Professor George Jackson, Imperial College London"

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 Jackson, Adjiman and
"Dr Amparo Galindo, Imperial College London"

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Amparo Galindo
"Dr Claire Adjiman, Imperial College London"

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Claire Adjiman
"Professor George Jackson, Imperial College London"

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Prof. Cristina Fernandes