Chemical Engineering September 2022 - 13

Newsfront
Modeling and Simulation:
New Software Capabilities
with Digitalization
Latest software combines the best of traditional physics-based and empirical approaches with
advanced digitalization technologies
U
nless you've had your head
buried deep in the sand,
you know that digitalization
is having an increasing impact
on the chemical process industries
(CPI). This is particularly true in
the modeling and simulation software
space. For decades now, steadystate
asset modeling and process
simulation tools have helped reduce
engineering time and effort during the
design/build/commission phase of a
chemical plant's lifecycle (Figure 1).
Dynamic process-simulation models
and advanced process-control (APC)
algorithms, in turn, have helped optimize
both processes and process
control in the much longer operational
phase. Now, digitalization -
and digital twins in particular - are
helping provide a common modeling
and simulation environment across
both phases of the asset lifecycle.
Digital twins are also helping to " democratize "
the technology, making it
more easily accessible, understandable,
and useful for a much wider
range of personnel.
Architecturally, leading suppliers are
developing new solutions that combine
the best of traditional first principles
and/or empirical approaches
with advanced digitalization technologies.
Digital twins, which merge the
physical and virtual worlds, have also
started to take on new roles thanks
in part to the incorporation of artificial
intelligence (AI), and machine learning
(ML) to help train models faster and
with less human effort. And when
combined with virtual reality (VR) technology,
digital twins can now provide
plant engineers, operators and maintenance
technicians with immersive
3D visualization capabilities for design,
operations,
maintenance and
training (Figure 2).
Most of the suppliers
interviewed
for this article
agree that these
and other developments
help
provide a path
forward toward a
more resilient and
sustainable CPI
sector that produces
more environmentally friendly
products, consumes less energy and
resources, and releases fewer harmful
emissions to our increasingly fragile
environment.
Aveva
FIGURE 1. Digitalization is helping unify simulation across all phases of the
plant lifecycle
First principles meet real data
" As the chemical industry is transitioning
from its traditional state
toward a circular and environmentally
sustainable economy, digital
solutions are at the forefront of this
transition, " according to Ana Khanlari,
industry marketing director for
Chemicals at Aspen Technology, Inc.
(AspenTech; Bedford, Mass.; www.
aspentech.com). " Traditional solutions
like digital twins are now used
for new purposes like reducing emissions
or minimizing energy usage.
As new processes are becoming
complex, there is a need to improve
first-principle models with data from
operations to increase accuracy. "
Elaborating on this, Khanlari explains
that hybrid models (Figure 3)
can combine first principles of engineering
with AI and ML to accurately
reflect operations. These models can
learn from past performance and
control future operations and are parCHEMICAL
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SEPTEMBER 2022
ticularly helpful when there is a gap in
predictions from conventional simulation
or a chance of future equipment
failure. " Overall, digital solutions ensure
productivity, efficiency and reliability
while minimizing emissions,
energy use, and waste generation, "
says Khanlari. " New digital solutions
allow engineers to represent real
plant behavior with models created
from first-principles constraints and
operational data; capture unknown or
immeasurable details of phenomena
while recalibrating models to changing
process conditions leveraging AI/
ML; and create high-fidelity models
that can be used for rapid and accurate
decisions in engineering and
operations or to expand modeling
scope, " she says.
Digital twins as problem solvers
" Modeling and simulation is the safe,
efficient
solution for
solving
realworld
problems, says Harpreet Gulati,
senior vice president of the Planning
& Operations business unit at
Aveva Group plc (Cambridge, U.K.;
www.aveva.com). " One of the most
important digital innovations benefiting
the chemical industry is the digi13
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Chemical Engineering September 2022

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