Summary for the AA3 example simulation

This example demonstrates how you can use AVEVA Process Simulation to simulate a two-bed pressure swing adsorption (PSA) process that separates oxygen from air. The two-bed PSA process runs two adsorption beds in repetitive counter-parallel action; while Bed 1 pressurizes and produces high-purity product, bed 2 vents and regenerates, and vice versa. Combined, these actions form a repetitive cycle of short duration. The beds regenerate by depressurizing and venting through a vacuum blower. During operation, after an initial set of cycles, the process reaches a steady state of repetitive bed cycles for which the initial and end conditions between cycles become identical.

We base this example on the paper by Farooq and Ruthven1. The objective of this simulation is to:

• Design a PSA column that separates nitrogen from air to produce high-purity oxygen.

• Analyze the concentration profiles and the cycle durations of the adsorption beds during operation.

• Quantify the time to reach semi steady-state behavior.

  

  Figure 1: The laboratory two-bed pressure swing adsorption (PSA) system