As we all know, Aspen Tech Software Licenses are EXPENSIVE as hell. Why? Well, they are THE leading software in the Chemical & Petrochemical Industries. It is also the main software you will be using during college/university.
The most obvious question which I get from my students is if there is any FREE way to get access to the software… Well, short answer is NO, there is no free way to this, at least not legally.
The following question I get is much easier to answer to: Is there any FREE alternative to the software?
Short answer: YES, there are!
Why are there so little options?
I want to address this question first. Coding is HARD, Designing Equipment is HARD, modeling Processes is HARD, managing a Plant is HARD… So you can guess that it takes a LOT of HARD WORK to get a software related to process modeling.
Another issue is that the main client will be a BULK / Manufacture industry which will probably have the $$$ to buy the software. This leaves small players out of sight.
There are not so many options unfortunately, but there are some… Let’s check them out.
Cheaper Alternatives to AspenTech
Here you can find a list of most common chemical process simulators
Most of them are commercial inteded, but there are some open source software as well.
Please note that most of them will be CHEAPER when compared to Aspen Tech Software.
FREE Software alternatives
COCO Simulator
This is the “king” of free simulation. I consider it to be one of the most “user friendly” programs you will find out in the market.
You can check their website here.
Also, note that there are some existing “plug-ins” for this software as it is extensively used in the industry due to its CAPE-OPEN coding.
Advantages:
- Well. its FREE!
- Friendly user interphase (GUI)
- Plenty of pre-existing unit operations
- Physical Property Setup
- Flowsheet is pretty ordered
- Lots of support from community
- Relatively easy to run, no “heavy” spec requirements
- Existing simulations for users
Now, as you can imagine, most things for FREE are not fully reliable… These are the most common disadvantages:
Disadvantages:
- No support center, if there is anything in which you get stuck, then you will need to find help by yourself or in forums.
- Not as “powerful” as AspenTech Technology, plenty of processes will not be modeled
- Requires advanced users to run the software
- Might not be the best software for new users to process simulation.
DWSIM
DWSIM comes from DW = Daniel Wagner, SIM = Simulator. He is a Brazilian process engineer which has been working mostly for Petrobras.
He created DWSIM since 2008 and has been updating it ever since. It is one of the best tools present and will definitively recommend this software as well.
I met Daniel via Online time ago when he was checking out some ways to create an online training for his software. He is a passionate Engineer which loves solving problems and also helping others as well. If you are interested in supporting his work, please become a PATREON of his.
Advantages:
- Its FREE!
- Open Source
- Works in Windows, Mac, Linux, Androir and iOS
- Good Thermo Packs
- Simple & Rigurous Unit Operation Design
- Hypo component generator
- Python Scripts might be integrated as well
- Sensitivity Analysis & Optimizers!
Disadvantages:
- No support center. Note that Daniel is always there to help you out 😉 or you might go directly to the Forum section.
- Some plug-ins and extras are available at a cost (cheap though!)
- Not as powerful as AspenTech software
You can get the software here:
Have you tried any of these? Or may be other FREE process simulator? Please let me know in the comments about your experience! I will really appreciate it!