It is no secret that I am not a great fan of HYSYS… Unfortunately, most of my students use this tool!
Check out this poll which was live in the Aspen Plus & HYSYS Support Forum (Unofficial)
Don’t get me wrong, I like it, and I know its super powerful, but I actually prefer Aspen Plus must of the times…
Please note that I say “MOST” and not “ALWAYS” …
Here are some of the reasons in which “ALWAYS” would have failed me, specially when using Aspen Plus alone:
Petroleum Refining
I would say that this software is mostly in charge of simulations directly related to the Petroleum Refining Industry. That is, directly from crude oil simulations, crude distillation units, vaccuum distillation, blending, reforming, cracking, etc…
Most of the unit operations are already in place, meaning that there is no need to add extra unit operations or at least that is limited… That saves not only time but also makes it simpler for the user!
There are some templates which are explained via tutorials in the “help” guide of HYSYS so if you are interested, definitively check it out!
Oil Manager
Whenever talking about petroleum refining, you MUST know your crude oil or petroleum conditions.
One of the most common ways to do this is via a simple TBP, viscosity and density analysis as well as an addition of other aspects such as Light Ends, Molecular Weight or ASTM characteristics.
The Oil Manager allows the user to model, modify, and create pseudocomponents to substitute the crude oil components.
If you are interested in some crude oil simulation or analysis, how you will treat your blend, or if you might be wondering on the cuts of your crude, check out this course: Aspen HYSYS – Petroleum Assays and Oil Characterisation.
Check out the trailer here:
Recycle Block
This is a powerful block, as it differs from Aspen Plus in which you typically add the RECYCLE block in order to ensure the order of iteration and tear stream.
This helps in ensuring the correct run of the simulation AND, it is a very visual way to verify the recycle of a product line.
Always "running"
One of the main difference I find in Aspen Plus & HYSYS is that, typically, Aspen Plus will not RUN the simulation until you state so, therefore, there are plenty of things that might occur while building your flowsheet.
In the other had, we have HYSYS which will typically be RUNNING live, that is, if you add anything to the flowsheet, it will run the results automatically. This has the advantage of:
- No need to click “run” everytime
- Ensure that the simulation will run, otherwise it stucks and no further blocks/streams should be added
Stream can be declared directly
I love this part, and sometimes it confuses me as well! This is because I always use Aspen Plus (most of the time) so when I get to HYSYS I’m not used to be able to setup a stream in a block input.
Once you get used to this, it starts to get very convenient! No need to lose time adding a stream, naming it, connecting it and so on!
Eventually, I think this is a personal choice to take, but If I could take this approach to Aspen Plus, I would.
Those are one of the reasons I really like Aspen HYSYS!
What do you think? Have you tried Aspen HYSYS alredy? What are it’s perks? Why do you prefer it? Or maybe you hate it… Let me know in the comment section below!