Development of an Open Source Chemical Process Simulator.

Abstract

Process simulators are a key software tool used in the fluid processing industries for day to day process calculations, for process design, for process optimization and for the debottlenecking of existing processes. Current commercial process simulators do not provide the simulator’s source code; the users must rely on a closed black-box approach for the unit process models. This historical approach to software development and usage is diametrically opposite to that of open source software. The open source paradigm provides a near optimal solution for the development of robust and reliable software applications while using minimal formal resources. It is recognized that the open source approach is a feasible software development solution that overcomes some of the shortcomings of the currently available commercial process simulators. This paper presents the development of a state of the art open source process simulator; as well, it also provides sample plant simulations.