PROCESS SIMULATIONS LTD.
INNOVATIVE EQUIPMENT SOLUTIONS
USING STATE OF THE ART
PROCESS MODELING TECHNOLOGIES
PSL PROCESS MODELING
TECHNOLOGIES

PSL addresses and solves
– equipment design problems, operational
performance, operator training, environmental
compliance, and safety issues

by applying modeling technologies to provide
– critical insight and internal views of the process
– graphical representation of functional
relationships between process variables and input

to reduce cost and increase profits
BENEFITS OF ADVANCED
PROCESS MODELING
 Reduce
operating costs
 Increase quality and quantity
 Environmental compliance
 Increases reliability of equipment
 Determine the root cause of problems
 Evaluate success of proposed retrofits
 Can evaluate “what if” scenarios
DIRECT BENEFIT EXAMPLES

Reduced unscheduled shutdowns
– Recovery boiler: avoid water wash (0.5 million)

Achieve environmental compliance
– Power boiler: reduced emission and particulate

Reduce operational costs
– Lime kiln: avoid brick replacement (1 million)

Improve operation
– Digester: better temperature distribution (more
uniform cook)
PSL PROCESS TOOLS
Licensed UBC technology – State of the art
3-D process models
 Advanced specific sub-models for
equipment
 Interactive viewing tools to show equipment
behavior in real-time virtual reality
 All models developed in-house (source
code)

PSL LEADER IN 3-D
PROCESS MODELING
Extensive experience in industrial process
model development and application
 Proven ability to optimize equipment, solve
complex operating problems, and improve
operating training
 Leaders in real time process visualization
 Strong focus in industrial equipment in
primary sector

USAGE OF PSL PROCESS
MODELING TECHNOLOGIES

Retrofits and New Equipment
– reduce capital investment risks
– testing of design before committing funds

Process Engineering
– determine and solve immediate problems
– training of operators & reduce variations

Corporate Headquarters
– relate variation of equipment performance for
different plants
– converge faster to optimal usage of capital and
human resources among various plants
PSL HISTORY

1986 to present
– UBC modeling group (pulp and paper applications)

1993
– PSL Incorporated
– Recovery Boilers

1995
– Bark boilers, Hydrocyclones

1998
– Headboxes, Lime kilns, Wood Kilns, Power Boilers

1999
– Digesters, PSL ProcessCam Technology

2000
– Gasifiers, Clarifiers, Training
3-D PROCESS MODELING
PROCESS
R&D
VALIDATION
INDUSTRIAL
APPLICATION
WOOD KILNS



GASIFIERS

DIGESTERS


LIME KILNS



PROCESSCAM


SETTLING TANKS
HEADBOXES


SCREENS


HYDROCYCLONES





PRECIPITATORS/HEATERS
POWER BOILERS

RECOVERY BOILERS






PSL CLIENTS PULP & PAPER










Weyerhaeuser
Canadian Forest Products
Anthony-Ross
IAE
Kværner
Georgia Pacific
Tasman Pulp
Sandwell
Weldwood
Ahlstrom
EQUIPMENT
Recovery Boilers
Digesters
Bark Boilers
Headboxes
Power Boilers
Clarifiers
Lime Kilns
Hydrocyclones
Wood Kilns
Simulators
Gasifiers
Validation
Equipment
Screens
LIME KILN
3-D steady-state lime kiln process model to
predict the flow, heat transfer in the lime
kiln, and product
 Use the model to solve problems in kiln
operation and design

Limestone CaCO3
Chains
DRYING
ZONE
Lime CaO Firehood
Burner
Motor Secondary Air
CALCINING BURNINGCOOLING
ZONE
ZONE
ZONE
Primary Air
Gas/Oil
CONCERNING ISSUES
 Kiln
efficiency
?
 Lower fuel costs
 Burner characteristics
 Refractory life
 Dams and rings
 Stable operation
 Flame shape and position
 Lower residual carbonate
WHY USE KILN 3-D MODELING
Model provides comprehensive information
throughout kiln at relatively low cost
 Can evaluate “what if” scenarios to improve
operation
 Supplements operator knowledge of lime
kiln operations
 Assists mill managers in making decisions
regarding kiln refits/replacements
 Assists manufactures in optimizing burner
and kiln designs

MODEL PREDICTIONS
 Gas
flow velocity fields
 Temperature distributions and heat
transfer to wall surfaces and mud
 Gas species (e.g. H2, O2, N2, CO, CO2,
H2O, CH4) distributions
 Pollutant emissions (e.g. NOx, TRS)
 Oil or solid fuel (tires, coke, coal)
combustion and droplet trajectory
 Particulate emissions
MODEL PREDICTIONS
Burner type/settings influence
 Flame shape (with thermal buoyancy effects)
 Aerodynamic and thermal influence of NCG
 Chemical species distribution
 Heat release profile to product
 Field calculations at >100,000 interior points
 Detailed gas flow mixing and aerodynamics
 Hood shape and secondary air ports influence
 Primary/Secondary/Fuel ratio influence

VALUE AND BENEFITS
Validated and coupled combustion,
convection, diffusion, and radiation models
provide significantly more realistic solutions
than non-thermal physical or mathematical
models.
 Resulting predictions are used to:

– Identify and eliminate poor combustion
conditions. Reduce fuel consumption by
optimizing kiln efficiency
– Adjust Primary/Secondary/Fuel ratio and burner
settings to maximize kiln efficiency
VALUE AND BENEFITS
Identify and eliminate thermal hot spots that
lead to reduced brick liner lifetime
 Use results to develop strategies for
reducing ring formation
 Identify and fix problems with kiln
performance due to hood shape and
secondary air ports location/size
 Evaluate NCG injection alternatives optimize injection

VALUE AND BENEFITS
 Evaluate
alternative fuels
 Minimize Emissions
 Optimize heat transfer to mud
 Couple to PSL’s user-friendly
simulator technology to provide
excellent technology transfer and
training for operators
EXCESS AIR, WALL HEAT, AND FUME HOOD
Normal Excess Air
Low Excess Air
Wall Heat
Transfer
Particle Animation
TEMPERATURE PROFILES
VELOCITY PROFILES
FLAME PROFILE
BURNER ANGLE
0º
-5º
NCG INJECTION
Reduced
Heat
No NCG
With NCG
INFLUENCE OF BURNER ANGLE
AND EXCESS AIR
SIMULATION AND TRAINING
PROCESSCAM TECHNOLOGY
Operator
experience
Process
knowledge
Operational
Simulators
Simulator
Core
Measurements
Training
Simulators
Virtual
Cameras
3-D Model
Physical
Model

xi
f 

 ruif j - G j j  = S j
xi 

PROCESSCAM TECHNOLOGY
Different Conditions
Process
Modeling
Numerical
Model
Numerical Data Sets
S uperheater
Bank
G enerator
Bank
Data
Interpolation
Training Data
Bullnose
ProcessCam
Neural network
Spray
C har Bed
Superheater
Bank
Generator
Bank
Bullnos e
Spray
C har Bed
Visual Simulator
Products
GUI
Interface
PROCESSCAM BENEFITS
Simplified technology transfer
 Reduce equipment operating costs
 Provide more rapid solutions
 Improve operator training and safety
 Modeling available in “real time”
 “What If” mode of operator interaction
 Reduce variability in operations

VIRTUAL CAMERA
3-D view of process occurring
 Immediate and easy way to see effect of
input variations on flow, temperatures,
chemical species, combustion
 Compliments, enhances, and challenges
ways to view process

TRAINING TOOL





Operators can understand why some modes of
operation are better than others
Provide insight that would be impossible to obtain
with traditional methods
Enable realistic training outside the envelope of
parameters characterizing normal operation
New training scenarios can be programmed
remotely
Shorten startups
INPUT CONTROLS & 3D VIEWER
CONCLUSIONS

Process modelling can significantly improve
industrial processes
– reduce cost; increase profits
More opportunities than those currently
being pursued
 Increased reliance in process modelling
technologies for equipment design and
operation

FOR INFORMATION, SERVICE
REQUESTS, OR PRODUCTS
www.psl.bc.ca
– Brochures, Movies, Presentations
– Services and ProcessCam Products
 Email
to [email protected]
 Tel: (604) 822-1940