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AMOSS: A Bespoke Stochastic Simulation Environment Built On Open Source Software

Authors:
Edgar Whyte
Carl Sandrock
Greg Laycock
Deon Pretorius
Gerrit Streicher
Jean-Pierre Cronje

Keywords: stochastic simulation; Monte Carlo; flowsheeting; equation-orientated; equation ordering

Abstract:
Sasol’s Operation Research department developed their own discrete event flow-sheet simulation methodology to Model Operations using Stochastic Simulation (MOSS). This generic methodology is not restricted to Sasol, but can be applied to any type of continuous process operation. In Sasol’s case, MOSS has been so successfully applied that new process modifications will hardly be done without a MOSS simulation. However, these simulations require handling multi-component flows with material recycle as well as optimal allocation to units based on their capacity and profitability, resulting in complex models which require long development times. Commercial packages were evaluated to improve model development time using the MOSS methodology, but they did not comply with these requirements. Automatic Modelling Operations using Stochastic Simulation (AMOSS) is a bespoke simulation platform developed to fit the MOSS requirements using free/open source software. It is equation-oriented (as opposed to sequential modular) and automatically generates mass and component balance equations from user-generated process connectivity diagrams and operating unit specifications (reactor conversions, separator efficiencies and simulation-specific variables). It can allocate flows based on unit operating rules (unit priorities and capacities). Stochastic elements are introduced with user-defined distributions based on actual plant data.

Pages: 40 to 45

Copyright: Copyright (c) IARIA, 2018

Publication date: October 14, 2018

Published in: conference

ISSN: 2308-4537

ISBN: 978-1-61208-672-9

Location: Nice, France

Dates: from October 14, 2018 to October 18, 2018