Reusage of the equipment question. about biosteam HOT 6 CLOSED

From the look on this diagram, it seems like T101, T301/T302, T401, and T501 are all surge tanks that allow the process to operate continuously even though we have batch/multi-pass processes like fermentation, homogenisation, and centrifugation.

I think you could implement the unit operations with multiple passes as a new Unit subclass (and just use one instance). Although it works as a continuous process, internally, your custom unit can work however you like. For example:

import biosteam as bst
class Homogenizer(bst):
    _units = {'flow rate': 'kg/hr'}    

    def __init__(self, ID="", ins=None, outs=(), thermo=None, passes=3):
        super().__init__(ID, ins, outs, thermo)
        self.passes = passes

    def _design(self):
        feed, = self.ins
        self.design_requirements['Flow rate'] = feed.F_mass

    def _cost(self):
        F_mass_net = self.passes * self.design_requirements['flow rate']
        self.purchase_costs['Homogenizer'] = some_cost_equation(F_mass) 

Hope this helps!

from biosteam.

Thank you! I will try it and check how it works.

from biosteam.

I have checked the article again. Actually, it is a bit more complicated. According to the article text it is like this:

T301, T302 and T401 are different tanks (T301 and T302 are of similar kinds).
H301 is homogenizer.

So, it is 2 usages of T301, 1 usage of T302 and 3 usages of H301 per round. Of course, I can make it a single object and take everything into account using _design and _cost. However, it might be good to have a way to keep the pieces of the equipment as separate objects.

from biosteam.

One more moment related to a similar issue. In the same article(Van Wegen et al. - 1998 - Industrial Production of Polyhydroxyalkanoates Usi copy.pdf), there is a schedule of the batch fermentation.

Apparently, they use it for TEA.
So they run two batch fermentors one is emptied in the middle of the other one's run.
Does biosteam consider parallel running for TEA?

from biosteam.

BioSTEAM's fermentor (an instance of BatchBioreactor) works with simple batch scheduling of just the fermentors, you can check out the size_batch function (https://github.com/BioSTEAMDevelopmentGroup/biosteam/blob/master/biosteam/units/design_tools/batch.py) for details. In summary, one tank is always being filled while the others are running, cleaning, or unloading.

It does seem like your batch schedule is more complex, but many details can be ignored. For example, the number of passes between the homogenizer, T301, and T302 doesn't actually matter for the sizing (based on the hand drawn diagram). The volume of T301 will depend on the loading time and flow rate to your fermentors (assuming no downtime for fermentors). The size of your homogenizer and T302 will also be the same as T301 (assuming that in each pass, all the fluid is transferred)

Let me know if you run into any problems!

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I just updated my reply, sorry for the change!

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