Development of an Industrial Multitubular Fixed Bed Catalytic Reactor as Cape-open Unit Operation Model Applied to Ethene Production by Ethanol Dehydration Process
The ethene production by ethanol dehydration has been established as a promising production route. In this work a computer software simulation written in FORTRAN 95 for an industrial multitubular fixed bed reactor (MTR), applied to this production route, is embedded in process simulation environment through a C#./NET wrapper code. This wrapper code was developed in agreement with the CAPE-OPEN standards, allowing the MTR simulator to be used as a native unit operation component in any CAPEOPEN compliant simulation environment.
A CAPE-OPEN COMPLIANT SIMULATION MODULE FOR AN AMMONIA REACTOR UNIT
The easy widespread availability of process-engineering software is a subject of present concern. There is a need for the development of integrated computing tools that can provide broad access to software components coming from either academic sources or independent vendors. The CAPE-OPEN (CO) standard provides a suitable environment for this purpose because it enables the generation of modules with plug-andplay facilities, which make them portable, thus facilitating their straightforward integration to different simulation platforms. Our research aims at the adaptation of complex existing modules so that they meet the CO standard. In this work, the design and development of a CO-compatible component for the steady-state simulation of a multibed ammonia reactor is described. The resulting Operation Unit (OU) satisfies the definitions and guidelines established by the standard. Before implementing the interfaces, an analysis of requirements for the correct interaction of the OU with the other simulator components was carried out. Then, the objects to be invoked were defined and the reactor model was codified. The original code, which had been written in FORTRAN, was encapsulated in a dynamic link library (DLL) and employed as an OU calculating routine. Both the COcompliant OU and the interfaces were implemented in VISUAL BASIC, and then tested in the environment of a commercial simulator.
Cooperative Collection Development
The author discusses cooperative collection development from an historical perspective and examines some of the projects conceived and implemented during the past forty years. In many cases the projects failed even after years of concentrated effort. However, more important than these failures are new efforts that are being made. The major focus of this article is on both current regional projects and the more broadly based ARL-sponsored North American Collections Inventory Project. The author discusses these efforts and offers some specific judgments regarding the possibility that these projects will lead to a truly successful coordinated collection development project on a national basis.