Case Studies > Mid-Size EPC Reduces Cost of Innovative Ethanol Dehydration System By 18% with Aspen Custom Modeler

Mid-Size EPC Reduces Cost of Innovative Ethanol Dehydration System By 18% with Aspen Custom Modeler

Customer Company Size

Large Corporate

Region

Asia

Country

Japan

Product

Aspen Custom Modeler
Aspen Process Economic Analyzer
Hitz Dehydration System

Tech Stack

AspenTech software
Zeolite membrane technology

Implementation Scale

Enterprise-wide Deployment

Impact Metrics

Cost Savings
Innovation Output
Productivity Improvements

Technology Category

Analytics & Modeling - Process Analytics

Applicable Industries

Chemicals

Applicable Functions

Process Manufacturing
Product Research & Development

Use Cases

Process Control & Optimization
Predictive Quality Analytics

Services

Software Design & Engineering Services
System Integration

About The Customer

Hitachi Zosen Corporation is an Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) company based in Japan. The company designs and constructs waste treatment plants, industrial plants, and machinery and equipment for industrial and construction purposes. Hitachi Zosen is committed to being at the forefront of innovative products that are useful to society and technology. The company has undertaken projects spanning from waste-to-energy plants to salt water desalination and earthquake protection for bridges. To remain competitive, Hitachi Zosen needs to ensure that each product is not only innovative, but also allows their client to retain a competitive edge with traditional products and other emerging technologies.

The Challenge

Hitachi Zosen Corporation, a Japan-based EPC, is committed to creating innovative products that are beneficial to society and technology. To stay competitive, the company needs to ensure that each product is not only innovative but also allows their clients to maintain a competitive edge with traditional products and other emerging technologies. One of the challenges the company faced was developing a zeolite membrane alternative to traditional ethanol dehydration. The removal of excess water from ethanol is an expensive and time-consuming step that limits ethanol competitiveness in the energy market. To be added to gasoline, a mixture needs to be at least 99.5% ethanol. With an azeotrope that limits water removal from mixtures to 95% ethanol, a cheap and effective means of reaching higher ethanol content is currently in high demand.

The Solution

Hitachi Zosen used Aspen Custom Modeler (ACM) and Aspen Process Economic Analyzer (APEA) to model novel processes integrated into larger systems while also keeping track of the bottom line. This allowed the company to consider the cost while simultaneously designing a new technology, leading to a better solution with fewer iterations in the conceptual stage, saving time and money. The company was able to produce a solution, the Hitz Dehydration System (HDS), using a zeolite membrane. Prior to using ACM, Hitachi Zosen ran into an issue with physical property consistency using a home-grown segmented model of the membrane. Programming with ACM provided a program that not only allowed for consistent physical properties, but was easier to understand, maintain, and troubleshoot.

Operational Impact

Hitachi Zosen was able to explore different conditions entering the HDS, such as pressure and vapor fraction to optimize the entire process.
By using APEA and information on the cost of the zeolite membrane, Hitachi Zosen was able to consider the costs associated with each iteration and narrow down the solutions to the most cost effective and energy saving methods.
The success of this study has allowed Hitachi Zosen to develop a platform for further, more detailed development of their zeolite membrane alternative to traditional ethanol dehydration.

Quantitative Benefit