Aspen Refinery Multi-Blend Optimizer: Blend Planning and Scheduling

Learn how to build a model for seamless scheduling and optimization of daily blend activities.

Audience:

Course is designed for Aspen MBO model administrators and/or blend schedulers.

Training Details

  • Course Id:

    RBS131

  • Duration:

    2 day(s)

  • CEUs Awarded:

    1.4

  • Level:

    Introductory

Benefits

  • Improved productivity through ability to use of Aspen MBO for blend scheduling in most efficient way
  • Provides a consistent mechanism for a client company to introduce new blend schedulers to blending and Aspen MBO

Approach

  • Instructor led tuition on basic topics
  • Instructor-guided demonstrations of features
  • Hands-on exercises

Pre-requisites

  • Basic understanding of blend scheduling
  • Working knowledge of Microsoft® Access and Excel

Agenda

Introduction
  • Discuss refinery scheduling management issues
  • Discuss the benefits of using Aspen Petroleum Scheduler
  • Review the key refinery activities affected by the scheduling best practices 
  • Identify the Planning, Scheduling and Blending integrated work process

System Overview
  • Identify and explain the Aspen Refinery Multi-Blend Optimizer (MBO) system structure
  • Describe the Aspen MBO user interface
  • Demonstrate how to open and login to the MBO application
  • Exercises 1A/B – Getting Started and Access Rights
  • Demo 1: Missing UBML

Data Structure and Interface
  • Identify and explain the application database and associated tables
  • Identify and explain the Aspen MBO data import and audit capabilities
  • Import beginning Component Rundown Inventories and Qualities using Excel Integration Utility (EIU)
  • Exercise 2 – Import Component data using Excel Integration Utility (EIU)

Aspen MBO Model Elements
  • Identify and explain the modeling data requirements for populating and configuring an MBO model
  • Differentiate between required static data, optional data and dynamic data
  • Show how to enter and specify data in MBO
  • Exercise 3:  Model Building.- Configure a given refinery blending model with:
    • Tanks
    • Properties
    • Components
    • Products
    • Tank Inventory Data
    • Component Rundowns
    • Blenders
    • Transport Modes

Event Interface
  • Identify and explain the Event Interface
  • Discuss the Other Commands; View, Models, Events, Simulation, Integrator, Case, Toolbar Selections

Event Applications
  • Identify and explain event types and usage within MBO
  • Review example scheduling events using MBO
  • Examine blend correlations using the Aspen Blend Modeling Library (ABML) and the User Blend Model Library (UBML) option
  • Discuss seasonal transitions considerations and heel conversion in MBO

Blend Scheduling and Optimization
  • Identify and explain Single Blend Optimization (SBO), Muti-period Blend Optimization (MB0) and Mixed-Integer(MIP) Functionality in MBO
  • Differentiate between the approaches, optimization options and considerations
  • Create events for a given model and use the Multiple Blend Optimizer to optimize the Blend Schedule
  • Exercise 4:  Event Scheduling

User Calc to Automate Event
  • Identify and explain user-defined calculations - “User Calc”
  • Complete the exercise to Add a UserCalc to auto select a product receipt tank and return a set of standard properties when given a product code
  • Exercise 5:  Use User Calc

Cases and States
  • Identify and explain the Aspen Refinery Multi-Blend Optimizer Case management capabilities
  • Discuss the options for setting up cases to evaluate and review operating parameters and prices
  • Use a demonstration model to perform Case Comparison
  • Demo #3: Case Management

Aspen MBO Outputs
  • Identify and explain the MBO Output options
  • Review the various MBO Reports available
  • Discuss publishing result in MBO
  • Generate reports running Report Writer application and Report Wizard functionality
  • Demos 4 and 5: Generate reports with Report Writer / Report Wizard

Additional Topics in Aspen MBO
  • Identify and explain how to use the additional MBO features
  • Blend Groups
  • Final Blends
  • Material Pools
  • Time Varying Prices
  • Rundown Blending
  • Discuss MBO usability and tuning tips
  • Demos 6: Rundown Blending

Model Maintenance and Support
  • Discuss typical model maintenance tasks:
  • License authorization code and license file
  • Software upgrade
  • Model update
  • Database cleanup
  • Model Archive
  • Rename Tags
  • Aspen Support topics

Register for a Class

Date Class Type Location Price Language
Date(s): 11/17/2025 - 11/18/2025 Type: Public Classroom Location: B8, Wison, No 699, Zhongke Road, Zhangjiang High-Tech Zone, Pudong
Shanghai , China 201210 		Price: (CNY) 2800.00 Language: Chinese Register
Date(s): 11/24/2025 - 11/25/2025 Type: Public Virtual Location: Virtual-APAC Price: (USD) 600.00 Language: English Register
Date(s): 09/1/2025 - 09/2/2025 Type: Public Virtual Location: Virtual-EMEA Price: (USD) 2000.00 Language: English Register
Date(s): 12/1/2025 - 12/2/2025 Type: Public Classroom Location: C2, Reading International Business Park, Basingstoke Road
Reading , United Kingdom RG2 6DT 		Price: (USD) 2000.00 Language: English Register
Date(s): 02/2/2026 - 02/3/2026 Type: Public Virtual Location: Virtual-EMEA Price: (USD) 2000.00 Language: English Register
Date(s): 10/9/2025 - 10/10/2025 Type: Public Virtual Location: Virtual-Latin America Price: (USD) 1400.00 Language: Spanish Register

Aspen Technology, Inc. awards Continuing Education Units (CEUs) for training classes conducted by our organization. One CEU is granted for every 10 hours of class participation.