Model and Troubleshoot Refinery Process Units using Aspen HYSYS Petroleum Refining Tools

Modeling an ideal refinery is key to successful operations to prevent bottlenecks and maximize profits. In this class, you will learn and apply the industry best practices to build, troubleshoot and optimize the refinery process units using Aspen HYSYS® Petroleum Refining tools.

Audience:

  • Process engineers doing refinery design and optimization for projects and studies
  • Plant engineers checking plant performance under different operating conditions

Training Details

  • Course Id:

    EHY102

  • Duration:

    3 day(s)

  • CEUs Awarded:

    2.1

  • Level:

    Introductory

Benefits

  • Add assay data to track over 50 major petroleum properties such as sulfur and octane number
  • Discover how the key features of Aspen HYSYS Petroleum Refining allow rapid flowsheet construction for fractionation columns and refinery reactors such as FCC units
  • Use the HYSYS flowsheet interfaces for quick and effective modeling of refinery models including complicated refinery reactors
  • Investigate how the complex, rigorous reactor models can streamline and organize your simulation efforts
  • Evaluate the performance of existing refinery models with the Case Study feature
  • Improve the convergence of a simulation, troubleshoot common simulation problems
  • Optimize refinery models using the Aspen HYSYS Optimizer 

Approach

  • Instruction on modeling refinery-based simulations 
  • Instructor-guided demonstrations of features
  • Hands-on workshops using examples from the oil refining industry
  • Detailed course notes

Pre-requisites

  • A background in the petroleum refining industry
  • A functional knowledge of Aspen HYSYS is needed; or must have attend EHY101 Aspen HYSYS: Process Modeling

Subsequent Courses

  • EHY202 Aspen HYSYS: Advanced Process Modeling Topics
  • EHY223 Aspen HYSYS Dynamics: Dynamic Modeling
  • RPA101 Aspen PIMS: Introduction to Refinery Planning

Agenda

Refinery Process Overview
  • Refinery objectives – Transforming crude oil into useful products
  • Refining Process challenges 
  • Refinery Feedstocks & Products
  • Complete Solution for Engineering workflow in Refining using various AspenTech tools
Characterize Crude Feed 
  • Enter necessary elements to fully define a Fluid Package 
  • Discuss Petroleum Assay input options
  • Use HYSYS Petroleum Refining assays within a process flowsheet
  • Review stream analysis options, petroleum properties and their importance
  • Workshop: Add assay data with petroleum properties and install into a flowsheet material stream.
Build Pre-Heat Train
  • Introduce the Pre-Heat Train unit operations – Desalter, Heat transfer equipment, Pre-Flash Vessel and Crude Fired Heater
  • Build a typical pre-heat train for petroleum refining simulation 
  • Workshop: Build a crude fractionation pre-heat train using a variety of Aspen HYSYS unit operations. 
Model Pre-Heat Train
  • Perform Rigorous Heat exchanger modeling using integrated EDR model
  • Implement mathematical/logical operations (Balance and Adjust)
  • Use the Case Study feature to run flowsheet-wide scenarios
  • Workshop: Perform fouling analysis using rigorous EDR model and run flowsheet-wide scenarios
Build, Run and Analyze an Atmospheric Crude Column
  • Build and converge an atmospheric crude column
  • Use Aspen HYSYS to analyse and predict the behaviour of a simulated column
  • Add side strippers and pump arounds to a column to improve operation and efficiency
  • Use HYSYS Petroleum Refining petroleum properties to monitor column performance and product quality
  • Use cut-point specifications to improve product quality and quantity
  • Workshop: Construct, run, analyse, and manipulate an atmospheric crude column simulation
Vacuum Distillation Unit and Heat Integration
  • Achieve heat integration by linking column pump arounds with pre-heat train exchangers
  • Apply the Recycle operation as a flowsheet-building tool appropriate for a variety of simulations
  • Use Column Internals Hydraulics tool to study hydraulic performance of the Vacuum Tower
  • Workshop: Integrate the pump around streams with elements of a pre-heat train to achieve heat integration and perform column internals study.
Atmospheric Crude Column Optimization
  • Use the Derivative Analysis tool to define optimization variables and process constraints for an atmospheric crude column optimization
  • Create a HYSYS Spreadsheet to define an optimization objective function
  • Run the Hyprotech SQP Optimizer
  • Workshop: Use the SQP optimizer in Aspen HYSYS Petroleum Refining to determine the optimal operating conditions for an atmospheric crude column.
Refinery Reactors and Refining Simulation Tools
  • Review refinery reactor capabilities in Aspen HYSYS
  • Learn about the various refining simulation tools like Petroleum Feeder, Assay Manipulator, Refining Short-Cut Column etc. 
Fluidized Catalytic Cracking (FCC) Reactor
  • Create an Aspen FCC (Fluidized Catalytic Cracking) template
  • Calibrate an FCC model using a variety of data sets
  • Import an FCC into a HYSYS Petroleum Refining flowsheet and integrate it with other unit operations
  • Workshop: Create an FCC template file and use it to test a variety of operational parameters; calibrate an FCC and introduce it to a HYSYS Petroleum Refining flowsheet
Best Practices & Troubleshooting
  • Discover Activated Analysis for continuous evaluation of economics, energy usage, and equipment design
  • Identify best practices for using Aspen HYSYS
  • Investigate reasons why a simulation may produce poor results or errors 
  • Use suggested tips to debug a variety of simulations and column models
  • Workshop: Troubleshoot a series of Aspen HYSYS simulations and implement various best practices to get these simulations to solve properly

 

Register for a Class

Date Class Type Location Price Language
Date(s): 12/3/2025 - 12/5/2025 Type: Public Virtual Location: Virtual-Korea Price: (KRW) 1080000.00 Language: Korean Register
Date(s): 10/29/2025 - 10/31/2025 Type: Public Classroom Location:
Seoul , South Korea 		Price: (KRW) 1260000.00 Language: Korean Register
Date(s): 12/29/2025 - 12/31/2025 Type: Public Virtual Location: Virtual-India Price: (INR) 63000.00 Language: English Register
Date(s): 10/28/2025 - 10/30/2025 Type: Public Virtual Location: Virtual-Americas Price: (USD) 3000.00 Language: English Register
Date(s): 10/28/2025 - 10/30/2025 Type: Public Classroom Location: 2500 Citywest Blvd, Suite 1600
Houston , Texas USA 77042 		Price: (USD) 3000.00 Language: English 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.