Databank of Stock Mixtures

Stock mixtures accelerate the initialization of feed streams in cases where some raw material (e.g., a buffer, a caustic solution, etc.) is used ‘as-is’ and it is a mixture of pure components and possibly other stock mixtures. The ‘SuperPro (User)’ databank includes the definition of over 40 mixtures that can be readily registered in a process simulation. Users can introduce their own descriptions of stock mixtures to extend the list.

Viewing the Contents of the Stock Mixtures Databank

To access the stock mixtures databank, select the Databanks } Stock Mixtures... menu item from the main menu (or hit Shift+F2 as a shortcut). In the Stock Mixtures Databank Dialog that comes up, you will see a list of all the stock mixtures that exist in your ‘SuperPro (User)’ database. You can view the list of stock mixtures ordered by one of the following indices:

●      Name (Full Name)

●      Company ID

Once you have chosen which index to be used when presenting the mixture databank contents, you can search the contents by typing a string in the search field. When the search string is empty the search result icon shows as  and the search forward  and search backward  icons are both disabled. As you type a character in the search string a “search next” command is issued. If a next match forward is found the search icon turns into  and the selected index moves to the record line that matches the search. If no match is found, the selected index does not move and the search icons shows this  . Once a match is found, you can move to the ‘next’ match forward or backward by either typing ENTER or Shift+ENTER accordingly, or click on  (search forward) or  (search backwards) buttons. Note that by default, the engine will search to match the typed string with ANY part of the selected index (Name or Company ID); in other words, the string may appear anywhere in the index string (not necessarily at the beginning). If you only want to find matches where the search string matches the index string from the beginning, then you should have the  button pressed. Once you locate your entry in the list, you can either double-click on its record row, or click on the button to view/edit its properties.

Clicking on the  button will present the same Stock Mixture Properties Dialog where you can view as well as edit (and save) the properties of the selected mixture. You may also choose to delete an existing mixture and/or add a new mixture using as a basis other components and/or mixtures currently residing in your component and/or mixture databanks (see Adding and Deleting Stock Mixtures).

Adding and Deleting Stock Mixtures

A new stock mixture can be added to the databank kept in your ‘SuperPro (User)’ database. The new stock mixture will first be created to have property values that are copies of a pre-existing mixture, but it can later be customized to match your specifications. Keeping the newly introduced mixture in the database will make it readily available for use in any future process simulations. In order to add a new mixture, bring up the Stock Mixtures Databank Dialog by selecting Databanks } Stock Mixtures from the main menu of the application. On this dialog, click on the button and fill up the fields in the New Stock Mixture Definition Dialog. Then click on the  button to bring up the Stock Mixture Properties Dialog in order to adjust the mixtures properties. In order to delete a mixture from the ‘User’ database, select the line in the table that represents the mixture that you wish to delete and then click on the button.

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Tagging Stock Mixtures to Be Included in My List

When choosing a stock mixture to register in a process model file, it may be cumbersome to have to sift through dozens of stock mixtures in order to find the one that are looking for. For users who typically make use of only a small subset from all the available mixtures in the ‘SuperPro (User)’ database, the application allows them to tag those frequently used mixtures as included in ‘My List’. Then, when selecting a component from the Stock Mixture Registration Dialog, clicking on “My List’ check box, will only present the mixtures in the ‘SuperPro (User)’ database that have been tagged to be included in your list, a much smaller set of mixtures to choose from. The ‘My List’ tag can be added and removed at any time for any stock mixtures in the ‘SuperPro (User)’ database.

Basic Essential & User-Defined Mixtures in the SuperPro (User) DB

The list of stock mixtures present in the ‘SuperPro (User)’ database, are considered as belonging to three categories:

a)  Basic Mixtures

b)  Essential Mixtures

c)   User-Defined Mixtures

All mixtures that are present in the ‘SuperPro (User)’ database upon installation of the program are considered as ‘Basic’. You are free to edit and/or even delete them if you think you will never have a need for some of them. If you have modified the properties of a basic mixture, saved it in your ‘SuperPro (User)’ database and later you change your mind and decide to revert to the property values as they came (‘out-of-the-box’) you can accomplish this by clicking on the  button. Also, if you have deleted one or more basic mixtures and later you wish to recover (restore) their definitions in your ‘SuperPro (User)’ database, you can click on the  button There is just one mixture (“Air”) that is considered “Essential” and cannot be deleted. Every time a new process model file is started, “Air” is automatically registered and therefore its definition must exist in the ‘SuperPro (User)’ database. Finally, “User-Defined” mixtures are all mixtures that the user has introduced beyond the set of basic mixtures that came with the software. Each user-defined (new) mixture deposited in the ‘SuperPro (User)’ database is automatically tagged to be included in ‘My List” so that it becomes easy to locate. Of course, this classification can be removed later (if so desired). Of course, user-defined stock mixtures can be edited and deleted at any time but once deleted they cannot later be recovered.