In this chapter, we will guide you through the steps of creating a process model in SuperPro Designer. We will first describe how to create a simple example process model (see Developing a Process Model). This example will illustrate the key initialization steps involved with the creation of any type of process. Regardless of which industry you are in, you should read through this example to become familiar with the basic steps of modeling processes using SuperPro Designer.
In addition to this simple example, three other process model examples will be described in this chapter. These examples, listed below, are more complex than the first one and they are better representations of what a “real” process modeled with SuperPro Designer would look like:
● Synthetic Pharmaceuticals (The Synthetic Pharmaceutical Process). This example deals with a synthetic pharmaceutical process. It is recommended for users in the pharmaceutical and specialty chemical industries.
● Biotech Processing (The b-Galactosidase Process). This example deals with the production of b-galactosidase and it is recommended for users in the bioprocessing industries.
● Wastewater Treatment (The Industrial Wastewater Treatment Process). The third additional example deals with an industrial wastewater treatment plant and it is recommended for users that target water purification and wastewater treatment applications.
The application itself comes with a wide range of example files, that cover various domains in the process industry. Please, see Examples section for a detailed list. Since all example files are pre-deposited to your Process Library, and they are all tagged with appropriate keywords, you can visit the Process Library Interface: Search Tab and search based on a specific feature that you maybe interested to find an example process file that best demonstrates it. For instance, if you are looking for a sample process file that demonstrates the Energy Recovery feature of the software, select “Process” from the first listbox, then “Energy Recovery” from the second listbox, and then click on “Search”. Several example files will match (e.g. the “Algal Oil” from the Bio-Fuels area or the “Corn Refinery” from the “Food Processing” area. You can also search for specific keywords that examples are properly equipped with to help you locate topics of interest. For instance, if you click on “Process” (first listbox), then “Keywords” on the second and then “WFI Supply System Design”, then click on “Search”, you will be offered few alternatives (“Mab” or “Vials” examples from the pharmaceutical group). To see the entire list of examples, search for “Process” then “Keywords” then check the “Example Process” keyword, then click “Search”. The resulting list presents all the example processes shipped with the program.