For effective flowsheet-level calculation of a complex chemical plant, the
use of suitable partitioning and tearing techniques is inevitable. The part
itioning and tearing techniques based on the reachability matrix and the de
composition algorithm were applied to model and simulate a sulfolane extrac
tion plant. Basic concepts were first exploited towards a general represent
ation for the modeling and simulation of the sulfolane extraction process.
Six process units, which consist of the sulfolane extraction plant, were mo
deled first and partitioning and tearing techniques were employed to model
and simulate the whole extraction plant. The Inside-Out method and the sequ
ential-modular approach were used in the modeling and simulation. Results o
f simulations showed good agreement with plant operation data.