Software tool for environmental plant modeling

Waste disposal and the control of polluting emissions represent a critical operational issue for industrial enterprises. In this paper a software tool for computer-aided design and economical analysis of environmental plants is presented. The tool has been developed in order to assist process engineers ha the proper choice and sizing of the different pieces of pollution control equipment, as well as in the correct planning of waste treatment plants. The model is able to quantitatively characterize the processes involved, while also performing an overall sizing and costing of main equipment, taking into account different process units and a variable mix of incoming waste streams. The software tool is built in the VisSim programming environment, enabling ease of use, modularity, and expandibility. After a description of the software architecture and features, an example is presented showing the capability of the developed plant simulator.