The default stream style for bulk and discrete

). The default stream style for bulk and discrete streams is kept by the process
file and can be changed by the user (see 8.3 Default Style for Process Elements ). Also,
individual streams can have their style modified if so desired through the Stream Style Dialog .
4.1 TYPES OF STREAMS
Depending on the nature of the material that is represented by a stream, SuperPro Designer
distinguishes between two types of streams:
(a)
Bulk Streams
(b)
Discrete Streams
Bulk streams
carry material measured by flowrate units:
(mass-or-volume units) / (time units), or (mass-or-volume units) / batch.
Part of the material can be in liquid, gaseous or solid phase but SuperPro Designer
distinguishes only two phases: liquid/solid and vapor. The flow of
discrete streams
on the
other hand, is measured in:
(Entities) / (time units) or (Entities) / batch.
Each discrete stream carries one and only one type of entity (e.g. ‘12oz Plastic Bottle’). The
definition of the entity carried by an input stream is done as part of the initialization of the
S

S T R E A M S
Types of Streams
4
-2
Streams
4
stream (see 4.8b Discrete Input Streams ). For intermediate or output discrete streams, the
definition and description of the entity carried by the stream is inferred (or retrieved) from the
operation in the procedure that originally produces the entity. When streams are connected to a
unit procedure (as their source or destination), they are attached to one of its input or output
ports (see 5.5 Unit Procedure Ports ). Bulk streams can only be attached to bulk-stream ports
and discrete streams can only be attached to discrete-stream ports.
Every stream must have either a source or a destination procedure or both. There can’t be a
stream that has no source and no destination procedure. Based on the presence or absence of a
source and/or a destination procedure, a stream is characterized as:
(a) Input Stream
: a stream that has no source procedure.
(b) Intermediate Stream
: a stream that has both a source and a destination procedure.
(c) Output Stream
: a stream that has no destination procedure.
For input streams, most of their properties (such as pressure, temperature, flow and
composition) must be specified by the user. All properties of intermediate and output streams
are calculated as part of the simulation results (after the M&E balances are executed) and they
cannot be edited by the user. The only attributes of intermediate streams that can be edited are
those related to the determination of the physical state of the stream and its density (a.k.a,
the
Physical State Toolbox
). This is done through the Bulk Intermediate/Output Stream Dialog:
Physical State Tab
.
From the standpoint of process economics, streams contribute differently depending on how
they are classified. SuperPro Designer considers the following nine types of classifications for
streams:
(a)
Raw Material
(b)
Revenue or Credit
(c)
Cleaning Agent
(d)
Waste (Solid Waste, Organic Waste, Aqueous Waste, or Emission)
(e)
None (Un-classified).