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© 2013 Aspen Technology, Inc. AspenTech®
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Jump Start: Activated Economics in Aspen Plus®
V8.4
A Brief Tutorial (and supplement to training and online documentation)
Shelby Hegy, Product Marketing, Aspen Technology, Inc.
Joshua Glagola, Product Management, Aspen Technology, Inc.
Dave Tremblay, Product Management, Aspen Technology, Inc.
Dan McCarthy, Product Management, Aspen Technology, Inc.

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Table of Contents
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
The Activated Economics Workflow. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Activated Economic Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Setting up Costing Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Setting up Utilities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Accessing Activated Economic Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Mapping Unit Operations and Sizing and Evaluating Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Delving into Activated Economics Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Additonal Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

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Introduction
Activated Economic Analysis is the latest innovation from AspenTech to streamline the process engineering workflow. It
allows users to access the functionality of complimentary energy and economic analysis software without leaving the
Aspen HYSYS®
or Aspen Plus®
user environments. This guide will give users a Jump Start on learning how to use Activated
Economic Analysis in Aspen Plus V8.4. If you are an Aspen HYSYS user, please see the analogous guide for Aspen HYSYS.
This document can be found by going here: www.aspentech.com/Activated_Economics_HYSYS_V84.pdf.
This is not meant to be used as a stand-alone reference document. We recommend that a range of other resources be
called upon to give the new user a comprehensive view of how to use Activated Economic Analysis. These include:
• AspenTech support website (support.aspentech.com)
• AspenTech courseware available in online and in-person versions
• AspenTech business consultants
This document covers Activated Economic Analysis in Aspen Plus. This guide assumes that the user has Aspen Plus V8.4
or higher installed on his or her computer.
The Activated Economics Workflow
Activation is a concept released in Version 8.0 of Aspen Plus and Aspen HYSYS to streamline the engineering workflow
across industries. With Activated Economics, it is possible to run simultaneous process cost evaluation while building a
model in Aspen HYSYS or Aspen Plus. Activated Economic Analysis runs concurrently with the user simulation, updating
whenever the model is changed. This allows the user to immediately view the economic impact of design changes for
faster and more efficient process modeling and process designs optimized for capital and operating expenditure.
Activated Economics gives process engineers insight into the capital and operating costs associated with their models
throughout the design process, keeping them on track with the most economically feasible designs before they send
equipment lists and process designs to the estimating department.
By using Activated Economics during design, process engineers gain the advantage of pre-screening their own models
before sending them off to other departments for more thorough cost estimates and analysis. This integrated workflow
increases engineering efficiency by allowing process engineers to quickly screen out infeasible designs based on costs or
constructability of equipment. Ultimately, the workflow of iterating through models based on feedback from other
departments becomes streamlined, allowing everyone on the team (from process engineers to equipment and estimating
specialists) to spend more time working on higher-quality design cases.

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Activated Economic Analysis
Activated Economics in Aspen Plus and Aspen HYSYS is powered by the same costing engine used in all of the Aspen
Economic Evaluation products, including Aspen Capital Cost Estimator, Aspen In-Plant Cost Estimator, and Aspen Process
Economic Analyzer. The Aspen Economic Evaluation products all work as an “Engineer in a Box” in that it checks
equipment against design codes and safety standards. The common costing engine used by all of the tools ensures
estimate consistency from the process engineer to the costing department. The costing engine uses unique volumetric
models to develop estimates rather than taking a capacity factored approach. Volumetric models of equipment include
associated plant bulks in the equipment costs—allowing project teams to reach faster, more accurate decisions based on
consistent technical and economic information.
Setting up Costing Options
In order to use Activated Economic Analysis to estimate the relative capital and utility costs, it is important to properly set
up costing options. First, open the Costing Options form by clicking the Cost Options button in the Prepare group on the
Economics tab (Figure 1).
Figure 1: The Cost Options button
The default template for “Process Economic Analyzer Options” is US_IP (United States, Inch-Pound basis). To select a
different template, click “Browse.” Next, specify a name to identify the scenario. You also have the option of adding a
description and making detailed specifications, such as the operating life of the plant (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Select a Process Economic Analyzer Template

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Setting up Utilities
To improve the accuracy of relative utility cost estimates, you should also set up energy costs for utilities. Aspen Plus V8.4
automatically designates default cost specifications to common utilities. To check that these align with your design, open
the Process Utilities Manager by clicking the Process Utility Manager button in the Simulation group of the Home tab
(Figure 3).
Figure 3: The Process Utility Manager button
Scroll through the process utilities matrix to view the properties and cost indices assigned to each utility. Any value in blue
can be redefined by user input (Figure 4).
Figure 4: Change the cost index for a utility
Accessing Activated Economic Analysis
The tiles governing Activation are displayed in their own panel. To open it, click the Activated Analysis button in the
Analysis group on the Home tab (Figure 5).
Figure 5: The Activated Analysis button

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The Activation Panel has three tiles; one for energy, one for economics, and one for Exchanger Design & Rating (Figure 6).
Figure 6: The Activation Panel
You can undock the activation panel or move it to another part of the Aspen HYSYS environment by right clicking on it and
selecting one of the options that appears (Figure 7). This is just one of the many dockable and undockable items in Aspen
Plus—allowing for a customizable workspace.
Figure 7: Move or undock the Activation Panel
When you click on the Activated Economics tile, a dashboard appears summarizing the estimated relative capital and
utility costs for the current simulation. Figure 8 shows a typical view of the Activated Economics dashboard, which
displays capital and utility costs across the simulation.
Figure 8: The Activated Economics dashboard
The stacked buttons on the left allow you to access three different aspects of Activated Economic Analysis: the Unit Op
Equipment Cost Table, the Unit Op Utility Cost Table, and the Economic Overlay Settings Form (from top to bottom,
respectively).
The Unit Op Equipment Cost Table displays a brief summary of the costs associated with each block or unit operation on
the flowsheet. This is beneficial for determining which pieces of process equipment contribute the most to the overall cost
of the process, allowing users to spend time optimizing the most cost intensive equipment. Equipment costs are displayed
by unit operation or block, meaning that the column will display the cost of not only the column, but also the constituent
equipment parts such as a reboiler or condenser as a single unit in the table (Figure 9).

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Figure 9: The Unit Op Equipment Cost Table
The Unit Op Utility Cost Table, much like the first stacked button, displays a summary of the utility costs for each unit
operation or block in the flowsheet. Here you can quickly relate specific utility types to their appropriate unit operation
and obtain the cost per hour (Figure 10). This allows users to identify major utility cost drivers and look for ways to
optimize energy usage in specific pieces of process equipment.
Figure 10: The Unit Op Utility Cost Table
The Economics Overlay Settings button—represented by a grey gear—will bring up a form allowing you to select the
highest three to ten unit operations in the model by operating cost, capital cost, installed cost, or weight and identify them
visually on the flowsheet with a green circle (Figure 12). The display checkbox in the dialogue form turns the circles on and
off. By default, the overlays will appear over the three unit operations with the highest operating cost as soon as Activated
Economics is finished evaluating the flowsheet. The functionality of this button is duplicated in the economics ribbon on
the far right in the Overlays group (Figure 11).

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Figure 11: Select the criteria to find your highest cost unit operations
Hovering over the green circles on the flowsheet with your mouse will display a summary of costs for the selected unit
operation. This is useful for quickly identifying where optimization will be needed to increase cost savings in the process
model (Figure 12).
Figure 12: Quickly identify and examine high-cost unit operations
Mapping Unit Operations and Sizing and Evaluating Equipment
The Integrated Economics group on the Economics tab is designed so that the typical user workflow follows the button
pattern from left to right. It starts with mapping, which establishes the relationship between unit operations and the
equipment they represent. This relationship is not always one-to-one; rather, many unit operations actually model several
pieces of equipment. For example, a distillation column block actually represents a column, condenser, reflux drum,
reboiler, etc. In order to improve relative costing accuracy, it is important to map unit operations to the correct equipment
models.
To map unit operations to equipment, first be sure that the Economics Active box in the Economics Solver group is
checked. This will enable the economics software which works under the hood to power Activated Economic Analysis.
Next, click the Map button in the Integrated Economics group (Figure 13).

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Figure 13: The Map button – note that Economics Active must be checked.
This will bring up the mapping dialogue form. For your initial mapping, use the default mapping option. When the
mapping equipment form launches, review and change the default mapping as necessary to appropriately represent your
process. When you are done, click “OK” (Figure 14).
Figure 14: Adjust equipment mapping as necessary
Once the equipment is mapped, it must be sized. To do this, click the Size button in the Integrated Economics group
(Figure 15).
Figure 15: Sizing
When sizing is complete, click the View Equipment button to open the Results Summary – Equipment form. Here, in
addition to reviewing the sizing of the equipment, you can also define materials of construction (default setting is Carbon
Steel). Defining materials of construction ensures consistency between the estimating and process groups, and allows
process engineers to see the cost impact of different materials of construction to evaluate the optimal cost option—as
material of construction is a major driver in equipment costs. Once a material of construction has been selected, it will
appear as blue in the table—just as all other user input variables (Figure 16).

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Figure 16: Select appropriate equipment metallurgies
Finally, you must evaluate to determine the relative costs for each piece of equipment and the operating costs. To do so,
click the Evaluate button in the Integrated Economics Group shown in Figure 15. The Integrated Economics workflow is the
custom/manual workflow to compliment Activated Economic Analysis, which will go through the mapping, sizing, and
evaluation steps automatically based on simulation defaults.
Delving into Activated Economics Analysis
To learn more about the estimates presented on the dashboard, click on the launchers at the bottom of the fields. The
launcher at the lower right of the capital cost field will bring you back to the Results Summary – Equipment form. The
launcher at the lower right of the Utility Cost field (Figure 17) will bring you to the utilities tab.
Figure 17: Launch Utilities Tab

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Toggle through the tabs on this form to see a summary of information relating to each piece of equipment represented in
the simulation. It is very important to review the error fields to ensure an accurate estimate. If errors are present, the
economics dashboard will display a caution sign under the capital cost total (Figure 17). Clicking this will also bring you to
the Results Summary – Equipment form, where red X’s will show which pieces of equipment are in error. Hovering over the
red X with your mouse will show the specific error message for more detail (Figure 18). The nametag for each piece of
equipment also acts as a hyperlink. Clicking one will bring you to the specific equipment tab for that item where you can
enter more detailed information (Figure 16).
Figure 18: Evaluation Error Flagging and The Results Summary – Equipment form
If you’d like to view investment metrics for the process, there is a drop-down arrow at the bottom of the economics
dashboard. Clicking on this will open a drop-down menu displaying the operating profit, the payout period for the process,
and the designated return on investment percentage (Figure 19).

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Figure 19: View important investment metrics
To generate a report, click on the Investment Analysis button in the Economics tab in the ribbon (Figure 20). Once you are
satisfied with your results, the information can be handed over to a costing specialist, who can use Aspen Capital Cost
Estimator for a more detailed analysis.
Figure 20: Export Detailed Investment Analysis

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Additional Resources
Public Website:
www.aspentech.com/products/activation
Aspen Online Training:
www.aspentech.com/products/aspen-online-training
On-demand Short Presentations:
Intro to Activation in Aspen HYSYS
https://www.brainshark.com/aspentech1/activated-energy-hysys
Intro to Activated Energy in Aspen HYSYS
https://www.brainshark.com/aspentech1/activated-energy-hysys
Activated Economics in Aspen HYSYS Overview
https://www.brainshark.com/aspentech1/activated-econ-hysys-overview
AspenTech Youtube Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/aspentechnologyinc
Activated Analysis in Aspen HYSYS
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-GDWpbKBls&list=PL0ADEB58FD49C6EBC&index=12
Activated Analysis in Aspen Plus
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2LbjV7zk7o&list=PL0ADEB58FD49C6EBC&index=11
Jump Start Tutorial Series:
Jump Start: Activation with Aspen Plus V8.0
http://www.aspentech.com/ActivationAspenPlus/

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For a complete list of offices, please visit
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About AspenTech
AspenTech is a leading supplier of software that optimizes process manufacturing—for energy, chemicals,
engineering and construction, and other industries that manufacture and produce products from a
chemical process. With integrated aspenONE®
solutions, process manufacturers can implement best
practices for optimizing their engineering, manufacturing, and supply chain operations. As a result,
AspenTech customers are better able to increase capacity, improve margins, reduce costs, and become
more energy efficient. To see how the world’s leading process manufacturers rely on AspenTech to
achieve their operational excellence goals, visit www.aspentech.com.

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