PRO/II 10.2 INP File Validator

Overview

Provides expert knowledge for creating and validating PRO/II 10.2 keyword input
(INP) files. Rules are verified against the official PRO/II 10.2 Keyword Manual
(E:\Program Files\SIMSCI\PROII102\Manual\keyword\Keyword Manual.pdf, 1201
pages) and 54 official example INP files
(E:\Program Files\SIMSCI\PROII102\User\Applib\*.inp).

This skill was created after 5 rounds of debugging a coal-to-methanol shift unit
simulation INP file, resolving issues from wrong keywords to file encoding.

When to Use

• Creating a new PRO/II INP file from scratch
• Debugging an INP file that fails to import into PRO/II GUI
• Validating existing INP files for syntax correctness
• Understanding PRO/II keyword syntax and conventions

Quick Start

1. Run validation: proii validate myfile.inp
2. Fix format issues: proii validate myfile.inp --fix
3. Analyze errors and fix according to the rules below

Core Rules — Sorted by Danger Level

CRITICAL (causes abort/import failure)

WARNING (may cause issues)

Verified Keyword Syntax

File Format Requirements

Encoding: ASCII (no BOM)
Line endings: CRLF (\r\n), not LF
Comments: No comment lines (official 60+ examples have none). `!` is NOT supported in PRO/II 10.2!
           Use `NOTES TEXT=...` keyword if needed.
Project name: ≤12 chars (e.g., PROJECT=COAL2MEOH)

EQUREACTOR — Equilibrium Reactor (Ch. 14.1)

EQUREACTOR UID=R1, NAME=SHIFT_STAGE1
  FEED S3
  PRODUCT V=S6
  OPERATION ADIABATIC, PHASE=V, DP=50, TEMP=460
  RXCALCULATION PARTIALPRESSURE, MODEL=STOIC
  RXSTOIC RXSET=RXN1
  APPROACH DT=20

• TEMP= in ADIABATIC is initial estimate (verified by A6AG.INP)
• RXCALCULATION (full form), not RXCALC
• APPROACH DT= inherits units from DIMENSION TEMP=
• RXSTOIC RXSET= references reaction set in RXDATA

CONREACTOR — Conversion Reactor (Ch. 14.2)

CONREACTOR UID=R101, NAME=WCR
  FEED S5
  PRODUCT V=S6
  OPERATION ADIABATIC, PHASE=V, DP=250, TEMP=250
  RXCALCULATION MODEL=STOIC
  RXSTOIC RXSET=M1
  REACTION 1
  BASE COMPONENT=3
  CONVERSION 0.55
  REACTION 2
  BASE COMPONENT=4
  CONVERSION 0.38

• Uses fixed conversion per reaction (percentage as decimal: 0.55 = 55%)
• Multiple reactions in one RXSET supported; each gets its own BASE COMPONENT + CONVERSION
• TEMP= in ADIABATIC is initial temperature estimate (heat balance from HORX)
• Does NOT require EQUILIBRIUM in RXDATA — uses specified conversions
• HORX in RXDATA still needed for adiabatic temperature calculation
• Verified by official alkylation example A5.inp (4-stage CONREACTOR with RXSET=ALKY)

RXDATA — Reaction Data (Ch. 14)

RXDATA
  RXSET ID=RXN1
    REACTION ID=1
      STOICHIOMETRY 1,-1/4,-1/3,1/2,1
      HORX HEAT=-41.2, REFCOMP=1, REFTEMP=25
      EQUILIBRIUM(K,M3,KPA) A=-3.5, B=4030

• STOICHIOMETRY: numeric IDs with '/' between pairs
• HORX: heat of reaction (kJ/mol), REFCOMP=stoichiometric reference component
• EQUILIBRIUM: ln(K) = A + B/T. Units specify temp(K/C), volume, pressure.
• For WGS (CO+H2O→CO2+H2): HEAT=-41.2 kJ/mol, REFCOMP=1 (CO)
• EQUILIBRIUM only required for EQUREACTOR; CONREACTOR uses fixed conversion

HX — Simple Heat Exchanger (Ch. 13.1)

HX UID=HX1, NAME=FEHE
  HOT FEED=S2, V=S9, DP=30
  COLD FEED=S4, V=S4, DP=30
  CONFIGURE COUNTER
  OPER CTEMP=370

• Product phase (L=/V=/M=) must match actual outlet state
• CONFIGURE COUNTER (default counter-current)
• OPER CTEMP=value (no unit qualifier; inherited from DIMENSION)
• CTEMP controls cold-side outlet temperature
• HTEMP controls hot-side outlet temperature

Stream Data

PROPERTY STREAM=S1, TEMPERATURE=240, PRESSURE=3500, PHASE=V, &
         RATE(M)=7200, COMPOSITION(M)=1,57.2/2,24.5/3,2.2/4,12.2/5,3.6/6,0.4

• COMPOSITION(M) for mole fractions; COMPOSITION(W) for weight fractions
• Use '/' between (component_id, value) pairs

Common Pitfall Checklist

When an INP file fails to import, check in this order:

1. [ ] Section order: RXDATA after STREAM DATA? (E150)
2. [ ] UTF-8 BOM: proii validate --fix removes it (E170)
3. [ ] Line endings: CRLF, not LF? proii validate --fix converts (W180)
4. [ ] HORX + EQUILIBRIUM: Both present in RXDATA? (E160, E161). NOTE: EQUILIBRIUM only needed for EQUREACTOR; CONREACTOR uses fixed conversion.
5. [ ] Keywords: RXDATA, EQUREACTOR, APPROACH DT, CTEMP (not REACTION DATA, EREA, CTEMP2)
6. [ ] STOICHIOMETRY: Numeric IDs with '/' between pairs
7. [ ] RXCALCULATION: Full form, PARTIALPRESSURE basis for STOIC
8. [ ] PROJECT name: ≤12 chars
9. [ ] HX phase specs: L=/V=/M= match actual phase
10. [ ] OPER CTEMP: No unit qualifier needed
11. [ ] DIMENSION keywords: No RATE=, TEMP=, PRESSURE= in DIMENSION. Use DIMENSION METRIC only. (E180)
12. [ ] PRODUCT guess values: COLUMN PRODUCT must include rate estimates: OVHD(M)=Sxxx,2900, BTMS(M)=Syyy,400 (E190/E191)
13. [ ] No ! comment lines: PRO/II 10.2 does NOT support ! as comment character. Remove all ! lines. (W191)
14. [ ] REBOILER TYPE: When using DUTY name=REBOILER, must declare REBOILER TYPE=KETTLE. "REBOILER" is a reserved name for side-heater/cooler.
15. [ ] DUTY segno: Reboiler DUTY segno=TRAY (not TRAY+2). Verified across 50+ official examples.
16. [ ] COMP ID= syntax: Must use LIBID in COMPONENT DATA, not COMP ID= (E250)
17. [ ] HEATER keyword: Not supported in keyword mode; use FLASH ISOTHERMAL instead (E260)
18. [ ] Stream name length: Must be ≤8 characters (W220)
19. [ ] DIMENSION completeness: Include all parameters (MDUTY, BASIS, PRES, TEMP, DUTY, STDTEMP, STDPRES) (W230)
20. [ ] FLASH OPERATION: Temperature/pressure must be in OPERATION ISOTHERMAL, TEMPERATURE=..., PRESSURE=... line (E270)
21. [ ] MIXER FEED: Use commas between feeds, not / (W250)
22. [ ] COMPOSITION NORMALIZE: Add , NORMALIZE when values sum to ~100 (percentage format) (W260)
23. [ ] TITLE keywords: Only PROJECT=, PROBLEM=, USER= allowed in TITLE. NAME= causes ABORT (E280)
24. [ ] PROPERTY STREAM=: Stream definitions must start with PROPERTY STREAM=, not just STREAM= (E290)
25. [ ] Stream PHASE and RATE: All feed streams must have PHASE=V/L/M and RATE(M)= or RATE(WT)= (E300)
26. [ ] RXSET ID=: RXDATA must use RXSET ID=name, not RXSET LOCAL=name (E310)
27. [ ] HORX HEAT=: HORX requires HEAT=value, REFCOMP=n, REFTEMP=t format, not bare number (E320)
28. [ ] CONREACTOR RXSTOIC: CONREACTOR must use RXCALCULATION MODEL=STOIC + RXSTOIC RXSET= + REACTION + BASE COMPONENT + CONVERSION. No inline RXSET definitions (E330)
29. [ ] Gasification O2: Gasification models must include O2 component if feeding oxygen (E340)
30. [ ] GIBBS ELEMENTS: Include all reactive species (O2, H2, CO, etc.) in ELEMENTS REACTANTS. Exclude inert (AR, ASH) (W270)
31. [ ] ASH component: ASH not in CURRENT bank. Use NONLIBRARY or remove from model (W280)
32. [ ] TITLE/PROBLEM no /: TITLE and PROBLEM values must not contain / character, which is parsed as field separator. Use TPD instead of T/D etc. (W290)
33. [ ] NAME value ≤8 chars: Unit operation NAME values should be ≤8 characters (W300)
34. [ ] TOLERANCE keywords: TOLERANCE only accepts DEFAULT, STREAM, COMPONENT, EQUILIBRIUM, KVALUE, ENTHALPY, DUTY, MISCELLANEOUS, MBAL, UAMBAL. NOT: FLASH, COLUMN (E350)
35. [ ] PROBLEM value short: Keep PROBLEM value short and simple (≤16 chars, no spaces preferred) to avoid truncation WARNING (W310)
36. [ ] COMPOSITION数值: WT=百分比(总和100.0), M=分数(总和1.0). PRO/II 10.2不支持COMPOSITION行中NORMALIZE (E360)
37. [ ] RATE+COMPOSITION配对: KG/H配WT, M配M. 不能KG/H配M (E361)
38. [ ] SIDE关键字: 侧线用PRODUCT SIDE(L)=或LDRAW(M)=, 不能用独立SIDE (E362)
39. [ ] LDRAW+SUPERSEDE: SUPERSEDE=ON只对OVHD/BTMS, 不对LDRAW (W320)
40. [ ] VDU压力单位: 真空用PRESSURE(KPA)=10, 不是PRESSURE=10→10KG/CM2 (W330)
41. [ ] NC40: SIMSCI库中NC4-NC30可用, NC40不可用 (W340)
42. [ ] VDU温度: BTEMP>320°C可能导致"LIQUID DRIED UP", 降到200-280°C (W350)

CLI Commands

# Validate an INP file
proii validate myfile.inp

# Strict mode: warnings → errors
proii validate myfile.inp --strict

# Auto-fix BOM and line endings
proii validate myfile.inp --fix

# JSON output for scripting
proii --json validate myfile.inp

# Validate + auto-open in PRO/II GUI
proii validate myfile.inp --open

v2.0 New: COM/ActiveX Interactive Modeling

Model Command

# Build methanol model in real-time GUI
proii model --methanol --visible

# Build + solve + export
proii model --methanol --run -e solved.inp -r report.txt

# Import existing INP for real-time editing
proii model --inp-file model.inp --visible

# INP generation mode (no PRO/II needed)
proii model --methanol --mode inp -e model.inp

COM Discovery

# Explore PRO/II COM Server API
proii com-discover --verbose

# Save discovered API to JSON
proii com-discover -o com_api.json

COM Solve Pipeline

# Full automated solve (Import -> RunCalcs -> Export)
proii solve model.inp

# Open PRO/II GUI with INP loaded
proii gui model.inp

# Test COM connectivity
proii com-test

Python API (PROIIModel)

from proii_model import PROIIModel

# Real-time COM modeling with GUI
with PROIIModel(visible=True, mode="com") as model:
    model.add_components(["MEOH", "H2O", "H2", "CO", "CO2"])
    model.set_thermo("SRK")
    model.create_stream("S1", T=25, P=3000, rate=23222,
                        comp={"H2": 0.68, "CO": 0.28})
    model.create_compressor("C101", feed="S1", product="S2",
                            p_out=8400, efficiency=0.82, stages=3)
    model.create_reactor("R101", feed="S5", product="S6",
                         type="con", T=250, DP=250)
    model.run()
    model.export("solved.inp")

# INP generation mode (no PRO/II required)
model = PROIIModel(mode="inp")
model.add_components(["MEOH", "H2O"])
model.set_thermo("SRK")
model.create_stream("S1", T=25, P=101.325, rate=100)
model.create_flash("F101", feed="S1", vapor="V1", liquid="L1", T=80)
model.write_inp("flash_test.inp")

Two-Phase COM API

COM Attribute Maps (ProgID: SimSciDbs.Database.102)

11 key classes with documented attribute names:
Stream, ConReactor, EquReactor, Hx, Flash, Compressor, Pump, Mixer, Splitter, Valve, Column

COM Explorer (proii com-discover) performs runtime introspection to verify
attribute availability on the actual installation.

Reference

• Official examples: E:\Program Files\SIMSCI\PROII102\User\Applib\*.inp
• A6AG.INP — ammonia synthesis (EQUREACTOR example)
• Casebook_Ammonia_Synthesis.inp — full ammonia flowsheet
• Keyword Manual: E:\Program Files\SIMSCI\PROII102\Manual\keyword\Keyword Manual.pdf
• Casebook Manual: E:\Program Files\SIMSCI\PROII102\Manual\casebook\Ammonia.pdf