chemistry

ProMax

ProMax is a chemistry topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand ProMax rather than just read about it. In short: ProMax is a chemical process simulator for process troubleshooting and design, developed and sold by Bryan Research and Engineering, Inc. Initially released in late 2005, ProMax is a continuance of two previous process simulators, PROSIM and TSWEET.

Key takeaways

ProMax belongs to chemistry; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect ProMax to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of ProMax from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

ProMax is a chemical process simulator for process troubleshooting and design, developed and sold by Bryan Research and Engineering, Inc. Initially released in late 2005, ProMax is a continuance of two previous process simulators, PROSIM and TSWEET. ProMax is considered the industry standard for designing amine gas treating and glycol dehydration units.

Program History In 1974 Bryan Research and Engineering (BR&E) began developing simulation software for sulfur recovery units with a command-line interface. In 1976 this program was released under the name SULFUR. Amine sweetening, for which BR&E is most well known, was added in 1978 and the simulation package was renamed TSWEET. A second product, DEHY, was released in 1980 for modeling glycol dehydration units. Natural gas processing was added to the DEHY program in 1983 and the package was renamed PROSIM. In 1988 BR&E introduced a graphical user interface to both programs, a novelty for chemical process simulators at the time. TSWEET and PROSIM were both MS-DOS based programs and were both incorporated into ProMax. ProMax is a late generation Windows application which uses Microsoft Visio as the graphical user interface. Other capabilities were included in ProMax besides those already available in TSWEET and PROSIM enabling it to model almost any process in the oil and gas industry.

Company history Bryan Research & Engineering, Inc. (BR&E) is a privately owned provider of software and engineering solutions to the oil, gas, refining and chemical industries. Since the company’s inception in 1974, BR&E has combined research and development in process simulation to provide clients with simulation tools.

External links Bryan Research & Engineering BR&E's website has several technical articles (published and presented) pertaining to the above-mentioned process areas and can be utilized as an engineering source for those operating in these areas. Laurance Reid Gas Conditioning Conference Gas Processors Association

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with ProMax

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what ProMax claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In chemistry, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to ProMax before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about ProMax ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of ProMax

In research: ProMax appears in chemistry research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses ProMax in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: ProMax is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Chemical engineering software, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for ProMax outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study ProMax in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what ProMax means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain ProMax out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is ProMax in simple terms?

Why does ProMax matter?

Because it connects several chemistry ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study ProMax?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on ProMax.