Fast and Flexible Process Simulation

BioSTEAM is an open-source platform that streamlines the design, simulation, techno-economic analysis (TEA) and life-cycle assessment (LCA) of chemical processes across thousands of scenarios. It features over 20,000 chemicals in the databank, rigorous thermodynamic property packages, and advanced unit operations. Users can also define custom chemicals, unit operations, and process specifications. Given the open nature of BioSTEAM, it serves as a platform to develop accessible process models, build specialized simulation tools, and advance process simulation algorithms.

Getting Started

Comprehensive tutorials

https://biosteam.readthedocs.io/en/latest/tutorial/Getting_started.html

User Manual

Detailed documentation

https://biosteam.readthedocs.io/en/latest/API/index.html

Bioindustrial-Park

Process models

https://github.com/BioSTEAMDevelopmentGroup/Bioindustrial-Park

YouTube Channel

Recorded workshops

https://www.youtube.com/@yoelcortes-pena2100/videos

Installation

1. If you have an installation of Python with pip, simple install it with:

   $ pip install biosteam
   

   To get the git version, run:

   $ git clone --depth 10 git://github.com/BioSTEAMDevelopmentGroup/biosteam
   

   If you are a developer, we recommend getting BioSTEAM together with the BioIndustrial-Park and ThermoSTEAM:

   $ git clone –recurse-submodules -j8 –depth 10 git://github.com/BioSTEAMDevelopmentGroup/biosteam

2. BioSTEAM uses Graphviz to make flowsheet diagrams. To properly install Graphviz in an anaconda distribution, run the following line:

   $ conda install python-graphviz
   

3. If you do not have an anaconda distribution, you will need to install Graphviz separately as follows:

   • Windows: Download the EXE installer and follow the instructions listed in this link

   • Ubuntu:

     $ sudo apt-get install graphviz
     

   • MacOS:

     $ brew install graphviz
     

Common Issues

• Unit and system diagrams are not displaying:

  Graphviz may not be properly installed or may be missing from your python path. Please follow the graphviz installation procedure outlined above.

• Cannot install/update BioSTEAM:

  If you are having trouble installing or updating BioSTEAM, it may be due to dependency issues. Some dependencies like chaospy/numpoly require Microsoft C++ Build Tools. Download and install the C++ build tools here. You can also bypass dependency issues using:

  $ pip install --user --ignore-installed biosteam
  

  You can make sure you install the right version by including the version number:

  $ pip install biosteam==<version>