Fast and Flexible Process Simulation#

_images/demo_gif_dark.gif _images/demo_gif_light.gif

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. BioSTEAM is also leveraged by QSDsan, a library for the quantitative sustainable design of sanitation and resource recovery systems. The long-term growth and maintenance of BioSTEAM is supported through both community-led development and the research institutions invested in BioSTEAM, including the Center for Advanced Bioenergy and Bioproducts Innovation.

Getting Started
_images/phenomenode.png _images/phenomenode_dark_2.png

Tutorials on BioSTEAM

https://biosteam.readthedocs.io/en/latest/tutorial/Getting_started.html
Bioindustrial-Park
_images/process.png _images/process_dark.png

Biorefinery models

https://github.com/BioSTEAMDevelopmentGroup/Bioindustrial-Park
API Reference
_images/fermenter.png

Detailed documentation

https://biosteam.readthedocs.io/en/latest/API/index.html
QSDsan
_images/GG_logo.png

Sanitation & resources

https://qsdsan.readthedocs.io/en/latest/

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

  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>

Scientific Papers#

BioSTEAM has been used to model a range of fermentation-based bioproduct pathways going from conventional/cellulosic crops, municipal solid waste, and flue gas all the way to diols, organic acids, oleochemicals, and biofuels. Newer applications for BioSTEAM include thermochemical upcycling of waste plastics through pyrolysis and solvent-based dissolution and precipitation. Several studies have leveraged the BioSTEAM platform to compare conversion technologies, inform policy making, and build new modeling tools:

Indices and tables#

On this page
Show Source