Chemical Engineering Science, Vol.49, No.20, 3409-3419, 1994
Forced Periodic Operation of Tubular Reactors
Forced periodic operation of tubular reactors can increase conversion and yield if proper operating conditions and forcing policies are selected. A numerical approach is proposed for computing the effects of periodic input forcing by a shooting algorithm. Such computational tools permit the assessment of the benefits of forced periodic operation of a specific reactor system and the identification of the ranges of operating conditions where forced periodic operation is beneficial. This information provides valuable insight for planning detailed experimental studies. Determining the influential input variables and bracketing the ranges of the operating conditions for improving reactor performance will reduce significantly the experiments needed for selecting the most favorable reactor operation policies. The application of the numerical algorithm is illustrated by assessing the benefits of forced periodic operation to a CO oxidation reactor model. The results reveal substantial improvement in performance with slow cycling in feed concentration.
Keywords:BIFURCATION BEHAVIOR;VIBRATIONAL CONTROL;CHEMICAL REACTORS;EXOTHERMIC CSTR;CARBON-MONOXIDE;OSCILLATIONS;OXIDATION