Continuous stirred tank reactor ordinary differential equations

One of the simplest practical examples is the homogeneous nonisothermal and adiabatic continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR), whose steady state is described by nonlinear transcendental equations and whose unsteady state is described by nonlinear ordinary differential equations. 

Many chemical and biological processes are multistage. Multistage processes include absorption towers, distillation columns, and batteries of continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTRs). These processes may be either cocurrent or countercurrent. The steady state of a multistage process is usually described by a set of linear equations that can be treated via matrices. On the other hand, the unsteady-state dynamic behavior of a multistage process is usually described by a set of ordinary differential equations that gives rise to a matrix differential equation. 

In an ideal continuous stirred tank reactor, composition and temperature are uniform throughout just as in the ideal batch reactor. But this reactor also has a continuous feed of reactants and a continuous withdrawal of products and unconverted reactants, and the effluent composition and temperature are the same as those in the tank (Fig. 7-fb). A CSTR can be operated under transient conditions (due to variation in feed composition, temperature, cooling rate, etc., with time), or it can be operated under steady-state conditions. In this section we limit the discussion to isothermal conditions. This eliminates the need to consider energy balance equations, and due to the uniform composition the component material balances are simple ordinary differential equations with time as the independent variable ... 

Processes Governed by Ordinary Differential Equations 2.2.4.1 Dynamics of a Continuous Stirred-Tank Reactor... 

These are systems where the state variables describing the system are lumped in space (invariant in all space dimensions). The simplest chemical reaction engineering example is thp perfectly mixed continuous stirred tank reactor. These systems are described at steady state by algebraic equations while in the unsteady state they are described by initial value ordinary differential equations where time is the independent variable. 

The method of lines (14) is used as the numerical technique In this method, by "finite differencing" the space variable (here axial length of reactor), the reactor is divided into a number of cells. Then the partial differential equations are converted into ordinary differential equations where time is the only independent variable. Each cell corresponds to a continuous stirred tank reactor. 

In Chapter 3, the analytical method of solving kinetic schemes in a batch system was considered. Generally, industrial realistic schemes are complex and obtaining analytical solutions can be very difficult. Because this is often the case for such systems as isothermal, constant volume batch reactors and semibatch systems, the designer must review an alternative to the analytical technique, namely a numerical method, to obtain a solution. For systems such as the batch, semibatch, and plug flow reactors, sets of simultaneous, first order ordinary differential equations are often necessary to obtain the required solutions. Transient situations often arise in the case of continuous flow stirred tank reactors, and the use of numerical techniques is the most convenient and appropriate method. 

Process Transfer Function Models In continuous time, the dynamic behaviour of an ideal continuous flow stirred-tank reactor can be modelled (after linearization of any nonlinear kinetic expressions about a steady-state) by a first order ordinary differential equation of the form... 

In order to describe adequately the hydrodynamics of the experimental fixed bed reactor, it is necessary to take into account the axial dispersion in the mathematical model. The time dependent continuity equation including axial dispersion for a fixed bed reactor is given by a partial differential equation (pde) of the parabolic/hyperbolic class. These types of pde s are difficult to solve numerically, resulting in long cpu times. A way to overcome these difficulties is by describing the fixed bed reactor as a cascade of perfectly stirred tank reactors. The axial dispersion is then accounted for by the number of tanks in series. For a low degree of dispersion (Bo < 50) the number of stirred tanks, N, and the Bodenstein number. Bo, are related as N Bo/2 [8].The fixed bed reactor is now described by a system of ordinary differential equations (ode s). No radial gradients are taken into account and a onedimensional model is applied. Mass balances are developed for both the gas phase and the adsorbed phase. The reactor is considered to be isothermal. 

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