Optimal operation of a tubular chemical reactor

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Abstract
A theoretical and experimental study was conducted on the optimal steady state operation of a jacketed, tubular, liquid‐phase reactor in which consecutive second‐order reactions occurred in turbulent flow. To verify the proposed mathematical model, diethyl adipate was saponified with sodium hydroxide in aqueous solution. The 150 ft. long reactor jacket was divided into 5, 30 ft. sections. Hot water flow rates in the jacket sections were chosen to maximize the concentration of monoethyl adipate ion at the reactor exit. The plug‐flow model and a position‐dependent heat transfer coefficient accurately described temperature and concentration profiles. The Pontryagin maximum principle was used to choose idealized reactor temperature and wall heat flux profiles which would maximize the exit concentration of monoester. The maximum principle was shown to be an effective tool for this type of reactor optimization. A technique is given for optimizing more complex reaction systems.