Model-Based Experimental Design in Process Engineering

Catalyst: Aging versus Temperature

Chemical reactions are generally faster at higher temperatures than at lower ones – this is why, for example, foods are cooled to prolong their shelf life. In chemical reactors, catalysts are often used to accelerate reactions. These catalysts age, so their effect decreases over time. Therefore, the reaction temperature is increased with increasing catalyst age in order to guarantee a constant quality of the reaction product. In this way, catalyst age and reaction temperature are closely related. It is not possible to calculate the separate effects of temperature and catalyst age on the end product. The experimental design proposes to run the reactor once at low temperatures and high catalyst age, and once at high temperatures and low catalyst age. With these two additional operating conditions, the effects can be separated and independently quantified.

Applications in the Industry

The aim of the cooperation project is to transfer the concepts described above to complex models of pilot plants. These are then calibrated to model parameters on the basis of their sensitivities, uncertainties are estimated and the corresponding experiments are planned. To this end, we solve large nonlinear optimization problems and make their results usable on interactive user interfaces.