DYNAMIC SIMULATION OF CATALYTIC REACTORS USING THE UCKRON-I TEST PROBLEMS AS THE KINETIC-MODEL

Dynamic models were developed to investigate the behavior of the perfectly mixed methanol synthesis reactor. The temperature of the catalyst and that of the gas were always regarded as variables, and the heat capacities of both phases were taken into account as parameters. The continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) model is able to predict a temperature jump of the reactor from a low-temperature steady state to a high-temperature one. We have studied the following problems: the existence of multiple steady states and the phenomenon of hysteresis; the dynamic response of the reactor to step changes of the inlet parameters, with special emphasis on the dynamics of crossing the border of the multiple-steady-state domain; and detecting and forecasting temperature jump situations, leading from a low-temperature steady state to a high-temperature one.