Volume 17, Issue 5

The main object of this research is heterogenous modeling of benzene alkylation in three phase reactors based on the mass and energy balance equations by coupling the kinetic and equilibrium models and optimization the process conditions to enhance production capacity. In the first step, the alkylation reactors are simulated considering a three-phase model including heat and mass transfer resistances in the solid catalyst, gas and liquid phases. To prove the accuracy of developed model and adopted assumptions, the simulation results are compared with the plant data. Based on the simulation results, the benzene conversion and ethylbenzene selectivity in the alkylation reactors are 15.03 and 94.60% at the conventional condition. In the second step, considering the temperature of inlet streams to the reactors as decision variables, an optimization problem is formulated to maximize the ethylbenzene production rate as the objective function. Based on the simulation results, applying optimal condition on the system improves the ethylbenzene production by 1.33% at the same ethylene conversion compared to the conventional condition.

This paper proposes a sliding mode controller (SMC) with modified Nelder-Mead tuning, for the control of nonlinear chemical processes, which are represented as first order plus dead time process with negative gain (FOPDT-NG). In the controller design, the SMC controller parameter in continuous part is obtained based on the time constant and dead time of the process, and controller parameters in the discontinuous part is obtained using Nelder-Mead tuning equations. Even though the controller parameters of conventional SMC are tuned using Nelder-Mead tuning, zero dynamics are noticed in the closed loop response of few FOPDT-NG processes and, with few other FOPDT-NG processes tracking of set-point is unachievable. This work proposes modification in the Nelder-Mead tuning equations using Nelder-Mead optimization to overcome the above disadvantages. Four different types of FOPDT-NG processes are considered in this work, and for every type the Nelder-Mead tuning equations are modified, for the design of proposed controllers. The performances of proposed controllers are evaluated for FOPDT-NG processes and also for three different chemical processes taken from literature. A simulation results demonstrate that, the proposed controller prevailed the performance of the conventional SMC in tracking the set-point and the elimination of zero dynamic behavior of FOPDT-NG processes. Hence, the proposed controllers provide improved closed loop performances as compared to the conventional SMC.

A control structure based on generalized predictor is proposed to control non-minimum phase unstable second order processes with time delay. The scheme contains a predictor structure and a direct synthesis method based primary controller for servo tracking. The predictor structure consists of two filters acting on input and current output which are designed to provide noise attenuation and disturbance rejection. A set-point filter minimises the overshoot caused by the introduction of additional zeros of the controller in the overall closed loop transfer function so as to smooth the tracking performance. Different second order unstable time delay systems are considered and Integral Absolute Error (IAE) and Total Variation (TV) measures are used for comparing the performances quantitatively. The method is implemented experimentally on an inverted pendulum. The proposed predictive strategy is found to provide enhanced control performances in comparison to the existing literature methods.

In this study, we have carried out to modeling by mathematical equations the environment of the combustion chamber under some conditions using the software MATLAB in order to make an adequate algorithm of resolution and get solution of the different equations that taken part in the phenomenon of combustion, so the first was to identifies the kind of the fuel to use in that model (taking Methane as fuel combustion) and minimizing the reduction of novice gas burned is in priority, for this, we want to establish the optimal values to take to preserve the environment, especially from CO 2 and CO emissions, secondly, its nature according to the equivalent ratio (lean, stoichiometric or rich mixture), all variations of equivalent ratio, the third idea is to retrace the ways of a different product of the reaction and see their variations compared to the equivalent ratio, once traced, we can improvise which exact place in the reaction, a product will be finished either in the form of a gas or to decompose in order to bind to another and form another component. We also discussed the percentage of O 2 and H 2 O emissions for an interesting viewpoint of the environmental aspect of hydrocarbon’s chemical reaction. Another additional part will be dedicated to the process of flameless combustion to write its mathematical equation, compare it with the so-called traditional one, and see the variations in the temperature according to the equivalent ratio.

Liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) plays a major role in worldwide energy consumption as a clean source of energy with low greenhouse gases emission. LPG transportation is exhibited through networks of pipelines, maritime, and tracks. LPG transmission using pipeline is environmentally friendly owing to the low greenhouse gases emission and low energy requirements. This work is a comprehensive evaluation of transportation petroleum gas in liquid state and compressible liquid state concerning LPG density, temperature and pressure, flow velocity, and pump energy consumption under the impact of different ambient temperatures. Inevitably, the pipeline surface exchanges heat between LPG and surrounding soil owing to the temperature difference and change in elevation. To prevent phase change, it is important to pay attention for several parameters such as ambient temperature, thermal conductivity of pipeline materials, soil type, and change in elevation for safe, reliable, and economic transportation. Transporting LPG at high pressure requests smaller pipeline size and consumes less energy for pumps due to its higher density. Also, LPG transportation under moderate or low pressure is more likely exposed to phase change, thus more thermal insulation and pressure boosting stations required to maintain the phase envelope. The models developed in this work aim to advance the existing knowledge and serve as a guide for efficient design by underling the importance of the mentioned parameters.

In this study, molecular dynamics simulation was applied for calculating solvation free energy of 16 solute molecules in methanol solvent. The thermodynamic integration method was used because it was possible to calculate the difference in free energy in any thermodynamic path. After comparing results for solvation free energy in different force fields, COMPASS force field was selected since it had the lowest error compared to experimental result. Group-based summation method was used to compute electrostatic and van der Waals forces at 298.15 K and 1 atm. The results of solvation free energy were obtained from molecular dynamics simulation and were compared to the results from Solvation Model Density (SMD) and Universal Continuum Solvation Model (denoted as SM8), which were obtained from other research works. Average square-root-error for molecular dynamics simulation, SMD and SM8 models were 0.096091, 0.595798, and 0.70649. Furthermore, the coefficient of determination ( R 2 ) for molecular dynamics simulation was 0.9618, which shows higher accuracy of MD simulation for calculating solvation free energy comparing to two other models.

The search for sustainable ideas has gained prominence in recent decades at all levels of society since it has become imperative an economic, social, and environmental development in an integrated manner. In this context, biorefineries are currently present as the technology that best covers all these parameters, as they add the benefits of waste reuse, energy cogeneration, and fossil fuel substitution. Thus, the study of the various applicable biological matrices and exploring the technical capabilities of these processes become highly attractive. Thermodynamic modeling acts in this scenario as a fundamental tool for phase behavior predictions in process modeling, design, and optimization. Thus, this work aimed to systematize, using the PRISMA statement for systematic reviews, the information published between 2010 and 2020 on phase equilibria modeling in systems related to biorefineries to organize what is already known about the subject. As a result, 236 papers were categorized in terms of the year, country, type of phase equilibria, and thermodynamic model used. Also, the phase behavior predictions of different thermodynamic models under the same process conditions were qualitatively compared, establishing PC-SAFT as the model that best represents the great diversity of interest systems for biorefineries in a wide range of conditions.

Drag force models are one of the most important factors that can affect TFM and CFD-DEM simulation results of two-phase systems. This article investigates the accuracies, implementation issues and limitations of the majority of the drag models for spherical, non-spherical and systems with size distribution and evaluates their performance in various simulations. Around 1888 data points were collected from 19 different sources to evaluate the drag force closures on mono-dispersed spherical particles. The Reynolds number and fluid volume fraction ranges were between 0.01 and 10,000 and between 0.33 and 1, respectively. In addition, 776 data points were collected from seven different sources to evaluate the drag force closures on poly-dispersed spherical particles. The Reynolds numbers were between 0.01 and 500, fluid volume fractions between 0.33 and 0.9, and diameter ratios up to 10. A comprehensive discussion on the accuracy and application of these models is given in the article.