STABILITY IN OPTIMAL-DESIGN - SYNTHESIS OF COMPLEX REACTOR NETWORKS

A systematic methodology applicable to the optimal design of stable pr ocess systems is presented. It is based on the formulation of a parame tric problem that provides bounds on the optimal stable solution and a n iterative algorithmic approach that attains convergence of the bound s in a finite number of iterations. The bounds on the optimal stable s olution are based on analytical expressions of bounds on the eigenvalu es of the Jacobian matrix using the concept of the measure of the matr ix. When extended to the synthesis problem of reactor networks, the ap proach is able to couple the optimization problem with stability issue s even in cases where the number of reactors is large and the reaction mechanism is described by a general complex reaction scheme. Furtherm ore, since at the synthesis level the reactor network represents an ex haustive superposition of the existing structural and operational alte rnatives, the approach fully exploits these alternatives and coordinat es a weighted optimal search that improves the objective and accommoda tes a stable reactor network. This approach is not restricted to the s ynthesis of reactor networks and can be applied to the design of total process flowsheets.