Analysis and optimization of reaction network based on the information flow diagram

Abstract

In the chemical reactor, there are a lot of uncertain reaction routes. A novel method is developed to analyze the effect of reactor parameters on reactions, identify the optimal one in terms of reducing the byproduct production based on the integration of the reaction network. The possible reaction paths are explored based on an algebraic analysis procedure. Information flow diagram (IFD) is constructed to illustrate the reaction network. Through its simplification, the transformation relations between a reactant and other molecules are identified, and the reactor parameters can be analyzed and optimized to increase the yield of desired product and reduce the production of byproduct. The proposed method can be used to simplify the complex reaction system, provide a simple connect between reaction conditions and product data, and optimize the reaction parameters. For the studied case, the error the data predicted by the proposed method is less than 5%; with the reaction temperature increase by 27 K, and the space-time decrease by 0.01 s, the s yield of ethylene will increase by 23.0%.