Generalized reactor model: An object oriented approach to reactor modeling

Abstract

Industrial reactors differ from each other in many aspects, such as geometry, hydrodynamics, and reaction kinetics. This chapter focuses on the development of a generalized modeling tool that can accommodate these variations and help in the analysis, design, and synthesis of more novel reactor configurations. An object-oriented framework has been used for the reactor modeling and analysis. In the proposed framework, the design was accomplished by deconstructing the reactor model into simpler objects, such as reactor geometry, reaction network, and reaction kinetics, and then defining the state and behavior of these objects as well as their interrelationships. The implementation of the generalized model has been done in a Microsoft Component Object Model (COM) framework that allows the model to be used by any application or programming language that can function as a COM client. Case studies, involving industrially significant applications, have demonstrated the potential of the framework to solve reactor design and synthesis problems effectively.