Model Driven Process Design and Development for a Continuous Process

Abstract

This paper presents a case study where kinetic models were used to drive process development of an amination reaction in a continuous process. The kinetic model was first used to optimize the process by minimizing impurity formation. Then, the kinetic parameters were put into a two-in-series CSTR (continuous stirred tank reactor) model and a separate PFR (plug flow reactor) model to guide reactor selection and optimize the reactor design. Once the model predictions were validated with experimental data, the simulated impurity profile from each reactor type was compared. While the results showed that both reactors delivered similar impurity profiles at steady state, the model was used to conduct perturbation analysis on the two reactors to assess the impurity and operational control strategy. The simulations showed that the CSTR can tolerate a process upset time up to 10% of its residence time with materials meeting product specification as compared to the PFR. Since the CSTR offers additional buffering ca...