The bifurcation behavior of an autothermal packed bed tubular reactor

Abstract

A model describing the dynamic behavior of a laboratory scale, autothermal tubular CO oxidation reactor with countercurrent coolant flow is presented. After a discussion of the solution to this model, the steady state version of the same model is subjected to an application of static bifurcation theory. Numerical difficulties encountered and overcome in this study include steady state reactor profiles accessible only by the use of spline collocation, a reactor model whose large number of differential equations requires efficient computational procedures for mapping the steady state behavior, and isolated solution branches reachable only by an algorithm developed to create three-dimensional solution surfaces. The reactor behavior uncovered will be cataloged over the relevant range of reactant inlet conditions by the use of a numerical singularity technique. Among the unusual solution branches found is a reactor behavior that will be shown to be a characteristic of not only this particular model, but of nonadiabatic tubular reactors in general.