Determination of Kinetic and Energetic Parameters of Chemical Reactions in a Heterogeneous Liquid/Liquid System

A global method is proposed for estimating the kinetic and energetic parameters of chemical reactions taking place in the continuous phase of a heterogeneous liquid/liquid system. This method, based on energy and mass balances, uses the thermal power freed or absorbed by the reaction mass. It is only applicable to systems with sufficient thermal effects. Knowledge of the mass flow exchanged between the dispersed and continuous phases is needed to establish the mass balance. It is determined thanks to a model based on the double film theory. The model was applied to the saponification of pure ethyl acetate in an aqueous reaction mass. It was possible to determine simultaneously the velocity constant and the reaction enthalpy, as well as the apparent overall mass transfer constant.     

ESTIMATION AND LOCALIZATION OF MAXIMUM TEMPERATURE IN A TUBULAR CHEMICAL REACTOR BY LUENBERGER STATE OBSERVER

This study deals with an observer built for distributed parameter systems described by nonlinear representations. This observer was applied to a tubular chemical reactor in order to estimate the maximum temperature of the reactant mixture and its position in stationary and transient regimes. This estimation uses a Luenberger observer, while MacCormack's numerical method was used for resolution of the partial differential equations. Furthermore, to take into account the nonlinearity of the system, the gain of this estimator was proposed as a function of the position along the chemical reactor. This observer requires the values of both concentration and temperature at the inlet but only of temperature at the outlet. The convergence and robustness of this estimator were experimentally tested with initialization and modeling errors.     

Enhanced Formation of Calcia-Gallia Glass by Containerless Processing

Glass formation from melts of 44 CaO 56Ga₂O₃(mol%) was investigated under containerless conditions obtained by acoustically stabilized aerodynamic levitation in combination with laser beam heating. The critical cooling rate for glass formation was R_c <100°C/s, much less than values reported in the literature ( R_c =550^o±120^o C/s and ca 350^oC/s) for pendant drops of this composition attached to Pt-Rh thermocouples. High values of R_c in pendant drop experiments were confirmed for the specimens used in this work.     

Process control based on pattern recognition for routing carbon fiber reinforced polymer

Carbon fiber reinforced polymer (CFRP) is an important composite material. It has many applications in aerospace and automotive fields. The little information available about the machining process of this material, specifically when routing process is considered, makes the process control quite difficult. In this paper, we propose a new process control technique and we apply it to the routing process for that important material. The measured machining conditions are used to evaluate the quality and the geometric profile of the machined part. The machining conditions, whether controllable or uncontrollable are used to control part accuracy and its quality. We present a pattern-based machine learning approach in order to detect the characteristic patterns, and use them to control the quality of a machined part at specific range. The approach is called logical analysis of data (LAD). LAD finds the characteristic patterns which lead to conforming products and those that lead to nonconforming products. As an example, LAD is used for online control of a simulated routing process of CFRP. We introduce the LAD technique, we apply it to the high speed routing of woven carbon fiber reinforced epoxy, and we compare the accuracy of LAD to that of an artificial neural network, since the latter is the most known machine learning technique. By using experimental results, we show how LAD is used to control the routing process by tuning autonomously the routing conditions. We conclude with a discussion of the potential use of LAD in manufacturing.     

APPLICATION OF EXTENDED KALMAN FILTERING TO CHEMICAL REACTOR FAULT DETECTION

In this paper, we present a method for detecting faults that can appear in some parts of a chemical plant. This method is based on statistical information generated by the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) and is designed to reveal any drift from the normal behavior of the process. Although this method was originally developed for linear systems, our contribution consists in extending it to unsteady state nonlinear systems such as stirred reactors in the presence of exothermic chemical reactions. We examined the abnormal behavior of a chemical reactor due to three different faults in its control parameters. Each fault is caused by an abrupt variation in the value of one of the following parameters: the cooling temperature, the stirring rate of the reaction mass, and the feeding flow rate of the reactant. The objective of this experimental study is to detect the presence of such faults on-line and to pinpoint the moment each occurs, as well as to determine the delay in detection with respect to the decision threshold.     

Study of auto-accelerated reactions in heterogeneous liquid/liquid mixture: Reaction products effects on mass transfer kinetics

The alkaline hydrolysis of aromatic esters exhibits auto-accelerated kinetics when performed under two phase conditions. This auto-acceleration behavior is linked to reaction products effects (surfactant and co-solvent) on mass transfer kinetics. The co-solvent increases the equilibrium concentration of organic compounds in aqueous solution, while the surfactant modifies the mass transfer coefficient and interfacial area. In this research work, the selected reaction is the alkaline hydrolysis of methyl benzoate carried out in a calorimetric reactor Mettler RC1 in isothermal semi-batch mode. The parameters estimation of mass transfer and chemical kinetics has been conducted using thermal power profile. Two functions—giving the evolution during reaction of the mass transfer coefficient and the equilibrium concentration—are proposed accordingly to surfactant and co-solvent concentrations.