Control and optimization of a three-phase catalytic slurry intensified continuous chemical reactor

International audienceIntensified continuous mini-reactors working in high pressure and temperature conditions are particularly effective at coping with mass transfer limitations during three-phase catalytic reactions. They are highly non-linear, multivariable systems and behave differently from conventional batch, fed-batch or continuous non-intensified reactors. In this paper, the optimization and control of this new process are presented using a two-layer approach consisting of a hierarchical control structure with an optimization layer which calculates the set points for an advanced controller. The latter is based on the concavity of the entropy function and the use of thermodynamic availability as a Lyapunov function. The three-phase catalytic o-cresol hydrogenation performed under high pressure and temperature in a small-scale pilot of the RAPTOR® reactor designed by the French company AETGROUP SAS, is taken as a representative test example to illustrate the strategy. The performance of the control structure is illustrated by simulation

Enhanced future changes in wet and dry extremes over Africa at convection-permitting scale

African society is particularly vulnerable to climate change. The representation of convection in climate models has so far restricted our ability to accurately simulate African weather extremes, limiting climate change predictions. Here we show results from climate change experiments with a convection-permitting (4.5 km grid-spacing) model, for the first time over an Africa-wide domain (CP4A). The model realistically captures hourly rainfall characteristics, unlike coarser resolution models. CP4A shows greater future increases in extreme 3-hourly precipitation compared to a convection-parameterised 25 km model (R25). CP4A also shows future increases in dry spell length during the wet season over western and central Africa, weaker or not apparent in R25. These differences relate to the more realistic representation of convection in CP4A, and its response to increasing atmospheric moisture and stability. We conclude that, with the more accurate representation of convection, projected changes in both wet and dry extremes over Africa may be more severe

Modelling and control of a three-phase catalytic slurry intensified continuous reactor

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Dynamic model based safety analysis of a three-phase catalytic slurry intensified continuous reactor

International audienc

Entropy based Control and optimization of a three-phase catalytic slurry intensified continuous chemical reactor

International audienc

Entropy based Control and optimization of a three-phase catalytic slurry intensified continuous chemical reactor

International audienc

Modelling and control of a three-phase catalytic slurry intensified continuous reactor

International audienc

Molecules a haut spin. Complexes imino-nitroxydes-Cu(II)

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