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Kinetic modeling and dynamic optimization of a commercial dichloroethane thermal cracker

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Abstract

In the current research, a mathematical model is developed to simulate a commercial ethylene dichloride thermal cracker assuming pseudo-steady state condition. The considered reaction network includes 19 elementary and reversible reactions, 14 molecules, and 6 radical species. To prove the validity of the proposed model, the simulation results are compared with the available plant data. The results show that the coke build-up and deposition on the inner surface of the coil tube increases the heat transfer resistance during the process run time and has a negative effect on the production rate and pressure drop. Afterward, a sensitivity analysis is performed to investigate the effects of the feed and firebox temperatures on the ethylene dichloride cracking severity and selectivity. The results show that increasing the firebox and feed temperatures enhance the vinyl chloride monomer production rate. In the next step, a dynamic optimization problem is formulated and considered to calculate the optimal dynamic trajectory of the feed and furnace temperatures to achieve the maximum vinyl chloride monomer production rate. The programmed optimization problem is solved by the genetic algorithm method. The results show that applying the optimal trajectory of the decision variables can enhance the VCM production rate by 2.5%.

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Abbreviations

Ac :

Surface area (m2)

CP :

Specific heat capacity (J mol−1 K−1)

Dt :

Coil diameter (m)

Ft :

Total flow rate (mol s−1)

Fr:

Friction factor

ff,w :

Shape coefficient between tube and radiation chamber

G:

Mass flux (kg m−2 s−1)

g :

Acceleration of gravity (m s−2)

h:

Heat transfer coefficient (W m−2 K−1)

J:

Objective function

∆Hj :

Heat of reaction j (J mol−1)

k:

Thermal conductivity coefficient (W m−1 K−1)

Mc :

Coke molecular weight (g mol−1)

Mwi :

Molecular weight of component i (g mol−1)

P:

Total pressure (bar)

Q(z):

Heat transfer rate (J)

ri :

Rate of reaction (mol m−3 h−1)

\({\mathrm{r}}_{c}\) :

Rate of coke formation reaction (mol m−3 s−1)

R:

Universal gas constant (m3 Pa K−1 mol−1)

Rb :

Tube curvature radius

Ri :

Heat transfer resistance

Re:

Reynolds number

T:

Temperature (K)

U:

Overall heat transfer coefficient (W m−2 K−1)

ug :

Gas velocity (m s−1)

yi :

Mole fraction of component i in gas phase

z:

Axial reactor coordinate (m)

Z:

Compressibility factor, dimensionless

ρg :

Density of gas phase (kg m−3)

\({\uprho }_{c}\) :

Coke density (kg m−3)

\(\upxi\) :

Tube curvature parameter

\(\varepsilon\) :

Emissivity factor

\(\omega\) :

Weight of objectives

\(\Lambda\) :

Tube curvature angle

\(\upsilon _{{\text{i}}}\) :

Stoichiometric coefficient of component i

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

    M. Raoof, M. Farsi & P. Setoodeh

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  1. M. Raoof
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  2. M. Farsi
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  3. P. Setoodeh
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Correspondence to M. Farsi.

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Raoof, M., Farsi, M. & Setoodeh, P. Kinetic modeling and dynamic optimization of a commercial dichloroethane thermal cracker. Reac Kinet Mech Cat 134, 331–346 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11144-021-02069-7

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