Mimimum Volume for a Network of Reactor with a Known RTD

The minimum volume problem is investigated, within the IDEAS framework, for a network of reactor with known RTD and isothermal reactor networks. The resulting mathematical formulation is an infinite dimensional program with linear constraints and a separable concave objective function to be minimized. The global optimum of this infinite program is approximated through global solution of a series of finite dimensional programs with concave separable objective functions and linear feasible regions. A branch and bound algorithm is used to solve globally each of these finite programs. The proposed methodology is illustrated with a reactor network synthesis case study aiming at reactor volume minimization.