Modeling and Optimization of a High-Pressure Ethylene Polymerization Reactor Using gPROMS

MARIANO ASTEASUAIN; ADRIANA BRANDOLIN

COMPUTERS AND CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Elsevier

Lugar: Amsterdam; Año: 2008 vol. 32 p. 396 - 408

0098-1354

A gPROMS implementation of a comprehensive steady-state model of the high-pressure polymerization of ethylene in a tubular reactor is presented. Model outputs along the reactor length include the complete molecular weight distribution and branching indexes,as well as monomer conversion, average molecular weights, reactants? compositions,an d reactor temperature and pressure. A detailed calculation of physical and transport properties,suc h as the reaction mixture density, heat-transfer capacity,v iscosity and global heat-transfer coefficient is also included. The reactor model is included in an optimization framework that is used to determine the best operating conditions for producing a polymer with tailor-made molecular structure in terms of the complete molecular weight distribution,branching and polydispersity.