Development of an interactive computational tool to enhance student learning of Multiple Steady States and Stability in Continuous Stirred Tank Reactors

SEOANE, I. T.; MELLONI, T.; DOUMIC, L.I.; FASCE, L.A.; AYUDE, M.A.

Buenos Aires

Congreso; WCCE11 - 11th world congress of chemical engineering; 2023

Asociación Argentina de Ingenieros Químicos

Computational tools promote the development of novel strategies to teach chemical engineering principles to undergraduates in both traditional face-to-face and virtual classes. In undergraduate courses regarding homogeneous reactors, the comprehensive learning of the dynamic behavior of non-isothermal continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTRs) is challenging. For exothermic reactions, multiple steady states may arise when solving steady state coupled material and energy balances in the CSTR due to the non-linear dependence of reaction kinetics with temperature. The steady-state operating point as well as the reactor operation safety will depend on the start-up process described by non-steady state material and energy balances. All possible reactant concentration vs. temperature trajectories during the transient operation of the CSTR are represented in a Phase-Plane plot. In this work, we present an interactive and versatile computational tool to generate Phase-Plane plots for no-isothermal CSTRs systems. The analysis tool was developed by using Python programming language and NumPy, SciPy and Bokeh libraries. It was improved through years of experience with students of the “Homogeneous Chemical Reactions Engineering” course at the Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata.