School of Chemical Engineering

CEIC3000 Process Modelling and Analysis

Assignment 2: Due 23:55 Friday 26th April

These questions require a combination of analytical and numerical techniques. Submit either one or
two PDFs containing:

• Your working for the entire assignment. This includes all three questions of the assignment
and can be a scanned copy of your hand-written answers. No grainy, out-of-focus, upside-down,
illegible camera phone images!

• Your computer code and its output. The preferred way to do this is to use a Jupyter notebook
in CoCalc; either Octave/Matlab or Python is acceptable.

Questions

1. The reaction A + B −−→ C is first order in both A and B (k = 0.050 L/mol/min) and is being
undertaken in a pair of identical CSTRs in series. The feed concentration of both species A and
B is 0.50 mol/L. The reactors are fed by a pump whose volumetric flow rate is supposed to be
v = 113 L/min. The volume of fluid in each CSTR is maintained at a constant 1000 L by means
of an overflow valve. The CSTRs are maintained at constant temperature, are well mixed and
the fluid is of constant density.

(a) Draw and label a diagram of the model, identifying the values available.
(b) Starting from the material balance of the system, derive the set of differential equations
that describe this dynamic system.
(c) Clearly identify a state vector that you will be able to use in numerical calculations, and
write the system of ODEs as a vector function.
(d) What are the steady-state concentrations of each species in each reactor?

While operating in the steady state, the pump output develops a sinusoidal variation with an
amplitude of 15.0 L/min and a period of 10 min.

(e) Plot the evolution of CC1 and CC2 over one hour.
(f) Determine the minimum and maximum values for CC1 and CC2 over this hour.
(g) For these conditions, what is the maximum amplitude flow rate variation that can be
accepted while keeping CC2 within 1% of its steady state value?

2. A rigid pendulum whose motion is damped is described by the following second order DE:

d2 θ dθ
= − sin θ − k
dt 2 dt
where θ is the angle between the vertical and the pendulum, and k = 0.8 is a positive coefficient
representing drag. We can rewrite this equation as a set of first order ODEs:

dθ dx
 
x2
x1 = θ x2 = =
dt dt − sin x1 − kx2

(a) Verify that the points (0, 0) and (π, 0) are steady states. List the other steady states.
(b) Linearise the model around (0, 0) and (π, 0) and determine the stability of these steady
states.

1
 (c) To what physical situations do these two steady states correspond? How would we interpret
the separatrices at (π, 0)?
(d) On a phase plot (x2 vs x1 ), show the trajectories of a pendulum that starts at the points
(−π/16, 1), (−π/16, 4) and (−π/16, 9). Using your answers so far, compare the physical
behaviour described by these three trajectories.
(e) Calculate trajectories to plot a phase portrait of the system covering the region θ ∈ [−π, 4π].

3. An autocatalytic chemical reaction is being undertaken in an isothermal CSTR. In this reaction,

species A is being converted into species B but there is also an amount of (unwanted) degradation
of B into C.

A + 2 B −−1→ 3 B
k

B −−2→ C
k

Writing a state vector in terms of the concentration of the species involved, x = [CA , CB ]T , the
system can be modelled by the following set of (dimensionless) differential equations:

dx F (x1i − x1 ) − x1 x22
 
=
dt −(κ + F )x2 + x1 x22

where F = k1vV = 0.50 (the reciprocal of the Damköhler number), x1i is the incoming feed
concentration of species A (there is no feed of species B) and κ = k2 /k1 = 0.10. The reactor has
been operating with x1i = 1.90.

(a) What are the steady states? Identify their stability and give a physical interpretation of
each steady state.
(b) By plotting trajectories, draw a phase portrait for the model in these conditions over a
region of interest x1 ∈ [0, 2.5], x2 ∈ [0, 2.5] (hint: draw trajectories starting on the left and
right sides of the figure).
(c) Species B is a potentially explosive compound and plant operations must ensure that the
concentration never exceeds CB = 1.6. By qualitative analysis of the features of the phase
portrait, what can you conclude about suitable initial conditions for starting the reaction?
Indicate on the phase portrait what region of initial conditions would be acceptable (shading
the region by hand on the plot is fine, drawing in some lines and labelling electronically is
fine too).
(d) The plant operations manager has proposed to reduce the inlet concentration to the reactor
to x1i = 1.50. Draw a phase portrait for these new conditions over the same region of
interest. Is the manager’s proposal acceptable? Justify your conclusions.