Team:

Fathya Salih (fsalih@nd.edu)

Raghav Saxena (rsaxena@nd.edu)

Data Analysis Objectives:

1. To perform regression analysis to obtain the kinetic parameters of a methane oxidation
reaction
2. To determine the uncertainty in the kinetic parameters (𝑛, 𝑘, 𝐸𝑎) using error propagation
techniques
3. To provide recommendations for experimentalists based on what measurements have
the greatest impact on the final uncertainty in the kinetic parameters

Data Source:
The data is temperature vs. exit concentration for a methane oxidation reaction performed in a
catalytic PBR under recycle to replicate CSTR conditions. The data was provided by Dr.
Goodrich from the undergraduate Chemical Engineering lab.

Additional Analysis:
The level of analysis mentioned in the objective is beyond what the students do, since they only
perform regression to fit the parameters in Excel. Especially, in terms of:
● Determining the uncertainty in the estimated parameters using error propagation
● Performing a sensitivity analysis to determine what measurements have the greatest
effect on the final uncertainty

Expected Results:
It is likely that the Gas Chromatograph measurements will have the greatest impact on the
uncertainty and that the recommendation will be to collect more measurements for the same set
of conditions (𝐶𝐴,0 and 𝑇).
Notebook Outline:
1. Model Description
2. Regression & Parameter Estimation
a. Transformed Linear regression
b. Non-linear Regression
c. Comparison
3. Error Propagation
a. Assumptions
b. Temperature Measurements
c. Concentration Measurements
4. Sensitivity Analysis
a. Effect of Number of Readings for Temperature
b. Effect of Number of Readings for Concentration