ISSN:
0021-8995
Keywords:
Chemistry
;
Polymer and Materials Science
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
,
Physics
Notes:
In this study, optimal temperature profiles or histories T(t) are obtained for nonvaporizing plug-flow or batch Nylon 6 reactors using the minimum principle. Two objective functions are studied, one in which the monomer conversion is maximized, and the other in which the undesirable cyclic dimer concentration in the product stream is minimized. The control variable, temperature, is constrained to lie between 220 and 270°C in order to ensure single-phase polymerization. The most significant difference between this study and earlier ones is that the residence or reaction time tf is not specified a priori, but is determined optimally by the use of a “stopping” condition such that the polymer product has a number-average chain length μ, equal to some desired value μn,d. This makes the algorithm considerably more complex, but the results are more meaningful. Qualitatively different optimal temperature profiles are obtained for the two objective functions studied, representing the complex interplay of several opposing factors in determining optimal conditions. This study also lays the foundation for even more complex, but relevant, optimization studies.
Additional Material:
11 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
URL:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/app.1985.070301203
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