LEARNING OUTCOMES

The course provides tools and methods for the modeling of the dynamic behavior and control of chemical reactors, with particular reference to safe start-up and shut-down. The course provides tools and methods for the acquisition, processing and extracting information from time series process data.

AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

Applying knowledge and skills

Attendance and active participation in the proposed training activities (lectures, numerical exercises and simulation) and individual study will allow the student to:

• define operating conditions for continuous and batch chemical reactors and evaluate the possible operation problems;
• analyze process data and / or operating databases and  extract information for identifying faults or management issues;
• design of filling and thermal start-ups, operation and shut-down of chemical reactors;
• design pilot-scale experimental campaigns or simulation campaigns (with different types of models) for the study of the dynamics of chemical reactors and for reactors scale-up;
• design the main regulation systems on chemical reactors.

Moreover, attendance and active participation in the proposed training activities and individual study will allow the student to acquire the following soft skills:

• ability to communicate effectively in written and oral form, adaptation of one's communication to the context;
• ability to use of sources and aids of various kinds;
• ability to identify one's skills, ability to concentrate and reflect on a defined task;
• ability to manage one's social interactions, collaborative attitude, constructive communication;
• awareness of one's preferred learning strategies, organization and evaluation of personal learning according to what has been understood and learned;
• understanding of one's own needs and methods of developing skills;
• ability to develop one's imagination and creativity, critical reflection, strategic thinking, problem solving with reference to innovation contexts;
• Decision-making autonomy, collaborative attitude, management of human and material resources, coordination, negotiation skills, uncertainty management.

TEACHING METHODS

The course provides lectures with the help of slides provided by the teacher (face-to-face or mixed teaching, online by the Teams platform, if necessary), numerical exercises and laboratory activity using simulation tools and sw.

Theoretical contents (30 hours) alternate exercises (20 hours, including numerical exercises and dynamic simulation - teams of students) aimed at encouraging the learning and discussion of specific critical design situations involving the analysis of the dynamic behaviour of chemical reactors, and requiring to define objectives also depending on the skills of the teams members.

Working students and students with SLD, disability or other special educational needs are advised to contact the teacher at the beginning of the course to agree on teaching and examination methods that, in compliance with the teaching objectives, take into account individual learning modalities.

Transversal competences as autonomy of judgment will be acquired during the development of the proposed project, to be carried out in a group with the use of commercial software;  communication skills will be acquired during the oral examination (presentation of the project work).

Soft skills detail: the "case study", "team working" and "project based learning" will allow the students to work on basic level of alphabetic-functional skills, basic level personal skills, basic level social skills, advanced level learning, basic level project creation , advanced level project management.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

Main contents:

• Deterministic, black-box, mechanistic, stochastic dynamic models. State-space representation of dynamic systems.
• Estimation of characteristic times of process equipment.
• Study of stability, steady states, oscillations and nonlinear dynamics of reactions and chemical reactors.
• Thermal runaway, parametric sensitivity, adjustment and control of chemical reactors, adaptive control, dynamics of start-up and shut-down, on-line fault diagnosis.
• Early warning criteria.
• Methods for process data analysis, gross errors detection and filters.
• Group activities on analysis of process data and dynamic simulation of controlled reactors (Matlab, Simulink).

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

Dispense e diapositive fornite dal docente (contenenti bibliografia completa).

Kravaris C. e Kookos I. K., "Understanding Process Dynamics and Control", Cambridge University Press, 2021, ISBN 978-1-107-03558-4

Said S. E. H. el-Nashaie, Shadia S. el-Shishini, "Dynamic Modelling, Bifurcation and Chaotic Behaviour of Gas-Solid Catalytic Reactors", Gordon & Breach Publishers, 1996, ISBN 2-88449-078-7.

William L. Luyben, "Chemical Reactor Design and Control", John Wiley & Sons Ltd., 2007, ISBN: 978-0-470-09770-0.

Roffel B., Betlem B., "Process Dynamics and Control", Wiley, 2006, ISBN-10: 0-470-01663-9.