In this work the problem of designing a reduced-order observer to infer the concentration in a catalytic reactor with temperature measurements and a simplified model is addressed. The process motion has a poor observability property, meaning that a carefully tuned high-order EKF technique is required to design an observer. Here, a constructive low-high gain estimation scheme is considered to ac...

We discuss the successful use of chemically-modified cellulose paper as a microstructured catalytic reactor for the production of useful chemicals. The chemical modification of cellulose paper was achieved using a silane-coupling technique. Amine-modified paper was directly used as a base catalyst for the Knoevenagel condensation reaction. Methacrylate-modified paper was used for the immobiliza...

In this paper, we study the closed loop control of Catalytic Flow Reversal Reactors (CFRR) used for oxidation of methane. We present different techniques like logic-based control, scheduling and model predictive control. Comparison of the relative performances of these methods in maximizing the conversion while maintaining the CFRR in the desired region of operation is made. We also analyze the...

Hydrogenation reactions are widely applied industrially, and reactors have been designed for this purpose. It is a highly non-linear process, multivariable, with exothermic reaction. The model formulation was made focusing on the hydrogenation reaction of o-cresol to obtain the 2-methil-cyclohexanol, in the presence of a Ni/SiO2 catalyst. A competitive advantage in such kind of system (a commod...

A novel atmospheric methanol measurement technique, employing selective gas-phase catalytic conversion of methanol to formaldehyde followed by detection of the formaldehyde product, has been developed and tested. The effects of temperature, gas flow rate, gas composition, reactor-bed length, and reactor-bed composition on the methanol conversion efficiency of a molybdenum-rich, ironmolybdate ca...

An ultra-high vacuum (UHV) setup for "real" and "inverse" model catalyst preparation, depth-resolved near-surface spectroscopic characterization, and quantification of catalytic activity and selectivity under technologically relevant conditions is described. Due to the all-quartz reactor attached directly to the UHV-chamber, transfer of the catalyst for in situ testing without intermediate cont...

An improved micro-reactor cell for IR spectroscopic studies of heterogeneous catalysis was built around a 5.8 GHz microwave cavity. The reactor can operate at 20 bars and with conventional heating up to 720 K, with reactant gas flows velocities (GHSV) from 25,000 to 50,000 h(-1). The temperature of the sample under microwave irradiation was measured by time resolved IR emission spectroscopy. Th...

This paper is devoted to the multiple input multiple output (MIMO) model predictive control (MPC) of a catalytic reverse flow reactor (RFR). The RFR aims to reduce, by catalytic reaction, the amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released in the atmosphere. The peculiarity of this process is that the gas flow inside the reactor is periodically reversed in order to trap the heat released d...

H-ZSM-5 nano-zeolites were synthesized by hydrothermal method using tetrapropylammonium hydroxide (TPAOH) as a template in the presence of various TPABr concentrations. The effect of different TPABr/TPAOH molar ratios was studied on the catalytic performance of dehydration of methanol to dimethyl ether (DME) in a fixed bed reactor under the same operating conditions (T=300°C, P=1 atm, and WHSV=...