Optimal Feed Distribution to a Reactor with Maximal Rate

Solutions for the optimal locations and flow rates of N feed side streams into a tubular reactor are derived for the case of a nonmonotonic rate expression. Application of these criteria for a Langmuir-Hinshelwood expression exhibits a significant reduction in the required volume of an isothermal reactor and an order of magnitude decrease when the reactor is isothermal. Mass-transfer resistance effects are also analyzed. The proposed scheme is superior to mixing and/or subsurface catalyst deposition since it is simpler mechanically and free from problems of steady-state multiplicity.