Dynamics of a tubular reactor with recycle: Part I. Stability of the steady state

Abstract

Abstract An analysis of the stability of a plug‐flow tubular reactor with recycle is presented for a model in which axial dispersion of heat and mass is neglected. A method is developed which permits determination of stability or instability for small disturbances immediately upon attainment of the steady state solution. The method, which is applicable to a large class of recycle processes, is based on a Newton‐Raphson iteration technique for steady state solution and on the stability theory of nonlinear difference equations. The feasibility of the method is demonstrated by means of numerical examples which illustrate the occurrence of steady state multiplicity and unstable situations.