Modeling Refining Processes

• Published in: Springer Handbook of Petroleum Technology pp. 1 - 2
• Main Author: Ho, Teh C.
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer Nature 2017; Springer International Publishing
• Series: Springer Handbooks
• Subjects: General Engineering & Project Administration; General References; Oil & Gas Engineering; Petrochemistry & Petrochemicals
• ISBN: 9783319493459; 3319493450
• ISSN: 2522-8692; 2522-8706
• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-49347-3_27

Conversion of petroleum fractions and crude oils involves a vast number of chemical species. Modeling of such large reaction systems has been and will continue to be an active research area. There has been an array of approaches bearing on the subject scattered throughout the literature in different contexts. This chapter provides a brief, coherent overview of several selected approaches. The emphasis is on model simplification and mechanism reduction via heuristic concepts and formal mathematical techniques. Among the topics discussed are: top-down and bottom-up kinetic modeling, graph/matrix representation of chemical reactions, mechanistic versus pathways models, quantitative structure–reactivity relationships, asymptotic and optimization methods of dimension reduction, tradeoff between kinetics and hydrodynamics, continuum approximation, collective behavior, and overall kinetics of a large number of reactions. Some common features of dimension reduction approaches are discussed. The areas requiring further investigation are suggested.