Kinetic Model Reduction for Control of Phenol-Formaldehyde Reactive Systems

This study aims at improving the performance of a model-based control scheme for chemical processes characterized by very complex kinetics. The highly exothermic phenol-formaldehyde reactive process for the production of phenolic resins is accurately modeled by taking into account a large number of reactions and compounds. Then, two simplified reaction networks, involving only a limited number of reactions and species, are proposed. The accuracy of the simplified models in terms of concentrations and heat release estimates, is assessed by comparing their behavior in a simulation environment. The best performing model is adopted in a model-based feedback control scheme for temperature control of a batch reactor.