A systematic methodology for the optimisation, control and consideration of uncertainty of reactive distillation

The main goal of this work is the development of a structured optimisation strategy for reactive distillation systems in order to prevent production failures due to operational disturbances and/or uncertainties in the design input. The framework developed is demonstrated using a case study of industrial interest, based on a systematic evaluation of optimal design and control alternatives, offering the possibility of revising the design and/or operation of the process in order to minimise the risk of production failures. This framework can be used in an early design stage to quantify the impact of specific input parameters such as kinetics on process performance and costs, and it can therefore be used to focus the experimental effort on determining the most critical parameters for the performance of a reactive distillation process