Estimation of kinetic parameters for the reactor model of the phthalic anhydride production by the design of experiments

Heterogeneous reactor model was developed to predict product, by-product and hot spot temperature in an industrial fixed bed reactor of phthalic anhydride production. This work modified the Calderbank's kinetic model by including the reaction from o-xylene to by-product maleic anhydride. The kinetic parameters appropriating to the catalyst in this study were estimated by the design of experiments. The reactor model was validated by comparing the simulated results with the production data in terms of the outlet molar flow rates of phthalic anhydride and maleic anhydride, and the hot spot temperature. The results were less than 1.8% deviated.