4.7.

FLOWSHEETS WITH RECYCLE 211

f (xk )  f (xk1 )
where s ¼ (4:5)
xk  xk1
and the next iteration is then:
xkþ1 ¼ q xk þ (1  q) f (xk ) (4:6)

If q ¼ 0, the method is the same as successive substitution. If 0 < q < 1, then

convergence is damped, and the closer q is to 1.0, the slower convergence becomes.
If q is less than 0, then the convergence is accelerated. The bounded Wegstein method
sets bounds on q, usually keeping it in the range 5< q < 0, so as to guarantee
acceleration without overshooting the solution too widely.
The bounded Wegstein method is usually fast and robust. If convergence is slow,
then the designer should consider reducing the bounds on q. If convergence oscillates,
then consider damping the convergence by setting bounds such that 0 < q < 1.

Newton and Quasi-Newton Methods

The Newton method uses an estimate of the gradient at each step to calculate the next
iteration, as described in Section 1.9.6. Quasi-Newton methods such as Broyden’s
method use linearized secants rather than gradients. This approach reduces the number
of calculations per iteration, although the number of iterations may be increased.
Newton and quasi-Newton methods are used for more difficult convergence
problems, for example, when there are many recycle streams, or many recycles that
include operations that must be converged at each iteration, such as distillation
columns. The Newton and quasi-Newton methods are also often used when there
are many recycles and control blocks (see Section 4.8.1). The Newton method should
not normally be used unless the other methods have failed, as it is more computa-
tionally intensive and can be slower to converge for simple problems.

4.7.3. Manual Calculations

The convergence of recycle calculations is almost always better if a good initial
estimate of the tear stream is provided.
If the tear stream is chosen carefully, then it may be easy for the design engineer to
generate a good initial estimate. This can be illustrated by returning to the problem of
Figure 4.39. We can tear the recycle loop at the reactor effluent, as shown in
Figure 4.41. We can then state the following about the reactor effluent:
1. The reactor effluent must contain the net production rate of product (which is
known), plus any product that is in the recycle. Recycling product to the reactor
is not a good idea, as it is likely to lead to byproduct formation. A reasonable
estimate of product recovery in the separation section is probably 99% or
greater, so a good initial estimate of the amount of product in stream 5b is the
net production rate divided by the separation recovery, or roughly 101% of the
net production rate.