OTHER MODELLING

EXAMPLES IN
OTHER MODELLING DEMONSTRATING
APPLICATIONS OF
EXAMPLES: PRINCIPLES OF
MODELLING
 ◼ Consider a 3-stage absorption column shown
below
◼ The feed stream into the column is a dry coal
gas containing a certain percentage of oil per
EXAMPLE 13: kg of dry gas.
STAGE ◼ The dry gas is to be treated with a certain mass
PROCESSES – AN of wash oil passing through the 3-plate
ABSORPTION absorption column to remove the light oil.
COLUMN ◼ Defining:
✔ h = liquid hold-up on each plate
✔ H = vapour hold-up on each plate
✔ L,G = Wash oil and dry gas flowrates resp.
EXAMPLE 13:
STAGE
PROCESSES – AN
ABSORPTION
COLUMN ◼ The liquid and gas compositions are related by
the equilibrium equation:
(83
)
◼ Taking material balance around each plate, we
have
 Plate 1

(84)
EXAMPLE 13:
STAGE Plate 2
PROCESSES – AN ◼Similarly we obtain
ABSORPTION
(85)
COLUMN
and for Plate 3,

(86)
 ◼Equations (84), (85) and (86) are the mass
balances on plates 1, 2 and 3 respectively.
◼Generally, the mass balance around, plate n is

(87)
EXAMPLE 13:
STAGE ◼To simplify Equation(87), the following
PROCESSES – AN assumptions are made
ABSORPTION ✔ The residence time on each plate is such that
COLUMN equilibrium is attained between the liquid and
vapour:
✔ The Liquid and vapour ratio are constant for all
stages:
 ✔ The Liquid and vapour hold-ups in and out of
each plate is constant:

EXAMPLE 13:
◼ Employing the assumptions stated above, we have
STAGE
PROCESSES – AN
(88)
ABSORPTION
COLUMN
(89)

◼ Equation (89) is a Differential Difference Equation

(DDE) for n = 1, 2, …, N; where N = no of stages
 ◼For n = 1,

(90)

◼For n = 2,
EXAMPLE 13: (91)
STAGE
PROCESSES – AN ◼For n = 3,
ABSORPTION
COLUMN (92)

◼For Plate n = N,

(93)
 ◼ Modelling of Lumped parameter systems (LPS) results
in ordinary differential equations (ODEs)
◼ The steady-state models from LPS results in linear or
nonlinear algebraic equations.
◼ Modelling of Distributed parameter systems (DPS)
results in partial differential equations (PDEs).
◼ The steady-state models from DPS results in linear or
NOTES nonlinear ordinary differential equation (ODES) or
differential algebraic equations (DAEs).
◼ Modelling of stage processes results in Differential
difference equations (DDEs).
◼ The steady state models from stage processes give
difference equations (DEs) or algebraic difference
equations (ADEs)
 ◼ Consider a trapezoidal-shaped tank shown below

EXAMPLE 14:
SIMPLE FLOW IN
A NON-
UNIFORMLY
SHAPED
TANK/REACTOR

◼ From the geometry,

(94)
 ◼ Consider a trapezoidal-shaped tank shown below
(95)
◼ and
EXAMPLE 14: (96)
◼ Cross-sectional area of the tank is given by
SIMPLE FLOW IN
A NON- (97)
UNIFORMLY ◼ The volume of the tank is given by
SHAPED
TANK/REACTOR (98)
◼ Substituting (97) into (98), we have

(99)
 ◼ Applying total continuity equation to the system
assuming constant density, we obtain

(100)
EXAMPLE 14:
SIMPLE FLOW IN
A NON- (101)
UNIFORMLY
SHAPED ◼ Substituting Eqn. (99) in (100) and simplifying,
we have
TANK/REACTOR
(102)

(103)
 ◼ Equation (103) is the transient model equation for
the trapezoidal shape tank.
◼ It is seen that the cross-sectional area affects the
overall model equation for irregular shaped
modelling object.
◼ In most practical flow systems, the outflow from
SUMMARY a tank is a function of the height as shown in the
above example.
◼ The inclusion of the following: order of reaction,
, reaction rate constant, k as a function of
temperature, (Arrhenius law) and outflow
pattern introduce nonlinearity to the model
equation.