Tambin se han puesto a punto mtodos que amplan la regin de

convergencia utilizando tcnicas de continuacin, como en el caso de VickeryTaylor (1986), y que reciben el nombre de mtodos homotpicos.

Homotopy continuation is applied to the industrially important MTBE and

methyl acetate reactive distillation (RD) columns to analyse for steady state
multiplicities. Continuation is applied in two distinct ways, with respect to tray
catalyst mass and with respect to column inputs. Catalyst mass continuation
provides a tool for convergence to a steady state solution of the highly nonlinear governing equations. Also, the solution diagram reveals the occurrence
of multiple steady states. For the MTBE column, up to five steady states in the
kinetically controlled regime are detected. Of these, only three remain in the
limit of reaction equilibrium on the trays. For the methyl acetate column, three
steady states in both the kinetically controlled and reaction equilibrium regimes
are obtained at fixed reflux rate and reboiler duty. If the column specification is
changed to fixed reflux ratio and reboiler duty, only a single steady state
solution is observed. The column operating policy thus substantially impacts
the existence of multiple steady states. Column input continuation is used to
obtain the complex relationships between input variables (reboiler duty, reflux
rate, and so on) and output variables (tray temperatures, conversion, and so
on). Steady state multiplicities are seen in both the MTBE and methyl acetate
columns. A thorough understanding of these multiplicities is essential for
devising robust control strategies.
Steady state analysis of reactive distillation using homotopy continuation ResearchGate. Available from:
http://www.researchgate.net/publication/231274878_Steady_state_analysis_of_r
eactive_distillation_using_homotopy_continuation [accessed May 5, 2015].

Homotopy continuation applied to solving reactive

distillation MESH equations
A homotopy continuation method was developed for solving
state models
of homogeneous conventional and reactive distillation with
typical
column specifications. The equilibrium chemical reactions are
assumed
to take place in the liquid phase, but the method is also able to
accommodate vapour phase equilibrium reactions or to include
reaction
kinetics through holdup or residence time. The modified MESH
equations
for reactive distillation were formulated as a problem-dependent
homotopy in such a way that the homotopy path to a solution
was
continuous in the domain of interest, and that the path seldom
has
turning points. This allows the development of a reasonable fast
and
robust solving method. 'Robust' here means that the solution is
found
without any need for manual iteration and any initial guess
given by
the user.
The method has been tested extensively for highly nonideal
ordinary
distillation. All the test cases for reactive distillation show also
global convergence characteristics. Performed studies on the
area
multiple steady states has further confirmed that the method
developed

is reliable to produce a solution of the modified MESH-equations.

The
robustness of the method makes it possible to use the MESH
equations
at the early design phase: The search for feasible state profiles
for
ordinary and reactive distillation - within the accuracy of the
MESH
equations - can be carried out without interfering with the model
solving procedure.