Numerical Algorithm for Searching for Optimal Conditions for a Catalytic Reaction

The article considers the problem of optimal control of a catalytic reaction with constraints, in which the control parameters are temperature, reaction duration and initial concentrations of the reaction mixture components. Constraints are imposed on the values of the control parameters. For the numerical solution of the problem, an algorithm is formulated based on the differential evolution method. A feature of the algorithm is that it takes into account the physicochemical characteristics of the problem. The algorithm allows for a simultaneous search for optimal values of the control parameters, which are a function and constants. The reaction temperature, which is sought in the class of piecewise constant functions, acts as a control function parameter. Numerical experiments are carried out for the catalytic reaction of obtaining benzylidene benzylamine. As a result of applying the algorithm, the values of the control parameters are calculated at which the highest concentration of the target reaction product, benzylidene benzylamine, is achieved. A comparison of the obtained solution with the solution calculated using the method of variations in the control space is carried out. As a result of the comparison, lower resource consumption of the developed algorithm is shown.