Simultaneous Design, Scheduling, and Optimal Control of a Methyl-Methacrylate Continuous Polymerization Reactor

This work presents a Mixed-Integer Dynamic Optimization (MIDO) formulation for the simultaneous process design, cyclic scheduling, and optimal control of a Methyl Methacrylate (MMA) continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR). Different polymer grades are defined in terms of their molecular weight distributions, so that state variables values during steady states are kept as degrees of freedom. The corresponding mathematical formulation includes the differential equations that describe the dynamic behavior of the system, resulting in a MIDO problem. The differential equations are discretized using the simultaneous approach based on orthogonal collocation on finite elements, rendering a Mixed Integer Non-Linear programming (MINLP) problem where a profit function is to be maximized. The objective function includes product sales, some capital and operational costs, inventory costs, and transition costs. The optimal solution to this problem involves design decisions: flow rates, feeding temperatures and concentrations, equipment sizing, variables values at steady state; scheduling decisions: grade productions sequence, cycle duration, production quantities, inventory levels; and optimal control results: transition profiles, durations, and transition costs. The problem was formulated and solved in two ways: as a deterministic model and as a two-stage programming problem with hourly product demands as uncertain parameter described by discrete distributions.