Thermodynamic Optimization of the Ethylene Oligomerization Chemical Process

Area of Science:

• Chemical Engineering
• Thermodynamics
• Sustainable Fuels

Background:

• Olefin oligomerization is crucial for synthesizing liquid fuels with significant military and civil applications.
• Optimizing chemical processes is essential for improving efficiency and reducing environmental impact.

Purpose of the Study:

• To establish a finite time thermodynamics (FTT) model for an ethylene oligomerization chemical process (EOCP).
• To optimize the EOCP for minimum specific entropy generation rate (SEGR) and entropy generation rate (EGR), while maximizing C10H20 yield.

Main Methods:

• Development of an EOCP model incorporating a constant temperature heat source.
• Single-objective optimization for minimum SEGR.
• Multi-objective optimization using the NSGA-II algorithm for EGR minimization and C10H20 yield maximization.

Main Results:

• The minimum EGR and SEGR were found at the same point on the Pareto optimal frontier.
• The Shannon entropy decision method identified a solution with the lowest deviation index.
• The optimized process resulted in a 49.46% reduction in C10H20 yield, alongside a 59.01% reduction in EGR and an 18.88% reduction in SEGR.

Conclusions:

• The study demonstrates the effectiveness of FTT and NSGA-II for optimizing EOCP.
• The findings suggest a trade-off between yield and entropy generation, guiding efficient fuel synthesis.
• The optimized model offers a pathway for developing more sustainable liquid fuel production methods.