Modelling and profit maximization of low-density polyethylene in industrial high pressure tubular reactor / Nurzafirah Mohd Supion

Highly exothermic nature of low-density polyethylene (LDPE) polymerization process and expensive cost of heating-cooling equipment in tubular reactor have led to low ethylene conversion and high production costs. Both problems are taken into account when optimizing the LDPE production to obtain the highest profit without violating the thermal safety regulations. However, the monomer conversion (XM) which is typically correlated with profitability would make this a complex operation. Thus, an optimization study has been conducted to maximize profit of the LDPE production under safety and product quality constraints in this work. Prior to the optimization study, kinetic rate parameters selection was carried out. A mathematical model of LDPE production in tubular reaction has been well - developed and validated using the given industrial data. Several mass and energy balances were also involved in this study.