Computational Multiple Steady States in Heterogeneous Catalysis of Wet Oxidation of Acetic Acid in an Isothermal CFSTR

Abstract

A family of chemical reaction networks, involving heterogeneous catalysis of wet oxidation of acetic acid in an isothermal continuous flow stirred tank reactor (CFSTR), is determined to have the capacity to exhibit steady state multiplicity by implementation of the Deficiency One Algorithm and the Subnetwork Analysis. A set of rate constants and two corresponding steady states are constructed for each case. The phenomena of bistability, hysteresis and bifurcation are discussed. Two sets of signatures of multiple steady states are provided, which can be used to identify the reaction mechanisms as steady states of some species are measured.