MaximaLabs

Alkylation, with the recycle that actually runs it

Butene alkylated with excess isobutane to high-octane blendstock, the unreacted isobutane taken overhead and returned as a genuinely converged tear loop.

Closed isobutane recycle — a real Wegstein-converged tear loopDeisobutanizer solved as a rigorous MESH columnAfter Luyben (Wiley 2011; Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2009, 48, 11081)
Butene feed
Isobutane makeup
Reactor feed mix
Alkylation reactor
Deisobutanizer
Alkylate

The actual dark-mode canvas: butene and makeup isobutane mixed with recycled isobutane, alkylated to high-octane blendstock, and the unreacted isobutane taken overhead in a deisobutanizer and returned to the reactor feed — the recycle is a solved loop, not a dangling stream.

The recycle is the unit

The isobutane:olefin ratio that keeps an alkylation unit selective comes almost entirely from recycle, so it is closed here as a genuine tear loop converged by Wegstein — only a small makeup replaces what the reaction consumes. Scope note: the reactor is a conversion stand-in for the acid-catalysed carbocation chemistry; a literal acid/hydrocarbon settler needs H₂SO₄ electrolyte thermodynamics this package does not carry.

i-C4H10+C4H8i-C8H18(acid-catalysed alkylation)\text{i-C}_4\text{H}_{10} + \text{C}_4\text{H}_8 \longrightarrow \text{i-C}_8\text{H}_{18} \quad \text{(acid-catalysed alkylation)}
n˙i-C4n˙C4H8reactor inlet=n˙makeup+n˙recyclen˙olefin(the ratio the recycle actually sets)\frac{\dot n_{\text{i-C}_4}}{\dot n_{\text{C}_4\text{H}_8}}\bigg|_{\text{reactor inlet}} = \frac{\dot n_{\text{makeup}} + \dot n_{\text{recycle}}}{\dot n_{\text{olefin}}} \quad \text{(the ratio the recycle actually sets)}
x(k+1)=qx(k)+(1q)g ⁣(x(k))(Wegstein acceleration on the isobutane tear)x^{(k+1)} = q\,x^{(k)} + (1-q)\,g\!\left(x^{(k)}\right) \quad \text{(Wegstein acceleration on the isobutane tear)}

Unit ops shipped for this vertical

Mixer

Combines multiple streams into one, closing the mass and energy balance.

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Fixed-conversion reactor

A specified per-pass conversion on a key component — the shortcut counterpart to the equilibrium and kinetic reactors.

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Distillation column

Wang-Henke MESH column solver — the same rigorous solve at any scale.

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Live plant integration

Stream reactor isobutane:olefin ratio and deisobutanizer overhead composition from the unit's OPC-UA server into this flowsheet's twin comparison — a recycle drifting off ratio is visible against the solved loop long before octane does.

See the Digital Twin platform →

Try it yourself

  • Isobutane recycle closed by Wegstein acceleration
  • Deisobutanizer solved as a rigorous MESH column
  • After Luyben (Wiley 2011; Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. 2009, 48, 11081)

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