DISCRETE WEIGHTED RESIDUAL METHODS APPLIED TO POLYMERIZATION REACTIONS

A number of systems of interest in chemical engineering involve variables that can assume only discrete values, such as the stages of a separator or the number of monomers in a polymer chain. The simulation of these systems leads quite frequently to large sets of equations, sometimes mixed algebraic and differential, one for each discrete value of the states. Efficient algorithms are needed in order to use detailed models in general simulators. Here is a discussion of the advantages of the discrete weighted residuals method (DWRM) and an application to polymerization reactions.