Dynamic modeling and experimental validation of essential oils fractionation: Application for the production of phenylpropanoids Abstract   Batch distillation is useful in the essential oil (EO) industry to standardize and improve EO properties. Using the Lippia origanoides EO as a source of phenylpropanoids, a methodology was developed to solve and experimentally validate a batch distillation model, which described separation of EO major constituents over time. Nine EOs were distilled and their composition and distillation products were determined. Seven major constituents were used to represent the EOs and their distillation products in the mathematical analyses performed, namely, data reconciliation to modify the streams compositions in order to meet material balances, and a rigorous distillation model to describe the system dynamics. Statistical parameters (     r  2     0.95  ,         M  S  E    0.002    ) were calculated to compare predicted and experimental data, showing that the model can accurately predict the composition of distillation cuts. This methodology can be extended to other EOs of industrial interest to support their fractionation processes.

A MultiObjective Reactive Distillation Optimization Model for Fischerxe2x80x93Tropsch Synthesis Abstract   In the design of a reactive distillation column, aspects such as column configuration, catalyst loading, tray temperature, and side extraction rates should be well considered. Though preferences in Fischerxe2x80x93Tropsch (FT) synthesis may vary, it is acknowledged that the final product contains a wide range of hydrocarbons including fuel gas, gasoline, diesel, and linear wax. Zhang etxc2xa0al. (2018) previously developed an equationoriented framework for optimal synthesis of integrated reactive distillation systems for FT processes.  Here, we extend the mass, equilibrium, summation, and heat equations to a mathematical program with complementarity constraints to deal with possible dry trays in the nonreactive sections. The purpose of describing disappearing phases is to avoid infeasibilities due to multiple bilinear terms in the model for complicated model structures. The model is implemented by solving initialization steps and a sequence of nonlinear programming problems to determine an optimal structure and operating conditions.  Design specifications for multiple products could be set as individual objectives to determine design limits. Moreover, a balance of multiple objectives could be reached by formulating the reactive distillation model as a multiobjective optimization problem. In this work, we employ the augmented xcfxb5constraint method. The results show that significant design insights can be gained from the Paretooptimal front regarding acceptable tradeoffs among various objectives.