Abstract
Summary: In this paper, the optimal control policies are determined for the free‐radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate (MMA) in a non‐isothermal batch reactor. The temperature of the fluid inside reactor‐jacket is used as the control function to realize four different optimal control objectives. Each objective is formulated to optimize a given variable simultaneously specifying another. The first two objectives target the maximization of monomer conversion in a specified operation time, and the minimization of operation time for a specified, final monomer conversion. The last two objectives target the maximization of monomer conversion for specified, final number‐ and weight‐average polymer molecular weights. The realization of these objectives is expected to be very useful for the batch production of polymers. To meet the specification of an optimization variable other than time, the differential model of batch process is expressed and utilized in the range of specified variable. Equations are provided for Jacobian evaluations to help in the accurate solution of process model. A genetic algorithms‐based optimal control method is applied to realize the four optimal control objectives. The results of this application show considerable improvements in the performance of batch MMA polymerization.
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