Analysis of a Network of First-Order Chemical Reactions Using the Modified RCW Approach

In many engineering applications, encountering a network of chemical reactions, especially first-order chemical reactions, is unavoidable. Therefore, the analysis of this type of chemical reaction is of particular importance in the optimal design of engineering systems and is one of the concerns of engineering science researchers. In this research, first, a general solution based on the modified Rahmanzadeh, Cai and White (RCW) algorithm is presented for the analysis of these types of reactions. Then, to check the performance of this method, two different problems are investigated. In the first problem, a network of first-order chemical reactions (according to the given boundary conditions) is solved by the modified RCW method. Then, the obtained findings (concentration values) are compared with the results of the analytical solution. This comparison shows that the results of the modified RCW method are in excellent agreement with the results of the exact solution. In the second problem, the anaerobic decomposition of trans-dichloroethane (t - DCE) is investigated. In this problem, the laboratory data related to concentrations of reactants (trans-dichloroethane) and products (vinyl chloride and ethane) are obtained by conducting a suitable experiment. Then, by combining the genetic algorithm and the modified RCW method, the kinetic coefficients for this decomposition are obtained. Also, the high ability of the modified RCW method in analyzing a network of first-order chemical reactions is well demonstrated in this problem.