Planning and Evaluation of Reaction Kinetic Experiments for Parameter Determination from Integral Laboratory Data.

A study is made of the problem of determining kinetic parameters with the aid of statistical methods from measurements in an integral chemical reactor described by a mechanistic nonlinear model in the form of a system of ordinary differential equations. The experimental data in this case are assumed to be multiple responses in the form of temperature and concentration distributions along the reactor. Moreover, the particular problem of parameter determination is not considered in isolation, but emphasis is placed on the unified nature of optimal experiment planning, parameter determination, and parameter evaluation. The application of these statistical methods is illustrated in the case of the sequence reaction A yields B yields C, the synthesis of styrene, and the oxidation of methanol.