Mathematical model of steady-state countercurrent bed-shrinking reactor in dilute acid

Saranya Jaganathan 1 and Rajendran Lakshmanan 2, *

1 Research Scholar, Department of Mathematics, Mother Teresa Women’s University, Kodaikanal–624 101, Tamil Nadu, India.
2 Department of Mathematics, AMET (Deemed to be University), Kanathur, Chennai – 603 112, Tamil Nadu, India.
 
Research Article
Open Access Research Journal of Engineering and Technology, 2021, 01(02), 001–011.
Article DOI: 10.53022/oarjet.2021.1.2.0106
Publication history: 
Received on 29 August 2021; revised on 30 September 2021; accepted on 02 October 2021
 
Abstract: 
The mathematical model of bed-shrinking in a countercurrent reactor proposed by Lee (Bioresource Technology 71 (2000) 29 - 39) is explored. This model is based on system of nonlinear differential equations. Analytically, the coupled nonlinear rate equations are solved. To produce approximate analytical expressions for hemicelluloses, oligomers, and xylose concentrations for all the values of non-dimensional parameters  β, ω and λ , the homotopy perturbation technique is applied. Our analytical results were compared to existing experimental data and found to be very similar. The dilute-acid pretreatment/hydrolysis of lignocellulosic biomass is studied using this mathematical model in the reactor.
 
Keywords: 
Mathematical modeling; Homotopy perturbation method; Lignocellulosic biomass; Nonlinear differential equations.
 
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