A Non-Autonomous Relativistic Frame of Reference for Unit Operation Design

Abstract

This contribution presents an efficient systematic algorithm for unit operation design that uses a newly developed non-autonomous relativistic frame of reference (NARF). The NARF is aimed towards the conceptual design of unit operations that require solving systems of ordinary differential equations (ODE) where the system volume is unknown. The improved NARF algorithm was tested and compared against the classical modelling method that utilizes the Eulerian reference frame (ERF). To assess and validate the qualities of the NARF, a gas-liquid contactor was modelled using both frames of reference. The results show that the NARF significantly outperforms the computational speed of the ERF up to 1 order of magnitude, all of this, without compromising the accuracy of the results of the unit operation. The NARF can become invaluable in the conceptual design and optimization in computational chemical engineering.