Simulation and Optimization of Wiped-Film Poly-Ethylene Terephthalate (PET) Reactor Using Multiobjective Differential Evolution (MODE)

The multiobjective differential evolution (MODE), which is an extension of the Differential Evolution (DE), is applied to solve the multiobjective optimization problem (MOOP) of wet film Poly-Ethylene Terephthalate (PET) reactor considering minimization of acid end group and vinyl end group as the main objectives. The objective function is modified to solve five different possible cases. The results show that a Pareto set (a set of equally good solutions) is obtained for the cases when two of the parameters (residence time of the polymeric reaction mass, θ, and the speed of the wiped-film agitator, N) are considered as decision variables, unlike a unique solution obtained using Nondominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA). The Pareto optimal front provides wide-ranging optimal sets of operating conditions. And an appropriate set of operating conditions can be selected based on the requirements of the user.