Studying Various Optimal Control Problems In Biodiesel Production In a Batch Reactor

The optimal control problem encountered in biodiesel production can be formulated using various performance indices like maximum concentration, minimum time, and maximum profit.  The problems involve determining optimal temperature profile so as to maximize these performance indices.  This paper presents these three formulations and analyzes the solutions.              Determining time-varying or space-varying profiles through dynamic optimization are common examples of optimal control problems.  These problems involve the solution of partial and second order differential equation depending on the method used for their solution, resulting in difficult tasks to solve due to their mathematical representation.  It has been shown that the application of maximum principle in optimal control problems provides the same results but its formulation avoids the solution of second order and partial differential equations.  In this work, we use the maximum principle to solve these three problems.