Two recent extensions of the residence time distribution concept are developed. The first one concerns the use of this method under transient conditions, a concept theoretically treated but rarely confirm by relevant experiments. In the present work, two experimental set-ups have been used to verify some limits of the concept. The second extension is devoted to the development of hydrodynamic models. Up to now, the hydrodynamics of the process are either determined by simple models (mixing cells in series, plug flow reactor with axial dispersion) or by the complex calculation of the velocity profile obtained via the Navier-Stokes equations. An alternative is to develop a hydrodynamic model by use of a complex network of interconnected elementary reactors. Such models should be simple enough to be derived easily and sufficiently complex to give a good representation of the behavior of the process.
residence time distribution; transient state; hydrodynamic model; industrial processes
