Stability and instability in isothermal CFSTRs with complex chemistry: Some recent results

Although the classical 1955 paper by Bilous and Amundson was largely devoted to the study of nonisothermal systems, they also found it worthwhile to establish the stable behavior of a model isothermal multireaction continuous flow stirred tank reactor for all values of residence time, rate constants, and feed concentrations. Over a half century later, there remains a predisposition to the idea that isothermal reactors are prone to dull, stable behavior even when the underlying chemistry is complex. That idea is revisited in light of some recent findings in chemical reaction network theory. (c) 2013 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 59: 3403-3411, 2013