Revisiting the importance of appropriate parameter estimation based on sensitivity analysis for developing kinetic models

Abstract

A methodology for estimating kinetic parameters based on sensitivity analysis is discussed. The method includes three main steps: initialization of parameter values, non-linear parameter estimation, and sensitivity analysis. Experimental data of two cases were taken from the literature (hydrotreating of vegetable oil and hydrocracking of heavy oil), whereby a comparison of reported values of kinetic parameters with those optimized with the proposed approach is performed. It was demonstrated that using the sensitivity analysis based methodology assures proper estimation of kinetic parameters and convergence to the global minimum of the objective function.