* Corresponding author: m.zeynali@ippi.ac.ir 23 Iranian Journal of Chemical Engineering Vol. 16, No. 3 (Summer 2019), IAChE Reactor Modeling and Kinetic Parameters Estimation for Diethyl Benzene (DEB) Dehydrogenation Reactions M. E. Zeynali * , H. Abedeni, H. R. Sadri Iran Polymer and Petrochemical Institute, Tehran, Iran ARTICLE INFO ABSTRACT Article history: Received: 2019-04-09 Accepted: 2019-10-01 Divinyl benzene (DVB) is produced by the catalytic dehydrogenation of DEB at high temperatures and atmospheric pressure. Ethylvinyl benzene (EVB) was produced as a useful chemical during the dehydrogenation of DEB. Moreover, some other liquid and gaseous by-products were produced during dehydrogenation. A setup was developed to conduct experiments concerning the DEB dehydrogenation reactions to prepare DVB in different conditions. Model equations for DEB dehydrogenation reactor were solved by genetic algorithm (GA) method using MATLAB software. Reaction rate constants and absorption coefficients were determined at various temperatures. The conversion of DEB and ethyl vinyl benzene (EVB) in the reactor was predicted by mathematical modeling and compared with experimental results. The comparison showed good agreement between experimental and modeling results. The combined effects of DEB flow rate and catalyst weight as a time factor were investigated on the conversion of DEB and production of EVB and DVB. The effects of temperature on the consumption of DEB and production of EVB and DVB in the tubular reactor were investigated. Keywords: Diethyl Benzene, Dehydrogenation, Reactor Modeling, Divinyl Benzene 1. Introduction DVB is an extremely versatile cross-linking agent that improves polymer properties. Since the dehydrogenation reaction is endothermic and volume-increasing, a large amount of superheated steam (volume ratio of H2O/DEB=10) is used to supply heat, lower the partial pressure of the reactants to shift the equilibrium to DVB production, and avoid the formation of carbonaceous deposits to preserve the catalyst activity. However, much of the latent heat of steam is lost at the gas– liquid separator instead of being reclaimed, similar to the dehydrogenation of ethyl benzene [1]. DVB is produced by the catalytic dehydrogenation of DEB at high temperatures and below atmospheric pressure. The catalyst is based on iron oxide and chromium oxides and some other metallic oxides. EVB is produced during the production of DVB. Some other liquids and gaseous materials are produced during the process. Various parameters affect the preparation of DVB [2- 3]. The most important parameters are temperature, weight of catalyst, steam flow