Mechanical Engineering
Graduate Seminar
NOTICE OF SEMINAR PRESENTATION
CANDIDATE: Kavy Batish
DEGREE SOUGHT: MASc
DATE: 1/30/2026
TIME: 10:30am
PLACE: Room 1102 CEI
TITLE: Development of a Chemical Reactor Network (CRN) Model for Carbon Black Formation Processes
Abstract
Carbon black is the most widely produced nanomaterial, with an annual global output of approximately 15 million tons. It is primarily used as a reinforcing agent and pigment in the rubber and tire industries. CB is mainly produced through the furnace process, which is characterized by low mass yield and high environmental impact, generating on average 4 tons of CO₂ per ton of product. Accurate modeling of CB formation requires detailed chemical kinetics coupled with complex turbulent flow and particle formation processes. However, the excessive computational cost of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations remains a major barrier to such investigations. Chemical reactor network (CRN) modeling offers a promising and computationally efficient alternative for studying carbon black formation systems. In this work, a CRN-based framework is developed in which converged CFD solutions are post-processed to decompose the reactor into a limited number of representative domains. These domains, which are orders of magnitude larger than CFD control volumes, retain essential thermochemical characteristics while significantly reducing computational cost. The proposed approach enables affordable, detailed kinetic analysis of carbon black formation and provides a practical tool for reactor analysis and process optimization.