Key words: supercritical drying, aerogel, gel formation, stepwise solvent replacement, conceptual design, mathematical modeling
A software package has been developed in the Python programming language for the conceptual design of a process flow diagram for producing chitosan aerogel particles. The software package covers the calculation of the entire production chain, including the stages of solution preparation, gelation, solvent replacement in the gel pores, and supercritical drying. The structure of the package includes a mathematical model of flow hydrodynamics in a receiving tank, a model of diffusion mass transfer in the porous structure of chitosan gel particles, a material balance calculation, an equipment parameter calculation unit, and a technical and economic assessment subsystem. Using the software package, the user can determine the optimal parameters for the process of producing chitosan aerogel particles and create a preliminary process flow diagram for the production process adapted to the specified constraints. The software package is designed to scale the technology for producing chitosan aerogel particles and calculate the cost of production at various productivity levels.
doi:10.1134/S1990793125701222