Optimal reactor size distribution with fixed terminal constraints

The method of Lagrange multipliers is applied to find the optimal size distributions of isothermal continuous stirred tank reactors (CSTR) with fixed terminal constraints, to carry out a simple reaction. The control variables minimizing the Lagrangian of the problem can be found by the well known first and second order gradient techniques, or simply by using a non-linear root finder computer program. The technique is also applicable to non- isothermal CSTR optimization.