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(IFAC Symposia Series) International Federation of Automatic Control, C. McGreavy-Dynamics and Control of Chemical Reactors and Distillation Columns. Selected Papers from the IFAC Symposium, Bournemou.pdf
(IFAC Symposia Series) International Federation of Automatic Control, C. McGreavy-Dynamics and Control of Chemical Reactors and Distillation Columns. Selected Papers from the IFAC Symposium, Bournemou.pdf
(IFAC Symposia Series) International Federation of Automatic Control, C. McGreavy-Dynamics and Control of Chemical Reactors and Distillation Columns. Selected Papers from the IFAC Symposium, Bournemou.pdf
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ROBERT MAXWELL
Publisher
DYNAMICS AND CONTROL OF
CHEMICAL REACTORS AND
DISTILLATION COLUMNS
Selected Papers from the IFAC Symposium,
Bournemouth, UK, 8—10 December 1986
Edited by
C. M c G R E A V Y
University of Leeds, Yorhhire, UK
by
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B r i t i s h Library C a t a l o g u i n g i n P u b l i c a t i o n Data
Dynamics and control of chemical reactors
and distillation columns: selected papers
from the IFAC symposium, Bournemouth, UK,
8-10 December 1986.
1. Chemical engineering equipment: Reactors
2. Distillation
I. McGreavy, C. II, International
Federation of Automatic Control III. Series
660.2'83
ISBN 0-08-034917-X
These proceedings were reproduced by means of the photo-offset process using the manuscripts supplied by the
authors of the different papers. The manuscripts have been typed using different typewriters and typefaces. The
lay-out, figures and tables of some papers did not agree completely with the standard requirements: consequently
the reproduction does not display complete uniformity. To ensure rapid publication this discrepancy could not be
changed: nor could the English be checked completely. Therefore, the readers are asked to excuse any deficiencies
of this publication which may be due to the above mentioned reasons.
The Editor
Sponsored by
International Federation of Automatic Control (IFAC)
Technical Committee on Application
Co-sponsored by
European Federation of Chemical Engineering
Institute of Chemical Engineers, UK
Organized by
Institute of Measurement and Control, UK
Abstract. Much of the recent research on distillation control has been treating the
question of control system configuration. Dual-composition control by controlling tem-
perature differences and sums in a column, various ways of reducing interaction by use
of flow ratios as manipulators, and use of decoupling strategies are examples on dis-
cussed structures.
In a common framework the different suggestions can be viewed as control systems of the
same basic multivariable structure. The approaches then mainly differ in their ways of
designing the various parts of the control system. It seems that what has been labeled
as a structural problem could equally well be considered an algorithmic problem within
the general multivariable structure.
I
2 Κ. V. Waller
The interaction can be eliminated or reduced by in- structure as has Rosenbrock's scheme in Fig. 2.
serting compensators, much like feedforward con- Bequette and Edgar state that the pairing for
trollers, between the two primary feedback loops. their column should not be the same as suggested
The approach is called (external) decoupling in by Ryskamp (1982).
the distillation control literature and has been
shown much interest since Luyben's (1970) early pa- Different design methods to obtain non-interacting
per. control were studied by Bequette and Edgar and
they all resulted in essentially the same scheme,
A decoupling scheme is shown in Fig. 6. To decou- i.e. one using the sum and the difference between
ple the two feedback loops, the decouplers have to two temperature measurements as inputs to the con-
be chosen in such a way that they counteract the trollers. The methods studied were (1) column pro-
interaction caused by the two process elements G-j2 file control, (2) implicit decoupling, (3) modal
and G 2 1 · The decouplers in Fig. 6 then become control, (4) output decoupling, and (5) extensive
-G21/G22 and -G12/G1V variable control (Georgakis, 1986). It should be
noted, however, that the study aimed at a control
The decoupling scheme of Fig. 6 has the structure system for a column where the manipulators were
of a multivariable control system where each of chosen to be D and V.
the two outputs are connected to each input. In
standard multivariable control theory the system A multivariable structure where both outputs are
is treated as a whole when the controllers are de- connected to both inputs is obtained also by other
signed. This has the implication that interaction combinations of measured variables from the two
in the system that might be beneficial for disturb- ends of the column. In an attempt to get linear-
ance rejection is taken advantage of in the design. ization in addition to non-interaction, Weber and
In the decoupling approach the basic idea is to Gaitonde (1982) use the conventional manipulators
eliminate all interaction, be it detrimental or reflux flow L and vapor boil up V to control cer-
not, and make the system behave as two isolated tain combinations of top and bottom compositions.
SISO-loops. It has been stated that decoupling con- The variables controlled are called
trol is the opposite to multivariable control.
fractionation = χ
Rosenbrock's and Davison's suggestions in Figs 2
β+ K(1-x )
D
and 4 can be compared with the decoupling scheme which is controlled by reflux L, and
in Fig. 6. Rosenbrock's scheme can be drawn as in χ χ
Fig. 7. Fig. 7 can be redrawn as in Fig. 8 to show cutpoint = (1- [))/ β
the structural equivalence between Rosenbrock's
scheme and the decoupling scheme of Fig. 6. which is controlled by boil up V.
Davison's scheme of Fig. 4 can analogously be re-
drawn as in Fig. 9. x
Weber and Gaitonde calculate the constant Κ from
1 X
the normal operating point as B ^ " D O ^ *
A comparison between Rosenbrock's and Davison's 0
schemes as plotted in Figs 8 and 9 and the decoup- McAvoy (1983) discusses Weber's and Gai tonde's
ling scheme of Fig. 6 shows that the elements in scheme and states that a "better", i.e. less in-
Rosenbrock's and Davison's schemes that correspond teracting, choice for Κ would be Xp/(1-Xp).
to the decouplers in Fig. 6 are not directly based
on the properties of the process (only indirectly McAvoy (1983) suggests a scheme where a variable
through the controllers and their tuning). It ξ defined as
therefore seems that they cannot generally be ex-
pected to decouple the loops and make the system ? = +X X
noninteracting. Actually this was not the basic
aim of Davison's system, and Figs 8 and 9 are here
B T^F D
used only to show the structural similarity be-
tween the schemes and the decoupling scheme of Fig. is controlled by distillate flow D.
6 and to emphasize that all three schemes can be
structurally viewed as general multivariable con- McAvoy state that use of ξ as a controlled varia-
trol systems where all (in this case two) outputs ble results in an almost one-way steady-state de-
are connected to all inputs, as in Fig. 7. coupled system, i.e. changes in V do not signifi-
cantly affect ξ . The relationship between the con-
Also Ryskamp (1982) discusses schemes where one trolled and the manipulative variable is further
temperature above the feed plate and one below the stated to be linear (McDonald and McAvoy, 1983).
feed are used as the two measurements from which
product composition is inferred. Ryskamp suggests Instead of ξ as a controlled variable, resulting
a scheme where heat input is set by the sum of the in an almost one-way steady-state decoupled sys-
temperatures and the difference between them is tem, a similar variable could be used giving per-
used to set reflux. fect one-way steady-state decoupling when the ma-
nipulators are D and V. This variable is (Haggblom
Structurally Ryskamp's scheme resembles Rosen- and Waller, 1986)
brock's and Davison's schemes. It differs, however,
ξ= x
in two respects. Firstly, Rosenbrock and Davison B+ K'x
D
use distillate flow D as a manipulator in addition
to boil up V, whereas Ryskamp use reflux flow L in where the constant K' can be calculated from
addition to V. Secondly, the temperature difference steady-state compositions or flows as
X x D
is used to set boil up in Rosenbrock's and Davison's
schemes,1 whereas the sum of temperatures is used in F o - B ox _ o
Ryskamp s scheme. Β
Do " F o
Recently Bequette and Edgar (1986) used so called In McAvoy's scheme (McAvoy, 1983, McDonald and
singular value analysis to design a control scheme McAvoy, 1983) the second controlled variable is
for a simulated column. A structurally non-inter- separation factor S, which is controlled by boil up
acting system was obtained when distillate flow D V. The separation factor is defined as
was paired with the sum of two temperatures, and
reboiler heat duty was paired with the difference
in tray temperatures, i.e. the system had the same
Distillation Control System Structures 3
Separation factor control is also discussed by One of the schemes recently most discussed where a
Shinskey (1984). It could be added that Boyd (1975) flow ratio is used as manipulator is a scheme sug-
and Ya and Luyben (1984) also have discussed con- gested by Ryskamp (1980). The manipulators for
trol schemes where temperature differences, in composition control in the scheme are D/(L+D) and
their schemes differences between differences, are V.
used as controlled variables.
The rationale for the scheme is expressed by Rys-
It is interesting to note the similarities and dif- kamp (1982) as follows. The scheme "holds reflux
ferences between the schemes discussed above. For ratio constant if the top AC output is constant.
symmetrical separations, i.e. D = B , 1-xrj = Χβο> An increase of heat input from the bottom AC does
0 Q 0
and x p = 0 . 5 , the controlled variables and mani- not make top product as impure as would occur with
0
pulators become the ones shown in Table 1. reflux constant (conventional control) nor as over-
pure as would occur with distillate flow constant
(material balance control)". Thus, this property
CHOICE OF CONTROL VARIABLES of the scheme results in a certain decoupling ef-
fect and the scheme is often said to result in
In the previous section were reviewed various sug- "implicit decoupling", in contrast to "explicit
gestions for transformation of controlled varia- decoupling" accomplished by external decoupling
bles mainly to make the two control loops noninter- elements, discussed in the previous section and
acting for dual-composition control of distilla- later in this paper treated more in detail.
tion. 1
A modification of Ryskamp s scheme to a scheme
At the other end of the control system there are where the manipulators are D/(L+D) and V/B has
the control variables or manipulators used to con- been suggested by Takamatsu, I. Hashimoto and Y.
trol the process. They, too, can be chosen in var- Hashimoto (1982) (1984) and by Shinskey (1984).
ious ways, and this is also a subject much discus- 1
sed in the recent distillation control literature. An implementation of Ryskamp s scheme can be il-
lustrated as done in Fig. 10 for the top of the
For feedback composition control of a distillation column.
column with two products there are the following
four primary control variables: distillate flow D, An important difference between the manipulators
reflux L, bottoms flow B, and vapor boil up V (the in the scheme of Fig. 10 and the schemes previ-
last one indirectly manipulated through heat input ously discussed with D, L, V, and Β as manipula-
to the reboiler). tors should be noted. In the schemes where two of
the basic manipulators D, L, V, and Β are used to
The manipulators in the so called conventional or control composition, the other two are used for
energy balance scheme are L and V. They are the level control (as illustrated e.g. by Fig. 4 ) .
manipulators in Fig. 1, whereas D and V are the These level control loops have not been considered
manipulators in Rosenbrock"s scheme in Fig. 2 and in the discussion above, in order to simplify the
Davison's scheme in Fig. 4. Schemes where either D treatment. However, strictly speaking, the control
or Β are manipulated to control composition are problem discussed is concerned with control of
usually referred to as material balance control four outputs using four manipulators, i.e. a 4x4
schemes. problem.
McDonald and McAvoy (1983) use the "material bal- In Ryskamp's (1980) scheme in Fig. 10 both the m a -
ance variable, D or B", to control a linear combi- nipulators L and D at the top end of the column
nation of product compositions (see previous sec- are simultaneously used for control of both compo-
tion). The "energy balance variable", V or L, is sition and level, i.e. each output is connected to
used to control the separation factor. each input, as illustrated in Fig. 11, which shows
the structure of Ryskamp's scheme in block diagram
Between the two base cases of energy balance con- form.
trol and material balance control there are a num-
ber of combinations. Many suggestions to use vari- If, in analogy with the case discussed above, the
ous ratios between flows as manipulators can be bottoms composition x and the reboiler level are
found in the literature. An early example is given
B
controlled by a flow ratio, like V/B, this means
by Rijnsdorp (1965), who suggests the ratio of re- that both these outputs are connected to both the
flux flow and top vapor flow as a manipulator for inputs V and B.
the top loop (L/(L+D) «-x ) (here the arrow point-
D
ing backwards denotes feedback). Stainthorp and The various schemes using various flow ratios as
Jackson (1974) experimentally studied a scheme in manipulators have as a rule been obtained by heu-
which the top loop manipulator was L/D. For a num- ristic reasoning. Obviously they have been found
ber of simulated columns McAvoy (1977) studied the advantageous in industrial practice. Theoretically
steady-state interaction also for Rijnsdorp's sug- this is not unexpected: they have the structure of
gestion, both in combination with (V-*-x ) and - as an optimal system where each output is connected
a combination of Rijnsdorp's scheme and a material
B to each input. However, it seems reasonable that
balance scheme - with ( B - e x J . McAvoy found the still better control can be anticipated if other
smallest amount of steady-sxate interaction for algorithms than pure division between flows were
the last scheme, (L/(L+D) X Q ) ( B ^ - X ) . He also used.
b
extended the idea in search of such functional com-
binations of manipulated variables as would make Furthermore, the four outputs and four inputs have
the loops noninteracting, the final result was de- been split into two groups. Still better control
generacy (Jafarey and McAvoy, 1978). can be expected if all four outputs are connected
to all four inputs, i.e. if information about what
happens at one end of the column is transmitted
4 Κ. V. Waller
also through the control system to the other end of The LQ-design results in a scheme where all the
the column. state variables are used for feedback. The size of
the feedback coefficients may, however, differ con-
siderably. By neglecting small feedback coeffi-
EXTERNAL DECOUPLING cients, Oakley and Edgar (1976) concluded for a
specific example analyzed that the resulting
Inserting compensators between interacting loops, scheme could be approximated with good accuracy by
as shown in Fig. 6, is usually called (external) a scheme having the same structure as a one-way
decoupling in the distillation control literature. decoupled scheme, where changes in reboiler heat
This subject has attracted much interest in the duty are fed to the top loop, not only through the
literature ever since Luyben's paper in 1970 column but also through the decoupler. The same
(Luyben, 1970), and it was discussed in connection conclusion is obtained in a study by Tung and
with Rosenbrocks's and Davison's schemes (see Figs Edgar (1978).
6, 8, and 9 ) . Below some complementary aspects are
given. In chemical process control, the number of sensors
is usually much lower than the number of state
The decoupling scheme as drawn in Fig. 6 is actual- variables used to describe the process. In that
ly one of several possible decoupling schemes. case an optimal multivariable (LQ) controller con-
Which one to use is usually determined by realiza- tains an observer or state estimator, by which the
bility aspects (Waller, 1974). unmeasured states are calculated before they are
used for feedback.
Two-way decoupling (where there are two decouplers
between the two primary loops, as in Fig. 6) and An LQ-design can very well start from a system
one-way decoupling (only one decoupler) are com- model consisting of simple transfer functions con-
pared by Fagervik, Waller, and Hammarstrbm (1983). taining dead times. An illustration of the various
Results obtained in the study also indicate that, steps of the design starting from experimentally
in general, the best disturbance rejection is not obtained transfer functions is given in Hammar-
obtained by perfect decoupling, but that the best strbm, Waller, and Fagervik (1982). The paper is
response is obtained by some tuning of both decou- focused on how errors in the process models affect
plers and feedback controllers. the control properties of the multivariable con-
trol system obtained. Connections between model
We are then left with a parametric optimization structure, the performance index, the control
problem of a considerable size. Even if the types quality, and the sensitivity are illustrated.
of the feedback controllers and the form of the de-
couplers are decided upon, the problem of simulta- One further aspect on state estimation may be men-
neous tuning of "decouplers" and feedback control- tioned here, since it has to do with the structure
lers is still considerable. It is further desira- of the state estimator. When there are disturb-
ble that various decoupling structures (such as ances with non-zero mean, such as step disturb-
one-way versus two-way decoupling in a 2x2 system) ances, estimation e.g. by a Kalman-fliter results
can be tried, as well as various forms for the de- in steady-state estimation offset if a model of
couplers. the deterministic disturbances is not included in
the estimator. Also the resulting control quality
Use of the Inverse Nyquist Array (INA) technique may be drastically reduced, compared to the case
for simultaneous feedback controller and "decoup- when a model of the disturbances is included in
ler" tuning is demonstrated by Waller, Wikman, and the estimator. In an distillation example treated
Gustafsson (1985). The paper also shows that mini- by Hammarstrbm and Waller (1974), the control was
mizing interaction at the critical frequency often, improved by several orders of magnitude simply by
but not always, is a good criterion for design of including estimation of an occuring step disturb-
the decouplers. It is also shown that it may be ance in feed composition. It should be noted that
enough to use pure gains as decouplers; adding dy- this improvement was accomplished not by any added
namics need not significantly improve control sensors or disturbance measurements, but by
quality. changing the structure of the estimator so that
the control system was informed about the fact
It should further be emphasized that although the that there might be disturbances of step type.
control quality, as measured e.g. by error inte- Estimation of more deterministic disturbances
grals after step disturbances, is not very differ- (such as steps both in feed composition and flow)
ent for different decoupling schemes, the robust- than actually occured (in feed composition) did
ness of the scheme may significantly speak in fa- not degrade control quality. However, not more
vor of one of the schemes, as is quantitatively il- disturbances can be estimated than there are meas-
lustrated by Fagervik, Waller, and Hammarstrbm urements on the process (Hammarstrbm, 1980).
(1983). Further illustration of LQ-control in distillation
can be found in Hammarstrbm (1980).
A frequent approach in the literature for sensor compositions to desired values? This last question
location is to use some kind of observability or was recently discussed by Georgakis (1986).
sensitivity consideration. In recent literature
so-called singular value analysis has been popular. Among interesting problems for future research in
distillation control can be mentioned the question
Already in 1974, Hammarstrbm and Waller (1974) of sensor number and location (observability con-
studied the relation between control quality and siderations do not give the whole picture) and
observability properties of a distillation system. their relations to the complexity of the process
No correlation was found between the observability models used for design. Here the combination of
index used and control quality. Observability con- various types of sensors is an interesting and
siderations are probably not enough to solve the important subproblem.
sensor location problem. This seems also to be the
opinion of Mellefont and Sargent (1978) who sug-
gest an implicit enumeration algorithm for the se- NOTATION
lection of measurements to be used in optimal feed-
back control of linear stochastic systems.Applica- Β bottoms flow
tion of the algorithm to a distillation system D distillate flow
gave results which were reported to be "consider- F feed flow
ably different from what would be expected for L reflux flow
pure estimation" (Mellefont and Sargent, 1978). 0 as index denotes steady state
Τ temperature
The location and number of sensors are also direct- V boil up
ly related to the optimal size and complexity of X composition
the process model used for controller design.
Dahlqvist (1980) investigated, both experimentally
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coupling in distillation control. In Seborg Arlington, VA, 87-90.
D.E. and T.F. Edgar (Eds), Chemical process Ya, C.C., and W.L. Luyben (1984). Use of multiple
control 2, Engineering Foundation/AIChE 361- temperatures for the control of multicomponent
375. distillation columns. I&EC Proc.Pes.Dev. 23,
Shinskey, F.G. (1984). Distillation control. 2nd 590-597.
ed, McGraw-Hill.
Stainthorp, F.P., and C.B. Jackson (1974). Control
of a fractionating column subject to product
rate demand changes. Proc. Ill IFAC symp. on
multiv. techn.syst., Paper S 39.
Distillation Control System Structures 7
D x,
En I
P-
I
I
I
I
ne Β χ.
'ci '11
'12
?
-K> c2 >22
Process
Distillation Control System Structures 9
'ci '11
- G 21 -G '12
3
22 G 11 Fig. 6. Decoupling scheme for
3 2x2 system.
12
-6
Fig. 7. Rosenbrock's scheme.
'12
Control system
4 3
Process
22
1
21
'12
0.6K ,
Control system
7
Process
22
4
D / (L+D)
AC)
^D. set
Controller 1 χ
ω
ω
u
ο
'OA
level, set i l c level
Controller 2 CL
1. INTRODUCTION
Reactor Control in general has been reviewed in a instationary disturbances, with poles on the ima-
number of cases over the last two decades, e.g.: ginary axis. In practice the poles of the models
Denn (1969), Padmanaban and Lapidus (1977), and of disturbances which are several times slower
McGreavy (1983). Recently Schnelle and Richards than the dominant reactor timeconstants may be
(1986) presented an interesting account of reactor assumed to be zero. The advantage of this parti-
control as seen from an industrial point of view. tioning is that stationary disturbances are rela-
The specific area of the present review was co- tively fast varying with a predicted value which
vered by Ray (1972), therefore very little litté- is essentially zero after a relatively short time.
rature prior to that date is included in the Therefore their influence is suppressed using
present review. The amount of work produced since regulatory control only. The instationary distur-
the early review of Ray (1972) is quite large, bances contain persistent and/or periodic compo-
consequently the scope in the present review is nents, which most often are present in fixed-bed
limited to cover mainly experimental investiga- reactors, and create offset and/or periodically
tions of fixed-bed reactor dynamics and control. varying states and outputs. In order to handle the
Even with this constraint important contributions persistent disturbances it is necessary to have
may have been missed unintensionally. In particu- some type of offset elimination in the regulatory
lar the sovjet littérature is not given adequate control. This action may lead to unprofitable
coverage. operating conditions, therefore it can be economi-
cally feasible to include setpoint evaluation
Packed beds of catalyst particles is the most either off-line or on-line to maximize a profit
widely used reactor type for gas phase reactants function. The varying setpoints are implemented
in the chemical industry. Inherent in the design using a setpoint tracking control design.
of fixed-bed reactors rest some of the more diffi-
cult control problems found in industry. These It follows from the preceding paragraph that the
problems are due to the process being distributed, basic fixed-bed reactor control objective is that
nonlinear, having nonminimum phase characteristics of operability, i.e. to keep the plant in an
and deadtime. In addition other complicating phe- operable stable region, in spite of the influence
nomena such as extreme parametric sensitivity of of disturbances. The origin of this basic objec-
the steady state profiles may occur in some reac- tive may be operational requirements, safety con-
tors . siderations, environnemental regulations etc. The
basic objective may be economically most feasible
in some situations even though the trend in indu-
stry seems to be to automate further. Incentives
The incentive for using on-line control is ob- for additional control objectives are derived from
vious on a fixed-bed reactor with slowly varying economical considerations and lead to modification
catalyst activity. Here constant conversion can be of the operating conditions in order to operate in
achieved by either increasing inlet temperature, a more or the most profitable region. Examples of
reducing feed flow rate or increasing recycle additional control objectives are to achieve the
flow in all cases until the design limit is desired production rate, quality or yield. Another
reached and provided the reactor remains stable. additional control objective is to maximize a
Control of fixed-bed reactors is also often re- profit function which in some situations can be
quired because of sensitivity towards disturban- economical. Schnelle and Richards (1986) point out
ces, or more seldom because of lack of stability that there can be a significant incentive to in-
of the reactor. For the latter cases careful reac- crease productivity of sold out products and to
tor design is very important in order to reduce or improve the quality in a competitive market. For
minimize the complexity of the final control pro- bulk products there is also a significant incen-
blem. In order to distinguish between different tive to improve raw material yield.
control problems it may be helpful to partition
the disturbances acting on any process. These may The above control objectives may be fulfilled
be categorized either as stationary disturbances, using techniques from various levels in the actual
with poles strictly in the left half plane, or as control hierachy. These levels are for the present
11
12 S. B. J0rgensen
purpose defined as (MacGre gor et al. 1983): application of control designs for fulfilling the
primary and some additional control objectives
Manual: All but the most fundamental regulatory i.e. designs for stabilization, disturbance rejec-
loops are in manual control. The operator sets tion and set-point tracking. This section pre-
actuators and flow setpoints. This level may sents first linear quadratic control design and
have an advisory computor system. then reviews selection of the number and location
of sensors. The largest part of section 5 contains
Single Loop: The basic measurements are under a review of the applied control designs mainly
single loop control. Such loops may require grouped according to the applied model representa-
advancxed techniques as adaptive or nonlinear tion. Section 6 contains a brief review of optimi-
control. zing control. Finally the main conclusions are
summarized.
Multi Loop: Coordinated yet simple interaction
occur between two or more loops, such as cascade,
feedforward, interaction override or compensation. 2. FIXED-BED REACTOR CONFIGURATIONS
Supervisory: Control coordination occur between Catalytic gas-phase chemical reactions play an
data from several sources. This coordination in- important role in chemical industry, and has also
cludes handling filtered data, e.g. from process found important applications in pollution abate-
analyzers and executing multivariable control, ment of exhaust gases. Contacting of the reactant
e.g. model based. gas with the catalyst is mainly effected in reac-
tors where the catalyst is fixed and to a much
Optimizing: Plant steady state or dynamic behavior smaller extent in fluid beds. The various types of
is evaluated to optimize a profit criterion. beds with fixed catalyst employed in present day
reactors cover a wide spectrum. A large fraction
Solution of the basic control objective can on of these reactors may be described by one or a
some fixed-bed reactors be possible using a single combination of some generic types:
loop, which however may be non-minimum phase, and
therefore model based control is advantageous. a) A single tubular bed with axial reactant flow.
However often additional requirements are imposed
such as keeping the reaction zone position and/or b) A single annular bed with radial reactant flow.
the maximun temperature. In these cases it may be
necessary or advantageous to use more than one c) A channel with wall deposited catalyst.
input variable. Therefore fixed-bed reactor con-
trol problems tend to be multivariable, and to be The type a bed is the traditional catalytic bed.
approached using modelbased control designs. Con- Type b beds have developed to make it possible to
sequently most of the control designs to be dis- use large amounts of catalyst with small diameter
cussed subsequently have been carried out at the particles without getting excessive pressure
supervisory level. drops. Type c, which clearly is not a packed bed,
have been developed for handling exhaust or emis-
The present paper aims at reviewing the control sion gases, with still lower pressure drops. The
design methods which have been applied on fixed- channel geometry may vary as well as the support
bed reactors to fulfill one or more of the control construction material. Type c is used with many
objectives, at pinpointing limitations of the parallel channels, whereas type a and b beds may
techniques; and thereby indicating possible direc- be applied as single beds. These single beds may
tions for future research. approach adiabaticity if well insulated and/or of
large diameter (type a) or length (type b ) . How-
A procedure for fulfillment of a particular set oj ever in many cases external cooling or heating is
control objectives using a model based approach desirable or necessary to reduce parametric sensi-
may be achieved through the following steps: tivity. In these cases two types of configurations
may be used or possibly combined:
i) Investigation of process statics and dynamics
ii) Selection of model representation. d) Multiple parallel beds (type a) which are ex-
iii) Selection of identification and control ternally cooled (heated) in co- or countercur-
strategy. rent flow.
iv) Selection of number and location of sensors.
v) Process identification either off- or on-line e) Multiple consecutive beds (type a or b) with
vi) Control design for stabilization, disturbance interstage cooling (heating), e.g. using a
rejection and set-point tracking. quench stream.
vii) Optimizing control design.
The feed stream in exothermic processes is often
The following sections contain a discussion of used for cooling purposes through heat exchange in
most of these steps as they have been dealt with type d and between type e beds or as a quench
in the available investigations. First some typi- stream between type e beds. In these cases auto-
cal fixed-bed reactor configurations will be clas- thermal operation may be possible. In some proces-
sified in section 2. Section 3 starts with discus- ses (partial) recycle of effluent gas is used,
sing fixed-bed rector models and summarizing ob- e.g. to obtain full conversion of an expensive
served static behaviors. Then follows a presenta- reactant.
tion of the basis for the following treatment
which is the underlying process dynamics with The beds whose dynamics and control have been
special focus upon experimental investigations and investigated in the laboratory have mainly been of
demonstrated abilities of the applied mathematical type a and d; and in a few cases in configura-
models. Among these abilities has the locally tions with autothermal opeartion or with reactant
linear behavior been extensively exploited. Sec- recycle. Some of the experimental investigations
tion 4 covers process identification and starts are summarized in tables 2 and 3, where the inve-
with a presentation of locally linear model repre- stigations are grouped according to the bed type
sentations, then model order reduction procedures or configuration. The term cooling is used in the
are touched upon since these techniques may be tables mainly to indicate that the cooling tempe-
important in many cases. Thereafter techniques rature possibly could be manipulated. It is clear
applied for parameter estimation,which may use from these tables that many of the reactions are
either off- or on-line data acquisition, are re- only model reactions, which are used to elucidate
viewed briefly. Section 5 contains a review of the dynamic behavior of fixed-bed reactors and to
Fixed Bed Reactor Dynamics and Control 13
The occurrence of more than one steady state solu- Experimental investigations in fixed bed reactor
tion for the same operating conditions and nonpa- dynamics are summarized in Table 2. There are two
thological rate expressions, can be demonstrated sets of investigations; those concerned with the
theoretically for all models, except A-l, in Table dynamics around steady states (entries 2,3,6-8,10,
I, . This possibility is due to interaction of and 13-16) and those concerned with the dynamic
axial dispersion and reaction. This subject has behavior when transition between steady states
been treated in the above reviews in particular by occur (entries 1,4,5,9, and 12). The latter set of
Hlavacheck and van Rompay (1981) and Jensen and investigators have focussed on CO and ehtane oxi-
Ray (1982). They both review experimental findings dation as model reactions. The main results of the
of multiple stady states. In the cases where mul- latter group of investigators are that transition
tiple steady states may occur, it is possible to between multiple steady states occur as propaga-
have high sensitivity of the reactor conditions ting fronts, where the front shape changes very
towards changes in inlet conditions or in parame- little and the speed of propagation is very low
ter values. Cases of high parametric sensitivity compared to the thermal wave speed. This behavior
occur near bifurcation of steady states i.e. where can in general be simulated reasonably using A-2
multiplicity of steady states shows up. Puszynski models. In some instances it appears nescessary to
et al.(1981) show using an A-3 model that mul- account for radial velocity profiles (Vortmeyer
tiple steady states may occur in nonadiabatic and Winther 1982). Puszynsky et al. 1982 observed
packed beds for strongly exothermic reactions even oscillatory behavior, which could not be simulated
when the Peclet number is large, as in most indu- using an A-2 model.
strial reactors. For the pseudo-one phase axial
dispersion model with a first order irreversible The main results of the first group of investiga-
reaction the sufficient conditions for uniqueness tions concerning the local behavior around a stea-
show that the solution will be unique for suffi- dy state are that the observed local phenomena can
ciently high values of the unequal Peclet numbers, in general be modelled quite well using pseu-
large heat transfer coefficient or small values of do-one phase models with dispersion or two phase
the Damkohler number. It has been shown computa- models. An exception is the study by van Doesburg
tionally that the region of multiplicity is enlar- and de Jong (1976), where however the wall heat
ged and shifted towards lower Damkohler numbers by capacity had a major influence. The basic dynamic
increasing adiabatic temperature rise or the acti- features of a type a bed can bee qualitatively
vation energy. An increase in the reaction order outlined using the DYQUID in figure 1. The signi-
reduces the region of multiplicity. In the adiaba- ficant difference between the mass and thermal
tic reactor a multiplicity of three is possible, residence times has a decisive influence upon the
whereas more steady states can be found in the dynamic behavior. Inverse response, or 'wrong
nonadiabatic fixed-bed reactor. Jensen and way' behavior (Crider and Foss 1966), have been
Ray(1982) investigate theoretically the bifurca- observed upon inlet temperature and flow rate
tion behavior especially for the pseudo-one phase disturbances. The presence of a concentration node
axial dispersion model. Their results show a point (Crider and Foss 1966, 1968) has also been
wealth of bifurcations at low Peclet numbers. observed in several cases. Locally linear models
However at Peclet numbers relevant for industrial give a reasonable description of the local dyna-
packed beds it is concluded that bifurcations to mics and are therefore obvious candidates for use
periodic solutions should not occur. in model based control designs.
Bed
Multiple steady states can occur in autothermal type: Reaction:
Phenomenon or di sturhnnce
type: inlet: mocho!:
reactors, where energy is recycled and thus the
Single bed
effect of backmixing is significantly increased. 1. CO Padberg and Wicke (1967) propagt. fronts
For reciculation of mass Root and Schmitz oxidat. Fleguth and Wicke (1971) propagt. fronts
Wicke and Onken (1986)
(1969,1970) found multiple steady states in a 2. Ethanol
noise origin
tubular reactor. In a fixed-bed reactor with reac- Dehydrat. Lehr, Yurchak and Kabel (1968) step B-1
tant recycle bifurcation to periodic solutions is 3. H
2
possible Jergensen et al.(1986). Most of the work Oxidat. Hoiberg, Lyche and Foss (1971) sine T,C B-1,2
referenced above has been concerned with exother- 4. Ethane Vortmeyer and Jahnel (1972) propagt. fronts
mic reactions. Gilles et al.(1978) showed by using oxldat. Simon and Vortmeyer (1978) propagt. fronts
a B-l model for selfinhibiting reaction kinetics 5. CO Hlavacek and Votruba (1974) propagt . fronts
that it is possible to obtain bifurcation to peri- oxldat.,
Recycle
Jergensen, Bortolotto, step T,e, A·2
16. :iidat.
and Kaas· Petersen F
Fixed Bed Reactor Dynamics and Control 15
Most often an objective function of the following The sensor selection and location problem differ
form is applied: in principle according to the type of feedback
J N-l( n nT +F 2 nu +T uuF) T +F used. If output feedback is used then the sensor
types are dictated by the control objective and
D -^ nd und ud ^ W F ^ ) (20) their location by the location of the control
This function may also be brougth into the form of zone. If sensors are not available or only can
eq.(19), but the weigthing matrices are then sim- provide measurements less frequent than desired
ple functions of the weigthing matrices in eq. then an estimate may be evaluated based upon se-
(20) and the process dynamics. Differences between condary measurements. The latter application was
the two approaches can thus be expected when there demonstrated by Tremblay and Wrigth (1977). In
are significant variation in the process state their case the predictor parameters were updated
over the sampling interval. Such differences may on-line when the less frequent concentration mea-
be reduced by reducing the sampling interval. surements became available.
Jutan et al.(1977c) applied discrete time LQG Clement et al.(1980) show experimentally and theo-
control to a cooled type a fixed bed reactor with retically that usage of the discrete time control
three independent reaction components. An objec- may result in oscillations in the discrete time
tive function similar to eq.(20) was used with η axial temperature variance profiles at relatively
being the measured temperatures. The control ob- large sampling time. These variance oscillations
jective was to keep the reactor close to the reduce the utility of dicrete time variance pro-
steady state operating conditions when upset by files for design. Instead continuous time variance
stochastic disturbances and an induced determini- profiles representing a time average over the
stic load disturbance in the coolant temperature. sampling interval should be used (Ahrensberg et
The manipulated variables were the Hydrogen and al. (1983)). The latter investigators also eva-
Butane flow rates. The LQG control performed well luate the effect of using the discrete and the
and it was demonstrated (Jutan et al.1977a,b) that continuous time objective functions eq.20 and 18.
it was possible to infer exit concentrations rea- The results at the investigated conditions show
sonably well from the measured flowrates and that there are only minor differences between the
(nine) temperatures . The control design appeared two objective functions, at the relatively mild
to be robust towards moderate changes in operating operating conditions.
conditions and especially in catalyst activity. In
a subsequent study Jutan et al.(1984) compared the Silva et al.(1979) and Wallmann et al.(1979)
above controller with white process and measure- investigate experimentally LQG control of a two-
ment noise to another LQG controller where a third bed catalytic reactor system using quench flow
order identified multivariable time series model rate and temperature as possible manipulated
of the process disturbances and negligible mea- variables. The individual beds were similar to
surement noise is used. The first controller has that studied by Hoiberg and Foss (1971).In Silva
the best performance to a load disturbance in et al.(1979) the control objective is to maintain
coolant temperature, but apparently the closed the effluent concentration when the process is
loop behavior is relatively insensitive to the subjected to zero mean disturbances at the inlet
noise model. of the first bed. It was found that a simple first
order shaping filter was sufficient to model the
TABLE 3
: Experimenta
l Investigation
s of fixed-be
d reacto
r estimatio
n and co disturbances entering the second bed. A fairly
Identificatio
n Contro
l simple solution results: The mixing temperature at
Bed model estimât.
type: p«- ate- me- the quench inlet is controlled locally, whereas
repr: ran: te: thod
: class: the quench flow rate is used for univariate con-
Single bed
:
1. H Serense
n (1977
) · off
•. KF LQ
C ΜΙΜ
Ο ί trol of the effluent concentration from the second
Oxldat
. Buchholt,Clement.Jergenaen(1979
) ARMAX RLS CK
V SIM
O c
Clement,Jergenaen.Serenaen(1980
) e
a off . KF LQ
G ΜΙΜ
Ο ί
bed, based upon an estimate of this concentration
Clement and Jergense
n (1981
) aa off . IK
A ΜΙΜ
Ο c from measuring four temperatures in the second
Hallager et al.(1981,1983,1984
) ARMA X RELS QL ΜΙΜ
Οc
Coldachmldt,Hallage
r bed (Wallman and Foss 1981). In the adjoining
and Jergense
n (1985
, 1986
) ARMA
X RELS QL ΜΙΜ
Ο < paper Wallman et al.(1979) consider maintaining
Cooled singl
e bed: average quench flow rate and effluent concentra-
2. Butane Jutan, KacCregor
and Wrigh t (1977a,b.c
) s a off
. KF LQC ΜΙΜ Ο1 tion or temprature upon sustained disturbances in
noly-
Tremblay and Wrlgth (1977
) a a off
. MRA
C ΜΙΜΟ< feed concentration. In this study proportional and
MacCregor and Wong (1980
) TF.a
a off. KF LQC ΜΙΜ Οi
ala Harrls.MacCregor. Wrigth(1980
) ARMA
X RLS VM SIS
O< integral LQG control is achieved using the objec-
Kozub and MacCregor (1986
) F T off
. LQ.IM
C ΜΙΜΟ <
tive function J in eq. 20 with η including incre-
3. Butan
e Lee and Lee (1985
) ARMAX,H
S RLS,I
V V
M SIM
O ο
d
mental states and the selected states to be inte-
oxldat
.
grally controlled. In this approach incremental
C o n s e q u teW beds
: controls are used in eq.(20). Both the effluent
4. H, Silva
, Wallman and Foe
s (1979
) as off
. KF LQC ΜΙΜ
Ο fi
Oxldat . Wallman , Silv
a and Foaa (1979
) sa off
. KF LQG ΜΙΜ
Ο s concentration and temperature controller operated
Wallman and Foes (1981
) as off
. DE LQC SIS
O fi
satisfactorily when four temperatures were mea-
Autothermal: sured in the second bed. Using only one tempera-
5. Water- Wong, Bonvin
, Mellicham
p
gas an
d Rlnke
r (1983
) ture measurement gave considerable control errors.
shift McDermott, Mellicham
p The advantage of slow integral action on the
and Rlnke
r (1986a.b
) PP SIS
O ο +
ΜΙΜΟ ο + quench flow is avoidance of control input satura-
Recycle
:
tion. Quench flow is effectively used for rapid
6. H
?
Oxldat
.
Bortolott
o and Jergense
n (1985
) ARMA
X REL
S
control actions, since it forces the bed distribu-
Serensen (1977) applied approximate continous time tedly, whereas the slow control action is taken
LQ control to the adiabatic reactor of Hansen and care of by the temperature at the quench point.
Jergensen (1976a). The control problem was to
maintain the steady state operating conditions in
the face of deterministic upstream disturbances in This essentially completes the presently available
temperature, concentration and mass flow rate studies of application of LQ(G) methods based upon
using inlet temperature and concentration as mani- a priory developed mathematical models with state
pulated variables. The upstream disturbances were reconstruction. Three major conclusions emerge:
modelled using first oder filters, and thus esti- i) The LQ(G) approach works on fixed-bed
mated from the internal temperature and exit con- reactors.
centration measurement. The control performed ii) Redundant measurements and feedback
well, but it was not possible to estimate simulta- should be emphasized due to limited
neous upstream disturbances in concentration and model accuracy,
mass flow rate. This estimation difficulty was due iii) The control design seems robust towards
to a nearly linear dependence of the two distur- inaccuracies in process noise models.
bances at the particular flowrate used. In a sub- Two impediments for industrial application seem
sequent study Jergensen and Clement (1977) demon- obvious :
strated that it is possible to estimate all three iv) Model development may be a significant
disturbances at a lower flowrate using the minimum burden.
of three carefully located sensors, and to main- v) The robustness towards errors in model
tain the steep part of the temperature profile at structure is limited.
a desired position using LQ control. The design problem of choosing the controller
weights does not seem to be a significant problem
A comparison of continuous and discrete time Kal- in that diagonal matrices seem to be sufficient.
man Filtering and optimal control is performed by The choise of weigths do however require experi-
Serensen et al.(1980). It is shown that the dis- ence .
crete state space model eq.(ll) is convenient for
filter design calculations due to the relatively A couple of frequency domain design techniques
low sensitivity of the filter design towards chan- have been investigated. Foss et al. (1980) used the
ges in sampling time. In the subsequent paper characteristic locus analysis method to design a
Fixed Bed Reactor Dynamics and Control 19
three-input multivariable control system for the Transfer function based design
two-bed reactor system described above with the
objective of regulating the product concentration MacGregor and Wong (1980),table 3.2 use an off-line
and temperature. Dynamic compensators are deve- identified transfer function model developed from
loped such that interaction among variables is production rates which are inferred using a linear
suppressed and the effects of concentration di- regression on current temperatures and flowrates.
sturbances are controlled. The control is effi- The regression coefficients are updated every time
cient, but uses about eigth times the control a gas chromatograph measurement is available
effort needed for concentration control alone due (Wright et al.1977). The transfer function model
to a near singular system matrix. It is concluded with nonstationary noise is transformed into a
by the authors that proper design of dynamic com- minimal order state space realization. The resul-
pensators relies heavily on the designers experi- ting fourth order model is used in a LQG design to
ence. Clement and Jorgensen (1981), Table 3.1 control the production rates of propane and bu-
investigated the direct Nyquist array (DNA) design tane. The objective function is eq.(20) with η
with constant pre and post compensator matrices. containing the two outputs and using incremental
The control objective was to maintain the steady controls of hydrogen and butane to cope with non-
state profile, when the reactor was upset by up- stationary noise. The resulting control perform
stream disturbances. The controls utilized were well in rejection of a coolant temperature load
inlet concentration and temperature. However a disturbance. Drift is observed in the manipulated
relatively poor behavior was obtained for the variables possibly due to catalyst activity chan-
controlled reactor. This seemed to be connected to ges.
the thermal delay, therefore a delay compensation In their recent study Kozub et al. (1986), table
was investigated, however without much success 3.2, use an off-line identified empirical trans-
(Terndrup et al.(1983)). fer function representation similar to that of
MacGregor and Wong (1980). Kozub et al. (1986)
Economu and Morari (1986) develop and investigate transform their model into a right matrix fraction
through simulation a multiloop IMC design ap- description, which is convenient for control de-
proach. The method treats interaction terms as sign. They investigate two different control de-
additive pertubations and uses an interaction signs: LQ output feedback control using eq.(20)
measure, which is closely related to the Gershgo- with η being the tracking errors and incremental
rin bands of DNA, to determine either a reasonable controls; and deterministic internal model control
configuration or to decide for a full multivari- (IMC). IMC may be tuned to achieve satisfactory
able IMC design (Garcia and Morari 1985a and b ) . performance and robustness towards model plant
The multiloop method gives a rather good design mismatch using diagonal filter matrices on the
for the Foss et al. (1980) problem. Whereas a feedback and setpoint signals. The manipulated
multivariable design seems most promising for a variables were setpoints to the hydrogen flowrate
methanation reactor where outlet and hotspot tem- and to a hotspot temperature controller. The hot-
perature is controlled using inlet flow rate and spot temperature is controlled by butane flow
temperature as manipulated variables. rate.The results indicate that both designs were
restricted by model plant mismatch, due to nonli-
nearities and catalyst activity changes. Trial and
The frequency domain design techniques employed
error adjustment of the tuning matrices led to
thus far rely on a trial and error procedure for
robust designs with acceptable regulation and
determining simple compensators. In the multiloop
setpoint change performance over a fairly wide
IMC design approach only the univariate control-
operating region.
lers are detuned using simple filters to account
for interactions and the performance can be di-
rectly evaluated.
Adaptive control design
Modal design has also been investigated in a coup-
le of instances. Georgakis et al.(1977b,c) inve- A number of studies have been concerned with inve-
stigate the stabilization of a cooled tubular stigating various adaptive control algorithms for
reactor at an unstable steady state, using coolant fixed bed reactor control. The main purpose has
flow as manipulated variable and measuring tempe- been to reduce the control sensitivity towards
ratures and concentrations at the collocation model plant mismatch, using input-output data to
points. Modal design is demonstrated computa- provide information for on-line tuning of the
tionally to give a fairly large domain of attrac- control. Two main approaches to adaptive control
tion when the two largest eigenvalues are relo- have been used. In one case are the controller
cated. It is also shown that an observer can be parameters estimated directly using an implicit
used to estimate the control variable directly model, in the other case is model parameters ex-
from temperature measurements only. Wong et plicitly estimated, and then used to calculate the
al.(1983), Table 3.5 use modal design with a re- control. This general area has recently been re-
duced order model to stabilize the autothermal viewed by Seborg et al.(1986).
reactor at an unstable state manipulating feed
stream heat input. The number of states in the Much of the early theoretical development was
reduced order model were measured directly, The carried out by the group in Lund, Sweden, where
control design performed well in disturbance re- the univariate selftuning regulator was described
jection both with a fifth and a third order re- by Âstrom and Wittenmark (1973) and Àstrom et al
duced model. (1977). They use implicit minimum variance (MV)
control, i.e. eq.(20) with F =0. Borisson (1979)
derived an implicit MV controYler for the multi-
The problem of robustness of control design is variable case. Clarke and Gawthrop (1979) derived
treated by Mandler et al. (1986) in a computatio- an implicit controller which minimize the univa-
nal study of univariate control of a cooled metha- riate objective function in eq.(20) with a one
nation reactor operating close to ignition. The step time horizon. This controller is often called
inlet temperature is used to control the product a generalised minimum variance controller (GMV). A
temperature. The control design is based upon a multivariable version of the implicit GMV control-
reduced order model. Internal model control (Gar- ler was developed by Koivo (1980) for an equal
cia and Morari 1982a) is used for control design number of inputs and outputs (square plants) and
coupled with Doyle's (1982) structured singular by Grimble (1981) for nonsquare plants. An impli-
value analysis, whereby a tradeoff between robust cit univariate LQG controller has been developed
stability and performance is accomplished. by Zhao Ying and Âstrom (1981) and Grimble (1984).
Univariate pole-placement control design algo-
20 S. B. J0rgensen
rithms have been proposed by Wellstead et results were satisfactory. In subsequent works has
al.(1979) and Àstrom and Wittenmark (1980). Prager the control design been improved to an an assymp-
and Wellstead (1980) proposed a multivariate ver- totic LQ design, which has been tested on the
sion. These algorithms are mainly of the explicit fixed-bed reactor under more and more demanding
model type. conditions. The control design utilizes the objec-
tive function in eq.(20) with
The first attempts at implementing adaptive con- T T T
trol design used model reference adaptive control n(t) = (y (t-l),..,y (t-n l),u (t-2), .
(MRAC). Here the objective is to make the output T T p T
of an unknown plant assymptotically approach that .,u (t-n -l),z (t-l)) (22)
of a specified reference model. The initial at-
q
tempts lacked theoretical background. The MRAC where z(t) contains integral outputs, if included.
approach can be shown to be similar to the selftu- The control horizon is set to infinity and the
ning regulator in a number of cases. Tremblay and Riccati equation is iterated by direct substitu-
Wright (1977), Table 3.2, performed an early inve- tion once at each sampling instant. The feedback
stigation of MRAC. They used a state space model gains will converge to the optimal values when
for the extents of the reaction augmented with the the parameters are constant. The feedback gains
production rate of ethane and propane. The slecti- will vary relatively slowly when the model parame-
vity of propane was to be controlled using the ter values change. The weigths in the control
flow rates of hydrogen and butane as manipulated performance criterion are chosen using available
variables. The model reference algorithm was based knowledge about the limitations of the model
upon Liapunov's direct method. The results were structure in order to obtain robustness towards
not satisfactory. However in the course of this unmodelled dynamics. Hallager and Jergensen (1981)
study a linear regression model was developed for investgate this design experimentally using incre-
the effluent concentrations as a function of three mental inputs in eq.(20) to achieve offset elimi-
functionals of the reactor temperature and the nation in a least squares sense, since there are
inlet flow rates. This regression provided predic- maximally two inputs: inlet temperature and con-
tions for the concentrations at every sampling centration and five outputs. Effective rejection
instant. The regression coefficients were updated of upstream pulse disturbances in temperature,
using recursive least squares (RLS) estimation concentration and flowrate is demonstrated when
when actual concentration measurements were avai- the reactor is operated at low inlet concentra-
lable at every 12'th sample (Wright et al.1977). tion. In Hallager and Jergensen (1983) is the
Harris et al.(1980), Table 3.2, apply univariate model structuring expanded to be able to handle
self-tuning control in various forms to control disturbances in flow rate, i.e. the thermal delay;
the hotspot temperature, independent of position, and to include integral action on specific out-
manipulating butane flow rate. A GMV controller puts. The ability to reject an upstream tempera-
with incremental control signal provided conside- ture disturbance is demonstrated to be satisfacto-
rably better control than a conventional PI con- ry and to be nearly independent of sampling time,
troller. In a recent study Underwater et al.(1986) provided the model structure is modified accor-
dingly, when the distributed inlets also are used
have used a GMV controller to tune the same loop
as manipulated variables. Hallager et al.(1984)
using a logarithmic transformation of the hotspot
investigate various identification aspects using
temperature. The input weight in eq.(20) was used
RELS with variable forgetting factor and show in
to provide a trade off between acceptable hotspot
particular that the adaptive controller is able to
stabilization and smooth variation of the butane
reject disturbances in upstream temperature and
flow.
flowrate also at medium high oxygen concentration.
The parameter estimation, which is RELS with va-
McDermott et al.(1986a), Table 3.5 apply a uni- riable forgetting, is relatively rapidly able to
variate pole-placement controller with the abili- estimate varying parameters after a flow rate
ty to auto-tune a pole location on-line. They change. Goldschmidt et al.(1986), table 3.1, inve-
control a temperature just upstream of the hotspot stigate the servo behaviour obtained through a
manipulating the heat input to the entering reac- first order filtered change of the integral refe-
tant gas. Good disturbance rejection behavior is rence states. During a sequence of setpoint chan-
demonstrated both at an open loop unstable and at ges the reactor is brought from almost no reaction
an upper stable steady state and similarly for up to a very active reaction, with a high thermal
setpoint changes between the two operating condi- gain. The adaptive control behaves very well and
tions. The good setpoint behavior is obtained by is able to follow the parameter changes even
on-line adjustment - auto-tuning - of a desired though the process in addition is slowly time-
pole-position by minimizing the error variance η varying due to catalyst activity changes.
- y - y (McDermott and Mellichamp (1984)). In
the adjoining paper (McDermott et al.(1986b)) a
multiloop version of the pole-placement controller Bortolotto and Jergensen (1985), investigate di-
is applied to maintain the temperature profile sturbance rejection and set point tracking of a
with two loops : in one the temperature near the reactor with recirculation of unreacted reactants,
hotspot is controlled by the top heater (i.e. at using the same control design as above. The mani-
the turning point of the gas), in the other loop pulated variables are inlet temperature to the
a temperature near the exit is controlled by mani- reactor and limiting reactant mass flow rate to
pulating either - in simulations - the heat input the recirculation loop. The outputs are five
to the entering reactant gas or - in an experi- temperature measurements and the exit reactant
mental test - the gas flow rate . A dynamic de- concentration. In this case the control weights in
coupler is used to minimize loop interactions. The the objective function were selected carefully in
model structures, i.e. the polynomial orders η ,n order to account for model structure limitations.
and n^, were chosen based upon simulation explri- Disturbance rejection is effective and a setpoint
ence. The above configuration behaved well in change which brings the reactor close to a Hopf
simulations and also in an experimental test bifurcation point is also very well handled.
around the upper stable state.
Both the transfer function based and the ARMAX
based adaptive control designs lead relatively
Buchholt et al.(1979), Table 3.1, investigate quickly to on-line implementation. Especially the
disturbance rejection of the adiabatic fixed-bed process knowledge based model structuring proce-
reactor using inlet temperature as manipulated dure seems promising in this regard. Most of the
variable with five equidistant axial temperature early control design approaches include a step,
measurements. The control design was GMV and RLS which often can be of trial and error type, where
was used for parameter estimation. The control the designers artistic abilities often play an
Fixed Bed Reactor Dynamics and Control 21
important role for a succesful result. The on- that linear(-ised) mathematical models can des-
going development of how to apply control design cribe the dynamic behavior in a reasonable neigh-
methods such that they are robust against known borhood arouund an operating point. In cases with
inaccuracies in model and/or disturbance charac- very high sensitivity it may be necessary or ad-
teristics holds promise for reduction if not eli- vantageous to use nonlinear dynamic models.
mination of artistic elements in this design step.
Three somewhat different types of linear model
representations have been applied in identifica-
6. OPTIMIZING CONTROL tion studies on fixed-bed reactors. The most pro-
mising approach for practical application seems to
Long term optimal operating conditions for fixed- be ARMAX models with parsimonious model structures
bed reactors may be difficult to determine due to where the parameter to be estimated are selected
timevarying process characteristics such as cata- based upon knowledge of qualitative process dyna-
lyst deactivation and the associated modelling mics . The advantage of this approach is that the
difficulties, which persist even though sinificant resulting model structures are valid over a wide
progress have been achieved in this area. There- range of operating conditions and that the rela-
fore it is not desirable to apply open-loop opti- tively low number of parameters may be determined
mizing control polices to fixed-bed reactors. Due relatively fast on-line.
to the time-varying physics this is an obvious
area for application of on-line identification
techniques. All three model types and various identification
methods have been successfully applied in control
Hong and Lee (1985) propose on line computation of studies. The sucessful control design methods have
a measure of catalyst activity using measurement predominantly been based upon LQ(G) designs where
of inlet temperature, exit concentration, and for both the primary but also additional control ob-
a cooled bed also of coolant temperatures. They jectives have been investigated. Modal design have
apply their measure of catalyst activity for eva- mainly been used for satisfying the primary design
luation of the desired quasi steady inlet tempera- objective. The mechanistic modelbased control
ture to maintain the product concentration within design approaches have in some cases reported low
a specified range. Thus their control objective robustness towards varying parameters or modelling
could presumably be met with techniques from the errors. The recent design procedures which addres-
previous section which also can address the prima- ses the problem of providing robust performance
ry control objective. Lee and Lee (1985), table and stabilization represent a promising develop-
3.3, study optimization by simulation and expe- ment towards reducing the amount of trial and
rimentally on a non-adiabatic fixed-bed reactor error necessary for multivariable control design.
for the production of maleic anhydride using coo- It is noteworthy that sequences of stepchanges
lant temperature and flow rate as manipulated covering a relatively large operating region have
variables, with a temperature near the hot spot mainly been reported for robust control and for
and the inferred product concentration as out- adaptive control methods. Thus these two methods
puts. The temperature near the hot-spot was con- seem most promising for practical application.
trolled in an adaptive loop by the coolant tempe-
rature with a feedforward from flow rate. Assuming Optimizing control has been demonstrated to work
this control to be perfect a second order Hammer- well in one case, where adaptive control was used
stein model was assumed for maleic anhydride con- to satisfy the primary control objective. This
centration as a function of hot-spot setpoint and result is also a most promising development.
flow rate. This model is a quadratic function of
the input variables, but linear in the parameters. A few attempts have been made towards developing
These parameters are determined using recursive a methodology for carrying out reactor design
instrumental variables. The steady state relation- while accounting for poosible control problems
ship from this model is used in a profit function: this is a very important area to pursue in order
to obtain resilient process designs which enable
practical solution of additional control problems
including optimizimg conntrol.
where the first right hand side term is the net
profit per unit time and the second a penalty term In summary the area of fixed-bed reactor control
on high bed temperatures. The maximization of J is have matured significantly and practical applica-
locally constrained to the region where the iden- tions of advanced modelbased control techniques
tified model is valid. The search direction is seem most likely. However several aspects deserve
determined, in the experiments at every 100'th additional theoretical and experimental studies.
sample, using the random search method . The two
inputs are perturbed by PRBS sequences during the
NOTATION
run, the amplitude of these signals are reduced as
the optimum is approached. The algorithm is demon-
A,Β Matrices in state space model
strated to perform well in two experimental opti-
C Concentration
mization runs.
Dm Damkohler number
F ^ Mass flow rate or weighting matrix
G(q ) Transfer function matrix polynomial.
7. CONCLUSIONS
H ^ Solid to gas thermal heat capacity ratio
H(q ) Transfer function matrix polynomial.
The experimental investigations of fixed-bed reac- M Thermal residence time to heat transfer
tor dynamics and control have mainly been carried time constant ratio,
out with type a beds in various laboratory reactor η ^ vector variables in control objective.
configurations, where the Reynolds number often is
P(q ) Autoregression matrix polynomial.
significantly lower than in industrial practise.
Pe^ Peclet number (axial)
The dynamic behavior of fixed-bed reactors is
q ^ Backward shift operator.
qualitatively well understood. The dynamic beha-
Q(q ^) Input matrix polynomial.
vior can be quantitatively modelled using conser-
R(q ) Noise matrix polynomial.
vation principles with reasonable accuracy when
R(C,T) Reaction rate
the reaction kinetics are known. However a number
Τ Temperature
of theoretical modelling issues remain unsolved.
u vector of inputs (controls),
Theoretical results indicate that axial thermal
ν measurement noise vector,
dispersion also is important for the dynamics of
χ state vector,
industrial fixed-beds. It has been demonstrated
y output vector.
ζ axial distance, integral output.
22 S. B. J0rgensen
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148 156-211. tions of Conversion and Temperature in an Adia-
Schnelle,P.D.; Richards,J.D. 1986 :"A Review of batic Fixed-Bed Reactor for CO Oxidation". Chem.
Industrial Control: Difficult problems and Wor- .Science 41 1681-1687.
kable Solutions" Procedings Chem.Process Control Wong,C.; Bonvin,D.; Rinker,R.G.; Mellichamp,D.
III 749-802, ed.M.Morari & T.J.McAvoy, Elsevier 1983 " On Controlling an Autothermal Reactor
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logy, Sweden
Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
DEVELOPMENTS IN DISTILLATION
EQUIPMENT AND SYSTEM
DESIGN - IMPLICATIONS FOR
DYNAMICS AND CONTROL
R. J. P. Brierley
Imperial Chemical Industries PLC, Engineering Department North East Group,
PO Box 6, Billingham, Cleveland, TS23 1LD, UK
For many years trays have been the preferred Liquid Inventory - trayed and packed columns
type of internals for large scale industrial compared
distillation columns. Until the middle of
the 20th century, bubble cap trays were stan- To establish a simple basis for comparison, a
dard, but since then many alternative tray total reflux operation is considered. Appendix 1
devices have been invented. Two types now gives details including the calculated column
share the bulk of the business: sieve trays sizes and liquid inventories. The latter are
and valve trays. Packings were little used summarised in Table 1, together with the liquid
for several reasons: residence times based on liquid rate and total
inventory.
a) older types had poor capacity and poor
efficiency compared with well designed trays, TABLE 1 Column Inventories and Total
Residence Times
b) scale-up was unreliable, probably due to
inadequate liquid distributor design, and 3
Inventories Trayed Packed
(m liquid) column column
c) packings were expensive, especially when
compared with sieve and valve trays. Reflux drum 4 4
Trays 11
Over the last decade a combination of factors Packing 2
has led to the successful use of packings in Liquid distributors 1
large scale distillation duties: Column base 4 4
Total inventory 19 11
i) new packing designs, both structured
packings (eg Meier and co-workers, 1979) and
random packings (eg Strigle and Porter, 1979), Total residence time (min) 25 15
25
26 R. J. P. Brierley
The table shows that in this example, which Moving from the bubbly regime to mixed froth and
is reasonably typical, the liquid inventory then to spray, the liquid inventory on the tray
in a packed column system is little more than decreases - especially between the last two.
half that in a trayed column system. Further- Within a given regime it is possible - though
more, looking specifically at that part of the design correlations rarely predict it - that
system in which mass transfer is occurring (ie liquid inventory varies inversely with rates.
the trays and the packing), the contrast is
even more striking: the trays account for some
60% of the total inventory, whereas the packed TRENDS IN DISTILLATION SYSTEM DESIGN
beds hold only 20% of the total inventory.
These numbers will vary considerably from case Since the oil crisis of 1973-4, much thought has
to case, but the general message will remain. been given to energy saving through the develop-
ment of sophisticated system design and analysis
Liquid inventory is the major capacitance techniques. Whatever happens to oil prices, it
affecting the dynamic performance of distilla- is likely that these techniques will continue to
tion systems. In packed columns, the lags be used and will continue to produce designs
resulting from those parts of the liquid inven- which are more sophisticated and energy effi-
tory which are not directly involved in the cient than those of 15 years ago. These des-
mass transfer process are especially signifi- igns have significant effects on the dynamic be-
cant. This refers to liquid in the column haviour and control requirements of distillation
base, reboiler, reflux drum, pipework, etc. systems, especially when substantial amounts of
As a result, control systems for packed disti- heat integration are used. Control may not nec-
llation columns are often conservative. Typic- cessarily be more difficult - it may be easier.
ally, the heat supply to the column is set at Several areas in which developments have occurred
a fixed rate and such a column must be using or are possible are discussed below.
more energy than necessary in order to ensure
that product specifications are always met.
Sidestream Columns for Chemical Separations
These lags can be reduced but factors other
than the design and performance of the control Sidestream columns have been used in the oil in-
system under normal operation must be consid- dustry for many years, but the separations requ-
ered. For example, is the reflux drum really ired there are relatively sloppy and are not
necessary? In normal operation it almost cer- based upon a separation of identifiable chem-
tainly is not, but problems can arise in upset icals, but on the achievement of effects in the
conditions, and start-up may well be more diff- various products - eg vapour pressure, cloud
icult if that liquid inventory at distillate point, pour point. The outline flowsheet shown
composition is not available. in Fig.l is typical of many chemical processes -
reactor product passing through two columns, the
Hydraulics first to remove light impurities and the second
to remove heavy impurities. Depending on the
Another area where trayed and packed columns detailed process requirements, it is often poss-
perform differently is in their hydrualic be- ible to achieve both separations in one column,
haviour. The term "hydraulics" in this con- by withdrawing the product as a sidestream.
text refers to the behaviour of the vapour and
liquid phases on the trays or in the packed It is not generally possible to get a high rec-
beds. It has already been mentioned that the overy of the byproducts into the top and bottom
pressure drop of packings is much less than streams, but since they will be present in the
that of trays. More relevant is the varia- feed in small concentrations high recoveries are
tion of liquid inventory with variations in often not necessary. In such circumstances,
liquid and vapour rates. To a first approxi- considerable energy savings (as much as 50%) may
mation, in distillation, the liquid/vapour be achieved by using a sidestream column. But
ratio at a given point in a column will be con- how should it be controlled? With three product
stant in normal operation. streams there are in principle three composition
specifications to be met.
In packed beds the process is vapour phase con-
tinuous with liquid streams flowing down the A feed stream which is to be split into two main
packing surface. The liquid inventory falls product streams, but with a small byproduct
with reduced rate; at half design rates the stream of intermediate volatility, presents
liquid inventory is likely to have fallen by another situation where a single sidestream col-
something like 30%. umn can be used. In this case the byproduct
sidestream will not be pure but will contain
On trays, the variation of liquid inventory significant proportions of the two main products.
with rates is much more complicated than in But since the sidestream rate is small the loss
packed beds. At low rates the process is of products may well be justified by the savings
liquid phase continuous - discrete vapour achieved with a single column.
bubbles pass through a relatively quiescent
liquid layer on the tray. At higher rates
the vapour does not pass through as discrete Vapour Recompression
bubbles, but creates a turbulent froth. At
still higher rates little liquid exists on the Vapour recompression (Fig.2) is a technique des-
tray floor; most of it is blown up into the igned to drastically reduce the energy consump-
vapour space in the form of droplets. These tion in distillation by compressing the overhead
characteristic conditions are known as the vapour so that it will condense at a higher temp-
bubbly, mixed froth and spray regimes. Hofhuis erature than the column base. Thus the heat of
and Zuiderweg (1979) described a fourth condensation may be recycled. This system,
regime - emulsion flow. The regime obtained which appears to be highly attractive at first
depends not only on flowrates, but also on sight, has not been extensively used. The main
tray design. At pressures around atmospheric reason for this is that in many cases the
it is normal to have the mixed froth regime pressure ratio required for the compression of
with a spray in the vapour space above it. the overhead vapour would result in an expensive
Developments in Distillation and System Design 27
multi stage machine which makes the scheme is based on consideration of a feed mixture con-
look unattractive. taining three components. For a more detailed
discussion and evaluation, consult Doukas and
Appendix 2 extends the example of Appendix 1, Luyben (1978).
assuming the separation of toluene from meta
xylene, to calculate the compression ratio The simplest complex column is a sidestream
required for both a trayed column and a column, discussed above. As was noted, the
packed column with structured packing. The simple sidestream column is of limited value
calculated values of compression ratio are 3.9 since it is not possible to produce three pure
for the trayed column and 2.8 for the packed products, and the applications described were
column. Neither case looks promising, but cases which do not have this requirement. Three
the benefit of packing is clearly demonstrated. pure products can be achieved by the addition of
Even with no pressure drop and no temperature either a sidestream stripper (Fig,3) or a side-
difference in the condenser/reboiler, a com- stream rectifier (Fig,4). In both cases the
pression ratio of 2.1 is required. Therefore, feed to the sidestream column contains only two
it can be seen that vapour recompression is components. The sidestream column may have its
likely to be viable only with systems of low own condenser and reboiler but it is more usual
relative volatility. Vapour recompression has to omit the condenser (stripper) or the reboiler
been applied to such systems in commercial (rectifier) as shown.
plants, for example ethylene/ethane splitters
on olefine units. An alternative approach is to do a partial sepa-
ration in a prefractionation column - the
distillate being a binary mixture of components
Heat Integration A and B, while the residue is a binary mixture of
components Β and C. These may then be separated
Vapour recompression may be regarded as an ex- in two further columns as shown in Fig.5. Clearly
ample of heat integration in which the integra- these two columns may be combined. The pre-
tion is confined to a single column and its fractionator may have its own reboiler and con-
ancillaries. Another form of heat integration, denser or it may be directly linked to the main
which has been in use for many years and is column as shown in Fig.6. Although this may
similarly confined to the column and its ancill- show substantial benefits on the basis of a
aries, is feed/product heat interchange and the steady-state design, control problems may render
use of condensation heat to preheat the feed. it inoperable. Dynamic simulation seems to be
The most extensive use of these techniques has the only way to solve the control problems or to
been in crude oil distillation. demonstrate conclusively that they are unsolv-
able.
Much attention has been given in recent years
to the heat integration of distillation columns
with the rest of the process (Linnhoff and co- CONCLUSION
workers, 1983). Many chemical processes in-
volve not just one distillation step but sev- This paper has aimed to demonstrate that in at
eral. The heat requirements of distillation least two areas of development in the industrial
are often large compared with those of the application of distillation technology, current
rest of the process and the most obvious scope developments in the simulation of column dynamics
for heat integration is in linking columns and in the design of control systems could prove
together so that the condensation heat from very helpful and timely. Of course this will
one column is used to reboil another. We all hopefully be in addition to progress with the
know that distillation column control is not many long-standing and well-known problems of
easy - putting two columns in series is surely distillation system operation and control.
asking for trouble. This has been the atti-
tude in the past to the linking of columns by
heat integration. Where such systems have REFERENCES
been used, various steps have been taken to
avoid undesirable interactions: Doukas, N. and W.L. Luyben (1978). Economics of
alternative distillation configurations for
a) adjacent columns not linked unless with the separation of ternary mixtures.
intermediate storage, Ind. Eng. Chem. Process. Pes. Dev., 17,
272-281.
b) either or both columns operated at con- Fair, J.R. (1973). Gas-liquid contacting. In
stant reboil rate, R.H. Perry and C H . Chilton (Ed.), Chemical
Engineers Handbook, 5th ed. McGraw-Hill,
c) a trim condenser installed in parallel Kogakusha, Tokyo. Chap. 18, pp 3-25.
with the linking condenser/reboiler so that Hofhuis, P.A.M. and F.J. Zuiderweg (1979).
disturbances in the higher temperature column Sieve plates: dispersion density and flow
are not passed to the other, etc. regimes. 3rd. International Symposium on
Pistillation. IChemE Symposium Series
The use of linked columns for energy saving is No.56. Pp 2.2/1 - 2.2/26.
an important area which is currently con- Linhoff, Β., H.A. Punford and R. Smith (1983).
strained by an inadequate understanding of the Heat integration of distillation columns
dynamic performance of such systems and how into overall processes. Chemical Engineering
they can best be controlled. Science, 35, 1175-1188.
Meier, W., W.R. Hunkeler and Ρ Stocker (1979).
Performance of the new regular tower packing
Complex Columns "Mellapak". 3rd International Symposium on
Pistillation. IChemE Symposium Series
A simple column is one with only two product No.56. Pp 3.3/1 - 3.3/18.
streams, distillate and residue. For a bi- Strigle, Jr, R.F. and K.E. Porter (1979). Metal
nary feed a simple column will in principle Intalox - a new distillation packing. 3rd.
achieve any desired separation of the two com- International Symposium on Pistillation.
ponents. This discussion of complex columns IChemE Symposium Series No.56. Pp 3.3/19 -
3.3/34
28 R. J. P. Brierley
Notes :
i) Based upon a design F factor of 2.5
. Light Products
ends
Turbo blower
Reactor_
Product Feed-
Condenser/reboiler
^ Distillate
Heavy
"ends —•-Residue
Ο
Feed _
A + Β + C
Feed
A + Β + C
A + Β
Feed
Feed ,
A + Β + C •Β A + Β + C
Β + C Β + C
Ο
Fig. 5. Prefractionator and two simple Fig. 6. Integrated prefractionator and
product columns sidestream product column
Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
Abstract. For the control of polymerization processes, fundamental models play a very important role. This is due to a
number of reasons: the lack of available on- line sensors, the complexity of the polymerization process, and the nonlinear
operating space of batch and semi-batch reactors. Most early research on polymerization reactor control centered around
simulation and open-loop optimal control policies using these models. Recently, significant progress in modelling, sensor
development, and nonlinear control methods has opened the way for closed- loop control of some fundamental polymer
quality variables.
This paper will highlight some of the most important past theoretical and practical developments, and will discuss some
future directions for research.
Mathematical models for polymerization reactors consist of one or Molecular Weight Development
more of the following set of balances in one form or another:
overall material balances for all the major components; molecular There are a number of different approaches that have been taken
balances for molecular weight development; population balances to develop expressions for the molecular weight development in
for particle size development. polymerizations (e.g. statistical methods, instantaneous property
balances, transform methods and the method of moments). From
the viewpoint of reactor control the most useful description is
Material Balances usually a set of differential equations describing the low order
moments (Qi = Σ γ ϊ Ρ ; i = 0,1,2) of the MWD. From these moment
γ
states the number and weight average molecular weights are
A set of differential equations accounting for the accumulation,
inflow, outflow, and disappearance by reaction of the monomers, easily calculated.
solvent, initiators and catalysts, chain transfer agents, and other
ingredients such as emulsifiers or stabilizers comprises the main For free radical polymerizations in which either termination or
part of any model. The overall balance equations are usually easy transfer reactions dominate the models appear to be reasonably
to write down in the case where spatial mass and heat transfer is well developed (e.g. Hamielec and MacGregor, 1983). The major
not a problem. The uncertainties usually lie in the description of uncertainities lie in obtaining reasonable e s t i m a t e s of the
the reactor rate t e r m s . F r e e r a d i c a l , bulk or s o l u t i o n termination rate parameters (including the gel effect parameters)
polymerizations at low conversions are among the easiest to and the rate constraints for the transfer reactions (to modifier, to
model. At higher conversions or lower solvent concentrations polymer, to internal double bonds, etc.) Obtaining good estimates
diffusion controlled macromolecular reactions (Trommsdorf or gel of these parameters is far from straightforward. Large amounts of
effect) usually become important, and bulk mass and heat transfer data on molecular weights are required, and often the type of data
in the vessel lead to spatial variations in concentration and required (GPC, NMR) is very difficult to obtain due to the poor
31
32 J. F. MacGregor
precision of the measurements or to the insolubility of the co- and ter-polymers, etc., are still in the development stage.
branched polymer, etc.. Polymer structure properties (e.g. tacticity, sequence length
distribution, etc.) require sophisticated NMR techniques. The
For Ziegler-Natta systems the understanding of the molecular analysis of particle structure or morpholgy in heterogeneous
weight development process is much less well understood. Again polymerization requires meticulous sample preparation and the
this involves a more detailed understanding of the nature of the use of electron microscopes. Even with the successful analysis of
active catalyst sites, and of the effect of impurities on them than such fundamental properties, we are still often left with the
currently exists. Diffusional effects in solid catalysed gas phase difficult task of understanding how they relate to the end-use
reactions may also play a role in molecular weight development performance of the product.
(Laurence and Chiovetta, 1983).
Therefore, on-line measurements are only feasible, at this time,
for certain simple fundamental properties, and for certain
Population Balances surrogate variables which relate to some fundamental and
end-use properties. Most of the sophisticated analyses are not
In heterogeneous polymerizations such as emulsion systems feasible for on-line application because of the lack of instrument
where the particle size distribution plays an important role in robustness to the demands of the plant environment, and because
both the final product quality, and the rate of reaction, population of the need for meticulous sample preparation.
balances accounting for the birth, death and growth of polymer
particles is an important part of the model. Min and Ray (1974) On-line conversion measurements using densitometers (both
and Penlidis et al., (1986) have summarized the population vibrating tube, and nuclear) have proven very successful in many
balance and age distribution approaches. Major uncertainties lie applications (Shork and Ray, 1981, Penlidis, 1986). On-line
in modelling the particle nucleation and coagulation phenomena, energy balances around the reactor to track instantaneous
particularly in the presence of non-ionic stabilizers. Usually these reaction rates, monomer conversion, and heat transfer coefficients
phenomena are so unpredictable and occur so rapidly that little (Harris and Rushing, 1982; Wu, 1985; MacGregor, 1986) have also
can be done to actively control them during a polymerization. The become widely used. On-line particle size analyses for emulsion
best that can be done is to try to avoid having to deal with them by polymerization based on turbidity and dynamic light scattering
using seeded emulsions, and an adequate amount of stabilizer. methods are now being investigated (Gossen et al., 1986).
However, the measurement of surrogate variables such as melt
index, melt viscosity or pressure drops, etc. are probably the most
OPEN-LOOP OPTIMAL POLICIES effective means of monitoring many industrial processes.
Given the lack of availability of on-line sensors, and the lack of Given the scarcity of on-line measurements there would appear to
well developed nonlinear feedback control methods, it is not be a great incentive to use state estimation methods to infer the
surprising that most early research on polymerization reactor values of other state variables in mathematical models of the
control centered around the simulation, and the development of process.
open-loop optimal control policies based on d e t e r m i n i s t i c
mathematical models. Batch, semi-batch and continuous Two other papers at this conference deal with Kalman Filtering
stirred-tank reactor policies which optimized some measure of methods, one to track the material and population balance states
performance, subject to certain constraints, were u s u a l l y in emulsion polymerization using densitometers, etc. (MacGregor
developed through the use of the Maximum Principle. Common et al., 1986) and the other to estimate the molecular weight
objectives were to minimize batch or start up time subject to distribution using an on-line GPC (Papadopoulou, 1986). The
producing polymer with a given number average molecular former paper also stresses the importance of modelling the effect
weight or polydispersity. In some simple cases, experimental of impurities, and of incorporating nonstationary stochastic states
verification was obtained. For the case of copolymer composition into the model of the process in order to obtain realistic state
control, a necessary condition for an optimal policy could be estimators that are capable of tracking an industrial process.
expressed directly from an understanding of copolymerization
kinetics, thereby e l i m i n a t i n g the need for the M a x i m u m Observability plays an important role in state estimation for
Principle. Final selection among various possible constant polymerization processes. In general, the molecular weight states
composition feed policies would then have to be based on other are unobservable from measurements on the material balance or
considerations such as minimizing branching, minimizing batch the particle population balance states of the model. Since on-line
time, or safety considerations. A review of the literature is measurements for the latter states are more readily available, this
presented in MacGregor et al. (1984). means that tracking the molecular weight development of a
polymerization process is often very difficult.
The use of these deterministic models to examine the existence of
multiple steady-states and periodic solutions in continuous
reactors through bifurcation theory (e.g.Choi and Ray, 1985) has FEEDBACK CONTROL
also been treated. These studies may be useful for pointing to
potential operating problems in reactors. However, the results are Continuous Processes
highly dependent upon the structure and parameters of the model.
The predicted bifurcations often occur well outside of the In high volume continuous polymerization processes, regulation
conditions under which the model has been developed, and are or disturbance rejection is a major priority, although start-up and
difficult to verify experimentally. grade change policies can also be very important. Open-loop
start-up or change-over policies can be developed by the
In general, simulation and optimization based on deterministic optimization procedures discussed earlier, and approaches to
polymerization reactor models are useful mainly for the improved feedback control during these periods would be similar to those
understanding they generate, and for comparing alternative discussed later for semi- batch reactors. Therefore in this section I
operating policies. Because of the uncertainties in these models, shall concentrate on the regulation of continuous processes about
particularly in the molecular weight part, and because the models given set-points.
ignore the effect of reactive impurities, etc., the optimal policy
results are rarely directly applicable. This is discussed again later Importance of Reactor Design: The importance of considering
under the section on feedback control. reactor stability and control at the d e s i g n stage of the
polymerization process cannot be overstated. Operating and
control policies are often severely restricted by heat transfer
ON-LINE MEASUREMENTS AND STATE limitations in the process, by the lack of provision for surrogate
ESTIMATION measurements throughout the process, by the inflexibility of the
purification and feed system, and by the poor dynamic behaviour
Even the off-line measurement of many polymer quality variables of the process. Although numerous industrial examples exist to
in the laboratory presents a formidable task. Molecular weight illustrate each of these situations, I will focus here on only one
measurement methods for highly branched homopolymers, and for
Control of Polymerization Reactors 33
examples which illustrates the importance of considering the important at the given sampling interval, and if there is a cost
dynamic behaviour of the process at the design stage. associated with taking a corrective action. In other cases, it is
more appropriate to identify discrete empirical transfer function
In the design of continuous reactors it is usual to consider only and disturbance models (ARMAX models) relating these output
steady state models, and then consider the dynamics and control measurements to the process inputs, and then use minimum
problems later. In the case of emulsion polymerization in CSTR variance of LQG-type stochastic controllers. Examples of this
trains this approach can lead to disastrous consequences. It has approach are treated in MacGregor and Tidwell (1980), Rushing
been found that the e m u l s i o n p o l y m e r i z a t i o n of m a n y (1986), Kelly et al. (1986).
commercially important monomers in CSTR's leads not to a
constant steady state operation, but rather to a sustained A final point, that is apparent to most people working with
oscillation or limit cycle behaviour in all the latex and polymer polymerization reactors, is that these processes are highly
properties. Using dynamic models, verified through extensive interactive, and usually must be treated as true multivariable
experimentation, Kiparassides et al. (1979, 1980) showed systems. A change in any one of the input feedrates (e.g. initiator,
conclusively that the reason for such behaviour lay in the monomer, etc) will usually affect many of the output quality
discontinous particle nucleation phenomena occurring in the early variables. It is for this reason that so much effort has been spent
reactors. in efforts to develop mechanistic models of polymerization
processes.
Pollock et al. (1982; 1983) used this fundamental understanding of
the oscillation phenomenon provided by the dynamic models to
show that the oscillations could not be eliminated through use of Semi-Batch Reactors
control theory. However, they did show that a reactor train
redesigned to include the splitting of the monomer and water feeds Much of the polymer industry is based around semi-batch reactor
between a very small first reactor and the subsequent large technology. In particular, most low volume and specialty
reactors would eliminate the oscillations. Furthermore, by polymers are made in these reactors They allow the flexibility of
regulating the split of monomer and water between these reactors, producing a wide variety of products within the same equipment.
and the initiator flow to the first reactor, both the monomer
conversion and latex particle size could easily be controlled in a Most of the optimal open-loop control policies discussed earlier
stable, non-oscillatory manner. Figure 1 shows a schematic of this were aimed at developing temperature, and initiator or monomer
split-feed reactor system and Figure 2 shows some conversion feedrate policies versus time which would produce polymers or
results taken from a pilot plant on the continuous emulsion copolymers with specified molecular weight, composition, or
polymerization of vinyl acetate (Penlidis, 1986). In part A a single morphological properties in a minimum batch time. These
CSTR was employed and the oscillatory behaviour is clearly policies are all based on deterministic models, and precisely
evident. At point Β the small reactor and the split feed system known initial conditions. Unfortunately, implementation of these
were switched in, and the oscillations immediately disappeared. policies as a preprogrammed trajectory over time poses serious
A change in the feed splits was then made to effect a conversion problems. First, the deterministic models are often poor,
change at point C. Hence, the major controller problem particularly with respect to MW development, and the policies are
(oscillations) was eliminated at the design stage, and a new, much often very sensitive to mismatch between the process and its
more flexible and stable system resulted. model. Secondly, there are unmodelled, stochastic elements to the
process, such as the concentration of impurities in the initial
Regulation of Cont: AUQUS Processes. The control of continuous charge and in the subsequent semi-batch feeds, the activity or
polymerization processes, where on-line measurements of state or active site distribution of Ziegler-Natta catalysts, and unexpected
surrogate variables is available, or where inferred values are temperature variations that occur during the batch cycle. Such
available from state estimators, parallels closely the control of uncertainties in the initial conditions and the subsequent
most other continuous industrial processes. A large body of linear operation of the reactor would lead to wide variability in the final
univariate and multivariate control theory is available to handle product, unless feedback from on-line measurements is used to
such problems. However, there are a number of things that are correct the trajectories. This area of nonlinear, multivariable
common to many polymerization processes and should be feedback control, aimed at compensating for the effect of
addressed in developing a control scheme. Some of these are unmodelled dynamic and stochastic effects on optimal trajectory
discussed below. control of semi- batch reactors, promises to be one of the most
interesting and potentially rewarding areas of control research
over the next several years.
The major source of disturbances in ionic and free radical
polymerization processes is due to the presence of varying
amounts of reactive impurities in the feeds to the reactor. The A common approach to trajectory control employed in other areas
feed monomers themselves have varying impurity levels, and such as aerospace is to linearize the model about the precomputed
consideration should always be given to the feasibility of trajectory, and apply control adjustments based on linear control
controlling some of this feedstock variability. More important, in theory to try to bring the reactor states back to their open-loop
processes with recycle of recovered monomer, is the buildup of optimal trajectories. In principle this approach is feasible. It
impurities in the recovery and recycle system. In these processes would require local linearizations, extended Kalman Filtering,
it is not uncommon to concentrate the control effort on the and finite horizon LQG controllers, for example. However, even
recovery system. If, in this way, one can achieve control over the the objective of bringing the reactor back to a trajectory that is
impurities entering the reactor, the need for advanced control based on a purely deterministic model or even based on past
around the reactor itself is greatly reduced. experience is questionable, because in the presence of stochastic
variations that have caused the reactor states to deviate from this
Another characteristic of polymerization reactor control is the trajectory, the precomputed trajectory will no longer be optimal.
need to deal with noisy and infrequent measurements. Some of On the other hand, to use general nonlinear programming
these measurements often come from off-line analyses performed methods to recompute optimal control trajectories on-line at each
in a quality control laboratory. Given the difficulty in getting any control interval would appear to be computationally impractical
measurements of polymer quality, it is important that one make given the highly nonlinear, multivariable nature of the models.
use of all the available data. Examples of such off-line Suboptimal approaches to feedback control which make use of the
measurements useful for process control are: Mooney viscosity nonlinear mechanistic models plus a few on-line measurements
and solids measurements in the production of butadiene rubbers; are currently an active area of research.
melt-index and density measurements in polyolefin production;
viscosity and fiber characteristics such as dye uptake, etc. in the Approaches to handling these nonlinear semi-batch reactor
manufacture of synthetic fibers. A common industrial approach to control problems through the use of traditional adaptive control
using such off-line data is to implement statistical quality control with linear models have been suggested (e.g. Kiparissides and
procedures such as Stewart, CUSUM or EWMA charts, and take Shaw, 1983; Houston and Shork, 1986). However, in this author's
corrective action only infrequently whenever a statistically opinion, such approaches could have serious problems. The
significant deviation from target is detected. Such procedures, parameters of these linear mdoels often have to adapt rapidly to
however, are appropriate only if process dynamic effects are not account for reaction nonlinearities. Such rapid parameter
33
34 J. F. MacGregor
variations in general linear models could lead to periods of MacGregor, J.F. and Ρ W Tidwell (1980). Modelling and Control
unrealistic model predictions, and possible i n s t a b i l i t i e s . of Continuous Industrial Polymerization Reactors, ACS Symp
Questions about persistency of excitation of the input signals also Series. 124. 251-268.
arise. Furthermore, these models make no use of existing process
knowledge about the direction of changes that one would expect, MacGregor, J.F., A. Penlidis and A.E. Hamielec (1983). Control of
for example, that temperature will increase with increased Polymerization Reactors, Proc. IFAC PRP-5 A u t o m a t i o n .
reaction. Therefore, if adaptive control is to be used it would seem Antwerp, Belgium, Pergamon Press. Also in Poly. Proc. Eng.. 2,
that using simple mechanistic nonlinear models, and adapting a 179-206(1984).
few meaningful parameters would hold more promise.
MacGregor, J.F., D.J. Kozub, A Penlidis and A.E. Hamielec
(1986). State Estimation for Polymerization Reactors. Proc. IFAC
SUMMARY Symp. DYCORD-86, Bournemouth, U.K.
In this paper a review of some major difficulties inherent in Min, K.W. and W.H. Ray (1974). On the Mathematical Modelling
modelling and controlling polymerization processes has been of Emulsion Polymerization Reactors. J. Macro. Sci. - Rev. Macro.
presented, some past work on reactor control has been discussed Chem..Cll. 177-255.
and some directions for future research have been suggested. This
overview is by no means intended to be comprehensive. Rather, it Papadopoulou, S. (1986). Continuous Estimation of Chain Length
represents the perspective of the author based on his experiences Distribution in a Polymerization Reactor: Kalman Filtering
in this area. Considering GPC Measurements, Proc. IFAC Symp. DYCORD-86,
Bournemouth, U.K.
Hoogendoorn, K. and R. Shaw (1980). Control of Polymerization Shork, F.J. and W.H. Ray (1981). On-line Monitoring of Emulsion
Processes, Proc. IFAC PRP-4 Automation. Ghent, Belgium, 623- Polymerization Reactor Dynamics, ACS Svmp. Series. 165. 505-
639, Pergamon Press. 514.
MONOMER 70% - 9 0 %
WATER
RECYCLE
INITIATOR
SMALL
SEEDING
REACTOR
Abstract. Little attention has been given to diagnosing and preventing tray damage in
distillation columns in the distillation control literature. However, tray damage can
impose a severe operating cost. When tray damage results in a complete shutdown or
limited production operation, especially of high throughput processes, the cost
penalty can be severe. Costs include both the direct expense to dismantle and repair
the columns and also the resulting loss in production. Based on the results of a
survey of 17 incidents of column tray damage, causes of tray damage are identified.
Along with discussing the cause and prevention of distillation column tray damage, the
problem of diagnosing the nature of column damage is discussed in some detail. This
is important since certain column behavior, such as foaming, can appear to be the same
behavior caused by tray damage and/or pluggage. Column instabilities due to flow
changes to and from the column and pressure disturbances can also appear to be caused
by tray damage. It is obviously very important to isolate the cause of the problem
since the solution can either be trivial or very costly. Also some recommendations
are given for column instruments and controls that can aid in stabilizing column oper-
ation and diagnosing the cause of the problems. "It can be very disappointing for a
control engineer who has spent considerable time and effort to devise and implement an
improved distillation column control strategy that might be saving $100M or more per
year, for that savings to be lost because during a start-up, upset, or shutdown, the
column trays were damaged."
37
38 W. R. Ellingsen
1 X
2 X
3 30 X
4 72
5 20 96 X
6 144 X
7 20 72 X
8 30 72 X and X
9 20 X
10 30 120 X
11 30 120 X
12 96 X and X
13 20 X
14 60 90 X
15 17 X
16 20 X
17 20 X
COLUMN TRAY DESIGN trays, doubling the vapor rate will increase the
pressure drop by a factor of four. This is
The industrial tray design standard for all sizes because the flow rate is approximately equal to a
of distillation columns is for a minimum tray constant times the square root of the pressure
differential pressure of 0.24 psi (6.6 in. of drop.
water). Because of the high competition among
the tray manufacturers, most of them design for For the valve trays, the resistance to flow
the 0.24 psi loading. (A minimum tray spacing of remains nearly constant until all valves are
18 in. is also an industrial standard. This is completely open. Doubling the vapor flow might
partly for ease of maintenance.) For small dia- only slightly increase the pressure drop. In
meter columns, the cost to increase the tray either case, if the flow is increased by the
strength is usually proportionally less; in fact, square root of two (for the case of fixed opening
the common materials used usually result in tray in the trays), the pressure drop will double from
strength greater than the minimum standard of say 3 to 6 in., which is still within the design
0.24 psi. maximum load. For valve trays this is even more
conservative and, as mentioned, the flow can be
The differential pressure standard is for ver- close to double. The vertical pressure drop will
tical stressing in both directions. When the remain close to 3 in., or 50% the maximum
column is operating, the vertical differential designed vertical load.
pressure caused by the vapor flow partly counter-
acts the downward force of the tray liquid Flooded Trays
loading.
At a given nominal gas rate providing an upward
Another general industry standard is for the gas force of 3 in. across the tray and, with the tray
pressure drop across a tray to be on the order of flooded to 9 in., the net downward force is
1 to 3 in. of water. Therefore, if the vapor 6 in., which is near the maximum design load.
rate is providing 3 in. of upward force gas drop Since spacing between the trays is 18 in., if a
across each tray and the liquid level on each tray were to flood to 18 in., then there would be
tray is 3 in. of water providing a downward a downward force of 15 in., which exceeds the
force, the net force on the tray would be zero. design load by more than double.
Now consider the following two cases where the
trays are dry or flooded. The importance of the above scenario is that no
matter what the cause of flooding or of a tempo-
Dry Trays rary draining of trays, especially in the case of
flooding, it is relatively easy to double the
If the vapor rate provides 3 in. of dry gas pres- designed force on a tray. Often when flooding
sure drop, then the upward force will be 3 in. of occurs and the column is generally upset, an
water, which is half the design force. For trays operator might greatly reduce the steam to the
with fixed openings such as sieve and bubble cap column and, therefore, reduce the boilup rate.
Diagnosing and Preventing Tray Damage 39
This would increase the downward hydraulic force Items 5 and 6 will cause instability but probably
by the amount of reduction in gas pressure drop exhibit adequate average separation.
due to the reduction in boilup. Thus, for a
column with 18 in. tray spacing, flooded 18 in., Poor Separation. If the separation becomes
and the vapor rate reduced, the downward hydrau- poorer during normal operating conditions and
lic force could be close to three times greater if the column is stable, then tray damage or
than the maximum design load for the tray. an error in one or more measurements could be
the cause. For example, if the steam flow-
What might be concluded from the above analysis meter erroneously reads high, then the boilup
is that preventing flooding of the trays should is lower than it appears. Also, if the reflux
prevent most of the tray damage. This, however, flowmeter erroneously reads high, then there
does not seem to be true since most of the dam- would be less reflux. (Note that an unknown
age, especially when related to having a high change in feed composition would also appear
liquid level in the bottom of the column, is for as a change in separation under normal column
the trays to rupture in the upward direction. operating conditions.) Poor separation can
However, not all of the column damage is being also be caused by fouling or plugging. Foam-
examined carefully and, if done so, it might ing may cause a poor separation because of
reveal that some of the damage is being caused by entrainment. However, usually instability is
downward rupturing of the trays. Only about 3 of also apparent. Instability, if minor cycling
the 17 incidents surveyed appeared to be asso- is occurring in the key variables, usually
ciated with downward rupturing of the trays. It will not result in poor separation. On the
seems prudent, however, in any case, to prevent other hand, large instability such as dumping
flooding of the trays. (Note that in the above of the column affects the separation.
analysis, the hydraulic pressure would be less in
proportion to the degree of gasification on a By maintaining an operating performance
tray. For example, if 50% of the volume were history, any suspicion of poor separation
bubbles, then the liquid would be 50% less and so could be verified by comparing current
the hydraulic loading would be 50% less.) operating parameters with a similiar or
identical set of earlier operating conditions.
Cause of Tray Damage When the Bottom of the
Column Is Flooded With Liquid A mathematical model previously matched to a
normal operating column could also be used in
In most cases of column damage, where the steam comparing with current operating conditions,
is added to the column with the bottom trays to determine if the separation has degener-
flooded with liquid, it cannot be reasoned that ated.
the damage was due to the high vapor rate even if
it were two-phase flow. Therefore, there prob- Instability. Minor instability, such as con-
ably are vertical hydraulic forces, such as the tinuous cycling of one or more variables, is
water hammer effect, that cause the damage. It most likely due to improper controller tuning.
appears that these damages would be especially Continuous cycling can also be caused by a
dominant during the very initial introduction of continuous cycle or a disturbance in a primary
steam to the column. Therefore, boiling up very variable such as the column feed rate, pres-
slowly to begin with, until vapor equilibrium is sure, and others. Severe cycling, especially
established in the column (in other words until when the period of the cycle is greater than
vapor begins condensing at the top of the the natural period of any of the key column
column), should reduce the chance of damage variables, can be due to tray damage, fouling
occurring. or plugging of the trays, or foaming.
Items 1 to 4 are manifested by poor separation 4. When separating two components, where the
and can cause instability. component being removed from the bottom of the
DCCR-D
40 W. R. Ellingsen
column has a lower surface tension than the liquid is up in the column (in other words, veri-
component removed from the top, foaming will fying that the calandria level measurement is
not occur unless (1) or (2) exist. This is" correct), but aid him in deciding how to elimi-
called the Marangoni effect. An example of nate the liquid. If the liquid level is above
this is the separation of Dimethylacetimide one or two trays, the operator might elect to
(DMAc) and water. This cannot foam because very slowly boil that liquid out. Whereas, if
water being removed from the top of the column the liquid level is up 25% of the column, then
has a higher surface tension than DMAc being the operator would elect to pump the liquid out
removed from the bottom and vice versa. before introducing steam to the column.
4. Hold at that rate until the liquid has to the maximum vapor flow design rate should be
reached a normal calandria level. During the limited directly on the control valve. In
second phase, the reflux should be set to the addition, the maximum flow set point on the steam
minimum acceptable rate until the liquid in the flow controller should be limited.
column reaches the normal calandria level.
It should be noted that tray damage, in most
Bottom Tray Liquid Seal incidents in the survey, occurred when the steam
flow to the column was within normal or reduced
Construct the bottom tray seal to be especially rate. This observation shows that limiting the
strong. This is a low-cost item, but if the steam flow rate to the column is not sufficient
bottom seal is broken, especially on trays with- protection in preventing tray damage in a column
out inlet weirs, vapor may bypass a large number with liquid up in the lower tray section.
of trays by going up the downcomers. A partial
bypass of vapor up a damaged bottom seal may Inlet Weir
cause periodic flooding and dumping of the above
tray which might propagate up a number of trays. An inlet weir should be provided on the bottom
25% of the trays to prevent vapor bypass up
Construction of Bottom Trays downcomers and possible flooding and dumping
propagation should one of the bottom trays be
For columns prone to tray damage, construct the damaged. Inlet weir are necessary even for valve
bottom 25% of trays to be stronger than the above trays since they do not completely seal. It is
trays. The design standard is approximately especially important for sieve trays. The bubble
6 in. of water differential pressure, which, if cap trays do not need inlet weirs since they
it were increased to 18 in., would be consider- retain liquid on the tray.
ably more capable of handling stresses produced
by high vapor velocity or the liquid flooding Fatigue Failure Due to Tray Vibration
load. Since the usual trace spacing is 18 in., a
completely flooded tray with no counter vapor Fatigue failure due to tray vibration usually
force would not rupture the tray in the downward occurs at low vapor rates (near the dumping rate)
direction. at pulses of 1 to 50 Hz. This does not seem to
be a significant problem. Educating the oper-
Measuring Liquid Level in the Column ating personnel as to the nature of the problem
should be adequate. If needed, instrumentation
A liquid level differential pressure measurement can be installed for analyzing frequencies of
should be provided for the bottom 25% of the vibration.
column. This would give the operator critical
information needed as to the degree of flooding Additional Measurements for Analyzing
in the column and help him in deciding the best Column Problems
method to use in reducing the liquid level. For
example, if the liquid were only above the bottom Install five or more sample taps and thermowells
tray, a reasonable approach would be to ramp the at various locations on the column. The loca-
steam to the column as the means for reducing the tions should be determined by the temperature or
liquid level. On the other hand, if the liquid composition profile. The sample taps should be
is up 25% in the column, the course of action capable of being used to both measure pressure
would be to turn off the steam to the column (if and to sample the liquid on the tray. The tem-
not already off) and to pump the liquid out of perature profile should be measured and at least
the column to the normal base level. be available on demand.
CONCLUSIONS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A careful diagnosis must be made to determine the O'Brien, N. G., and Curran, B. F., Du Pont
cause of column misbehavior since some causes, Company, Wilmington, Delaware, Engineering
such as control loop instability, foaming, and Department Report No. 15576, January 1978,
others, may exhibit the same phenomenon as caused "Mechanical Failures of Seive Trays - Survey
by tray damage. Installing some additional of Tray Vendor Experience".
column instrumentation will aid in diagnosing
problems but, in addition, will provide useful Morehead, P., "Pulsation Studies", Glitsch, Inc.,
operating information. November 1980, Report No. 1-80.
Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
ABSTRACT. A 19 sieve tray pilot plant distillation column has been designed and
erected at Instituttet for Kemiteknik, The Technical University of Denmark. The
plant utilizes a heat pump to recirculate the energy from the condenser to the
reboiler. The column is equipped with exchangeable trays, in order to be run in
either a conventional continuous or a periodic cycling mode.
In this paper the the column and heatpump set-up is described and results from
steady state and transient experiments are shown and discussed.
Distillation processes are responsible for appro- The control of continuous distillation is a sub-
ximately 50% of the capital investment in chemical ject which is extensively covered in the littéra-
plants and for about 3% of total energy consump- ture, see e.g. Waller (1982) and To H i v e r (1980).
tion in USA in the mid seventies. Especially the However, a number of aspects of the present pro-
latter number has been reduced somewhat through ject to our knowledge has been covered only to a
the energy conserving efforts of the last decade. limited extent in the open littérature. These
However the order of magnitude of these numbers aspects include:
are probably still representative for the western
world. Consequently there is a significant incen- ο Control of columns with energy feed-back from
tive to reduce the capital investment and to im- top to bottom.
prove the energy efficiency of this expensive
separation process. ο Control of columns which, in order to save
energy, operate close to minimum reflux.
One or both of these goals may be at least partly
achieved by two means : ο Control of azeotropic columns.
ο improving the process control , taking the Due to the multivariable nature of the distilla-
inherent multivariable character into account. tion process, and the couplings introduced by the
energy feedback, single loop controllers will not
ο improving the efficiency of the procès itself. be able to give satisfactory disturbance rejection
or setpoint tracking. Rather a multivariable
The primary purpose of the present project is to scheme must be employed and it is planned to
make theoretical as well as experimental research investigate multivariable adaptive control, the
into each of these areas and into their combined design of which only requires qualitative know-
effect. ledge of the process dynamics. Other types of
multivariable control schems will also be tested
The purpose of this paper is to provide a presen- once the necessary process model is available.
tation of the equipment along with experimental
results showing the behaviour of the column and
the energy recycle loop, and the interaction be- Periodic cycled operation.
tween these.
The conventional method of distillation is based
upon the continuous flow of vapour and liquid. In
+ present address: CELL Automation A/S plate columns this leads to a considerable degree
Djursvang 7Β of effective backmixing and thereby to reduced
DK-2620 Albertslund separation efficiency, Lewis (1936). One method
to overcome this problem, and for which the pre-
* to whom correspondence should be addressed. sent equipment is prepared, is to operate the
43
44 L. Hallager et al.
PROCESS EQUIPMENT
Fig. 2. Heat pump section
The three parts of the plant: column section, heat
pump section and tank park are shown schematically
in Fig. 1 to 3. The main dimensions are given in Compressor section.
tables 1 to 3.
The compressor section has been delivered and
installed by Brd. GRAM A/S. Two 8 cylinders piston
Column section. flow compressors are installed. Freon 114 is the
medium utilized in the heat pump. This equipment
The column section is constructed in stainless is designed to run between approximately 55 and
steel (18-8) to reduce corrosion problems when the 105 deg.C corresponding to app. 5.5 and 16 bar
system contains water. This section is insulated. abs. The tubings and vessels of the compressor
section have been insulated before start up, in
During binary operation feed is pumped from two of order to prevent the potential problem of liquid-
the tanks WA, MET, ISOP, BOT and TOP by means of faction in the compressors. The heat pump is
the pumps PF1 and PF2, through the preheater essentially a standard design for this type of
(HEFS) and into the column (COL). The reboiler equipment. The compressors (COMP) compress the R-
produces a vapour flow and some liquid may be 114 vapour. Most of the vapour is condensed in the
removed as bottom product through the water cooled reboiler (HERB). The extra condenser (HESCOND)
heat exchanger (HEBW) and into the bottom product condenses an amount corresponding to the heat
tank (BOT). The vapour is condensed at the top of introduced by the compressors. The liquid passes
the column in HECOND, pumped to the accumulator on to the receiver (REC) and through a heat ex-
(DEC) by PC. The pump PT then returns reflux to changer (HECI) to the freon evaporator (HECOND).
the column and top product through the water co- GLSEP acts as a demister, preventing liquid to
oler HETW to the top product tank (TOP). A small pass on to the compressors and also enabling HE-
fraction of the top vapour flows to the effluent COND to operate as a thermosiphon reboiler to
condenser (EFFCOND) where inerts are removed to
the venting system.
The plant is supplied with 45 on/off valves (mark- The computer control equipment is organised in a
ed BV) in order to select the tanks to be pumped hierarchial structure as illustrated in Fig. 4. A
from or into, and to set up the desired flowcir- commercially available distributed micro computer
cuit, such as feed tray location etc. Three fast system is used as the process interphase and for
butterfly valves (VI to V3) are mounted on the single loop control. A general purpose computer is
tubing to and from the reboiler and at the vapour used for implementation of high level controls,
outlet from the top of the column. These valves data storage and retrieval, and for handling ope-
may by used to turn off the vapour flow in the rator communications.
column for use in periodic cycling.
D P I
Single control loops. <
H H
The seventeen actuators are at present manipulated Fig. 4. Hierarchial contorl structure. The gene-
using eighteen control loops, two of which are ral purpose computer hoste a multivari-
cascaded, as shown in Table 4. A loop is used for able controller, which may gives set-
each of the feed flows and for the feed tempera- points to single-loop PID controllers in
ture. The bottoms product flow rate is controlled the process computers.
by the effective reboiler level and the distillate
flow rate to the receiver (DEC) by the condenser
level. The column venting is controlled in loop 17 Process interface system.
by a temperature in the effluent condenser. Three
loops are used to control the receiver (DEC) le- The process interface is taken care of by a STELLA
vel, reflux and product flow rates. The two first system, supplied by S.T.Lyngsoe. It is a micro
of these loops are cascaded at present for opera- computer based process control computer system
tion at relatively high reflux ratios. In the case consisting of a number of possibly distributed
of azeotropic distillation the light phase hold-up processors lablled alpha-units and a host labelled
in the decanter will be controlled by PR. The heat a beta -unit. Each of the alpha-units can handle
pump is controlled using three loops: The capacity 30-32 digital or analog in or outputs. The commu-
control ( loop no 16 ) , i.e. the number of cylin- nication is handled by the beta unit which uses an
ders in the compressors, the high pressure (loop ether net type controller. The beta-unit is equip-
8) which is controlled by the cooling water flow ped with a CRT for display of actual process
i.e. CV8, and the freon evaporation pressure which values in graphical or alphanumeric form. The
is controlled by loop 9. The remaining five loops process may be operated entirely from the beta
(no 2,3,6,7 and 13) are at present used in manual unit , but there is only a very limited storage
mode for setting the appropriate outputs to con- capability for data.
stant levels.
In order to handle the relatively large number of
In the control studies the output from a multi- temperature measurements and digital inputs and
variable controller may be used as setpoint for outputs a special multiplexing system was deve-
some of the loops as shown in Fig. 4. loped and programmed into two of the alpha-units.
In this way up to 64 thermocouples and 128 digital
inputs and an equal number of outputs can be
handled.
TABLE 4 Control loops and their status during a
start-up. All variables are scaled. Two types of single loop controllers are available
in the alpha-units. A three point controller was
the first type available to this project the out-
from this controller is integrated on analog
PROCESS
1 FM4 CV1 MAN. - 378 integrators, which has a limited integration time
2 INTG (CV2) -•> CV2 MAN. 0 - 820 to produce the desired output current. At a later
3 INTG (CV3) CV3 MAN.
4 FM 3 CV4 MAN. 0 stage a digital PID contro lier was developed. At
5 TS2 - CV5 AUTO 2390 f,700
795
present this type of controller is implemented on
6 INTG (CV6) CVé MAN. 0
7 INTG (CV7) - , CV7 MAN. 0 800 five of the loops.
8 P10 CV8 AUTO 290Θ - 125 125
9 P8 - C79 MAN. 0 64
10 FMI -.·•• PF1 MAN. 0 794
-if PF2 MAN. 0 121
11 FM2
212
Background computer system
12 DP4 -: PC MAN. 0
13 INTG (PE) -·>• PE MAN. 0 820
14 FM5B PT AUTO 2986 - 331 319
15 L2 PR MAN. 0 616 The background computer system consists of a PDP
16 P8 - , CAP MAN. Û 11/73 multitasking computer which handles communi-
17 TEC1 -VCV10 MAN. 1 000 0
18 LI PT AUTO - 331 0 cation with the stella system, with the operator
Distillation Plant with an Indirect Heat Pump 47
SECURITY CONSIDERATIONS
EXPERIMENTAL EXPERIENCE
Active security measures. The plant has been started on several occations by
means of the preheater (HEFS) and kept running at
The plant operation is monitored by a commercial total reflux only by means of the heat pump. How-
Programmable Logic Controller. The strategy behind ever many of the simple loops are highly nonline-
the active security system contains two lower ar, necessitating tuning upon change of operating
levels of requirements to be satisfied before point. Consequently they are obvious choices for
allowing entering energy or material into the some type of adaptive or automatically tuned con-
process : trollers .
48 L. Hallager et al.
12.0 r_ 0.6 J
0.4 J
3600.0 7200.0 10800.0 14400.0
Fig. 7e. Control signal to control valve CV8 vs.
seconds from start of logging.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
REFERENCES
48
Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
ABSTRACT
The multivariable Nyquist Array method offers a concept which enables the classical
single-input/single-output Nyquist control design methods to be extended to multi-
variable systems. This concept is based on partial decoupling using a compensator net-
work to achieve what is known as a "diagonal-dominant" structure, whereby single-loop
controllers can be designed independently for the different loops. The method described
here offers an approach by which a compensator network is designed automatically, a
function minimization algorithm being used to obtain dominance over a specified
frequency range by minimizing the ratio of moduli of the off-diagonal terms to the
diagonal terms of the appropriate open-loop transfer matrix. Once a suitable compensa-
tor has been found, the design of an overall control system is completed by designing
single-loop controllers for the different loops separately.
The applicability of the method is demonstrated, with the aid of a dynamic model of a
high-vacuum distillation unit, by the design of the viscosity control configuration
for that unit. Further, attention has been paid to incorporating such a control confi-
guration into modern, distributed-control systems such as Foxboro Spectrum.
49
50 A. Shakouri
methods (e.g. linear quadratic control: Kwakernaak The diagonal dominance can be graphically inter-
and Sivan, 1972; Ten Hacken and Van Wijk, 1984). preted via an Array of the Nyquist plots of the
diagonal elements Qi^(s) with, in each frequency
This paper is organized as follows. Firstly the DNA point, a circle with a radius equal to dcj(Q(s))
design method is summarized, after which the or drj(Q(s)) for column and row dominance respec-
decoupling algorithm for the compensator design is tively; these bands of circles are called the
presented. The process under consideration is des- Gershgorin bands. If the point (-1,0) does not lie
cribed briefly and the off-line simulation results within the Gershgorin band, diagonal dominance is
are presented. Finally, the performance improvement obtained. In case R(s) is (either row or column)
achieved is evaluated and a number of conclusions diagonal-dominant the Nyquist stability criterion
are drawn. can be used for evaluation of the stability of the
closed-loop system by application of the following
rule
DNA CONTROLLER DESIGN
The design of a controller by the DNA method is The order of the compensator is a compromise: on
split into two phases. Firstly, the interaction in the one hand the order should be kept limited for
the process model G(s) is reduced over a pre-speci- implementation reasons; a high compensation order,
fied frequency region with the use of a pre-compen- on the other hand, gives a better reduction of the
sator and/or post-compensator. In the next section interaction and allows better control performance.
this compensator design is discussed in more This emphasizes the need of a method for automatic
detail. The decoupled process P(s) can then be generation of compensator matrices, resulting in a
controlled by a diagonal controller C(s). The diagonal-dominant system for a given compensator
stability of the closed-loop transfer function structure. Thus, different compensator structures
1 _1 can be evaluated in a fast and efficient way,
H(s) = (I + Q(s))" Q(s) = R(s) Q(s) (2) enabling the above compromise to be found. The
algorithm proposed therefore utilizes a numerical
with R(s): η χ η return difference matrix optimization method to minimize the system inter-
action, defined as a function of the compensator
can be investigated via the following procedure. parameters.
Use is made of the property of diagonal dominance,
defined by The compensator design procedure in its most gene-
ral form is characterized by the following phases
. specification of frequency region {0, w
. structure determination and parameter
m }a x
|l+Q ..(s)| > E | Q - - ( s ) | -dc.(Q(e)) (3)
initialization
JJ
1 IJ J
I = . parameter optimization
. evaluation of the interaction reduction
for all columns and over the pre-specified . design and implementation considerations.
frequency range.
In the first step use is made of an automatic pro-
Equation (2) considers "column diagonal dominance"; cedure to detect the maximum frequency of interest
"row diagonal dominance" is defined in a similar (Leininger, 1979b). A good initial pre-compensator
way is the (pseudo) inverse of the open-loop process
model gains. The third step is performed automatic-
ally by making use of the numerical minimization
|l + Q..(s)| > Σ |Q ..(e)| = dr.(Q(s)) (4) method of a function of the interaction measure.
. each element must be stable In the optimization the parameters are determined
. the order of the denominator must be greater which minimize the following criterion
than or equal to the numerator order
. each element is minimum-phase u
K 1 JJ J
. the ability to specify only real poles and/or F (a
J J
) = max
Ω i=l
Σ
Κ : < J") I / :< J > I (8)
zeros in the elements must be present.
For reasons of simplicity, in this paper we only Given a compensator structure for a column, the
consider the case of the design of a pre-compensa- parameters which minimize the criterion are deter-
tor K(s) in order to reduce the column interaction mined. If the interaction reduction is not suffi-
of P(s). L(s) is taken as the unity matrix. Reduc- cient the order is increased until a satisfactory
tion of interaction in the columns, as opposed to reduction is found. The procedure is then repeated
reduction of interaction of the rows, is less for all columns, after which one can commence with
complex in that it limits the number of parameters the controller design. The success of any numerical
in the optimization procedure. The columns of the optimization method depends on the shape of the
compensator can be designed independently. Other contours of the performance function and the
cases, like post-compensator design, follow concep- convergence properties of the algorithm employed.
tually the same procedure. In an attempt to reduce the impact of the contour
irregularities the variable-matrix algorithm is
The following parametrization is used for each used (Powell, 1981). By using this method the
compensator element Kjj(s) to satisfy the above constraints on the parameters are translated into
requirements some analytical function to eliminate the need to
use constraint optimization.
a . . (1 + a . .s)
n 0 CO)
κ
) (1 +ea. . . s I +L aL -. . s
- _ o y
0 PROCESS DESCRIPTION
^ VACUU
M
""set
ΓΓ55]
lQ3l
Γθ4ΐ
temperatures) and qualities Q are given, with The model used for the control design is given by
and Q 2 representing the product qualities SO and the following equations:
LMO, respectively (see Fig. 2 ) . Together with the
column pressure, tray temperatures determine the /T (s)\
product qualities via vapour/liquid equilibria.
3 0
ÎT (s) =
/*24<·>\
G(s) ( ' 2 6 ( e ) )
\t
3 4
This structure proves to have a number of charac-
3( S7) / \F 7(s)/
2
teristics influencing both the modelling procedure /t o(S)\
and the final control scheme. The first part has
H(s) 3
\Q2<s>/
relatively fast dynamics and considerable inter-
action, in contrast with the second part, which is The exact model parameters are given in the
characterized by slow dynamics and/or time delays appendix.
and relatively little interaction.
—I I I I
0 0.25 0.5
FREQUENCY, rad/min
~-<ψ *j PI (D) [
Fig. 4. Column interaction of the
( D ) uncompensated process
H&Hpi f
With the use of the method presented a pre-
compensator is designed; the resulting interaction
indices F 2 and F 3 are given by Fig. 5 and the para-
meters in the appendix. A considerable reduction of
the interaction is obtained.
Fig. 3. Control strategy of control system 1
All process variables which have a direct influence 0 0.25 0.5 0.25 0.5
on the controlled (output) variables are defined FREQUENCY, rad/min FREQUENCY, rad/min
as: manipulatable variables if they can be manipu- (a) (b)
lated, and disturbances if they cannot be manipu-
lated. In this case the controlled variables are Fig. 5. Open-loop interactions for (a) loop 2
the properties of the products mentioned above. and (b) loop 3 with compensator
a in <F d
a ent n
The choice of the manipulatable variables, the
reflux flows F 2 4 , F 2 6 27 controlled The settings of the controllers were determined
variables, the viscosities of SO and LMO, are off-line using frequency analysis, by making use of
mainly based on available dynamic models phase and gain margin; the final tuning was done on
(Ten Hacken and Van Wijk, 1984). the basis of step responses. The control settings
were slightly conservative for reasons of robust-
A dynamic model between the refluxes and the ness. Figures 6-8 give the results of the off-line
viscosities showed long dead times which would tuning via the responses of the system to set point
result in poor controllability. For this reason changes in Qi, T 3 4 and Q 2 respectively.
intermediate variables (temperatures), through
which the model can be split into a relatively The different elements of the compensator and the
fast and slow part, have been opted for. From controllers are implemented in control blocks of a
measurements it has been found that the draw-off Foxboro Universal Control Module (UCM). Special
temperatures T 3 0 and T 3 7 correlate well with the attention has been paid to a correct initialization
qualities and Q 2 , and that the draw-off temper- procedure, needed for smooth switching of the
atures correlate well with the reflux flows. The control system from manual to automatic mode; the
temperature T 3 4 is added as a controlled variable outputs of the controllers must be determined from
to give a square system. the manual flow settings via the inverse of K ( 0 ) ,
the static gains of the pre-compensator.
Multivariable Control of Industrial Fractionators 53
S TE P T
O I(NR) E L . are necessary to enable the compensator to be
implemented in an integrated control system; these
S TE P T
O I(NR) E L . are defined.
G (s) = 0
Variable Variât ion: Variât ion: 2 3
manual automatic
G (s) = 0
control control 31
T
T30. 2°c 6.5
4.0
1.2
1.7
G (s)
3 2
37. ,*C
Ql, mm /s 0.2 0.1
Q 2 , nmvVs 0.6 0.2 χ 0.00001 χ Exp(-3 s )
G ()s -0.0015
33 s + 0.0823
CONCLUSIONS
0.00491 Exp(-20 s)
H (s) -
A method is presented for extending the use of u s + 0.113
function minimization algorithms to the design
of dynamic compensators, which allows a better H (s) = 0
decoupling of the separate parts of the process
1 2
and thus improved control performance. Constraints H (s) = 0
21
54 A. Shakouri
n K8
u / \ _ 0.022 Exp(-15 s)
22 ' s + 0.159
Slave controllers
controller T · C ( s ) = -250(1 + — )
37 QO
33 12 s
Master controllers
Keywords. Optimization, energy management, control system synthesis, load regulation, step
response, modelling.
COSTS OF
ELECTRICITY
QUASI-STATIC OPTIMIZATION
DCCR-E
55
56 A. R. van Heusden and G. H. Heusinkveld
ENERGY
COSTS
g—[vvw;
, PRODUCTION OF
LP-STEAM
BOTTOM
Fig. 3 Energy costs as a function of steam production, PRODUCT
COOLING WATER
STATIONARY OPERATION
TABLE 2 Parameters of the transfer function
For the lab-scale process two stationary opera-
<3 <3
ting prints have been chosen: One point with operating point 1 Κ
high and one with low energy consumption rate. (°C.min/ml)
Because product qualities are fixed and have to
be maintained within limits, the feedrate is temp, bottom/feed -0.614 2000 470
also different for both operating points. The rate
condition and concentration of both feedrate temp, feed/feed rate -0.412 160 40
and solvent are fixed. The solvent rate is temp, solvent/solvent -0.827 100 25
minimized thus minimizing the effort to sepa- rate
rate the solvent from the bottom product. The
two operating points are listed in Table 1. (°C/W)
(°C/W)
The operating points with product concentra-
tions and rates are reproducible. Now we like temp, bottom/power 0.0277 1300 60
to switch-over between the two points from time reboiler
to time. A few conditions have to be met: the temp, feed/power feed 0.247 130 108
time intervals between switching-over has to be preheater
much longer than the time interval in which temp, solvent/power 0.182 115 25
dynamic effects of the switch-over extinguish. solvent preheater
Secondly no variations in product quality are
allowed during switch-over. The first condition
allows a quasi static optimization and the
second has to be realised by using an adequate
control strategy.
DYNAMIC MODELLING
1000
Time(sec)
59
Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
UNIT CONFIGURATION OF THE NAANTALI REFINERY Valmet's Damatic systems, each of which is also
connected to the process control computer. The
A brief introduction of the Naantali refinery is process computer system was delivered by Nokia
needed before a detailed discussion about Oy from Finland and consists of Digital Equipment
optimization strategies can be presented. Corporation's VAX 11/750 computer using VMS 4.2
operating system, Nokia PMS process management
The refinery has two atmospheric crude units. The system software, instrumentation interface and
long residue from these are further fractionated M/M communication hardware and software.
in a vacuum unit.The vacuum short residue is
termally cracked in a visbreaker unit to obtain During the modernization all control functions
heavy fuel oil. The light and heavy vacuum gasoil of the refinery were reconstructed to support the
is the main feed for the catalytic cracker unit refinery profit maximization objective. This was
besides the heavy gasoil (HGO) from the crude done by the Neste Technology Group in close
units. The light and medium atmospheric gasoils co-operation with the operating personnel of the
(LGO and GO) along with the corresponding frac- Naantali Refinery. As a general rule it was
tions from the catalytic cracker are hydrotreated established that all basic controls, that are
to form the diesel and light gasoil pools. needed to run the process units without excessive
Kerosine is treated and used as jet fuel or used manual operations have to be implemented in the
for blending. The heavy naphtha is hydrotreated digital instrumentation systems. Because the
and reformed to obtain motor gasoline while the instrumentation systems are all redundant this
light naphtha is stabilized in debutanisers improves the security. On the other hand, control
and further treated in naphtha splitter, functions that require large amounts of
deisopentanizer and depentanizer columns. It may supporting calculations, optimization or special
be emphasized that the product cooling, pumparound control algoritms were realized in the computer.
and feed preheat systems of crude unit 1, crude To plan, implement and commission the the
unit 2 and the vacuum unit form a complex computer controls 18 manyears of work were
integrated heat exchanger network. required. In this paper no distinction is made
between controls in the instrumentation system
In the computer control system implemented at the and in the computer because of their functional
Naantali Refinery 14 fractionation units were similarity. Similar control projects, as the
involved. In this paper, however, the attention one discussed in this paper, have been analyzed
is focused mainly on the two crude units, the erlier by (Nasi, 1983; Rinne, 1982; Sourander,
vacuum unit and the light naphtha splitter system. 1984).
Control objectives
Instrumentation
The economic performance of a given petroleum
During the modernization period 1984 - 1985 the refinery is governed by interactions bewteen
Naantali refinery analog instrumentation was yield and product quality infractionation units,
completely replaced by digital instrumentation. by interaction between feed quality, process
The manufacturer is Valmet Oy from Finland. The conditions and product quality in conversion
digital instrumentation consists of four of units and by blending characteristics in sales
61
62 M. L. Sourander and S. Gros
product finishing. This means difficulties in of both crude columns and thus propagate dis-
the control mechanisms but also possibilities turbances in the overhead system and the
for additional benefits from interunit subsequent fractionation columns back to each
manipulations. crude column mid section.The lowest side draw
Hence also a refinery wide, closed loop optimi- product in any column, heavy gasoil or cutter
zation system, developed within Neste OY, was stock is maximized against a number of
installed in the Naantali computer, but is not constraints using special logic in the constraint
described in this paper. controller. This is because of the sensitive
contamination of the product by entrained residue
The control objectives for the refinery section when overflash approaches nil. Maximization is
which is described here are as follows: economically justified because of the substantial
value difference between sidedraw and residue.
1. Maximize recovery (or yield) of every
distillate product against its most Pumparound control
critical quality property
Since vac. overhead is returned to crude unit 1
2. Allocate energy optimally to emphasis pumparound as an additional feed, also
separation vs. energy interaction disturbances in each crude unit sidedraws and in
vacuum unit are propagated back to the crude unit
3. Operate within the equipment 1 midsection. Similar disturbances enter from
limitations and drive against the other units to crude unit nr 2. The above
constraint which represents the biggest underlines the importance of stabilization and
profit optimization of the pumparound section in the
column. The special features of pumparound loops
4. Maximize control responsiveness by make the conditions of stabilization difficult.
use of proper control structure, The stabilization of the pumparound duty, for
implicit decoupling and dynamic element example, does not stabilize the internal
conditions of the column. Therefore the
5. Retain control robustness to emphasis calculated internal flow rates at some trays
the predicted process condition above the pumparound return are controlled to
variations targets by manipulating a pumparound flow
controller setpoint and a bypass flow
simultaneously. The total pumparound duty is
CONTROL STRATEGY stabilized by adjusting the heat returned to
crude preheat when changes in other pumparound
Product quality control heat exchangers (light naphtha fractionators
reboiler) or elsewhere occur.
In fractionation of petroleum, different column
products represent distinctive cuts of the In order to assure operation inside feasible
feedstock which are measured by (standard range of the operating window, internal flow
laboratory testing) distillation curves. The rate min/max constraint control features are
split between two adjacent cuts is determined by added to internal flow controllers.The
the cutpoint between them. The cutpoints can be constraints are, besides the physical equipment
calculated by using column direct measurements limits, heat exchanger maximum duties, valve
and they are used for every petroleum fraction positions, temperature limits etc, also the
as a primary quality property to control the column flooding and downcomer back-up limits.
quality of the lighter product heavy end.
boiling point distillation curve and the is the absorbed heat in crude heater fired with
corresponding product TBP-curves. If the fuel gas or oil. The feed flashes and generates
separation was complete the product distillation internal vapor flow, the volume of which expands
curves should coincide with the crude oil curve while meeting internal reflux and becoming
for the distillation product in question. A low lighter at every tray. The vapor rate can
separation gives distillation "tails" containing decrease only by removing heat from the column
high boiling point fraction (which for the product at the pumparounds. The column geometry requires
for instance LGO will result in a low cloud some heat to be removed and also the overhead
point). A higher separation gives a smaller condensers are sized to match this.
"tail"(and a better cloud point) which in turn
enables a better yield on account of the product
yield below. Optimization of the pumparound duty
SOLVENTS
NAPHTA
LT SPLITTER
1 11
SYSTEM GASOLINE CATALYTIC MOTOR
HDS REFORMING GASOLINE
HY. N A P H T A
JET FUEL
KERO
GASOIL DIESEL
LGO
HDS DOMESTIC
GO FUEL OIL
α LGO GO
HGO
3
OC VAPOR CAT PROPANE
RECOV. POLY.
CATALYTIC BUTANE
CRACKER
LONG
RE S I 0 SULFUR FUEL G A S
LVGO REC.
SULFUR
HVGO
VIS -
SHORT RESID HEAVY
BREAKER
FUEL
OIL
ASPHALT
2. Neste Oy Naantali refinery atmospheric crude unit nr 1 and vacuum unit control scheme
Fig. 3. Illustration of separation efficiencies in a crude distillation system.
GO P U M P A R ODU N
Ο». Ο
TO
CRUE D 1
H E A TRE
TO
CRUE D 2
H E A T RE
GO
P U M P A R O DU N
Fig. 4. The integrated heat exhanger network of Crude Unit 1, Crude Unit 2 and vacuum
feed preheat trains.
Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
Abstract. A dynamic model of a continuous gas phase reactor has been developed. The
purpose of this model has been to improve the understanding of a highly complex exo-
thermic multi-stage reaction system with the objectives of increasing both plant
throughput and reaction selectivity. The model has been used to examine the dynamic
relationships between the main variables; feed rates, operating temperatures and heat
inputs.
The simulation studies described in this paper are a significant advance in explaining
the behaviour and control of the reactor. Methods of improving this control and of
increasing plant output are indicated.
INTRODUCTION
The plant being studied is a continuous gas phase Reaction 1 requires a catalyst and is carried out
reactor system which includes a fluidised bed in a fluidised catalyst bed. Reactions 2 & 3 take
followed by reactors in series. The plant was place both in the fluidised bed catalyst disengage-
designed, built and commissioned in a very short ment space and in a downstream secondary reactor.
timescale with only limited data available from Figure 1 illustrates the overall reactor system.
pilot plant trials. During the post-commissioning The use of a secondary tubular reactor is to in-
period difficulties were experienced in maintaining crease the yield of product Y. For sequential
steady state operation and realising design produc- reactions it is known that yield is encouraged by
tion rates. The optimisation of the complex system a plug flow system. Figure 2 indicates the in-
proved difficult due to the large number of plant crease in yield compared to that for a single stage
variables which could be adjusted. A dynamic model system.
was built to study the interactions of the process,
plant and control systems. The primary objective The main control sytems for the reactor include
was to improve the product make by improving the
understanding of the system and developing operating a independent flow control for the feeds A, Β and
strategies. This paper outlines the development of C, and diluent Nitrogen.
the dynamic model and its subsequent use to assist
plant operation and examine alternative control b control of the fluidised bed temperature using
systems. circulating heat transfer oil.
THE PLANT AND PROCESS c control of heat input, to the transfer pipe and
secondary reactor walls, using electrical
For commercial reasons, the specific details of the tracing.
process described in this paper cannot be given.
However the process involves sequential gas phase Control of reaction 1 in the fluidised bed had
reactions; the dominant reactions are been good, however, control of reaction 2 and 3 in
the reactor headspace and secondary reactor had
1A + B + C = X + P been poor. The reaction is exothermic with the
2X + B = Y + P heat being removed by temperature increase of the
3Y + B = Z + P gases, which include diluent nitrogen, and heat
losses to ambient. This heat balance which
where X is a reaction intermediate essentially governs the temperature and extent
Y is the desired product of reaction is sensitive to changes in reactor
Ζ is an over-reacted by-product feed rates, bed temperature and trace heating
Ρ is an inert by-product inputs. With relatively small reaction exotherms
and significant heat capacities in the equipment
Other reactions occur with both further intermediates walls, there are several long lags in the system
and by-products being formed. Components X,Y and Ζ and steady state control is difficult to achieve.
account for some 75% of the total products. The To improve the control and to allow operation at
reactions have also been simplified by ignoring under higher rates, a better understanding for the
reaction for 1, ie all A is reacted with X, and by system response was required. To achieve this
considering compounds with similar extents of re- understanding for a complex interactive system,
action together. This assumption is defended on the it was decided to develop a dynamic model of the
grounds that the purpose of the model was to predict reactions occurring downstream of the fluidised
the dynamic variation in Y made rather than to bed.
predict the complete product spectrum.
67
68 D. B. Aldren and P. J. Bujac
As with all models, there is a compromise between too 6. GVALV: models a gas valve with selectable
simple a system description and too much complexity characteristics. This was used for the addi-
which leads to excessive computation time and over- tional Nitrogen flow control to the fluidised
specification of parameters. To achieve a time and bed. The valve sizing gives a maximum
cost effective model, certain assumptions have to Nitrogen flowrate of 100 mass units/hour
be made. In this model the following assumptions
were made Additional features included in the model are:
a A simple non-dynamic and empirical model was a Continuous calculation of the component distri-
chosen to describe the fluidised bed. This model bution from the fluidised bed allowing the bed
was based on previous laboratory and kinetic studies and feed flowrates to be changed during
and describes the distribution of major reaction simulations.
components leaving, the fluidised bed. The model
related the concentration of 'X' to the primary b The inital section of the model calculates,
parameters, bed temperature, residence time, and the Arrenhius constants, the initial concentra-
'Β/Α' feed ratio. For a given 'X' concentration, tions for each cell, the average specific heat
the distribution of Ύ ' and 'Ζ' were calculated. of the gas, and converts flowrates from mass
to molar.
b Reactions 2 and 3 are described as first order
Arrhenius type expressions The main inputs to the model include
d(Y) = - djX) = A2 exp (-E/RT) (X) (B) Flowrates for A, B, C and Nitrogen
dt dt Bed temperature
Wall set point temperatures
d(Z) = - d(Y) = A exp (-E/RT) (Y) (B)
dt dt
3
Typical outputs include for each cell
where (Β), (Χ), (Y) and (Z) are molar concentrations Product distributions
Ε is activation energy, assumed the same for
both reactions Gas temperatures
Τ is absolute temperature
R is the universal gas constant Wall temperatures
The base case operating point used in the majority a 'Β' flowrate of 3 3 0 units/hour the transter
of the simulation runs is described by the following pipe wall temperature set point was increased
from 3 5 0 to 3 9 0 degC. Fig 9 shows the response
Flows to the fluidised bed A 1 0 0 Mass units/hour of the gas temperatures in the transfer pipe and
Β 3 5 0 Mass units/hour secondary reactor increasing by 2 0 degC in 0.4 hrs
C 1 0 0 Mass units/hour Fig 1 0 shows the effect on the product concentra-
N2 1 5 0 Mass units/hour tions in the transfer pipe and exit the secondary
reactor. The transfer pipe wall temperature
Fluidised bed temperature 3 5 0 degC takes approximately 0.3 hours to reach the new
setpoint. The wall temperatures must be optimised
Transfer pipe wall temp set point 3 5 0 degC as part of the overall plant operating strategy.
Secondary reactor wall temp set point 3 5 0 degC Alternative Control Systems
This base case corresponds to a final reactor exit Sensitivity trials using the model indicated that
gas composition of the headspace gas temperature could be controlled
by several methods, with improvements in the over-
X 3% molar all control of reaction. The most practical
Y 50% molàr and simple method is to control the flow of
Ζ 20% molar diluent Nitrogen to the bed. The advantages of
Others 27% molar controlling the nitrogen are; it does not affect
the stochiometry of the reactions, it is readily
Extensive sensitivity trials have been undertaken available a reasonable cost and presents no post-
to examine both over and under reaction. The processing problems. The model has been used to
simulations included in this paper give an indica- examine the effects of controlling the upper head-
tion of the plant responses and the main interactions space gas temperature by adjusting the nitrogen
flowrate between 0 - 1 0 0 units/hour above a base
Gas Temperature Control flowrate of 1 2 5 units/hour, required to fluidise
the bed. The controller set-point has been
The headspace gas temperature has no direct closed initiated to approximately .the value found in
loop control system on the existing plant. The previous results for the same 'Β' flowrates. A
temperature is manipulated by adjusting the flow simulation run with 'Β' increased from 3 3 0 - 3 5 0
controller setpoints. units/hour has been undertaken. The controller
tuning parameters used were
The transfer pipe and secondary reactor control
systems were originally designed to control the Proportional gain = 1 0 . 0
gas temperatures by manipulating the heat input to Integral action = 4 0 seconds
the respective walls by means of electrical heat Derivative action = 4 0 0 seconds
tracing. The model was used to confirm that the
control systems were impractical due to the large Fig 1 2 shows the exit product concentration and
difference between the gas residence times and the the main waste by-product concentration increasing
thermal time constants of the walls eg for the by 0.5 and 1% respectively. The simple closed
transfer pipe the gas residence time is typically loop control system is difficult to tune to give
4 seconds whereas the thermal time constant of the improved response. Some of the factors limiting
wall is approximately 1 2 0 0 seconds. The model was the performance of the control system are; the
used to investigate the effect of reconfiguring measurement time constant of 1 5 sees, the valve
the control sytems to maintain constant wall stroke time of 1 0 sees, the lag of the nitrogen
temperatures. Installation on the plant has pre- flow through the fluidised bed (not modelled) and
vented damage to the heat tracing from high the limited heat capacity of the nitrogen entering
temperatures and stabilised the plant by eliminating the headspace at the bed temperature of 3 5 0 degC.
oscillations in the wall temperatures. This The lags are significant when compared to the gas
modification is considered part of the existing residence time of the headspace which is typically
control sytems throughout the rest of the study. 4 0 sees. The simulation demonstrates the head-
space temperature can be controlled to improve
Response to 'Β' flowrate changes product yield. Further developments such as
introducing nitrogen at a reduced temperature
As both these simulation runs and plant experience directly to the headspace have been simulated
indicate that the system is particularly sensitive with improved control. However, no plant data on
to changes in the 'Β' flow, this response will be the effects of the mixing in the headspace are
examined in some detail. The 'Β' flowrate was available. The simple control system would
reduced from 3 5 0 to 3 3 0 units/hour at 0.5 hours require minimum plant modifications, whereas the
simulation time. Figs 4 and 5 shows the rapid more complex schemes would require significant
reduction in the gas temperatures throughout the and costly changes.
plant eg headspace temperatures drop by 3 0 deg C
in a few minutes. The gas temperature continues CONCLUSIONS
to fall at a reduced rate after 8 hours. Fig 6
shows the headspace wall temperature responses The model explains the observations from the
confirming the long time constants. Fig 7 and 8 plant that the reactor system is difficult to
show the gas component concentrations exit the control ie it is not easy to maintain optimum
secondary reactor. The initial rise in product product concentrations in the off gas. The
concentration is followed by the slow reduction as simulation runs indicate the highly sensitive
the simulation continues. The results demonstrate and non-linear response of the *B' flow, the
the difficulties experienced by plant operators rapid response of the reacting gas system and
in attempting to maximise product make at accept- the long lags of the reactor walls. With
able by-product concentrations. variations in feed rates, general "noise", and
limited off gas analyses (only every few hours)
Responses to reactor wall temperature changes it is not surprising that good steady control is
difficult to achieve.
The transfer pipe has been chosen to demonstrate
the effect of changing the wall temperature, Plant experience and the model results have
achieved by changing the controller setpoint. With already shown that the original strategy
70 D. B. Aldren and P. J. Bujac
of controlling the secondary gas temperatures by Further work is continuing to improve product
adjusting the electrical heat input into the yield with several developments including those
transfer pipe could be improved. This work has outlined in this paper being investigated in
shown that maintaining a constant environment in the more detail.
transfer pipe and secondary reactor, by controlling
wall temperatures, is more appropriate and that REFERENCES
change has already been made. This study has also
shown that the control of the reactor could be 1 ACSL User Guide/Reference Manual, MGA
improved by headspace temperature closed loop control Associates USA
Further simulation runs and plant validation work
are underway to confirm these advantages. 2 Dynamic Model Libraries Vol 1, PANMAC &
CEGMAC, User Guide/Reference Manual,
The dynamic modelling has formed part of a wider Control Applications, ICI Engineering Dept.
de-bottlenecking and development study. The results
of the overall study have been that plant perfor-
mance has improved from operating at 70% of design
capacity to operating for sustained periods at 200%
design.
EXTENT OF REACTION
CELL ( i )
ADDITIONAL FEEDS
FROM CELL ( i - l )
TO CELL(i+1)
X .
REAC
T+1
REACTION
"i-l
KINETICS i+1
ADDITIONAL
GAS FLOW
TOTAL
GAS FLOW GAS FLOW
FROM CELL(i-l)
QC .
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INSULATION
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Time (hours)
TBffc.
16
Ν ·
>-
C
<H 4.
3.? 4.<?
me ( h o u r s 0.20 0.30
Time ( h o u r s )
Fig. 8. Exit concentration λ . Fig. 9. The transfer pipe & secondary reactor
gas temperatures.
J350. <u
0.20 0.3O
0.20 0.30
Time ( h o u r s )
Time ( h o u r s )
S Y 3
^ 54.0r
3ϋ 5 3 . 5 -
m
53.0- Χ
>- 52.5 -
-6.
c
ο
c 52.0-
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£ 5^.5-
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Abstract. A nonlinear first order model is used to represent the dynamic behaviour of
a pyrolysis furnace. In particular it is capable of being readily identified using
either control or load change variables. The proposed nonlinear model enables the
furnace dynamics to be fitted very satisfactorily. This is because the dynamic
behaviour of hydrocarbon pyrolysis furnaces changes with time as coke is deposited on
the internal tube surfaces, so that it is necessary to continuously adjust the model
parameters to the current state, good performance can be expected from adaptive
control. To do this, it is necessary to develop control algorithm based on the
proposed nonlinear model. In particular, it is possible to adapt the classical PID
controller by continuously updating the controller settings as new model parameters
become available. Investigations covering typical operating conditions encountered in
an industrial furnace show that significant product and energy savings are possible
using the proposed adaptive strategies.
Keywords. Adaptive control; thermal cracking; PID controller; nonlinear model; penalty
function.
While it is possible to build a model of the The problem can now be restated in the following
process which is capable of predicting the way:
behaviour reasonably accurately, the detail which
has to be included make it unsuitable for direct Given a plant represented by the discretized
use in computer control. Some simplication is approximate equation
necessary and a trade-off has to be made in terms
of the improved performance due to better control
against the comprehensiveness of the model. It is χ . = f(x , a , u )
generally not feasible to apply optimal control -k+1 ~k -k k
laws derived from state variable methods based on
the large non-linear models used in simulation where χ is the state vector and u the
studies. control and the process parameters^are represented
by at
However, an approach based on a suboptimal policy time kT (T is the sampling time). The measurements
can give good control and can usually be are given by
implemented very easily. For example, a linear
second order model with transport delay can be used
to approximate the effect of the fuel flow rate on
the exit temperature. Such models have been found
to approximate high order processes reasonably well
and lead to simple algorithms for the control law, where ν is the measurement noise.
while the transport lag offers an extra degree of
freedom without increasing the order of the system. The values of a_ for the model are chosen so as to
To use it effectively, however, requires the model minimize a function of the form:
parameters to be adaptively updated on-line.
J = ) +
This technique has been widely used and the I ^ Σ P H
k k
evidence seems to point to direct search methods k=o
k
based on least squares estimates as being the most
73
74 C. McGreavy and D. Odloak
u(k+l) = u(k) - K
While the advantage of state variable control c {[T (k) - Τ (k-1)] -
methods is attractive in offering the prospect of
achieving high performance from industrial
- &
processes, it is often difficult to gain e <e
fc> -
t w * - » ] * -
acceptability with operating staff. Moreover, the
full benefit is only realizable when the system is Κ ΔΤ
) T [ sT] ep (
t k( k )
well defined. On the other hand, the classical
approach using three term PID control tends to be - - f r " "
more easily assimulated by operators, but the κ τ () k 2( )Tk _+τ2 1
performance tends to be non-optimal because tuning
" ~ i r & " ο<- )] (6)
is essentially based on approximate dynamic models P P ρ
derived empirically from limited testing.
- V ° (2)
An Adaptive Control Algorithm
3 3 3
1
4a ΣΤ° ΔΤ + 4b ΣΤ°3 ΔΤ_ + [
g g Ρ-
Η H ( T ° ) ] δα
Α —
dt
= 4GS(2) Σ Τ ° ΔΤ + 4ASS(L,2) Τ ° ΣΤ^+
g g Τ Τ
3
ο 3Η
U i
ΔΤ + 2 * ΔΤ = 0 + 4σ3τ° Δ Τ Κ
3T g SS(2,1) 3Τ ρ
G Ρ
and Δ Τ _ = 3 Δ Τ
Τ 2 ρ 0
03 Η 9 3 3 3
4Bj A T ° a
4a,
ι
ΣΤ
g
- «°
3Τ
ΔΤ
g
+
2+ 4 4ASS(l,2) T ° a
2+ 4Σ3Τ£ 0 ] Δ Τ
2 Ρ
g
9 Q o 3 3
+ [4GS(2) A T d
, SG(2) p
δΤ [H - H(T°)] δη
g+ 4A3T° d ]
9 δη
SS(2,1) 3 T
P +
F
Then
So
δΤ = C. δΤ + d, διι
g 1 Ρ 1
where _PF _
H ( T dt
a
3 δ Τ ρ+ d 3δη - ^
t d
["F -g>L
/ ΓΤ,ο ο 3H
4a, a T - u
g
From Eq. ( 3 ) The variational form of Eq. (4) is:
3 3
4 [S(L,L) - A ^ J ΣΤ° ΔΤ
Τ+ 4SS(2,1) Τ°
Σ ΔΤ
Κ+ J
ôu(k+l) = ou(k) - {rT°(k) - T°(k-l)1
Ρ Ρ
3Q
+ 4GS(1) ΣΤ°3 ΔΤ - ΔΤ = 0
g g °Τ ρ
3
Υ ν Υ ν
4SS(2,1) Σ Τ ° Δ Τ „ + 4GS(1) ΣΤ° ΓΟ,ΔΤ + D,6u] +
K K g ' Ρ ι
3 - Κ
c
ΔΤ (K) + Κ
ρ c
ΔΤ
ρ
(K-1)
'
4 [SS(1,1) - Α ^ ] Σ Τ
Γ °°
Τ ( ) kT k T
)
3 Q
- &p - set< ^ i " T?6T (k) -
P ΔΤ = 0
p
3Τ~ Ρ
Ρ
- [Τ°0Ο - 2T°(K-L) + T°(K-2)] Δ Τ
3
-1
ΘΤ
Η ,ο3
4 G S ( 1 ) AT° Cj+ 4(SS(1,1)
- τ" δτ (k) + 2RR δτ (k-i) - τ" δτ (k
4SS(2,L)AT' d ρ
d p d p
3
Α Ε ) ΣΤ° - ^ ΔΤ
ΤΤ
3
+ 4GS(1) Σ Τ ° d, δη
g ι
ΔΤ
Κ - C
0 Δ Τρ
2
+ d
06u
2
76 C. McGreavy and D. Odloak
T ()k
" C set " W ^ ^ c "
T T( k ) 6X(k+l) = AôX(k) + BoX(k-l) + CÔX(k-2) + ϋδρ
U(0)
- ÔK
cr- iν26Ίί - r ôT
3 d- SjôT (k)
p
- s ôT (k-l) - s 6T (k-2) Eq. (7) can be solved to give
2 p 3 p
S 1
In Eq. (5) approximated by 6X(k) = W(k) δ Ρ
+ β δΤ (k-1) + β δΤ (k-2)}
20 ρ 30 ρ
+ s ÔT (k-2)]} ο ρ
3 p
The variation set of equations can then be put in
the form:
Since X(k) = X (k) + X(k), X (k) is the trajectory
obtained with the values Κ , Τ . and Τ , for the
c i d
δΤ (k+1) A(l,l) A(l,2) ÔT (k) controller parameters.
Ρ p
Imposing the condition for a minimum:
ou(k+1) A(2,l) A(2,2) 6u(k)
Ν
X Ν
T
I W (k)Q [X°(k) - X (k)] = - I W (k)Q W(k)ôp
B(l,l) 0 "δΤ (k-1) " " C(l,1) 0" q e t k=l
Ρ
+
k=l
δΤ,
An Adaptive Control Algorithm 77
N
δ { Ziegler-Nichols algorithm there is no change in the
τ _ ι Ν controller settings because the stability limit for
= " l W (k)QW(k)} { I w'Ck^Q
ρ k=l k=l
the closed loop is the same for both load
disturbances and set point changes, so the same
values are used. The best settings would not be
expected to be the same as for load changes because
the system is non-linear. In fact for a 2 C
increase in the set point, the best controller
parameters are Κ = 0.1324 and T. = 0.01469 (with
T kept at 0.12). For this case, the advantage of
d
using the proposed setting algorithm over the
An iterative procedure can thus be developed by traditional method is even greater. The
assuming the values K , 1\ and and using the
£
above relations to find an up-dated set based on
performance index for the proposed method is 12%
lower than the with Ziegler-Nichols method. This
the variations δΚ δΤ. and δΤ„.
means that during the settling time, if the
c i d r
weighting matrix is:
For the case where α = 59, 3 = 15.81, methods based 1 0
on the reaction curve do not give acceptable 0 0.05
settings because the system response cannot be
approximated adequately by a first order plus time 12% less product and energy have been wasted. This
delay transfer function. The settings given by is a considerable saving in the operation of
these methods are too conservative and cannot be pyrolysis furnace. Since large amounts of energy
taken as a basis for comparisons. Consequently, it and products are involved, any improvement in the
is necessary to use the concept of maximum control policy results in very significant savings
proportional gain and ultimate period for the per year.
closed loop response, and employ the Ziegler and
Nicholas method to set the PID controller which Because the relative weight of product quality and
results in Κ = 0.15, T. = 0.05 and Τ, = 0.12 being energy spent in the control can change depending on
i he preferred
i d
controller values.
economic factors, it is useful to verify the effect
of the ratio r - Q(2,2)/Q(l,1) on the performance
The loop response obtained with these controller of the optimum PID controller. Figure 5 shows the
settings can be compared with the controller that closed loop response for r = 0.01, 0.1 and 0.5.
minimizes the quadratic performance index using the The loop response becomes more damped as the
proposed algorithm. In searching the 3 parameter relative importance of energy spent on control is
space, the range of convergence of the proposed decreased, as would be expected.
method proves to be very narrow and the algorithm
diverges even using the Ziegler and Nichols
settings as the initial values of the parameters. CONCLUSIONS
The method proposed here is much more stable and
has a broader range of convergence while only It has been shown that a control policy can be
requiring a search in two directions with one advantageously defined using an adaptive model of
parameter kept constant. Figure 2 shows the the pyrolysis furnace. When used in conjuction
response of the loop based on Ziegler and Nichols with a PID controller tuning can be by means of the
settings as well as that using the approach conventional empirical methods or by a direct
described above, with T^ being taken as constant. search of the controller parameters which seek to
There is an improvement in the performance index minimize a quadratic performance which takes
from 15.75 to 15.51 showing that, for this account of product quality and energy consumption
particular case, the empirical adjustment procedure index. An algorithm has been proposed which has
approaches an optimal strategy. For this case, fast convergence characteristics, and is very
with a weighting matrix effective in updating the proportional gain and
integral action time of the controller. It has a
1 0 large circle of convergence, which makes it
Q = suitable for on-line updating when the model
0 0.05 parameters change significantly with time. In all
cases the performance index which is to be
12 iteractions are necessary for convergence. minimized is less than can be achieved by taking
Figure 3 shows the behaviour of the parameters and the stability limit values prescribed by the
performance index at each iteration. Although the Ziegler-Nichols method, and has resulted in savings
number of iterations necessary for convergence is of up to 12% in the cost index.
quite large, the computational effort is not great
and the solution can be obtained rapidly and
certainly real time, so there is no difficulty NOMENCLATURE
using the algorithm for on-line control.
aj Gas absorption coeffienct
To gain some impression of the circle of a2 Proportionality constant
convergence for this algorithm, instead of assuming A-j, Tube wall area per unit length of
the Zielger-Nichols settings (K = 0.15, T. = 0.05, the convection
T, = 0.12), significantly different initial values b j Tube absorption coefficient 2
(K = 0.05, T. = 0.02, T - 0.12) are used. Figures GS Gas-surface direct exchange area (m )
c d
3 and 4 show \ h e trajectory for the parameters and Ρ Weighting factor for loss of product in
the performance index in both cases. It can be performance index
seen that all converge to the same values as in the q Weighting factor for cost of control in
previous case. This is representative of the performance index
behaviour and more extensive tests confirm that the Qp Heat flux (kw/m )
algorithm has excellent convergence properties. Z
SS(i,j) Surface i - surface j direct exchange area
The best controller parameters for load changes and (m )
Q prove to be K = 0.135 and T = 0.0767. P^ derivative time (s)
£ i
Τρ Furnace temperature (K)
To have acceptable performance, it is essential to Tg Flue gas temperature (K)
verify that the optimum PID controller has been TR Refractory wall temperature (K)
achieved for set point changes. Using the Τ-ρ. External tube wall temperature (K)
78 C. McGreavy and D. Odloak
GREEK SYBMOLS
-Burners
-Peepholes
20
Cracking! radiantl ITERATION
coil
Introduction
Direct desulfurization has become increasingly disperison model fits the experimental data for
important in meeting the demand for low sulfur the hydrodesulfurization of 367o and 53% reduced
fuel oils that has been created by man's desire to Kuwait crude better than the other two models in
maintain a high quality environment. Residue the bench scale trickle-bed reactor.
hydrodesulfurization (HDS) in trickle-bed reactor (3) Suitable descriptions of mass and heat transp-
is one method capable of providing low-sulfur ort phenomena in the three phase operation set-up
fuels that will meet restrictions on sulfur oxide of HDS trickle bed reactor. This will be consi-
emmisions. The two reactions of primary interest dered in the derivation of mathematical model.
in the residue HDS process are desulfurization
and demetallization of residuals. Since the feed
to HDS trickle bed reactor is a mixture of gas Mathematical model
and liquid, the problem of dynamics of vapor-
liquid phase with catalyst deactivation is more The conventional residue HDS unit is a trickle-
complicated than that of a usual packed-bed bed reactor, that is, a cylinder containing a
reactor with homogeneous feed. Only very few fixed bed of catalyst, through which a mixture of
information on the dynamics of vapor-liquid phase gas and liquid flows concurrently downward. The
reactors are found in the literature (Yan, 1980). reactor is adiabatic, so there is no radial
However, there is still no information in the transport of heat. Since the ratio of reactor
literature on the dynamic behavior of residue HDS length to diameter (42/2.8) is large and by
reaction system. In the same time, to face the Montagna's conclusion (1975), the liquid distri-
possible change of operating variables such as bution within the catalyst bed is assumed to be
inlet feed temperature, feed rate etc., the study quite uniform and all the catalyst particles are
of dynamic of residue HDS reactor is indispensa- effectively wetted in this bench scale residue
ble, and this is the main objective in this HDS reactor studied. The fluid pattern can be
study. To set up a reactor model for suitable approximated by plug flow incorporating the
description of the dynamic behavior of HDS reac- effects of mass and heat dispersion. To simplify
tor system, the following key factors are consi- the model, the following assumptions are made.
dered. 1. The main reactions and the parallel poisoning
(1) A suitable catalyst deactivation model which reactions occur within the porous catalyst
cover explicity the possible variations of feed- particles can be described by power-law rate
stocks and HDS catalysts. Shoji Kodama (1980) expression shown in Table 1 (digested from Sho j i
proposed a deactivation model which meets the Kodama, 1980).
requirement and will be used in this simulation. 2. The time constant to reach flash equilibrium
(2) A suitable model for describing the flow between liquid and gas phase is much less than
characteristics in this simulated bench scale HDS reactor space time, therefore hydrogen concentra-
trickle-bed reactor (reactor inside diameter, tion in the residue is assumed to be affected
2.8cm; reactor bed length, 42cm). Among the only by reaction pressure and temperature of the
possible models are: (a) the axial dispersion reaction system and the solubility of hydrogen is
model of Mears (1971) and Shah (1975), (b) the given by the Eq. (4) in Table 1.
holdup model of Henry and Gilbert (1973), and
(c) the effective catalyst wetting model of Mears
(1974). Montagna (1975) concludes that the axial
81
82 Yung-Cheng Chao, Jhy-Shyong Chang and Hsiao-Ping Huang
Table 1 Rate Expressions for the Reaction System axial distance and temperatures. If suitable
and Solubility Relationship of Hydrogen physical properties were available, the inclusion
in the Residue. (Shoji Kodama, 1980) of a variable velocity term could not cause any
complication.
Rate equation for d e s u l f u r i z a t2i o n
Table 4 Equations for the Calculation of Axial
A Ε _ K C, C (1-1) Mass and Heat Dispersion Coefficients
V <°cat os fs s h s
Rate e q u a t i o n f o r v a n a d i u m r e m2o v a l e m
r = V, d /D .
J P 1a (4-1)
r = Q ^ A E
ν £ Kν C,h Cν
c a t ov fv
(1-2) J | j = s,v
Rate f o r coke deposition (4-2)
re q=u a t i o n r
A K . . - / 0 A K C , q (1-3) J
c Peat oc c l cat ο oc2 n e Ρ .1 = 0.042R ,
0.5
(4-3)"
emj . el
|j=s,v
S o l u b i l i t y of h y d r o g e n i n t h e r e s i d6u e
Ρ =P (4-4)"
3
C - ( 8 . 9 1 10-6) Ρ + (4.16 ΙΟ" ) eH U
em
(T-273)-1.40 1 0 " (1-4) * Eq.(4-3) is the correlation of Hochman and
f o r 50<P<180, 573<Τ<373 Effron (1969)
** Eq.(4-4) is cited by Shah and Paraskos (1975)
3. The d e a c t i v a t i o n of t h e c a t a l y s t is adopted
from S h o j i Kodama's d e a c t i v a t i o n model g o t h e r e d
in Table 2 with the r e l a t e d parameters being With the above assumptions, the following unsteady
l i s t e d i n T a b l e 3. state mass and energy balance equations for the
reactor can be formulated.
T a b l e 2 C a t a l y s t D e a c t i v a t i o n Model
( S h o j i Kodama, 1980) Material balance for the external fluid phase
A = A (1-a W ν -a c W c ) (2-1) 2
OS ο ν
a c_ V
A
ov
= A (1-jS Ψ -jS Ψ )
ο
(2-2)
*
1
d _c
- = D 3 C d
' V V ' c c 2 " l -
dt
A = A (1-7 Ψ ) (2-3) dχ ax
oc ο 2
' V νV Ψ
D = D V (2-4) - p"\ ρ .A · E · e · Κ . C, · C (1)
s so Ci-*' )
1 cat os
r c s h s
fs
¥max
Table 3 Parameter Estimation (Shoji Kodama, 1980) for the Reaction System (Table 1)
and Deactivation Model (Table 2)
Specific Gravity (15/4°C) 0.9734 0.9518 0.9624 0.9587 1.0379 1.0389 0.9978
Viscosity at 50°C, cSt 617.4 186.0 462.4 312.9 - - 5,612
at 100°C, cSt - - - - 2,890 6,401 200.4
Carton Residue, WT7O 11.5 9.1 9.7 9.5 21.6 23.8 15.9
Asphaltene Content, WT7O 5.9 2.6 3.7 2.8 8.2 13.0 11.5
Sulfur Content, WT7O 4.09 3.65 2.57 2.62 3.67 5.39 5.18
Nitrogen Content, WT7O 0.26 0.22 0.45 0.35 0.76 0.47 0.59
Metals, Vanadium, ppm 74 49 142 120 270 165 1,130
Nickel, ppm 27 12 54 38 92 53 106
Sodium, ppm 35 2 3 48 4 4 45
Iron, ppm. 2 3 3 14 13 13 4
Fig. 1 Dynamic profile of sulfur concentration Fig. 3 Dynamic profile of sulfur concentration
and bed temperature during the start-up and bed temperature after a step change
period (operating condition shown in of oil feed rate (or LHSV) (operating
Table 7) condition shown in Table 8)
t = 20 Τ
t
o= 2 0 T e
Curve 1 At = 0 T Curve 1 At = 0 T
1.0 2 2T ~
2 27
3 4.5 Τ
4 7T
0.8 5 8T
6 9.5 Τ
ο> T= 1.222 hr. -
Ο>
V/'
0.6
- 2 -
0,4
0.2 - 6
5 43""""
700
—
680 h
< ^ /
/ ——•
1
l_--r========
660h
640 I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
X/L
Fig. 2 Dynamic profile of sulfur concentration Fig. 4 Dynamic Profile of sulfur concentration
and bed temperature after a step change and bed temperature after a step change
of oil feed temperature (operating condi- of inlet sulfur content (operating condi-
tion shown in Table 8) tion shown in Table 8)
Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
INTRODUCTION
The main purpose of this paper is to apply fuzzy on fuzzy logic controller, much interest has been
logic control techniques to batch polymerization shown in the application of similarly structured
reactor. There has been considerable number of fuzzy logic controller to varieties of processes
studies on control of batch polymerization reactor (Kickert and Van Nauta Lemke, 1 9 7 6 ; Tong and co-
and applications of fuzzy logic controller. workers, 1980; Ray and Dutta Majumder, 1 9 8 5 ) . King
and Mamdani ( 1 9 7 7 ) first applied fuzzy logic cont-
Amrehn (1977) reported on process computer appli- roller to temperature control of a stirred tank,
cations in the polymerization industry. part of a batch reactor process. Liu (1985) desig-
Hoogendroorn (1980) presented a survey on the ned a fuzzy temperature controller for a realistic
control of commercial continuous and batch polym- batch sulphonating reactor. Vaija and co-workers (
erization plants. It is easy to see that the auto- I985) reported their work on failure detection and
mation of batch reactor's operations such as safety control for a hypothetical polymerization
metering, feeding, process monitoring and logging by using fuzzy methodology. Review papers (Tong,
can be put into practice without substaintial 1 9 7 7 ; Tong, 1 9 8 ^ ; Maiers and Sherif, 1985) gave
obstacles as the wide applications of process much information about theories and applications
computer. But the control problem of reaction con- of fuzzy controller. The idea of expert fuzzy
ditions (temperature or pressure) remains unsucce- controller (EFG) was mantioned "by Tong ( 1 9 8 4 ) , and
ssfully solved because the polymerization process some structures of EFG also suggested.
is often nonlinear, time-variant and, sometimes,
poorly-understood. Most of the modern control In present work, the microcomputer control system
theories are adequate for the control problem only of a pilot batch polymerization reactor has been
when mathematical model of the reactor is availa- considered. A fuzzy control algorithm for pressure
ble. This is found in studies of early investiga- -temperature control of the reactor is employed to
tors (Nakagawa, 1 9 7 0 ; Maroquin and Luijben, 1 9 7 3 ; automate the nonlinear and time-variant process.
Ham and Liemburg, 1 9 7 5 ) · It is often not the case This algorithm is derived from a set of hierach-
in practice to obtained a dynamic model of a batch ical fuzzy linguistic rules. It consists of a pre-
polymerization process. Thus, Kiparissides and ssure fuzzy controller, a temperature fuzzy contr-
Shah (1983) used two adaptive control techniques, oller and a fuzzy selector to decide which lower
in simulation runs, to get better temperature controller to use from stage to stage of the poly-
tracking and minimum batch time despite of the merization. The implement of the algorithm gives
nonlinear and time-varying characteristics of the satisfactory regulation of pressure and tempera-
commercial scale PVG batch reactor. To some extant ture in real time runs. Design of EFG for temper-
adaptive control is a solution to the problem. ature control of the reactor operating under
However, adaptive methods based on identification isothermal condition has been given and evaluated
cannot show their advantages if little information in simulation runs.
about polymerization kinetics and model structure
is available.
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Sometimes, a batch reactor is simply controlled by
human operator. An alternative approach to the Discription of Control System
control of reaction conditions is to investigate
the control strategies employed by human operator Figure 1 . shows a schematic diagram of the micro-
and design fuzzy logic controllers. Since Mamdani computer, control system under consideration. The
and Assilion (1975) presented the original paper APPLE-2 microcomputer with clock board and 8-bit
DCCR-G
87
88 G. Rong and J. C. Wang
A/D—D/A converter has been used not only to imple- heating voltage (V).
ment various control modes "but also to automate
batch reactor's operations such as process monit- Fuzzy selector is derived from fuzzy linguistic
oring and experimental data handling. The plant is rules ( 1 - 7 ) » given in Appendix. These rules are a
a pilot scale ( 2 0 0 0 ml) sealed vessel of stainless summary of human operator's decision making
steel, equipped with agitator, pressure and temp- strategies adopted to decide which control modes
erature sensors,cooling coil and electric heater. will be needed during different stage of polymer-
The major control variables are voltage of elec- ization. If we treated these rules by using the
tric heater (V) and cold water flowrate to cooling compositional rule of inference as described by
coil (F). The output variables, which can be mea- Zadeh ( I 9 6 5 ) , a huge decision making look-up table
sured and controlled directly, are pressure (P) would be obtained. It is not efficient to imple-
and temperature (T) of the reactor. Negative ion ment the table in a microcomputer control system
polymerization of propylene oxide (sometimes, due to large number of data involved. So we simply
ethylene oxide) produces polyether product which , but effactually, implement the selecting rules
is a kind of useful chemical auxiliary. The pilot by translating them into normal logic decision
batch reactor is designed for laboratory scale process. The translation is based on look-up table
test of development of new polyether products and relating fuzzy subsets representing fuzzy value of
for experimental investigation of kinetics of inputs to quantised input values. The look-up
polymerization processes. table has the same form as described by King and
Mamdani ( 1 9 7 7 ) . Fig. 3 shows how the fuzzy selec-
tor works.
Pressure-temperature Control of the Reactor
Fuzzy linguistic rules (20-28) in Appendix are
Usually the rate of polymerization can be contro- used to design pressure fuzzy controller in the
lled indirectly by changing temperature of the form of look-up table. Human operator uses EP and
reaction when neither concentration of monomer nor CP to affect flowrate of cold water. Only absolute
conversion rate of monomer can be measured in real value of flowrate is considered in the controller
-time enviornment. In the reactor, pressure of because the flowrate is changed in such a way that
vapor phase is directly proportional to tempera- the normally-closed valve of cooling coil's entry
ture and concentration of the volatile components. is opened in a part of the time interval of samp-
Hence changing pressure is another way to control ling and control. Positive EP is eliminated by
reaction rate. Volatile monomer propylene oxide cooling. Negative EP will be eliminated by the
will evaporate and pressure of the reactor will exothermic reaction itself when EP is small, or by
rise as the temperature increases during stage of selected heating action if EP is negative-big.
heating initiation of batch polymerization. When The fuzzy controller takes similar structure as
the pressure reachs desired value (pressure set described by King and Mamdani ( 1 9 7 7 ) . The number
point), monomer reacts to produce polyether and of elements in the universe of discourse about EP,
heat is released at a rate of 2 0 kcal/mol. Press- CP and F are 14-, 1 3 and 7^espectively. For example
ure should be maintained at its set point as long , 7 elements in the universe of discourse about F
as possible if the temperature does not exceed represent 7 levels of control action, and these
prescribed high limit. In latter stage of the 7 values are assigned to the grade of membership
polymerization, the temperature will be higher to get the definition of four fuzzy subsets desc-
than its limit in order to prevent pressure from ribing control action, as shown in Table 1 .
decline. Temperature control should be introduced Similar definitions of fuzzy subsets about EP and
and take the place of pressure control as soon as CP can be written out.
the temperature is higher than its limit.
TABLE 2 Look-up Table of Pressure Controller high quality of temperature tracking throughout
the whole polymerization process.
For instance, the fuzzy control algorithm for pre- Results of Pressure- temperature Control
ssure-temperature regulation mentioned in previous
section can be considered as a kind of EFG with The implement of the fuzzy control algorithm for
hierachical structure. The high-level rules are regulation of pressure and temperature in the
linguistic rules for fuzzy selector and the low- pilot batch plant, where a poorly-understood ion
level rules include on-off control policies for polymerization of propylene oxide takes place,
heating and fuzzy linguistic rules for pressure gives pressure-temperature tracking profiles as
and temperature control. illustrated in Fig. k. Though only on-off manipu-
lated modes of cooling water flowrate is available
in the plant, the performance of the fuzzy control
Expert Fuzzy Control of Reactor's Temperature algorithm has met the technical needs, and it is
better than the performance of simple on-off
During isothermal operation of the batch polymer- control and manual control. The fuzzy control
ization reactor, it is a hard work to keep temper- algorithm can also obtain satisfactory results, as
ature at its desired value because of the non-lin- shown in Fig. 5» when initial conditions (recipe
ear and time-variant characteristics of the batch of reactants) are changed. Robustness of the
process. Fuzzy logic controller (King and Mamdani, algorithm is not difficult to find according to
1977? Liu, 1985) has been applied to eliminate Fig. 5 and Fig. 4 . Because of on-off mode of cool-
error of temperature of the polymerization reactor ing conventional PID algorithm cannot be imple-
by Rong (1986) and found that fuzzy logic control- mented; and by lack of mathematical model of the
ler (FLG) with constant parameters cannot give process no bang-bang control algorithm can be
90 G. Rong and J. C. Wang
designed. Thus no attempt has been made to compare TABLE 3 Results of Simulation Runs
fuzzy control algorithm with PID controller or
bang-bang control. The advantages of fuzzy control
algorithm lie in two aspects: it is the sole algo- Digital control Isothermal batch reaction
rithm simply designed, satisfactorily performing algorithm
and easily implemented in the microcomputer cont- Overshoot Variance Error-M
rol system we considered; its robustness makes it
possible to use one control algorithm to automate FLCs Ke=1.2
polymerization reactions with different recipe. Kc=2.0 0.54 I.06 -1.18
Ku=0.l7
Selector rules.
if ET»(NB or NM) and EP»(NB or NM) then MS»Heat
(1)
if ET-(NB or NM) and EP=NS and CP~(NB or NM)
then MS=Heat (2)
if ET-NS and GT-(NB or NM) and EP«NS and
GP»(NB or NM) then MS«Heat (3)
if ET=(PS or PB or PM) then MS-CTRL-T (4)
if ET<PO or NO) and CT*(PS or PM or PB)
then MS-GTRL-T (5)
if ET-NS and GT-(PS or PM or PB) and CP«(NS or NM
or NB) then MS=CTRL-T (6)
if M S * Heat and M S * GTRL-T then MS = CTRL-P (7)
Heating rule.
if ms»l then V»200 otherwise V*0 (8)
Fig. 1 Microcomputer control system
of the batch reactor
Temperature control rules. When MS=CTRL-T
if ET-(PB or PM) and GT=(GO or PS or PM or PB)
then F=?B e (9)
if ET«(PB or PM) and CT NS then F-PM (10)
if ET-P3 and GT-(GO or PS) then F-PM (11) on-off
if iST=(NO or PO or PS) and GT»(PB or PM) controller
then F«PM (12) pilot
Tsf> fuzzy mi=3l fuzzy Τ
if ET=NS and CT=(PB or EM) then F=PS selector! controller plant
(13)
if ET=NS and GT=(NB or NM or N3 or GO)
then F-OG fuzzy Ρ
S (14) controller
if ET-(PO or NO) and CT (NB or NM or NS or GO)
then F=OG (15)
if ΕΓ"(ΡΟ or JÎO) and GT-PS then F-PS (16)
if ET-PS and GT-(NS or NM or NB) then F-OG (17)
if ΕΓ*(ϊΜ or PB) and CT-(NM or NB) then F=PS (18) Fig. 2 Fuzzy pressure-temperature
control system
if ET=(NM or NB) then F=OG (19)
93
94 R. King
stead of differentiation, which gives signal delling errors it can give only a rough estimate.
roughing. Therefore, better results are expected.
r = k expi-E^R/T) c« z\ (2)
1 1Q MULTIPLE FILTER METHODS
In the next step of the reaction the remaining In Schuler (1982) it is shown, that the use of
sulphur trioxid, A , will form polysulphonic acids, model-based measuring techniques for process moni-
2
e.g. disulphonic acid. toring can be expanded considerably. Knowledge of
the complete state vector enables us to identify
a certain mode of disturbance or to discriminate
between different modes causing hazardous states.
Furthermore, two monosulphonic acids A will be
3
formed out of one disulphonic acid A and one aro- The principle procedure can be explained by means
4
matic compound A in reaction (R3). Therefore, the of a sulphonation reactor (King, Gilles, 1984).
1
yield of A will be small as long as (Rl) is not Sulphonation of aromatic compounds is usually
finished.
4 performed in a cooled semi batch-reactor. Some of
Τ the possible operating modes are given in Table 1.
A
4 + A
1 Λ 2 A
3 + ( - A H
R) 3 (R3)
The kinetics to describe (R2) and (R3) are similar TABLE 1 Working modes of a sulphonation process
to Eq.(2). Reaction (Rl) to (R3) include all de-
sired conversions of this example. No Mode Countermeasures
ter c) which includes all dynamical effects. Simi- seen for experiment n , it is run with a great ex-
lar to this subsystem the remaining transition cess of A . Therefore, the increasing temperature
rates a-j_j are found. The transition rate to model
2
can be explained for a long time with the forma-
M tion of polysulphonic acids (R2). Hence, with nor-
2 will be proportional to the estimated amount
of penetrating water. mal operation mode. Only at higher temperatures
the normal operation mode model is not able to ex-
Bayes rule in the example. When measurements are plain the temperature development. Its probability
processed an update of the model probabilities is will decrease and an alarm will be given. This
possible. To use the statistical informations of example shows that the multiple filter algorithm
the three filters in the new disjunctive classes, is able to identify different modes in real time
Bayes rule must be rewritten. The normalizing experiments as wel1.
factor Ν in Eq. (4) is the total probability of
the innovation y , see Fig. 6.
k
2 r M r
Ν I p( ^ V k-1> P( il k-i> REFERENCES
i=0
The probability
lPof the decomposition mode in-
creases to almost one. If, moreover, water pene-
T[°C]
trates at time t=3600, the temperature rises even
faster. Comparing the qualities of estimates show
that only filter c) can interprète the measure-
ments well. The alarm for decomposition only is
removed and replaced by an alarm for simultaneous
breaking-in of water and decomposition (p =l). If
2
the cooling is not stopped, a runaway of the reac-
tor will occur as shown in Fig. 7.
Process ^^^^^
normat operation
mode
15
Filter 2
2.fault mode
AN ANALYTICAL APPROACH TO
APPROXIMATE DYNAMIC MODELING OF
DISTILLATION TOWERS
N. Kapoor and T. J. McAvoy
University of Maryland, Chemical and Nuclear Engg. Dept., College Park,
MD 20742, USA
Abstract. This paper presents analytical expressions for predicting distillate and bottoms
composition transient responses due to changes in manipulative and disturbance variables of a
tower. The authors in an earlier paper showed that towers are inherently recyle structures and
linearization techniques should be applied at perturbed conditions of tower models to evaluate
realistic tower time constants. In this earlier paper, a numerical approach to estimating time
constants was presented. The numerical approach is extended in this paper to an analytical
approach that requires only steady state and design information of a tower. The analytical
approach is relatively simple to use and much less time consuming compared to dynamic
simulation. Further, the analytical technique gives insight into w h y towers respond nonlinearly.
99
100 N. Kapoor and T. J. McAvoy
T a b l e 2: R e s u l t s f r o m O p e n Loop Responses
Vyi
1 .281 10.0 8.0 1.51 8.0 8.0
2
4
.007
.00006
.359
23.0
25.0
27.0
15.0
22.0
12.0
1.99
2.0
13.0
10.0
26.0
36.0 3—
1.54 22.0 10.0
5 .007 25.0 22.0 G
6 .00006
1.99 23.0 50.0
8
28.0 28.0 2.0 30.0 85.0
LX V
T N G7
yNE+1
Θ = T i m e constant = Dead time
r e s p o n s e s h o w s a n o t i c e a b l e c h a n g e f r o m t h e initial s t e a d y
s t a t e c o n d i t i o n s is u s e d as a n approximation to t h e d e a d
a n d 6. T h e g a i n s a n d t i m e c o n s t a n t s t h a t a p p r o x i m a t e t h e
ric b e h a v i o r o f h i g h p u r i t y t o w e r s a n d also t o e x p l a i n t h e
r e s p o n s e s ( T a b l e 2 ) , a simplified d y n a m i c m o d e l of a tower
is a n a l y s e d . F i g u r e 1 s h o w s t h e b l o c k d i a g r a m o f a distilla-
a n y s t e a d y s t a t e w h e r e h i g h p u r i t y is a c h i e v e d a t b o t h ends
o f a t o w e r . F i g u r e 2 a is a plot o f K e K s v e r s u s xp for t h e
FxW H e H s J
(
G
" ) (i)
t h e d e s i g n c o n d i t i o n o f xp = .5 t h e K e K s loop gain a p -
Hs = G 1 + (4)
result s u g g e s t s t h a t o n e s h o u l d u s e a p e r t u r b e d v a l u e o f xp
1 - G4G5 t o e s t i m a t e effective t o w e r t i m e c o n s t a n t s f r o m a linearized
K -T {x )s
TIME CONSTANT V S XF Dxp e DF (5)
Fxp e(x )s+1
F
To reduce eqn. 1 to eqn. 5, the gain K, the dead time
and the time constant B(xf)
t d [ x f ) are related to the pa-
rameters in eqn. 1 by the method of moments. A detailed
derivation for Κ, θ(χρ) and is given in Kapoor( 1986).|
t
d{ x f )
The final expressions are:
K = 7 K9 RR+1
1 — ΚχηΚι (6)
( l - K K )
E S
τ—j—r
θ 50 θ 60
Loop l(Enr. Sect.) Loop 2
1 — Λ10Λ11
The time constant To. refers to the response time of yi due Table 3 : Gains, Leads and Lags
to a change in vn+i (See Fig. 1). The time constant Tg
is usually much larger than the Loop 1 time constant at
perturbed conditions of a tower. The third term in eqn. 2
7, labeled Loop 2, is a result of the feedback loop formed (l + (a-l)xF) RR+% axpRR
Ae =
by integration of the condenser with the enriching section.
s+1a RR+1 1++
xpRR
1
A s shown in Kapoor et al. (1986) the loop gain I2 rarely A% - 1 DE = A£« - 1
approaches unity. Therefore, the contribution by the Loop
AST- - 1 A^-AE
2 time constant to the effective time constant of the x d K7 =
response will be approximately of the order of the sum of Ds De
(AE- I)
the condenser time constant, Tc, and T7. AN S + 1 N
S AK9 = 7
1
Ds DE
Equation 9 is the expression for the dead time of the x d Ae * - 1
response for xp changes. The dead time is a sum of all A»** -As ΚIQ =
DE
but the largest lag of the enriching section. All the lags Ds
2 RR
of an enriching section can be evaluated using analytical 1 1
Kn = RR + 1
B(l + ( a - l ) x )
expressions developed by K i m and Friedly(l974) and are t"·" Va
B 1
presented in Table 3 . Equations 7 and 9 were used for the Κ \2 =RR + 1
κ6 1-K5
evaluation of time constants and dead times of the x d re-
sponses for xp changes. Results obtained from eqns. 7
and 9 for tower 3 are compared with the the non-linear
simulation results in Fig. 3 . The tower model starts at
From K i m and Friedly's analysis:
a perturbed initial steady state corresponding to xp = .4
and the response to the design condition corresponding to H 1
x = .5 is shown. A s can be seen from Fig. 3 the agreement Lagj — L C O S
F
between the analytical responses and non-linear simulation + (J$T)
results is very good. W e studied all the six towers illus- (Enr.Sect.)
trated in Table 1 in detail (Kapoor (1986)) and compared H 1
Lead* = y=i,...,i\r-i
the analytical expression results with the non-linear sim-
ulation results for forcing in χ ρ from design to perturbed
'«*(#)
conditions and back. Both positive and negative pertur-
(Enr.Sect.)
H 1
bations in xp were considered. The analytical expressions Lagi = i = 1,...,JV
compared very well with the non-linear simulation results
for all the cases except for forcing m χ ρ from design to a (Str.Sect.)
decreased value. A significant error in the dead time was H
Leadi L
1
i = l,...,JV-l
obtained for this case. This error m a y not be a serious
' (l+^)-2V^cos(f)
problem since one is normally interested in determining re-
sponse times of towers responding from upset conditions (Str.Sect.)
back to their design specifications.
(H)
and
t b { x f ) = {td)2 (12)
Table 3 continued
N
S N
E
T La
T
7 = (Σ Η
i=i
i = E 9i
Ne-1
t=L — ^2 Leadj)
Ns-1 3=1
— Leadi) 1 11 1
(Lagx)
i=l ! ' I '
tee β
ΐ5
T = (Lag!) Ne
2
N
S {td)q •(^Lagj) TIME «MINUTES
)
{TD)2 = {J2La )
9i
3=2
3=2 He
Ts = T
R V
V + B/a
Hr = Reboiler
He = Condenser
Holdup Holdup
Π ΜΕ CMTNUTE3
)
Fig. 5. x h x
D B responses for V changes
Fig. 4. x
B response for xF changes
CONCLUSION W A H L , E . F . A N D HARRIOTT, P . , ( 1 9 7 0 ) . I E C P R O C . P E S . D E V . .
9, P P . 396-407.
R E F E R E N C E S
FUENTES C , A N D L U Y B E N W . L . , ( 1 9 8 3 ) . I E C PROC. P E S . D E V . J
22, 361-366.
K A P O O R , N . , A N D M C A V O Y , T . J . , ( 1 9 8 6 ) . S U B M I T T E D TO
AUTOMATICA.
Abstract. A detailed study on the dynamics of distillation trains has been carried out
by simulating the behavior of multiple distillation column processes ( with and without
recycle streams ). By analyzing the dynamic behavior, potential design, operability and
control problems have been identified. Based on the dynamic analysis, design procedures
by which nonlinear behavior of the columns can be eliminated and suitable control stra-
tegies applied, are presented. Numerical results illustrating the analyis of above and
the application of the proposed procedure are also presented.
INTRODUCTION
Chemical processes, and in particular, the separa- and analyze the dynamic behavior of the system
tion units of these processes usually have more from a control, operability and process design
than one distillation columns arranged in differ- viewpoint by simulations of the operations of the
ent configurations in different processes. The process.
design and control of distillation columns has
been an important area of research for more than The required details of the process are, the col-
a decade. Most of the work however, has been limi- umn configuration details, mixture information,
ted to single distillation columns. At the same individual column data ( number of plates, plate
time, significant progress has been made in the geometry etc. ) and the conditions of operation
development of algorithms for flexible process ( for example, feed data, reflux rate, heat duties,
design and robust and resilient control of proces- product specification ). Knowing these details,
ses ( Grossman and Morari, 1984, Morari, 1985, simulations are performed to obtain the steady
Arkun, 1985 ).As a result, identification of fac- states corresponding to the specified conditions
tors sensitive both to process design and control of operation. This steady state will be the refer-
has gained importance. ence steady state ( RSS ) and all subsequent stu-
dies are made with respect to this reference state.
The purpose of this paper is to show how, by stud-
ying and analyzing the dynamics of distillation Generation of Transient Responses
trains, the factors important for process design
and control can be identified and how these infor- At the reference steady state, disturbances are
mation can then be used to obtain better design introduced in the conditions of operation ( one
and operation of the process by employing suitable variable at a time ) and the corresponding open-
control algorithms. loop transient responses are simulated through the
dynamic model. The variables that are disturbed
The dynamic behavior is generated by simulations are the feed flowrate, feed enthalpy ( that is,
with the generalized dynamic model of Gani and co- the feed state ), feed composition, reflux rate
workers (1986). Multiple distillation column conf- ( or distillate rate ) and reboiler heat duty ( or
igurations with and without recycle streams has vapor boilup rate ) of the upstream column ( that
been considered. In this work, the nonlinear resp- is, column 1 ). Column 1 will be regarded as the
onse is considered as that which can be represent- column where the fresh feed enters.the process.
ed by second order ( or higher ) transfer functio- Openloop transient responses for the corresponding
ns with or without time delays. column and all the downstream columns ( that is,
column 2, column 3, etc. ) is obtained through
Of the three separation schemes studied, the ben- the dynamic model.
zene, toluene and xylene ( BTX ) separation process
and the styrene separation process represents more Simulation Model
complex configurations and therefore more difficult
design and control problems. As the objective of The dynamic model of Gani and coworkers (1986)
this paper is not to develop the final control str- incorporates the effects of simultaneous mass and
ategies, only a simple example of the closedloop heat transfer as well as detailed hydraulic beha-
response is presented ( for the BTX process ). vior of the plates. The model is flexible enough
to allow the study of single column or multiple
column processes, including recycles to upstream
PROBLEM FORMULATION columns. The model allows simulations with vari-
ous degrees of complexity. The most complex vers-
Given, the details of the distillation train, study ion considers detailed plate hydraulics, reflux
f drum dynamics, reboiler dynamics and effects of
Chem. Eng. Dept.,CSU, Fort Collins,80523 Co, USA mass and heat transfer. The most simple version
only considers the effects of mass and heat trans-
105
106 R. Gani et al.
fer. For multiple column processes it is possible columns in the BTX process than in the butanes/
to simulate the different columns with different pentane separation process ( see Table 4 ).
degrees of complexity. The dynamic model has built-
in thermodynamic submodels based on equations of Figure 1 shows some of the composition profiles
state ( Soave, 1972 ) as well as group contribut- of the three processes. The changées of the compo-
ion methods ( Fredenslund and coworkers, 1975 ). tion profiles due to the disturbances are illusta-
Thus, a very wide variety of mixtures can be stud- ted in Fig. 2. From these steady state composition
ied by the dynamic model. Also, the dynamic model profiles, the location of the sensitive regions of
has a builtin numerical methods submodel which pro- the columns were determined by applying the method
vides robust, reliable and efficient numerical te- of Brignole and coworkers (1985). It was found
chniques ( Cameron and coworkers, 1986 ). that column 2 always had a greater sensitivity
than column 1. Table 5 shows the location of the
Details of the Problems Studied sensitive points and the corresponding values of
the sensitivity indices ( Brignole and coworkers,
Three multiple column distillation processes have 1985 ) for all the columns. The locations of the
been studied ( Murphy, 1976, Doukas and Luyben, sensitive points were found to vary ( in some cas-
1981, Hess and Holland, 1976 ). These processes es ) with respect to the dynamic response ( that
were earlier employed by Gani and coworkers (1985) is, these locations varied with time before sett-
to test the dynamic model and, for a preliminary ling down to a steady value ).
study of their dynamic behavior.
Figures 3 and 4 illustrate some of the dynamic
The first process involves a butanes/pentane sepa- responses for the butanes/pentane separation pro-
ration scheme. The distillate of column 1 is the cess and the BTX process respectively. In all ca-
feed to column 2, where, i-butane and η-butane are ses, for the butanes/pentane process, the respon-
separated. Pentane is removed through the bottoms ses from both the columns can be represented by
of column 1. The second process involves a benzene first order transfer functions ( in some cases
toluene and xylene ( BTX ) separation scheme. The with delay ). In the BTX process, while column 1
distillate and bottoms from column 1 enter as feed behaved like any other single column ( and having
into column 2. Besides the distillate and the bot- first order transfer functions ) , column2 in some
toms, column 2 also has a side product. The third cases showed nonlinear behavior ( that is requir-
process is a styrene separation unit. The feed ing second order or higher transfer functions ).
mixture ( entering column 1 ) contains toluene, Figure 5 shows the dynamic responses of column 2
ethylbenzene and styrene. The distillate of column for two different sizes of disturbances in the
2 is recycled back to column 1. Table 1 lists some same variable. The size of the disturbance causing
of the necessary details of the three processes. the nonlinear behavior depends on the type of var-
iable being disturbed, configuration of the colu-
It can be seen that the first two configurations mns and the type of variable being measured. Thus
do not contain any recycle streams while the third design and control problems can be formulated for
process has a single recycle stream. Of the first which the nonlinear behavior will not exist.
two processes, the butanes/pentane process has a
much simpler configuration. The results of Figs. 3 and 4 also show the exist-
ence of time delays whose length was also found to
depend on which variable is disturbed, process
ANALYSIS OF THE OPENLOOP DYNAMIC RESPONSE configuration and the location of the feed. These
factors are therefore important both for control
As mentioned above, the analysis of the openloop as well as for design of the process.
dynamic responses is made by perturbing one var-
iable at a time and observing the resultant res- Configuration With Recycle
ponse with respect to the reference steady state*
The variables that are perturbed are the variables Comparison of the steady state profiles show simi-
that are usually manipulated for control purposes lar disturbance effects on either columns and sim-
or those variables which are designated as input ilar sensitivity indices on either columns. This
( or design ) variables. In case of configurations is reasonable since a recycle stream is coming ba-
without recycle, only variables of column 1 is ck to the upstream column from the downstream col-
disturbed. For the styrene separation process, umn. Table 6 shows the reference steady state and
variables of both the columns are disturbed ( only the steady states obtained due to disturbances in
one variable at a time ). the reboiler heat duty and the feed composition.
Some of the dynamic responses corresponding to the
Configurations Without Recycle results of Table 6 are illustrated in Fig. 6. It
can be seen that column 1 behaves in a manner sim-
Table 2 shows the reference steady state and the ilar to the column 1 of the butanes/pentane process
steady states obtained from simulations tor tne while column 2 has a tendency for nonlinear respo-
butanes/ pentane separation process. These results nse ( note also the comparitively larger time del-1
correspond to disturbances in the reboiler heat ays in column 2 ). Again, by increasing the distu-
duty and the feed composition. Table 3 shows the rbances, it was possible to obtain the nonlinear
same results for the BTX separation process but behavior. But in this process, it was possible to
for disturbances in the reflux rate and feed com- obtain nonlinear behavior for both columns. In the
position. Several observations can be made from results of Fig. 6, the effect of the recycle str-
the results of Tables 2 and 3. The disturbance eam on column 1 is almost negligible. On the other
has greater effect on the downstream column than hand, the continuous change from column 1 is imp-
in the upstream column. However, the effect on the ortant for column 2. By changing the operating
BTX process is greater than on the butanes/pentane conditions however, it should be possible to incr-
process. The reason for this is the following : in ease the effect of the recycle stream on column 1.
column 1, only one variable is perturbed while in
column 2, the feed that enters, may undergo chan- One interesting aspect of configurations with re-
ges in flowrate, temperature and composition. The cycle streams is that the process might not come
BTX process undergoes greater changes because both to a steady state ( in the openloop ) if the dis-
the feeds are products of column 1. As will be turbance is too large or, if the initial state is
shown later, this is also the cause for nonlinear too far from the desired steady state. One way the
responses in this process. The steady state gains desired steady state can be reached in this case,
also show a larger interaction between the two is to control ( at least ) the flow of the recycle
Analysis of the Dynamic Behavior of Distillation Trains 107
stream ( shown in Fig. 7 ). disturbance size of the variables that can cause
nonlinear behavior in any of the columns are deter-
mined. From the sizes of the disturbances, the
IMPLICATION ON PROCESS DESIGN AND CONTROL steady state gains and the values of the sensitiv-
ity indices, the most sensitive variables can be
From the results of the openloop dynamic responses identified.
several typical behavior can be noted :
- The downstream columns undergo greater changes If nonlinear behavior is present and by changing
than the upstream columns and because of this the design variables, it cannot be completely eli-
reason they are more sensitive. minated, then control action on the stream linking
- Interaction between the columns depend on the the two columns can be considered. This is shown
process configuration and conditions of oper- by a simple example. For the disturbance for which
ation. nonlinear response was obtained in the BTX process
- The sensitive location of the downstream col- ( see Fig. 5 ) , a simple flow control was used for
umns can vary dynamically with time. the stream linking the two columns. The resulting
- For some configurations, columns can give non- response is also shown in Fig. 5. It can be clearly
linear responses ( openloop ) due to disturb- seen that significant improvement is possible.
ances in the upstream column. The amount of
disturbance necessary to cause nonlinear res- Therefore, the nonlinear behavior can be reduced
ponses depends on the process configuration ( if not eliminated ) by controlling the product
and design variables ( related to conditions of the upstream column ( which is the feed for the
of operation ). downstream column ). The control strategy for the
- The dynamic responses in the downstream show upstream column therfore should be ( in addition
time delays and the length of these depend on to satisfying any product requirement ) to control
the process configuration, type of variable stream that is connected to the downstream column.
being disturbed and on the location of the This can easily be done by applying the modern co-
feed. ntrol techniques once the dynamic analysis has been
made and proper changes in the design have been
The effect of plate hydraulics on the dynamic beh- made.
avior has also been studied in this work. It has
been found that the plate hydraulics are only imp- If the nonlinearity of the downstream column is
ortant when highly nonlinear dynamic behavior is eliminated by the control action of the upstream
present. The dynamic response of the height of the column, then the design of any control strategy is
liquid on the downcomer for the styrene process is significantly simplified. Control techniques taking
also shown in Fig. 7. Besides the above mentioned into account time delays can easily be applied for
conditions, plate hydraulics have been found to be this column.
important during startup and shutdown operations
of distillation columns ( Gani and coworkers, 1986). Closedloop response for the BTX process. For the
BTX process, two PI controllers controlling the
Important Factors For Design And Control Problems top and bottom temperatures of column1 by manipul-
ating the reflux rate and reboiler heat duty were
Based on the observations of above, several 'acti- designed. For column 2, the temperature of the most
ons' that can result in better design of the pro- plate was controlled with a PI controller by mani-
cess and at the same time simplify the control st- pulating the reboiler heat duty. From the openloop
rategy are now proposed. The objective for perfor- responses of Fig. 4, it can be seen that the time
ming these 'actions' are to a) reduce the sensiti- delays are almost negligible. Figure 8 shows the
vity of the downstream columns to changes in the openloop and closedloop responses of the top and
corresponding upstream column, and b) eliminate the bottom temperatures of column 1 for +1% change in
the possibility of any nonlinear response. the feed enthalpy ( that is changing the feed tem-
erature ). Figure 9 shows the openloop and closed-
Reduction of sensitivity will also reduce the int- loop responses of the top and bottom temperatures
eraction between the columns. Even though the int- of column 2 for the same disturbance. The openloop
eractions can be 'handled' by modern control tech- response of the top temperature of column 1 is also
niques, the control problem will be simpler if they plotted in Fig. 9 to illustrate the difference in
are minimized. The elimination of the nonlinear the magnitude of the changes in the two columns.
responses will also eliminate the requirement of
more complex control strategies. Also, the effect
of plate hydraulics need not be considered. Finally CONCLUSIONS
the time delays should be correctly predicted so
that the control techniques can be efficiently app- The dynamic model has been succesfully applied to
lied. The question of the elimination of the time simulate and analyze the openloop transient respo-
delays or the length of this period need to be stu- nces of three multiple column processes. Important
died togather with the control technique ( or stra- factors related to process configuration, column
tegy ) being employed. design and conditions of operation have been iden-
tified as those influencing the final design and
The most sensitive variable with respect to column control of the process. Numerical results showing
sensitivity and nonlinear behavior should be first how by dynamic simulations important interrelated
identified ( a dynamic simulation can be used for problems in process design and control can be sol-
the purpose ). Depending on which is possible, cha- ved or simplified have presented. And, finally,
nges in process configuration, conditions of opera- although the closedloop responses for the BTX pro-
tion or individual column details can be considered cess show promise, more work is necessary before
in order to reduce the importance of the most sen- any general guidelines can be established for these
sitive variable ( or variables ). By dynamic simu- problems.
lations the effects of these changes can be studied.
REFERENCES
Development Of A Control Strategy
Brignole, E.A., R. Gani and J.A. Romagnoli (1985),
A simple control problem was defined for the purp- A simple algorithm for sensitivity and oper-
ose. The objective is to keep the product specifi- ability analysis of separation process, Ind.
cation ( temperatures of the products ) at the de- Eng. Chem. Process Pes. Dev., 24, 42-48.
sired conditions. From the openloop dynamic respo- Cameron, I.T, C.A. Ruiz and R. Gani (1986) , A
nse the sensitive points of the columns and the
108 R. Gani et al.
generalized dynamic model for distillation Table 2 Comparison of the Steady States for
columns, part II : numerical and computation- for the Butane/pentane Process.
al aspects. Computers and Chem. Eng., 10 (3),
in press.
Doukas, N.P. and W.L. Luyben (1981), Control of an
energy-conserving prefractionator/sidestream
column distillation system, Ind. Eng. Chem. Column 1 + # Column 2
Process Pes. Dev., 20, 147-153. RSS* SS1 SS2 RSS SS1 SS2
Fredenslund, Aa, R.L. Jones and J.M. Prausnitz Top plate
(1975), Group contribution estimation of act- butane •2449 •2501 •2401 •4061 •3929 •4117
ivity coefficients in nonideal liquid mixt- i-butane •2981 •3046 •2935 •4294 •4208 •4303
ures, AIChE J., 2Π, 1086-1099. pentane •2470 •4453 •4664 •1644 •1863 •1579
Gani, R., C.A. Ruiz and I.T. Cameron (1985), Stu-
Bottom plate
dies in the dynamics of distillation trains,
IChemE Symposium Series, 92, 353-364. butane •0249 •0258 •0239 •0293 •0242 •0321
i-butane •0587 •0610 •0565 •0783 •0651 •0846
Gani, R, C.A. Ruiz and I.T. Cameron (1986), A pentane •9164 •9132 •9196 •8924 •9107 •8833
generalized dynamic model for distillation * RSS: Reference steady state
columns, part I : model description and SS1: Steady state corresponding to change in reboiler heat
applications. Computers and Chem. Eng., 10 (3), duty (+1%)
in press. # SS2: Steady state corresponding to change in feed composition
Grossman, I.Ε and M. Morari (1984), Operability,
resiliency and flexibility - process design
objectives for a changing world. Proceedings
of FOCAPD'83, CACHE, An Arbor, 931-1010. Table 3 Comparison of the Steady States for
Hess, F.E and C D . Holland (1976), Solve more dis- for the BTX Process.
tillation problems : part 6, Hydrocarbon
Processing, 55(6), 125-131.
Morari, M. and S. Skogestad (1985), Effect of
model uncertainty on dynamic resilience,
IChemE Symposium Series, 92, 493-504. Column 1 Column 2
Murphy T.J (1976), Control of heat integrated RSS SS2 SS3* RSS SS2 SS3
distillation columns, MS Thesis, University Top plate
of Minnesota, USA. benzene •7053 •7402 •7122 •9922 •1943 •9925
Palazoglu A. and Y. Arkun (1985), Studies on the toluene •2942 •2594 •2874 •0078 •0057 •0075
design of robust chemical plants, IChemE xylene •0005 •0004 •0005 - -
Symposium Series, 92, 457-468. bottom plate
benzene •1529 •2333 •1543 •0203 •0272 •0196
toluene •2942 •2594 •2874 •0078 •0057 •0075
Table 1 Details of the Three Processes Studied xylene •3086 •1703 •3070 •3723 •3110 •3727
*SS3: steady state corresponding to change in reflux rate (+1%)
No. of plates 7 22 19 40 20 20
Reflux rate Sensitive plate Sensitive index
(kmol/h) 48 78 50 57 453 45 Separation
Column 1 Column 2 Column 1 Column 2
Reboiler heat
Butane/Pentane 1 16 •0094 ·0538
duty (kmol/h) 358400 281600 486400 460800 384 128 BTX 20 22 •23146 «4449
Side product: Styrene 20 20 •0479 ·0516
flow rate
(kmol/h) - - - 51 - 32
plate no. - - - 20 - 14
Feed details:
No. of feed
Location
1
4
D1
11
1
9
Β2
4,24
2
5,14
B
1
9 Table 5 Steady State Gains with respect to
Type* fresh fresh
Composition
1 °Γ 1
fresh,D
2 1 Reflux Rate of Column 1 and Composi-
(mole
tion of Compnent i in Plate ρ
fraction)
Comp 1 •3 - •4 - •001 -
Comp 2 •3 - •4 - •913 -
Comp 3 •4 - •2 - •086 -
Flow rate
Separation Composition Plate no. Steady State Gain
(kmol/h) 45 - 123 - 453 -
(mole fraction/
kmol/h
D p Distillate from column i
Butane/Pentane
B.: Bottoms from column i Column 1 2 1 •0071
Column 2 3 16 •0525
BTX
Column 1 1 20 •0150
Column 2 1 22 •0139
Styrene
Column 1 2 20 •0002
Column 2 2 20 •0002
Analysis of the Dynamic Behavior of Distillation Trains 109
0 4 8 12 16
plates ·> 0.5 1.0 1.5
time ( hours )
Description of the curves :
C1 : BTX process, SO.28, E=0.56 ( column 1) Description of the curves :
C2 : Butane/pentane process, S=0.02, E=0.42 C1 : top plate temp. (R) in column 1, S=676.96
C3 : Styrene process, S=0.842, E=0.922 E=677.42
t The values of S and Ε are given above C2 : bottom plate temp. (R) in column 2,
S=788.8, E=792.5
Fig. 1 Composition profiles in column 2 C3 : xB 1 of column 1, S=0.024, E=0.027
( unless otherwise stated ) for the C4 : xB* of column 2, S=0.028, E=0.044
three processes studied. xB.1 bottoms composition of component i
t The values of S and Ε are given above
2 0
\
1 1
CI
g .612- cr
I C1 liquid height in the C2
C1 : -1% change ( openloop ) CO
downcomer
C2 C3
C2 : -7% change ( openloop ) 0.06
C3 : -7% change ( flow control C3
.611 column 2
I
/ '
C2 : top composition of component
.610-λ / /
C3 : bottom composition of component 2
/ /
/ 0.02 H
.609 H
i column 1
x
.608 -f\ /
/ /
. column 2
\ /
— ι 1 1 1 1 1 —
.607 0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 1.2 1.4
0.0 0.-8 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0 TIME (HOURS)
TIME (HOURS) Fig. 7 Dynamic responses from the styrene
separation process ( YSS, steady state
value of the variable, Y, instantaneous
Fig. 5 Bottoms composition ( toluene ) res- value of the variable ).
ponse of column 2 due to disturbances
in the reboiler heat duty ( column 1). 0.7
1, C2 : ooenloop - C1
|C3, C4 : closedloop C2
^ 0.6
C3
γ C1 C4
U\C4
€3S\/
bottom plate
0.5 1.0 1.5
time ( hours ) top plate
— r
0.0 0.2 0.6 0.8 1.0
Description of the curves
C1 xT of column 1, S=0.959, E=0.960 TIME (HOURS)
C2
3
xT^ of column 2, S=0.947, E=0.949
C3 : xB" of column 1, S=0.877, E=0.879 Fig. 8 Closed loop temperature responses for
C4 : Χ Β 2 of column 2 , S=0.860, E=0.870 column 1 ( BTX separation process ).
xT. : top plate composition of component i
xB"!" : bottom plate composition of component i s16 C1,C2,C3 : openloop - CI
t The values of S and Ε are given above
_ C4,C5 : closedloop C2
C1,C3,C5 : bottom plate C3
Fig. 6 Openloop dynamic responses in columns
1 and 2 due to disturbances in column & 12 _ C2,C4 : top plate C4
1. INTRODUCTION
The transient behavior of plate-type distillation the second stripping section, the feed section,
columns has long been studied, both theoretically the first and (possibly) the second enriching (or
and experimentally ([l]-[5]). rectifying) section, the condenser (Fig.l). The
external (exogenous) variables are denoted as
For binary (or almost binary) systems it appears follows.
that mass balance equations provide a description
of the plant that is accurate enough for many X
F = feed flow rate
control design purposes. F concentration of the more volatile compo-
nent in the feed stream
In this paper, we present an interactive simula- w = reboiler manipulated variable
tion package by which a variety of "open loop" X
D = distillate flow rate
experiments can easily be simulated, visualized, D = concentration of the more volatile compo-
and recorded. This is extremely useful not only to nent in the distillate stream
help tuning the model on the behaviour of a real R = reflux flow rate
plant, but also to produce data best suited for X
Β = bottom flow rate
further control-oriented processing; e.g.: B = concentration of the more volatile compo-
computer-aided linearization, order reduction, nent in the bottom stream
"nicely nonlinear" modeling, etc. . An enlarged PT .= top pressure
version of the package, including an ample class PB : = bottom pressure
of control system structures and algorithms is
under development. The plates of the column (condenser and reboiler
included) are numbered bottom-up from 1 to η . The
The paper is organized as follows. The basic model variables relevant to the i-th plate are denoted
is described in Section 2 . Section 3 presents as follows.
the numerical integration algorithm. The "expert
mechanism" for adjusting both the step size and L^ = liquid flow rate to plate i-l
the value of the averaging parameter used in the V^ = vapor flow rate to plate i+1
implicit integration algorithm is described in x^ = concentration of the more volatile compo-
Section 4. In Section 5, the structure and the nent in the liquid hold-up
organization of the package are presented. y^ = concentration of the more volatile compo-
Finally, a few examples given in Section 6, serve nent in the vapor hold-up
primarily the purpose of illustrating the code, = flow rate of the liquid side-stream ente-
more than the accuracy by which a real system can ring the plate
in fact be described by the model of Section 2. z^ = concentration of the more volatile compo-
nent in the liquid side-stream entering the
plate
2. THE DYNAMIC DISTILLATION MODEL = liquid hold-up
Ej_ = vapor Murphree efficiency
In order to fit with the geometry of several real p^ = pressure
plants, without augmenting too much the number of
parameters needed to describe the column, this is Assumptions:
assumed to consist of no more than 7 uniform 1) E^ and are constant, and uniform within
sections: the reboiler, the first and (possibly) each section
111
112 G. Guardabassi and R. Scattolini
D,x
E2 Cond.
D Vi(t) = V ( t ) + μ (Vi - V )
x x
V ( t ) = V" + k
El
1 x w(t)
F,x
F ι—Γ where Vi is the value of Vi at the nominal
τ—r S2
equilibrium. This may be obtained, of course, by
running an accurate steady-state simulation pro-
gram. Since no energy balance equation is
(explicitly) included in the dynamic model, the
B,x assumption underneath the equation above is that
SI Reb.
B the profile of the vapour flow rates is constant,
and independent of the operating condition (if the
nominal profile of the vapour flow rates is not
known, set μ=0 ) .
Fig. 1 : The distillation column
Under the above assumptions, total and partial 3. THE NUMERICAL INTEGRATION ALGORITHM
material balances at each plate lead to writing:
0 L + The digital simulation of the model given in
= i+1 - Li V l " Vi + Qi Section 2 calls for the numerical solution of a
H x x L x+ v v + set of stiff nonlinear differential equations. In
i i = K + i i+i - i i i - i yi-i - i y± fact, the stiffness ratio, namely the ratio
between the maximum and the minimum absolute
+ Qi . eigenvalue of the Jacobian matrix, usually ranges
iZ from a few tens to a few thousands with values of
As for the single-plate sections, we set some hundreds common.
x(t) = f(x(t),u(t))
in what follows, the relative volatility α(χ,ρ)
is supposed to be given by: and a time interval [τ,τ+ôt) . We assume that the
input is constant over the considered time
α(χ,ρ) = A ( p ) (1-x) + Aj^(p) χ ,
0 interval (Fig.2):
α(χ,ρ) + χ (1-χ) ( Α ( ρ ) - Α ( ρ ) )
1 20 A. FEEDBACK CONTROL OF THE INTEGRATION PARAMETERS
Φ (χ,ρ) =
χ (1 + (α(χ,ρ)-Ι) χ ) The time step ôt is bound to an interval the
extremes of which are denoted ôtmin and ôtmax ,
1 T h e
respectively. e minimum
The r ôtmin is set equal to
α(χ,ρ) = Α ( ρ ) (1-χ) + Α ^ ρ ) χ , 0 · min · «
and 0
T min H i A L i + V i)
m n i= i
A ( p ) = A ( p ) ( ρ / ρ ) \ , k = 0,1 .
By k
solving fork δχ^ the 3rd equation, and
is the minimum plate-time-constant. On the other
substituting back in the first, one gets
+
Bx à +δ
C = G( ) x side, there is no real interest in giving ôt
values much larger than 0.1 the average settling
Ai(x) àVi-ι i < ) y± i ?ί+1 i time of the considered system. Thus, ôtmax is
often set equal to
where A^(x) := C ( x ) := 0 ; while, for all other H+
n
values of i = 1,2,...,η , W = < 1 "n)/Vi ·
RULE //I . If, for some i, χ (τ) + δχ ft [0,1] , The so obtained step size updating rule can be
± ±
then, if ôt > otmin, set ôt = ôtmin and further refined by currently controlling the
recompute δχ ; else, send a message and wait maximum relative increment δχ~(χ) . As long as it
for instructions (abort, reduce ôtmin). ranges between 0.01 and 0.1, we leave the updating
rule unchanged, whereas we increase the growing
The second rule helps facing a slightly less rate up to 5 times its "natural" value if δχ~(χ)
catastrophic event. To express it, we need some is less than 0.01 , while we decrease it down even
preliminary definition. Let to negative values if δχ~(χ) > 0,1 .
Τ χ(τ) = - χ(τ) + u ;
hence,
τΤ
χ(τ) = u + (x(0)-u) θ - /
kT
TT
ôt(x) = e^/T := ôt(0) e /
; ,
Fig. 3 : The function β (.)
2
x(0)-u
All the preceding discusssion is summarized by the
This is an "open loop" time step programming rule. following
In order to give it a "closed loop" form, let's
take the derivative and approximate it with the RULE #3 . If at time x+ôt(x) all input (exoge-
incremental ratio: nous) variables remain unchanged, as compared
with the immediately preceding time interval,
d the size of the time step is updated by the
— ôt(x) = ôt(x)/T formula:
dx
ôt(x+ôt(x)) = ( ^ ( Ô t ( x ) / T
[ôt(x+ôt(x)) - ôt(x)]/ôt(x) = ôt(x)/T ; m ,aô xx~ ) ) ôt(x) ,
where
hence,
3(v,w) := β (ν) £ M
ôt(x+ôt(x)) = (l+ôt(x)/T) ôt(x) χ 2
and the functions β (.),β2(.) are shown in
On the basis of this analysis, we tentatively set 1
Fig.2 and in Fig.3 , respectively. Otherwise,
Ôt(x+ôt(x)) = ôtmin .
ôt(0) = ôtmin
In connection with Rule #3, it is worth noticing
ôt(x+ôt(x)) = (l+3 (ôt(x)/T )) ôt(x) , that the sampling period of the output (and input)
1 max
variables is usually much larger than ôtmin . Of
where the function β^(.) is given the shape of course, the rule is in itself most effective in
Fig.2 . The deviations of β^(.) from the identity computing responses to input functions which are
are justified, on one side, by the requirement constant over relatively long time intervals (e.g.
that, in order to keep the total number of steps step functions).
within reasonable bounds, the growing rate should
not be less than 10% , even for very small values Due to high stiffness ratio, the values of ôt
of ôt(x)/T . On the other side by the constraint: produced by the updating formula of Rule #3 may
readily become quite large relative to T i . As a
mn
result, numerical instability may show up in some
ôt(x) < ôtmax = T
xa state variable, with undamped or poorly damped
Dynamic Behaviour of Binary Distillation Columns 115
Rule #4 . Make a distinction between say "regu- A "simulation experiment" proceeds according to
lar" and "auxiliary" time steps, the purpose the following steps:
of the latter being to discharge, so to say, Step 1_ The program COLDIS provides the display of
the fast dynamics excited by each regular a sketch of the bynary distillation column
time step. Precisely, each regular step is together with a list of the main symbols used
followed by a sequence of Ν auxiliary time during the simulation.
steps, the first of which has length ôtmin , Step 2 A list is provided of the data-files
while the subsequent ones grow (slowly) in already recorded and containing data relevant to
size, according to Rule #3 . At the end of different columns and mixtures previously
the auxiliary step sequence, the length of considered. If the data concerned with the problem
the next regular time step is computed again at hand are already stored, the corresponding file
by Rule #3, but setting now ôt(x), in the is copied into a new temporary file. Otherwise the
right hand side of the step size updating program COLLEG provides the input in interactive
formula, just equal to the length of the last mode of the process and mixture data, namely:
regular time step. - a label of the simulation;
- the units considered;
Ν may conceivably range from 0 to 30 . In our code - the number of plates of each section of the
it is set, by default, equal to 15. column and the corresponding efficiencies;
- the liquid hold-up of each element;
Finally a word on the averaging parameter Θ . As - the vector V and the scalars V*, μ and k^;
is well known, the smaller is Θ the higher is the - the values of pressure, concentration and
risk of numerical instability. As for the accura- relative volatility needed to specify a(.,.).
cy, we may go back to our "toy example" and easily A temporary file is then created for future
find that the exact value of Θ is then given by manipulations. On request this data file can be
- 01 -1 assigned a name specified by the user and
Θ° = ( l - e ^ ) - T/ôt permanently recorded.
Step 3 The program COLVER allows to check and
Since our primary interest is in the slow dynamics possibly modify the data-file generated at the
and, in view of Rule #3, <5t/T previous step.
mxaε [0,1] , the
conclusion can be drawn that the most accurate Step 4 A list is provided of the data-files
value of Θ ranges from 0.5 (Crank-Nicholson's already recorded and containing different
trapezoidal rule) to about 0.6 . On the other equilibrium points previously computed. If the
hand, whenever the inputs hold constant for long data concerned with the equilibrium point of
periods of time, relative to the process dynamics, interest are already recorded, the corresponding
the risk of numerical instability increases as data file is copied into a temporary file.
long as the transient settles and the time step Otherwise the program LEGSTI provides the input of
approaches its maximum value. It is then the nominal values of the following exogenous
conceivable to make Θ slowly increasing in time, signals: top (p-r.) and bottom (pg) pressures, feed
and asymptotically equal to 1. The initial value (F), stream (w) and distillate (D) flow-rates,
©o of Θ is specified by the operator, or set equal feed composition (xp). The corresponding steady-
to 0.6 by default. The time-constant of the Θ state composition in each plate is then computed.
updating mechanism is 2 T On request the data and the results are displayed
m x a. Of course, the
value of Θ is reset to 0q as soon as there is a on the screen and permanently stored into a new
change in the value of one of the input variables. file specified by the user.
Step 5 The program VERSTI allows to check the
nominal values of p^, pg, F, w, D, xp. In the case
5. STRUCTURE AND ORGANIZATION OF THE PACKAGE that any modification of these values is made, the
corresponding new equilibrium point is computed
The interactive package SIMCOL is designed to run and recorded on request.
on a VAX-11/750 using the VAX/VMS operating Step 6 The user can decide either to come to an
system. The graphical data-display is presently end of the "simulation experiment" or to continue.
designed for VT100-type terminals with semigraphic In this case, the two possibilities illustrated in
options. The package is constituted by a set of the following steps 6a and 6b are available.
FORTRAN77 programs coordinated by an unique Step 6a The program EQUIL allows to compute a
command file. This structure provides flexibility number of equilibrium points corresponding to some
to the management of the programs and allows easy constant values of p<p, pg, F, w, D, xj-
maintenance and upgrading of the package. As a interactively specified by the user. On request,
minor drawback, during a "simulation experiment", the results are recorded into a new data-file.
some recorded data-files have to be read more than Step 6b First the user is requested to specify by
once. However, being these data-files of small means of FORTRAN-type statements the form of the
size, the input/output operations involved do not exogenous signals p-p, pg, F, w, D, Χ γ . This can
substantially affect the efficiency of the easisy be done by making reference to a set of
package. FORTRAN functions recorded into an existing
program library and simulating a number of
SIMCOL has been explicitely structured to meet "canonical signals" (step, ramp, sine, square
with the following requirements: waves, ...) (program IN). Then the transient of
* provide a friendly interactive environment to the concentrations on each plate corresponding to
the engineer unfamiliar with the use of computers; the initial state determined at steps 4 and 5, and
* guarantee an immediate comprehension of the to the given input functions is computed (program
results during a "simulation experiment"; TRA). The final results can be displayed in
* allow the readability of the recorded data- semigraphical mode and permanently recorded. A
files concerning both process data and simulation further option allows to have the transient of the
data and results; main simulation variables plotted on a CALCOMP M84
* provide a final software product reasonably (program PLDIS).
portable on different computers equipped with a Step 7_ The "simulation experiment" is terminated.
FORTRAN compiler. A new "simulation experiment" can be performed
simply moving back to anyone of the previous
The total size of SIMCOL in its current form is steps.
about 203KB. However, thanks to the segmented
116 G. Guardabassi and R. Scattolini
7. CONCLUDING REMARKS
REFERENCES
Abstract. This paper presents a case study of applications of a dynamic simulation of distil-
lation columns for a new, complex manufacturing plant. The applications included process
feasibility studies, dynamic analyses during the design phase, control system development and
implementation, and operator training prior to start-up. The simulation was developed in a
plant environment with a minimal expenditure of money, but yielded significant savings in
capital and operating costs for the new plant. The plant was started up successfully with
advanced controls and produced on-specification products within ten days.
Keywords. Computer applications; dynamic simulation; computer control; control system analysis;
dynamic response; multivariable system; distillation column.
117
118 Chiu-Nan Wei
The other tests were carried out in the same way 1. Regulatory controls - Material balance
as the example described above. Since the control (Cheung and Marlin, 1982):
objective of the study at this stage is a process
evaluation rather than control system design, an Control Variables Regulated Variables
overall supervisory control system has not been
pursued. However, for some upsets, the columns Pressure Reflux flow
could not maintain smooth operation or could not Top sidestream spec. Top sidestream flow
produce on-specification products; these problem T-l bottom level Middle sidestream flow
areas were investigated, identified, and cor- Middle sidestream Intercolumn transfer
rected during the design phase. Based on the spec. flow
results of this study, the following conclusion T-2 bottom level Bottom product flow
was made: Bottom produce spec. Firing rate (furnace
duty)
The process design configuration as shown
in Fig. 1 is capable of producing on- Advanced controls - Model-based (dynamic
specif icat ion products. No additional reconciliation) control (Bartman, 1981):
intercolumn heat exchanger is required.
However, a better control system is needed A cascaded scheme (analyzer to temperature to
to improve the tower performance. feed forward ratio to flow) ultimately sets
the sidestream flow to control the sidestream
In addition, several shortcomings were revealed specification as shown in Fig. 8. The
in the study and hence, the following modifi- analyzer feedback controller uses a model-
cations were made to improve the process based control. The technique uses the
operability and system controllability. following relation between the heavier
impurity and C-2 tray No. 77 temperature.
Distillation Columns for a New Manufacturing Plant 119
DCCR-I
120 Chiu-Nan Wei
REFERENCES
4. Terminates completely.
5. Flows at half design rate.
6. Flows at 1.2 times design rate.
D. COMPONEN
T FNIBOTTO
M PRODUC
T
COMPONEN
T FNIHEAV
Y FEE
D
/— .ΕFIRIN
G RAT
E
•TIM
E (MIN.
)
-.
0COMPONEN
T FNIBOTTO
M PRODUC
T
B.COLUM
N TEMPERATUR
E (T-14
)
k C.COMPONEN
T FNIMIDDL
E SID
E STREA
M
UPSE
T/
«.COMPONEN
T FNIHEAV
Y FEE
D
- .EFIRIN
G RAT
E
40 0 08 012 0 1G 20
0 24
O f fOl O ^ • E
TIM(MIN.
)
Œ ωο οω
Fig. 4 Response of process to a step change in
concentration of component F in heavy
feed
1
0.COMPONEN
T FNIBOTTO
M PRODUC
T
- .BCOLUM
N TEMPERATUR
E (T-
l
-UPSE
T
A.COMPONEN
T FNIHEAV
Y FEE
D Fig. 7 Column supervisory controls
E.FIRIN
G RAT
E
-.
CCOMPONEN
T FNIMIDDL
E SID
E STREA
M
1G
0 0 20
- TIM
E (MIN.
)
8 S8
A. FEED RATE
8» ? â
c = a + D χ τ
SIMULATION
COMPUTER
COMPUTER SEL 32/77
ROOM SIMULATION MODELS
HONEYWELL
COMPUTER
4500
CONTROL
ROOM
Abstract. This paper will attempt to outline a new approach to model reduction
for separation processes based on nonlinear wave propagation phenomena.
Theoretical considerations on existence, stability, propagation velocity and
shape of the spatial concentration profiles will be summarized briefly, taking
a binary distillation column section as an example. These elements of non-
linear wave propagation form the basis for the proposed model reduction tech-
nique. A detailed presentation of the systematic development of a reduced model
for a special separation will be given. It will be shown that three dynamic
state variables suffice in order to describe the dynamic behaviour of one column
section. The resulting nonlinear model is given as a system of linear-implicit
differential-algebraic equations. The steady-state and dynamic behaviour of the
reduced model is compared to that of the detailed one, there being little differ-
ence between the two.
None of the above methods takes into account the The concentration profiles are plotted versus
apparent spatial structures evolving in many sepa- column height in Fig. 1. They show similar spa-
ration processes. Instead of the spatially local, tial gradients, because of the comparable operating
123
124 W. Marquardt
conditions. In both columns, after a step change eigenfunction, which is exactly the first deriva-
in the reflux rate, the profiles are propagating tive of the steady-state profile plus a constant.
in the direction of the reboiler in both the strip- The convergence of any initial profile to the con-
ping and the rectifying sections. Their principal stant travelling wave solution is not yet proven.
shape is conserved during the propagation. An ob- However, simulation results gives one to believe
server moving with a coordinate system linked to the existence of this property, defined here as
the front would hardly recognize any variations in shape stability.
the profiles. The main difference in both cases
is the column's sensitivity to disturbances. In Wave front shape. The shape of the spatial pro-
contrast to column H, the propagation velocity of file can be determined analytically only for a
column Li concentration profiles rapidly decreases particular choice of the equilibrium line. It is a
to zero. Complex multicomponent distillation structural property of the autonomous system and
plants behave in qualitatively similar way (Retz- therefore independent of initial and boundary con-
bach, 1986). ditions.
which usually is not solvable for χ(ξ) explicitly. Eq.(6) represents a trial function for all kinds
The vector £ of dimension Ρ contains groupings of ?
of nonlinearities y*(x) in implicit form. This
1
the variables A,B,w, the integration constants Ci, term can be used in a model reduction technique
C and the equilibrium line parameters. The p . s only,if the integral can be solved analytically.
2
are called shape parameters of the profile. To achieve this requirement the only nonlinearity
in the integrand is approximated by another non-
2
For further illustration, a quadratic equilibrium linear function, which allows for an analytical
line y*(x) = a x + b x + c is studied. The integrand solution of the integral. Candidate functions are
of Eq.(6) is then given by all polynomial and rational functions. A curve fit-
ting analysis allows a systematic choice of a
trial function containing a minimum number of
shape parameters a priori to the model reduction
or after definition of suitable shape parameters itself. The study of typical equilibrium relations
1 reveals that a third order polynomial or a ratio-
[ρ (χ-Ρι)(χ-ρ )Γ . nal function, having one first order polynomial as
3 2 a numerator and another as a demoninator is ade-
In this case, integration leads to the following quate in most cases.
equation of type (7)
I XPi - χ(ξ) 4 Taking an equilibrium relation with a constant
0 = ξ- IN volatility α
P ( P R P ) "" U ) " P "
3 2 2 aX
/(χ) (10)
which can be solved for χ(ξ) explicitly l+(a-l)X
(12)
the profile. The shape parameters are determined 5 2 2 4
by algebraic relations given by the shape parame-
The shape parameters p< to p have the same mean-
ter definitions and the boundary conditions (3) 4
ing as stated for Eq.(8) above. The additional p
of the system. The validity of this kind of mo-
is a measure of the asymmetric properties of the
5
delling approach is due to the special stability
feature qf the system, i.e. the preservation of spatial profile. A cubic equilibrium line approxi-
the typical shape during transients. It should be mation yields a trial function structure similar
noted here, that the shape parameters £ vary to that of Eq.(12).
quasi-stationarily during transients, because of
their dependence on the dynamic state variable z' Determination of the Shape Parameters
in the boundary conditions (4).
To deduce equations for the determination of the
Often, strong boundary influences on the travel- shape parameters £ , the system equations (2) and
ling wave exist in real systems, especially if on- boundary conditions (4) are manipulated algebraic-
ly low purity products are aimed at. To cope with ally to give the following:
systems of this kind, Eq.(7) is generalized. The ax _9x 1 ax
structure of the function F(x,£) is preserved, aç M "afal"
but the shape parameters ρ are taken to be no τι
longer constant and determined by their defini- 1+w
it
tions. They are conceived as unknown time-varying (13)
variables. So, variations in the profile are rea-
lized by changing parameters in a structurally
constant spatial trial function. The shape para- y = y (χ) + (1+w) (14)
meters and the moving coordinate system origin
are chosen to make up the new state variables of
the nonlinear low-order model. |F(-z',t) - ( l ) | | ( - z ' , t ) =
+w
A practical application of the method sketched ab- B-{y"[x(-z',t)l - y ( t ) } , (15a)
ove requires general techniques in order to Q
choose the trial function F(x,p) in Eq.(7) and to x(l-z',t) = ( t ) , (15b)
derive equations for the calculation of £ and z' X l
or w. where m(x) = dy'Vdx is the slope of the equilib-
rium line. This manipulation leads to a differen-
Spatial Trial Function tial equation for χ(ξ,ΐ) with two boundary condi-
tions and an explicit relation for y ^ , t ) , if
Due to the possible decoupling of the liquid and χ(ξ,ΐ) and its derivatives are known.
vapour model equations, it is necessary to select
a trial function for χ(ξ) only but not for γ(ξ). The limit concentrations p
1and p 2in an infinite
126 W. Marquardt
AW**' 1
(17)
whereas the models R and C demonstrate a high de-
gree of resemblance. In Fig. 5 the dynamic behav-
iour is plotted after a step disturbance in A and
y . The correspondence between the FD solution and
0
model C (cubic equilibrium line approximation) is
= (L^CX^TJ-XI-Z^.TJL+^Y^TJ-YIL-Z ,!)] , satisfactory. In the case of stronger boundary in-
fluences in order to compute ζ', Eq.(7), (18)
a linear-implicit differential equation for z'. should be replaced by the more complex Eq.(17) or
The sensitivity function integrals can sometimes by a MWR equation.
be solved analytically. If this is not possible,
an approximation using a finite sum may be used. The structural properties of the reduced model R
are investigated in a wide range of operating con-
Another approach is the use of the simple diffe- ditions. As an example, the control variable A is
rential equation (9) and a physically based defi- varied to move the concentration front from one
nition for w, given by the global material balance section boundary to the other. The steady-state
of a column section infinitely extended over its gains are shown in Fig. 6. p and p show an almost
boundaries. With this assumption an explicit func-
3 5
linear dependence on A in the steady state. The
tion of the limit concentrations pi and p results system nonlinearity is lumped in the front loca-
2
Nonlinear Model Reduction for Binary Distillation 127
tion z* . The same behaviour is revealed by the extension of the method towards concentration
steady-state sensitivities. Their absolute values enthalpy and multicomponent column models and on
show that the main contribution to the system be- its application in the design of control systems
haviour is given by the location z' and the gra- and model based measurement techniques.
dient p of the front. The asymmetric parameter
3
p is only necessary for more accurate approxima-
5
tions. REFERENCES
Linear design methods must be used to develop con- Benallou, Α., D.E. Seborg, D.E. Mellichamp (1982).
trol systems or model-based measurement techniques. Dynamic Compartmental Methods for Separation
Hence, the properties of a linearized reduced or- Processes: Basic Theory. Paper presented at
der model are of great importance. They are stu- the AIChE 1982 Meeting, Los Angeles.
died in a wide range of the control variable A. Cho, Y.S., B. Joseph (1983). Reduced-order Steady-
All states are locally observable and controllable, State and Dynamic Models for Separation
if one measurement in the concentration front is Processes, Part I and II. AIChE-Journal, 29,
used. The three system eigenvalues vary only 261-275.
slightly with A. They are real and lay in the Epple, U. (1986). Model Reduction for Nonlinear
ranges [-0.02, -0.15], [-0.5, -0.7], [-3.1, -4.8] Systems with Distributed Parameters. These
respectively. Simulation studies show the simila- proceedings.
rity of the nonlinear and the linearized model. Epple, U., W . Marquardt, E.D. Gilles (1986).
Model Reduction for Systems with Wave Propaga-
These results show that only a weak nonlinearity tion. To be published.
is incorporated in the reduced-order model state Gilles, E.D. (1986). Some New Approaches for Con-
variables. Hence, linear design methods using the trolling Complex Processes in Chemical Engi-
linearized reduced model are expected to result in neering. Third Int. Conf. on Chem. Proc. Con-
efficient control systems. trol, CPC III, Jan. 12-17, 1986, Asilomar, Ca.
Marquardt, W. (1985). Model Reduction Techniques
Two Distillation Columns for Separation Columns. Proc. Int. Conf. "On
Industrial Process Modelling and Control",
The model reduction technique is further applied June 6-9, 1985, Hangzhou, China.
to two packed distillation columns separating the Petzold, L. (1982). Differential-algebraic equa-
same feed to high and medium purity products r e - tions are not ODE's. SIAM J . Sci. Stat. Corn-
spectively. The operating conditions are comparab- put. , 3, 367-384.
le to columns H and L of Fig. 1. These examples RetzDUcrT, F . (1986). Control of an Extractive
present a severe test for the model reduction Distillation Plant. These proceedings.
technique due to the strong boundary influences in Von Rosenberg, D.U., M.S. Hadi (1980). Numerical
both cases. Solution of Multi-Component, Packed Tower
Distillation Problems. Chem. Eng. Commun., 4,
A reduced model based on type R discussed above is 313-324.
compared to a high grid point number FD solution Stewart, W.Ê., K.L. Levien, M . Morari (1985).
of a distributed parameter system model according Simulation of Fractionation by Orthogonal
to Eq.(l) and equilibrium line (10). In both
Collocation. Chem. Eng. Sc., 40, 409-421.
steady states, i.e. at the beginning and at the
Villadsen, J.V., M.L. Michelsen (1ÏÏ78). Solution
end of the simulation and during the whole tran-
of Differential Equations Models by Polynomial
sient, the solution of both models are almost the
Approximation. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs,
same. The concentration profiles, computed with
New Jersey.
the reduced model R, are plotted in Figs. 7 after
a large step disturbance of more than 10 % in the
\j
feed concentration. The reduced model consists of
eight dynamic state variables. These are the front
location and two shape parameters in both column
sections and the distillate and bottom product con-
centration. Hence, this example shows, that the
number of state variables and the structure of the
\J 1
1,0 0,61
y'
0,6
0,7
FD solutions
Model R S S ^ Y ^
k=100 Y////
k=5o /(/M
k = 20
Θ
0,0
0.0 0,5 zH 1,0
0,7
FD solution (250)
Model R
Model C
Model Q
// /
Jy ® x 1,0
1,0
0.0 0,5 „ z[-] 1,0
Θ
Fig. 4. Comparison of different models.
Steady-state behaviour.
0,7
A: 1,34-1,4
0,0
solution (250)
Model C
zl-J 1.0
-1.0
0,0 0,5 χ 1,0
Abstract. Many continuous industrial processes working inside a large operating range
can be modelled by variable parameter and/or bilinear continuous state equations. In
the case of processes with variable parameters, the state affine models allow to get a
discrete approximated representation. An original direct identification method, invol-
ving a variable parameter filter, is processed inside the whole operating range in order
to estimate the model coefficients. A dual approach leads to state affine control algo-
rithms by gathering a family of linear controllers into a unique control law. In the
case of bilinear continuous processes, their discrete model is of linear time-varying
type. A way for digitally controlling them can be a closed loop linearization which
leads to an implicit control law. An improvement can be obtained by adding integrators.
Experimental results got, in each operating case (variable parameter or bilinear system),
from a pilot neutralization reactor show the applicability of the methods.
INTRODUCTION
The continuous industrial plants dynamically working through experimental results got from a pilot neu-
inside a large operating range involve non-linear tralization reactor working in each operating case:
phenomena that mostly cannot be suitably approached variable parameter system or bilinear system.
by linear models. In order to describe their beha-
viour, it is necessary to use non-linear models and/ PRESENTATION OF THE CHEMICAL PILOT PLANT
or variable parameter models. The control of such
systems can be managed from adaptive methods or mul- The chemical pilot plant (Fig. 1) is a continuous
ti-model techniques but it may be preferable to try neutralization reactor involving a strong base
to find a global non-linear model correctly descri- (Na OH) and a strong acid (HC1). For a constant
bing the system behaviour in a large operating ran- acid flow-rate Q^, the base flow-rate Qg(t) is cho-
ge and a unique control law. Moreover, the goal +
sen as control variable, the output variable being
being the control by means of one or several digital concentration C(t) of H ions obtained by means of
processors, it is necessary to build a discrete a pH-meter.
non-linear and/or time-varying parameter model.
In this paper, two methods for discrete modelling
and control are presented in the domain of conti-
nuous industrial processes which are linear with
time-varying parameters or bilinear. In the case of
continuous processes with variable parameters, the
C O M P U T RE
state affine models, linear in the state and poly- L R
nomial with respect to the extended inputs allow to
get a discrete approximated representation. An ori-
ginal direct identification method operating inside
the whole range is used in order to find the model
coefficients : it involves a least square method
and a variable parameter filter. A dual approach
allowed us to propose a synthesis method for state
affine control algorithms : the technique consists
in gathering a family of linear controllers into a
unique control law described by a state affine sys-
tem for which some closed loop characteristics can γ do
be considered as quasi-invariant. In the case of
continuous bilinear processes, we get a discrete
model which is linear with variable parameters de-
Qa+Q
pending upon the inputs. By applying the idea of
ZJLR 1
b
closed-loop linearization, we get a linearizing
control via non-linear state feedback. The corres-
ponding equation is implicitly solved during each
sampling period by means of numerical analysis me-
thods. It is shown how an improvement of the con-
Fig. 1 : Chemical pilot plant
trol law performances with respect to modelling
errors can be obtained by adding an integrator. The
applicability of those methods is illustrated
129
130 G. Gilles et al.
2
state "parallel
The parameter estimation of this state-affine model affine
can be achieved by means of two different approa- reference
! state affine
|
ches. The first developped by Dang Van Mien and
Normand-Cyrot (Dang Van Mien and Normand-Cyrot, l-.-Tt:
1980, 1984, Neyran and co-workers, 1984) consists
in gathering in the state-affine system by means
of multilinear regressions a set of linear identi-
ro t n e
fications obtained for Ν values of V belonging to
(^MIN> ^MAx)* ^ method presented by the au-
thors (Dadugineto, 1985) is a more direct approach. Fig. 2 : Structure of the state-affine control
It allows to build the state-affine model from an
input-output sequence obtained during a variation Notice that the estimated state of the process is
of V belonging to (Vjîj , Vj^^) . The least square obtained by means of the internal state-affine mo-
N
estimation is biased in the case of an additive del issued from the identification. In the same way,
noise on the output. The use of a time-varying li- the reference model is a state affine one with res-
near filter which has the same structure as the pect to the extended inputs (z(k)-£ (k)) and V(k).
state-affine model, allows to reach and unbiased
a
estimation. Applied to the chemical process, the Application to the chemical pilot plant
direct approach gives better results than the other
(Neyran and co-workers 1985). Fig. 3 shows the output concentration evolution with
Pilot Neutralization Chemical Reactor 131
respect to a série of reference input steps during sed loop system, we want to prescribe the system
a linear time variation of the reactor volume. In performances by setting a closed loop sampled data
order to improve the robustness of the state-affine transfert function under the 1following form :
control, we compare three control laws : two linear
optimal controls computer for V = 4 I and V = 12 i X(z) _ (1-d)z~
H(z)
and the state-affine one. Let us notice that only E(z) •1
1-dz
this control law gives good results for all reactor in order to reach the step input during the steady-
capacities. state working, the d pole setting the response time.
The corresponding closed loop state model is :
LINEARIZING CONTROL FOR BILINEAR WORKING v w c
CONDITION = dx, (1 - d)€ (6)
~k+1 ^k ' k
and, comparing to the open loop model (5), we get
When the neutralization reactor is operating under the equation :
a constant volume, and when the input range is lar-
f(u ) Ξ Y ( u ) . u
ge, it has been shown that the model (1) becomes k k k +[cj)(uk)-d]xk-(1-d)ek = 0 (7)
bilinear and can be written under the following
f orm : If we can get the solution u^ of this equation, we
χ = ax + bu + nxu (4) obtain a non-linear state feedback control law. But,
contrary to the continuous linearizing control case,
Numerous works have been devoted to bilinear sys- equation (7) does not lead to an explicit control
tems but they have been more related to the analy- law. It has to be solved, during each sampling pe-
sis of their properties than to their control. Se- riod, by numerical analysis procedures. For example,
veral types of control have been proposed : "bang-ban^' the successive substitutions method allows to solve
(Mohler, 1973), stabilization by Lyapunov functions equation (7) by means of the iterative algorithm :
(Gauthier and Bornard, 1980), immersion into ano- = F }( u[ d ^ ( u k )>] xik+ ( 1 - d ) e k
ther systems (Claude, Fliess and Isidori, 1983), (8)
k,i
model matching (Di Benedetto and Isidori, 1984),
pseudo-linearization (Mouyon, Champetier and Reboul- 1
The use of a faster convergence algorithm, like New-
let, 1984). Very rare are the papers dealing with ton-Raphson s one, is not necessary in the case of
concrete applications : let us mention a recent this scalar problem and if the sampling period is
paper (Cebuhar and Castanza, 1984) related to the small enough.
control of chemical reactors by minimizing quadra-
tic criterions. A linearizing control, which minimi- P.I. Discrete linearizing control
zes a quadratic criterion with variable weighting
matrices (Gilles, 1983), involving a non-linear Due to the closed loop state model form, the static
state feedback, has been presented by the authors error corresponding to a step input is theoretically
and applied to this neutralization reactor (Gilles equal to zero. Nevertheless, in practice, because of
and Laggoune, 1985a). Much rarer are the works rela- modelling errors, the "perfect model following" is
ted to digital computer control of continuous bili- not guaranteed and static errors can occur. That is
near processes. Nevertheless, we can mention the why it is preferable to systematically introduce an
paper of Alvarez Gallegos brothers (1982), upon di- integrator in the control law in order to cancel
gital control of fermentation processes modelled static errors.
by a larger class of systems : models linear in con-
trol ; the criterion which is minimized by the con- The introduction of integrators can be managed in
trol law is still a classical quadratic criterion. the classical way, like in linear quadratic optimal
More recently, the authors (Gilles and Laggoune, problems (Foulard and co-workers, 1977) by augment-
1985b)proposed an implicit digital linearizing ing the dimension of the state vector :
control law for multivariable continuous bilinear x =( hw i tv v + ( ex
)
systems. Based on a discrete time variable parame- k k " k
k" 4 v V * k i
ter model of bilinear systems, the method is recal- +
and recomputing the control law in terms of the pro-
led for the monovariable model (4) in the next two
ceding one. Nevertheless, by applying Zdan's method,
paragraphs and then twice extended.
we notice that we are not able to independantly set
the overshoot time and magnitude of the closed loop
Discrete model of the continuous bilinear system second order system. It is much more preferable to
control by means of a P.I. controller, within a se-
Systems modelled by equation (4) and controlled by cond loop, the preceding linearized system ( Eq. 6 ) ;
a digital computer with a zero hold have their evo- we can then apply the classical linear system theory
lution described by : 1
after the linearizing control law. Inserting the P.I.
x(t) = (a + n u ) x(t) + b u transfer function : κ + [Κί/(1-ζ" )] leads to the
k k overall closed loop transfer
with u = const, inside the sampling period 1 1 function :
kT ύ t < (k+1)T. O-dXK + K^z [i- z" /(k+K.)]
H(z) = 1
The system is then piecewise linear and its solution 1 + [(1-d) (K+K )-(1+d)]z~ + [d-(1-d)K]z"
i
involves the transition matrix : , r, , ™\ Λ
which must be compared with Zdan's form
b[<J)(u,T)-1J
k •1 (1 - Bz ')
<Ku ,T)=exp[(a+nu )TJ and y(u ,T)= , H(z) = Az
k k k a( + } 1 - Cz Dz
which leads to
k+1
the
J>(u, following
,T).x, discrete
+ y(u, ,T).u, model : (5) 6 t H
with : A=p —
which is linear with variable parameters depending ο 5θ— Logp -cos9 + —
o o p '
, C = 2p cos9
o
upon the control variable setting the operating
point. sinB
Logp +cos0 +p
ο ο ο _ 2
Discrete linearizing control , D = ρ
6 K
Logp -cos9 + —
By means of this discrete model, it is possible to o ο ρ
find a control law which allows the continuous bili-
near system controlled by a digital computer to get the conjugate poles ρ exp(+j6 ) being related to the
the pleasant property of global linearity. overshoot magnitude D and the overshoot time NT by
the relationships :
Remaining the same state variable x ^ s ^ for the clo- _ Νϊ/ϊ) and θ = π/Ν . (9)
ν ο
132 G. Gilles et al.
D and N being chosen, the following formulas (got linear systems. They have been applied on a neutra-
from the comparison) allow to tune the controller lization pilot reactor for the two classes of ope-
parameters : 2 1 C O+S e rating conditions and 9the results can be considered
sin6 d-p as rather satisfactory.
d=p (• v
-Logp +cos0 ),k= u ° k = ~ pQu o Po , l
_ _
° o 1-d ' ι 1-d (10) In the case of time varying working condition, it has
We
.._ can notice that,, not only
__.ly k and k. are sset, but been shown that a state-affine control law allows to
d is also constrained to a numerical value. keep a desirable closed-loop behaviour all over the
working volume. The extension of this method to a
Linearizing control of the delayed bilinear system multivariable approach of the pilot plant is under
investigation. In the case of the bilinear working
The neutralization reactor involving, as many in- condition, it has been shown that a digital closed
dustrial processes, a time delay, it is important loop linearization leads to a state feedback control
to use a model taking into account this time delay law which, if the model is exact, guarantees the
for a more precise linearization. same dynamic behaviour inside the whole operating
range. In the practical case of modelling errors,
In the case of the reactor delay equal to 2 sam- improvements have been pointed out by designing a
pling periods, the state dimension is augmented to digital P.I. non-linear controller. In the case of
3 and the discrete model becomes : processes involving time delays, it has been shown
how the linearizing control law and the Smith con-
0 1 0 troller can be mixed in order to solve the problem.
0 0 1 = 11 0 0 In order to improve the performances, and specially
-k
0 0 the robustness, it would be interesting to use a re-
1
The prescribed closed loop transfer function being
ference model following structure and to study the
static error cancellation by introducing a parallel
now : H(z)=|(1-d)z~3I/I1-dz~ I, the corresponding internal model.
state model is :
Ό 1 0 0" 1 0 Finally, theses works could be fruitfully extended
0 0 1 0 for systems presenting both a bilinear structure
• [ ° ] 2k
0 0 d —κ 1-d and a parametric variation in their operating condi-
tion. Again, the pilot reactor can be, in this case,
and, by identification, we get : a very good testing device.
y(u ).u + [<}>(u )-d]x (k)-(1-d)e = 0 (11)
k k k 3 k REFERENCES
The implicit equation (7) is just slightly modified,
x (k) being 2T delayed : x (k) = s(k-2). The con- Alvarez Gallegos, J. (1982). Optimal control of a
1 3
troller which is obtained is an extension for bili- class of discrete multivariable non-linear
near systems of the well-known Smith's controller. systems. Application to a fermentation process,
Journal of Dynamic Systems, Measurement and
Experimental results Control, vol. 104, pp. 212-217.
Cebuhar, W., Costanza, V. (1984). Non-linear control
All experiments are processed for an initial total of CSTR's, Chemical Engineering Science, vol.
flow-rate Q = Q + Q = 5 5 £ / h and for a pH around 2.5. 39, 12, pp. 1715-1722.
0 A oB o
A reference corresponding to x =0.1 is equivalent
c Claude, D., Fliess, Μ., Isidori, A. (1983). Immer-
to a pH reference of 0.3. The sampling period is sion directe et par bouclage d'un système non-
T=15sec. linéaire dans un linéaire, Compte-rendu à l'A-
cadémie des Sciences, série 1, t. 296, pp.237-
A first feedback yields to a linear system from a 240.
bilinear one, and a second feedback realizes a P.I Dadugineto, (1985). Identification de différents mo-
control, allowing a cancellation of static errors. dèles discrets non-linéaires continus. Appli-
Moreover, we master the response time by specifing cation aux procédés industriels pilotes, Con-
the overshoot magnitude D(%) and the first over- férence internationale CNRS Automatique non-
shoot time NT. Fig. 4 shows the normalized concen- linéaire, Paris.
tration evolution for two desired response times Dang Van Mien, H., Normand-Cyrot, D. (1984). Non-
(D=5%, N=20 or N=15). The static error is perfectly linear state-affine identification methods.
cancelled. The obtained overshoot is greater than Application to electrical power plants, I.F.
the desired one, but the first overshoot time is A.C. symposium an Aut. Control on Power gene-
rather good. Fig. 5 shows the evolution of the nor- ration, Distribution and Protection, Pretoria,
malized concentration and the base flow-rate, with Automatica, vol. 20, n° 2.
respect to a greater step magnitude. The same re- Dufour, J., Thomasset, D. (1984). Définition and
marks, as in Fig. 4, can be mentioned. The over- synthesis of state-affine control algorithms.
shoot differences with respect to the theory are Application to vary-linear systems, IEEE
due to the fact that, the tuning parameters (d, K, Conf. on Computers, Systems and signal Proces-
KjO are calculated from the system model mich in- sy, Bangalore, India.
volve some identification errors. Fliess, M., Normand-Cyrot, D. (1980). Vers une appro-
che algébrique des systèmes non-linéaires en
Bilinear delayed system temps discret, Analysis and optimization of
systems, Versailles, Lecture notes control
In Fig. 6, we implement, the "Smith non-linear al- Inform. Sciences, n° 28, Springer-Verlag.
gorithm" (Eq. 11) on the process. The desired closed Gauthier, J-P., Bornard, G. (1980). Stabilization of
loop response is a two sampling periods delayed bilinear systems. Performance specification
first order one. The result is rather satisfactory, and optimality, 4th INRIA international conf.
but the delay is too small (10% of the approximated on Control and Optimization, Versailles,
time constant) to point out a real improvement of France.
the closed-loop linearization with respect to the Gilles, G., Laggoune, Ν. (1985a). Linearizing control
non-delayed system. of a class of non-linear continuous processes,
IFAC conf. CSTD'85, Beijing, China.
CONCLUSION AND PROSPECTS Gilles, G., Laggoune, Ν. (1985b). Digital control of
bilinear continuous processes. Application to
Several digital control methods have been proposed a chemical pilot plant, IFAC conf. on Digital
for two classes of non-linear continuous processes: Computer Application to Process Control,
linear system with time-varying parameters and bi- Vienna, Austria.
Pilot Neutralization Chemical Reactor 133
Mohler, R. (1973). Bilinear control processes, Aca- Neyran, B., Thomasset, D., Dufour, J. (1985). Di-
demic press. rect identification of a class of non-
Neyran, Β., Saade-Castro, J., Thomasset, D., Reynaud, linear systems. Application to a neutra-
R. (1984). Modélisation dynamique non-li- lization process. IFAC Conf. CSTD'85,
néaire d'un procédé chimique de neutrali- Beijing, China.
sation, Congrès international S.E.E., Nice.
f Cone
1000 200 0
Τ
Fig.3 : Comparison between linear and
state-affine control
o.i Η
STEP REFERENCE
MEASURED OUTPUT (N=20)
MEASURED OUTPUT (N=15)
600 "
MEASURED OUTPUT
β
a)
60 0 »·
•/h
60
INTRODUCTION
The dynamic behavior of stirred tank reactors in normal and also during disturbed operation. State
semibatch operation has been dealt with in only estimation results obtained from industrial-scale
a few papers in chemical reaction engineering semibatch reactors will also be given.
literature. This limited scientific interest is
in contrast to the great economic importance of
this reactor operation mode, which is widely used DIFFERENT SEMIBATCH OPERATION MODES
for the production of polymers, fine chemicals
and pharmaceuticals. A large number of biotechno- A large number of chemicals are produced in reac-
logical processes are also carried out in fed- tors operated in semibatch mode. Various versions
batch operation. The dynamic behaviour of semi- of this operation mode are commonly used: two
batch reactors is characterized by a strongly non- important examples are shown in Fig. 1.
linear, and especially an inherently nonstationary
nature. These dynamic features give rise to dif- In the first operation mode I, shown on the left
ficulties in reactor operation particularly with hand side of this Figure, one reactant Β is initi-
highly exothermic and temperature-sensitive reac- ally introduced into the reactor vessel. The other
tions. Operational problems during the start-up reactant A is fed continuously from a storage tank
and the feed period are attributable to the dyna- into the reactor untill the stoichiometric ratio
mic behavior of the process, and to insufficient of the reactants is reached.
actual information on the process state, acces-
sible from the measured signals (i.e. the tempe-
ratures and the feed flow rates).
s t o r a eg t a n sk
To gain a better insight into semibatch proces- B*
ses, this paper will deal with the following
topics :
11J
The first part will describe dynamic features ty-
pical of isothermal and exothermic reactions
in semibatch reactors, for example retarded onset
of the reaction during start-up, and reaction
drop-out due to disturbances (i.e. poisoning) in
the chemical mechanism. These effects can lead to
an undesirable accumulation of the reactants,
followed by a temporary runaway of the reaction.
These phenomena will be discussed, using simula- Fig. 1. Two important semibatch operation modes
tion examples showing the most important effects.
Another important operation mode II is depicted on
The second part of the paper will provide exam- the right hand side of Fig. 1. In the initial
ples for on-line calculation of additional sig- operation phase, a certain amount of both reac-
nals characterizing the actual reactor state tants is fed into the reactor. The reaction tempe-
more distinctly then the available measurement rature is then raised by jacket heating, and by
signals (temperatures and flow rates). These state using the heat of reaction. In the subsequent feed
estimation techniques (i.e. Kalman filters) make period both reactants are fed simultaneously into
use of dynamic reactor models. They provide real- the reactor. This operation mode II is widely used
time information on the actual production rate, for the production of polymers: monomers and the
the conversion, and the composition of the reac- initiator are the reaction components in this
tion mixture. These calculated variables facili- special application.
tate the supervision of the reactor state during
135
136 H. Schuler and K. de Haas
The inherently nonstationary nature of these pro- Analyses of a similar elementary model have
cesses is apparent from the operation procedure been given by Hugo (1981), Hugo and Steinbach
of these semibatch operation modes: the dynamic (1982, 1985) and Steinbach (1985). The model (1-6)
behavior is interesting only during the start-up forms the basis of more sophisticated models in-
and the feed period. The reactor state has a typi- cluding complex reactions (see e.g. King and
cally transitional character during these periods Gilles, 1984, 1985),multiphase reactions, state
of limited length. An analysis of steady states equations of the different phases etc.
and stability is adequate only in special cases.
An example of such an analysis has been given by In the following some basic dynamic features of
Kogan and Mints (1979). semibatch reactors will be described using simu-
lation examples of the corresponding models.
In the following a short outline of elementary
semibatch reactor models will be given. These
models will be used to explain some dynamic pro- DYNAMIC BEHAVIOR OF SEMIBATCH REACTORS
blems of reactor operation.
reaction rate, as well as the energy release du- reaching high finite conversions. In a transition
ring an exothermic reaction. Dependent on the para- range of the cooling temperature the retardation
meters of the specific case different characte- of the reaction onset described above can be ob-
ristic types of reaction courses can occur. Two served. In this parameter range an accumulation
basic patterns are depicted in Fig. 3. of reactants will occur, which subsequently leads
0.30 -r to difficulties in reactor operation.
. . . . ,. ,
PRODUCTION RATE
2 3
t i me
At low cooling jacket temperatures, the cooling Fig. 5. Comparison of normal operation of
effect is so strong that the onset of the reaction semibatch reactors operated in mode II,
is prevented. When very high cooling temperatures and of disturbed operation caused by
are employed, the reaction will proceed regularly temporary damage of an initiator.
138 H. Schuler and K. de Haas
T , T , T
When the initiator efficiency is reestablished, c F 1 p2 and the flow rates , V^,
the accumulated reactants are consumed in an acce- v"steam are fed to the filter algorithm which pro-
lerating reaction. In this special case the strong cesses the data together with the balance equa-
reaction is controlled by the cooling system. tions of the reactor. The filter provides the most
probable actual value of the production rate. This
The example shows that a disturbance in the estimated signal is supplied to the plant operator.
chemical mechanism will affect the operability In Fig. 6 this signal is depicted, as well: it
of semibatch reactors in the same way as the re- clearly shows the onset of the reaction. The
tarded onset of the reaction during start-up.
(calculated) production rate increases from initi-
ally zero (no reaction) to values in the range of
It is difficult to recognize when a reactant is
starting to accumulate just from the temperature the feed rate. The production rate varies during
signals. This undesired behavior can be seen more the feed period only to a small degree because the
distinctly from the production rate and the con- reaction runs smootly. It should be noted that
tent of component A in the reaction mixture. These this real-time calculation is similar to the simu-
variables are not available as sensor signals. lation result shown in Fig. 5.
STATE ESTIMATION
NOTATION
A cooling surface
reactor temperature Tr C
n heat capacity of reactor content
Da Damkohler number
E activation energy
M molar mass
cooling temperature l
c R gas constant
T temperature
V volume
V volumetric flow rate
1 W heat capacity of the empty reactor
concentration
specific heat capacity
heatR transfer coefficient
• // ι
f (-Ah-
k
reaction enthalpy
preexponential factor
J J
production rate n
R mass
mass flow rate
production rate
reaction rate
time
conversion
density
C O N C L U S I SO N , A reactants
C cooling jacket
When processing highly exothermic and temperature- F feed
sensitive reactions in semibatch reactors there 0 initial condition
is observed sometimes an undesired dynamic R reaction
behavior of the process. These operational pro- Τ total
blems can often be explained by an accumulation
of the reactants inside the reactor due to un-
balanced feed and reaction rates. This nonequi-
librium is attributable to the dynamic characte-
ristics of semibatch processes, or to disturbances
affecting the mechanism of the chemical reaction.
Undesired accumulations should be prevented by
taking the dynamics into account in the operation
instructions, and by monitoring the production
rate and reactant content on-line during the
operation. Both strategies are dealt with in this
paper.
140 H. Schuler and K. de Haas
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exothermic f i r s t - o r d e r r e a c t i o n s . Phase por-
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Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
A b s t r a c t . A Kalman f i l t e r c o m p o s e d o f t w o d e c o u p l e d f i l t e r s and c o n s i d e -
ring Gel-Permeation chromatographic,(GPC), measurements for the con-
t i n u o u s e s t i m a t i o n of the chain l e n g t h d i s t r i b u t i o n , (CLD), i n t h e c a s e
of f r e e r a d i c a l p o l y m e r i z a t i o n of styrene i s d i s c u s s e d . Although the
e x i s t e n c e o f a t i m e d e l a y , d u e t o t h e GPC a n a l y s i s , t h e c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f
t h i s measurement in t h e f i l t e r a l g o r i t h m produces t h e o b s e r v a b i l i t y of
t h e s t a t e s c h a r a c t e r i z i n g t h e CLD a n d p r o v i d e s c o n t i n u o u s a c c e s s t o t h e
CLD a n d i t s c h a r a c t e r i s t i c v a l u e s .
INTRODUCTION f o r t h e e s t i m a t i o n o f t h e CLD, a n e w e s t i -
mator w i l l be t r e a t e d c o n s i d e r i n g sporadic
During the course of a p o l y m e r i z a t i o n r e a c - t i m e l a g g e d GPC m e a s u r e m e n t s o f t h e CLD.
t i o n , a large q u a n t i t y of polymer chains T h e c o n s i d e r a t i o n o f t h e GPC m e a s u r e m e n t s
a r e i n i t i a t e d , grow and a r e t e r m i n a t e d . i n t h e f i l t e r h a s two a d v a n t a g e s s i m u l t a n e -
The number and l e n g t h o f t h e p o l y m e r i c o u s l y . On t h e o n e h a n d i t p r o d u c e s t h e o b -
c h a i n s formed d u r i n g t h e r e a c t i o n , v a r y s e r v a b i l i t y of the s t a t e s characterizing
w i t h t h e r e a c t i o n mechanism and t h e r e a c - t h e CLD, w h i l e o n t h e o t h e r p r o v i d i n g t h e
t i o n c o n d i t i o n s e m p l o y e d . The d i s t r i b u t i o n p o s s i b i l i t y f o r e s t i m a t i o n o f t h e CLD a c -
of the polymer c h a i n s over t h e i r c h a i n tually during the operation.
l e n g t h , d e t e r m i n e s many i m p o r t a n t t e c h n o l o -
g i c a l p r o p e r t i e s of the polymeric product.
If t h i s f a c t i s t o be taken i n t o a c c o u n t , MODELLING OF FREE RADICAL
t h e c h a i n l e n g t h d i s t r i b u t i o n (CLD) , w h e r e POLYMERIZATION OF STYRENE
known, f a c i l i t a t e s s i g n i f i c a n t l y t h e c h a -
r a c t e r i z a t i o n and t h e c o n t r o l o f t h e q u a - The k i n e t i c s o f t h e f r e e r a d i c a l p o l y m e r i -
l i t y of t h e p r o d u c e d p o l y m e r . z a t i o n o f s t y r e n e (FRPS) i n s o l u t i o n a r e
w e l l known and t h u s o n e c a n t a k e m o d e l s
A t t i m e s t h e CLD c a n b e p r e d i c t e d a c c u r a - from t h e l i t e r a t u r e and a d a p t them t o t h e
t e l y from s t a t i s t i c a l c o n s i d e r a t i o n s , how- s p e c i f i c c a s e of a s u i t a b l e laboratory
ever, at other times accurate a priori pre- p l a n t . T h e FRPS i s r e p r e s e n t e d i n t h e f o l -
d i c t i o n s are not p o s s i b l e . Despite the lowing chemical equations (Henrici-Olivè,
necessary time-delay, in either case Gel- O l i v e , 1969; Odian, 1981):
P e r m e a t i o n C h r o m a t o g r a p h y (GPC) c a n b e
used as the b e s t a n a l y t i c a l procedure to Initiator dissociation-Chain start:
o b t a i n e x p e r i m e n t a l i n f o r m a t i o n on b o t h
CLD a n d m o l e c u l a r a v e r a g e s o f t h e p o l y m e r I —-—+ 2-1"+ N t . (1)
formed. 2
Rp
Model-aided measurement methods (Kalman- I%M — ( 2 )
F i l t e r ) o f f e r t h e p o s s i b i l i t y of r e c o n -
s t r u c t i n g i n t e r e s t i n g but d i f f i c u l t acces- Chain propagation: R
sible process states, (Gelb,1974; G i l l e s ,
1 9 7 9 ) , from e a s i l y a v a i l a b l e measurement * p
v a r i a b l e s . These methods have in a few
cases been applied to polymerization r e a c -
t i o n engineering (Adams,Schooley, 1969; Jo, C h a i n t r a n s f e r , t o monomer, t o s o l v e n t and
B a n k o f f , 1 976 ; S c h u l e r , 1 9 8 0 ; Kiparissides to chemical modifier:
and o t h e r s , 1 9 8 0 , 1 9 8 1 ) . However, there R
seems t o be no e x p e r i m e n t a l work p u b l i s h e d , P? + χ — > Ρ ^ + Ρ ; x = M,S,Rx (4)
±
i n w h i c h t h e s t a t e s d e t e r m i n i n g t h e CLD
are estimated during the operation. A Kal- Chain termination by c o mR
bination:
man f i l t e r w a s d e v e l o p e d b y S c h u l e r a n d
Zhang ( 1 9 8 5 ) f o r an o n - l i n e e s t i m a t i o n o f ft ft t
P. + P. . > P. . . (5)
t h e s t a t e v e c t o r , however one p a r t of this
vector i s not observable.
In t h e f o l l o w i n g , i n order t o overcome t h e
above mentioned d e f i c i e n c i e s of the a p p l i -
c a t i o n s of model aided measurement methods
141
142 S. Ar. Papadopoulou
dn(P )
± SENSOR MODEL AND
MEASUREMENT EQUATIONS
+ ^ ^(i-D-d-ai^a^h-V (13)
When measuring the CLD with the help of
the GPC, the logarithm of the MW of each
c τ τ ) α+ ( τ ) Δ +} ( polymeric chain can be obtained from the
I = ν%( κ- ρ· ρ\· ν - % ' calibration curve, which has been evalua-
•r(M) -V (14) ted with polystyrene standards and fitted
with a third order polynomial of the re-
The reaction rates and other terms inclu- tention volume. The raw data resulted from
ded in the equations are given in Schuler, the GPC analysis is transferred from the
Zhang, 1985 and Schuler, Papadopoulou,1986, integrator to the process computer through
in press. Additionaly a rate equation for an interface. After the conversion and
a chain transfer to a chemical modifier is treatment of the measured data, (Pickett
used : and others, 1966; Yau, Flemming, 1968),
the differential weight fraction distribu-
R = k exp (-E /RT) · [RX] -V (15) tion over the chain length is obtained
RX RX KX according to the following equation:
The laboratory plant used for the purposes k
W(i) = X (AREA. ) ;
FLCW*FR(i)*AEEA./I 1
of this work is described in the same
papers. i=1 Î,I (16)
FR(i) = 0.434/[i>MAV )'MC +2^2 V +3^C ^)];
SYSTEM STRUCTURE R 1 R 3
From the signal flow diagram shown in Fig.1 i = chain length
it is obvious, that the system is composed
of two subsystems in a serial structure. The average MWs are obtained in a similar
However the variables of the second sub- way. In this paper two classes of measure-
system have no feed back influence on the ment equations will be treated, making
dynamics of the first one and especially possible the access to the state vector of
upon easily available measurement variab- the second subsystem. In the first case
les such as the temperature or the monomer the measurements of the number and weight
concentration. Consequently possible di- average MWs will be used. While in the
sturbances and model errors cannot be cor- second case a specific number of weight
rected in the second part of the system,if fractions of polymer chains are used as a
only these measurements are used in the proportion of the weight of the polymer as
filter to estimate the state variables of a whole, according to the measured CLD.
the system. In both cases the rank of the observability
matrix concerning the second subsystem is
The presence of transfer reactions, for ex- equal to the number of the measurement
ample, can cause such errors. These reac- equations.
tions have negligible influence upon the
conversion (Henrici-Olivê, Olive, 1969). The measurement equations used for the
However, significant errors can result from second subsystem are:
an inaccurate consideration of these + r
effects in the model.
Y = MW + r ; y = nT^—p (17)
2j 2 j 2j 2j
Figure 2 shows estimated and experimental
i*n(P.)
Chain Length Distribution in a Polymerization Reactor 143
2
FILTER STRUCTURE
2
different parts, describing the dynamics
of the two subsystems.
Σ dn+H
(34)
Z(2
K 1)
2 + = h (x (t +At ))
2 (2 K +2 2
The modelling and measured errors are as-
2 -2 K- ^" - κγo'
T AT
+ ;1
T )}
3h
S ( 13 h+11 ) = H (1 +1)·Ρ (1
L
t)m 0) : ( 22 2 2 2 2 22+1IK 2)·Η 2(1 2+1)+R 2
9x, 1
x = (η(μ.),η(Ρ ))
^
Π2
Γ = * ^'±2' '
2 ± *2< = *2o (38)
(22)
K (K^ +1 ) = P (Κ,,+1 |K.,) •Η^Κ.,+Ι) - S ~ (Κ,,+1)
1 1
, )t 1 (39)
à-j =' £1 Φι ; x
1(t R )=x-, ( K J K ^
1 K (K +D
2 2 = P ( i + 1 | κ ) - H ( i + D - s ~ (1 +1)
2 2 2 2 2 2
(40)
*
2 - -2
=(
Ι γ^1^>^2'
^Γ^Ι
t]
'
* ^2K^22l2
1 - £2
Error covariance propagation:
(;
l ll
( KK
1
+;Q ( T)
^1 K
T( =) K(
( KK )
1
K(
)23) State
((24)
)2 5
1
estimate update:
x (κ,,+1 | κ + ΐ ) = χ
1 1 (Κ,,+1 1
| K ) + K
1 (Κ,,+1) · χ 1( K ^ +1 )
(41)
t2 - Q 2 £ 2 ν " £ 2 2I 2 >
3F,
= [i^ ^2 = "°
x (K +1 IK + 1 ) = x ( K + 1 ) κ ) + κ ( K + 1) · Y ( K + 1 )
; 2 2 2
£^^+1)^+1)=^ (1^+1 |K,,)
2 2 2
Κ (Κ +1) ·χ
2 2 2 2
(Ι^-ΗΊ) (43)
Ί Ί Ί (42)
*r Error covariance matrix^
A Priori estimates before the measure-
ment t
-x+1 *
P (K +1
2 2 IK+1 ) =P 2(K+11K)
2 2 2 - K (K +1 ) ·χ (K +1 )
2 2 2 2 (44)
—2 2
a development of an estimator, composed of
two decoupled filters corresponding to
144 S. Ar. Papadopoulou
REFERENCES
2
1.5. W ]
E =F T I M
*Ι2·*Ι2*1 °
sample removal for the
measurements at *Ί<2 **"k2*1
to = time delay
k k
k /k 2 2 W 2 2*i/k 2+
F i g. 4
. T i e
m (t ) t a k ne b e t w en e s a m p el r e- 0 20 40 60 80 IOOt/ib.120
2 2
m o v al
t i me of
( t^. - ^ )
t h es e
+ annd
c o d
u p d a et
f i l t e. r
( t
K ^ )
+F i g. 5. M e a s u rd e a nd e s t i m a t
d e M n , M .w
*: M e a s u r e m e n; t s— : E s t i m a t i. o n
: E s t i m a t ni o a s s u m ig n an e r r ro
in t he i n i t il a c o n d i t i o .n s
W i
' W 7T "(μι) w i4lM
Wii
i="(μι)
4,66.10
4,66.10
1
W 'n(PI)
û w - i ^ - . F 6.i a C o n t i n u so u e s t i m a t ni o of t he C L .
D W
'"FIFN.L '-NL„.L t=55min ^
... .Measurement
Estimation with GPC
Simulation
1074
F i g. 7
. E s t i m a t ni o of t he C L D
. A c h e m i cl a
m o d i f i re w as a d d de d u r i gn t he
r e a c t i o. n
Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
iournemouth, UK 1986
On the other hand, there has been a great deal of success in Observability is an important issue in state estimation for
recent years in the area of modeling polymerization reactors polymerization processes. In most polymerization models the
using fundamental mass, energy and population balances (e.g. material balance and particle growth parts of the model are
Ray, 1980; MacGregor et al., 1984; Penlidis et al., 1985) These independent or only weakly dependent upon the molecular
d e t e r m i n i s t i c models are capable of p r e d i c t i n g t h e weight development part (Ray, 1980). Hence the molecular
development of all the fundamental polymer or latex states of weight moments and branching frequencies are unobservable
the polymerization process in a disturbance-free environment. from measurements of the former states. Conversely, the
However, industrial polymerizations are subject to stochastic molecular weight part of the model is usually dependent upon
disturbances in many states that do not appear in these the material and particle population balances. Hence, the
deterministic models. Since these disturbance states affect latter states are observable from molecular weight related
the polymerization process the deterministic models are of measurements. Pollock (1984) discusses these ideas in
little direct value in being able to track the progress of a studying the optimal selection and development of on-line
reaction. These models have found their main use in sensors. By changing the choice of the measurement matrix
providing us with a fundamental understanding of the and the measurement covariance matrix, the choice of single
polymerization mechanisms, in designing reactors, and in s e n s o r s , or sensor c o m b i n a t i o n s which optimize the
developing optimal open-loop control policies. However, by generalized variance of the state e s t i m a t e s of interest
taking care to introduce stochastic state variables in a (obtained from the Kalman Filter) can be made prior to
meaningful and concise manner, and combining the resulting developing any of the sensors.
dynamic-stochastic model with feedback information coming
from one or more reliable on-line sensors, one can achieve
excellent on-line tracking of the observable reactor states, it
147
148 J. F. MacGregor et al.
STATE ESTIMATION x
that is x + K h ( xu
(7)
In this section we consider the general structure of the state k i|k +1 = k i|k k k +1 - k + i|k' k »
+ +
equations and the extended Kalman Filter, and we discuss
where
some of the implications that arise from certain choices of the x
stochastic states. d
k +i
The State Equations and Extended Kalman Filter
k+i
Consider the general nonlinear deterministic model for the is now the augmented state vector and Kk is the usual linear
dynamics of the process arising from unsteady-state material, Kalman Gain.
energy and population balances:
d d K = H (P H P H + rl R (8)
k k t|k k k k i|k k v
d x (t) = f(x , u) (1) + +
where x is the vector of states for the deterministic part of the
d with
model. Given the current state estimate (x (tk/tkh the (9)
prediction of the deterministic state vector over the time P, = Α. Ρ , , . Α £ + R
k+l|k
interval tk to tk + i is obtained by integrating the differential P k kjk P k Hw PK
equation (1) using an appropriate numerical procedure (e.g. k + l|k + l ~ k+l|k k k + l k + l|k (10)
Runge-Kutta or Predictor-Corrector methods) to give
(2)
5
\«ΐν = Λ
Α ) +
j «* . >
+1 d u dt
In the above,
ah
d
Performing a local linearization and discretization of the state
d H,
k+I laxK+IIK
model (1) about the conditions x (tk + i/tt) = Xk + l/k and
u(tk) = Uk we get: is the linearized observation matrix, and d
(3)
R Οs
and R =
Ο A Ο R
where
are the transition matrix and noise covariance matrix of the
augmented state variable model.
d d
d
and Wk is a white noise vector with covariance matrix R . Equations (2), (5), and (7) through (10) define the extended
This latter white noise vector wk is introduced to account for
w Kalman Filter.
errors in the right hand side of (3) arising from modelling
errors, errors due to the linearization, and errors in the
d d The Importance of Nonstationary Stochastic Disturbance
d
settings of Uk and other variables appearing in A or Β . Its States
covariance matrix R is usually taken to be diagonal both for
w
c o n v e n i e n c e and for lack of i n f o r m a t i o n r e g a r d i n g The purpose of the Kalman Filter is to estimate or track the
covariances. Its diagonal elements (variances) are chosen to observable states of the process using information from
d
reflect the total possible error in each row of (3) over the measurements taken on only a few of the states. Just as in
interval tk to tk + i- Alternatively, R process control the major reason that a state estimator is
w could be estimated
from process data by minimizing a function of the prediction needed is because of the presence of disturbances. Otherwise,
errors from the final Kalman Filter. open-loop integration of the deterministic model via (2) would
provide excellent prediction. The stochastic disturbances
s cause the process to drift away from these deterministic model
In addition to the deterministic states there usually exist a d
predictions, and it is only through introducing the disturbance
number of stochastic disturbance states Xk . These can
usually be represented by a discrete linear state model: state model (4), plus the white noise variables wk and VK that
R
w equation (4). Instead, only the deterministic part of the state
wis often taken to be diagonal with variance elements
chosen to reflect the magnitude of disturbance that might be
model is considered as in equations (1) and (3), and arbitrary
white noise vectors and vk are simply added to the
expected in one sampling period (tk, tk+1). These elements are linearized state equations (3), and the measurement equation
usually the main parameters used to tune the Kalman Filter (6) to represent modeling error and measurement error
to give good tracking behaviour. The prediction of the respectively. Such an approach, although possibly adequate
stochastic states over the sampling interval (tk, tk + i) is given in nearly deterministic aerospace environments, is totally
by s x s s Ά x ) inadequate in nearly any real process environment. By ( 5
x - A x allowing only for the possibility of stationary additive white
k + l|k ~ k|k noise errors in the state equation, there is the implicit
The measurements are generally a nonlinear function of the assumption that the true process states can never drift away
for any prolonged period of time from the values predicted by
states and controls s the deterministic model. In this situation, the Kalman Filter
y = h(x^,x ,u ) + v will not contain any integration terms, and will not track any
k kk k real shift in level of the process caused by a nonstationary
where VK is a white noise vector of measurement errors with disturbance, such as, for example, an increase in reactive
covariance matrix R . This covariance matrix is usually impurities in the feed to a polymerization reactor.
v
easily obtained from a knowledge of the measurement sensors,
or from replicated measurement data. In an attempt to overcome this bias or offset arising from
Kalman Filters developed in this manner, it has often been
When a new observation yk + i becomes available at time tk + i the practice to increase the Kalman Gain matrix K, either
the state estimate can be updated by using the linear Kalman directly, or by artificially increasing the magnitude of the
Filter equations with the locally linearized state model (3), (4), state noise covariance matrix R^. This indeed will reduce,
State Estimation for Polymerization Reactors 149
but not eliminate, the bias. However, it will also make the the reactive ionic sites of catalysts in ionic systems. The result
Kalman Filter very sensitive to measurement noise in y is to alter the rate of polymerization which in turn affects all
because of the high gain. Such misapplications have tended to the material balance states in the reactor. Furthermore, in
give the Kalman Filter an undeservedly poor reputation emulsion polymerization reactive impurities can also have a
among process control engineers. profound effect on the particle population balance states
through their influence on the particle nucleation kinetics
As an aside, we point out that the above situation is entirely (Huo et al., 1986; Penlidis et al., 1986b). Hence, if the
analogous to the design of optimal LQ controllers. If concentration of reactive impurities in the reactor changes
nonstationary disturbance models are not used in the with time, then one would observe changes in essentially all
controller design, proportional type controllers having no the states of the reactor. In continuous flow reactors where
integral action will result. Only in the p r e s e n c e of there is a continuous feed of monomer, water, initiator, etc., to
nonstationary disturbances is integral action necessary. the reactor one would expect to see a nonstationary drift in the
amount of reactive impurities entering the reactor. This is
Hence, one of the most critical steps in designing Kalman particularly true in many continuous processes where the
Filters is to formulate a realistic model for the behaviour of polymerization is carried to less than complete conversion,
the disturbances (4). If it is possible for the states of the real such as in the manufacture of styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR)
process to drift away from those predicted by the deterministic or polyvinylchloride (PVC). In these cases the unreacted
model, then it is important to identify the source of these monomer is recovered by steam stripping of the latex, or by
nonstationary disturbances and to model them appropriately. other means, and then recycled to the reactor train. These
For example, in the case of emulsion polymerization in a recycle streams usually contain a much higher level of
CSTR considered in the following sections, the major reactive impurities than the original feed streams, due to the
stochastic disturbances arise from nonstationary variations in formation of reactive byproducts in the reactors and recovery
reactive impurities in the feedstrearns of the reactor. For lack units.
of better knowledge we often represent these by the random
walk model of the form It is important to incorporate the effect of these unmeasured
_ s (4b) stochastic disturbances into the model using as much
S j theoretical knowledge as possible. For this reason the authors
carried out a series of fundamental experimental and
modeling studies on the effect of water and monomer soluble
MODEL FOR THE EMULSION impurities on the kinetics of various cases of emulsion
POLYMERIZATION OF STYRENE polymerization (Huo et al., 1986; Penlidis et al., 1986b). In the
present study on the emulsion polymerization of styrene these
Although the approach to state estimation discussed in this impurity effects can be incorporated into the deterministic
paper is general to many polymerization systems, we will part of the model through the addition of two new state
illustrate it by way of a p p l i c a t i o n s to the e m u l s i o n equations for [IMlw and [IMIM, the concentrations of water
polymerization of styrene in a CSTR and batch reactors. The and monomer soluble impurities in the reactor, respectively
Kalman Filter will be used to track conversion and particle (Huo, et al., 1986). The final deterministic state equation for
growth states (e.g. particle number, diameter, etc.) based on the styrene emulsion polymerization, therefore, consisted of
measurements from an on-line densitometer. Since the ten nonlinear differential equations of the the form of
molecular weight states are unobservable from latex density equation (1) where
measurements, the molecular weight part of the model will be d T
ignored here. x = ( N , Ps, N N N , V , V , V , [IMlw, [IM1 ) (12)
s If E P P 0 W M
For the case of continuous flow reactors the last two state
Deterministic Reactor Model equations contain terms on the right hand side, involving the
inlet flow rates of water and monomer soluble impurities,
Broadhead et al. (1985) developed a theoretical model for the PlM ,in, and F[M ,in» respectively. These unmeasured
emulsion polymerization of styrene-butadiene in batch, w M
stochastic disturbances can be modeled by stochastic state
semi-batch and continuous stirred tank reactors. In this paper equations of the form of equation (4). Since it is generally
we use the subset of their model equations relating to the known that these are nonstationary in nature, the simplest
homopolymerization of styrene, and ignore the molecular assumption is that they follow the random walk behaviour
weight development part. The reduced model consists of a set given by equation (4b) where
of eight nonlinear ordinary differential equations in the states S T
x = (N , P , Ni, N E , N , V , Vo, V ) T where N and P are
s s p P W s
the moles of unreacted styrene monomer and monomer bound
s X = (FlM ,in> F i M , i n )
w m
(13)
in the polymer respectively, Ni and N E are the moles of The final state equations for the continuous reactor therefore
initiator and emulsifier in the reactor, Np is the number of consist of the ten nonlinear deterministic state equations (1)
polymer latex particles in the reactor, Vp is the volume of the s
with xd defined as in (12), and the two nonstationary
particle phase, and Vo and V\y are the volumes of organic and stochastic disturbance state equations (4b) with x defined as
water phase in the reactor, respectively. A number of in (13). The combined linearized state equations are of the
algebraic equations relating to the calculation of the average form
number of radicals per particle, the instantaneous reaction
rate, the micellar surface area, etc. from these states make up , d . d (14)
A, A
the rest of the model. The monomer conversion (X) and
average particle diameter (D ) in the reactor can be calculated Ο I
p
from these states at any instant by
(11) The case of semi-batch reactors closely parallels that laid out
for the CSTR above. Time varying stochastic disturbances in
and D
Ν +Ρ the impurity states (13) of the feedstreams can again be
modelled by the random walk process (4b). However, another
The reader is referred to Broadhead et al. (1985) for the source of variability occurs due to the batch-to-batch variation
development of the model, and for the final state equations. in the monomer soluble impurity concentration in the initial
charge to the reactor, that is, in the initial state value [IMJMO-
(Water soluble impurity in the initial charge simply causes an
Stochastic Disturbances induction period that can be d e t e c t e d from o n - l i n e
temperature measurements). In this case guesses for the
In e s s e n t i a l l y all industrial free r a d i c a l and i o n i c initial value of this state x / and its variance (P / ) must be
0 0 00
selected, and the Kalman Filter allowed to track from that
polymerizations the major source of disturbances arises from
reactive impurities These reactive impurities consume point. Most of the other initial state estimates are usually
radicals in free radical polymerizations, and poison or complex well defined from the initial charge material balances.
150 J. F. MacGregor et al.
2
For the case of a purely batch system, there are no feeds, and When the variance of the stochastic term o
hence the nonstationary stochastic disturbance states w is small this
equation predicts a dominantly determinstic decay of the
defined by (13) and (4b) do not exist. The source of batch-to- impurity concentration fruits initial state estimate x / . The
batch variability is mainly in the impurity concentrations in 00
Kalman Filter then has little ability to adjust the estimate of
the initial charge. However, the Kalman Filter is not well 2
this impurity concentration up or down if the initial state is
suited to handling this problem of uncertainty in the initial poorly chosen. On the other hand, if the variance o is large
state estimates (x / )- With no nonstationary stochastic state w
00
variables in the model, the Kalman Filter cannot eliminate
the w(t) component on the right hand side dominates, and the
equation resembles that of a random walk. The Kalman Filter
biases o*-* offsets that will result from an improper choice of then provides an estimate of the impurity state which,
x / . This behaviour is illustrated in the next section, and
00
approaches for overcoming this difficulty are discussed.
although more erratic, is able to adjust quickly to a new level
to account for an improperly chosen x / . Figure 5 shows the
However, semi-batch and CSTR systems are of greater 00
Kalman Filter results from rerunning the case shown in
industrial interest, and are the major topic of this paper. 2
Figure 4 (true [IMlo = 50 ppm, but x / = 30 ppm), but with
Therefore, an application of this methodology is also applied in 00
o and the initial state variance increased by a factor of 100.
the next section to tracking the emulsion polymerization of w
The estimates of all unmeasured states (N , D V ) now track
styrene in a CSTR. p p p
the true values very well, and exhibit none of the offset seen in
Figure 4.
EXPERIMENTAL RESULTS
Continuous Stirred Tank Reactor (CSTR) Runs
Batch Reactor Runs
The CSTR runs were carried out in a 0.5 liter stainless steel
The batch reactor runs were carried out in a 10 liter stainless reactor again controlled at 55°C. A pulse of an unknown
steel reactor. The reactor temperature was maintained amount of water soluble impurity (oxygen) was injected into
constant at 55°C by a controller manipulating the coolant inlet the inlet feedstream, and a known amount of monomer soluble
temperature to the jacket. Several batch runs were performed impurity (equivalent to 50 ppm) was added to the monomer
with different known initial concentrations of a reactive feedtank at another point. Details from the CSTR runs will be
monomer soluble inhibitor (4-tert-butyl catechol or TBC). The shown and discussed at the conference.
monomer conversion (X) was measured by densitometry and
checked by off-line gravimetric analysis. The average particle
s i z e (Dp) w a s m e a s u r e d off-line by h y d r o d y n a m i c
chromatography.
REFERENCES
The experimental results for conversion versus time and
particle diameter versus time for three different impurity Abbey, K.J. (1980). Polymerization kinetics by precision
concentrations in the initial charge are shown in Figures 1 densitometry, Amer. Chem. Soc. Symp. Series, 165, 345-356.
and 2 respectively. The deterministic model predictions,
plotted as the solid curves, show that this model is indeed Broadhead, TO., Hamielec, A.E. and J.F. MacGregor (1985).
capable of good prediction if the impurity states are known. Dynamic modelling of the batch, semi-batch and continuous
However, it is also obvious that the impurities have a production of styrene/butadiene copolymers by emulsion
pronounced effect on the polymerization, and hence must be polymerization. Makromol. Chem.Suppl., 10/11.105-128.
estimated on-line in order to use the model to track the
progress of the reaction. Gilles, E.D. (1986). Chem. Proc. Control III Conference,
Asilomar, California, Jan. 1986.
The conversion and particle size measurements from these
runs were only available approximately every 5 minutes Gordon, D.L. and K.R. Weidner ( 1981). Control of particle size
although the on-line instruments give results much more distribution through metering based on rate of conversion.
frequently. Since this 5 minute data was considered to be too ACS Symp. Ser. No. 165, 513-532.
infrequent for the Kalman Filter studies, data was generated
from the simulation at two minute intervals and typical Gossen P., Kourti, T., Penlidis, Α., MacGregor, J.F. and A.E.
measurements were added. The results of applying the Hamielec (1986). On-line particle size and conversion
Kalman Filter using the batch conversion measurements are d e t e r m i n a t i o n in c o n t i n u o u s l a t e x r e a c t o r t r a i n s .
shown in Figures 3 and 4 for the case where the initial IFAC-PRP-6 Automation, Akron, Ohio.
impurity states estimate x / for the modes of monomer soluble
00
impurity is good (equal to the true value, x / = 50 ppm), and
00
where it is poor (x / = 30 ppm), respectively. As expected the
Harris, T.J. and E.V. Rushing (1982). Inferential control of
00 }
Kalman Filter estimates (dotted lines) are very good when the
conversion in a commercial scale polymer reactor, Amer. Inst.
Chem. Eng. National meeting, Miami.
initial state estimates are good. However, as shown in Fig. 4,
this "proportional" Kalman Filter has no ability to recover Huo, B.P., Campbell, J.D., Penlidis, Α., MacGregor, J.F. and
from a poor initial estimate for the impurity level. The final A.E. Hamielec (1986). Effect of impurities on emulsion
state estimates all show offset from their true values. polymerization: Case II kinetics. J. Appl. Poly. Sci.. to appear.
There exist a number of solutions to this problem of track ing H y u n , J . C . and S.G. B a n k o f f ( 1 9 7 6 ) . Continuous
states in a purely batch reactor. One is to use repeated polymerization of vinyl acetate - II. On-line estimation of
nonlinear estimations on-line to estimate the unknown initial process drift. Chem. Eng. Sci.. 31,953-958.
impurity level. The nonlinear estimation is repeated upon
receipt of each new measurement, and at the end of the batch Jo, J.H., and S.G. Bankoff (1976). Digital monitoring and
the estimated curves would essentially correspond to those estimation of polymerization reactors. Amer. Inst. Chem.
shown in Figures 1 and 2. This approach has been used to Eng.J.. 22,361-368.
track the progress of batch pulp digesters using infrequent
Kappa n u m b e r m e a s u r e m e n t s . H o w e v e r , it i s King, R. and E.D. Gilles (1984). Dynamics of runaway
computationally very time consuming. chemical reactors, AIChE Annual Meeting, San Fransisco,
Nov., 1984.
An alternative is to allow for a much larger stochastic term
(w(t)) in the
d impurity
[ I concentration
M ] state equation : Kiparissides, C , MacGregor, J.F. and A.E. Hamielec (1981).
Suboptimal stochastic control of a continuous latex reactor.
M - / χ Amer. Inst. Chem. Eng. J., 27,13-19.
= _ ν [IML, η Ν /V + W(t) [ '5 )
IM Μ ρ ρ ν / MacGregor, J.F., Penlidis, A. and A.E. Hamielec (1984).
Control of Polymerization Reactors: A Review. Polymer
Process Eng., 2,179-206.
State Estimation for Polymerization Reactors 151
ElffC
t ol I8C Conce
n
MacGregor, J.F. (1986). On-line reactor energy balances via
Kalman Filtering. Proc. IFAC PRP-6 Automation, Akron,
Ohio, USA, Oct.
Effec
t of IBC Concentratio
n
0.0 10.
0 20.
0 30.
0 40.
0 50.
0 60.
0 70.
0 80.
0 90.
0 100.
0
T I ME
MOLES IMPURITY (SO PPM)
s.«J
0
0.0 10.
0 20.
0 30.
0 40.
0 50.
0 60.
0 70.
0 80.
0 90.
0 100.
0
T I ME
NUMBER PARTICLES (SO PPM)
0.0 10.
0 20.
0 30.
0 40.
0 50.
0 60.
0 70.
0 80.
0 90.
0 100.
0
T I ME
AVE. PARTICLE DIAMETER (SO PPM)
Figure 3: Kalman Filter estimates (dotted lines) and
DCCR-K true batch reactor states (solid lines) for the
initial impurity state estimate equal to the
true value (50 ppm).
152 J. F. MacGregor et al.
20.0 ·
20.0
15.0 ·
15.0
10.0 •
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0
TIME 0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 5.0 90.0 100.0
MOLES STYRENE (SO PPM) TIME
MOLES STYRENE (SO PPM)
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0
TIME 0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 3.0 90.0 100.0
MOLES IMPURITY (SO PPM) TIME
MOLES IMPURITY (SO PPM)
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0
TIME 0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0
NUMBER PARTICLES (SO PPM) TIME
NUMBER PARTICLES (SO PPM)
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0
TIME 0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0
AVE. PARTICLE DIAMETER (SO PPM) TIME
AVE. PARTICLE DIAMETER (SO PPM)
0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0
TIME 0.0 10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0 60.0 70.0 80.0 90.0 100.0
VOLUME POL YMER PHASE (SO PPM) TIME
VOLUME POL YMER PHASE (SO PPM)
Figure 4: Kalman Filter estimates (dotted lines) for the Figure 5: Kalman Filter estimates (dotted lines) for the
same case as Fig. 3, but with x / = 30 ppm.
00 same case as Fig. 4, but using a large g \ for
the impurity state equation.
Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
INTRODUCTION
(ΗβΟ )
β is used in this study. For the reactant
concentrations used in the feed stream the stoichi-
lost. A comparison of the effect of different
variables for implementing vibrational control is
ometric equation for this second order exothermic given in (Cinar et al., 1986).
reaction is
In this work, the effect of forced vibrations in
2Na S*0
8 3• 4H 0e -> N a S 0
a ee6 • Na SO. + 4H 0.
g e two input variables is studied. Simultaneous
vibrations in feed flow rate and reactant concen-
The experimental system (Fig. 1) is constructed tration are considered. When two input variables
such that feed flow rate and/or concentration are forced periodically the amplitude and frequency
vibrations can be accomplished without changing the of oscillation as well as the phase shift between
ratio of the reactant concentrations in the feed. the two oscillations can be selected. In this
This assures that there are no side reactions. study, zero-average nonsymmetric rectangular wave-
Previously a two feed stream configuration was used forms (Fig. 2) are used. Denoting the duty fraction
instead of the three feed stream configuration, by ο and the phase shift by σ (note that in what
causing the formation of hydrogen sulfide. The follows α and σ will be used to represent these
current configuration eliminates such side reac- variables and not the parameters of the Equations
tions but the injection of a pure water stream (1) and (2)), the three alternatives are α>σ>0,
necessitates the use of more concentrated reactant σ>α>0 and α>-σ>0. For this reactor system the most
solutions. Since the Na«S 0 solution started to
e3
crystallize in the feed lines when its concentra-
promising results are obtained using the third
alternative.
tion was increased beyond 2.9 mol/1, the magnitudes
of the amplitude variations were constrained for
Oscillations in feed flow rate and concentration
this test reaction.
are represented as
The Reactor Model JF nT<t<(n+a)T
M
F =F. (
The material and energy balances describing the 0 o 1 A +Ff U ) ) - \ *
( nT + a ) T < t <
CSTR (Cinar et al., 1985) reduce to the following C
set of dimensionless equations for adiabatic
reactor operation:
C = C ( 1 f +U ) =
) AJt AFM nT<t<(n+a)T
AF ÀF c jc (n+cOT<t<(n l)T
dx /dt = -x
o AFm +
t t+ Da(l-Xt )(l-xe)expCx /<l+x /Y)3
3 a
where the subscript ο denotes the average value,
dx./dt = -x
e• bpDa(l-x,)<l-x.)exp[x /(l+x /γ)] (7)
3 3 and M and m denote the maximum and minimum values
respectively. Defining the various average values
dx /dt = -λχ
3 3+ X B D a d - X t ) <i-x»)expCx /<l+x /γ)]
3 3 R =
/ FF =C
/C R
Here b and ρ denote the ratio of the stoichiometric F M m c AFM AFm
coefficients and of the feed concentrations,
F. = aF + (l-a)F
respectively, x and x» denote the dimensionless
t to M
M ' m
H Q
t 8 and Na,S tOj concentrations, Theand x is the
3 C aC + C
dimensionless reactor temperature. dimension-
ÂF/ AFM ^ AFm
less variables and parameters are:
C a= R
+ 1C
x, = <C*,-CA>/CA, , x = (C -C,)/C, , y = E/RTf
e L F F ÂF ( c -^ AFm
x = C(T-T )/T ]y , τ = V/F , Da = C»,k exp(-y)x
C o T =F 1 F t dC
3 f f 0
AF / o \ A F
λ = l/(l+m,c/pCpV> , Β = (-AH)C f Y/pc T
A ff
C = K C
Since x /γ<<1 the temperature dependent βexponential
β
3 ÂF FC AF„
term is simplified using Q = l-x /γ+χ /γ
t 3 3 οn ο
(= 1/(1+χ /γ)) for the remainder of this work.
3
Kp = [(aRp+l-a)(aR +l-a)l/[(a+a)R R -a(R +R )+l+a+a]
C c cF c F
VIBRATIONAL CONTROL OF THE CSTR the material balance of A gives
CONCLUSIONS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Forced vibrations in tvo input variables enable This work was performed under the auspices of the
achievement of stabilized behavior with small U.S. Department of Energy. A.C. and K. R. are
swings in the controlled variables or with higher supported under Grant DE-FG02-84ER13205, S.M.M. and
conversions than the conversions corresponding to X.S. are supported under Grant DE-FG02-85ER13315.
the stabilized reactor temperature. These improve-
ments are due to the contribution of an interaction REFERENCES
term which includes explicit dependence on the
phase relationships between the two inputs (Sincic Bellman R., J. Bentsman and S.M. Meerkov (1983).
and Bailey, 1980). This contribution does not lead Nonlinear Systems with Fast Parametric Oscilla-
to an improvement for all possible values of phase tions. J. Math. Anal. Appl. 97 572-589.
shifts and duty fractions. If α and σ are not Bellman R., J. Bentsman and S.M. Meerkov (1984).
selected properly a worsening in the behavior of Vibrational Control of Nonlinear Systems. Proc
the controlled variables may be observed. 23rd Cntrl and Dec. Conf. 84-89.
Bellman R., J. Bentsman and S.M. Meerkov (1986).
Vibrational control creates an opportunity for a Vibrational Control of Nonlinear Systems. IEEE
trade-off between reduction of the amplitude in Trans. Autom. Cntrl, in print.
reactor temperature oscillations and improvement of Bogoliubov, Ν. N. and Yu. A. Mitropolsky (1961).
the reactant conversion. It is a viable alterna- Asymptotic Methods in the Theory of Nonlinear
tive for stabilizing reactor operation in the Oscillations, Gordon & Breach, New York, NY.
unstable steady-state region. Since an open-loop Cinar Α., J. Deng, S.M. Meerkov and X. Shu (1984).
controller is used, vibrational control is attract- Vibrational Control of an Exothermic Reaction
ive for cases when measurements are too difficult in a CSTR: Theory, Simulation, Experiment.
or involve considerable delays. AIChE Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA. Paper
No. 101b.
Cinar Α., J. Deng, S.M. Meerkov and X. Shu (1985).
A1r
Supply Vibrational Control of an Exothermic Reaction
in a CSTR: Theory and Experiments. Submitted to
AIChE J.
Cinar Α., K. Rigopuolos, X. Shu and S.M. Meerkov
(1986). Vibrational Control of an Exothermic
CSTR. 1986 ACC, Seattle, WA.
Meerkov, S.M. (1980). Principle of Vibrational
Control: Theory and Applications. IEEE Trans.
Autom. Cntrl AC-25 755-762.
Meerkov, S.M. (1982). Condition of Vibrational
Stabilizability for a Class of Nonlinear Sys-
tems. IEEE Trans. Autom. Cntrl AC-27 485-487.
Sincic D. and J. E. Bailey (1980). Analytic Opti-
mization and Sensitivity Analysis of Forced
Periodic Chemical Processes. Chem. Eng. Sci.
35 1153-1161.
t
St" S Ί
Adiabatic
CSTR
product stream
0 τ (sec) 42
-T-
Ca FO|
Fm
J L 0
(« σ)Τ Τ in Ε , t τ (sec)
+
Fig. 2. Noney mine trie rectangular pulse. Fig 4 . Effect of frequency and σ ( σ = - 0 . 2 )
Vibrational Control of Chemical Reactors
1.0
CO
>0. 8
χ1- - - B=8.6 5 bp=0.7 5 τ = 17 R. =6
Rc =4 o=0. 4 σ=-0.15
x~O. 6
t/i
Fig 9. Stabilize d operatio n - smal l
amplitud e Τ oscillation s
0 ι (sec ) 42
τ=22 se c
Fig 5. Effec t o f phas e s h i f t σ
τ=18 se c
1 FI τ=17 se c
2 4
3 8
4 12
B=8.S 5 bp=0.7 5 τ=16 se c
R c=10 σ=0 ω=4
Ac=3 . 2 1 α=0.2
0 0
τ (sec ) 42
Fig 6. Effec t o f fee d flov rati o -ί-O
ο 70 M 210 230 0 3 5
TIME C SEC. 3
1 Fig 10 . Stabilize d operatio n - experimen t
1 σ=-0.15, ω=8
B=9. i bp=0.7 5
R*=8 R c=8 ω=4
α=0.2 σ=-0.01
1 FI
2 YC 1=20 sec , ω=8, σ=-0.20
60
0 τ (sec ) 42 u ιοο
Ui
Fig 7 . Intersectio n o f stabilize d state s
σ=-0.15, ω=8 Id
-τ 1 1 1
Β=8.65 bp=0.7 5
R.=6 Rc =20 ω=6
A, =2. 26 Ac =2. 0
α=0.3 σ=-0.2
120 180
TIME C S E C 3
t/i
Fig 8. Stabilize d operatio n - hig h conversio n Fig 11 . Stabilize d operatio n - experimen t
Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
159
160 Y. Moteki and Y. Arai
Mv, Mn, MV
D
1GPC J(SDK) (3) Correlation between Prarame te rs of
Polymerization and Molecular Structure and/or
S h o rt C h ani B r a n c hgi n C-MNR
, IR Macro P h y s i c a l P r o p e r t i e s
U n s a t u r adt e G r o usp " C - M N,R IR
Among the pairs of the parameters of
L o ng C h ani B r a n c hgi n " C - M N,R [ » 7 ] - GCP molecular s t r u c t u r e and/or p h y s i c a l p r o p e r t y and
L i g ht S c a M e r i n gη- C] polymerization condition, the pairs with large
c o r r e l a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t s are b l n d e d by solid lines
D i s t r i b u tni o of SCB
, LCB
. Colun F r a c t i o n a nt i o and the ones with small c o r r e l a t i o n coefficients
are blnded by b r o k e n lines according to the result
of the c o r r e l a t i o n m a t r i x to get general v i e w of
V i s c o s iyt I n s t r no R h e o n ert e the c o r r e l a t i o n b e t w e e n the p a r a m e t e r s .
(Fig. S >
Tm, T c, α DSC
ESCR BTL
For example, polymerization pressure has
MI J IS
positive c o r r e l a t i o n to Tm, Tc, , viscosity,
D e n s iyt J IS density, and ESCR, while it has negative
correlations to MI, n u m b e r s of branchings and
vinylidene, Mw, and Mw/Mn. By knowing the
m e n t i o n e d single c o r r e l a t i o n between one p a r a m e t e r
(Multi-Valiate S t a t i s t i c a l M o d e l i n g A n a l y s i s ) and all other p a r a m e t e r s , and by using multi
—Requirement of U n d e r s t a n d i n g to C a u s e and Effect r e g r e s s i o n formula, the e s t i m a t i o n of the quality
R e l a t i o n s between M u l t i f a c t o r s and the design of p r o d u c t s can be made more
easily.
In the case of H P L D P E , m e l t i n g p o i n t (Tm) and
density can be estimated farely accurately as (4) Mluti gresslon Analysis
already m e n t i o n o d , and these results can be used
in some actual cases. However, molecular In this soction, we want to show how the
weight, m o l e c u l a r w e i g h t d i s t r i b u t i o n , long chain p o l y m e r i z a t i o n p a r a m e t e r s affect to s t r u c t u r e s and
branching etc., which influence ρroceesabi1ity, p r o p e r t i e s by using multi r e g r e s s i o n a n a l y s i s .
transparency, and mechanical property, are not
related totally to the p o l y m e r i z a t i o n conditions Here, multi regression formula was obtained
such like as the case of Tm. by stepwise multi regression calculation. The
actual calculation was made by the following
The change in even only one of many steps. First, the input of the single
polymerization conditions, such as pressure, correlation numbers was made in order from the
temperature p r o f i l e , m o n o m e r feed a m o u n t , causes largest one, then the s t r e n g t h of the c o r r e l a t i o n
the changes not only in Tm and d e n s i t y , but also between the n u m b e r s were Inspected a c c o r d i n g to
m o l e c u l a r weight, molecular weight distribution, their d i s p e r s i o n ratio, and invalid v a r i a b l e s were
n u m b e r and d i s t r i b u t i o n of short chain b r a n c h i n g s . neglected. Finally, all the v a r i a b l e s were put
Therefore, we must k n o w h o w much and by which into the calculation process (step back
operating condition's change, the mentioned inspection) again to n e g l e c t v a r i a b l e s with small
molecular structure and p h y s i c a l p a r a m e t e r s are c o r r e l a t i o n s t r e n g t h than the standard.
changed, and finally u n d e r s t a n d the reasons of the
changes. O t h e r w i s e , a p r o d u c t which may be used (5) E s t i m a t i o n from M u l t i R e g r e s s i o n Formula
in a particular purpose, can not be used in some
other p u r p o s e s at all. It is required to find Comparison b e t w e e n the e s t i m a t e d parameters
out optimum values of all the parameters. For of v a r i o u s s t r u c t u r e s and p r o p e r t i e s of products
this purpose, tho relationships between by the m e n t i o n e d muti r e g r e s s i o n formula, and the
p o l y m e r i z a t i o n factor (independent v a r i a b l e ) A and corresponding measured parameters were made
structure factor (dependent v a r i a b l e ) Β and these Table ( 1 ) shows the example of the results.
qantitative r e l a t i o n s h i p s b e t w e e n each variables
m u s t be obtained. Generally, for thermal p r o p e r t i e s (melting
temperature of crystal,, crystallization
Multivariable statistical modelling analysis temperature, crysta 11 inity etc.) and some of
molecular structures (short and long chain
was . t h e r e f o r e , made for high p r e s s u r e p o l y e t h y l e n e
branchings) of p r o d u c t s , the e s t i m a t e d value by
(references: F1A-B1, F1B-46. 107).
the multi r e g r e s s i o n formula and the measured
Original programs used for the calculation values were s a t i s f a c t o r i l y c o i n c i d e n t each other.
were BM-DP4M (prime conpornents analysis) On the other hand, for the p a r a m e t e r s related
including BM-DP2R (multi regression a n a l y s i s ) and to m o l e c u l a r w e i g h t and rheology, the coincidence
a factor analysis p r o g r a m , which is one of the b e t w e o n estimated and m e a s u r e d v a l u e s was less.
BMDP of 1979 versions (extended mutivariate )A Ultimately, good estimated values can be
analysis p r o g r a m of C a l i f o r n i a u n i v e r s i t y ) . These
programs were m o d u l a t e d a c c o r d i n g to purposes. obtained from the data of p r o p e r t y and structure
As a computer, Facom M 1 9 0 of Century Reserch with high accuracy. It must bo pointed out
C e n t e r (CRC) was used. that an extra caution is needed for the
c a l i b l t a i o n of the instruments.
The data used for the c a l c u l a t i o n c o n s i s t of
17 kinds of p o l y m e r i z a t i o n c o n d i t i o n s and 27 kinds Moreover, the same multi r e g r e s s i o n formula
of s t r u c t u r e s and p r o p e r t i e s . All these data should not be used, w h o n e v e r any of process
were used as input. innovation had been carried out to the process in
questioned,such as the reconstruction of the
(Primary Interpretation from Data Correction) Ρ lan ts , e tc .
(1) P l o t of C o r r e l a t i o n Coefficients
Operation Planning and Quality Design of a Polymer Process
Îi i
In tho reaction kinetic modeling analyis 12) PURCI12)
ι 1
starting from Model I which considered very 13 >
n )
"ôFÎUt iJ )
OF(1 * )
......... ι ι
simple e l e m e n t a r y r e a c t i o n s , we finally d e v e l o p e d IS) Of3011S) 1 ..... 1
the Model IV with energy e q u a t i o n s and for more OF«0(It)
1 ι
practical
simulation
purpose,
system
the
of
Model
network
VI which is
calculations
the
to
ΐ!Γ
18 )
TCIAV tiTI
MJ(18)
. 1 I I I
I I
ι
1
c o n n e c t o n of m o d u l a r k i n e t i c u n i t s . r>) Hwimi ! ···· 1
f
21 )
in
Mink
. V1ND12»)
1 1 ..
I1
ι
ιI
Making the s i m u l a t i o n by the Model IV,s e n s i t i v i t y 1.4..·
of various p a r a m e t e r s to m o l e c u l a r weight were
2A )
22
25))
1ERV12*)
TKSV(25> I
J 1
I
obtained, and stability of the reaction was ET10I26) I'""..
Ε 100
(27 >· 1
1
27)
examined. It was found that the system is E1S* 1 25 ) 1
mëtastable at the p r e s e n t o p e r a t i o n temperature, - 2 Ï" El'/SI 29) 1 ··
T«P(30) 1 «·
then more p r e c i s e c o n t r o l such as m u l t i v a r i a b l e 7«E(3))
control is consequently required to maintain j 1) AIP«(32)
1 ··
i.„_
CBUt«* )
work over the span from the u s e r s r e q u i r e m e n t to
product properties and to the plant operation
Fi
technology are e s p e c i a l l y crucial which w i l l be «- 4 Correlation Coefficients between Vôf.Uo. Π and -the Other Variables
essentially coped with the overcome to a newly
coming " q u a l i t y era". 32 ALPMl32 )
19 RHÛC19 > ι
30 T U P ( 3 0 )
2 TL2012)
3 TL3013)
Acknowledgement 35 ALPC135) «ΚΚΚΚΚ
10 C4C40) 8S*X8XH
We thanks for all of tho c o l e a d g u e s 31 THE 131)
in our company who c o n s t a n t l y worked with ,and 34 TCP134)
greatly e n c o u r a g e d u s . 33 TCS133) ïK£lt ί
17 TUAVl17) S I S X Ï S X SXS S
39 C2139) ISSSSX 2 SÏ X SÏ
41 C5141) Χ Ε Χ Κ Η Χ Κ Χ ΗΪ Χ Κ Χ
23 VIND123) KÏKKSKKSKGKliiîi
37 ME.TLl 3 7) Β*ΪΧ3ϊ3ϊ»ΗΚΒ88ίί
22 MWMKM22) SSXXEXXSNNKNSMKS
43 LCB(43). XKKX2ÎKXSKXKIU8X1
8 BClB) BSKNNXXKKtaXXXXÈCXxa
ι pc i ) axaxxxsNENSiSBsaNs + a
4 TL4014) NMXNNKStOîNXiiSXMXN + X X
5 TL5015) XNNXXXSNNHKEXXNKX + KXil
20 MW120) XXXXXXXXXXXXX + - S + +- + XXS
16 0F40116) NXKNNXMXNXKNNNXXX+NXX+î
25 IRSV(25) NKXXXXXKXXXX+NN-XXX++.-X
27 El00t27) XXXXXXKXXXXNXXN.N.XXX.+XK
28 ET5*(28) XXXXXXNXXXXKX!C>Î.K.KXX.+ + aK
29 E1/5C29) XXNXXXNXXXXNXKN.N.NXX.+XSÏS
16 ΜΓl18) XXKXXXNXXXXNXKN-N.NXX
21 MN12.1) xx+xs
36 ESCR136) - .XKXNX2
38 Cl(38)
24 TERV124)
7 CCt7)
10 HPSP(10)
13 QFTL113)
9 HP3T(9) . .+·-£
12 PURC-( 12J -..8
6 FT C 6 ) . .-. -..- . +
14 QF(14) S
15 ÛF30(15) +
- . .. .. +8
11 INR II 11) -· - · -a
/Process Control )
Λ Dcslcn J THE ABSOLUIE VALUES OF
THE MATRIX ENTRIES HAVE BEEN PRINTED ABOVE IN SHADED FORM
ACCORDING TO THE FOLLOWING SCHEME
Fig.l Stratetice Xap of PoLyner Process Quality Design LESS THAN OR EQUAL TO 0 . 125
0.125 TO ANO INCLUDING 0.249
- 0.249 TO AND INCLUDING 0.374
+ 0.374 TO AND INCLUDING 0.499
Χ 0.499 TO ANO INCLUDING 0.623
M 0 . 6 2 3 TD AND INCLUDING 0.748
,00 a 0.748 TO AND INCLUDING 0.873
χ GREATER THAN 0.873
a) Primary Compressor
b) Secondary Conpressor
c) Auto clave Reactor
d) High Pressure Separator
e) Monomer Recycle Line
f) Pelletizer
g) Product
h) urease Pot
T,c ) ( cU ,flc)
Tm
. Pressure
Fig. 2 Outline of a polymer Prosess
-OS
Fig. 3
I: Initiator,
ι
! 1
1 1
Table 1. TVedîcfad Value Tm, Tc, fron Multi-Reglession
! j
Formula
Sanple τ·. ce) t c. m
:
Mo. Obs. Est. Obs. Est.
-
•.-iJSnP"
•r- rV v
22 112.6 112.5 100.8 98.3
.... ,-it.t u
24 110.3 109.2 98.3 95.8
25 109.5 108.8 95.8 93.7 i \
26 109.9 108.8 90.9 95.8
27 111.7 112.3 98.0 97.9
28 111.1 111.1 97.6 97.9
29 109.3 108.3 96.5 96.0
30 109.2 109.4 96.5 96.0 !
31 108.3 107.3 91.0
j
92.6
j j
32 108.9 108.7 93.4 93.7
33 108.1 106.7 91.7 90.8
34 108.5 109.2 90.8 91.0
35 107.3 109.1 93.2 95.8 C I>
36 108.7 108.4 93.6 93.7
37 108.8 108.7 93.2 93.7 Fig.8 V a r i a b l e f a c t o r load distribution
38 107.9 106.7 90.0 91.0
with respect to principle axises
39 102.8 105.1 91.6 91.1
40 107.7 107.5 90.3 90.9
41 108.1 108.3 91.2 91.0 Fi
.g 9 t I hM
sxiaf
dtoer niV as r i a b l e
42 107.7 107.6 90.8 91.1
43 107.4 107.8 90.3 91.0 •(,) Xii
> PHI Pii)\ p,
Fit. 10 Digrap
h of computatio
n Schem
e
SIMULATIO
N OF MOLECULA
R HEIGH
T DISTRIBUTION
S FOR HPPF HODFI-
f
h
J/ \
wi 0. J IUil
iUilii n ,j J 1HI
M,j ι nun0.J \\Wa „. 1
D 11 Hill . ι mm
Ι .l UliUl
ΤΤΤΠίΤΤί
0 0 j
MOLECULAR HEIGHT
Fig. 7- Sample Scale d i s t r i b u t i o n w i t h respect
to p r i n c i p l e axises
Fig. J J Simulation of Molecular Weight Distribution
for HP-LDPE Model-(IV)
Operation Planning and Quality Design of a Polymer Process 165
P a i - C h u a n , E h r l i c h , P. e t a l . ( 1 9 7 2 ) Monte C a r l o S i m u l a t i o n o f
S t r u c t u r e of L o w - d e n s i t y P o l y e t h y l e n e . I n d . Eng. Chem. Prod.
Res. D e v e l o p . , 1 1 , N o . 3 , 3 5 2 .
Th. J . V a n d e r M o l e n ( 1 9 7 3 ) The F r e e R a d i c a l B u l k P o l y m e r i z a t i o n
o f E t h y l e n e a t Low T e m p e r a t u r e . J . P o l v m e r S c i . i S v m P Q S i u m ,
No.42, 29.
R a m k r i s h n a , D. and A m u n d s o n , Ν. R. (1 9 7 4 ) S t i r r e d P o t s , T u b u l a r
R e a c t o r s , and S e l f - A d j o i n t O p e r a t o r s . Chem.Eng. S c i . , 2 9 ,
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N i c c o , A. ( 1 9 7 6 ) O r i e n t a t i o n e t P r o p r i é t é s I n d u i t e s d e s P o l y m è r e s
A L e t a t S o l i d . U n p u b l i s h e d CdF Chimie R e p o r t .
B o v e y , F. A. e t a l . ( 1 9 7 6 ) S h o r t C h a i n and Long C h a i n B r a n c h i n g
i n Low D e n s i t y P o l y e t h y l e n e . M a c r o m o l e c u l e s , 9 , N o . 1 , 7 6 .
L a p i d u s , L. a n d A m u n d s o n , N. R. (1 9 7 7 ) C h e m i c a l R e a c t o r T h e o r y a
Review. P r e n t i c e - H a l l I n c .
Harmony, S. C. e t a l . ( 1 9 7 7 ) C a l c u l a t i o n o f P h a s e E q u i l i b r i a f o r
Ethylene/Low- D e n s i t y P o l y e t h y l e n e M i x t u r e s . Α.I.Ch.Ε.
Journal, 23, No.5, 758.
B i r n b a u m , I . and L a p i d u s , L. ( 1 9 7 8 ) S t u d i e s i n A p p r o x i m a t i o n s
M e t h o d s - I . S p l i n e and C o n t r o l v i a D i s c r e a t e Dynamic
Programming. Chem. E n g . , S c i . 3 3 , 4 1 5 .
Temperature L e e . L. H. e t a l . ( 1 9 7 9 ) P o l y m e r i z a t i o n R e a c t o r s and P r o c e s s .
Chap. 1 0 , 1 1 , 1 7 .
M o t e k i , Y. ( 1 9 7 9 ) C o u p l i n m g o f GPC and A u t o m a t i c V i s c o m e t r y .
Fig. 12. Reaction Temp, vs Coolant Temp. A p p l i c a t i o n t o t h e S t u d y of High P r e s s u r e P o l y e t h y l e n e .
U n p u b l i s h e d SDK R e p o r t R 8 0 0 1 4 3 .
G u t i n , B. L. ( 1 9 7 9 ) C a l c u l a t i o n and A n a l y s i s o f t h e M o l e c u l a r
W e i g h t D i s t r i b u t i o n (MWD) A l l o w i n g f o r C h a i n T r a n s f e r t o
Polymer i n Homogeneous R a d i c a l P o l y m e r i z a t i o n Process.
Polymer S c i . U . S . S . R . , 2 0 , 6 9 9 .
HPP36 (TR=45-1088) <Λ3Ίο9τ7:Α=12000)_
S h o s t e n k o , A. G. e t a l . ( 1 9 7 9 ) The M e c h a n i s m a n d t h e K i n e t i c s o f
P o l y e t h y l e n e B r a n c h i n g S t u d i e d on a M o d e l S y s t e m . ..Polymer
Sci. U.S.S.R., 20, 1760.
4
_JR^IH/.ENTH,IPΠΝ, Y1 V_2, V3 :_S7...9.
K r e i t s e r , T.V. e t a l . ( 1 9 7 9 ) E f f e c t o f t h e P a r a m e t e r s o f t h e
M a t h e m a t i c a l Model of P o l y m e r i z a t i o n K i n e t i c s , On E s t i m a t i o n
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P o l y e t h y l e n e I . U n p u b l i s h e d SDK R e p o r t R 8 0 0 0 2 8 .
I.2E + Q7 M o t e k i , Y. ( 1 9 8 0 ) Q u a l i t y D e s i g n o f H i g h P r e s s u r e Low D e n s i t y
P o l y e t h y l e n e I I . U n p u b l i s h e d SDK R e p o r t R 8 0 0 6 5 3 .
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P o l y e t h y l e n e s U s i n g H i g h - F i e l d C a r b o n - 1 3 NMR. A. C. S.
Symposium S e r i e s 1 4 2 , P . 9 3 .
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Initiators in the Polymerization of High Pressure
P o l y e t h y l e n e . J . Macromolecular S c i .
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E l e m e n t a r y R e a c t i o n R a t e s O b t a i n e d E x p e r i m e n t a l l y . J. Appl.
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U n p u b l i s h e d SDK R e p o r t R 8 1 0 5 3 0 .
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D i s t r i b u t i o n of High P r e s s u r e P o l y e t h y l e n e and C a l c u l a t i o n
o f t h e Rate C o n s t a n t of t h e Main C h e m i c a l R e a c t o r s . P o l y m e r
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M u l t i V a r i a t e A n a l y s i s i n C h e m i c a l I n d u s t r y . Kagaku Kogaku,
47, N o . 3 , 150.
•2Etee
600
Temperature
REFERENCES
Abstract. The dynamic and control behavior of a depropanizer that consists of 29 ideal
trays plus condenser and reboiler, with feed introduced at the 12th tray, has been
studied by digital simulation. Open loop dynamic behavior of the column was studied
for step changes of up to 30% in the feed and reflux flow rates and heat input to the
reboiler. For changes in feed flow rate, the disturbance variable used for the control
studies, the column exhibited inverse behavior in the composition response of the light
key component (propane) in the distillate and the heavy key component (isobutane) in
the bottom product. However, no inverse response was observed for the controlled
variables of the concentration of the heavy key in the distillate and the light key in
the bottoms. Control behavior of the five component depropanizer column for conven-
tional single product composition control as well as dual quality control was investi-
gated using the DYCONDIST simulator. Results obtained using indirect control strate-
gies by measuring tray liquid temperature(s) and direct control of the distillate and
bottoms are presented. Performance of the dual quality control schemes is discussed
with respect to predicted behavior based on static information from relative gain array
and relative disturbance gain calculations.
Simulation of the dynamic behavior of multicom- The model used to describe the dynamic behavior
ponent columns can be traced to the availability multicomponent plate distillation columns consists
of increased digital computer capacity in the early of a collection of ordinary differential and alge-
1960's (Rosenbrock, 1962; Peiser and Grover, 1962). braic equations. The equations, based on rigorous
In the last few years further use of multicomponent heat and material balances, are expressed in a
dynamic column simulation programs has been re- general form so the dynamic and control behavior of
ported both for studying open loop dynamic behavior towers with multiple product streams and/or feeds
(Morris and Svrcek, 1981; Prokopakis and Seider, can be simulated. The current version of DYCONDIST
1983; Kumar, Wright and Taylor, 1984; Stathaki, is limited to 90 stages and 10 components. The
Mellichamp and Seborg, 1985) and also for closed material and energy balance differential equations
DCCR-L
167
168 G. A. Carling and R. K. Wood
TABLE 5 Depropanizer Operating Conditions feed composition and also for feed streams contain-
ing three and four components (Carling, 1986).
Feed:
Temperature 353 Κ
Pressure 2.6 MPa CONTROL BEHAVIOR
Rate 50 kmol/min
Composition (mole fractions) The control behavior of the depropanizer has been
ethane 0.03 studied for a variety of different control strate-
propylene 0.40 gies using DYCONDISΤ (Carling, 1986). Initial
propane (light key) 0.15 simulations involved studying the column responses
isobutane (heavy key) 0.15 for an objective of the control of only a single
cisbutene 0.27 product composition by measurement of tray liquid
temperature and also by direct measurement of pro-
Column Conditions: duct composition. Subsequent simulations of depro-
Pressure 2.6 MPa panizer control behavior were for a dual quality
Reflux Rate 90 kmol/min control objective. A stage for measurement of
Reboiler Duty 500 kJ/min liquid temperature in both the rectification and
Condenser Duty-Total 584 kJ/min stripping sections of the column was selected. The
-Partial 566 kJ/min sensor was located at the stage in each section at
Accumulator Holdup 50 kmol which the temperature exhibits the maximum symmet-
Column Base Holdup 50 kmol rical change in response to changes of equal mag-
Tray Holdup 12-22 kmol nitude and opposite direction in the distillate to
feed ratio (Tolliver and McCune, 1978). Control-
Product Rates and Purities: lers were tuned for a -10% feed rate disturbance.
(_
. i) Partial Condenser : Initial controller settings for the control law of
Vapor Distillate Rate 3.6 kmol/min the form
Liquid Distillate Rate 25.0 kmol/min
Bottoms Rate
Heavy Key in Liquid
21.4 kmol/min OP = κ
£ER + kJ
t
D ^ -dt
^BRdt + K„ 1+ BIAS (5)
Distillate 0.44% were calculated using the Cohen and Coon formulae
Light Key in Bottoms 1.59% (Coughanowr and Koppel, 1965).
(ii) Total Condenser:
Distillate Rate Two indirect control schemes were studied: measur-
28.6 kmol/min
Bottoms Rate ing stage 6 temperature to manipulate reflux rate
21.4 kmol/min
for control of the heavy key concentration in the
Heavy Key in Distillate 0.42%
distillate; and measuring stage 23 temperature to
Light Key in Bottoms 1.63%
manipulate reboiler duty for control of the light
key concentration in the bottoms. Simulation of
OPEN LOOP DYNAMIC BEHAVIOR the schemes indicated that control performance was
improved by adjusting the Cohen-Coon controller
The dynamic behavior of the depropanizer equipped parameters in both cases. Simulation of the cor-
with a partial condenser has been studied for step responding direct schemes in which the product im-
increases and decreases in feed rate, reflux rate purity mole fractions were used as the controlled
and reboiler duty of up to 30% (Wong, 1985; Carling, variables showed that further tuning was required
1986). Due to space limitations, only the response for the case of distillate composition control
of the column to feed rate changes will be con- while Cohen-Coon parameters provided satisfactory
sidered. Furthermore^since composition responses bottoms composition control. As can be seen from
of the light key in the distillate (propane) and of the integral of the absolute error (IAE) values
the heavy key in the bottoms (isobutane) showing summarized in Table 2, use of the direct versus the
inverse response behavior have been presented (Wong indirect control strategy shows the most improve-
and Wood, 1985) the composition responses for all ment for control of isobutane concentration in the
five species are shown in Figs. 3 and 4. As can be distillate. Use of direct measurement of the
seen from the responses for a 30% step decrease in heavy key concentration has reduced the ΙΑΕ value
feed rate, shown in Fig. 3 none of the components from .00988 to .00590 for controlling against a 10%
in the bottoms exhibit inverse response (nonmini- step decrease in feed rate and from .01218 to
mum phase) behavior. However in the distillate the .00268 for a step increase.
light key and the two lighter components, ethane
and propylene, exhibit nonminimum phase behavior. TABLE 2 Single Produce Composition
For the increase in feed rate it can be seen from Control Performance
Fig. 4 that in the distillate only the light key
and propylene exhibit inverse response and in the IAE VALUE
bottoms only the heavy key (isobutane). These FEED FEED
occurences of inverse response behavior involving DECREASE INCREASE
the key component in the streams they dominate is CONTROL OF DISTILLATE: C- 10%) (+ 10%)
consistent with the results reported by Stathaki, INDIRECT: K^ = -10.0 DIS 0.00988 0.01218
Mellichamp and Seborg (1985). The complex nature Kj = 0.10 BTM 0.26867 0.58938
of multicomponent column dynamic behavior is illus- DIRECT: tC = -2000 DIS 0.00590 0.00268
trated by Fig, 5, a three dimensional plot of the Kj = 0.10 BTM 0.29647 0.75263
transient response of the propane molar flow rate CONTROL OF BOTTOMS :
versus stage number for a 30% step decrease in feed INDIRECT: IL, = 0.012 DIS 0.03994 0.06452
flow rate. The inverse propane composition res- Kj = 0.10 BTM 0.04230 0.03081
ponses noted in the enriching section are reflected DIRECT: Κ = - 4.38 DIS 0.01492 0.06943
in the initial response of the molar flow rate of Kj = 0.40 BTM 0.04222 0.01792
propane.
Simultaneous control of the heavy and light key
Additional simulations to study the occurence of specifications for the distillate and bottoms res-
inverse response behavior have been undertaken but pectively was studied using the indirect control
space does not allow for presentation of results. strategy shown schematically in Fig. 6 for ±10%
In addition to the predicted inverse responses for step changes in feed flow rate from the steady
flow rate and reboiler duty changes, nonminimum state value. As can be seen from the responses
phase behavior is also evident for some changes in shown in Fig. 7, obtained using the controller set-
tings for single product control^ the composition
170 G. A. Carling and R. K. Wood
control of the distillate (Quality Loop 1) is bations likely results due to the sensitivity of
satisfactory. However, bottoms composition control low steady state gains to small errors in control-
may be considered to be unsatisfactory despite the led variables. Although the question of the magni-
IAE value of 0.03526 being lower than the value of tude of perturbations for nonlinear systems has
0.04230 for control of only bottoms composition been considered by Mijares and co-workers (1985)
(cf. Table 2 ) . With the direct control strategy there was no firm recommendation as to a suitable
involving an analyzer for both product streams, perturbation size. For the depropanizer, on the
simulations showed that although use of the single basis of the values in Table 3, a perturbation size
composition controller settings resulted in rela- of 1% of the manipulated variables represents a
tively satisfactory control, bottom composition reasonable compromise between the desire to obtain
control could be improved by further tuning of the estimates of partial derivatives (small perturba-
controller. The resulting control performance is tions) and the desire to avoid numerical problems.
shown in Fig. 8. The dependence of the relative gain on the direc-
tion of the perturbation is considered to be re-
Since the simulations showed that there was some lated to the strong nonlinear system behavior
interaction between the two quality loops it was rather than to any "degeneracy". Satisfactory dual
considered instructive to examine the relative gain quality control performance supports this theory
array (RGA) to ascertain if the observed behavior and suggests that the relative gains based on nega-
could have been predicted from a knowledge of the tive perturbations are more credible than those
steady state gains. Relative gains for the 2x2 based in positive perturbations since the drastic
system were calculated from the expression interaction suggested by small negative relative
gains is not displayed.
r ^ K
12 KK2- 1
j-l
K (6)
An additional measure of the effect of interaction
L ll 22 J
is the relative disturbance gain (Stanley, Marino-
for direct and indirect dual composition control. tn
Galarraga and McAvoy, 1985). For the steady state
Steady state gains were established from perturba- gain of the i controlled variable in response to
tions of + .05%, .1%, 1%, 5% and 10% in reflux a disturbance denoted as K.i3> the relative distur-
rate and reboiler duty. The resulting relative bance gains (RDG) for a 2x2 system are
gain values are summarized in Table 3, for the
K K
gain array expressed as 23 12
(7)
13 22
Reflux Reboiler Duty
c 1 -
λ 1 - XI
RGA = cl λ(
λ -
(8)
2 L i- λ
The interpretation by the authors of the expected
TABLE 3 Relative Gain Values as a Function of control performance based on the value of the gains
Perturbation Size and Direction was that if |β|>1 larger changes in controller
output would be required to compensate for a dis-
INDIRECT DIRECT
turbance in the case of dual composition control
Perturbation Relative Perturbation Relative than for single product control. However, if |β|<1
( % ) Gain (% ) Gain the interaction is advantageous in that less con*
+ 0.05 10.2 + 0.05 - 3.63 trol action is required for multiloop control than
- 0.05 10.6 - 0.05 2.39 for control of only a single composition. Relative
+ 0.10 86.2 + 0.10 - 4.60 disturbance gains calculated based on +1% perturba-
- 0.10 6.25 - 0.10 2.51 tions in reflux rate reboiler duty and feed rate
+ 1.0 - 0.300 + 1.0 - 0.105 are given in Table 4.
- 1.0 1.31 - 1.0 1.10
+ 5.0 - 0.07 + 5.0 - 0.008 TABLE 4 Relative Disturbance Gain Values as a
- 5.0 1.07 - 5.0 1.01 Function of Perturbation Size and Direction
+ 10.0 - 0.07 + 10.0 - 0.003
INDIRECT DIRECT
- 10.0 1.07
- 10.0 1.00
Relative Relative
The relative gain may be used to determine appro- Disturbance Disturbance
priate pairings for controlled and manipulated Perturbation Gains Perturbation Gains
variables since less interaction between loops may + 1.0% 3χ = 7.29 + 1.0% 3-L = -0.05
be expected for pairing with λ - 1. Furthermore, e>
2 = -0.25
$2 = -0.20
according to Bristol (1985) and McAvoy (1983), if 1.0% B = -3.48 1.0% βχ = 0.51
λ < 0 only conditional closed loop stability is x
3 = 1.23 Bo = 0.99
expected; for | λ | » 1 the system may be extremely 2
sensitive; and for |λ|<0.5 interaction between the For the depropanizer, the RDG values provide little
loops can be expected with the most severe inter- insight into the control action required or control
action expected for |λ|- 0 . As can be seen from performance due to the sensitivity of the measure
the relative gain values in Table 3, the values to the relative gain values (Carling, 1986).
vary with the direction and size of the perturba-
tion applied to the manipulated variables. When
this situation has arisen (Kim and McAvoy, 1982; CONCLUSION
Thurston, 1981; Ralston, 1983) one of two approac-
hes has been followed. Kim and McAvoy (1982) Simulation of the depropanizer dynamic behavior has
advocate reducing the magnitude of the perturba- shown that the composition responses of the dif-
tion until the calculated relative gains are con- ferent species exhibit an inverse response behavior
sistent regardless of the direction of the pertur- in the product streams and also at intermediate
bation while Thurston (1981) states that dual stages. No general pattern of the specific occuren-
quality control should not be attempted when this ces of this nonminimum phase behavior could be dis-
"degeneracy" is observed. Ralston (1983) found cerned. The performance of single product composi-
that the relative gains she calculated were incon- tion control and dual quality control strategies
sistent for perturbation sizes between .05% and 2% investigated using the DYCONDISΤ simulator has
and opted for single point control because of de- shown that acceptable dual quality control behavior
generacy. The inconsistent pattern of the rela- may be achieved by measurement of tray liquid tem-
tive gains shown in Table 3 for very small pertur- perature^) or by direct terminal composition
The Dynamics and Control of a Depropanizer 171
measurement. Simulation results revealed that regulatory control schemes. Proc. 1982 Sum-
relative gain and relative disturbance gain values, mer Computer Simulation Conference, 462-469.
calculated from steady state information, did not Cook, W.J. (1980). M.Sc. Thesis, Case Western
provide a reliable indication of the control Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
behavior. Coughanowr, D.R., and L.B. Koppel. (1965). Process
Systems Analysis and Control, McGraw-Hill, N.Y.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Downs, J.J., and E.F. Vogel. (1985). An interactive
dynamic distillation simulator for analysis
The support of this work by the Natural Sciences and control system development. P r o c 1985
Summer Computer Simulation Conference, 337-342.
and Engineering Research Council under Research
Gallun, S.E. (1979). Ph.D. Thesis, Texas A & M
Grant No. A-1944 is gratefully acknowledged.
University, College Station, Texas, USA.
Henley, E.J., and J.D. Seader. (1981). Equilibrium
NOTATION Stage Separation Operations in Chemical
Engineering, John Wiley & Sons, N.Y.
c
BIAS steady state controller output signal Holland, C D . , and A.I. Liapis. (1983). Computer
l controlled variable, loop " 1 " , temperature Methods for Solving Dynamic Separation Problems.
c or composition McGraw-Hill, N.Y.
2 controlled variable, loop " 2 " , temperature Kim, Y., and T.J. McAvoy. (1982). Computing the
or composition relative gains for pressure and composition
C number of species (components) control of a single distillation tower. Proc.
ER error signal, setpoint minus feedback 1982 ACC, 74-80.
signal
th Kumar, S., J.D. Wright, and P.A. Taylor. (1984).
molar feed rate to the j stage Modelling and dynamics of an extractive distil-
1
enthalpy of the liquid in and leaving the lation column. Can. J. Chem. Eng., 62, 780-789.
j*-* stage
1 McAvoy, T.J. (1983). Interaction Analysis: Prin-
enthalpy of the feed stream to the j ciples and Applications. Instrument Society of
stage 1 America, Research Triangle Park, NC, USA.
enthalpy of the vapor leaving the j*-* stage Mijares, G., C D . Holland, R. McDaniel, C.R. Dollar
"4 proportional action constant
integral action constant
and S.E. Gallun. (1985). Analysis and evalua-
tion of the relative gains for nonlinear
derivative action constant systems. Comput. Chem. Eng., 9_, 61-70.
κ steady state gain between the ,th control- Morris, C.G., and W.Y. Svrcek. (1981). Dynamic simu-
ij 1
led variable in response to a perturbation lation of multicomponent distillation. Can. J.
in the j*-* manipulated variable
tn Chem. Eng. 59, 382-387.
tn
liquid molar flow rate from the j stage Moser, J.H. (1982) DYMODS-A computer program system
liquid molar holdup in the j stage for simulation of process dynamics Proc. 1982
feedback signal Summer Computer Simulation Conference, 514-519.
time instant Peiser, A.M., and S.S. Grover. (1962). Dynamic simu-
Ν total number of stages lation of a distillation tower. Chem. Eng.
OP controller output signal Prog., 58, No. 9, 65-70.
heat loss (gain) from stage " j " Prokopakis, G.J., and W.D. Seider. (1981). Adaptive
tn
liquid molar sidestream flow rate from the semi-implicit Runge-Kutta method for the solu-
j stage tion of stiff ordinary differential equations.
vapor molar sidestream flow rate from the IEC Fund, _20, 255-266.
stage Prokopakis, G.J., and W.D. Seider. (1983). Dynamic
temperature
1
simulation of azeotropic distillation towers.
vapor liquid flow rate from the j*-* stage AIChE J., 29, 1017-1030.
mole fraction of species "i" in the liquid Rosenbrock, H.H. (1962). The control of distillation
in and leaving the columns. Trans. Instn. Chem. Engrs., 40, 35-53.
1 stage
vector of mole fractions in the liquid in Smith, J.M., and H.C. Van Ness. (1975). Introduction
and leaving the j*-* stage to Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics.
11
mole fraction of species "i" in the vapor McGraw-Hill, N.Y.
leaving the j* * stage Stanley, G., M. Marino-Galarraga, and T.J. McAvoy.
1
vector of mole^ fractions in the vapor (1985). Shortcut operability analysis: 1. The
y. relative disturbance gain. IEC Proc. Pes. Dev.,
~3 leaving the j*-* stage
24, 1181-1188.
mole fraction of species i" in the feed Stathaki, Α., D.A. Mellichamp, and D.E. Seborg.
Z stream to the stage
tn (1985). Dynamic simulation of a multicomponent
vector of feed stream mole fractions in distillation column with asymmetric dynamics.
-3
the feed stream to the j stage Can. J. Chem. Eng., 63, 510-518.
Thurston, C.W. (1981). Computer-aided design of
Subscript
distillation column controls. Hydrocarb Proc.,
j denotes the stage 60, No. 7, 125-130.
Tolliver, T.L., and L.C. McCune. (1978). Distilla-
Superscript
1 tion control based on steady state simulation.
ISA Trans., 17, No. 3, 3-10.
i denotes the i*"* species Wei, C-N. (1984). Dynamic simulation of multicom-
ponent distillation columns: a tool for process
REFERENCES analysis, control design and operator training.
Proc. 1984 Summer Computer Simulation Con-
Ballard, D., C. Brosilow, and C. Kahn (1978). ference , 616-623.
Dynamic simulation of multicomponent distilla- Wong, T.T. (1985). M.Sc. Thesis, University of
tion columns. Presented at 71st Ann. Mtg. of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
AIChE. Miami, Fl., USA. Wong, T.T., and R.K. Wood. (1985). Dynamic behavior
Bristol, E.H. (1985). Book Review: G. Stephanopoulcs of a hydrocarbon separator. Proc. 1985 Summer
Chemical Process Control. Comput. Chem. Eng., Computer Simulation Conference, 331-336.
% 99-101.
Carling, G.A. (1986). M.Sc. Thesis, University of
Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Cheung, T.F., and T.E. Marlin. (1982). Using dyna-
mic simulation to evaluate distillation tower
172 G. A. Carling and R. K. Wood
A
Liquid • = Ethane
ϋ = Propylene + = Isobutane
j-1
Vapour = Propane X = Cisbutene
ν,,ν,'.Η,
0.15
'J- J- i 0.00
-0.05
VapourVj Heat Loss
LLiquid
x h H+ +,1 Ο
^ -0.10
i' l'- i y'j+1' i 1
20 40 60
tn
Fig. 1 Schematic diagram of the j stage
Time (min)
n
S o l u t i o n ® time t
Material
Balances 20 40 60
Time (min)
Enthalpy
Correlation
ah:
dX: Yes
Energy 20 40 60
Balance
Time (min)
0.15
Xj.Vj.Lj.VjTj
0.10
>
Pressure Drop 0.05
Heat Loss Q
Holdup n
0.00
CO -0.10
a
-0.15
20 40 60
Fig. 2 DYCONDISΤ solution procedure for variable
stage holdup Time (min)
Fig. 5 Transient response of propane flow rate Fig. 6 Indirect dual quality control scheme
tj
....
COMPOSITION
ο ο 0.3-
) E3 Β Ε ] B B •
55 0.2- 0.2-
οι
-
COMPO
COMPO
»... .010
- 020
-
.006
-
N
Tl.O-i
LTURE
ITURE
3ITION
.016
60.0
.006
- .016
-
05 zt 0- iOu βτ.ο
5 o .004
- ο ο.014
a.
.012
-
COM]
COMI
.002
u STAGE β W S T A G E 23 iC4 C3
20 40 60 «0 40 60 20 40 60
..^ 10
. On 0.7-
0.·
-
RATE
Η
00.0·
Χ ι-
Of
C
οί at
0.5
eo.o
- >- Χ
DUTÏ
w ΐ3 0.4- H
60.0 0.4-
Q
04
*TIME (min)° *°
20 40
TIME (min)
to
"iME (min*)
" *°
20 40
TIME (min)
«0
Fig. 7 Control performance for indirect control of Fig. 8 Control performance for direct control of
distillate and bottoms composition for a distillate and bottoms composition for a
10% step decrease in feed rate 10% step decrease in feed rate
Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
175
176 M. Kummel and H. W. Andersen
According to MacFarlane and Jones (1979) the am- The amplitude ratio between the closed-loop error
plitude ratio between the output vector y(s) and and the open-loop error is determined by:
l()| _
the set-point vector r (s) can be defined as
y
I y (iw) j / I ry (s) J . This vector gain lies in a band
determined by the minimum and maximum singular
ewi
j^ffyj
value of the closed-loop transfer function TI:
VP
m m : a(5(iw)) < < a(S(iw)) (10a)
le (iw)| _
£(Tl(i
W)) <to (2) y(iw) closely
According < ô(TXiw))
tracks the set- (2) m<n: 0
According < _£V good< sensitivity
to (lOa+b)
| e o( ix
a(S(iw)) (10b)
properties
^ ) | obtained if cf(S(iw)) is
points if a(Tl(iw)) and a(Tl(iw)) both are close of the closed-loop are
to unity over a desired bandwidth. close to zero over a desired bandwidth.
Disturbance rejection. The closed-loop transfer Stability margin. The stability margin is calcu-
function between the outputs y(s) and the disturb- lated for right multiplicative errors:
ances q(s) can be expressed as:
1 1 1 P'(s) = P(s)(I+AP(s)) (11)
y(s) = C(I+(sI-A)" BG(s)H(s))" (sI-A)" Dq(s)
The analysis is performed on the feedbacks of the
= T2(s)q(s) (3)
system. Thus, the stability margin is calculated
as :
The vector gain is determined by: _1
ν(iw) lmr(w) < £(I+(G(iw)H(iw)P(iw)) ) (12)
m > d: a(T2(iw)) < Hyr"7 < a(T2(iw)) (4a)
— — — I quw) I — For further details is refered to Doyle (1981) and
Cruz (1981).
m < d: 0 < < a(T2(iw)) (4b)
Iq(iw)I Some remarks on this stability margin are appro-
priate:
According to (4a+b) good disturbance rejection is a) Other types of errors may occur e.g. left mul-
obtained if a(T2(iw) is close to zero over a de- tiplicative errors and additive errors. Mar-
sired bandwidth. gins for these errors may be calculated (Doyle
(1981), Cruz (1981)). However, since these
Robustness errors may occur simultaneously and since the
analysis takes only one error at the time into
The second objective is to obtain satisfactory ro-
account, the results can be too optimistic. An
bustness properties i.e. providing performance in
analysis which calculates stability margin for
spite of model errors. Here we will focus on how
simultaneously occurence of the three error
to evaluate the output sensitivity to modelling types can be derived. However, this margin
errors and the stability margin of the system. will in general be too conservative (Doyle
(1982)).
Sensitivity of outputs to modelling errors. b) This stability margin expresses norm-bounded,
In fig. 1 a general closed-loop configuration is but otherwise unconstrained right multiplica-
shown. A similar open-loop configuration is shown tive errors. Thus, it does not take any know-
in fig. 2. The closed-loop error and the open-loop ledge of the error structure into account.
error is defined as: Therefore the results may be too conservative.
These restrictions in the analysis can be reduced
e (iw) = χ (iw)-x'(iw),
cx c c by using structered uncertainties as proposed by
Doyle (1982).
e (iw) = χ (iw)-x'(iw)
OX 0 0
where ' denotes the perturbed system. If the A CASE STUDY OF DISTILLATION CONTROL
closed-loop and the open-loop give the same nomi- Model
nal response, Cruz et al. (1964) showed that there
exists a linear relation between the closed-loop In this investigation the same mathematical model
error and the open-loop error: _1 for a distillation column as used by Takamatsu
(1979) has been examined. This model describes a
e (iw) = (Ι+Ρ'(iw)G(iw)H(iw)) e (iw) (6) binary distillation. The column consists of 9
cx ox
plates, reboiler and total condenser. The feed,
liquid at its boiling point, is entering at plate
The closed-loop error in the outputs y(iw) may be
5 (state 6 ) . The outputs are the compositions in
expressed as:
_1 the condenser (state 1) and the reboiler (state
11). The manipulated variables are the reflux flow
e (iw) = Ce (iw) = C(I+P'(iw)G(iw)H(iw)) e (iw)
cy cx ox and the vapour flow. Disturbances occur in the
feed flow and the feed composition. The state
= S'(iw)e (iw) (7)
Qx space model is shown in table 1. For further de-
tails, see Takamatsu et al. (1979).
where S' is the sensitivity matrix. Here the sen-
sitivity will be evaluated for the nominal system.
Thus, (7) reduces to: Controllers
-1
e (iw) = Ce (iw) = C(I+P(iw)G(iw)H(iw)) e (iw) Geometric control. The geometric controller was
cy cx ox
designed by Takamatsu et al. (1979). Nominally,
= S(iw)e (iw) (8) this controller yields total disturbance rejection
ox
at the top and bottom composition towards disturb-
where
1 ances in the feed composition. Disturbances in the
feed flow rate are completely rejected at the top
P(s) = (si-Α)" B, _1 composition, but not at the bottom composition.
thus: S(s) = C(I+(sI-A) BG(s)H(s)) (9) According to the control law u = -GHx, the feed-
backs and gains are given by:
Control of a Distillation Column Analysis 177
b
|o ο ο ο ο ο ο ο ο ι o| ( 1 3 Analysis.
) Figures 3-6 show the analysis results
Ρ _ 1330.06 -470.171 for the four control schemes. The analysis is per-
" 1251.47 -632.041 formed at the top and bottom of the column, since
these outputs are those which define the control
This controller is denoted CTRL
objectives.
Geometric control with pole shifting. According to Figure 3 shows the set-point tracking calculated
Kummel and Foldager (1983), state 1, 2 and 11 are by eq. (2). These curves closely resemble those of
available for feedback, which will not alter the the classical Bode analysis (amplitude ratio). The
nominal total disturbance rejection as described geometric controller CTR1 does not include feed-
for geometric control. The gains of the feedback back from the outputs. Thus, CTR1 is not repre-
from state 11 should, however, satisfy the rela- sented with any curves in fig. 3. Geometric con-
tion: trol with poleshifting CTR2 includes feedback from
J (b /b ) the outputs. Thus, this controller is represented
(14) with both an upper and a lower setpoint tracking
2,2 2,l 9 ,ll
i,n 2 gain curve. The offset is between 36-9%, and the
where g is an element in G, and b is an element in bandwidth is between 0.3-2 rad/min. The bandwidth
B. is calculated as the frequency where the gain has
fallen 3 dB compared to the steady-state value.
The following controller was suggested by Kummel The optimal controller CTR3 exhibits improved set-
point tracking compared to CTR2. The offset to-
et al. (1983):
wards step changes in setpoints is between 17-3%,
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 and the bandwidth is in the area of 1-5 rad/min.
0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 Due to integration in both outputs the PI control-
H =
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 ler has no offset towards step changes. The band-
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 width is between 0.4-2.0 rad/min. The maximum
curve has a resonance peak at w=l rad/min. The
(15)
size (around 12 dB) suggests an underdamped system
5000 400 330.06 -470.17 -1499.94 with damping ratio around 0.09. Thus the steady
G =
1000 200 251.47 -632.04 -2000.00 state error has been improved at the expense of
the dynamic behaviour.
This controller is denoted CTR2.
Figure 4 shows the disturbance rejection calculat-
Optimal control. An optimal controller was design- ed by eq. (4a). The geometric controller (CTR1) is
ed by Kummel et al. (1983). Since the primary task only represented with one curve. This is due to
the fact that nominally the top and bottom concen-
was to control top and bottom concentration with-
trations are totally decoupled from disturbances
out considering the amplitude in the control sig-
in the feed concentration, thus the transfer func-
nals, the weight matrix is Fu=I. The weight matrix
tions are equal to zero. The top concentration is
Fx was for numerical reasons Fx = I, except for
decoupled from disturbances in the feed flow rate,
the two end elements, which refer to the top and
but the bottom composition is not. Thus, the curve
bottom composition. These two elements were chosen
in fig. 4 represents the transfer function between
to be:
bottom composition and feed flow rate. As seen
8 from fig. 4 there is an offset towards step dis-
f (i,l) = f (ii,ii) 1-10
x x turbances in feed flow rate of around 0.2%.
The resulting feedback matrices are:
Similar to CTR1 geometric control with pole shift-
H ing, (CTR2) is only represented with one curve,
11
(16) i.e. the transfer function between bottom composi-
8286.1 616.4 163.4 40.6 9.0 0.1 tion and disturbances in feed flowrate. Compared
1492.7 252.2 98.1 31.4 8.7 0.2 to CTR1 applying pole shifting has reduced the
offset to 0.06%.
-6.2 -21.1 -55.5 -86.5 2535.8
-6.1 -19.5 -59.4 -220.5 -9250.5
No disturbances are nominally decoupled with opti-
mal control. Thus, two curves represent CTR3. The
This controller is denoted CTR3.
offsets due to step disturbances lie between
0.0004-0.02%. Thus, the offset at the bottom com-
PI control. With PI control the reflux was con- position will be less than for any of the geomet-
trolled from measurement of the top product compo- ric controllers.
sition, and the heat input to the reboiler was
controlled from measurement of the bottom product As expected the PI controller (CTR4) eliminates
composition. The gains and integration times were the steady state error. However, the peaks indi-
determined through dynamic simulation. Dynamic de- cate that Pi-control has increased overshooting
coupling was not implemented. The aspect of ro- compared to both geometric and optimal control.
bustness of different decoupling schemes is dis-
cussed in Arkun et al. (1984). Figure 5 shows the sensitivity of the outputs to-
wards modelling errors as calculated by eq. (10b).
1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 For pure geometric control (CTR1), this curve
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 approximates 1 for all frequencies. Thus, the geo-
(17) metric controller behaves like an open-loop con-
3000(l+l/(3s)) troller. The reason for this is seen by the Graph
G(s) = -1000(l+l/(8s))
0 theoretic approach (Schizas and Evans, (1981).
Figure 13 shows the couplings for the compensated
This controller is denoted CTR4. distillation column. States 1, 2 and 11 are com-
pletely decoupled from the other states.
178 M. Kummel and H. W. Andersen
Thus, deviations in states 1, 2 and 11 will not be From figs. 9-10 it is seen that the geometric con-
compensated by the geometric controller, since it trollers yield total nominal disturbance rejection
does not include feedback to these states. in state 1, while state 11 has an offset of 0.2%
(CTR1) and 0.06% (CTR2). This is in excellent
Geometric control with pole shifting reduces the agreement with the results from the analysis
lower frequency sensitivity to 45?ό of that of an (fig. 4 ) .
open-loop controller. However, at a critical fre-
quency the curve gets larger than 1 (the maximum Figure 11 (optimal control, CTR3) shows an offset
is 154%) which is an undesired property of the in state 1 and 11 of respectively -0.017 and
closed-loop. 0.014% which is in between the band obtained from
the analysis. As expected the PI control elimi-
The optimal controller (CTR3) has a lower frequen- nates the steady state error (fig. 12), but also
cy sensitivity of 19% and the maximum peak is exhibits an undesired overshooting. It is also
119%. Thus, the lower frequency sensitivity is seen from figs. 9-12 that the magnitude of the
lower than for both geometric controllers, and the control signals is equivalent for geometric and
maximum peak is lower than that of geometric con- optimal control.
trol with pole shifting.
Figure 7 shows the nominal and perturbed responses
PI control (CTR4) eliminates the steady state sen- of state 1 for the four controllers. The basic
sitivity, (the curve approaches zero for small geometric controller shows the greatest sensiti-
frequencies). However, the curve has an undesired vity towards the error in vapour flow. Applying
maximum of 413%. Thus, the closed-loop will be pole shifting reduces the sensitivity to 8% of
extremely sensitive to modelling errors with fre- that of the geometric controller. The optimal con-
quencies around 1.1 rad/min. troller has an even lower sensitivity (1% of that
of the basic geometric controller). PI control has
Figure 6 shows the stability margins towards right a low sensitivity and the steady state sensitivity
multiplicative errors as calculated by eq. (12). is zero. Thus, the simulated results of fig. 7
closely resembles the analysis results on sensiti-
The geometric controller (CTR1) shows no critical vity shown in fig. 5.
frequency. It has a draw off point of 1.4 rad/min
(the frequency at which the stability margin is Figure 8 shows the nominal and perturbed responses
130% of the steady state value). of state 11 for the four controllers. Again it is
seen that basic geometric control has the largest
Geometric control with pole shifting (CTR2) has a sensitivity that, applying pole shifting, reduces
critical frequency at 1.0 rad/min where the stabi- sensitivity and that optimal control has reduced
lity margin is 82%. Thus, establishing the pole sensitivity compared to both geometric controllers
shifting has reduced the stability margin. The
draw off point is now 2.5 rad/min. This is also a
degradation since lower draw off point indicates a CONCLUSION
faster increase of the specific curve.
An analysis is proposed which simultaneously de-
Optimal control (CTR3) has a greater critical sta- scribes nominal performance and robustness of a
bility margin than CTR2 (91% at w = 0.6 rad/min), multivariable closed-loop control system. A case
however, the draw off point is increased to 7.0 study of distillation control shows a close re-
rad/min. semblance between conclusions from the analysis
and those from transient simulations.
PI control (CTR4) has the lowest critical stabili-
ty margin (36% at w = 1.1 rad/min). This is due to Basic geometric control of a distillation column
coupling and integration. The stability margin is shown to have a sensitivity to modelling
might be improved by using decoupling as investi- errors, which is similar to that of an openloop
gated by Arkun et al. (1984). controller. The reason for this is seen by the
Graph theoretic approach (Schizas and Evans,
(1981)). Figure 13 shows the couplings for the
Simulation. The nine plate distillation column compensated distillation column. States 1, 2 and
with reboiler and condenser, and under control of 11 are completely decoupled from the other states.
one of the derived controllers, was simulated with Thus, deviations in states 1, 2 and 11 will not be
a 15% step change in the feed flow rate (ALF = compensated by the geometric controller, since it
1.5 mol/min). The sample time was 0.2 min and the does not include feedback to these states. This
disturbance was introduced after 1 min. The nomi- sensitivity may, however, be reduced by applying
nal responses were simulated with the linear feedback from the states which does not alter the
mathematical model. Takamatsu (1979) has shown nominal performance (total disturbance rejection).
that there is only minor differences between the Thus, it seems possible to combine ideal nominal
transient from the linear and the non-linear performance with satisfactory robustness proper-
model. The perturbed responses were also simulated ties, by using the degrees of freedom in the geo-
with the linear mathematical model, but the vapour metric controller.
flow rate was supposed to be 10% lower than set by
the controller: AV(obtained) = 0.9-AV(set). The optimal controller exhibits satisfactory ro-
bustness properties. However, it does not provide
Figures 9-12 show the nominal (indicated with an total nominal disturbance rejection. Pi-control
"N" on the current state) as well as the perturbed eliminates the steady-state sensitivity, but it
(indicated with a "P" on the current state) re- has a low stability margin and exhibits undesired
sponses for the four controllers. The responses overshooting.
are presented with 7 of the 11 states, e.g. the
condenser X]_, X 3 , X 5 , the feed plate X 5 , X 7 , X 9
and the reboiler xjj. Further, the two control
signals are shown, e.g. the reflux rate ui and the
vapour rate u . All responses are in deviation
variables.
2
Control of a Distillation Column Analysis 179
Arkun, Y., B. Manouslouthakis, A. Palazoglu (1984). The control system considered is expressed by the
Robustness analysis of process control sy- following equations:
stems. A case study of decoupling in distilla- T
x(t) = Ax(t) + Bu(t) + Dq(t)
tion. Ind.Eng.Chem.Des.Dev. 23, 93-101.
y(t) = Cx(t); u(t) = G(HC r (t)-z(t)); z(t)=Hx(t)
Cruz, J.B., W.R. Perkins (1964). A new approach to y
the sensitivity problem in multivariable feed- x(t) η-dimensional state vector.
back system design. IEEE Trans Automat. Contr. y(t) m-dimensional output vector.
9, 216-223. u(t) k-dimensional control vector.
Cruz, J.B., J.S. Freudenberg, D.P. Looze (1981). A Ty(t) m-dimensional set-point vector.
relationship between sensitivity and stability
z(t) p-dimensional feedback vector.
of multivariable feedback systems. IEEE Trans.
q(t) d-dimensional external disturbance input
Automat. Contr. 26, 66-74.
vector.
Doyle, J.C., G. Stein (1981). Multivariable feed-
back design: Concepts for a classical/modern A nxn constant matrix.
synthesis. IEEE Trans. Automat. Contr. 26, Β nxk constant matrix. D nxd constant matrix.
4-16. C mxn constant matrix. Η pxn constant matrix.
Doyle, J. (1982). Analysis of feedback systems
G(s) kxp closed-loop control.
with structered uncertainties. IEE Proc. 129,
G (s) kxp open-loop control.
242-250. 0
Kummel, M., L. Foldager (1983). Geometric control P(s) nxk nominal transfer function matrix between
of a distillation column. Symposium on "Appli- and control inputs.
ed control and identification", Lyngby, Den- P'(s) nxk perturbed transfer function matrix be-
mark, Preprints 3, 10-14. tween states and control inputs.
MacFarlane, A.G.J., D.F.A. Scott-Jones (1979).
e(s) error between nominal and perturbed re-
Vector Gain. Int. Journal of Control 29^, 65-
sponses.
91.
Index c: closed-loop.
Palazoglu, Α., Y. Arkun (1985). Robust tuning of
Index o: open-loop.
process control systems using singular values
and their sensitivities. Chem.Eng. Commun. 37, Tl(s) mxm transfer function matrix between the
315-331. outputs y(s) and the set-points r ( s ) .
Schizas, C , F.J. Evans (1981). A graph theoretic
y
T2(s) mxd transfer function matrix between the
approach to multivariable control system de- outputs y(s) and the external disturb-
sign. Automatica Γ7, 371-377. ances q(s).
Takamatsu, T., I. Hashimoto, Y. Nakai (1979). S(s) Sensitivity matrix.
A geometric approach to multivariable control σ(Μ) minimum singular value of matrix M.
system design of a distillation column. Auto-
matica 15, 387-402. σ(Μ) maximum singular value of matrix M.
-0.174 0.105
0.522 -0.943 0.469
0.522 -0.991 0.529
0.522 -1.051 0.569
0.522 -1.118 0.662
A = 0.522 -1.584 0.718
(min)"* 0.922 -1.640 0.799
0.922 -1.721 0.901
0.922 -1.823 1.021
0.922 -1.943 1.142
0.115 -0.171
0 0 0 0
0.00328 -0.00244 0 0
0.00384 -0.00288 0 0
0.00400 -0.00304 0 0
1 0.00376 -0.00280 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Β =
0.00308 -0.00232 0.4 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1
(mol)" -0.00312
0.00236 0 0.00236
0.00288 -0.00382 0 0.00288
0.00308 -0.00412 0 0.00308
0.00300 -0.00306 0 0.00300
0.00032 -0.00042 0 0.00032
Λ
Λ
Fig.3 Analysis of set-point tracking. Fig.4 Analysis of disturbance rejection. Fig.5 Analysis of output sensitivity.
X IN 0.002
- X 1N
0.002-
o.ooo
• XIP
0.000- p. . ,—· 1
10 20 50
X 5N 0.002
- X 5N
0.002-
^ _- YPI • X3P
o.ooo
1 1
10 20 SO
X5N - X SN
0.002- 0.002-1
-- yqp - X5P
0.000 1 1 so
0.000
10 20
s - * XBN - X 6N
0.002-
— ypp - X6P
10 2Ό ~ -50
r..
X 7N 0.002 - X 7N
0.002-
Y 7P 0.000 - X7P
0.000 -
50
f
10 2Ό
X 9N 0.002
X 9N
0.002-
— X^P X 9P
0.000 - J 1
10
1 1
20 _ 50
0.000
50
XI IN 0.002
X I 1N
0.002-
-- yι i p " - - X I IP
0.000
)
1
10
I
20
t
50
0.000
2-
1 U IN - U 1N
— U IP - IMP
r , 1 1
10 20 50
2-
1 ..„,- U2N - U 2N
î r. 10
Fig.9 Geometric
20
1
control (CTRl).
- - U2P
(CTR2).
0.002-
- Χ 1N
0.000-
• X IP
0.002·
- X 5N
0.000
• X5P
0.002
- X 5N
0.000
• X5P
0.002
- X 6N
0.000 • X6P
0.002 - X 7N
0.000· - X7P
0.002
- X 9N
0.000 - X9P
0.002
- XI 1N
0.000 - X HP
- U 1N
- U IP
- U 2N
mN - U2P
SO
Abstract. Conventional design procedures for distillation columns have tended to avoid
consideration of how the interaction of the process and mechanical design affect the
dynamic behaviour and hence influence the control problem. This is because steady
state conditions are used as the criteria for design. Where dynamic changes are a
feature of normal operation, whether arising from feedstock changes, upstream
disturbances or as part of batch processing, the mechanical design features can play a
significant role in determining effective control. This is because it influences not
only the fluid dynamics but heat and mass transfer. In particular, ordered transfer
between operating states, as well as questions of stability of operation can be
strongly influenced by the mechanical details. The strong interaction which arise from
heat and mass transfer and the pressure distribution, together with the thermal
capacitance effects of the structure need to be taken into account. Consequently, to
ensure that the most favourable dynamics are exhibited for control, some care is needed
in the way the physical arrangements are specified. This contribution will present
information on the role played by the dominant process mechanisms and the bearing these
have on the design characteristics. Effective attack on this problem requires an
integrated CAD facility to define a computing environment which allows the complex
inter-relationships to be identified through the user interface. The intention is to
present an analysis of the problem and show how the dynamic behaviour can be shaped by
the mechanical design of the equipment to improve the control.
181
182 C. McGreavy and G. H. Tan
mass balances The heat balance over the metal structure is:
heat balance
C dT
vapour-liquid equilibrium relationships w
12 W
U . (T. - Τ ) + U (T. . - T„.)
dt wlj j wj' j -0l J" J
momentum balances describing the tray
hydraulics. Associated with these are
equations for the physical properties such as
U
liquid molar density. w3 ^
The liquid head necessary to generate flow and DYNAMIC BEHAVIOUR DURING STARTUP
overcome frictional losses of the liquid through
the downcomer apron is given by: Plots of the hydraulic variables during startup are
shown in Fig. 3. The time constants associated
with this process are of the order of 1 to 2
(11) minutes, the larger value being that associated
with the longer holdup in the reboiler. It is
apparent that there is a considerable variation,
which results from a height of liquid on the tray particularly during the first two minutes. The
comprising the sum of the weir height and the column does not exhibit equimolar overflow
hydraulic head for liquid flowing over the weir response. Instead the vapour flows vary
considerably from tray to tray. The vapour flow
ζ Z +f } { L ) response in the column is very fast: it takes less ( ,
than 1 second after startup for the vapour flow
τ. - o j
Wj changes to reach the top of the column. Hadju et^
al. (1975) found that significant vapour lags,
While it is possible to refine this description to ranging from 10 seconds to 10 minutes, can arise
provide more information regarding the downcomer when the dynamics of the heat transfer process in
design, this would only be required for the very the reboiler are included, but the concern here is
detailed examination of a system: it does not with the intrinsic response of the column.
affect the characterization of the dynamics.
It should be noted that despite the very fast
A consequence of this spread of intrinsic time vapour response, it is coupled to the slower
constants for the elements and the interactions thermal and composition transients and so can still
which occur is that the resulting set of equations take more than ten minutes before settling to a
is stiff so that this places a considerable steady state value. A comparison of the vapour
computational burden on the numerical solution transients with the liquid composition transients
(Tan, 1983). The consequence of this is that some (Fig. 4) reveals that the shape of the vapour
care is needed in ensuring that the solutions used response is similar to that of the light component
to predict the responses are reliable. transients (MEK) . This is a consequence of the
fractionation which takes place so that the heavier
components accumulate near the bottom end of the
STARTUP OF A DISTILLATION COLUMN column and raise the boiling point of the mixture.
The light components rise up the column with a
The start-up of a column can be examined using the corresponding drop in the temperatures on the upper
above equations and specifying any two of the trays. For a fixed heat input, Q, , and cooling
variables Q , D, L. and R so that the overhead rate, Q , the amount of vapour which is generated
vapour flow can be found. Using this model, it is increases progressively as the concentration of
possible to show that the procedure adopted can light materials increase up the column. After
have an important effect on the efficient and about 10 minutes, when the bulk of the
stable operation of the column during start-up, as concentration and temperature changes (see Fig. 5)
well as influencing the time to reach steady state. have taken place, the vapour flows effectively
The cases to be considered are taken from the data reach steady state values.
given in Table I.
This response illustrates how the vapour flowrate
Start-up Procedure is coupled to the tray temperature (or pressure)
and composition through the
A possible policy for start-up is: condensation-evaporation process. Thus, even under
normal unsteady state operation, whenever there are
1. Initially charge the column with liquid feed significant changes the tray temperature or
at its bubble point at two positions: compositions, as might occur with a change-over of
a feedstock, significant changes in the vapour
(a) the feed plate flows will arise.
(b) the top plate
The transients of the liquid flows and holdups are
It is assumed that there is liquid at the feed closely linked, and the relationship between them
composition and temperature on all the trajs is dependent on the liquid head which generates the
and downcomers. The effects of weeping are flow. During startup, there is initially a very
neglected and heat is introduced through the sharp drop in the tray liquid flowrates as the
reboiler. vapour boilup creates a pressure profile over the
column. This pressure build up on each stage has
2. Vaporization of the liquid increases the the effect of increasing the downcomer liquid head
pressure in the reboiler until it is large and holdup, but effectively reduces the liquid
enough to overcome the pressure drop due to flowrate on to the tray through the downcomer
the orifice frictional losses and the tray apron. The liquid buildup in the downcomer will
liquid head on the bottom tray, so that the continue until it is sufficiently large to overcome
vapour passes up to the next. The hot vapour the tray pressure drops arising from the pressure
heats up and vapourizes some of the liquid profile across the tray. If the pressure
contents on this tray and the whole sequence difference is unduly large relative to the
is repeated until vapour reaches the top plate downcomer area, then there is the likely
of the column. possibility of the occurrence of downcomer
flooding. Essentially it is an operational problem
3. When the vapour flow up the column is which can be attributed to poor structural design
established, that leaving the column as the of the column, and emphasizes the need to take this
overhead is condensed and returned as reflux. into consideration at the design stage. The
The feed flow on to the top plate of the example quoted by Peiser and Grover (1962) of a
column is stopped and the column is operated field column that was experiencing operational
at total reflux until the overhead composition difficulties due to a tendency for the lower trays
reaches prescribed conditions. Distillate to flood and was identified as arising from poor
product is then withdrawn and the column tray hydraulics confirms this.
brought to a steady state.
DCCR-M
184 C. McGreavy and G. H. Tan
As can be seen from Fig. 5, the column pressure the lower stripping stages and decreasing in the
profile is established in less than 1 second, and rectifying stages (Fig. 6 ) . However, an imbalance
this is approximately the time taken for the vapour between the heat input and removal rate, such as a
flow to be propagated to the top tray. The lag in decrease in the reboiler heat input, can cause
vapour flow is essentially negligible and, since these composition-induced temperature changes to be
the top pressure is not controlled, the resultant masked by the larger changes in the heat flows, as
column pressures are determined primarily by the can be seen in Fig. 6.
pressure in the reboiler, i.e. any changes in the
reboiler pressure appear very rapidly in the There is evidence of considerable interaction
indicated pressures on the trays above. It can be between the mass and heat flows changes within the
seen that the general response of pressure on the column. The composition transients for three
trays is identical to the reboiler pressure different strategies using varying rates of reboil
variations, despite the differences in the can be seen in Fig. 7. It is apparent that, as the
temperature and composition transients. Thus, reboil rate is increased, the immediate effect
although the column pressure profile is established is to increase the vapour flow up the column,
in a very short time and the pressure drop per bringing more of the lighter components towards the
plate remains relatively constant, the individual upper trays. However, after about 100 seconds,
fluctuation pressure on the tray is considerable when distillate product is taken off at the
and may take more than 40 minutes to reach steady specified rate, more of the lighter components will
state. These long pressure transients arise leave the column. The net effect is a fall in
because the tray pressure is also coupled to the concentration of the lighter components throughout
tray temperatures and compositions through the the column leading to higher pressures and
vapour-liquid equilibrium process and so is linked temperatures.
to the slower concentration and temperature
changes. Because temperature has such a strong effect, any
drift in the column temperature profile which
Consequently, there are always two separate arises for example from the column structure acting
processes simultaneously influencing the tray as a temporary heat source or sink during the
pressures: the tray hydraulic mechanism which, is transient period can be expected to be significant
very fast and the thermodynamic equilibrium and needs to be examined in more detail.
constraints which cause the pressure to follow the
behaviour of the slower temperature and composition
transients. The latter can produce some unusual INFLUENCE OF TRAY METAL THERMAL CAPACITANCE
pressure transients. Generally, the tray pressure
will increase when there is either an increase in The considerable interaction which can arise
the tray temperature or the concentration of the between the heat and mass flow changes within the
lighter, more volatile components which have higher column has already been noted. Consequently since
vapour pressures. Conversely, the tray pressure the thermal capacitance of the metal structure is
will decrease with a fall in tray temperature or an large, the thermal lags within the system will be
increase in the concentration of heavier important in affecting the behaviour of the column
components. during transient conditions. Apart from the column
liquid holdup, there is considerable thermal
However, the open-loop pressure response is capacity associated with the metal mass of the
determined primarily by the pressure in the tray structure, C . This behaves as a large heat
reboiler. As heat is introduced into the reboiler, reservior during the transient period, which slows
the temperature rise produces a corresponding down the thermal responses of the column.
increase in pressure. As fractionation takes
place, with more of the heavier components As C increases, the time taken for the column to
accumulating in the reboiler, the w . . . .
reach steady state is significantly longer due to
temperature-induced increase is masked, resulting the larger thermal lag of the system. Typically,
in a slight fall in the column pressures. After the total time taken to reach steady state is about
about 2 minutes, when the bulk of the concentration 1,000 seconds when ^C^ is neglected and from 3,000
change has taken place, the continual addition of seconds (C = 5*10 ) to more than 25,000 seconds
the heat causes the pressure transients to be (C = 2.5*Υθ ) when it is included. In this case
dominated by the temperature effects, resulting in (see Table I ) , although the difference in the top
a sharp increase in the tray pressures until steady tray temperatures predicted for each of the
state is reached. It would be expected that if constants above are not very large, about 2 C at
there is a gross imbalance in the heat flows into most, this represents about 30% of the total
the column, e.g. either an exceptionally large temperature change of 7 C. Thus, although the
increase in the heat supply or the cooling rate, temperature response is slow, it does not have a
then the column pressure transients will be significant influence on the composition.
dominated by the thermal effects, and the
concentration induced effects cannot be clearly Generally, a major source of large variations in
identified. tray temperatures arises from heat input to the
reboiler. This causes significantly different and
The column composition responses are largely slower transient responses because of the thermal
determined by the mass flows within the column as effects arising from C . There is associated with
well as the external product flow distributions. w
this a relatively large damping of the temperature
Thus, any change in the product distribution, e.g.
responses which produces noticeably different tray
an increase or decrease in distillate flow, will
pressure and composition transients.
cause the column composition to shift so as to
satisfy both the internal and overall material The compositions can also exhibit rather unusual
balances. Prior to startup, the compositions on transient behaviour as a result of the effects of
all the trays should be the same as the feed the thermal lag. The resultant slower temperature
composition. After startup, the vapour boil-up changes acts as an additional constraint on the
will bring the lighter, more volatile components variation in tray composition, which in turn
towards the upper part of the column, whilst the influences the resulting vapour-liquid equilibrium.
returning reflux carries the heavier components A consequence of the lower tray temperature and
towards the lower section. This fractionation pressure transients arising from the slower rate of
process is accompanied by corresponding temperature temperature change is to drive more of the lighter
changes, with the tray temperatures increasing in components (MEK and benzene) up the column. This
Effect of Process and Mechanical Design 185
can be seen in Fig. 8 where the concentration of difficult to obtain indirect measurements of
toluene in the distillate product is ,0.1313 (for C
7 composition, e.g. by temperature. This has
= 0.0) and 0.1258 (for C = 2.5*10 ) after 1 ,ΟΟυ implications in designing control systems.
w
seconds, i.e. a difference of 0.0045. As a result
of the large thermal capacitance, the steady (c) The assumption of equimolar overflow is not
composition of 0.1313 is only reached after a valid because significant variations in flow
further 8 hrs. rates arise. Knowledge of this is required to
avoid sudden surges in vapour boil-up.
It is evident that the effect of C on the column Failure to recognize this tends to cause a
dynamics is significant and consistent with the temporary reduction in the liquid flow through
long response times observed in the large the downcomer clearance and a consequent
distillation columns, where the value of C can^be liquid build-up leading to flooding during the
expected to be significantly larger than ^ t ^ c ) . transient period.
These long transients are obviously undesirEble
because they make control of the column difficult. (d) Considerable interaction occurs between the
Although, improvement in the response might be heat and mass transfer processes within the
possible by increasing the heat transfer column. An important consequence of this is
coefficient between the liquid and the metal that the column dynamics is strongly
structure but this proves not to be the case (Tan, influenced by the thermal lags arising from
1983). the thermal capacitance of the structure.
The following characteristics of the dynamics of a 2. The consequential influence of the large C on
W
column during start-up have been highlighted: the column composition transients is
significant only when there is a considerable
(a) The direct response to disturbances which change in the column temperatures, e.g. more
affect the vapour flows and pressure is very than 10 C.
rapid, i.e. of the order of seconds.
3. When C^ is large, smaller values of U ^ (the
(b) The variations in column pressures can make it product of the overall heat transfer
186 C. McGreavy and G. H. Tan
NOMENCLATURE
*Di
Mole fraction of component i in liquid stream
Mole fraction of component i in downcomer \ N \
Mole fraction of component i in liquid feed \
*fi \ T \ \
Mole fraction of component i in vapour stream
\t
J Height of liquid on tray (cm) J
k \
Total tray pressure drop (cm)
PR
Dry tray pressure drop (cm)
Pressure drop due to frictional and flow
^FR
resistance in downcomer clearance (cm)
\\_
M,
GREEK LETTERS \ \ Lj
^
Ύΐ
φ.
Liquid activity coefficient of component i
Vapour fugacity coefficient of component i
\ \
\ y » K \ \
\
\
SUBSCRIPTS
\
i Component number
j Stage number
L Liquid phase
Ν Condenser stage
0 Reboiler stage
V Vapour phase
Fig. 2 Conceptual representation of the column
ABBREVIATIONS structure
MO -
810
135 0 - 102.5
140 - / Λ -
132.5 - 100 Û
79(^ 9 7 .5
/
/ .
. 30 0 -
<î iuo • 780 95.0
i 80 '
127.5-
ô 92.5
/ /
•7 .' 125 0 ^ 770
J \ \
S 90.0
* 60 122 5 - \ 750
\ 8 7 .5
iu - 120.0- 750
\
20 · 7 3 117.5- J 1 4 7*0
J 4
85.0
4
82 5
10 10 10* 10° 10 10 10 10 ' 10 10 ' 10 1 0' io' io
Π Μ Ε (sec) T I ME ( s e c ) T I ME (sec) T I ME (sec)
1 0? s.
VJQ υ
97 5 - —reboiler
υ // ---tray \
//y
95 0
en f e e d I ray
Τ39 2 5 — tray 3
- t op tray
Ml
90 0
B7 5
7 1 4 36 0 rt J 4
10 ΙΟ ΙΟ
10'
10 10* 10 10
T I ME ( S e c )
time ( s ejc
0.225
0.50 |
0.200|
0.45
„ 0.175,0 5 0.4 0
/
{/
ο °! 104
c S 0.3 5
830
~ 0 125
102
Ζ ο.ιοο
g 0.3 0
s 820
1 0 0|
x 0.075 \* 810
I
0.2 0 \ 96
Σ
//
0.050-
800
-
0 025i 0.15
:
10 10 10
T I ME
10 10' » » 10
790
// 4
94
/ 1
//
(sec ) TIME (sec )
780
92UL
10° „y ι • 10 10° 1 0* 10 10"
io' io'
T I ME (sec )
T I ME (sec )
UO 0 .12 \
102
0.10 -
100
u 98 £ 0.08
σι Ε
*» 96
TJ
e 94
T I ME (sec ) T I ME (sec )
reboile r
D is î3 0 0
tray 1
0is= 2 5 . 0
feed tra y
tray 3
top tra y Fig. 6 Effects of varying distillate product
flow on the startup of a 5-staged column
Stage No. 0 (Reboiler)
Fig. 4 Liquid and vapour compositions transients
during the startup of a 5-staged column
188 C. McGreavy and G. H. Tan
7S0
:
700
ON 6S0
X
Σ
Σ 500 -
C
550-
£00 e 1 1 4
10 10 ' 10 10 10' 10' 10' 10* 10
TIME ( s e c ) T I ME (sec)
r e b o i lre
tr*y 1 0.160
0 032f
f e «d t r ay
t r ay 3 _ 0.155J
0.030
t op t r ay £ 0.tSo |
ω 0.028
u s
-
χ
0.025
I °· iλ
0.02 Ν o.uo
0 022|
0.135 i . /
10 15 20 0.130 10 15 20
Π Μ Ε (mins) T I ME ( m i n)s
Fig. 7 Temperature and pressure transients during
the startup (when the reboiler heat flow 0 . 8 S0
0.08 5
is decreased) 0 845
0 8i0|
Ο.Οβ
Ο
~ 0 835
I F
Υ 0.830 0.07 5
J 0825
0.070 |
^ 0.820ff
χ
0.815 0.06 5
0.8101
0.06 0
10 15 20 25 10 15 20 25
T I ME (mins) T I ME ( m l h) i
F O A « 00.
FDA » 0.05
F DA . 0.12
10 ic 10*
TfMÉ (sccj
TIME (iecj
Cw = 0 . 0
C w « 2 . 540
- C w . 5 . 050
C w *2 5 0 6
Abstract
189
190 J. Β. Edwards and M. H. N. Tabrizi
νν f^* w
(α h
6
+
- (a and Y'(ο), X'(o) respectively mass balances on
Oh') 2, these vessels may be written:
(δη)
9y δη(α£-ν) + {
2 (δη) (a£+v) (7)
9{H Y(o)}
a 9Y δη
V {ε-εΥ(ο) + } (20)
9h' Oh') at 9h'
h'=o
9x' (δίιΓ and 3iH,X'(o)} , oh}
On ; L (21)
2 Tt s {
-*'^ w +
h'=o
dh
+ ^ i - δηα-αν) + J ϋ - ν (6h-T (A+av)(8)
if ε = α-1 (22)
Oh')'
normalising to: 9iT Y(o)}
and if ν and I are kept sufficiently small, steady- (23)
=ε{1-Υ(ο)}+
state values may be substituted for all the capital 3τ
variables in (7) and (8) thus yielding linear rel- h=o
ationships between y,x' and v,£. 9{T X'(o)}
b = -εΧ'(ο) +
9X'
(24)
9h
2,4 Operating conditions and plant parameter h=o
constraints
where T
Solution of pde's (7) and (8) is practical only if
a = H a/ H ^ h and T
b = H b/Hôh
H and H^ being the molar capacitances of the acc-
they and their boundary conditions are rendered a
umulator and reboiler.
symmetrical by appropriate choice of plant para-
meters and quiescent operating conditions. We ther-
2.6.2 Feed-trays. A mass balance on the rectifier
efore make L' and oh the same for the rectifier and
stripping section and set feed tray yields
9H X(L)
ctH =
£ H^ (=H) (9)
F * V
x^ δη (26)
Now if, nominally, aL = V and aV =L„ (10)
+ eY'(D-Vr Y ( D - L
r h'=L'
' r r s s
then, from (5) and (6), steady state compositions on applying a first-order Taylor expansion and from
Binary Tray-Distillation Columns 191
Eq. (10), (13) and (14) we deduce that Eqs. (32) - (36). Their symmetry allows the ready
diagonalisation of the system if we adopt the out-
F - e V (27)
put and input vectors:
so that substituting for F and ζ in (26) gives,
y(h,r) - χ'(ΐι,τ)
after normalisation q(h,T) (37) and
y(h,x) + χ'Οι,τ).,
9Y(L)
^_ X<(L) U-Y(L)}-f
(28)
3τ + +
h=L ν(τ) + 1(τ)
u(x)= £ (38)
and, similar treatment of the stripping section's
ν(τ) - £(τ)_
feed tray yields
Laplaoe transforming the pde's in s w.r.t. h and in
3X'(L)_
^-x'a)-{i-Y(L)} fl (29) ρ w.r.t. τ gives
3x + h=L
-ε 0
2 s * -1
2.7 Large-signal steady-state solution: (s - p) £ - s q(o) - q(o)=s (39)
0 a+1
justifying symmetry.
where q_(s,p) is the double transform of £(h,x),
Subject to boundary Eqs. (23), (24), (28) and (29)
,c[(o) is the transform of qXo,x) w.r.t. τ, u that of
and setting 3/3τ = 0, the large signal steady state
U ( T ) and £(o) that of 3q/3h at h = o. The end
Eqs. (11) may be readily solved to produce the sol-
vessel conditions (32) and (33) yield, if Τ =T =T,:
ution for Y(h) and X'(h) from which we note the a b
constant value of slope; Τ ρ q(o) = - eq(o) + q(o) (40)
G = 2 ε/{(α+1) (2cL+a+l)} (30) 2 ~ -1
so: (s -p)£ - (s+ c-Tp)q(o)+ s u=0(41)
and the fact that X'(h) = 1 - Y(h) (31) ο -(α+1)
The results are necessary for substitution in the
and inversion back to the h,p domain, and setting
solution to our linearised small-signal model (18)
h = L therefore yields
and (19) but have a strong practical appeal in them-
selves. The constancy of G, leading to even tray q(L) - Q ( )q(o) - Q (L)u = 0 (42)
loading, has already been anticipated and discussed
iL 2
where Q^(L) = {/pcosh/p L + (c+Tp)sinh /pL>I_//p(43)
but equation (31) represents another important att-
ribute of the special case we have adopted. It
cosh/p L-l -ε 0
indicates that, from a 50/50 mixture of components and Q (L) = (44)
(ζ + Ζ = 1.0), a symmetrical plant and operating
2 [0 α+Ι^
regime produces top and bottom products that are
Now the feed Eqs. (36) and (37) may be expressed
equally pure, nominally. In cases where the feed +
composition were richer (weaker) then, to avoid 3
Q £(D ^ 1^ • ν (45)
pinch effects, this would be entered nearer to the 3 h=L
accumulator (reboiler) so approaching a single-
stage situation, capable of easier analysis (e.g. p+2 , 0
where = 0.5ε 0 (46)
and Q.=
Armstrong and Wood (1961)). —4
0 0 , ρ
-0.5(3α+,1)
2.8 Small signal boundary conditions. allowing unknown q(L) tobe eliminated between (42)
and (45) giving
These are derived from the large signal boundary
equations (20), (21) and (26) (and a similar equa- q(o) = G(o,p)u (47)
tion for the stripper feed tray) and the assumed
G(o,p) relating and compositions to flow rates
(symmetrical) operating conditions. For the acc-
being given by:
umulator for instance we get, on implicit different-
iation :
G(o,p) = Q Q + 3h (48)
Q -Q Q ah
ctH M2l ^
ν{-Υ(ο)ε+ε·
3Y
6h} V {- y(o) ^ '<Sh}
— L7"3—1
h=L
4 32-
a 3 t 3h'
t + rf i£ +ηf h'=o
3 The matrices of Eq. (49) are all diagonal so that
the first-term of the R.H.S. being zero in steady ,P) 0" )
state so that normalising we get simply G(o,p)
g (o,p)J
22
h=o
(32)
for the transfer F Jg(o,
and knowing Q .,.Q^, we quickly obtain expressions
n functions g^(o,p) and g ( o , p ) ,
22
these being, respectively:
whilst for the stripping section we obtain
dx'(o) 3χ' ε{(ρ+2) (cosh/pL-l)/p+(sinh/pL)/^ρ+Ο.δ}
εχ'(o)+ (33) (50)
b 3τ 3h {(l+T)p+2+e}cosh/pL+{(p+2) (e+Tp)+pKsinh/pL)//p
h=o
(a+1) (cosh/p L-l) + (a+l) (sinh/pL)//p+0.5(3ot+l)
From feed tray Eq. (26) and noting, from the steady (51)
state solution, that: {p(l+T) + c}cosh/p L + /p(l + ε + Tp)sinh/p L
Y'(L) - Y(L) = -G(a+l)/2 (34) 2 for ρ = ο are:
the limiting values
we deduce g (o,o) = e(L + L + 0.5)/(2 L+ct+ 1) (52)
11 E
9y(L) (a+1)
= V
ν
+a.}- f +x'(L)-y(L) (35) and g (o,o) = -{(a+l)L + 0.5(3a +1)}/ε
22 (53)
h=L
4. PREDICTION OF COLUMN BEHAVIOUR
Similarly, the stripper feed equation is found to
be:
A completely analytic T.F.M. model relating the
1 S behaviour of y(o,x), χ'(ο,τ) to ν(τ), £(τ) has thus
+y(L)-x'(L) (36) been derived in terms of normalised complex fre-
3τ V 2 3h
h=L 1
quency ρ and normalised column length L, both read-
T
ily converted to real frequency p and real length
SOLVING FOR THE T.F.M. L by the formulae
The small signal behaviour of the column given the
flow disturbances v(t), &(t) is now completely spe- p L /(H oh) (54) and L' = L6h (54)
cified by p.d.e's (18) and (19) and boundary
192 J. Β. Edwards and M. H. N. Tabrizi
f
The real time constant T of the end vessels is ob- 4.2 Effect of terminal capacitance
tainable from its normalised value thus: Since Τ drops out of the high-frequency analysis
τ' = Τ H ôh/L = H /L = H. /L (55) above it follows that only the final portion of the
£ r a r b r step-response is influenced by changes in T. This
?
In terms of y,x,v and I, the model may be expressed: is indeed confirmed by the simulation result of
y(o,p)-x (o,p) g Co,P) v(p)+£(p) Fig.5 for ε = 0.1, L = 10 with Τ = 1,20 and 50.
=G V 11
y(o,p)+x'(o,p) g (o,p) v(p)-£(p) 5 . APPROXIMATE MULTIVARIABLE FIRST-ORDER LAG MODEL
22
(56) One of the motivations for deriving G(o,p) has been
where composition gradient G readily obtained from to validate simpler models. Because the system is
α and L via Eq. (30). Some aspects of dynamic be- class-0 and tends to an integrating process the
haviour are now obvious whilst others require an multivariable first-order lag approximant, Ga(O,p)
examination of the formulae for g-Q and g22· 0^ of Owens (1975) would seem to be applicable where
the former, we note that, over the entire frequency
range, composition-tilt, y(h,x) - x'(h,T) is driven 0^(0,p) A + A
—1 —ο (63)
noninteractively by average circulating flow {v.(τ) -1
+ £(τ)}/2 whilst composition-total y ( h , O + χ'(η,τ) where A^ = Lim G (ο,ρ) and A = Lim50{p ^G \o,p)}
—ο ι ι —
is driven purely by take-off rate ν(τ) - £(τ). We p-»o
note also that the tilt gain g^(o ,o) is positive
IpI-*
whilst g22(o,o)is negative and that for low-relative Here, we should strictly replace |p|-*°° by L <<
|p0.5| << -j^q approximant should still app-
volatility mixtures (ε << 1.0) requiring long col- bt u
e
t b
ly for controller design provided excessive gains
umns (L >>1.0-see steady state solution), then
I g-Q(°>°) I « | g (o,o) I · These findings accord well are avoided. Now A^ and ^ are readily derived
22
with simulation experience (Rosenbrock, 1966). analytically. A-^ merely involves solution of the
Rademaker's deductions (1975) and Shinskey's empi- small-signal spatial differential equations obtai-
rical data (1963). They, reported that separation ned by setting 8/8τ = 0 in (18) and (19) yielding
is influenced predominantly by ν(τ) but our conclu- static gain formulae (52) and (53) directly. ^ can
sions are in close accordance for low-relative be estimated even more simply from (18) and (19) by
volatiles where large reflux ratios are needed, so ignoring after transformation all but the p-depend-
allowing |(v + i)\ » |v - i\. ent coefficients of the dependent variables giving
ol
4.1 Inverse Nyquist Loci
Typical loci of g;Q(o,ju)) and g (o,joo) computed
22
from (50) and (51) are shown in Figs. 2 and 3 for
ρ q -
The vertical d
a+1
a thus
loci
A -
—ο
n obtained
ω f o1 for
-(ot+1)
G Uthe
J aelements
r
•'J (64)
7 CONCLUSIONS
8. REFERENCES
-I U
300 600 900 1200 τ
ω = 0.91
lOj Accurate
8j
0.72
m I
0.4j , 0-.039
6j
0.54
0.2j - ιω - 0 . 0 2
1
Ο 60 120 180 240 τ
' 1 1 1__
.36
2j ,τ - 1
I 1
Fig.3. 1 (
Accurate ω) ( lst-order lag loci for
and
£23.~ Μ
-0.01
1 0
400 800 1200 1600
Y(tray 10)
u; = 0.01& -O.Olj
II 0.525
ll
0.032/1 -0.02j 0.520
0.515
predicted
X'(tray 1) , step applied
0.066 1 I -O.04J
0.085 1 1 JD.05J
IO 0 t 02105
Abstract. Using similar assumptions to those adopted in the companion paper on tray
columns, a parametric transfer-function matrix is derived packed columns. For simpli-
city, calculations are illustrated for a column that is symmetrical statically and
dynamically i.e. having a vapour/liquid capacitance ratio c = 1.0 producing a diagonal
T.F.M. between the sum and difference of output composition changes and the circulating
and product take-off flow rates. The non diagonal T.F.M. is also presented for
c φ 1.0 and subsequent analysis and simulation show that the column behaviour is not
greatly affected by changes in this parameter. Long packed columns are shown to produce
novel nonminimum phase effects when twin product control is attempted, whereas serious
travelling-wave phenomena can limit controller performance in short columns. The poss-
ibility of zero separation-gain is also revealed. Computed inverse Nyquist loci are
confirmed by analysis and by numerical simulation. The chief cause of discrepancy
between tray and packed column behaviour stems from the continuous equilibrium assump-
tion for theoretical trays.
195
196 J. Β. Edwards and M. Guilandoust
with a mixed feed of vapour, at rate F , composit- perturbation model) may be calculated by setting
ion ζ and liquid at rat
v
rate F , composition Ζ where 3/3τ=0 and solving the resulting spatial de's sub-
ject to their now static boundary conditions. The
F = F (8) ζ = αΖ α/(1+α) (9) ea r
solutions, given in Fig.l, for X'(h){=1-Y(h)} and
£ Ν
Η = αΗ' = Η. (10) Η' = αΗ = Η Xé(h)i=l-Y (h)1 linear in h for our chosen
ν ν 1 £ £ 20 (11) e
symmetrical conditions. In particular:
and, by suitable choice of packing density and
dY , dX'
section geometry: dY
dh
e
=dX'vf= e
= (28)
k = k = k (12) dh dh dh
s r
where, as for the tray-golumn, G is given by
Eqs. (7) and (8) producing nominally equal product
flows (=F) at top and bottom. It should be empha- G=2c/i(a+l)(2eL + a +1)} (29)
sized however, that Eq.(7) describes only the nom- Also, the equilibrium and actual composition prof-
inal (quiescent) operating condition of the plant iles are separated by unit normalised distance i.e.
and does not prevent the application of small, by base distance V/k in real distance h'.
independent changes of v,£ in, say V and L .
g r 6. SMALL PERTURBATION EQUATIONS
Under these conditions the system pde's may be nor-
malised to
χ x νd a nr
Implicit differentiation of pde's (3)to(6), writing
ΎY Ye» '» è> ^ f ° small changes in Y,Y ,
3(CY)/3T - 3Y/3h = Y "Y e
X', Xg, V and L respectively and substituting the
e s r
calculated steady-state values for the remaining
- 3Y /3τ ~ 3Υ /§h = Υ - Υ
upper-case symbols yields the following normalised
e e e 1 small-signal pde's.
- 3Χ'/3τ + 3X'/3h = X' - Χ
c 3y/3T-3y/3h + G v/V = Y ^ - Y
3(cX')/3x + 3X'/3h = Χ' -eΧ'
e e e
where normalised distance h and time τ are n b - 3y /3x-3y /3h + aG£ V = y -y
give y
(30)
h = h'k/V (14) and τ = tk/Hζ (15) - 3χ'/3τ+3χ'/3η + G£/V = x'-x '
the base time H /k being the time for liquid (in
2
the stripping section) to travel base distance V/k c 3x'/3T+3x'/3h+aG v/V = x'-x'
which may be regarded as the tray spacing of the e e e
equivalent tray-column. It has a further physical After double Laplace transformation in s w.r.t. h
significance demonstrated in Section 5. The vapour and in ρ w.r.t. τ using superscript ~ to denote
/liquid capacitance ratio c is defined as variable transforms w.r.t. h and τ and ~ to repre-
c = H!/H (16). sent transforms w.r.t. τ only, these equations may
2 be written thus
4. LARGE-SIGNAL BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
1 y y(o) 1 0
4.1 At the feedpoint. -1
Q (s) + (31)
If L is the normalised length of either section of 0 α
y <°>
the columns then L = L' k/V (17) e
and the feed boundary conditions are simply and
rx^(o) α 0
x'
V Y'(L) + F ζ
s v r
T
V Y(L) (18) Q ~ V s ) ~e -x'(o). 1
=0
(32)
x'_ 0 1 L- J
and L X(L) + F Z
r £
L X (L)
s
(19) χ x 2
1
Substituting operating conditions (7) (8) and (9) y(°)>y
e
(°)> '(°)> '(°) being the transformed vari-
e
and eliminating X(L) and Y (L) in favour of Y (L) ables It h=o and
and X'(L) using Eqs. (1) and (2) yield the norm-
1 + cp - s , -1
alisea" forms (33)
Q \s) =
+1 = V V, -(l+p+2)
X'(L) + {1 - Y(L)} = 2/(a+l) (20)
e (34)
and [ z z l (G/ )[ ^J
and {1 - Y (L)} + X'(L) = 2/(a+l)
e
(21) 12>
Now some of the unknowns, say y (o) and x^(o), may
e
be eliminated at this stage using the small pertur-
4.2 At the end vessels.
bation version of boundary Eqs. (25) and (26) which
Material balances on the accumulator and reboiler may be written:
(of constant capacitance H and H moles respecti-
a b
vely) , yields the differential equations (de's) y (o)
e f 1
y(o)
(35)
H aadY (o) x'(o)
i (o)J
-~- = V [ail-Y (o)}-{l-Y(o)}] (22)
r e
X C)6 f
where h (ρ) = 1/(1+Tp) (36)
V e = L {X (o)-aX'(o)}
Inverting back to the h,p domain, then gives
(23) setting L = h, :
dt s e
if the end vessel runs in equilibrium. y(L) ' Γι olRI
For symmetry, we set H a= = H (24)
+ y(o) Q(l) -1 «a, L o 4 j £ j - o .0(37)
a e
so that dY (o) and
dT
=α{1-Υ (o)}-{l-Y(o)}
e
(25) x'(L)'
x -HP α 0
e '(o)Q (L) -R (L) (38)
and dX '(o) i ' ( L) 0 1
X'(o) - X'(o) (26)
dx where Q/h), Q*(h) are the inverse Laplace transf-
-1
orms (w.r.t.^h) of Q(s^, Q(-s) and R(h), R*(h) are
where Τ = Η /V (27)
e those of s Q(s), - s Q ( - s ) . The feedpoint bound-
ary conditions (derived by implicit differentiation
5. STEADY-STATE SOLUTION of (18) and (19) and substitution of the now known
steady-state operating conditions) may be expressed
The system is now completely specified and steady- thus
state conditions (needed as parameters for the small
y(L)=x^(L)-(c/2)
Z1 (39)and x'(L)=y (L)+(c/2)z
e 2 (40)
Packed Binary Distillation Columns 197
g ( o) , p
where ε = α-1 (> 0) (41)
n
so that (39) and (40) may be used to eliminate the (51)
feedpoint variables (i.e. at h = L) from (37) and
(38) giving
-1 g11= _î 1
(ε/Ρ)(coshqL-l)-(l+q)(sinhqL)/q- ,/2 (52)
1 y(o) (l-a h )(q/p)sinhqL+(l+a~ h )coshqL
QUO - ι , e e
,Q*U) X'(P) (cp/q2) (coshqL-l)-(l+a) (sinhqL/q^/2
(53)
§2?" -1 -1
(42) (p/q)(l+a h )sinhqL+(l~a h )coshqL
1 0 α θ"| [L 6 e e
RCL) +R(L) and, for the static gains, taking limits as p-*o we
0 a.
[oij " I [olJ
obtain
g n( o , o ) =a{cL 2
-(a+l)L- e
/2}/{2 £
L+a+r} (54)
Only outputs y(o), x'(o) inputs ΖΓ and z now rem-
2
ain and Q(L), Q*(L), R(L) and R*(L) are readily and g (o,o) = -a{(a+l)L+ /2}/ (55)
determined from Eq.(33). Straightforward matrix 22 e £
T
algebra can then obtain the TFM between 8. BEHAVIOURAL PREDICTIONS
£y*(o) ,χ' (o)J and [v,£jT. The work required is
tedious and painstaking to avoid disastrous errors. Much can be learned by inspection- and straightfor
Space constraints here demand that we illustrate ward simplification of Eq. (52) thro (55) as is now
the method with the simple special case of c=1.0 demonstrated.
but results for c φ 1.0 are given in Section 9 and
their detailed derivation is described elsewhere
8.1 Static gains
(Guilandoust and Edwards, 1982).
We compare firstly the expressions for g-Q(o,o),
8. T.F.M. DERIVATION FOR c = 1 g^2(o,o) deduced for packed columns (Eqs. 54 and 55)
with those derived in the companion paper for tray-
From (33) we deduce that columns, viz: 2
-(1+p+s) 1 g (o,o) = e(L +L+0.5)/(2cL+a+l) (56)
11
Q(s) = 2 2 (43) and g (i,o) = -{(a+l)L+0.5(3a+l}}/c (57)
j -q -1 1+p-s 22
2 ? The results are very similar for long columns
where q -p^+2p (44) (L»1.0) but it is important to note that g-Q(o,o)
can go negative for shorter packed columns. Such
thus giving Q(L),{Q*(L)} columns can still yield practical separations 2GL
(see Eq.(29)). It is at high frequency major diff-
-(1+p)(sinhqL)/q+coshqL, (sinhqL) /p (45) erences between the two columns appear, however.
-(sinhqL)/q ,(1+p)(sinhqL)/^coshqL
8.2 High-frequency (H.F.) behaviour
{top sign for Q(L) and bottom sign for Q (L)} from Noting that , if ρ = jco,
which we obtain the L.H.S of (42) as:
q ·+ jo) + 1 , L 0 « ω (58)
then it is readily show, from (52) and (53), that
Q(L) Y(o)+Q (L) x'(o)
-1, Lim {ja>g (o,ja)) }+ -J , Τ » 1.0 (59)
1;L
T 1 << ω << 4/ε _1
a sinhqL-coshqL , bsinhqL-c coshqL y(o) or + - J/{l+exp(-2qL)a }, Τ = 0 (60)
(46) where J = 1 -aexp(-2qL)+ε exp(-qL) (61)1
-(bsinhqL-c'coshqL) ,-(asinhqL-coshqL)J x' (o).
where a={a ^ h • ( l + p ) > / q , b={l-a h ( l + p ) } / q and c' g therefore approaches pure integration at H J ,
0 e
= -a -41 · Exploiting the obvious symmetry of (46) but here the H F., gain is negative, unlike the tray
we can therefore write _ column where H.F. gain g-j^ is positive.
e
(a "*~h -1) (q/p) sinhqL-(l+a *"h ) coshqL , 0
e
For long columns separating difficult mixtures (i.e.
-1 -1 ε-^l.O requiring L>>1.0 for a reasonable separation
0 , -(1+a h )(ρ/q)sinhqL-(l-a h )coshqL 2GL: see Eq.(29) the exponential terms in (60) and
" (47) (61) are clearly negligible but for larger values of
y(o)-x'(o) 1 l" ε , necessitating a shorter column for the same
separation, the term exp(-qL) acquires importance.
_y(o)+x' (o)_ 1 -i_ R.H.S. of equation(42) It represents a composition wave reflected from the
Turning to the R.H.S of (42), R(s) is just s ^ ( s ) feed boundary and yields the approximate H.F. tran-
and hence R(L),{R*(L)}= sfer function
1
Lim {jo)g (o,joi)+ {l+ exp (-L) exp (-j L ) (62)
±(l+p) (l-coshqL)-qsinhq 1 ,+ (1-coshqL) ~|
(48) 1« «4/έ
e W
|_±(l-coshqL) ,+(1+p) (1-coshqL)-q sinhqlj
ω (JJ A
An identical expression may also be derived for the
and after careful manipulation we obtain H.F. limit of g22(°>J )* Diverging loops on the
inverse Nyquist loci of gx|(o,ju3) and g22^°>J^) may
Γι -il therefore be anticipated to become increasingly not-
R.H.S (42)
1 -1 iceable as L is reduced, each loop occupying a fre-
quency increment Δω~"2πί-1
(ε/ρ(1-coshqL)+(1+α)(sinqhL)/q+c/2,0 ζ„ +ζ
J(49) L Λ 8.3 Inverse Fyquist Loci 0
, , 2. ,„ , , Χ · , ,Χ /
Λ 1 2 Loci of g{j;(o,jaj) and g22( »J(A)) from Eqs (52) and
(47) and (49) therefore yield the TFM relationship
(53) are given in Figs 2 and 3, the 'short' column
parameters being ε=0.75, L=2.8 whilst for the
fy(o) - x'(o)" V+£*
'longer'column, ε=1.0 and L=5.0. T=5.0 in both
=G(o,p) (G/V) (50)
+ x' (o) cases. The stronger wave effects on g~l in the
e short column case are obviously present} whilst in
where G(o,p) is diagonal, viz G(o,p) = the longer column (which has a positive
198 J. Β. Edwards and M. Guilandoust
u; - si
Only then, will evaporation and condensation begin
the change towards the new operating condition. = "£ 1.5cexp(-L)+l-ctexp(-2L) } ' " I V i,l (73)
The final response may be positive, with a suffic- 2
ient value of L, then the predicted non-minimum-
phase response is explained. The argument does not Apart from the small orbital terms therefore, the
rely on the assumption that c=1.0, or indeed that initial unit step-response Eq.(73) is identical to
c= any specific value. LimG(o,jou) as ω-*».
1 - c
Defining ρ (67)
cosh PL sinh PL
and q = /(l+c)p(4+p+cp)/4 (68) then 6 ( o , p ) -
T^ f sinh PL cosh PL
P L P L P L VIr
ί ( l + c ) c o s h q L [ ( + 2γ- p ) e +(c- ^ = | ^ p ) e " ]- q s i n h q L [ ( a + c ) e + (1+ca)e~ \ - ε (1+c) [2+ ( i + + ^ | ) p ]
C (l+c)p(l+a h )c'osh q L + 2q(l-a h )sinh q L
c
e PL e P L P L P L 2
(1+c) c o s h q L [ ( l + a + ρ) e -(1+af ^ | 2 p ) e ~ ] - q sinhqL[(a-c) e + ( l - c a ) e " J - ε (l-c )p/2
Edwards, J., and Guilandoust, M. Nov. 1981. 'The -4.0 -2.0 0 -2.0 y^l.O Q Λ Re
• ι
influence of vapour capacitance on the compo- Re
sition dynamics of packed distillation columnsJ
Qy ω=1 -0 / to-1.0 1.0
• -jl.O
University of Sheffield, Dept. of Control Eng., \ 2.0 • 2.0
Research Report No. 166. -J2.0 . -J2.0
Guilandoust, Μ., Edwards, J.B. Feb. 1982. Ά 1 3.0 i 3.0
parametric transfer-function matrix for packed - -J3.0
binary distillation columns having unequal vapour
vapour and liquid capacitance', ibid, P.esearch
4.0 % > / 5.0 .-J4.0 Κ 4.0
- -j4.0
Report No. 171. / 5.0
• -J5.0
Strigle, R.F. and Perry, D.A. 1981, 'Packed towers • 6.0
reduce cost', Hydrocarbon Processing, Vol.60, "-J8.0 - -J6.0
No.2, p. 103. 7.0 X 7.0
- -J7.0
10.0 j --j 10.0
8.0 · ^
. -j8.0
J9.0
° > 10.0
DCCR-N
200 J. Β. Edwards and M. Guilandoust
Fig*3. Inverse Nyquist loci for 8??(ο^ω) Fig.6. .Effect of terminal capacitance on g-^(o,p)
Im J0.5
- J0.5
e R
0 Re o
1 * I
-0.5 0.5 -0.5 0.5
/
ω=0.3 ω=0.3
• -J0.5 - -J0.5
o.e
0.6
0.9"
- -jl.O
0.9 / - -jl.O
1.2
1.2 /
1.5
- -jl.5 - -j.15
1.5 /
1.8
21
1.8·
0 / τ
—r— 1
1 • ·
240 30 5
ι
/ 0 01 0
Ι ς,(ο,τ) Im
L = 5
Τ = 5 , .
ε = 1 *-s
ω=0.1 > y \
* /
4 JO/ 0.5j \λ
* //
s<p 1 1,5 Re
Fig. 2. An alternative
Fig. 2. An scheme for scheme for
alternative Fig. 2. Fig.
An alternative
2. An alternative
scheme for
scheme for
Fig. 2. An alternative scheme for Fig. 2. An alternati
Fig. 2. A
Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
Abstract. Two adaptive methods for inferring process outputs which are subject to long
measurement delays, from other more rapidly sample secondary outputs, are presented.
Both e s t i m a t o r s have quite general structures. W h i l e one is based upon state-space
considerations the other adopts an input-output representation of the plant a s the
starting point for synthesis. In contrast to other published techniques, the proposed
methods require m i n i m a l design effort; do not result in static e s t i m a t i o n error a n d
help to reduce the problem of secondary measurement selection. Since their parameters
can be continuously estimated and updated on-line, the estimators are able to cope with
slow variations in process dynamics. Evaluation of the proposed schemes on a non-linear
binary distillation column model demonstrates that a significant improvement in perfor-
mance is achieved using the inferred values of plant output rather than the infrequent
measurement of the controlled output as feedback for process control.
INTRODUCTION
PROCESS DISTURBANCES
A common process engineering problem is the control
of outputs w h i c h can only be m e a s u r e d by slowly Process disturbances have been observed to be char-
operating, possibily expensive, analysing e q u i p - acterised by sustained random changes lasting for
ment. In many cases, such measurements are also too periods of a t l e a s t the process response time, eg.
infrequent to be used (directly) for the control of Joseph and Brosilow (1978), Morari and Stephanopou-
the plant. E x a m p l e s of such situations are in the los (1980a,b) a n d Tuffs a n d Clarke (1985). To
product composition control of distillation columns describe this behaviour, the noise (disturbance)
and chemical reactors. Large m e a s u r e m e n t delays has been modelled as Brownian motion. This process
often result in poor load disturbance rejection can be pictured a s a sequence of random steps of
properties. A popular approach to o v e r c o m e this independent a m p l i t u d e s , occurring at times d e s -
problem is to infer values of the controlled output cribed by a Poisson distribution. Although inter-
from other easily measurable variables (secondary pretations of this model for load disturbances may
outputs). Here, the l i m i t i n g rate of control is well describe the physical situation, its use poses
determined by t h e s a m p l i n g i n t e r v a l o f t h e an additional problem - the Brownian motion process
secondary outputs, eg. Joseph and Brosilow( 1978); has a pole on the limit of stability (non-station-
Morari a n d Stephanopoulos (1980a,b); Patke and ary) and, hence, is unobservable from the output.
coworkers(1982) and Wright and coworkers (1977). For effective control of the plant, the controller
must also possess an equivalent pole w h i c h can
From the published work, it appears that a m a j o r result in adverse closed loop behaviour (Wittenmark
problem in developing an inferential control scheme and A s t r o m , 1984). The random step-like behaviour
is that of e s t i m a t o r design. This is because the of disturbances can alternatively be m o d e l l e d as
relationships b e t w e e n controlled a n d secondary exponentially correlated noise (ECN) - a stationary
outputs can be quite complex. In this paper, simple process, therefore avoiding observability problems.
SISO estimator models, the parameters of which can In this paper, disturbances affecting the plant are
be identified on-line, are derived using two diffe- all assumed to be stationary processes so that each
rent approaches. The first is a state-space based may, according to the representation a n d spectral
technique while the second is derived directly from factorisation theorems (Astrom,1970), be represen-
an input-ouput model. The adaptive techniques pro- ted as the response of a stable filter to a w h i t e
posed here avoid the complexities of non-adaptive noise sequence.
estimator design and are able to cope w i t h slowly
time varying plant parameters. STATE-SPACE APPROACH
203
204 M. T. Guilandoust, A. J. Morris and M. T. Tham
deesribed by the following model: Substitution of the state estimates into Eq. (3),
x(tf1)=Ax(t)+Bu(t-m)+L0Kt) (1) results i n :
v(t)=Hx(t)+l^(t) (2) y ( t ) =y&| u ( t-m-d-1 )+. .+^ _ ·, u ( t-m-n-d+1 )+
n
y(t)=Dx(t-d)+i§(t) (3) y v ( t-d )+..+tf _f t-n-d+1 )+
o n
x(t) is the state vector and <*Kt) is a vector of <T,e(t-d-1 )+. . + J 6 ( t - n - d + 1 )+1£(t) (11)
n-1
independent zero mean sequences. v(t) (available at Since Eqn. (11) does n o t dependent on the state
each time step) a n d y(t) a r e m e a s u r e m e n t s of the estimates,T its parameters could be estimated from:
secondary and controlled outputs respectively. e [θf(t-d)+e(t)
W hy(t)=0 Τ = (12)
^j"(t) and y?(t) a r e the corresponding m e a s u r e m e n t
noises, assumed to be zero mean independent random
$f τ l^1'"'Αι-1 A
'*o»"»*n-1 >">4-1 ]
nary random sequences, Eq. (15) may be written as: meters and d may typically lie in the range 2 to 6.
v(t)=G u(t-m )+H o>(t) (17) A first order e s t i m a t o r (n=1) c a n therefore have
1 1 1
where c*)(t) is a zero m e a n w h i t e sequence and is between 6 to 14 u n k n o w n p a r a m e t e r s a n d a second
a stable proper transfer function. By defining: order e s t i m a t o r , b e t w e e n 11 to 27. These figures
£(t)â^(t)-^(t-d) (18) may suggest that the tuning in period for larger
Eq. 0 6 ) m a y be w r i t t e n as: values of d will be inconveniently long. This is
y ( t ) = G u ( t-d - m )+H o)( t-d )+£( t ) (19) not, however, the case. Although the number of
2 2 2
where again H is a stable proper transfer function unknown parameters increases with d, the data being
2
and £(t) is zero m e a n a n d white. E l i m i n a t i o n of supplied to the e s t i m a t o r at each sample instance
m + m(17) and (19) results i n :
a)(t) b e t w e e n Eqs. of the controlled output also increases [Eq. (23)].
y ( t ) = [ G z " 2 1 - G H / H Mt-d-m., ) Simulation studies, investigating t h e effects of
2 12 1
+[H /H ]v(t-d)+£(t) (20) analyser delays up to 6 sample intervals, have
2 1
If G p G , H-j and H are k n o w n , u(t) a n d v(t) c a n indeed c o n f i r m e d t h a t t h e t u n i n g i n p e r i o d
2 2
be used in Eq. (20) to compute: increases only slightly for larger values of d.
y(t+d)^y(t+d)-£(t+d) (21)
which is the e s t i m a t e of the controlled output. The controlled output can often be estimated with
Equations (18) a n d (21) imply that deviations of sufficient accuracy using a first order estimator.
y(t+d) from its true value are l i m i t e d to the The p a r a m e t e r of the first order e s t i m a t o r can
d
magnitude of secondary output m e a s u r e m e n t noise, be s h o w n to be related to a 1 as o^ ——3«j . It m a y be
d
1^j(t), which, by suitable choice of secondary var- noted from Eq. (20) that la-j | is normally less then
iable, is normally s m a l l e r than that associated unity (unless H has a dominant unstable zero). For
2
with y(t). Thus, the e s t i m a t e y(t) is, in theory, larger values of d, it therefore f o l l o w s that
closer to the controlled output a t t i m e t-d than <?^«1, especially w h e n | a ^ | « 1 . A s a result, c*
d
its measurement y(t). In practice, the accuracy of becomes negligible whereupon Eq. (25) reduces to:
y will depend on the accuracy of the plant model y ( t+ d ) = ^ u ( t-m-1 )+. .+/# u ( t-m-d )
d
used. Since y can be computed a t the rate a t w h i c h + if v(t)+..+ï v(t-d) (26)
0 d
ν is obtained, the p r o b l e m s of controlled output It is noted that Eq.(26) h a s a structure w h i c h is
measurement delays can be avoided. In many instan- similar to Eq. (14). This agreement between the two
ces, due to the large number of disturbance inputs design approaches provides additional confidence in
and complex plant d y n a m i c s , ,G , a n d H can the arguments presented in this section.
2 2
only be approximately obtained using off-line sys-
tem identification. In this work, h o w e v e r , these SIMULATION STUDIES AND DISCUSSION
transfer functions a r e n o t a s s u m e d to be k n o w n .
Instead, Eq. (20) is recursively a p p r o x i m a t e d o n - The control performances of the state-space estima-
line. From the definitions of G-j, G , H-j and H , tor ( E s t D , Eq. (14), a n d the input-output e s t i m a -
2 2
it seems reasonable to approximate Eq. (20) by: tor (Est2), Eq. (26), w e r e evaluated on a d y n a m i c
Ay (t)=Bu(t-d-m)+Cv(t-d)+£(t) (22) model of a 10 stage binary distillation column. The
A, B, and C are p o l y n o m i a l s in z~^ of order η and feed of 50wt% methanol-water, with a flow rate of
m=Min(m-j ,m ). A is m o n i c a n d the leading c o e f - 18 g / s w h e n the c o l u m n is a t its normal operating
2
ficient of Β is assumed to be non-zero. The order η point (NOP), enters the c o l u m n a t stage 5. Bottom
is chosen to provide the required accuracy of product composition, analysed by a gas c h r o m a t o -
approximation. The p a r a m e t e r s of Eq. (22) cannot be graph (GC) w i t h a cycle t i m e of 3 mins., is to be
estimated using available recursive techniques as maintained at 5wt% methanol by manipulating steam
y(t) is n o t available a t each time step. This is, flow rate to the reboiler (stage 1). The disturban-
however, overcome by writing Eq. (22) for t i m e s t ces to the c o l u m n are step changes in feed flow
to t-n(d-1)+1 and eliminating intersample values of rate, w h i c h are introduced a t t i m e s 20 (+10%), 140
y from the d resultingn recursions
d 1 yield:
to 2 (NOP), 260 (-10%) and 380 (NOP) m i n s . The open loop
( 1 + o z - . . ^ z "z )ny (d t ) =)
dm
( Su )
z - 4 .
( ++ s
tiz z
( .1i
- . + responses of bottom product composition and stage 4
< d + +n d /1 y2 +
n d
Vnd " - - o 1 " "
temperature to +_10% step changes in feed and steam
flow rates (Fig. 1) illustrates the non-linear
T +i nz -d )v(t-d) (23)
For parameter estimation, Eq. (23) is written as: behaviour of the system to the respective inputs.
y(t)=0 ^(t-d)+e(t) (24)
where 1^ [ ^ , . . , ^ , ^ , . . , ^ , ^ , . , , ί ^ ] Firstly, two common control schemes will be consi-
n d
f (t-d)=[-y(t-d),..,u(t-d-m-1),..,v(t-d),.. ] dered: using GC outputs as feedback and using stage
and e(t) is the equation error, θ is recursively 1 t e m p e r a t u r e feedback. Figures 2 and 3 show the
estimated a t every d time step. y(t)=0^^(t-d) is responses of the bottom product c o m p o s i t i o n a n d
computed, after estimating θ a t time t, to update steam flow rate, respectively, when PI control was
^ t - d ) . The controlled ouput is then e s t i m a t e d applied with G C output feedback. Compare this with
during the time T interval t to t+d using: the responses obtained w h e n stage 1 temperature
y(tfd)=6 f(t) (25) feedback w a s used (Figs. 4 and 5). T h e i m p r o v e m e n t
The p a r a m e t e r s of Eq. (23) a r e again updated a t in p e r f o r m a n c e is clear. W h e n G C outputs are used
time t+d when a new y becomes available. Estimates for feedback control, the rate of control is l i -
of the controlled output can now be computed at the mited by the analysis t i m e , ie. 3 mins. Stage 1
faster secondary output sampling rate using Eq. temperature, on the other hand, can be sampled and
(25). E q u a t i o n (23) has n(2d+1)+1 u n k n o w n p a r a - controlled a t a faster rate, in this case 0.5 min.
206 M. T. Guilandoust, A. J. Morris and M. T. Tham
Disturbances can be detected sooner and corrective sition (Fig. 1). The above examples, however, demo-
action taken. The result is a significant improve- nstrate the robustness of the proposed estimators
ment in control performance. As this is a binary to secondary variable selection and their applica-
system, stage 1 temperature bears a direct relatio- bility to multicomponent systems.
nship to bottom product composition, and hence can
be employed successfully as the feedback variable CONCLUSIONS
for bottom product composition control. For a
multicomponent system, however, reboiler liquid Two new approaches to inferential control have been
temperature is not an accurate indication of bottom outlined. Application of the adaptive estimators to
product composition. This s c h e m e may, therefore, regulate the b o t t o m product composition of a non-
not m e e t w i t h s i m i l a r success, unless t h e system linear binary distillation column model has demon-
can be closely a p p r o x i m a t e d as a psuedo binary strated their usefulness in providing for improved
system. This can be demonstrated on the same binary control of processes with long measurement delays.
column by using stage 4 temperature as feedback to In particular, it has been s h o w n that the e s t i m a -
the PI controller ( Figs. 6 and 7). Large offsets tors are insensitive to secondary variable selec-
were observed for feed deviations away from its tion; can cope with non-linear dynamics and can be
NOP. The importance of secondary variable selection used in conjunction w i t h either non-adaptive or
for inferential control is therefore highlighted. adaptive feedback controllers.
Fig. 2. PI C O N T R O L O F B O T T O M P R O D U C T COMPOSITION.
3
o'
1 η
500 ο
(MIN) 500
(MIN) 3
Ο
CL
500 C
(MIN) i 500 η
DEVIATIONS O F B U T T O M P R O D U C T COMPOSITION (STEAM F L O W CHANGES). (MIN) ο
Β
Ο
Fig. 4. PI C O N T R O L USING S T A G E 1 T E M P E R A T U R E .
500
(MIN) t Ί ' '—Κ 500
(MIN)
DEVIATIONS O F S T A G E 4 T E M P E R A T U R E (STEAM F L O W CHANGES).
Ο
-α
ÏN0
Ο
00
500
(MIN) 500
(MIN)
Fig. 6. PI C O N T R O L USING S T A G E 4 T E M P E R A T U R E .
Fig. 10. DEVIATION RESPONSES IN B O T T O M P R O D U C T COMPOSITION A N D ITS ESTIMATE (Est. 2).
(ADAPTIVE INFERENTIAL C O N T R O L )
Η
Ο
500
c
(MIN) 500
(MIN) 3
σ-
ο
Fig. 7 . S T E A M F L O W VARIATIONS U N D E R PI T E M P E R A T U R E C O N T R O L .
Fig. 11. S T E A M F L O W R A T E C U N T R U L VARIATIONS
UNDER ADAPTIVE INFERENTIAL C O N T R O L .
Γ
3
α.
500
(MIN)
500 Η
(MIN)
Η
Fig. 8. DEVIATION RESPONSES IN I3UTTUM P R O D U C T COMPOSITION A N D ITS ESTIMATE (Est. 1). Fig. 12. COMPARISON O F ADAPTIVE INFERENTIAL ADAPTIVE C O N T R O L (STAGE 4 T E M P E R A T U R E )
(ADAPTIVE INFERENTIAL C O N T R O L ) A N D SELF TUNING C O N T R O L O F B O T T O M COMPOSITION.
15.8-j
In 1
bp I
500
(MIN)
3 13.8- Κ-
500
IT (MIN)
STEAM
F i9.g . F L O W R A T E C O N T R O L VARIATIONS
UNDER ADAPTIVE INFERENTIAL C O N T R O L .
FS - i· 1S T E3A M F L O W R A T E VARIATIONS CORRESPONDING T O FIGURE 12.
Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
209
210 M. T. Tham et al.
in F i g . 4 a a n d F i g . 4 b . C o m p a r i s o n w i t h t h e tion w a s i m p l e m e n t e d . Very t i g h t c o m p o s i -
previous r e s u l t s w i l l r e v e a l that the tion control w a s achieved against both the
multirate PMVSTC provided the best control- + 2 5 % a n d t h e - 2 5 % F E d i s t u r b a n c e s (Figs. 7 a
led X D r e s p o n s e s , t h u s f a r , a g a i n s t t h e and 7 b r e s p e c t i v e l y ) . T h e i n c l u s i o n o f
+ 25% change in F E . There w a s , h o w e v e r , a feedforward t e r m s e n a b l e d changes in load
prolonged p e r i o d of o f f s e t in the r e s p o n s e dynamics to be s p e c i f i c a l l y m o d e l l e d a n d
of X B . R e g u l a t i o n o f t h e c o m p o s i t i o n s a - hence p a r a m e t e r bias d i d n o t occur. The
g a i n s t t h e -25% c h a n g e i n F E r e s u l t e d i n performances of the m u l t i r a t e IMVSTC w i t h
very o s c i l l a t o r y r e s p o n s e s i n b o t h l o o p s feedforward c o m p e n s a t i o n against the feed
(Fig. 4 b ) . F o r t h i s p a r t i c u l a r f e e d c h a n g e , disturbances (Figs. 8 a a n d 8b) were better
XD e x h i b i t s a n i n v e r s e r e s p o n s e b e h a v i o u r than those achieved w h e n feedforward compe-
(Tham,1 9 8 51) . T h e c o n t r o l l e r t h e r e f o r e h a s nsation w a s n o t u s e d (cf. F i g s . 5a a n d 5 b ) .
to ' l e a r n about the new conditions. A l - W h i l e X D r e s p o n s e s w e r e c o m p a r a b l e to t h o s e
though control of b o t h l o o p s w a s m a i n - obtained under m u l t i r a t e PMVSTC control, XB
tained, transient behaviour w a s poor. Since responses to t h e - 2 5 % FE step w e r e poorer.
feedforward t e r m s have n o t been s p e c i f i e d , Larger s e t - p o i n t d e v i a t i o n s were again
the p o s i t i o n a l a l g o r i t h m c o u l d n o t d i s t i n - observed when the incremental strategy w a s
guish b e t w e e n d i s t u r b a n c e a n d i n t e r a c t i o n implemented.
effects. T h e p a r a m e t e r s of t h e c o n t r o l l e r
thus b e c a m e b i a s e d r e s u l t i n g i n t h e l o s s o f CONCLUSIONS
dynamic decoupling capability. This problem
was n o t a s s e v e r e w h e n t h e s i n g l e r a t e This paper has shown that the multivariable
PMVSTC w a s used because the higher freque- STCs considered here a r e c a p a b l e of
ncy d y n a m i c s h a v e b e e n i g n o r e d d u e t o t h e providing g o o d s i m u l t a n e o u s r e g u l a t i o n of
use o f a l o n g e r s a m p l i n g r a t e f o r t h e X D the t o p a n d b o t t o m c o m p o s i t i o n s o f t h e
loop. T h e r e s p o n s e s o b t a i n e d u n d e r m u l t i - p i l o t s c a l e b i n a r y d i s t i l l a t i o n c o l u m n . It
rate I M V S T C r e g u l a t i o n a r e s h o w n i n F i g s . is a c k n o w l e d g e d t h a t t h e c o m p a r i s o n o f
5a a n d 5 b . F o r t h e +25% F E c h a n g e , n o control algorithms through on-line applica-
offsets w e r e o b s e r v e d in t h e r e s p o n s e of t i o n s is d i f f i c u l t d u e to c h a n g e s in c o n d i -
XB. A s i n t h e p r e v i o u s r u n s , h o w e v e r , u s e t i o n s b e y o n d t h e c o n t r o l of t h e e x p e r i m e n -
of t h e i n c r e m e n t a l s t r a t e g y r e s u l t e d i n ter. T h e f o l l o w i n g r e m a r k s a r e , h o w e v e r ,
larger initial d e v i a t i o n s from s e t - p o i n t . based upon t r e n d s o b s e r v e d d u r i n g t h e i m -
This is c l e a r l y e v i d e n t f r o m t h e r e s p o n s e p l e m e n t a t i o n of the m u l t i v a r i a b l e STCs over
of X D . W h e n t h e - 2 5 % F E c h a n g e w a s i n t r o d - almost a year of continuous study.
uced (Fig. 5 b ) , t h e r e s p o n s e o f t h e XD l o o p
deteriorated. In this r u n , h o w e v e r , r e g u l a - E x p e r i m e n t s h a v e s h o w n t h a t if d i s t u r b a n c e s
tion of X B w a s c l e a r l y b e t t e r t h a n t h a t c a n b e m e a s u r e d (or e s t i m a t e d ) a n d t h e i r
a c h i e v e d by t h e m u l t i r a t e P M V S T C . S i n c e t h e effects i n c l u d e d in the control l a w , the
incremental a l g o r i t h m u s e s differenced performance of t h e r e s u l t i n g S T C is s i g n i -
data, the p r o b l e m of p a r a m e t e r b i a s h a s ficantly i m p r o v e d . W h i l s t t h e tuning of
been avoided. P a r a m e t e r r e a d j u s t m e n t in the c o n v e n t i o n a l f e e d f o r w a r d e l e m e n t s is k n o w n
XD l o o p to a c c o u n t for the inverse to be d i f f i c u l t , t h e a d v a n t a g e h e r e l i e s in
response, therefore, h a s very little effect t h e a u t o m a t i c t u n i n g o f t h e s e e l e m e n t s . In
on t h e X B l o o p . T h i s w o u l d s e e m t o s u g g e s t this p a r t i c u l a r c a s e , i n c r e m e n t a l algo-
that t h e u s e of an i n c r e m e n t a l control rithms do n o t a p p e a r to o f f e r s i g n i f i c a n t
strategy imparts better decoupling proper- improvements over p o s i t i o n a l algorithms.
t i e s to m u l t i v a r i a b l e S T C s a s h a s r e c e n t l y For u n m e a s u r a b l e d i s t u r b a n c e s , the quality
b e e n c o n f i r m e d by P e e l a n d c o w o r k e r s ( 1 9 8 5 ) . of d i s t u r b a n c e r e j e c t i o n u s i n g t h e l a t t e r
is d e p e n d e n t on parameter adaptation
The c a s e s w h e n t h e f e e d d i s t u r b a n c e s w e r e whereas the former guarantees offset remo-
measured a n d used to p r o v i d e f e e d f o r w a r d val. F u r t h e r , the incremental strategy
c o m p e n s a t i o n w i l l n o w be d i s c u s s e d . F i g u r e s i m p a r t s b e t t e r d e c o u p l i n g p r o p e r t i e s to t h e
6a a n d 6 b s h o w s t h e c o m p o s i t i o n r e s p o n s e s multivariable S T C s . H o w e v e r , t h e r e m a y be
to a +25% a n d a - 2 5 % c h a n g e i n F E , r e s p e c - instances where use of incremental STCs m a y
tively, u s i n g t h e s i n g l e r a t e P M V S T C . T h e l e a d t o d e g r a d a t i o n o f p e r f o r m a n c e s d u e to
improvement in p e r f o r m a n c e s o v e r those increased controller sensitivity. This sen-
shown in F i g s . 1 a n d 2 is o b v i o u s . D i s - sitivity c a n , n e v e r t h e l e s s , be r e d u c e d
turbance rejection w a s achieved with better through a n a p p r o p r i a t e c h o i c e of control
transient b e h a v i o u r a n d a t a m u c h faster weighting. The multirate self-tuning stra-
rate. T h e i n i t i a l o f f s e t in t h e XB l o o p to tegy p r o v i d e d a m e a n s f o r a c h i e v i n g i m -
a + 2 5 % F E d i s t u r b a n c e c a n b e o b s e r v e d to be proved o v e r a l l p e r f o r m a n c e . The faster
slowly r e m o v e d as t h e f e e d f o r w a r d p a r a m e - sampling rate a l l o w s the early detection of
ters t u n e d - i n . A m a r k e d i m p r o v e m e n t in disturbances a n d hence faster disturbance
overall p e r f o r m a n c e w a s o b s e r v e d w h e n t h e rejection can be achieved.
multirate PMVSTC with feedforward compensa-
Terminal Compositions in Binary Distillation 213
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS M o r r i s , A . J . , Y. N a z e r a n d R.K. W o o d ( 1 9 8 D .
In C . J . H a r r i s a n d S . A . B i l l i n g s
The a u t h o u r s g r a t e f u l l y a c k n o w l e d g e t h e (Eds. ) Self-Tuning a n d Adaptive
financial s u p p o r t f r o m t h e N S E R C o f C a n a d a Control: Theory and Applications.
under grant A-1944; the Robert W o o d Fellow- Peter P e r e g r i n u s , New York, 2 4 9 -
ship a n d t h e O R S S c h e m e A w a r d o f t h e U K . 281 .
Thanks are also d u e to the Depts. of C h e m i - M o r r i s , A . J . , Y. N a z e r a n d R.K. W o o d ( 1 9 8 2 ) .
cal E n g i n e e r i n g a t b o t h t h e U n i . o f N e w c a s - Multivariate self-tuning process con-
tle u p o n T y n e , U K , a n d t h e U n i . o f A l b e r t a , trol. O p t . C o n t r o l A p p . M e t h . , 3, 36 3-
Canada, for the u s e of their facilities. 387.
Peel, D., A.J. M o r r i s a n d M.T. T h a m (1985).
REFERENCES Single variate self-tuning control in
a d i!s t r i b u t e d e n v i r o n m e n t . P r o c .
Astrom, K.J. (1983). Theory a n d a p p l i c a - Control 8 5 . C a m b r i d g e .
tions o f a d a p t i v e c o n t r o l - a s u r v e y . Sastry, V.A., D . E . S e b o r g a n d R.K. W o o d
A u t o m a t i c a . 12., 4 7 1 - 4 8 6 . (1977). Self-tuning regulator applied
Bierman, G.J. (1976). M e a s u r e m e n t u p d a t i n g to a b i n a r y distillation column.
using the UD factorization. Automati- Automatica. 13 , 4 1 7 - 4 2 4 .
c a , 1_2, 3 7 5 - 3 8 2 . Seborg, D . E . , S . L . S h a h a n d T . F . E d g a r
Chien, I.L., D.A. M e l l i c h a m p and D.E. (198 3 ) . A d a p t i v e c o n t r o l strategies
Seborg (1983). A d a p t i v e c o n t r o l s t r a t - for process control-a survey. Paper
gies f o r d i s t i l l a t i o n c o l u m n s . P r e - presented a t A I C h E D i a m o n d Jubilee
prints A C C . Meeting, Washington, D.C., Nov.
Clarke, D.W. a n d P.J. G a w t h r o p ( 1 97 9). S e l f - Tham, M . T . (1985). S o m e A s p e c t s o f M u l t i -
tuning c o n t r o l . P r o c . I E E
t 12 6 1 No.6. variable S e l f - t u n i n g Control, PhD
H o d g s o n , A . J . F . (1 9 8 2 ) . P r o b l e m s o f i n t e g - Thesis, U n i , o f N e w c a s t l e upon Tyne,
rity i n a p p l i c a t i o n s o f a d a p t i v e c o n - U.K.
trollers. O.U.E.L. R e p o r t N o 1 4 3 6 . V a g i , F. ( 1 9 8 5 ) . M u l t i v a r i a b l e S e l f - t u n i n g
K o i v o , H . N . (1 9 8 0 ) . A m u l t i v a r i a b l e self- Control of a Binary Distillation
tuning controller. Automatica, 16, 3 5 1 - Column. M S c . T h e s i s , Uni.of A l b e r t a ,
366 . Edmonton, C a n a d a .
Wittenmark, B. a n d K . J . A s t r o m ( 1 98 4 ).
Practical issues in the implementation
of s e l f - t u n i n g c o n t r o l . A u t o m a t i c a ,
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214 M. T. Tham et al.
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Abstract, In this paper the application of Quasi Classical Approach to the analysis of
distillation columns with dual composition control is presented. The method relies
heavily on a computer graphic package because it retains the basic fundaments of classi-
cal control theory such as Nyquist and Bode plots. Firstly the main measurements and
properties in which the methodology is based are briefly described. Then the advantages
of using reserved frame controllers is discussed and through the example it is shown
that they can handle the principal aspects of a control system.
The experimental model of the column, TOFA, has been chosen to show the applicability
of the methodology.
Keywords. Multivariable control systems. Process Control. Frequency response.
1. INTRODUCTION without compensation is investigated, then simple
controllers are designed to study the factibility
Distillation processes have been the subject of of controlling the system with a compensator of
numerous control and optimization studies due to the given order and finally some simulation results are
large benefit obtained through better understanding shown.
and control of these units. They constitute typical
examples of nonlinear multivariable systems and pro^
vide a permanent challenge to the control system 2.SYSTEM ANALYSIS VIA SPECTRAL FACTORIZATION
designer. Lubyen (1967) has shown the benefits a-
In order to understand the advantages of n asi -
chieved when both products compositions are con- u
Classical approach in the analysis and control of
trolled; such a control scheme has been called
'"dual composition control" or "two point control" multivariable systems, a short description of the
However, the interaction between the two compo- conceptual framework is necessary. The main goal of
sition feedback loops can be harmful. As a means to the whole method is to present the overall aspects
decrease interaction so called decouplers are used, of the system under study in terms of pain and
also industrially but additional problems of sensi- phase parameters, associated with graphical displays
tivity and robustness with respect to model uncer- An appropriate interpretation of these graphics
tainties arise, for controllers implemented on a gives a good knowledge of the system and its be-
real plant are derived from a mathematical model haviour.
which may describe the process only approximately.
If this fact is not taken into account the closed Let G(s) be the open loop nominal transfer function
loop performance of the plant deteriorates from the matrix of the system under study, then two standard
predicted and may compromise stability. descompositions are used:_1
G(s) = M(s)A(s)M(s) (1)
The last several years have been something of a
the eigenvalue decomposition and
revolution in multivariable control theory. Central
to this revolution is a renewed focus on the funda- G(s) = Y(s)Z(s)U(s)* (2)
mental issue in feedback design: providing perfor-
mance in the face of uncertainty, which supported the singular valued decomposition (SVD). Provided
the interest in the frequency domain. Several re- some care is taken it can be assumed that if G(s)
sults of both practical and theoretical importance is continuous in s, then the continuity properties
come out of this research and it is now well known carry over both to the eigenvalues and eigenvectors
that multivariable sensitivity and robustness can and to the singular values and vectors. Let Dnyq de
not be reliable evaluated one loop at a time (Le- note the standard Nyquist D contour, then as s
thomaki, 1981). These new results have seldomly been traverses Dnyq in the Clockwise direction, the set
applied to study chemical processes, mainly because of eigenvalues,,
well established techniques were prefered (for an X(G(s)) = i g ^ s ) , g (s) g^s)}
example of INA applied to distillation columns, see 2
Waller, 1984). traces out a set of eigenlocies in the complex
plane that is called the "characteristic gain loci"
In this paper mathematical analysis and design (CGL) which is used to assess stability by means of
tools are presented which can be systematically the following;
used to study the properties of the multivariable
Theorem 1 : Generalized Nyquist Stability Criterion
system resulting in the development of dual compo-
(Mac Farlane, 1976),
sition control, within the mathematical framework mxn
the degree of interaction, sensitivity and robust-
ness can be quantified and controllers of different Let G ( s ) e C ( s ) . then the closed-loop nominal
degrees of sophistication can be designed. In order system (I+G(s))^^-G(s) is stable if and only if
to demonstrate the utility of the approach we will -Wg.Dnyq and #(g.Dnyq.-l) = # SKP(G(s) ,C) )
dwell on the case study of two typical distillation
columns currently found in the literature. The where the left side of the equality is the number
study is developed in three stages: first the plant of encirclement of point -1 by the CGL and the
right side is the number of Smith MacMillan poles
DCCR-0
215
216 H. Rotstein et al.
of G(s) in the open right half plane. m(G) = sup min β U*Y - diag {exp(je.)}H*2
U,Y Θ.
Following a straight generalization of SISO stabili
lity criterion, it would be nice to be able to which in case of distinct singular values reduces
measure stability margins from the CGL but unfortu- to
nately that is not a good approach for it is well
m(G) = min I U*Y - diag {exp(JO ) } l
known (Lethomaki,1981) that the loci may be very 2
sensible to small plant perturbations. This justi-
fies the use of SVD whichhas Moreover it can be proved that
and the a^(s) are real valued, frequency dependent 0 < m(G) < 2
singular value functions that in the present and for m = 2
contextare called the principal gains because they
can be used to give a frequency domain characteri- 0 < m (G) < /2
zation for the limits to some appropriately defined
gains and also to provide a condition number for Spectral sensitivity may also be measured by means
inversion (Wilkinson, 1965). Spectral sensitivity of the sensitivity indices (Postlehwaite, 1983).
is very important for Quasi Classical approach and Let x± and y^ be right and left normalized eigen-
is addressed next. vectors associated with eigenvalue X±. Then the
sensitivity indices are given by
Normality and spectral sensitivity
A matrix Q is said to be normal if and only if it
conmutes with its conjugate transpose. The reason
why normal matrices are important in our context with 0 < s. < 1.
ι
is brought out by the following theorem.
Theorem 2 (Wilkinson, 1965): Let A be a matrix Note that for normal matrices s = 1 and the eigen-
having linear elementary divisors and Η be a matrix values are least sensitive. If s -> 0 sensitivity
such that of X-j[ increases because the eigenvalue problem is
worst conditioned. Normality is an adequate
Η *AH diag {\Λ structural measure for the conditioning of the
if A + εΒ then eigenvalue problem; however it is only a sufficient
λ is an eigenvalue of condition for small spectral sensitivity and there-
I λ—λ. I < ε k(H)IIBll fore the indices can be used as a more detailed ve-
-1 rification.
where k(H)=IH^UH' is the spectral condition num-
ber. Ouasi-Nyquistmxm
Loci
The theorem shows that the overall sensitivity of Let GeC have an SVD
the eigenvalues of A is dependent on the size of G = YZU*
k(H) may be regarded as a condition number of Awith
respect to its eigenvalue problem. Furthermore if A and let Θ = diag{exp(jG^)} such that
is normal then m(G) = ||U*Y - Θ.|
2
k(H) = 1
If we now define
and the eigenvalue problem is always well con-
ditioned. This nice spectral properties may seem to Δ = ΘΣ
have little practical importance, for normal matri- V = ΥΘ*
ces are a small set of all matrices and very rarely
a matrix transfer function will be normal in the we can write
whole frequency range. However in theorem 2 we can
replace "normal" by "approximately normal" and the G = (Υ Θ*) (ΘΣ) U* = VAU*
eigenvalue problem will still be well conditioned. which is called the Quasi Nyquist decomposition of
It is necessary to formalize what is called approxi G. Now assuming that G(s) has no poles on the Ny-
mately normal" and to give a measure of the quist D contour, the OND can ba applied for each s
distance to normality in the present scope. on the contour and set
Misalignment G(s) = V(s)A(s)U*(s), s ε Dnyq
A measure of departure from normality will be found The diagonal elements of A(s) trace a set of m loci
in a seemingly elyptical way using the following in the complex plane called the "Ouasi-Nyquist loci"
definitions and properties (Hung, 19δ2) . of G(s). Note that the modules of the curves for
each frequency are the principal gains and the
11 phase is related with a normal approximation and
Definition: two unitary matrices U, Υεϋ™" are that comparison of the CGL and the ONL gives a
called aligned if there exists great deal of information about the system.
Θ = diag {exp(0i)} such that
U*Y = θ Robustness and interaction
Definition: let GeC . If all possible SVD's of G No set of measurements would be complete without
G = ΥΣυ* measures for robustness and interaction. It has
been already stated that the distance of the CGL
are such that Y, U are aligned, then G to the critical point -l.+jO is an optimistic mea-
is said to be aligned. sure for robustness due to the sensitivity of the
Property 1: G is aligned G is normal. CGL to perturbations. However, when a plant is
normal (near normal) this distance becomes a good
Property 2: If G has distinct singular values then measure for robustness and for instance the M
the converse of property 1 holds. circles or the reciprocal M circles may be used.As
taesystem departures from normality another way of
The singular vector frame misalignment of G(s) is
defined to be measuring the multivariable distance must be found
Analysis and Control of Distillation Columns 217
-.3063
QUASI NYQUIST LOCI AND CHARACTERISTIC GAIN LOCI PRINCIPAL GAINS
: :
-Π:.. H : : : . ) - ^ I · I
.2 12.18 24.16 36.14 48.12 60.1 72.08 84.06 96.04 108.02 120. v. 16. 32. 48. €4. 8*. 56. 112. 128. 144. 160.
.02
f- \\ \ 1
\
-.e2
: ! ! 5 ! ! ! ! ! :: ! ! !! !!
.6 12.54 24.48 36.42 48.36 60.3 72.24 84.18 96.12 108.06 120. η 5 ΐ ί 1 i 51 i i ; i hi i 1 · ·· 1 ' i 1 i ' 1 •· = 1 ·· 1
16 . 32 . 48 . 64 . 80 . 96. 112. 128. 144. 160.
UNITS OF TIME
κ . )
\
s
J
^^^^ ^y'
/ ^
-.«67
a5. 5
QUASI NYQUIST LOCI RINClPAL GAINS
(
\
...... .mw
E-%2 E-Gi ROBUSTNESS MEASURE - MULTIPLICATIVE PERTURBATIONS
GLOBAL INTERACTION ANGLE
I 1 1
-
- / -
—
1 1 1
•&S? -k%v
FTR 4i UNCOMPENSATED COLUMN UAWO FTG 5: COLUMN UAUQ - PI COMPENSATION
I 1 1
38.
26,
ι*.
- / -
/
t. /
-ie. i i 1
m? -m
ETG 65 COLUMN UAUO - 2nd ORDER COMPENSATOR
-WT -gR* I W
Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
221
222 B. Toftegârd and S. B. J0rgensen
may be carried out. This estimation and con- The next step is to express the interactions
trol may also be combined into adaptive con- between variables in some algebraic way which
trol. This paper is also an example of how a may be used by an identification and control
general model formulation for an adaptive con- algorithm. The model is discrete and the samp-
troller may be carried out. The structure of le time is equal the period time. It should be
the paper is as follows. Section 2 contains a pointed out that this description also is qua-
description of the qualitative dynamics of a litative .
periodic cycled distillation column and a model
structure is formulated. To illustrate the use Assuming the tray holdup is constant a quan-
of the model structure in section 3 an estima- tity, i.e. component mass holdup, may be repre-
tion of the model parameter for an example is sented by the mole fraction. This will be done
described, and in section 4 the control strate- here as concentration may be meassured. In a
gy is formulated and illustrated by a simu- column operating at constant pressure tempera-
lation example. ture may be measured instead.
0.270
0.946 /
y
t
-0.017
-0.013 )
-0.077
u
f • ( 0.558
u
==(p + yp ) / p
Control law:
Yt t - i>i,t 2 2.t-i 3
Fig. 1. DYQUID for periodic cycled binary dis- where p^, p?and p3are thu
e estimate d paramete r for the measuremen t y^-
p y + p +P
tillation column. Continuous interactions oc-
cur during a cycling period. Dicrete interac- >l,t+1 " l l,t 2,t-l 3 t
tions occur at the end of a cycling period. The
quantities are the component mass holdups . Fig. 5. Control law for a minimum variance
controller. Τ is used as manipulated variable
and x, and x Ire measured,
d 5c
j 0.004
-CONTROL
' 0.002 NO CONT.
0.000
-0.002
-0.004
-0.006
-0.008 , 1 1 1
350 400 450 500
NPER
Fig. 2. Principal behavior of the concentration
during the VFP. Variation in Τ gives varia-
tion in the concentrations. ^
450 500
NPER
+ + 0 12 η
0 10-
t +
y i =M
+ c
+
t ' h * t - l * *3 h-2 * U h-3 luiH
t 8 v l It 0 08-
0 06 -
-t+1 =i i t 0 04-
+ U) 0 02-
(x) (x) 0 00-
(x) y
t it-1 I ) h- -0 02-
-0 04 -
+ +
XU X V+ + -0 06- —ι— — I —
400
1
500
350
h-3 t t -t+1 NPER
Fig. 3. Model structure for a peridic cycled Fig. 6. Simulation results using minimum vari-
distillation column with measurements on tray ance control. Control is started after 301
1, tray 5, and distillate. T and x are input cycling period. Values are plotted as devia-
variables.
p f tion from stationarity.
Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
CONTROL OF AN EXTRACTIVE
DISTILLATION PLANT
1
B. Retzbach
HOECHST AG, Abt. TLS/Geb. C584, POB 800320,
D-6230 Frankfurt/Main 80, FRG
The results presented in this paper were obtained by the author during his time with
Prof. Dr.Ing. E.D. Gilles at the Institut fur Systemdynamik und Regelungstechnik der
Universitât Stuttgart, Pfaffenwaldring 9, D-7000 Stuttgart 80
225
226 Β. Retzbach
late D E ~ is w a t e r .
If t h e f l o w r a t e o f t h e v a p o r rising in the
c o l u m n is i n c r e a s e d , t h e regions of h i g h
mass transfer rates and the temperature
fronts are forced t o m o v e upward in t h e
c o l u m n . T h e s t a t e v a r i a b l e s of a l l o t h e r
r e g i o n s a r e only s l i g h t l y altered. A f t e r
some t i m e , t h e c o m p o s i t i o n of t h e side
s t r e a m c h a n g e s a n d h e n c e K02 is affected
too.
T h e e s s e n t i a l d y n a m i c q u a l i t y of the extrac-
tive d i s t i l l a t i o n c o l u m n is the m o v e m e n t of
the r e g i o n s of h i g h m a s s t r a n s f e r r a t e s .
F u r t h e r m o r e , t h e r e is a strong d e p e n d e n c e
of t h e p r o d u c t q u a l i t y on the loci of these
r e g i o n s . A c o n t r o l s y s t e m w h i c h e n s u r e s the
s e p a r a t i o n m u s t t h e r e f o r e s t a b i l i z e the
Fig. 1. Extractive distillation plant m o v e m e n t s of t h e f r o n t s in case a d i s t u r b -
ance o c c u r s .
is shown in f i g . 2 : S i l b e r b e r g e r (1979) i n t r o d u c e d the locus of
There are two regions of high mass transfer a t e m p e r a t u r e f r o n t as a state v a r i a b l e of
rates in the lower p a r t of K 0 1 . P r o p a n o l is a s i m p l i f i e d d y n a m i c m o d e l . T h e same p r o c e -
removed from t h e liquid p h a s e a b o v e t h e d u r e w a s u s e d by G i l l e s and R e t z b a c h (1983)
s i d e s t r e a m S. W a t e r and g l y c o l a r e s e p a r a t - to d e v e l o p a s i m p l i f i e d m o d e l of an e x t r a c -
ed b e l o w . A t t h e s e l o c a t i o n s , t h e c h a n g i n g tive d i s t i l l a t i o n c o l u m n w i t h a v a p o r s i d e -
compositions cause sharp temperature p r o - stream. It h a s b e e n g e n e r a l i z e d b y Retzbach
f i l e s , t h e so c a l l e d t e m p e r a t u r e f r o n t s . (1986) t o a l l o w t h e d e r i v a t i o n o f s i m p l i -
The b o t t o m p r o d u c t SU-j c o n s i t s of t h e p u r e fied m o d e l s for a l l k i n d s of d i s t i l l a t i o n
extractant, which can be recycled after plants where sharp separations occur.
c o o l i n g . A small a m o u n t of t h e e x t r a c t a n t The c o l u m n s a r e s e p a r a t e d into s e c t i o n s a t
the feed a n d t h e s i d e s t r e a m l o c a t i o n s .
W r i t i n g d o w n t h e o v e r a l l m a t e r i a l - and e n -
ergy b a l a n c e e q u a t i o n s of t h e s e c t i o n s ,
d i f f e r e n t i a l e q u a t i o n s of the loci o f the
r e g i o n s o f h i g h m a s s t r a n s f e r r a t e s are
o b t a i n e d . If the p r o f i l e s are flat at the
b o u n d a r i e s o f t h e s e c t i o n s , t h e linearized
b a l a n c e s y i e l d i n t e g r a t i n g e l e m e n t s . The
d e t a i l e d d i s c u s s i o n o f the m o d e l i n g p r o c e -
d u r e is b e y o n d t h e scope o f this p a p e r . B u t
it is i m p o r t a n t t o k n o w t h a t t h e m o d e l s are
o b t a i n e d in t h e c o m m o n state s p a c e m a t r i x
notation.
In f i g . 3 the b l o c k d i a g r a m o f t h e s i m p l i -
fied d y n a m i c m o d e l of t h e e x t r a c t i v e d i s t i l -
lation p l a n t is g i v e n . In this e x a m p l e m o v e -
m e n t s of t h e r e g i o n s of m a s s t r a n s f e r are
p o s s i b l e a b o v e and b e l o w t h e side stream
(m=4, m = 5 r e s p e c t i v e l y ) and in t h e side
water K02 c o l u m n ( m = 8 ) . T h e liquid h o l d u p s in the r e -
1 b o i l e r (m=6) and in the c o n d e n s e r s (m=1,
"ζ-
j^T—- -A — — m = 7 ) are state v a r i a b l e s of t h e simplified
SU, liq. mole fractions m o d e l as w e l l .
3 5 0 4 Θ 0
' temperature l Κ] ·
F i g . 2. P r o f i l e s o f t h e e x t r a c t i v e d i s t i l -
lation p l a n t .
a) mmm Steady s t a t e
b) === M o v e m e n t after a s t e p
c h a n g e of t h e v a p o r flow
A l l p a r a m e t e r s of the s i m p l i f i e d m o d e l c a n
be deduced from the steady state plant pro- PROFILE POSITION CONTROL
p r o f i l e s . H e n c e s t a r t i n g from t h e p l a n t
d e s i g n c a l c u l a t i o n s the c o n t r o l s y s t e m can C l o s i n g the l e v e l c o n t r o l loops and t r e a t -
be developed. ing t h e m q u a s i s t a t i c a l l o w s a f u r t h e r sim-
p l i f i c a t i o n o f the b l o c k d i a g r a m in fig. 3.
F u r t h e r m o r e , the p o s i t i o n a s 8 of the p r o -
LEVEL CONTROL LOOPS file in K 0 2 is e a s i l y s t a b i l i z e d b y a t e m -
p e r a t u r e c o n t r o l that acts on the r e f l u x
The s e l e c t i o n of b a s i c c o n t r o l loops like r a t i o ( A R 2 / 4 D E 2 ) . T h e b l o c k d i a g r a m of t h e
level c o n t r o l and flow rate r a t i o c o n t r o l r e m a i n i n g d y n a m i c s y s t e m , i.e. the m o v e m e n t
is the f i r s t step t o w a r d s a c o n t r o l s y s t e m of the r e g i o n s of m a s s t r a n s f e r p r o p a n o l /
for the p l a n t w e c o n s i d e r . A s t h e s e c o n t r o l w a t e r A S ^ and w a t e r / g l y c o l A S 5 , is g i v e n in
loops show a r a t h e r fast d y n a m i c b e h a v i o u r , fig. 5.
they m a y later b e t r e a t e d as q u a s i s t a t i c .
H o w e v e r , it is of g r e a t i m p o r t a n c e to r e -
c o g n i z e t h a t t h e s e b a s i c c o n t r o l loops
strongly i n f l u e n c e the d y n a m i c b e h a v i o u r
of the r e g i o n s of m a s s t r a n s f e r .
A s an e x a m p l e , the r e s p o n s e of the p r o f i l e s
in the lower p a r t o f K01 is s h o w n in f i g . 4
( the i n s t r u m e n t a t i o n a t the c o n d e n s e r s is AS
given in f i g . 1 ) . If a step d i s t u r b a n c e
d e c r e a s e s t h e f l o w r a t e of the feed F , reflux ratio .
A
the p r o f i l e s a r e m o v i n g u p w a r d o r d o w n w a r d
control propanol/water
mass transfer
d e p e n d i n g o n t h e i n p u t v a r i a b l e u s e d for reboiler water/glycol
level c o n t r o l .
δΗ
A f t e r i n t r o d u c i n g t h e s t a t e - , i n p u t - and
disturbance vectors T
AX = US ,AS )T
liq. mole fractions àu =
4 5 T
( S ,IH ) ( ! )
Δζ =
A
UZ ,Ax )
A Z A
the s i m p l i f i e d m o d e l m a y b e r e p r e s e n t e d in
the w e l l k n o w n s t a t e s p a c e n o t a t i o n . T h e
d y n a m i c b e h a v i o u r of t h e r e b o i l e r c a n e a s i -
ly b e i n c l u d e d in the s i m p l i f i e d m o d e l by
a u g m e n t i n g the s t a t e v e c t o r .
If t h e m o v e m e n t s of t h e p r o f i l e s are m e a s -
ured by t h e r m o c o u p l e s i n s t a l l e d at the d e -
s i r e d loci of t h e p r o f i l e s , t h e e f f e c t i v e
r a n g e is l i m i t e d d u e to s a t u r a t i o n ( see
Fig. 4. I n f l u e n c e of the level c o n t r o l fig. 2 ) . W i t h i n the l i m i t s , t h e m e a s u r e m e n t
loop o n t h e d y n a m i c b e h a v i o u r . v a r i a b l e s c h a n g e n e a r l y l i n e a r l y w i t h the
p o s i t i o n s of t h e f r o n t s . If t h e limits are
T h e i n v e r s i o n of the g a i n d u e to the s t r u c - e x e e d e d , the o u t p u t of t h e m e a s u r i n g d e v i c e
tural variation of the basic control s y s - c a n b e c o n s i d e r e d to b e c o n s t a n t .
tem can b e i n v e s t i g a t e d u s i n g the s i m p l i - This s i m p l i f i e d m o d e l w a s u s e d b y G i l l e s
fied m o d e l ( f i g . 3 ) . If the level is c o n - and R e t z b a c h (1983) to d e s i g n a s t a t e o b -
t r o l l e d by c h a n g i n g t h e f l o w rate o f the s e r v e r and a state f e e d b a c k . By s i m u l a t i o n
b o t t o m p r o d u c t , the r e g i o n s of m a s s t r a n s - s t u d i e s in w h i c h the c o n t r o l s y s t e m w a s a p -
fer a r e a f f e c t e d o n l y b y the liquid flow p l i e d to t h e s t a g e - t o - s t a g e m o d e l it h a s
in t h e c o l u m n . O n the o t h e r h a n d , c o n t r o l - b e e n s h o w n , t h a t the c l o s e d loop is stable
ling the liquid level w i t h the h e a t i n p u t and t h a t u n k n o w n feed c o m p o s i t i o n d i s t u r b -
c a u s e s changes in the flow r a t e of the v a - ances may be estimated.
p o r w h i c h o v e r c o m p e n s a t e the i n f l u e n c e of H o w e v e r , in p r a c t i c e t h e r e are o t h e r d i s -
t h e r e d u c e d liquid f l o w . t u r b a n c e s in a d d i t i o n to t h o s e in eq. ( 1 ) .
T h e r e are of c o u r s e a l a r g e n u m b e r of p o s - For example unknown heat losses, unexpected
s i b l e c o n t r o l s t r u c t u r e s in a c o m p l e x d i s - e r r o r s in the c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of the c o n -
t i l l a t i o n p l a n t . S o m e of t h e m are u n f e a - t r o l v a l v e s e t c . . On the o t h e r h a n d , it is
s i b l e b e c a u s e they for e x a m p l e act a g a i n s t c l e a r from t h e rank c o n d i t i o n s d e v e l o p e d in
the o v e r a l l m a s s b a l a n c e of the p l a n t . c o n t r o l t h e o r y , t h a t it is i m p o s s i b l e to
T h e s e s c h e m e s are d e t e c t e d a u t o m a t i c a l l y compensate more than two independent dis-
d u r i n g the d e v e l o p m e n t of the s i m p l i f i e d t u r b a n c e s by t w o c o n t r o l i n p u t s . B e c a u s e
m o d e l . T h i s is b e c a u s e a m a t r i x w h i c h h a s m o s t of the d i s t u r b a n c e s i n f l u e n c e the
to b e i n v e r t e d b e c o m e s s i n g u l a r . A f e a s i b l e steady s t a t e of t h e p l a n t , it is c o n v e n -
b a s i c c o n t r o l s y s t e m for the e x t r a c t i v e ient to introduce a new disturbance vector
d i s t i l l a t i o n p l a n t is s h o w n in fig. 1 ) . T h e &z, w h i c h s t a n d s for the o f f s e t s of the i n -
c o n t r o l loops are s e l e c t e d m a i n l y to a l l o w p u t v a r i a b l e s . C o n s t a n t v a l u e s of the e l e -
easy e x p e r i m e n t a l i m p l e m e n t a t i o n at a s m a l l m e n t s of a r e a s s u m e d . The d y n a m i c m o d e l s
s c a l e p l a n t , w h i c h w a s b u i l t to t e s t t h e of t h e d i s t u r b a n c e s are t h e r e f o r e i n t e g r a -
c o n t r o l system p r e s e n t e d in the s u b s e q u e n t t i n g e l e m e n t s . F i n a l l y , w e h a v e the s i m p l i -
chapter. fied m o d e l
228 Β. Retzbach
It w a s found d u r i n g e a r l y e x p e r i m e n t s t h a t
cUx/dt Β ( IU + 4Z ) it w a s n e a r l y i m p o s s i b l e to set the e x t r a c -
άγ
d^^/dt Ο
C ΔΧ
( 2 ) t i v e d i s t i l l a t i o n p l a n t into o p e r a t i o n
w i t h o u t p r o d u c i n g a lot of w a s t e m a t e r i a l .
T o r u n the e x p e r i m e n t s m o r e e f f i c i e n t an
A c o n t r o l s y s t e m h a s b e e n d e v e l o p e d to sta-
appropriate startup procedure was developed.
b i l i z e the p l a n t a n d t o c o m p e n s a t e t h e i n -
A d d i t i o n a l l y w e t r i e d to m e e t the p r o d u c t
f l u e n c e s of the d i s t u r b a n c e s . A c c o r d i n g to
s p e c i f i c a t i o n s d u r i n g s t a r t u p . This r e q u i r e -
the d e s i g n m e t h o d g i v e n b y B a l c h e n and c o -
m e n t is o f i m p o r t a n c e in a large scale
w o r k e r s (1973) an o b s e r v e r is u s e d to e s t i -
p l a n t i f , for e x a m p l e , the p r o d u c t s are r e -
m a t e the s t a t e v a r i a b l e s and the d i s t u r b a n -
cycled.
ces
S t a r t i n g a p l a n t is a d y n a m i c p r o c e s s . H e n -
d4x/dt = Β (Au+Δζ) + ce d y n a m i c s i m u l a t i o n is a v a l u a b l e tool to
dâï/dt z e ( 3 ) i n v e s t i g a t e the b e h a v i o u r of the columns
Ai = C Δχ , = Ay-ay during this period. The step-by-step pro-
c e d u r e g i v e n b e l o w w a s f i r s t d e v e l o p e d by
F r o m these e s t i m a t e s , the i n p u t variables
s i m u l a t i o n s t u d i e s and then i m p l e m e n t e d at
are c a l c u l a t e d
the s m a l l s c a l e p l a n t .
Au = -Κ - Δζ ( 4 ) B e c a u s e of the h i g h s e n s i t i v i t y of the p o -
χ ΑΧ s i t i o n s of the r e g i o n s of h i g h m a s s t r a n s -
T o g e t h e r w i t h the o b s e r v e r , eq. (4) m a y b e
fer r a t e s e a c h of t h e s e r e g i o n s m u s t b e
r e g a r d e d as a p r o p o r t i o n a l / i n t e g r a l s t a t e
s t a b i l i z e d b y a c o n t r o l loop i m m e d i a t e l y
feedback controller.
a f t e r it h a s b e e n d e t e c t e d . Due to the
T o tune the o b s e r v e r and t h e f e e d b a c k , the
s e l e c t i o n o f the m a t r i c e s Ε
matrices E , E
x z and K x are c o m p u t e d b y p o l e χ and E z, the
o b s e r v e r and the s t a t e feedback c a n b e
a s s i g n m e n t . M o r e e l e m e n t s are a v a i l a b l e
s p l i t i n t o t w o p a r t s w h i c h are c o n n e c t e d
than poles. The matrices E , E
x z are select-
ed d i a g o n a l l y t o s i m p l i f y t h e s t r u c t u r e of
only b y a few c o u p l i n g e l e m e n t s . It is
t h e r e f o r e easy to p u t the c o n t r o l system
the o b s e r v e r . T h e o f f - d i a g o n a l e l e m e n t s of into o p e r a t i o n s t e p w i s e d u r i n g the startup
Κ
χ are d e t e r m i n e d w i t h r e s p e c t to the p h y s -
ical s i g n i f i c a n c e of t h e i n p u t v a r i a b l e s :
procedure.
S i x steps are n e c e s s a r y to force the p l a n t
In the c l o s e d l o o p , the i n p u t A H is u s e d to
to its steady s t a t e :
c o n t r o l the o v e r a l l b a l a n c e of g l y c o l in
K01 ( A S 5 ) . W e e m p l o y the s i d e s t r e a m A S to Step I : P u r e p r o p a n o l is p u m p e d into the
c o n t r o l the b a l a n c e of w a t e r ( a w e i g h t e d r e b o i l e r of K01 and v a p o r i z e d . T h e c o l u m n
sum of A S 4 and A S 5 ) . is o p e r a t e d w i t h t o t a l r e f l u x to fill the
trays.
Step I I : G l y c o l is i n t r o d u c e d a t Z
IMPLEMENTATION
E and
p r o p a n o l is r e m o v e d at the top u s i n g a r a -
t h e r low r e f l u x r a t i o . A s G l y c o l is a h i g h
In o r d e r to i n v e s t i g a t e the n e w c o n c e p t of b o i l i n g c o m p o n e n t , it r e m a i n s in the liquid
e x t r a c t i v e d i s t i l l a t i o n and the c o n t r o l s y - p h a s e and is t r a n s p o r t e d d o w n w a r d (fig. 6 ) .
stem in m o r e d e t a i l , a p i l o t p l a n t w a s c o n - W i t h the m o l e f r a c t i o n of g l y c o l in the
s t r u c t e d . The t e c h n i c a l d a t a of it c a n b e b o t t o m the t e m p e r a t u r e r i s e s . If the b o t t o m
found in T a b l e 1 at the end of the p a p e r . c o n s i s t s of p u r e g l y c o l , a t e m p e r a t u r e
T h e two c o l u m n s are e q u i p p e d w i t h t h e r m o - f r o n t o c c u r s and m o v e s u p w a r d . T h e b o t t o m
c o u p l e s o n e a c h tray t o a l l o w t h e d e t e c t i o n product may now be recycled to Z .
of the e n t i r e t e m p e r a t u r e p r o f i l e s . H o w -
E
e v e r , only two tray t e m p e r a t u r e s are n e c e s -
sary for c o n t r o l .
The o b s e r v e r and the s t a t e f e e d b a c k (eqs. 3
and 4) w e r e i m p l e m e n t e d as p a r t of a r e a l
time computer program on a PDP11/34 process
c o m p u t e r . Only the d e v i a t i o n s from t h e
o p e r a t i n g p o i n t of the p l a n t are g i v e n b y
the f e e d b a c k ( 4 ) . T h e r e f o r e a s i m p l i f i e d
c a l c u l a t i o n of the s t e a d y s t a t e of t h e
p l a n t w a s i m p l e m e n t e d as w e l l . A l l q u a n t i -
t i e s , w h i c h can e a s i l y b e m e a s u r e d a t the
p l a n t ( i.e. flow r a t e s and t e m p e r a t u r e s )
are u s e d to d e t e r m i n e the o p e r a t i n g p o i n t s
of H,S from the o v e r a l l m a s s - and e n e r g y
balances. This steady state calculation 1. 350.
l i q . mole fractions temperature [K]
acts as a f e e d f o r w a r d c o n t r o l .
C o n v e n t i o n a l PID c o n t r o l l e r s in i n d u s t r y
m a y b e t u n e d o r o p t i m i z e d d u r i n g the o p e r a -
t i o n of t h e p l a n t b e c a u s e the s i g n i f i c a n c e
of the c o n t r o l l e r p a r a m e t e r s is e v i d e n t . At = 600 I s ] At = 60 (s)
T h i s is n o t true for the e l e m e n t s of the
matrices E , E
X Z and K x. T o p r o v i d e a m e t h o d
for the on line t u n i n g o f the o b s e r v e r and MW Δρ= .005 (bar]
the s t a t e f e e d b a c k , the p o l e - a s s i g n m e n t
p r o c e d u r e w a s i n c l u d e d in the r e a l t i m e sr-U
program. temperature I K ] temperature I K ]
S T A R T U P A N D O P E R A T I O N OF THE
PILOT PLANT F i g . 6. S t a r t u p step I I ; a) simulation,
b) e x p e r i m e n t .
T h e s t a r t u p of c o m p l e x p l a n t s is a d i f f i -
c u l t t a s k , e s p e c i a l l y if t h e u n i t o p e r a - S t e p I I I : B o i l u p and r e f l u x are switched to
t i o n s are very s e n s i t i v e t o d i s t u r b a n c e s . t h e i r o p e r a t i n g p o i n t s . T h i s forces the
Control of an Extractive Distillation Plant 229
profiles in the upper part of K01 to their Step IV: The feed Z A is now the propanol/
steady states (fig. 7 ) . The temperature water mixture. The intermediate boiling
front is still moving upward at this time. component water accumulates in the lower
As soon as the temperature at tray 37 is part of K01 and a second temperature front
near the desired set point, the observer occurs (fig. 8 ) .
and the control loop for s 5 is turned on to Step V: If the temperature at the desired
stabilize the movement by adjusting the locus of this front (tray 27) starts to ri-
heat input Q v# the electric equivalent of H se, the side stream valve is opened by a
ramp function. Now the second part of the
observer/controller is switched on to regu-
late the overall balance of the water
(fig. 9 ) .
step
TT
[Kl
< 37»w
350.
40. - control A s
AUTOMATIC
S[%l control As#
j AUTOMATIC
time [ s ]
temperature [ Κ ]
X /I
glycol
ZA
^-swwater
480.
350. . . . „ . 480.
temperature [ Κ ]
T
< 27>w
350.
80
time I s ]
temperature [ Κ ] *> ·
Fig. 8. Startup Step IV; a) simulation, Fig. 10. Closed loop experiment; step
b) experiment. distubance: increase of Z A by
10 % .
230 Β. Retzbach
material glass
trays bubble cap trays, one cap each,
efficiency greater than 70 %
K01: 40 trays, 10 cm diameter
Feed: glycol tray 12 (from top)
propanol/water tray 22
Sidestream: tray 32
K02: 10 trays, 5cm diameter
hight K01: 7 m, K02: 2 m
reboiler electrically heated 0 to 12 kW
level control by overflow pipe
condensers water cooled, reflux ratio ad-
justed by switching funnel
pressure K 0 1 : atmospheric, K02: 0.8 bar
feed electrically heated 0 to 3 kW
preheater with temperature control
pumps adjustable piston pumps
heatjacket 12 sectors independently con-
trolled
computers Z80 μ-processor for operation,
secondary control loops, super-
vision and data aquisition.
PDP11/34 process computer for
control, display of profiles
and data storage.
Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
1. INTRODUCTION c a l m e t h o d s a n d a p p r o a c h e s / 5 / . T h e y can b e
c l a s s i f i e d in m a n y d i f f e r e n t w a y s . In the
D i s t i l l a t i o n is a t y p i c a l e n e r g y - c o n s u m i n g
g e n e r a l f r a m e w o r k of the m u l t i v a r i a b l e s y s -
p r o c e s s . E v e n for a b i n a r y d i s t i l l a t i o n c o -
tems control, considerable attention has
l u m n , the - u c c e s s f u l c o n t r o l of the com-
b e e n given to the i d e a o f n o n - i n t e r a c t i o n .
p o s i t i o n s of b o t h t o p and b o t t o m p r o d u c t
F r o m this p o i n t o f v i e w , w e u s u a l l y t e n d
can y i e l d s u b s t a n t i a l p r o f i t r e s u l t i n g from to compensate a system so that each input
the p o t e n t i a l s a v i n g in u t i l i t y cost and of affects only one o u t p u t , a n d p e r t u r b a t i o n
course n o m a n s u p e r v i s i n g is n e e d e d in s u c h o f one o u t p u t a f f e c t s n o o t h e r o u t p u t . The
cases. property of n o n - i n t e r a c t i o n is u s u a l l y
F o r the s e p a r a t i o n o f c o m p o n e n t s on the b a - d e s i r e d due to the s i m p l i f i c a t i o n o f the
sis of v o l a t i l i t y d i f f e r e n t k i n d s of d i s t i l - c o n t r o l l o o p . W h e n n o n - i n t e r a c t i o n is o b t a -
lation / 1 , 2 , 3 / are u s e d in c h e m i c a l i n d u s - i n e d , the m u l t i v a r i a b l e s y s t e m is t r a n s f o r -
t r y . In the cases of s m a l l p r o d u c t i o n and m e d i n t o a s e t of i n d e p e n d e n t s i n g l e - v a r i a -
o f t e n c h a n g i n g m i x t u r e the use o f b a t c h d i - b l e s u b s y s t e m s , w h i c h can t h e n b e t r e a t e d
s t i l l a t i o n is very s u i t a b l e . In some cases by classical methods.
t h i s type of d i s t i l l a t i o n c a n b e i m p r o v e d
For the discussed plant we tried to design
b y the use of s e m i b a t c h i n s t e a d of b a t c h r e -
the m o s t s i m p l e i . e . c o n s t a n t c o m p e n s a t o r
c t i f i c a t i o n / 3 / . In d i s t i n c t i o n from b a t c h
for d e c o u p l i n g / 6 / . B u t , for this type of
d i s t i l l a t i o n h e r e the r e b o i l e r is c o n t i n u o -
c o m p e n s a t o r i n f o r m a t i o n of a l l p r o c e s s s t a -
usly fed w i t h the s a m e flow as the a c c u m u -
t e s w a s n e e d e d . O f c o u r s e , m e a s u r i n g of c o m -
lator. The a d v a n t a g e o f such d i s t i l l a t i o n
p o s i t i o n s on a l l s t a g e s w o u l d n ' t be a good
is n o t only the e n l a r g e d m a s s of final p r o -
s o l u t i o n . T h i s p r o b l e m w a s s o l v e d b y the
d u c t b u t a l s o c o n s t a n t l e v e l of m i x t u r e in
use of m i n i m a l o r d e r s t a t e o b s e r v e r / 5 / .
the r e b o i l e r w h i c h as a c o n s e q u e n c e e n s u -
The d e s i r e d c l o s e d - l o o p b e h a v i o u r w a s t h e n
res a p p r o x i m a t e l y c o n s t a n t v a p o r flow r a t e .
a c h i e v e d b y t w o u n i v a r i a b l e PI c o n t r o l l e r s .
T h e w o r k deals w i t h m o d e l l i n g and c o n t r o l
F r o m s o c a l l e d interactive d e s i g n p r o c e d u r e s
of m e t h y l a l c o h o l - w a t e r s e m i b a t c h d i s t i l -
p o l e a s s i g n m e n t m e t h o d ,as one o f the m o s t
l a t i o n . First t h e o r e t i c a l n o n l i n e a r m o d e l
i m p o r t a n t , w a s u s e d / 5 / . H e r e the c o m p l e t e
of the p r o c e s s w a s b u i l t / 3 / . It d e s c r i b e s
s y s t e m w i t h a l l its i n t e r a c t i o n s is t r e a t e d .
the w h o l e d y n a m i c a l b e h a v i o u r of the s y s t e m .
T h e use of t h i s a p p r o a c h o f t e n r e s u l t s in
Equilibrium equations were derived directly
more simple closed-loop systems. Similar
from the p r o c e s s . O f c o u r s e some a p p r o x i m a -
as in the p r e v i o u s e x a m p l e P I m u l t i v a r i a b l e
t i o n s m u s t b e t a k e n i n t o a c c o u n t . In s p i t e
c o n t r o l l e r p r o v e d t o b e very s u i t a b l e / 7 / .
of t h e m the a c c u r a c y of the m o d e l r e m a i n e d
s u f f i c i e n t . B e c a u s e of the r e l a t i v e l y s l o w R o s e n b r o c k ' s i n v e r s e N y q u i s t array (INA)
d y n a m i c s the l i n e a r i z a t i o n is j u s t i f i e d , of m e t h o d is w e l l k n o w n a n d w i d e l y u s e d t e c h n i -
course only in the n e a r n e i g h b o u r h o o d of the q u e for m u l t i v a r i a b l e c o n t r o l s y s t e m s d e -
chosen w o r k i n g p o i n t s . F o r c o n t r o l p u r p o s e s sign / 8 / . T h e s i m p l i c i t y of d e s i g n e d c o n -
the r e d u c e d o r d e r linear m o d e l w a s d e v e l o - t r o l s c h e m e s , the p o s s i b i l i t y of e n g i n e -
p e d b y the aid o f d i s c r e t e i n p u t - o u t p u t e r i n g c o n s t r a i n t s i n c o r p o r a t i o n in the d e -
identification using p r o g r a m p a c k a g e A N A sign p r o c e d u r e a n d h i g h d e g r e e o f c o n t r o l -
/4/. lers r e l i a b i l i t y cause the a p p r o a c h to be
u s e d in m a n y p r a c t i c a l i n d u s t r i a l a p p l i c a -
M u l t i v a r i a b l e control d e s i g n r e p r e s e n t s a
t i o n s . The I N A m e t h o d use the concept o f
w i d e l y e x t e n d e d set o f d i f f e r e n t m a t h e m a t i -
diagonal dominant transfer function m a t r i -
DCCR-P
23
232 M. Atanasijevic et al.
4L· r U
co n/r o1ler|
listillate
So" Κ 00228
01168
0 0 1 5 7 0 .00189 "
00645 0 . 0 1 0 3 3 .
1 0 0 0
1.074 0 4 . 388 1.562|
= [Si * S ]
2 0 1 0 0
column ,0 .095 0. 886 99.075 - 1 6 . 2 6 3
ί 3,
The p a r a m e t e r s of t w o uni v a r i a b l e PI control-
lers are a l l e q u a l ( 3 3 . 3 3 ) . The closed-loop
s y s t e m is s h o w n in Figure 2 .
univariable
PI c o n t r o l l e r
υ
decoupling
SYSTE M γ
compensator " fef.
Figure 1. S c h e m a t i c r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of an
η-stage d i s t i l l a t i o n column
IL observe r
univariable
The g o v e r n i n g e q u a t i o n s for the d y n a m i c m o - PI c o n t r o l l e r
e
d e l can be d e r i v e d b y a p p l i c a t i o n of m a t e - 2
r i a l b a l a n c e and e q u i l i b r i u m e q u a t i o n s u n - Figure 2. C l o s e d loop s y s t e m w i t h state d e -
der some u s u a l a s s u m p t i o n s . The s i m u l a t i o n c o u p l i n g c o m p e n s a t o r , observer and
o f n o n l i n e a r m o d e l s h o w e d t h a t in spite o f t w o u n i v a r i a b l e PI controllers
this a s s u m p t i o n s the a c c u r a c y of the m o d e l
remains sufficient. C l o s e d - l o o p b e h a v i o u r o b t a i n e d through h y -
B e c a u s e of relatively s l o w d y n a m i c s o f the brid simulation using discretized decoup-
p r o c e s s the l i n e a r i z a t i o n is j u s t i f i e d , of ling c o m p e n s a t o r , o b s e r v e r and two univa-
c o u r s e only in the n e a r n e i g h b o u r h o o d o f raible PI c o n t r o l l e r s is s h o w n in Figure
the chosen w o r k i n g p o i n t s . T h r o u g h the s t u - 3.
dy of the plant i t w a s e s t a b l i s h e d t h a t
The Semibatch Distillation Column Control Design 233
- —
b) discussed system was designed.
— <M
il-.
C.
(
3 *
• :1 :
ιω.
] :; : f
r ........ / r -
:.! ,
Figure 4. Output feedback pole assignment
•
controller
:
\ < ----- - - — •
u = g Z + Q j (v-y_)dt = - [ K : Q ] j (6)
tea I
α ί> " !
7=>
-Γ
d) —
α : : ί Usui
1j
Figure 5. Block diagram of the PI pole as-
signment control
1
- — The matrices of the designed controller we-
i re designed to be
I 1
Γ 1.381 5.874] "2.297 1.5901{ ],
I ! j •· L-1.609 5.842J - [ ;.0.384 1.471J
Figure 3. Closed-loop responses of the sys- where closed-loop poles have the following
tem excited by initial conditions values: -0.365, -0.066, -0.370, -0.300 +
and step disturbance on first in- + j 0.200.
put at t=50s. Sampling time is ls
a) first output signal, b) first Closed-loop behaviour obtained through hy-
control signal, c) second output brid simulation using discretized multiva-
signal, d) second control signal riable pole assignment PI controllers is
shown in Figure 6.
3.2. Pole assignment control design 3.3. Control design by INA method
For the model given in eq.(1) such control- The multivariable INA method was developed
ler was desired that the resulting closed- by Rosenbrock / 8 / . It extend the classical
loop system has a certain number of its po- univariable Nyquist control design methods
les on the previously prescribed positions. to multivariable systems using the concept
The approach bases on the equivalence of of diagonal dominance (DD) together with
closed-loop characteristic polynomial of Gershgorin and Ostrowski theorems to esta-
multivariable system and equivalent system blish the conditions for the control desigi
with one input and multiple outputs. This of independent univariable subsystems. The
results in compensator matrice which is dya- criterion of diagonal dominance is much lo-
dic i.e. has rang equal to one /!/ (Figure oser than the request for strict diagonali-
4 ) . If g is a product of column and row ve- zation of transfer function matrix which is
ctor: too extreme for general use. It is to say
Κ that we should only like to restrict the
2 k (5) influence of other loops to a given loop
where cj is (m χ 1) vector and k is (1 χ a) to be appropriately small.
vector, multivariable system (A,B,g) is re-
duced to equivalent system with one input A large amount of work was devoted to the
(£,i2,g). problem of diagonal dominance achievement
since it is prerequisite for any succes-
By the aid of interactive program package sful INA design effort. Original Rosenbrock's
POLASS / 3 / (which is installed on PDP 11/34 approach to the problem allows the complete
minicomputer in Faculty of electrical engi- freedom in designing the DD compensator and
234 M. Atanasijevic et al.
a) i n s i g h t i n t o the c l o s e d - l o o p s y s t e m b e h a v i -
our t h r o u g h o u t the design process w h i l e the
d e s i g n e d c o n t r o l l e r s are easily r e a l i z a b l e .
In o u r a p p r o a c h w e w a n t e d to combine the
a d v a n t a g e s of R o s e n b r o c k ' s m e t h o d and i n f o r -
m a t i o n a b o u t the s h a p e of control s i g n a l v e -
c t o r u for the d e c o u p l e d system o b t a i n e d by
the a i d of the c o r r e s p o n d i n g computer aided
p r o c e d u r e for d e c o u p l i n g (chapter 3 . 1 ) . The
b)
Tït c o m b i n a t i o n o f b o t h m e t h o d s e n l a r g e s their
a d v a n t a g e s and r e d u c e s t h e i r d e f i c i e n c i e s .
The d a t a a b o u t the s i g n a l s w h i c h act in the
sense o f i n t e r a c t i o n s c o m p e n s a t i o n facilita-
tes the d e v e l o p m e n t o f DD c o n t r o l l e r (struc-
ture a n d p a r a m e t e r s ) w h i c h i s , using R o s e n -
b r o c k ' s a p p r o a c h , o b t a i n e d p r a c t i c a l l y with
"cut and t r y " m e t h o d . O f course w e don't
w a n t to design c o n t r o l l e r w h i c h w o u l d p r o -
duce s t r i c t l y the s a m e s i g n a l s as obtained
w i t h d e c o u p l i n g a l g o r i t h m , b u t w e take i n t o
a c c o u n t only t h e m a i n d y n a m i c p r o p e r t i e s
and steady s t a t e . The p r o c e d u r e of DD c o n -
troller development considering mentioned
d a t a can b e r e a l i z e d e i t h e r b y the aid of
s i m u l a t i o n or u s i n g a p p r o p r i a t e i d e n t i f i c a -
tion algorithm.
The s t r u c t u r e o f the complete c o n t r o l s c h e -
me for the d i s c u s s e d p l a n t is shown in F i -
gure 7.
dl Figure 7. C o n t r o l s c h e m e for d i s c u s s e d p l a n t
u s i n g INA m e t h o d , ( w = w = 0 , s y s -
1 2
t e m w a s e x c i t e d t h r o u g h the d i s -
t u r b a n c e inputs u - a n d / o r u
and i n i t i a l c o n d i t i o n s )
m2
The D D c o n t r o l l e r w a s found t o b e
Γ-0.9867 1.266
U (8)
L-2.4000 1 706
T h e r e s p o n s e s of s o c o n t r o l l e d s y s t e m are
s h o w n in F i g u r e 8 t o g e t h e r w i t h correspon-
ding Gershgorin bands.
11
F i g u r e 6. C l o s e d - l o o p r e s p o n s e s of the s y s -
tem e x c i t e d by i n i t i a l conditions
and s t e p d i s t u r b a n c e on f i r s t i n -
p u t at t = 5 0 s . S a m p l i n g time is
0.5s. a) first o u t p u t s i g n a l , b )
first c o n t r o l s i g n a l , c) s e c o n d
o u t p u t s i g n a l , d) s e c o n d c o n t r o l
signal
gives only some s u g g e s t i o n s for its s u c c e s -
sive g e n e r a t i o n . The a i m of the a p p r o a c h is
to d e v e l o p DD c o n t r o l l e r w h i c h is as s i m p l e
as p o s s i b l e . The I N A m e t h o d allows the d e -
s i g n e r to use s i m p l e t r a n s f e r function m o -
The Semibatch Distillation Column Control Design 235
The Ostrowski bands for the case in Figure parameter changes, presence of measurement
9 is shown in Figure 10. noise, time-delayed input signals and limi-
tation of control signals to appropriate
operative area. In spite of this additional
tests the final decision about the most su-
itable control strategy can not be made in
this phase of investigations. Some additi-
onal experiments on the plant are therefo-
re initiated.
6. REFERENCES
1. S.Domenech et M. Enjalbaert: Modèle ma-
thématique d'une colonne de rectifica-
tion discontinue - I. établissement du
modèle, Chemical Engineering Science,
1974, Vol. 29, pp. 1519-1528
2. Claude Foulard, Guy Bornard: Identifica-
tion and System Parameter Estimation of
Distillation Processes, Identification
rd Estimation, Part 1,
and System Parameter
Preprints of the 3 IFAC Symposium,
the Hague (Delft, the Netherlands , 12-
15 June, 1973
3. M.Atanasijevid, R.Karba, F.Bremsak: Se-
mibatch Distillation Modelling and Con-
trol Design, Proceedings, 3. Symposium
Simulationstechnik, pp. 46 4-46 8, Bad
Munster am St.-Ebernburg, September 1985
4. M.Sega, S.Strmônik, R.Karba, D.Matko:
Control System Treatment by t h
Program
Package ANA, Proceedings, 1 1 IMACS
World Congress on System Simulation and
Scientific Computation, Vol. 4, pp. 95-
9 8, Oslo, August 19 85
5. Rajnikant V. Pateland Neil Munro: Multi-
variable System Theory and Design, Per-
gamon Press, Oxford, 19 82
6. Peter L. Falb and William A. Wolovich:
Figure 10. Ostrowski bands for the case in Decoupling in the Design and Synthesis
Figure 9, a) element (1,1), b) of Multivariable Control Systems, IEEE
element (2,2) Transactions on Automatic Control, Vol.
IAC-12, No. 6, Dec. 1967
5. CONCLUSIONS 7. H.Seraji: Design of Proportional-puls-
Integral Controllers for Multivariable
In the work three most frequently used mul- Systems, Int. J. Control, Vol. 29, No.l,
tivariable controller design methods were 1979
applicated on the pilot semibatch distil-
lation column. All results of hybrid simu- 8. Rosenbrock H.H., Design of multivariable
lation indicate that the proposed approa- control systems using the inverse Nyqu-
ches can be successfully used for on-line ist array, Proc. IEE, Vol. 116, No. 11,
control of discussed plant. Besides the 1969, 1929-1936
given results also some other situations
were simulated, like: presence of system
Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
Keywords. Process control; control system synthesis; PID control; partial model
matching; decoupling.
INTRODUCTION
where
Distillation is a typical energy consuming G (s) is a transfer function of Plant, Whole
process. The successful control of the composi- control system or Reference model.
tions of both top and bottom products can yield
substantial profit resulting from the potential
saving in utility cost. Some serious problems are Secondly, the control system parameters are deter-
often experienced when a feedback control of both mined so as to coincide the coefficients of power
product compositions is attempted. One of the series of s in the closed loop transfer function
principal difficulties is control loop with those of a desired reference model, from 0-th
interaction. In order to overcome such problems order to the higher order of s.
an application of a multivariable control scheme
seems indispensable. In this paper, the partial It is not an easy task to readjust the controllers
model matching technique developed by Kitamori which are obtained by applying a state space con-
(1980.a) is applied to dual composition control of trol theory. However, with partial model
a distillation column. matching, controller can be readjusted easily by
changing the reference model and number of
parameters of the controller.
THE MERIT OF PARTIAL MODEL MATCHING
Many control theories based on state space Partial model matching methods have further
model [e.g. LQ( Linear Quadratic) regulator, pole advantages, e.g., performance of controller can be
assignment, exact model matching, decoupling con- preestimated more visually than in LQ regulator or
trol by Falb & Wolovich, etc.] have been proposed. pole assignment. Also, for the selection of a
However the implementation of such technics in in- desired reference model, a guide has been
dustrial field has not always been so successful. developed.
One of the main reasons is that identification of A design formula for I-PD type decoupled systems
the state equation is a hard task especially in is proposed by Kitamori in 1980 (1980.a) and PID
the field of process control. Therefore, a design type decoupled systems are also proposed ( 1980.b).
method will be more advantageous if it does not In other non-interacting control methods such as
need complete knowledge about the process INA (Inverse Nyquist Array method), GGBM
dynamics. A partial model matching method (Generalized Gershgorin pseudo Band Method) and
proposed by Kitamori (1979a) is based mainly on SRD (Sequential Return Difference method), it is
the low frequency characteristics of the process, necessary to design decouplers first and then to
which can be identified more accurately than the design main controllers. With Kitamori's method,
high frequency characteristics. the decoupler and the main controller can be ob-
tained simultaneously. As a result, design proce-
Firstly, in this method, the dynamic characteris- dure becomes much simpler and the response curves
tics of the three elements: (i) the plant to be of the controlled system can also be perceived
controlled, (ii) the closed loop system and (iii) very easily from the reference model.
the desired reference model, are all to be
expressed in the following form. In this paper, a dual composition controller,
2 i.e., a non-interacting control system which has
Λ ,sv=b0+bis+...+b.s»
G — —
.
m
exp(-T
.
Ls =C o + c i S + c a s + " (1) the structure shown in Fig. 1, is designed by ap-
a +ais+...+a s» * plying the partial model matching method.
0 B
237
238 T. Takamatsu et al.
i
t
diagonal matrices M j · Σ .
XDS
I-P
Design Algorithm of Control Systems
I-P
The structure of I-PD type control system is shown
•H O
in Fig, 2.
I-P -ρ ϋ
CO
R(s)+ E(s) Κ U (s) Y (s)
« I-P K? » Process
XB S e s
Fe+Fis+F s2+—
Fig. 1. I-P non-interacting control system 2
for distillation control
DESIGN PROCEDURE OF I-PD TYPE NON-INTERACTING CON- Fig. 2. I-PD control system
TROLLER
Selection of Reference Model Fig. 3. Unit step response of the closed loop
systems
Not only the closed loop response but also the
robust stability is determined by the reference
model to be utilized. Therefore, it is important SIMULATED DISTILLATION COLUMN
to choose a suitable reference model in order to
design a controller which can satisfy the given The effectiveness of the non-interacting control
specifications. For the sake of simplicity, let system shown in Fig. 1 is demonstrated by
us consider a single input, single output system. simulation. The column used in the simulation
A reference model used in Kitamori's method has study is fairly small. The design values are
parameters β and a j(.3=0,1,··· ) to express rise- given in Table 2.1. The dynamic model is based on
time and damping of a closed loop response. the standard assumptions: vapor holdup is negli-
gible in comparison with liquid holdup; each plate
22 acts as an ideal stage; perfect mixing on each
Y(s) = •R (s) (22)
a o+CR I < R s + Α < R s +..« plate and in the reflux accumulator and reboiler;
2 adiabatic column operation; perfect level control
As the values of α j i those shown in Table 1.1 are
in the accumulator and reboiler; perfect pressure
recommended. The α j give about 10% damping, ir-
control and zero pressure drop across the plates;
respective of the number of system parameters
and energy dynamics are much faster than material
matched to reference model's. If overshoot is
balance dynamics. Dynamic material balances and a
permissible, these values in Table 1.1 is
steady state energy balance are written for each
recommendable. Response curves without overshoot
stage in the column and the resulting equations
can be always be obtained, if it is possible to
are solved numerically.
coincide the transfer function of the closed loop
system with a binomial mode. As a reference model
where both the magnitude of overshoot and the Table 2.1 Specification of the distillation column
rise-time can be adjustable by a single parameter,
the following model is being proposed (Shigemasa System Methanol--Water
et. al 1983). Feed Flow Rate 1000.0 (mol/hr)
Feed Composition 50.0 (mol%)
α )·α B J + λ -a K J q-value of Feed 1.0 <-) [Liquid]
=j(1-λ (j=0,l,2,..- ) (26)
Distillate Composition 95.0 (mol%)
where a B J are parameters of binomial model. Bottom Product Composition 5.0 (mol%)
a Kj are parameters of Kitamori's model, Operating Pressure 1.0 (atm abs)
λ is response shape factor. Number of Trays 10 (-)
Feed Tray Location 7 (from top)
In Fig. 3, the closed loop response of a 4-th or- Tray Efficiency 100 (%)
der plant is shown, where I-PD controller is Diameter of Column 12.0 (cm)
Height of Weir 2.0 (cm)
designed by using the reference model given Eq.
Depth of Column's Bottom 5.0 (cm)
3
(26).
Accumulator Holdup 1000.0
3
(cm )
From this figure, it is easily perceived that the
rise-time of response can be decreased by making Reboiler Holdup 2000.0 (cm )
response shape factor, λ , larger, especially for Reflux Ratio 0.710 (-)
λ >0.4, overshoot emerges in the response curve.
Even when the plant has a large dead time, a
desirable response curve can be realized by using MODELING FOR CONTROLLER DESIGN
a reference model in which a proper dead time is
included. In order to obtain the process dynamics in the
240 T. Takamatsu et al.
form of Eq. (9), we calculated the step responses Table 3.1 Parameters of the Model of Ea. (9)
of the compositions of top and bottom products to
changes in the two inputs (reflux flow rate, (l,l)element (l,2)element (2,l)element (2,2)element
boilup rate). The results are shown in Fig. 4. Η ο 3.3476E+3 -8.9473E+2 2.7931E+3 -1.4515E+3
Η ι 1.1006E+3 -1.7041E+2 7.1052E+2 -4.5714E+2
Η 2 2.6013E+1 -1.3194E+1 1.5904E+1 -1.3407E+1
Η 3 1.1495E-1 -1.7751E-2 7.4013E-2 -4.7619E-2
R e f l u x Flo w Rat e chang e + 5 ( m o l / h r ) Η 4 1.3548E-3 -6.8721E-4 8.2835E-4 -6.9828E-4
Η 5 3.5827E-6 -5.5472E-7 2.3129E-6 -1.4881E-6
unit of H j (j=0^5) are (mol-hr-i-%-i)
c
Β ο 3.140E-5 -2.516E-5 4.070E-5 -6.530E-5
Α ο,Α ι are dimension less,
unit of Β ο is (mol%»mol-i «hr)
sampling period is 1.5 min.
I-P
Then, the following equation was derived from Eq. XBse t Vb
(27) by using z-transformation.
Table 5.2 Parameters of I-P Controller for Fig 7.1(a) Response of X D to set point change
Decoupled System XD=0.95->0.96(mol%) & X =0.05->0.06
B
1st loop 2nd loop 6.5
Σ 0.0725 0.2630
Κ 1.4036E+2 1.4252E+1
F ο 9.1702E+0 2.7411E+0 6.Θ
In the above simulation, the calculated values of Table 6.2 Parameters of 2 loops I-P Controller
Σ are different among the three control systems.
1st loop 2nd loop
In order to analyze how effectively the two con-
trol loops are decoupled by these three control Σ 0.08 0.08
systems, a simulation calculation was carried out Κ 2.7046E+5 -1.1784E+4
by using the same Σ =diag(0.08,0.08) for all three F ο 2.0006E+4 -8.7195E+3
unit of Σ is hr.unit of Κ & F ο are (mol-hr-»·%-»)
control systems. The controlled responses of X D
and X B for the three control systems are shown in
Figs. 8.1—8.2. Fig. 8.1 shows the response
curves of X D and X B * when the set point of X D
alone is changed. I-P non-interacting control Table 6.3 Parameters of I-P Controller for
system can bring X D up to the newly assigned set Decoupled System
point in the shortest time, and, at the same time
can regulate X B at the set point with the smallest 1st loop 2nd loop
deviation. These simulation results show that I-P Σ 0.08 0.08
non-interacting control system seems to be most Κ 1.1530E+2 1.5441E+2
effective in reducing interaction between the two F o l 8.2171E+0 1.1318E+1
control loops. unit of Σ is hr, Κ & F ο are dimension less
Nomenclature
X :I-P nonintercting control
+ :2 loops controller F :Liquid feed flow rate
Δ :cross controller + main controller
F j.Feed back matrix of the i-th order derivative
10
of controlled variables
H j'matrix in Eq. (2.1) which expresses process
dynamics
Fig 8.1(a) Response of X to set point change Κ : Multiplying matrix for integration of errors
D
X =0.95->0.96(mol%) Lt :Reflux flow rate
D η : order of denominator polynomial of reference
models
U :Vector of manipulated variable;
X : I - P nonintercting control
Vector of reflux flow rate and burlap rate
5.4 + :2 loops controller
Δ :cross controller + m a i n controller in distillation control
Vb :Boilup rate
5.3
X D .Composition of Distillate
X B :Composition of Bottom Product
5.2
Y :Vector of controlled variable;
5.1
Vector of distillate composition and
bottom product composition
5.0i
in distillation control
a j'.Parameters of reference model expressing
4.9 damping of controlled response
o* :Parameters of reference model expressing
4.8 rise-time of controlled response
Σ : Diagonal matrix consisting of o"
243
244 Kurt-Erik Haggblom and Κ. V. Waller
Control Structures Involving both L and V If some secondary variables, such as two tempera-
as Composition Manipulators tures, are controlled instead of the product com-
positions, the gains in Eq. (4) cannot be calcu-
Consider the "energy balance" or "conventional" lated by Eq. (5), because the gains of the model
control scheme where the top composition y and the replacing Eq. (3) are no longer related to compo-
bottoms composition χ are controlled by the reflux sition. In this case the gains in Eq. (4) must
flow L and the boilup V, or by any two independent be determined in the same way as the four gains
variables directly affecting the reflux flow and between the controlled and manipulated variables.
the boilup (V could, e.g., stand for heat input After that, however, the variable transformations
to the reboiler in all equations that follow). presented below can be used even if the variables
A steady-state model for this structure is controlled are not product compositions. If only
the four gains between the variables controlled
and manipulated are given, the model is simply not
Ay = K ^ A L + Κ ^ Δ ν (3a) complete enough for arbitrary variable transform-
ations even if the steady-state data are known.
Δχ = AL + AV (3b) This, of course, applies to all control struc-
tures.
The gains Κ in the model may have been obtained, As a second example of dual-composition control
e.g., experimentally, through simulation, or, if schemes involving both L and V as manipulators,
an analytical model is available, through calcu- consider a scheme suggested by Ryskamp (1980), in
lation of partial derivatives. which the composition manipulators are D/(L+D)
and V. The steady-state model for this scheme is
Combination of Eqs (2) and (3) gives
AR
K AL + AVK Ay <R (7a)
AD (4a)
DL DV Ax =KAR + AVK
K AL + AVK xR xV
(7b)
ΔΒ (4b)
BL BV
where we here denote
where
D K + B K R = D/(L+D) (8)
V
K
DL BL
;
L X L
(5a) Combination of Eqs (2) and (7) gives
L L
K DK
yVW
+ BK „
xV AD = K j A R
R + KJSV
AV (9a)
(5b)
DV " BV y -χ
ΔΒ = K g A R
R + KJj„AV (9b)
Equations (4) and (5) are fundamental steady-state
relations between the composition manipulators L,
V and the inventory manipulators D, Β in the con- where
Steady-state Properties of Distillation Control System Structures 245
rAD
Consider a structure where the product composi- rAV (15)
tions are controlled by manipulation of D and V,
a so called material balance scheme (Shinskey,
1984). The steady-state relations between the Combining Eqs (2), (14) and (15) and considering
product compositions and the manipulators are that V and D in effect are independent, give the
given by following relations between the gains in Eq. (14).
K AD + K ( x)y
(16a)
Δy yD ïv
K AV
(11a) xD/V " Β yD/V " Β '
Δχ =Κ
ΔΟ +ΚΔν ,D/V DK„D/V D y-x
(11b) (16b)
ϋθ χν xV Β yV Β V
Combination of Eqs (2) and (11) gives Thus, only two of the gains in the (D/V,V) model
are independent and the model does not give any
D K+ B K DK+ B K information about the effect of L on the system.
yD xD- 5v xV This is an analogy between the (D/V,V) and (D,V)
1 + AD + — ^ — AV 0 (12) schemes on the one hand, and the (D/(L+D),V) and
(L,V) schemes on the other.
Because .D and V are independent variables in the
material balance scheme, Eq. (12) must be valid
regardless of the values of AD and AV. This means RELATIONS BETWEEN GAINS IN
that DIFFERENT CONTROL SCHEMES
V
In the previous section consistency relations
1 +
DK
n + ΚxD = 0 between the open-loop gains of some control
D y -Dχ schemes were derived, such as Eq. (5) for the
conventional control scheme and Eq. (10) for
D K ., + B K Ryskamp's control scheme.
xVV
yv = 0
If in a control scheme only the four independent
gains related to the composition dynamics are
given, which is the usual situation, consistency
J2 ^ ΣζΛ (13a) relations like Eqs (5) and (10) give the four
"xD Β yD Β gains between the inventory manipulators and the
K K
D „D composition manipulators. When these eight gains
(13b) and the proper steady-state data are known, the
xV B yv
process gains for arbitrary control schemes can be
Equation (13) expresses consistency relationships calculated. An example illustrates.
between the gains in the model (11) for the ma-
terial balance scheme (D,V). Consider the model (3) for the conventional con-
trol scheme (L,V). Elimination of AL by Eq. (4a)
Thus, there are only two independent process gains gives
in the model (11). The four gains in the model
should therefore be determined subject to the
constraints (13). AV (17a)
It should be noted that the model (11) does not DL DL
give any information about the effect of L on the V L
product compositions, not even when the material K L KKV
balances are taken into account. This means that Ax = ^ A D ( K xV ° ' (17b)
the model as such cannot be transformed to a model +yV L
K; )AV
which now actually is a model for the material Column C (z = 0.50, y = 0.99, x = 0.01, L/D = 4.51 )
balance scheme (D,V). Comparing Eqs (17) and (.11)
and taking Eq. (5) into account, the following Γ Ay] _ Γ 0.471
7 94 -0.495] TAL]
relations between the gains in the material bal-
ance scheme and the conventional scheme are ob- [ΔΧ J L °- -0.832 J |_AV J
tained. [Ay] Γ -0.685 0.0085] Γ AD]
[Δχ J
=L-0-505 -0.0094 J [AVJ
(y-χ) κ
yL (18a)
yD McAvoy (1983) has later improved the accuracy of
DL D L K xL+
; i
the gains in the material balance scheme. The
X B ( KK K K ) differences are not large enough to affect the
K =K DV.V iL xV" xL ^V result of the study here. We use the gains above
yV yv
D VK + BV K (18b) since they are expressed in units more suitable
^DL yL xL for our analysis.
Control schemes not involving both L and V as Equation (5) gives the following results for the
composition manipulators can be used to derive the three columns.
gains of control schemes involving the same compo-
sition manipulators as the initial scheme (note Column A Column Β Column C
that D and Β are always interchangeable). For
example, the gains of the (D/V,V) scheme previous- -0.81 -0.71 -0.93
DL BL
ly discussed can be obtained from the gains of the K K
material balance scheme (D,V). 0.81 0.71 1.02
DV " BV
m•[
assumed to be correct, the following gains in the
0.580 -0.450 material balance scheme can be calculated.
0.350 -0.480 ][»] Column A
[Ay] Γ-0.7104 02 0.140] [ A D ]
= 'Ay] Γ-0.715423 0.130] T A D ]
[Δχ J |_-°· -0.130j|_AVJ =
_Δχ_ [_-°- -0.130j|_AVJ
[3:
805
465
0.055
-0.055 Its]
Steady-state Properties of Distillation Control System Structures 247
DCCR-Q
Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
INDEPENDENT SINGLE-INPUT-SINGLE
OUTPUT CONTROL SCHEMES FOR DUAL
COMPOSITION CONTROL OF BINARY
DISTILLATION COLUMNS
f
A. C. Kridiotis* and Christos Georgakis**
^Department of Chemical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology,
Cambridge, MA 02139, USA
**Chemical Process Modeling and Control Research Center, Lehigh University,
Bethlehem, PA 18106, USA
249
250 A. C. Kridiotis and C. Georgakis
EQUIVALENCE CRITERION
are symmetric to Β, V and L' respectively. The above selection procedure, along with the
criterion of equivalence based on equations (9)
The concept of symmetry can be extended to any and (10), was applied to the 4 5 possible control
group of flows. Two expressions are symmetric if schemes. This resulted in 34 RGA independent
one can be derived from the other by substituting groups of control schemes, listed in Table 3.
each flow by its symmetric counterpart. The 18
control variables obtained above can thus be cast (Table 3 is given at the end of the paper)
into the symmetric pairs listed in Table 1.
The interaction measure given in the same table
TABLE ltSymmetry Between Manipulated Variables was calculated for x - 0 . 9 8 , x «0.02, a - 2 . 1 ,
D B
δ-1.25, q-0.8 and x - 0 . 4 5 , and serves as a
F
confirmation that all 34 groups of schemes are
D <—> Β
D/B <--> B/D (*) characterized by different interaction measures.
V/L 1 <—> L'/V
L/D <--> V'/B
The number of independent control schemes changes
L/L <__> v/v when the feed is a liquid at its boiling point
L <--> V»
V/B <—> L'/D (q*l) and when the feed is a vapor at its dew
L/V <--> point (q*0). For q=l, the flows V and V* become
L/B <--> V'/D
V/D <--> L'/B identical, and the control variable V / V ls eli-
minated. Furthermore, schemes that differ only
(*) Self Symmetric in that one uses V where the other involves V
become identical with each other. Similarly,
The criteria described in eqs. (9) and (10) can the flows L and L' are equal to each other when
now be applied to determine which of the identi- q-0. For these special values of q, the groups
fied control variables satisfy them. Bearing in of independent control schemes drops to 17.
mind that the results should again be symmetric, These new groups are listed in Table 4 in terms
we obtain the 10 independent groups of manipu- of their constituent original groups.
lated variables listed in Table 2.
TABLE 4: RGA Independent SISO Control Schemes
TABLE 2;Independent Manipulated Variables and for Feed Quality Equal to q«l or q»0.
Ratios with their Symmetry Relations
Member Groups (Refer to Table 3)
No. q = 1 q = 0
[ D or Β or D/B ] (self-symmetric)
1 1, 5, 7 2, 5, 6
[ V/L or V/D or L/D ] <--> [ L'/V or L'/B or V'/B ] 2 2 1
3 3 4
f L or L/L' ] <—> [ V or V / V ] 4 4 3
5 6 7
V/B <—> D/L» 6 8, 10, 15, 18, 28 8, 17, 11, 12, 31
7 9, 24, 27 14, 21, 22
L/B <--> D/V 8 12, 30, 33 18, 32, 33
9 14, 20 9, 26
L/V (self-symmetric) 10 16, 29 13, 34
11 17 10
12 19 19
13 21, 23 24, 25
14 22 27
15 25 23
RGA INDEPENDENT CONTROL SCHEMES 16 26 20
17 31, 34 28, 29
We now consider the combinations of the 10 inde-
pendent control variables, two at a time, into
control schemes. The total number of possible
pairings is (*°) - 45. Notice that schemes HIGH PURITY COLUMNS
of the form (X, Y) and (Y, X) do not have to be
considered separately, since their interaction The calculation method for the interaction mea-
measures add to unity. Of the 4 5 possible sure already described can be used to examine the
schemes, some must be eliminated on the grounds behavior of λ for various design conditions. Of
of one or more of the following restrictions: particular interest is to calculate the interac-
tion measure (RGA) for the case of high purity
i) The scheme cannot be implemented in practice separations. The interaction measure was calcu-
because both of its loops use only one mani- lated for all 34 schemes and plotted as a a
pulabie variable. For example, in the function of the distillate purity e - l - x . As
the top purity wes increased so was the bottom
D
scheme CD.V/D), the second control variable
can only be adjusted through the manipula- one by reducing the value of x . In particu-
B
lar, we let x » ( i - x ) / o ) , where ω is the
tion of D, because V cannot be set directly. B D
However D is already used in the first loop separation symmetry factor defined by Georgakis
and this control scheme is not viable. and Papadourakis (1983)and was kept constant. As
e -> 0, one observes that 7 of the control
ii) The scheme attempts to vary D and Β indepen- schemes, (No. 1-7),
dently. These two flows are related through converge to the same value of \ which is between
the steady-state overall material balance, D 0 and 1, while all other schemes diverge to ±oo.
• Β « F and cannot be varied independently. This behavior is shown in Figures 2 and 3, and
persists for all other values of the design para-
iii) No flow is left to control the level in the meters. Furthermore, it was found that the high
accumulator or the reboiler. For example, purity limit of λ for Schemes 1-7 coincided
in the scheme QO.V/L), the second control exactly with an asymptotic expression of
variable must be adjusted through changes in X . and X
L. This uses up both available flows in the D|V LBi derived analytically
by Georgakis and Papadourakis, (1982). This
rectifying section, D and L, and leaves none approximation, derived by assuming q-1 and ε -+
by which to control the accumulator level. 0, is as follows*.
Similarly, Β and V (symmetric to D and L)
cannot be used simultaneously for compo-
sition control.
252 A. C. Kridiotis and C. Georgakis
^ωχ/ - J Cl 3)
F different interaction characteristics. Special
feed quality conditions (q-1 or q-0) reduce this
6 xF number in half, leaving only 17 independent
schemes for composition control.
The agreement between numerically calculated
values of λ and the results of eq. (17) was Furthermore, this work suggests that none of the
explored for other values of α, δ, x and ω initial 4 5 control schemes examined none has a
F
and was found to be very accurate. The different desirable interaction characteristics at high
behavior of these two groups of control schemes purity separations. This might also imply that
for high purity designs is primarily due to the changes in the way the measured variables are
use of an "external" flow CD or B) as manipulated utilized might be necessary for the design of
variable in the first group (Nos. 1-7), while all noninteracting control structures for high purity
other schemes use only "internal" flows (L, V, L' columns.
or V).
α Relative volatility
0.20h
δ: Ratio of actual reflux ratio to minimum
reflux ratio
\t Interaction measure
5 A 3 2 1 φ: State variable as defined by eq. ( 8 - 8 3 ) in
η inl • •• ' • ' • • •!•'»» • ' » • '"nil
Ref.4
' 10" 10~ 10' 10' 10" 10 °
ω: Separation symmetry factor ( l - x ) / x
D B
Fig. 2: Interaction measure vs. e for schemes 1 to 7
and the following values of the parameters: Superscripts
(q-0.8, α-1.7, δ-1.3, x - 0 . 4 5 , ω-0.7)
F Β·· In bottom product stream
D: In distillate stream
F: In feed stream
f: On feed plate
REFERENCES
CONCLUSIONS
( D , L 7 V ) ; (D,V'/B); | 0.503 17 1
(L7V,D/L'); -0.429
(D/B, L ' / V ) ; (D/B,V'/B) (V7B.D/L )
T
(B,L); (B,L/L ); f | 0.382 18 (L7V,D/V); (V7B,D/V)| -0.790
(D/B,L); (D/B,L/L )
19 ( L , V ) ; (L,V/V); 7.587
( D , V ) ; (D,V/V); ! 0.416 j (L/L\V); (L/L',V/V)
( D / B , V ) ; (D/B,V/V )
20 j (L,V/B); (L/L\V/B)
( D , L / V ) ;f ( B , L / V ) ; | 0.222 f ; 2.390
(D/B,L/V ) 21 j ( L , L / V ) ; (L/L ,L/V) -0.859
I
(B,L/B); (D/B,L/B) \ 0.454 22 I (L,L/B); (L/L',L/B)
f 3.905 j
( D , D / V ) ; (D/B,D/V ) ; 0.309 23; (ί,ϋ/ν'); (L/L',D/V)
-2.599
(V/L,L'/V); (V/L,L'/B); 1.697 24; ( V , L / V ) ; ( V / V , L / V )
(V/L.V7B); ( V / D . L V Vf
);. 25 ( V , L / B ) ; ( V / V ,L/B) -0.670
(V/D,V7B); (L/D,L7V ); ( f f 6.986!
ι
(L/D.L7B); (L/D,V/B) jj
! 26 j (V,D/L ); (V/V,D/L )
-0.744 \
!
( V / L , V ) ; (V/L,V/V); 2.401 |
( V / D , V ) ; (V/D,V/V);
} 27 (V,D/V); (V/V,D/V) J -1.681j
( L / D , V ) ; (L/D,V/V) ' j
28: (V/B,L/V) -0.367 j
10 (V/L,V/B); (L/D,V/B) 1.642 J ί
. i 29ί (V/B,L/B)
11 (V/L,L/V); (V/D,L/V); -2.199 ! -3.585 j
(L/D, L / V ) j 30 ( L / V , L / B )
( 1.524 *
12 (V/L,L/B); (L/D,L/B) 2.000 ,| 31 (L/V,D/L')
: 16.633
il
13 (V/L,D/V); (V/D,D/V); 14.420 \ 32 ! ( L / V , D / V )
(L/D,D/V) j 2.776
33| (L/B,D/V)
( L 7 V , L ) ; (L7V,L/L'); -1.570 ί -1.161
14
(L7B,L); (L7B,L/L»); 1 ! 34; (D/L\D/V)
(V7B,L); (V7B.L/L ) j 3.131
(L7V,L/V); -0.393
15
( L 7 B , L / V ) ; (V/B,L/V)j
Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
255
256 G. Mijares et al
0 aa a
For fixed values of y and G, a solution to Eq. (1)
!2 i 3 "·· m
exists provided that the inverse of G exists and a 0 a
if the inverse exists, then Eq. (1) may be solved
21 23 2n
for m to give: (10)
A = -
(2)
η ,n-1
For a system free of interaction, G is a diagonal
matrix and its inverse is equal to1 the Ί
inverse of where
its diagonal elements; that is G = D , where
ij g
1/g 11
a (iu)) 0
nl
The Jacobi Eigenvalue Criterion 257
Thus by evaluating the spectral radius of A at Since p(J(Q(s))) < 1 for all s on C it follows
different frequencies, it is possible to analyze that the real part of |l - J ( Q ( s ) ) | is positive
the effectiveness of a desired pairing or control and less than unity for all s on C. Hence the
structure over the frequency range of interest. mapping of C by |l - J(Q(s))| can not encircle the
origin, or N = 0. Thus,
P
THE JACOBI EIGENVALUE CRITERION AND N N
SYSTEM STABILITY Ν N_ (21)
Q " D " %1 Q2 qn
Based on the characteristics of the Jacobi where Ν . is the number of encirclements of the
qi
Eigenvalue criterion, an extension of Rosenbrock's origin by the mapping of C by q ^ t s ) .
Nyquist stability theorem with a less restrictive
dominance condition can be developed. The condi- Theorem 1 , Consider the general feedback system
tion that for a general system matrix G the spec- with a feedforward path Q(s) = L(s)G(s)K(s) and a
tral radius of the Jacobi iteration matrix, feedback compensator F , where F and K(s) are dia-
p(J(G(s))), be less than unity (diagonal dominance gonal matrices. Let C be a simple closed curve
according to the Jacobi Eigenvalue criterion) may which encircles all the poles and zeros of |l +
be used in lieu of the more restrictive general- Q(s)F| lying in the right-half plane. Let
ized diagonal dominance or Η-matrix conditions to p(J(G(s))) < 1 for all s on C. Futhermore, let
determine asymptotic stability for a multivariable the mapping of C by q L for k
kk' N ts i 2, m e .n,
system from the characteristics of the nominally
encircle the point -f.k 1 ' q k clockwise.
decoupled system. Before presenting the theorem,
Then the closed-loop
closed-lo system is asymptotically
two lemmas are presented which are used in the
stable if and only if
proof of it.
η
Lemma If G(s) has a Jacobi iteration matrix I Ν qk (22)
with a spectral radius less than unity for all s k=1
on a simple closed curve C, then for any nonzero
diagonal matrices K(s) and L(s), Q(s) where P is equal to the number of poles in the
L(s)G(s)K(s) has a Jacobi iteration matrix with a
Q
right-half plane of the open-loop system.
spectral radius less than unity for all s on the
simple closed curve C. Proof. Following the same approach as Rosen-
1 number of encirclements of the
brock's (1974), the s i
Proof. The Jacobi iteration matrix of G may be point (-f , 0 ) by the mapping of C by Q ( s )
i 1 i i
stated as (for simplicity the Laplace operator the same as the number of encirclements of the
has been removed): origin by the1 mapping of C by 1
f. + q..(s). Then
J ( Q ) = I - K~ V ''GK (18) x
(J
|δ Ι i > I ISijI X j for i = 1, 2,...η (23)
Thus,
η
1 1
ft(G) = { B (b..) ε C
±J
XCJ(G)]
1* i,j^n}
χ = Ax + Bu Ky
'12
3
J (G) [y
11 r y 2] = [χ.,, x
1L Q u = [u , u ]
1 2
5
where,
21
5
x^ = MeOH concentration in the bottom product
22
*1Q= MeOH concentration in the top product
u^ = reboiler steam pressure
XCJ(G)] = ±, u = reflux rate.
2
(27)
For numerical values and information, see Tung and
Edgar (1977). Figure 1 presents the spectral
*12'
radius of the Jacobi iteration matrix for the
control structures {y^-u^/y ~u } and [ y u / y
2 2 r2 2
J(M(G)) 5 u }. As expected the Perron-Frobenius eigenvalue
of the corresponding matrix J(M(G)) for each
21 I
> structure is equal to the spectral radius of the
Jacobi iteration matrix. These results recommend
= 22'
the structure {y^-u /y^-u^} for all frequencies.
1
Since the spectral radius of the Jacobi iteration
A[J(M(G))] = ± (28) matrix for this structure is less than unity for
all frequencies, the structure is dominant accord-
ing to the Jacobi Eigenvalue criterion and Theorem
8 g 1 may be used to infer system stability from the
Thus if, 12 21 > ο properties of the individual single-loop systems.
composition of propane in the distillate (XD3), interaction problem. Although the procedure is
the composition of isobutane in the second side- simple to apply, it gives a precise quantitative
stream (from bottom) (XS2), the composition of n- comparison of the accuracy of the nominal decoup-
butane in the first sidestream (from bottom) led models for a given set of control schemes.
(XS1 ), and the composition of isopentane in the Based on the characteristics of the Jacobi Eigen-1
bottoms product (XB3). The manipulated variables value criterion, an extension of Rosenbrock s
are the reflux flow rate (R3), the two sidestream Direct Nyquisy Array stability theorem with equal-
flow rates (LS1 and LS2), and the heat input to ly or less restrictive dominance conditions than
the column (QB3). It is intended to analyze five those required by similar extensions presented in
control schemes (see Table 1) proposed by Elaahl the literature was developed. A similar develop-
and Luyben (1985). ment exists for Rosenbrock's Inverse Nyquist Array
stability theorem.
Although McAvoy (1986) has shown that the system
as described by the linear model with controllers REFERENCES
including integral action is unstable for all five
control schemes, Elaahl and Luyben (1985) found Araki, M., and 0. I. Nwokah (1975). Bounds for
control scheme Β to be the scheme for which the closed-loop transfer functions of
best control could be achieved. They used a non- multivariable systems. IEEE Trans. Autom.
linear simulation program to test the five dif- Control, AC-20, 666-670.
ferent schemes and found scheme Β to be the best
control structure. Elaahl and Luyben explained Berman, Α., and R. J. Plemmons (1979). Iterative
this by suggesting that the high degree of non- methods for linear systems. Nonnegative
linearity of the system resulted in a shift to a Matrices in the Mathematical Sciences,
stable region for scheme B. Although the con- Academic Press, New York, pp. 165-207.
clusions presented by McAvoy may be obtained by
used of the Jacobi Eigenvalue criterion in terms Elaahl, Α., and L. Luyben (1985). Control of an
of integral controllability (Mijares et al., energy-conservative complex configuration of
1986), it is not the purpose of this example to do distillation columns for four-component
so. Instead, it is desired to show that despite separations. I&EC Process Pes. Dev., 24,
the fact that all schemes are nominally unstable, 368-376.
scheme Β is the scheme closest to being dominant
according to the Jacobi Eigenvalue criterion. Limebeer, D. J. N. (1982). The application of
Also, it is desired to show how the spectral generalized diagonal dominance to linear
radius of the Jacobi iteration matrix compares to system stability theory. Int. J. Control,
the Perron-Frobenius eigenvalue of the correspond- 36, 185-212.
ing matrix J(M(G)).
McAvoy, T. J. (1986). Comments on "control of an
Table 2 shows the spectral radius of the Jacobi energy-conservative complex configuration of
iteration matrix and the Perron-Frobenius distillation." Ind. Eng. Chem. Process Pes.
eigenvalue of the corresponding matrix, J(M(G)), Dev., 25, 325-326.
for each of the studied schemes at steady state.
These results show that schemes Β and D have the Mijares, G., J. D. Cole, Ν. W. Naugle, H. A.
smallest spectral radius, and consequently should Preisig, and C. D. Holland (1986). New
be selected as the most desireable structures criteria for the pairing of control and
according to the Jacobi Eigenvalue criterion. manipulated variables. Accepted for
Figure 2 presents the dynamic results for this publication in AIChE J.
example. For simplicity only schemes Β and D are
shown. The spectral radius of the other three Nwokah, 0. D. I. (1979). The convergence and
schemes is larger than those of schemes Β and D. local minimality of bounds for transfer
Note that despite scheme D having a smaller spec- functions. Int. J. Control, 30, 195-202.
tral radius than scheme Β at steady state, when
the dynamics are considered scheme Β is always Nwokah, 0. D. I. (1980). A recurrent issue in the
closest to being diagonal dominant according to extended Nyquist array. Int. J. Control,
the Jacobi Eigenvalue criterion. 31, 609-614.
Figure 3 serves to compare the spectral radius of Rosenbrock, Η. H. (1974). Multivariable systems.
the Jacobi iteration matrix and the Perron- Computer Aided Control System Design,
Frobenius eigenvalue of the corresponding matrix Academic Press, London, pp. 117-179.
J(M(G)) for scheme B. As expected the spectral
radius of the Jacobi iteration matrix is smaller Tung, L. S., and T. F. Edgar (1977). Dynamic
than the Perron-Frobenius eigenvalue for all fre- interation analysis and its application to
quencies . distillation column control. Proceedings of
IEEE Decision and Control Conference, 1107"
CONCLUSIONS 1112.
The results obtained in the above examples demon- Yarga, R. S. (1976). On recurring theorems on
strate the applicability and usefulness of the diagonal dominance. Linear Algebra and its
proposed extension of the Jacobi Eigenvalue crit- Applications, 13, 1-9
erion. The transparency of the development
leading to the Jacobi Eigenvalue criterion gives
the practitioner insight into the pairing and
260 G. Mijares et al.
X D3 - R3
XS2 - LS2
XS1 LS1
XB3 QB3
X D3 R3
XS2 LS2
XS1 QB3 -2.0 -1.0 0.0 1.0 2.0
XB3 - LS1
log cj 10
Fig. 1. p(J(G)) and λ
ρρ for the two control
X D3 LS2 schemes of Example 1.
XS2 QB3
XS1 R3
XB3 LS1
X D3 QB3
XS2 LS2
XS1 R3
XB3 LS1
X D3 R3
XS2 QB3
XS1 LS2
XB3 LS1
p(J(G)) for s c h e m e Β
p(J{G)) for s c h e m e D
TABLE 2 Steady State Results for Example 2 0.5
-2.0 -1.0 0.0 1.0 2.0
A
Control Scheme p[J(G)]
PF log cj 10
Fig. 2. p(J(G)) for control schemes Β and D of
Example 2.
A 3.94 5.85
Β 1.19 1.86
C 2.62 3.43
D 1.13 1 .80
1.5
Ε 1 .28 2.00
— p(J(G)) for s c h e m e Β
- _ λρρ for s c h e m e Β
0.5 . .. ι ι
SC/R D i s t i l l a t i o n Systems
S T R U C T U R E S OF D I S T I L L A T I O N S Y S T E M W I T H HEAT
PUMP SC-l/R. The f l o w r a t e of v a p o r s t r e a m to
be cut at a s u i t a b l e p l a t e is f i x e d . This
Though the p o s i t i o n w h e r e a heat p u m p has p l a t e is d e t e r m i n e d so that t h e t e m p e r a t u r e
b e e n i n s t a l l e d in a d i s t i l l a t i o n c o l u m n is of the s a t u r a t e d liquid c o n d e n s e d from the
determined, t h e r e m a y be t w o p o s s i b l e p a t - vapor s t r e a m is near the d e s i r e d heat ex-
terns for use of a heat p u m p . Every dis- changing temperature. The S C - 1 e v a p o r a t o r
tillation s y s t e m has c o o l i n g and heating in a heat p u m p s y s t e m is the total con-
zones. A limited amount of heat e n e r g y can denser in a d i s t i l l a t i o n s y s t e m . As the
be r e m o v e d from the c o o l i n g zone and can be difference of the v a p o r t e m p e r a t u r e s bet-
s u p p l i e d to the h e a t i n g z o n e . A condenser ween t h e inlet and o u t l e t is great, the
and a r e b o i l e r b e l o n g s to the c o o l i n g zone large heat e x c h a n g i n g a r e a s h o u l d not be
and the heating zone, respectively. To p r o v i d e d in the e v a p o r a t o r . B u t , w h e n the
combine two heat loads respectively in- temperature profile is changed by some
261
262 Y. Naka and E. O'Shima
Evaporator
F i g . 2 S c h e m a t i c d i a g r a m of SC-l/R
Fig. 1 S c h e m a t i c d i a g r a m of SC-l/R
system
System
condenser are f i x e d as 99.8 °C and 115.2 plates bounded by the heat pump system
°C, r e s p e c t i v e l y . The r e f l u x and t h e b o i l - a p p r o a c h e s the t o t a l r e f l u x c o n d i t i o n .
up flow r a t e d e p e n d on the heat load re- Systems w i t h no heat load to the side of
m o v e d from t h e e v a p o r a t o r , even t h o u g h t h e columns are c o n v e n t i o n a l systems. After
s i d e - c u t and s i d e - i n p u t p l a t e s are f i x e d . heat exchangers in a heat p u m p are de-
signed, the heat load c h a n g e in normal
operation is not large e x c e p t during the
M O V A B L E R E G I O N OF M A N I P U L A T I V E VARIABLES p e r i o d of s t a r t - u p .
150f
140
1 1 1 !
' ' 0
0.0 .1 .2 .3 .4
Feed composition Feed composition
DCCR-R
264 Y. Naka and E. O'Shima
S C - 1/R S C - 2/R 2
G (s) = (c +c s+c s )/s (3)
c ( )1 2
The t r a n s f e r f u n c t i o n of the s e t - p o i n t to
(Distillation s y s t e m ) the c o n t r o l v a r i a b l e is
•Feed :F. R. 50 50 1
:Comp. 0 .182 0 .182 a' +a'-s+a ~s~+...
*Top :Comp. 0 .901 0 .899 G*(s) = l/(l+s
n ) (4)
: Reflux r a t i o 4 .33 4 .65
*Bottom:Comp. 0 .014 0 .011
C +C S +S +C
:Total V - F . R. 132 .1 130 .1 0 1 2 " * * *
: Steam Q 8 .50 8 .71 The c o n t r o l p a r a m e t e r s can be obtained
Gs ; so
as for G * ( s ) to be e q u a l to
(Heat p u m p s y s t e m ) for PI a c t i o n
r f (e )
•Evaporator
:Wf-F. R. 130 .0 140 .0 a O0t
a / ά+σ2 ()2 aί α 0= ) (
: Exchanged Q 22 .06 21 .56 * 2^*' 0~ 2 ' 1 ' θ 2 ~ 3^
:P 44 .03 44 .03 The control p a r a m e t e r s are d e t e r m i n e d by
•Condenser u s i n g the m i n i m u m and p o s i t i v e v a l u e of the
:Wf-F. R. 103 .9 114 .8 r o o t s of σ o b t a i n e d from e q . (1) :
.-Circu. F. R. 121 .5 121 .1 c = /a a =c
: Exchanged Q 23 .99 23 .27
:P 62 .37 62 .37 0 'û ' i a'oiaya^-a^l/a
F.R.: F l o w rate
5
(kg-mol/h)
c
2 = a' {a' /a' -aa a' /a'
0 2 0 2 2 12 0
Q : Heat load (x 1 0
6 kJ/h)
+ σ ( ( α ) - α ) }/σ (6)
Ρ : Pressure (χ 1 0 Pa) 2 3
Control of a Distillation Column with a Heat Pump 265
0.98 4.5
.___Reflux ratio
0.94
eu
ο ε
o
4.0
C4-1 I I
h en
Ο w I Dis t i l i â t e J •H M
TJ 0.90 O «—·
4-» Ω
•Η 3.5
r/3
Ο 40
Û4 0.08
ε
ο
υ Boil-up 35
w
ε
ο 0.04 Fig. 5 C l o s e d r e s p o n s e of
S C - l / R to c h a n g e in
ο Bottoms 30
m feed c o m p o s i t i o n
0.00
10 15 20 25 30 m i n
0.98]
4.5
to
a o
Η 0.94 ρ ε
Reflux ratio I I
.h en 4.0
•H M
û 0.90 Ο <—»
Distillate
40 3.5
ο o
0.08
Fig. 6 C l o s e d r e s p o n s e of
S C - 2 / R to c h a n g e
2 w
Boil-up
35
•H
-M
U
rd
Ο o 0.04
in feed c o m p o s i t i o n
υ o
0.00
Bottoms
30 H
4-1
«
10 15 20 25 30 m i n
266 Y. Naka and E. O'Shima
Fig. 7 Closed r e s p o n s e of
SC-l/R to c h a n g e in
feed flow r a t e
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 m i n
Φ 0.98
+-> -α
to
H "s
\ 3 H
I Ο
•H 0.94 Reflux ratio H ε
4-1 •H
Ο Cn
I
•H
W
CQ X
û ι—ι
Distillate
0.90
w
o 45
ε Boil-up
o 0.08
u 40
w
ε
o
Fig. 8 C l o s e d r e s p o n s e of 0.04 35
S C - 2 / R to c h a n g e in
feed f l o w r a t e Bottoms
0.00 • • . 1 , 30 .
!0 15 20 25 30 m i n
267
268 L. Goldschmidt, L. Hallager and S. B. J0rgensen
0 .0 5 Π ΣΟ âTO
l CXrrol
in e
Fig.4 : Qualitative sketch of reaction rate re-
Fig.3 : Reaction rate as a function of reactant gimes within the operating condition space, at a
concentration and temperature. Isotherms are shown mass flow rate of 2.6 mg/cm /s. Labels for the
through origo. The curves show approximate reac- reaction rate regimes are:
tion rate paths from the rector inlet to the A: Extinguished or
outlet, where the path is terminated. The numbered E: Burned out reaction : 0.1 > R(C,T)
paths are calculated from steady state temperature Β : Moderately sensitive r.: 0.5 > R(C,T) > 0.1
profiles and inlet concentration, using the rate C: Sensitive reaction : 2.5 > R(C,T) > 0.5
expression: D: Labile reaction : R(C,T) > 2.5
R(C,Τ)=D *exp(g*(1-1/T))*C**n C: The sensitive reaction: 0.5 < R < 2.5
m In this range of reaction rates the enthalpy
released by the reaction plays an important role
for the sensitivity of the reactor, as seen from
the more nonlinear axial temperature profiles in
Fig.5b and c. Curves 1 and 2 in Fig.5b show that
1
the steady state thermal gain Τ /T. varies betwen
one and four, with a maximum close ?© ζ — 0.6. The
pulse responses in Fig.6b show now clearly the
inverse response characteristics, both for tempe-
rature and mass flow rate disturbances. The sensi-
tivity towards the distributed forcings has in-
creased significantly. The positive mass flow
disturbance cools the first part of the reactor,
whereas more enthalpy is released in the late part
of the reactor due to the resulting increased
Oxygen concentration there. The inverse response
characteristics may be illustrated by using the
DYQUID in fig.2a. When say a positive thermal
wave, which travels slowly due to the significant
thermal capacitance, has reached a region in the
reactor with high reaction rate, then more reac-
tant will be consumed than before. Hence the down-
stream part of the reactor receives less reactant,
since the reactant travels fast, and thus less
enthalpy is released, temporarily giving a lower
temperature.
The steady state profiles from regime C in Fig.-5b
are obtained at low inlet temperatures where the
reaction rate appears to be of low order, leading
to a rapidly increasing reaction rates towards the
outlet. At these inlet conditions the product
water is known to adsorp upon the carrier and
believed to inhibit the reaction. This adsorption
and inhibition diminishes clearly with increasing
temperature. Step responses to inlet temperature
disturbances under fairly similar conditions are
shown in Fig.7 a and b. The positive step change
in Fig.7a shows response characteristics similar
0 Nornwljjw p 7.
l axUl diitlaro 0.
5 to those of the pulse response in Fig.6b, except
F for a overshoot with a peak about 60 min after the
ig-5 : Experimental steady state axial tempe- step has been applied. In the response to the
negative step disturbance in Fig.7b the inverse
Β :1 1 2 3 4 characteristics are much more pronounced than in
T. °C 82 87 82 82 the positive step response, furthermore a slow
c" .25 .25 .30 .25 transient dropoff of the outlet temperature is
1 2 3 seen. Both these effects are probably due to va-
T.
1 °C 70 79 70 rying catalyst activity. With the high inlet tem-
c" .98 1.02 1.51 perature the catalyst is more reactive, giving the
1 2 3 much more pronounced inverse response. When the
T.
1 °C 35 35
4 5 6 7
temperature drops water is adsorped upon the cata-
35 35 35 35 35
c" .06 .93 1.55 1.77 lyst, thus decreasing the activity and then the
in
270 L. Goldschmidt, L. Hallager and S. B. J0rgensen
tempereature drops further, but more slowly. The The eksperimental results reveal that product
peak in Τ- Q in Fig.7a may be due to released heat adsorption and inhibition play a role for the
of adsorption, in this case however there does not dynamic description of the reactor. A DYQUID in-
seem to be an increased catalytic activity, within corporating this effect is shown in fig.2b. Here
the time horizon shown. the water is assumed to be produced adsorped upon
the catalyst surface. The water adsorption, and
D: The labile reaction 2.5 < R hence the amount of adsorped and gas phase water,
High reaction rates are only possible in a small depends upon temperature, and hence upon the en-
part of the reactor, giving relatively steep tem- thalpy. The adsorption also releases enthalpy. The
perature profiles in this part. Steady state pro- total flow rate depends upon the amount of water
files including this range are shown in fig.5b and being ad- or desorped. In order to investigate the
c. Fig.7c shows responses to a positive step in reversibility of the reaction rate inhibition an
the inlet temperature at various axial positions 80 hour experiment was performed covering the
in the reactor. A relatively high sensitivity is regimes with water adsorption effects. The inlet
seen at ζ = 0.8 where the steady state thermal temperature was first stepped up allowing the
gain is almost 10. Higher sensitivities may easily reactor to reach steady state after each step
be encountered, e.g. under the conditions of curve change, once full conversion was reached the pro-
7 in fig.3c the steady state thermal gain in cedure was repeated in reverse order. The step
nearly twice the above gain. Under these condi- responses in fig. 7 are from this experiment. Fig.
tions the inevitable small variations in inlet 7a followed 36 hours after fig. 7b. The main
conditions make open loop operation of the reactor result of the experiment is that the water ad-
difficult, and the measurements become much more sorption effects are indeed reversible. Their
noisy. At ζ = 0.8 a slow transient is also seen, dynamics however are relatively slow, in some
again probably due to adsorption and inhibition cases transients lasted up to 14 hours, before a
effects giving rise to a shift in the temperature new steady state was reached.
profile within the reactor. This shift will only
be effective in the zone where the catalyst adsorp
water.
Ln
stable operating point with a very oscillating re- noise i.e. the c parameter for equation 6. Note
sponse with a decay ratio of 2/3. These oscil- that the prediction error for both output 5 and 6
lations may in part be due to the size of the seem to decrease just prior to the fallout distur-
disturbances created by the fallout, and the ina- bance and after the fallout disturbance has been
bility af a linear controller to handle such dis- handled seem to obtain almost equal or lower val-
turbances. The controller weigths were changed ues now with some of the parameters, e.g. a^ ^,
three times during this transien with- out much having quite different values. This behavior may
effect. After each change the Riccati equation was be an indication of not having a pertubation which
solved for ca. 16 iteration before the new control is sufficiently rich over the frequency range of
weigths were applied. The parameter values for
interest, or of an overparameterization of the
outputs 5 and 6 change significantly during this
model.
setpoint change and fallout disturbance, as seen
in fig.8c. During the fallout disturbance some The responses to the following two setpoint chan-
parameters, e.g. ^ undergo significant varia- ges take the reactor outlet section into the dyna-
tions. This is also seen in the color of the model mic regime D. Taking the fairly large changes of
40 Κ into consideration, the first response is
quite satisfactory, being relatively fast and
exhibiting dampened oscillations. The parameter
changes during this setpoint change are most sig-
nificant for output 6. These are seen in fig. 8c
where the parameters vary more than before but
seem fairly stable.
The final setpoint change is accomplished by a
relatively small change of the inlet concentra-
tion, indicating the very large sensitivity of the
outlet temperature in this regime. Here the output
variance is increasing as is the noise level, see
the prediction error in fig.8b for the six'th
output. The forgetting factor also indicates that
a significant amount of unexplained information is
arriving since the filter is opening to the limi-
ting value of 0.8 fairly often. The parameter va-
lues for this output exhibit variations not seen
earlier to the same extent. In this response the
1 1 output temperature oscillates with relatively
r •— ν H I tHi ipwriwm ^ short period, this, oscillation may be due to the
6 output feedback. At this point the erxperiment was
terminated.
^ ^ A/\k Jlllllh-i^yiijKJlJuJstat.
CONCLUSIONS
The adiabatic fixed bed reactor setup exhibits
relatively large changes in the process dynamics
over the investigated operating condition space.
This is evidenced by the large gain variations,
! ,-AV- - -ν ipy • »
_/Ι/ΙΛΑ -
A
?
-
• ·
-
yS ψψ
«6E
5 T
ι ^
the variation of the inverse response and and the
A T
slow reversible influence of the adsorbed product.
The experimental investigation of the relatively
KA-r, . r n f i - j i - n ," · rapid succession of setpoint changes demonstrates
: -3 that the employed model structure is indeed feasi-
iil|tl«|J -ι - τ - State ble for adaptive control over a wide range of
f operating conditions with large variations in the
process dynamics. The experiment also demonstrates
that the applied control indeed is quite robust,
being able to handle the fairly large fallout
disturbance. In addition the experiment shows that
the fixed bed reactor setup indeed seems to be a
reasonable test bench for multivariable adaptive
control.
REFERENCES
Doyle J.C. and M.Morari (1986): A Unifying
Framework for Control system Design under
Uncertainty and its Implications for Chemical
Process Control. Chemical Process control III,
Asilomar California.
Hallager L. and S.B.Jergensen (1981): Experi-
mental investigation of self-tuning control of
a gas phase fixed bed catalytic reactor with
multiple inputs. Preprint 8. IFAC World Con-
300 6CO 900 min gress Kyoto, paper 106.2.
Fig.8 : Closed loop responces to a succession of Hallager L., L.Goldschmidt, and S.Β.Jergensen
set point changes. The initial identification is (1984): Multivariable adaptive identification
carried out in open loop. The control is initiated and control of a distributed chemical reactor.
at Lc. The set point changes and inlet conditions Large Scale Systems, vol. 6, pp323-336.
are shown in Table 2. Hansen K.W. and S.B.Jergensen (1976a-c): Dyna-
a) Selected measured variables. All temperature mic Modelling of a Gas Phase Catalytic Fixed-
curves have common zero. Units:T: 10K, C:0.2 %mole. Bed Reactor - I-III. Chem.Engng.Sci., 31, 579-
b) Output, prediction error and forgetting factor 598, and 473-479.
for measurements at ζ = .5, .9, and 1.0. Jergensen S.B., L.Β.Goldschmidt, and L.Halla-
Units: Outputs (T(t)-T(t-l)) IK, pred. err. IK, ger (1985): Sparse process modelling for ro-
Forg. fact. 0.1. bust multivariable adaptive chemical process
c) Parameter estimates for six'th output equation. control. 7. IFAC/IF0RS Symp. on Ident. and
Units: 0.1 System. Parm. Est.,York.
Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
273
274 C. Canavas
The filter estimates of the long term reactor dy- sary in the case of error in the initial condi-
namics using LM = 7 (non-equidistant) are almost tions of the state variables.
identical to the actual profiles. An obvious addi-
tional advantage in using small LM values is the
lower order of the resulting filter and, therefore, REFERENCES
the reduction of computing effort.
Alvarez, J. and G. Stephanopoulos (1982). An esti-
It should be stated that in the case of 7 equidi- mator for a class of non-linear distributed
stant grid points the update "forces" the reactor systems. Int. J. of Control, 36, 787-802.
inlet estimates for small t to move away from the Canavas, C. (1984a). State and parameter estima-
actual values for both sensor configurations men- tion through nonlinear filtering. An applica-
tioned above (1 or 2 thermocouples). Since no dif- tion to a fixed-bed reactor. Proceedings of
ficulties arise during simulation of the reactor the TELECON '84 (IASTED International Confe-
transients with 7 equidistant points, the source rence), Aug. 27-30, 1984, Halkidiki (Greece),
of the above problem is obviously associated with pp. 456-459.
the relative position of the thermocouple(s) in Canavas, C. (1984b). On the identification problem
respect to the grid points. of fixed-bed reactor parameters. Proceedings
of the 3rd Mediterranean Congress of rh'emical
Model parameter error Engineering, Nov. 19-21, 1984, Barcelona,p.85.
Clement, K., S.B. Jjorgensen and J.P. S0rensen
The values of model parameters obtained through (1980). Fixed bed reactor Kalman filtering -
identification methods may deviate from the real II. Experimental investigation of discrete
values of the process parameters. Thus an additio- time case without stochastic disturbances.
nal error is introduced into the model, which Chem. Eng. Sci , 35, 1231-1236.
causes the estimator to yield a larger rms error Eigenberger, G. and J7¥. Butt (1976). A modified
than that predicted by the filter covariance com- Crank-Nicolson technique with non-equidistant
putations. In order to reduce the divergence bet- space steps. Chem. Eng. Sci., 31, 681-691.
ween true and calculated estimation error, the Gelb, A. (Ed.) (1974). Applied Optimal Estimation.
process noise wi(t) considered in the process mo- M.I.T. Press, Cambridge (Mass.).
del is increased accordingly. Gilles, E.D. (1985). Application of model-based
measuring techniques in chemical engineering,
To test performance of the estimator the coeffi- Proceedings of the International Conference
cient of heat transfer to the reactor wall is di- "On Industrial Process Modelling and Control",
minished by 10 %. If only one thermocouple (z=0.11) June 6-9, 1985, Hangzhou, China.
is used, the estimator has a tendency to yield a Jutan, A. et al. (1977). Multivariable computer
lower inlet temperature and to "shift" the tempe- control of a butane hydrogenolysis reactor.
rature profiles downstream. Further, update has AIChE J., 23, 732-758.
little influence on the error covariance: the pro- Kalman, R.E. (TÏÏ60). A new approach to linear fil-
pagation equation imposes an increase of the error tering and prediction problems. Trans. ASME,
covariance, even after the reactor has reached the series D, J. Basic Engng., 82, 35-45.
steady state. This behaviour does not depend on LM. Krebs, V. (1980). Nichtlineare TTlterung.
Oldenbourg, Mlinchen.
This problem can be solved satisfactorily by con- Ray, W.H. and D.G. Lainiotis (Eds.) (1978).
sidering a second thermocouple downstream of the Distributed Parameter Systems: Identification,
hot spot but still in the region of high tempera- Estimation and Control.M. Dekker, N.Y.
tures (z = 0.29). As in the case of error in ini- Schwedock, M . J . (1983). Mo'delling and identifica-
tial conditions, the estimator using a grid with tion of a catalytic packed bed reactor.
LM = 7 nonequidistant points yields axial profi- Ph.D. Thesis, Univ. of Wisconsin, Madison, USA.
les of the state variables, which are remarkably Stfrensen, J.P., S.B. Jtfrgensen and K. Clement
close to the real ones (Fig. 7). (1980). Fixed bed reactor Kalman filtering and
optimal control - I. Computational comparison
Fig. 8 shows that steady-state condition for esti- of discrete vs. continuous time formulation.
mation error covariance is achieved in 2 min, i.e. Chem. Eng. Sci., 35, 1223-1230.
before critical (in terms of system accuracy) pro- Windes, L.C., W.H. Ray"and A. Cinar (1984).
files are reached. The increase through the error Dynamic estimation of temperature and concen-
covariance propagation is compensated by the up- tration profiles for control of a packed bed
date. reactor. Preprints of the 1984 Annual AIChE
Meeting, San Francisco, Nov. 25-30, 1984.
CONCLUSIONS
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The dynamic behaviour of a catalytic fixed-bed re-
actor can be estimated by means of a continuous This work was supported by the Bundesministerium
extended Kalman developed on the basis of a spa- fur Forschung und Technologie. The author would
tially discretized nonlinear quasihomogeneous re- like to thank Prof. E.D. Gilles for his constant
actor model. In the cases studied in this paper interest, as well as Mr. R. Wahl for his help in
errors in the initial conditions, the inlet tempe- the computation work.
rature and the parameter value of the heat trans-
fer to the reactor wall were considered. Taking
into account measurements of one or two thermo-
couples and using a non-equidistant grid with 2
boundary and 5 interior points to discretize the
distributed parameter model, reliable estimates
of the state variables were obtained. By means of
heuristic criteria the location of thermocouples
as well as of grid points can be defined in a way
that ensures good performance of the estimator and
reduces computation effort. Whereas the design of
a constant gain filter in the case of model error
diminishes computation effort without affecting
filter performance, time variable gains are neces-
Dynamic Behaviour of a Fixed-bed Reactor Through Filtering 277
a) Operation conditions
Inlet temperature (T ) 244°C STEADY STATE
0
Reactor wall temperature (T„) 240°C
Air flow rate 1600 Nl/h Τ
/ 120S\ \
Feed weight fraction of methanol 5.0 % (°C1
Model error
2 2 2 J }
Q = d i a g ^ ,σ ,.. ,σ.
1 2 LM-1
σ / = 0.1 exp(-4.6z..) ; i = 1,2,...,LM-1
2
+ exp(-4.6z.) (0.47°C) /s
2
Initial error covariance
P = I - (46.2°C) I
l0
Measurement error 2
R = 0.01 (4.6°C) 2 (1 thermocouple)
R = 0.01 I -» (4.6°C) I (2 thermocouples)
w-vT
R = 0.01 (4.6°C) 2 (1 thermocouple)
R = 0.01 I + (4.6°C) I (2 thermocouples)
— — .-60^.
240
: ~oT~"
000 0.11 1 00
3 00 300
27Cf
240 240
0 00 0.11 0.00 0.11
3 00
actual profiles
TIC) filter estimations
« measurements
initial guess
240
0.00 0.11 0.00 0.11
Fig. 6. Estimates in the case of error in ini- Fig. 8. Diagonal elements of P(+) in the
case of model parameter error (LM = 7).
tial guess and inlet temperature (LM = 7 ) .
Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
DCCR-S
279
280 U. Epple
PHENOMENOLOGY
Some of the most impressive and technically most Fig.3: A moving reactionzone after a decrease in the
important examples arise in the region of chemical feed temperature
engineering. The limitation of energy and
mass-transport causes gradients in temperature and In Fig. 3, after a step decrease of the inlet
concentrations. Consequently the systems have to be temperature, the reactor goes from an ignited state
regarded to have distributed parameters. to an extinct state. The dynamic transition occurs
in form of a reaction-front moving downstream
Additionally the nonlinearities arising for example through the fixed-bed.
with the reactionrateterms or the expressions of the
thermodynamic equilibrium effect the behaviour of
the system essentially. Well known are the fronts in
adsorption columns especially in chromatographic
packages, ignition fronts in flame propagation,
thermic fronts on catalytic wires, or concentration
fronts in reaction-diffusion systems. Lately it has
become obvious, that the regions of mass exchange in
distillation and absorptioncolumns even can be
interpreted as wavefronts (Marquardt 1986). A
typical example for a wavefront is the moving
reaction zone in a fixed-bed reactor.
III. Dynamic equations for the formparameters A possibility to keep the calculations easy is to
choose the weightfunction p(z) as a sum of M
In the scalar case, the approximation of the δ-functions.
wavefront gives an expression of the form
M
χ - Φ (p_(t),z) (4) p(z) = l δ(ζ-ζΓ) (12)
3=1
The timedependent formparameters jp_(t) have to be
interpreted as the state variables of the reduced In this case the components of the vector RS and
model. χ is a nonlinear function of p(t). At the matrix A can be calculated by sums of
this point an essential difference to the usual algebraic expressions. M must be at least equal
formalistic modelreduction technique becomes to . But to achieve results which are independent
visible. of the choice of the collocationpoints ζ,* , M
should not be under 10-20. This number of points
The formalistic modelreduction technique uses an does not complicate the procedure at all - only
expansion cf the solution χ in the form. some more components of the summation need to be
calculated but this number of points has an
η essential stabilising effect.
χ = I a j (t).g , (z) (5)
i=l Solving the linear problem (9) we get the desired
system of ordinary differential equations for the
g (z) belongs to a system of orthogonal functions. formparameters p.
t
The solution x in (5) is a superposition of items 1
which are linearly dependent on the statevariables ρ = A" (p,z*). RS (p,z*) (13)
a ,(t).
1 3Φ . !
j — . Res (ζ,ρ,ρ) .p(z)dz = 0 i=l,.·,n (8)
0 3D.
Fig. 6 Form of f(x) for an equation of the Huxley
Due to the relaxationform of the partial type.
differential equation, the residuum (6) depends
linearly on the components of p. This equation is known as Huxley type. It is used
Thus equation (8) can be written as for example to model the nerve propagation process
(Hodgkin a. Huxley 1952), or ignitionfronts on
A(p.p(z)).p = RS (p p) (9) catalytic wires (Barelko et al (1978)).
f
It is a very helpful attribute of this equation,
with:
that in the special case
1 3Φ 3Φ Τ
A(p,p(z)) = / — .(—).p(z)dz (10) f(x) = - k x(l-x)(a-x) (16)
0 3p. 3p.
the wavefront solution is explicitly known.
i 3Φ
1
RS(p,p(z))= J — .Ν(Φ).ρ(ζΜζ (11)
Φ(ζ) = (17)
0 3p
— (Z-Zo-W.t)
and ρ can be determined by solving the
2ε
problem (9).
e + 1
Model Reduction for Nonlinear Systems with Distributed Parameters 283
APPLICATION
The velocity of the wavefront is given by
A good example to test the efficiency of the
w = \/2£k' (cc-0.5) (18) reduction technique is the catalytic fixed-bed
reactor.
With help of this solution it is possible to
investigate, analytically, the spectrum of the In the easiest case of a reaction A — > products
operator liniarised around the solution. The the behaviour of the reactor can be described by
results are summarized: an energy - and a massbalance.
2
3T 3T 3T
- B(T-T ) + Da.r (T,c)
1. Using a quadratic norm with weight func- K
tion 3t 3z 3z
(20)
(2d-l) (l-2ct> 3c
ρ = Φ .(1-Φ) (19) - Da.r(T,c)
3z
(This weight function corresponds to the weight
function ff = 1 in the self-adjoint system), The normalized state variables Τ and c are defined
the spectrum consists of a continuous and a in the region 0<z<l. The boundary conditions arc
discrete part.
3T
= T = 0 C x„
2. The discrete part of the spectrum exists of the lu 3z
eigenvalue X =o and - in the region 0,25 < a <
t
0,75 - of a second eigenvalue X . Except for z=0 z=l z=0 (21)
2
X and X the discrete part of the spectrum is
t
empty.
2 Comparing simulation results and measured data a
good agreement is achieved (Ruppel 1980 , Canavas
1984 ). This quantitative agreement exists also
in the region of moving reaction front solutions.
^ Mi It is necessary to emphasize that the nonlinear
Re effects of selforganization are dominant only in
the front region. Outside the front, the
behaviour of the reactor is mainly influenced by
Fig. 8 Spectrum for a - \/2 additional effects like boundary conditions,
cooling and the residual reaction of the extinct
state. In these regions it is to be expected that
the nonlinearities are of little significance.
3. The eigenfunction corresponding to λι causes a With this in mind it seems suitable to split up
shift along the z-coordinate. The value of the model system into two subsystems, a basesystem
Xi=0 is characteristic for all wave front SI and a wavefrontsvstem S2.
solutions. It reflects the fact, that a
wavefront solution can be displaced at any
location along the infinit spacecoordinate
without changing form or velocity. The
eigenfunction corresponding to X leads to a
2
variation of the gradient in the front.
It is easy to see, that with x=x 1 +x , y=y 1 +y 2 , In the case of the wavefront systems the characte-
2
by an addition of. the two parts SI and S2 the ristic feature of the asymptotic solution is an
split system passes exactly to the original S-shaped profile which moves along the space coor-
system. The consequence of the nonlinearity is a dinate. While the physics and the balance equa-
unidirectional coupling of the basesystem to the tions of the different wavefront systems are to-
wavefrontsystem. This coupling occurs via the SI tally different, the existence of the asymptotic
dependent parameters of the reaction rate term and solution with the S-form and the moving along the
transfers the input-influences to the space coordinate is a common property of all these
wavefrontsystem S2. systems. This gives the possibility to develop a
reduction method generally applicable to the whole
To model the slighty nonlinear basesystem is no class of wavefront systems. In the first step the
problem. In most cases simple linear term3 are part of the system determined by the wavefront is
sufficient to describe the transferfunctions. separated from the rest-system. The rest-system or
Here we take a model of order two to describe the base system contains effects influencing the beha-
response of Τ (z-z ) to a change in the cooling viour mainly outside the front where the nonlinea-
t 7
temperature and the inlet temperature. rities are of small magnitude. The wavefront
system can be described by its form and the dyna-
The modelreduction of the wavefront system is mic change of the formparameters. To produce the
carried out as described. The adequate expression S-shaped front the expression for the form con-
for the reaction front is in the case of the tains an exponential term in the denominator. The
cooled reactor. dynamic dependency of the formparameters can be
achieved ' by a generalization of the method of
1 -0(z-z, ) weighted residuals.
T (24)
2 = T2 As shown in the example of a fixed-bed reactor,
-7(z-z , )
+1 the resulting reduced model is in good accordance
with reality. A very helpful property of the model
The additional formparameters T is that there remains only a slightly nonlinear
20 and β describe
the magnitude of the temperature rise in the front dependency of the state variables from the opera-
and the decrease of the temperature behind the ting conditions. The strong nonlinearity, visible
front which is caused by the cooling of the wall. in the solution x, is introduced by the transfor-
With ζ , r,T , β and the two state variables of the mation χ = Φ(ρ_,ζ) in the formexpression.
7 20
basesystem we get a model of order 6.
Thus such a model seems to be an ideal base for
Figure 9 shows a comparison between the reduced controller design, modelbased measurement tech-
model and the detailed model. Form and velocity of niques or optimization calculations.
the front is reproduced very well by the low order
model
REFERENCES
Aronson D.G., Weinberger H F . (197S). Nonlinear
f genetics, combustion
diffusion in population
and nerve propagation. Lecturenotes in
mathematic 44b. Springer, Berlin, 5-49.
Bare1ko V., Kurochka I.I.. Merzhanov A.G.
Shkadinskii K.G. (1978). Investigation of
travelling waves on catalytic wires. Chem.
Enq. Sci. 33. 805-811.
Burgers J.M. (1948). A mathematical model
illustrating the theory of turbulence. Adv.
Appl. Mech., 1, 171-199.
Canavas C. (1984). Modelling and simulation of a
fixed-bed reactor. International 84 AMSE
Conference "Modellinq and simulation",
Athen.
Fife P.C. (1978). Asymptotic states for equations
of reaction and diffusion. Bulletin of the
American Mathematical Society, Vol. 84,
Nr. 5 693-726.
α
Finlayson, B.A. (1972). The method of weighted
Fig. 9 Temperature profiles of a moving front residuals and variational principles.
reduced model Academic Press, New York.
Fisher R.A. (1937). The advance of advantageous
— detailed model genes. Ann. Eugen. 7, 355-369.
Gilles E.D. (1974). Quasi-stationares Verhalten
von wandernden Brennzonen. Chem, Eng. Sci.,
CONCLUSION 29, 1211-1216.
HodgkinA.L., Huxley A.F. (1952). A quantitative
We started with a phenomenological view to systems description of membrane current and its
application to conduction and excitation in
with wave propagation. Systems with wavepropaga- nerves. Journal of physiology, 117, 500-544.
tion represent an important class of the nonlinear Kolmogorov A.N., Petrovski I.G., Piskunov (1937).
systems with distributed parameters. They are of A study of the equation of diffusion with
increase in the quantity of matter and its
great technical interest. To apply the methods of application to a biological problem. Bjul.
control theory to such a system it is desirable to Moskovskovo Gos. Univ. 1 no. 7, 1-72.
have a low order model, which is able to describe Mavquardt W. (1986). Nonlinear model reduction for
binary distillation. DYCORD 86, Bournemouth.
the behaviour of the technical system in the whole Ruppel W. (1980). Eine mathematische Beschreibung
region of possible operating conditions. It is wandernder Reaktionszonen in Schiittschich-
surprising that such a good fitting model can ten. Dissertation. Universitàt Stuttgart.
WengH.S., Eigenberger G., Butt J.B. (1975).
really be achieved. The physical reason of this Catalyst poisoning and fixed-bed reactor
possibility is a selforganization process reducing dynamics. Chem. Eng. Sci., 30, 1341-1351.
the variety of possible system behaviours extreme-
ly. This selforganization process leads to a
dynamic asymptotic solution. All other solutions
approach very quickly to the asymptotic solution
and follow the slow dynamic changes of this solu-
tion quasistationary. For a special system the
existence of the asymptotic solution as well as
its dynamic property can be proved analytically.
Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
MULTIVARIABLE CONTROL OF A
CATALYTIC TUBULAR REACTOR USING
BOTH WIENER-HOPF CONTROLLER DESIGN
AND INTERNAL MODEL CONTROLLER
DESIGN APPROACHES
D. J. Kozub*, J. F. MacGregor* and Joseph D. Wright**
*Dept. of Chemical Engineering, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario,
Canada L8S 4L7
**Xerox Research Centre, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
An important problem in many chemical processes is that of Frequency response representation of a multivariate process
controlling the product stream compositions from catalytic has become a popular structure for controller design which
reactors in which one is carrying out multiple reactions n a t u r a l l y r e s u l t s from i n p u t / o u t p u t i d e n t i f i c a t i o n s .
involving multiple species. A high degree of coupling among Multivariate controller design with pulse transfer functions,
the product compositions due to the reaction stoichiometry unlike single input/single output design, is hampered by
makes the control problem a truly multivariable one. Since messy matrix computations and the noncommuting property
the reactions are often highly exothermic and have high of matrices. A discrete, linear multivariate process can
activation energies, stability of the reactor is also a major always be represented in a right matrix fraction form
concern. Furthermore, reaction kinetics are usually highly l
nonlinear in both reactant concentrations and temperature. A Y(t) = ( ù ( z - i ) 8 ( z - i ) - z - k U ( t ) + θ ( ζ - ΐ ) φ ( ζ - ΐ ) - lA(t) (1)
controller design strategy for such reactors must therefore be
capable of h a n d l i n g c o m p l e x i n t e r a c t i o n s b e t w e e n which leads to some simplification in the controller design
input/output pairs and must be robust to nonlinearities across equations. Y(t) represents the vector of η observable outputs
the operating region. at sampling interval t. U(t) is the vector of m controllable
inputs at sampling interval t. Then nX m matrix ω(ζ - !) and
Advanced optimal controller design using a state space model 1
the m X m matrix δ(ζ~!) are polynomial operators in the
formulation of the multidimensional problem has received backward shift operator z - with nonrational elements.
much attention in control literature. Successful application of δ ( ζ - ! ) is diagonal with the coefficient of z° set to I. The
this theory has been demonstrated by Jutan, Tremblay, minimum whole periods of delay is given by k. The zeros of
Wright, and MacGregor (1977), Sorensen, Jorgensen, and the process are defined to be the roots of
Clement (1980, a,b), and Wallman, Silva, and Foss (1979) to
packed bed control problems using rigorous mechanistic |ω(ζ-ΐ)| = 0 (2)
modelling that led to convenient state space model forms.
This approach to a packed bed reactor control problem was A multivariate process is invertible if all roots of equation 2 lie
also found to be successful by MacGregor and Wong (1980) inside the unit circle. The poles of the process are defined to be
using empirical transfer function model identification the roots of
followed by transformation to state space form. Optimal
linear-quadratic (LQ) controller design is usually associated
|δ(ζ-ΐ)| = 0 (3)
with these state space techniques. However, when one has
measurements, or inferred values, of the outputs to be
A process is open-loop stable if all roots lie within the unit
controlled, there are many a d v a n t a g e s to d e s i g n i n g circle.
285
286 D. J. Kozub, J. F. MacGregor and J. D. Wright
1
The second term on the right side of equation 1 represents the inverse. F i i z - ) and F ( z - ! ) are n X m disturbance and
observable but uncontrollable contributions to the process
2
setpoint change filters. The optimal approximate inverse for
outputs which are assumed to be stochastic. A(t) represents a the cost function given by equation 4 leads to
vector of η independently distributed random shocks with
covariance matrix Σ. An autoregressive integrated moving G (z-1) = δ(ζ-ΐ)Γ(ζ-ΐ)-ΐ (8)
average model in a right matrix fraction form is used to
1 c
characterize the nature of the process disturbances. The n X n
1 1 1
where IXz- ) is an m X m nonrational polynomial in matrix
matrices θ ( ζ - ! ) and φ ( ζ - ! ) are polynomial operators in z - z - having no zeros outside the unit circle. Π ζ - ) is
l
having nonrational elements. The zO coefficient of both determined from the solution to the spectral factorization
_ 1
matrices is set to I and φ ( ζ ~ ) is diagonal. Nonstationarity of equation
1
a process output is accounted for by a (1 — z ) factor in the
corresponding element of the φ ί ζ - ) matrix. We can also G)T(z) QiQ(z-l) + δΤ(ζ) Q a S i z - l )
represent deterministic disturbances with equation 1 if A(t) is
a vector of shocks having a probability distribution with + δΤ(ζ) (1 - z) Q ( l - ζ - 1 ) δ(ζ - 1 ) = ΓΓ(ζ) Γ (ζ - 1 ) (9)
non-zero values occurring only infrequently (MacGregor et al.,
2
1984). The choice of Q equal to 0 with the special case of a square
2
ω ( ζ - ! ) having all zeros inside the unit circle leads to
Right matrix fraction representations are not unique. A minimum variance control with Γ(ζ~!) = ω(ζ-!). The optimal
simple and convenient method for transforming rational filters corresponding to minimization of equation 4 are
transfer function matrices into a right matrix fraction form is d e p e n d e n t on the a p p r o x i m a t e i n v e r s e and on t h e
by choosing the i'th diagonal element of δ(ζ~!) or φ(ζ-*) to be disturbances and setpoint models respectively. Both filters
the greatest common factor of the denominators of the i'th can be expressed as
column of the rational transfer function matrix or ARIMA
matrix respectively. F(z-i) = Τ(ζ-ΐ)θ(ζ-ΐ)-ι (10)
_ 1
where T ( z ) , a nonrational polynomial matrix, is determined
2.2 Constrained Minimum Variance Control by solving the set of linear equations obtained by equating
coefficients of ζ in
This section presents the results of the linear quadratic
optimal control problem using a spectral factorization solution coT(z)Q kO(z-l) = 0 ( ζ ) φ ( ζ - ΐ ) + ΓΤ( )Τ(ζ-ΐ) (11)
of the Wiener-Hopf equations. Details of the solution are given
lZ ζ
by Wilson (1970) and Harris and MacGregor (1986). with the z - ° matrix coefficient of C(z) set to 0.
The performance index chosen in the constrained minimum Equations 5, 6, 7, and 8 can be combined to calculate control
variance (CMV) or linear-quadratic (LQ) output controller actions at each sampling interval as a function of past inputs
design is the minimization of and outputs as
[Γ(ζ-ΐ) - Fi(z-i)a>(z-i)]6(z-i)-iU(t)
(4)
= F ( z - l ) Y (t) - F i ( z - l ) Y(t) (12)
T T 2 sp
+ V U ( t ) Q V U(t) + U ( t ) Q U ( t ) } As an alternative, we may retain the separate block structure
2 3 of figure 1. The advantage of a separate block structure is
where Qi, Q2, and Q 3 are positive semi-definite weighting inherent reset windup protection since actual implementated
matrices, and e(t) = Y ( t ) - Y ( t ) . In equation 4 we may U(t)'s are entered into the model predictor block. Another
s p
penalize the variance of the inputs about a mean level using advantage of the separate block structure is that differences
weighting matrix Q 3 or the change in the control action, given between process outputs and model predicted outputs can be
by VU(t) = U ( t ) - U ( t - 1 ) , w i t h w e i g h t i n g m a t r i x Q . recorded to keep track of the severity of mismatch.
Disturbances encountered in chemical processes are normally
2
nonstationary with noticeable drifting output mean levels. Constrained minimum variance controllers will always be
R e g u l a t i o n of p r o c e s s e s w i t h c h a n g i n g m e a n l e v e l s stable for any choice of input weighting matrices provided no
theoretically requires infinite input variance. For this reason model mismatch is present. When model mismatch is present
we choose to p e n a l i z e the c h a n g e in control a c t i o n stability cannot be guaranteed for any choice of input
VU(t) = U ( t ) - U ( t - 1 ) . It can be s h o w n t h a t if the weighting matrices. The robustness of constrained minimum
disturbances are nonstationary and VU(t) is penalized that variance controllers can be improved by increasing the
integral action will be present in the optimal controller magnitude of input penalty weights (detuning). Harris and
design. For the case of the number of inputs exceeding the MacGregor (1986) show that there exists a Q which is
number of outputs we must penalize only the change in control sufficiently large to guarantee robustness to arbitrary large
2
action of a choice of inputs equal to the number of outputs in m o d e l l i n g e r r o r s p r o v i d e d t h a t Re{A(j)[co(z = 1)
order to acquire reset action. The remaining inputs may be Γ(ζ = 1 ) - 1 ] } > 0 ; j = 1,2, . . . ,n, where λ(])[Α] is the j'th
penalized about a mean input level using weighting matrix eigenvalue of A. It has been shown by Bergh and MacGregor
Q3. (1986), and Harris and MacGregor (1986) that constrained
m i n i m u m v a r i a n c e c o n t r o l l e r s e x h i b i t an e x c e l l e n t
Harris and MacGregor (1986) show that the general LQ compromise between performance and robustness.
optimal feedback control solution can be expressed in the
internal model controller form:
2.3 Internal Model Control
U(t) = H ! ( z - i ) [ G ( z - i ) U ( t ) - Y(t)l + H ( z - i ) Y (t) (5)
m 2 sp
The concept of internal model control (IMC) is very simple and
where is easily applied to multivariate systems. The detailed
development of this design is given by Garcia and Morari
Hi(z-i) = G (z-i)Fi(z-i) (6) (1985,a,b). In the IMC design we assume that disturbances
c and setpoints enter the control loop as noninteractive
H (z-i) = G (z-i)F (z-i) (7) deterministic step changes and no stochastic disturbances are
2 c 2 present. In this section the results of a simple IMC design
The control block diagram is shown in figure 1. G ( z - !) is an approach for square multivariate systems will be presented
m
n X m process model transfer function and Y ( t ) is the which leads to a decoupled multivariate closed-loop response.
sp
setpoint. G ( z - ! ) is a square m X m matrix. When a
c
multivariate system is square G ( z - l ) can be physically
c
related to an invertible approximation of the process model
Multivariable Control of a Catalytic Tubular Reactor 287
length of the catalyst bed is 89 cm. The feed gases, hydrogen will lead to four simultaneous, non-linear partial differential
and butane are mixed up stream and enter the reactor with equations. Detailed knowledge of the reaction kinetics and
back pressure set to 14 psig. Thermocouples positioned on the process parameters together with lengthy mathematical
axis of the reactor provide temperature profile readings along model reduction operations are required to arrive at a useable
the length of the bed. The region of operation is set by model for control.
maintaining a constant wall temperature setpoint. On/off
control of an air source to a shell and tube heat exchanger in In this work an empirical transfer function approach was
the oil circulation loop is used to regulate wall temperature. selected to model the dynamics of the system based on
An on-line gas chromatograph system sampling the effluent input/output data. This technique eliminates the tremendous
provides concentration measurements at 3 minute intervals. effort required in mechanistic modelling at the expense of
losing some important insight into the process. Multivariate
The process control configuration of the pilot plant is shown in time series analysis combined with process identification
figure 2. Percent butane conversion and propane production techniques were used to develop an empirical linear model.
(cc/sec) are the outputs controlled by a multivariate outer loop The details of this identification technique are covered in
controller which computes control actions at three minute great depth by Wilson (1970) and Box and Jenkins (1970).
intervals from the gas chromatograph readings. The This approach was used to identify a linear transfer function
multivariate control variables are hydrogen flow rate setpoint and noise model which approximates the dynamics of the
(cc/sec) and hotspot setpoint (C). Hotspot setpoint is sent to an process in the region of operation.
internal hotspot control loop which uses the butane flow rate
setpoint to control the difference between the reactor wall Input/output data were generated by pseudo random binary
temperature setpoint and the hottest temperature detected by perturbations of the input variables. Hydrogen flow rate was
the thermocouples in the bed. Control actions are taken by the switched between 68 and 83 cc/sec. Hotspot setpoint was
hotspot loop at 30 second intervals. Temperature gradients switched between 5 and 9 C above the wall temperature
exist in the reactor bed due to the highly exothermic reactions setpoint. Wall temperature setpoint was kept constant at
and the limited ability to remove heat from the center of the 232 C during the data gathering. Two switching frequencies
reactor through the reactor wall. A typical temperature were used in the identification. A switching frequency of
profile along the axis of the bed is given in Figure 3. The 6 minutes was taken in the first half of the data set to allow
purpose of the internal hotspot loop is to provide a safe adequate identification of the fast output dynamics associated
open-loop stable configuration for multivariate control. with changes to inlet concentration and flow rate. A
Hydrogen and butane flow rate setpoints are determined by 20 minute switching frequency was chosen in the second half
the multivariate control loop and the hotspot inner loop to allow proper identification of the slow output dynamics with
respectively. The flow rate of the two feed streams are change in temperature.
controlled once every 2 seconds by discrete PI controllers.
The input/output and time series data was used to identify an
The hotspot temperature controller is a "one-step optimal" LQ interactive model in the Wilson canonical form
controller tuned by using the implicit self-tuned controller of
Clarke and Gawthrop (1975). The self-tuning approach was Y(t) = V ( z - l ) U ( t ) + N(t) (22)
used simply as a convenient way to tune the temperature
controller. It was not used in a continuously adaptive mode. 4>(z-i)N(t) = 9(z-l)A(t) (23)
Since the response of hotspot temperature change to change in
butane flow rate is v e r y n o n l i n e a r , a l o g a r i t h m i c where
1
transformation of the hotspot temperature was used to V(z - !): η X m rational polynomial matrix in z -
1
linearize the temperature control loop. The controlled output φ(ζ-ΐ): is an n X n diagonal polynomial matrix in z -
after the linear transformation becomes having nonrational elements and z0 coefficient
equal to I
1
Y(t) = in(hotspot (t)) - €n(hotspot setpoint (t)) (20) θ(ζ-ΐ): is a full n X n polynomial matrix in z - having
nonrational elements and z0 coefficient equal
where toi.
hotspot(t) = hotspot temperature (t) — wall temperature (t) (21) Maximum likelihood parameter estimation and diagnostic
checking of resulting fitted model led to the approximate
This nonlinear transformation was found to greatly improve linear model
the performance of the self-tuning regulator. The choice of the
input magnitude constraint factor in the one-step optimal
algorithm was used to provide a trade off between acceptable
Y(t) •
1 2
hotspot control to stabilize the system and the requirement of 1.8 - 6.643z + 5.158z 0.5384z"
smooth variations of the butane feed rate. The second
requirement was necessary since the end objective was to
control the reactor outputs rather than hotspot temperature. 1 2
Details of this controller design are given by underwater,
-0.7498 - 3.398z - 1.012z
MacGregor, and Wright (1986).
l-0.6143z"
5.1 Constrained Minimum Variance Control Runs 5.2 Internal Model Control Runs
The cost function used for designing constrained minimum A simple decoupled IMC controller was designed using the
variance controllers for the reactor was identified transfer function model in equation 24. A stable
model inverse G (z-!) was designed according to equation 15.
J = E{eT(t) Qi e(t) + VUT(t) Q V U(t)} (26)
c
A n unstable pole resulting from a non-invertible zero was
2
The model, given by equation 24, contains a commonly reflected inside the unit circle, and a ringing pole arising from
occurring nonstationary integrated moving average a negative real axis zero was shifted to the origin. Both these
disturbance model. A short open-loop run on the reactor adjustments were accomplished using v + (z-*) in
showed that this disturbance led to substantial drifts in the
2
equation 15. Identicalfirstorder diagonalfilters(17) were
conversion and propane production rate away from used for Fi(z-1) and F (z- !). Details of the design procedure
steady-state values. The controller was to be designed to
2
are outlined by Kozub (1986).
compensate for this nonstationary stochastic disturbance, and
to accommodate step changes in the setpoints of either output. A control run with thefilterconstants f^ tuned to diag(0.7,0.7)
The model for randomly occurring step changes in setpoints is is shown infigure7. This run was performed immediately
given by following the C M V run infigure5 with the new catalyst
charge. The identical pattern of setpoint changes were made
VY (t) = a(t) (27) in all of these runs in order to facilitate comparisons. Setpoint
1 sp change performance and regulation were good for thefirsttwo
where V = (1 — ζ- ) I. Since the structure of this model for setpoints. The second setpoint change demanding high
setpoint changes is very close to that for the stochastic conversion with low propane production led to very poor
disturbances in the process it was considered sufficient to controller performance. Large oscillations observed with the
1 _1
design the C M V controller for the IMA disturbance model in inputs and propane production suggest controller instability
24 and take Fjiz- ) = F ( z ) in the controller given by in this region of operation. Complete recovery by the
2
equations 5, 6, and 7. This, of course, would be true if the controller can be seen when a setpoint change was made in
disturbance models were identical (Harris and MacGregor, propane production rate back to a more stable region of
1986). The C M V controller used was therefore the single operation.
degree of freedom controller
In order to increase the robustness of this IMC controller to
U(t) = Hi(z-i) [G (z-i) U(t) - [Y(t) - Y (t)]] (28) accommodate such setpoint changes the controller was
m 8p detuned by using largerfilterconstants in F(z-*) namely
The form of the cost function and the disturbance model will
f
F = diag(0.9,0.9). The control run is shown in figure 8.
lead to a controller with integral action. The output weighting Detuning led to substantial reduction in the variation of the
matrix Qi was set to I for all controller designs and Q was input manipulations. Regulation still appeared to be good over
2
adjusted to provide the required amount of input constraint the full region of operation. Improved robustness to the
and controller robustness. process nonlinearities can be observed by the stable controller
performance when the setpoint changes were made to the
Figure 4 shows a control run on the same catalyst charge used region of high conversion and low propane production. No
for the model identification. A n input constraint matrix of significant interaction was observed when thefinalsetpoint
Q = diag(100,10) was selected for this run. The dashed lines change was made to propane production with conversion
2
in figure 4 indicate operating setpoints. The abscissa on these setpoint held fixed.
figures and others to follow refers to the sampling interval,
where each sampling interval represents 3 minutes. The solid Thefilterblock was retuned to improve the setpoint change
line of the input settingfigurerepresents hydrogen flow rate response of butane conversion. A control run with
setpoint (cc/sec χ 10-*) and the dashed line represents hotspot F = diag(0.9,0.8) is shown infigure9. This control run was
setpoint (C). Excellent regulation can be observed in the first performed at a higher wall temperature of 233 C and all
5 hour section of data in Figure 4. In the remaining part of the setpoints were shifted 5 units higher relative to the previous
run a variety of conversion and propane production rate runs. The process disturbance noise was noticed to be slightly
setpoint changes were made, some in the same direction, some higher with this change in operating conditions. Again,
in opposite directions and some where only one setpoint was regulation was adequate over the entire region of operation
changed. In all cases the setpoint change performance of the although slightly increased deviation of propane production
controller was good, and it appeared to be robust over the wide was observed in the region of low propane production and high
range of operating conditions studied No significant butane conversion Substantial improvement in the setpoint
290 D. J. Kozub, J. F. MacGregor and J. D. Wright
REFERENCES
change response of butane conversion can be observed in Bergh, L.G., and J.F. MacGregor (1986). Constrained
figure 9 relative to the previous controller, as a result of the Minimum Variance Controllers: Internal Model Structure
smaller filter constant (0.8 vs. 0.9). and Robustness Properties, submitted to Ind. Eng. Chem..
Proc. Pes. Dev.
5.3 Discussion of Experimental Results Box, G.E.P., and G.M. Jenkins (1970). Time Series Analysis:
Forecasting and Control. Holden Day, San Francisco.
The results indicate that the tightness of control for both
controller designs was restricted by severe model mismatch, Clarke, D.W. and B.A.Gawthrop (1975). Self-Tuning
mainly due to severe process nonlinearities and changing Controllers. Proceedings IEE, 122, pp. 929-934.
catalyst properties. Trial and error adjustment of the tuning
matrices led to robust designs with acceptable regulation and Garcia, C.E. and M. Morari (1985). Internal Model Control. 2.
setpoint change performance. I m p r o v e m e n t in the Design Procedure for Multivariate Systems. Ind. Eng. Chem.
performance of these controllers would require use of a Process Pes. Dev.. 24, 472-484.
- 1
complicated adaptive mechanistic nonlinear model in the
G m ( z ) block to eliminate some of the significant and time Garcia, C.E. and M. Morari (1985). Internal Model Control. 3.
varying sources of model mismatch. Multivariable Control Law Computation and T u n i n g
Guidelines. Ind. Eng. Chem. Process Pes. Dev.. 24,484-494.
The quality of performance of both controller designs was
approximately the same in this investigation, although Harris, T.J. and J.F. MacGregor (1986). Design of Discrete
slightly improved propane production control was evident in Multivariable Linear Quadratic Controllers Using Transfer
the c o n s t r a i n e d m i n i m u m v a r i a n c e c o n t r o l r u n s . Functions. Submitted to AIChE Journal.
Improvement of propane production control in the IMC design
might have been achieved by further on-line adjustment of the Jutan, A. (1976). State Space Modelling with Multivariate
filter block. Stochastic Control of a Pilot Packed-Bed Reactor. Ph.D.
Thesis, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada.
The results also indicate that the inner hotspot control loop
design provided a safe stable configuration for application of Jutan, Α., J.P. Tremblay, J.F. MacGregor and J.D. Wright
good multivariate control. Even when marginally stable (1977). Multivariate Computer Control of a Butane
multivariate control actions were present, as in figures 6 and Hydrogenolysis Reactor: Part III. On-line Linear Quadratic
7, the reactor did not runaway. Stochastic Control Studies. AIChE Journal, 23, 5.
W a l l m a n , P . H . , J . M . S i l v a , and A . S . F o s s ( 1 9 7 9 )
Multivariable Integral Controls for Fixed Bed Reactors. Ind.
Eng. Chem Fundam., 18, 4, 392-399.
N(t)
(t) U(t)
H
j-
G (z-')
F (z-')
2 c G (z )
p
U
H
2Setpoint
Hydrogen
Butane
= Controller
24S.9
! Ιββ
.
Reactor L e n g t h (cm)
FIGURE 3. A x i a l T e m p e r a t u r e P r o f i l e With
Wall Temperature = 233 C
292
iiàimnîàiï
,.,..·: V: V. V . — '
<s/-ioww) 'aoyd ε ο
ïtiiiïmmï
NoisaaANoo κ
Ό. J . Kozub, J . F. MacGregor and J . D. Wright
S0NIJLJ3S XndNI
SONIJLJLSS xndNi
isa»*»»»!
FIGURE 4. CMV Run With Old Catalyst Charge FIGURE 5. CMV Run With New Catalyst Charge FIGURE 6. CMV Run With New Catalyst Charge
Using Q = Diag(100,10) Using Q = Diag(100,10) Using Q = Diag(50,5)
Multivariable Control of a Catalytic Tubular Reactor 293
Using F = Diag(0.9,0.8)
T
I 5
5
.,Λ.
FIGURE 9.
imïïiiimï 5ÎÎÎÎÎÎIÎHÎ5 5
IMC Run With New Catalyst Charge FIGURE 8. IMC Run With New Catalyst Charge
Using F = Diag(0.9,0.9)
S0NI113S XRdNI
;;; ί
Τ Γ.*τ r.f : : : : : : : .·
Using F = Diag(0.7,0.7)
.^••·:·:·:·:·:·:* ·········· ,
'•'••••eï/*"
.......
Ϊ
ι•ÎI.Ί
Vf.- 8 ω S en
;
j
FIGURE 7.
2222222222222
cs/ioww) "aoyd εο N0ISd3AN00 κ S0NIJ.13S JJIdNI
Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
A b s t r a c t . A systematic procedure for the design of a reactor system and controller for an au-
tothermal process is proposed. Use of Structural Dominance Analysis eliminates the need for
many detailed simulation runs to determine best reactor and controller configuration. Multistage
wall-cooled reactors with cocurrent coolant are found to be a superior design. Reactor control
is achieved using cold feed bypass gas to regulate in inlet temperature to each reactor bed. A
controller is designed using the Internal Model Control structure. Performance and robustness
are investigated using a first-order diagonal filter.
DCCR-T
295
296 R. W. Chylla, Jr. R. A. Adomaitis and A. Çinar
line designated as the autotherm approximately indicates the system dynamics. For each input, therefore, the im-
the resulting exit coolant temperature for a given inlet portant modes (eigenvalues) of the reactor system can be
coolant temperature and reactor conditions. If this line immediately identified and the selection of a reduced or-
falls within the safe operating zone than autothermal op- der model of appropriate order is facilitated. It has been
eration is possible. Because the algorithm can be quickly shown (Bonvin and Mellichamp, 1983) that SDA can also
implemented on a computer, a large range of reactor pa- identify models of 'poor internal structure' in the sense
rameters can quickly be evaluated for maximization of that these models cannot be accurately reduced. The
the range of safe operation. Because the minimum inlet inclusion of second order dispersion terms in the reac-
coolant temperature is explicitly given, it becomes im- tor model equations has been found to yield models with
mediatly known whether preheating or additional feed- good internal structure which are reduc ible even though
effluent heat exchange will be required. Two phase planes the presence of these terms is negligible in the numerical
for a CO oxidation reactor are shown in Fig. 3. For an results of the simulation.
inlet concentration of 1% CO, the majority of the au-
totherm fall outside envelope and autothermal operation The results of SDA for several configurations for a single
is not feasible. This is verified by the actual points ob- reactor bed is shown in Tables I, II and III. Table I con-
tained using a detailed reactor model. When the inlet CO tains the complete SDA results for cocurrent operation
concentration is reduced to 0.6%, however, autothermal so that the reader can see the total results for one repre-
operation becomes feasible. Because the minimum inlet sentitive case. Table II contains only the more important
coolant temperature is 40-70 °C above ambient temper- results for the remaining cases. The effect of four inputs
ature, some additional feed preheating is indicated. This and/or disturbances on the reactor operation was exam-
method is extremely useful at the early design stage in ined:
selecting D/L ratios, flowrates and examining the feasibil-
1) Inlet concentration
ity of autothermal operation. Extension of the technique
2) Preheating the feed
to cocurrent operation is currently underway.
3) Total flowrate
4) Inlet coolant temperature.
4. S T R U C T U R A L D O M I N A N C E A N A L Y S IS
For all test cases examined (except the adiabatic reac-
Dynamic reactor models necessary to describe reactors tor case), the dynamics of the outer wall dominates the
consist, in general of nonlinear partial differential equa- system as can be seen from the d-values in Table II. Ex-
tions. The number of equations can differ from two for a amination of the corresponding q elements for the outer
case of an adiabatic bed, to seven for a completely het- wall temperature in Table I indicate, however, that this
erogeneous reactor model with wall cooling. In order for state variable is not sensitive to any of the inputs evalu-
these models to be solved numerically, axial and/or ra- ated. Herein lies the difficulty in controlling these reac-
dial discretization is required. The technique of orthogo- tors. The conduction of heat through the outer wall de-
nal collocation has been used extensively in many studies termines the speed of system response but cannot readily
successfully. This technique leads to large systems of or- be controlled. The inlet variable which has the most di-
dinary differential equations that when linearized, can be rect impact on the outer wall is the temperature of the
expressed in state-space form as coolant flowing adjacent to it. It should be noted that al-
though the outer wall temperature determines the system
χ = Ax + B u (1)
dynamics, it has very little influence on the steady-state
These systems can range from 16th order for plug-flow profiles. This was observed by comparing model results
reactors with 8 interior collocation points to 120th or- neglecting the outer wall equation and is noted in Chylla
der for complex multi- bed reactors. Two facts become and coworkers (1986). From the q elements associated
immediately apparent: with the inlet coolant temperature, it can be seen that it
1) A method capable of evaluating various reactor has a large overall effect on the system. Clearly, the reac-
configurations and manipulated variables without solving tor inlet temperature is the most effective input variable.
these models over various ranges of operating conditions Because of the dominating effect that the outer wall and
would be highly desirable. especially the inner wall have on distributing the heat ax-
ially along the reactor, there is not a marked difference
2) In order for any model-based control technique to
between countercurrent and cocurrent cooling flow. This
be used, model reduction is necessary.
heat distribution effect was noted in regard to conduction
The Structural Dominance Analysis technique (SDA) in- along thermocouple wells in ammonia reactors by Bad-
troduced by Litz and developed by Bonvin and Mel- dour and coworkers (1965). Recent studies by Degnan
lichamp is extremely useful in the evaluation of large- and Wei (1979) determined that a reactor was much less
scale systems and reduction of high-order models. The parametrically sensitive to cocurrent coolant flow than
technique is outlined clearly elsewhere (Bonvin and Mel- countercurrent coolant flow. Their theoretical and exper-
lichamp, 1982) and only the results applied to autother- imental results are based on a reactor design that does not
mal reactor systems will be given here. SDA provides two incorporate metal reactor walls and a packed-bed which
useful measures which characterize a state-space system. both serve to distribute the energy through conduction
The normalized coupling coefficient q i is a quantitative and heat loss to the environment through the outer wall
am and insulation. It will be shown later that using cocur-
measure of the effectiveness of the tth input on the 5 t h
state variable acting through the mth mode. This can be rent coolant flow is advantageous from a control point-
used to evaluate the effectiveness of various inputs on the of-view. The reactor system is not particularly sensitive
autothermal reactor without detailed simulation studies. to the total flowrate of the system except for the case of
The generalized dominance measure d i indicates the countercurrent coolant at 407UT inlet temperature. This
am operating point was chosen because independent studies
dominance of the tth input on the sth. state variable
acting through the mth mode. The difference between by Adomaitis and Cinar (1986) indicated this point to be
dominance measures is that d i is time weighted to ac- a bifurcation point with respect to the total flowrate, that
am is, a point in which a slight decrease in the flowrate would
count for the fact that slower modes tend to dominate
Design and Control of Tubular Autothermal Reactors 297
cause the reactor to ignite to the upper steady-state. The the beds at the desired operating point and the potential
large jump in the q values for this case associated with for undesirable interaction effects is high since increasing
the total flowrate support these findings. Another inter- the bypass quench flow to one bed can have detrimental
esting finding is that the most sensitive state variables effects on the others. For these reasons, wall-cooled reac-
are the reactor temperatures and surface concentrations tors are chosen in spite of the fact that they tend to be
just before the hot spot in the system. This result sup- parametrically sensitive.
ports the contention of Cinar (1984) that temperature
measurements for control purposes should be measured Structural Dominance Analysis shows that this paramet-
just upstream of the hot spot rather than the more com- ric sensitivity can be reduced greatly by independently
mon practice of taking measurements at the hot spot. controlling the inlet feed temperature to the reactors.
These state variables upstream of the hot spot are more Rather than allowing disturbances in the coolant stream
sensitive to small load changes or disturbances and detect propagate through the reactor as the coolant is turned
dynamic changes sooner than state variables located at around into feed gas, independent temperature regula-
the hot spot. This can be crucial to the quality of control tion of the inlet temperature will isolate the disturbances
in industry when the number of measurements is limited locally. This temperature can be regulated by bypass-
and costly. Since the most difficult process element to ing some cold feed and mixing after the feed leaves the
control in any process is dead-time, early detection can coolant annulus. Since changing the total flowrate has
make the difference between success and failure. little effect on the system, this control scheme is quite sat-
isfactory. When the reactor is operated in an open-loop
The speed at which a particular input affects a process
manner, the reactor multiplicity exhibits itself in a "feast
can be gauged by which modes are excited by that input.
or famine" operation where either very low conversions
The eigenvalues closest to the origin will be the slowest
with mild temperature profiles or complete conversion
and hence, inputs which effect state variables principally
with unacceptable hot spots occur. This can be readily
through these modes will take the most time to influence
seen by recalling the phase plane for 1% inlet CO in Fig.
the system behavior. The inlet coolant temperarature
3. Allowed to operate open-loop the possible operating
and the inlet concentration excite the faster modes in the
states correspond to a lower steady-state with only 16%
system and influence the behavior rapidly. The net effect
conversion or an upper steady-state where the autotherm
of a particular input on the system can be determined
lies above the upper operating zone and the temperature
by examining the static gain of the input on that state
profiles are too severe. If the inlet temperature was in-
variable; this is done by simply summing q i over all
am dependently manipulated by only 10 °C, however, stable
modes m:
operation is possible. The temperature and conversion
Ν mi q 2 profiles corresponding to these two cases are shown in
= Σ * () Chylla and coworkers (1986),
m =l
T A B L E I I S t r u c t u r a l D o m i n a n c e A n a l y s i s of a n A u t o t h e r m a l R e a c t o r
Countercurrent Coolant at 407UT inlet temp. 0.6% CO
Largest Corresponding Largest C orresponding
INPUTS q — elements State Variables d — elements State Variables
Inlet Cone. 50 X 150 5 ow
Inlet Bed Temp. 7263 rpQ
5.32 χ 10 y9
1682 5
8
ow
Total Flowrate 17 OW
Inlet Coolant Temp. 2.45 χ 10 T? 9291 OW
{3b— Autotherm
Reactor Π Reactor I
-{5b- ZD
NEGLIGIBLE
REACTION
REGION
LOWER OPERATING
ZONE
Bypass
500, 500
5000 SCCM 5 0 0 0 SCCM
= 0,010
y c o YC =0,006
0
2
.4501 Autotherm 450
60% Adiabatic Efficiency
1-° O
LU 1 0 0 % \ ^
CC \
y Autotherm
4001 £ 400. / h /
û.
y /
Lu
Ι- / 0 0
Ο /
3501 £ 350.
I- /
LU /
Δ Model Ignition Pts _l
/ Δ Model Upper Stable Pts
/ Ο Model Lower Stable Pts.
Ο Model Stable Pts. /
300 300 / ν Δ
300 350 400 450 500 300 350 400 450 500
Feed-Effluent
Heat Exchanger
t
I
ι
~i
Bypass
<TC> Quench Feed Gas
M M
Preheater
Acknowled gement
Partial financial support from the U.S. Dept. of Energy (DE-FG02-84ER13205) and the American
Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund (PRF 15627-G5) is gratefully acknowledged.
300
Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
INTRODUCTION
301
302 P. de Valliere and D. Bonvin
3T . = H ( T
T TABLE I Calorimeter parameters including
31 1=0 R WR- V (4) their
stirrer
temperature
speed
(in K) and
(in rpm)
dependencies.
3T .
r h_ <T_ - T _ ) (5)
J J r
WL c == 4180
C p R 41 1 4 9 3 CJoule/kg Kl
5
31 1=L
CJoule/kg K3
PW · V ·
and T^k being the wall temperature in
h j = 2.02 T j - 138.9
contact with the heating/cooling medium. 2 3/n w a t t / i A a
The partial differential equation (3) is hp = (1.04 T - 209.5) N CWatt/irAa
discretized in space by applying the me- R g
thod of orthogonal collocation, using Ν \ = 0.0005 (T + Tj) + 0.827 CWatt/m K3
interior collocation points (N being a
w R
q
design parameter at this stage of the S =e -(0.0119
c T - 2.35)(T -
R R V +
development) . The electric calibration + 0.0095 N + 4.113 CWattl
heater is modelled as a first-order pro- s
cess :
On the Dynamics of a Bench-scale Calorimeter 303
The heat-flow calorimeter can be characte- Table 1 ) . The convergence of the dominant
rized dynamically by its ability to res- eigenvalues when Ν is increased is shown
pond to perturbations (or exitations) in Fig. 2. As expected, the dominant
either generated within the reactor or eigenvalues do not change much with an
stemming from the jacket section. Table 2 increasing discretization in the reactor
summarizes the important time constants of wall. Each additional collocation point
the system. brings one additional fast eigenvalue to
the system. A complex eigenvalue is pre-
sent with 7 or more collocation points.
Since the calorimeter data are sampled
TABLE 2 Principal time constants of the every 2 seconds, the sampling and Nyquist
calorimeter frequencies are ω = ir rad/s and ω. ττ/2
σ Ν"
rad/s, respectively.
reactor contents: 600 - 800
inner wall : 25 s 0.5
calibration heater: 20 s
T T- control loop: 30-s
Temperature sensors: 2.5 s
MODEL VALIDATION
3a Amplitude
function T (s)/Tj(s)
R
function of frequency measured
simulated
307
308 H. Piet-Lahanier, E. Walter and J. Happel
e k€ [-e m
, em
], In orde r to characteriz e the membershi p set , let us
introduc e a s a criterio n to be maximize d
an d e m is known . j(e) = percentag e of objec t bar s with which e
is consistent .
The proble m is to estimat e the valu e of Θ from a séri e
of value s of y an d u. In this simulate d example , thes e Whe n the dat a contai n no outliers , the optima l valu e of
dat a hav e bee n compute d a s follows : this criterio n is 100 % an d maximizin g j(e ) allows us to
reac h a poin t within the membershi p set . Determinin g
u is a unit ste p function , the membershi p se t is the n equivalen t to
θ|= 0.5 , θ 2=3 , characterizin g the isocriterio n j(â>100 % (i.e . the se t
e m= 0.2 , of all paramete r vector s tha t correspon d to this valu e
t k= k/2 for k=l to 40 . of the criterio n j). To do so , we searc h in rando m
direction s for point s on the boundar y of this
isocriterion . Fo r mor e detail s on the algorith m used ,
The following definition s will be use d whe n processin g se e (Walter , Piet-Lahanie r an d Happel , 1986) .
thes e dat a (Walter , Piet-Lahanie r an d Happel , 1986) .
Whe n ther e ar e no mor e tha n two o r thre e
Definition 1 parameters , it is possibl e to dra w a two - o r
The object bar B 0(k) is the se t of all value s tha t ar e three-dimensiona l representatio n of the boundar y of
considere d acceptabl e for the mode l outpu t associate d S . Figur e 2 thu s describe s the membershi p se t
with the kth scala r measurement . associate d with ou r simulate d example . As expected ,
the tru e valu e of the parameters , indicate d by a cros s
Fo r the example , we hav e on the figure , belong s to S .
B 0(k) = { y | ym
i n ( t k ) i y i ym
ax<tic>}. h
(
3.47
wher e
/
/
y ( t k)
Vmin«k> = .
an d
y ( t k)
Ymax^) - e ·
î- m / /
2.9\
Fig. 2 . Membershi p se t S
Fo r the simulate d example , the uncertaint y interval s To illustrat e this propert y in a rathe r extrem e
ar e situation , let u s replac e 25 objec t bar s of the
simulate d exampl e picke d a t rando m b y a s man y
θ! e [ 0.47 ; 0.58] , outlying bars . Processin g the resultin g dat a se t with
θ 2 e [2.91 ; 3.47] . OMNE, we find tha t the optima l valu e of j(e_) is equa l to
37. 5 %. The uncertaint y interval s becom e
Figur e 2 evidence s the fac t tha t the actua l surfac e of S
is muc h smalle r tha n the surfac e of the rectangl e θ 1 € [ 0.41 ; 0.67] ,
associate d with the abov e ranges . θ 2 e [2.54 ; 4.] .
In orde r to allow a compariso n of the measure d The interval s ar e wide r tha n thos e obtaine d previousl y
proces s outpu t with the se t of all the output s an d still contai n the tru e value s of the parameters.Th e
generate d by model s belongin g to S , we introduc e objec t an d mode l bar s ar e give n in Figur e 4 , which
evidence s the fac t tha t the outlyin g bar s hav e bee n
Definition 4 correctl y discarded .
The model bar B m
( k ) is the se t
( k ) = {f(e J k) I â. € S }.
Bm
pC out
B dx B FB"
Befor e attemptin g to estimat e the parameter s of suc h
( — ) —
3vxM =-+( + v _ 3 ) x B+ u B,
a mode l from input-outpu t data , it is advisabl e to
W dt W W
chec k tha t ther e is only on e paramete r vecto r θ tha t
correspond s to a give n input-outpu t behavior . This
wher e W is the weigh t of catalys t (g) , inC Aan d Cin
Bar e correspond s to the notio n of structura l identifiabillty,
the ga s phas e fraction s of A an d B, F A an d F B ar e an d the method s describe d for exampl e in (Walter ,
the inlet flow o t urate s ooft u Isobutan e an d isobuten e 1982 ) ca n be use d to prov e tha t this three -
(ml/min), F A an d F B ar e the outle t flow rate s of compartmen t mode l is structurall y globall y
identifiable .
Isobutan e an d Isobuten e (ml/min) . The stat e variable s
Xj, i=A, Aft, B£, Β, ar e the proportion s of marke d
tertiar y carbo n atom s in compartmen t i, u A an d u B It wa s desire d to furthe r investigat e whethe r one of
the simple r two-compartmen t models , in which the
ar e the percentage s of marke d tertiar y carbo n atom s
two surfac e specie s wer e als o a t equilibriu m with eac h
in the inlet flows of isobutan e an d isobutene . The
other , would als o be abl e to describ e the data . This
paramete r vecto r Is
τ two-compartmen t mode l satisfie s
θ = [ v +f 1v + 2, v + , 3C A , £C B , Êβ ] ,
p C Ad x A F .ou t
A° - rA
»
( ) _ ( + V | ) X + V_| X + U ,
wher e v+j, 1=1,2,3 , ar e the direc t velocitie s (ml/g-ca t + =A B A
W dt W W
min), C A £ an d C B
£ ar e the surfac e concentration s of
Ail an d B£ (ml/g-cat ) an d β is the dea d spac e (ml). The 0 U
invers e velocitie s v_j ar e compute d from the direc t β CB dx B FB *
one s v +i by the relatio n
( — + C Ê) — = v +| x A- ( — + v_ , ) x B+ u B,
W dt W W
v-i= v +i - V,
wher e V is the overal l rat e of reactio n (ml/g-ca t min) . wher e Cg is the surfac e concentratio n of the adsorbe d
The initial condition s ar e Xj(0) = 0.011 , i=A, Afi, Bfi, B, specie s Afi an d BE . The paramete r vecto r θ for this
mode l is
which correspond s to the natura l abundanc e of ^ C . τ
The variable s accessibl e to measuremen t ar e the
proportion s x Aan d x B of marke d carbo n atom s in the θ = [ v +, 1C f , cβ ] .
New Approach for Parameter Estimation 311
This two-compartmen t mode l is structurall y globall y Sinc e dat a set s 1 an d 2 correspon d to differen t
identifiabl e too , an d we will stud y its behavio r an d tha t operatin g condition s of the reactor , the y ar e
of the three-compartmen t mode l on the basi s of associate d with differen t value s of the parameter s of
preliminar y data . the model s to be considered . We therefor e will stud y
eac h of thes e dat a set s separately .
Two set s of dat a wer e considere d correspondin g bot h
to a dehydrogenation . Dat a se t 1 correspond s to a n
3 Two-compartmen t model . Fo r dat a se t 1 , it is possibl e
isobutan e 3
step-u p o uwher
t e CA= 9o. 9u3 3tx l 0 ~ , to find two-compartmen t model s tha t ar e coheren t
i n 1χί(Γ ,1
=4.625
CB n F A =0.7164 , 3F B = 0 . 3 3 3 6 , with 95. 6 % of the objec t bars . The mode l parameter s
hav e the following rang e ove r the membershi p se t
F A« 0 . 7 8 2 6 , F B - 0 . 2 6 7 4 , V=|.80x10~ , u A
«0.98 4 an d 3 3
ug»0.0 1 Κ Dat a se t 2 correspond 2
s to a n isobuten 3e v +| € [4.34x10~ ; 4 . 5 4 x l 0 " ],
o u pt
step-u wher e CAout
=î.057x1<T , CB in
=3.991x10~ ,
3 3
i n= 0 . 7 6 2 3 ,
FA F B =0.2877 , F A= 0 . 7 9 1 6 , C £ € [4.13x10~ ;4.97x10~ ],
F B= 0 . 2 5 8 4 , V=7.96x10""* , u A
=0.01 1 an d u B
=0.984 .
β € [117. ; 120.] .
Figure s 6 to 8 give the objec t bar s correspondin g to
the origina l data . Fo r dat a se t 2 , the two-compartmen t mode l manage s
1 to be coheren t with 100 % of the objec t bars . The mode l
parameter s hav e the following range s
I ι ι I II ι I II I
I
3 3
v +1 € [1.03x10~ ; 1.28xl0" ],
3 3
C £ € [2.20x10~ ; 4.78x10" ],
β € [103. ; 120.] .
TIRE (9.1mln
Three-compartmen t model . Fo r dat a se t 1 , ther e is no
Fig. 6 . Objec t bar s for dat a se t 1: Isobutan e Improvemen t of the valu e of the criterio n j. The
range s for the estimate d parameter s ar e
3 3
v +1 € [6.25x10~ ; 6.72X10" ],
3 2
v+2 € [9.59x10~ ; 1.11x10~ ],
3 3
C A£ e [2.07x10~ 3; 2.28x10" 3],
£ 49
1 1 11 C B£ € [2.07x10~ ; 2.39x10~ ],
I I I I I I I
« 39
Ι Ι β € [119. ; 120.] ,
11
an d the tota l concentratio n of adsorbe 3 d specie 3s is
foun d to belon g to the rang e [4.13x10~ ; 4.54x10~ ].
99 195 129 135 159
TIME <9.1xnin>
As coul d be expected , it is als o possibl e to find
Fig. 7. Objec t bar s for dat a se t 1: Isobuten e three-compartmen t model s coheren t with all objec t
bar s associate d with dat a se t 2 . The range s for the
estimate d parameter s ar e
1 1 4 3
Ι ι I I I I ι v +1 e [8.97xl0~ ; I.77x10"" ],
11 ' 3 3
11
v +2 € [1.20x10~ ; 3.26x10" ],
3 3
C A €f e
[1 .25X10" ; 5.49x10~ ],
3 3
£ 39 C Be f [i1 . 2 5 X 1 0 " " ; 3.86x10~ ],
β € [100. ; 120.] ,
iI
an d the tota l concentratio n of adsorbe 3 d specie 3s is
195 129 135 159
foun d to belon g to the rang e [2.69x10~ ; 8.20x10" ].
Ftç . θ. Otyec t bar s for dat a se t 2 : Isobuten e
DCCR-U
312 H. Piet-Lahanier, E. Walter and J. Happel
313
314 J. J. Minambres and M. de la Sen
Eqn. (2) stand s f o r sequenc e (1) i f adaptiv e a l g o r i t h m s . The onl y "a p r i o r i "
c o n d i t i o n i s to us e a n algorith m havin g
(1.1) g ( x ) ha s a f i x e d p o i n t x *. th e t h e o r e t i c a l p o s s i b i l i t y o f real-tim e
(1.2) g ( x ) ha s continuou s t h i r d d e r i v a t i - m o d i f i c a t i o n o f a fre e paramete r while
ve i n a neighborhoo d centere d a t x *. maintainin g s t a b i l i t y .
(1.3) The f i r s t d e r i v a t i v e o f g ( x ) a t x * (3) The p r a c t i c a l r u l e s whic h mus t be t a -
i s d i f f e r e n t from u n i t y . ke n i n t o accoun t ar e then :
Se t o f Condition s I I (3a) To Commutat e ( i n p r a c t i c e to r e s -
tart ) to th e nomina l value s o f th e fre e
Eqn . (2) stand s f o r sequenc e ( l ) if paramete r whe n n o t r a n s i e n t behaviou r im -
(11.1) G(x ) ha s a f i x e d poin t x *. provemen t i s experimentall y observed .
(11.2) The f i r s t d e r i v a t i v e o f G(x ) a t x * (3b) To implemen t a " t e s t " s u p e r v i s o r y
is zero . l e v e l i n th e multi-paramete r cas e s o a s
to preven t a g a i n s t th e scheme d s t a b i l i t y .
(11.3) The f i r s t d e r i v a t i v e o f G(x ) i s
continuou s an d th e secon d on e e - I n th e nex t s e c t i o n , th e metho d i s applie d
x i s t s an d i t i s bounde d i n th e i n - to th e standar d adaptiv e contro l algorith m
t e r i o r o f a neighborhoo d centere d o f th e P r o j e c t i o n metho d o f Goodwi n e t a l .
at x * . (1980) (Se e a l s o , Goodwi n an d S i n , 1984),
whic h ha s bee n modifie d f o r th e b i l i n e a r
It wa s prove d i n Minambre s an d Be l a Se n mode l a r i s i n g from a schem e o f ρH measu -
(1986 ) tha t ( I . i ) ( 1 5 3 ) 4 . ( I I . l ) ^ ( l I . i) remen t i n a c i d i c wastewater .
( 1 ^ i £ 2) s o tha t th e se t o f Condition s
I I (assumin g tha t I I . l stands ) i s implie d ADAPTIVE CONTRO L FOR pH MEASUREMEN T
by th e se t I .
Objectiv e i n adaptiv e contro l I t mus t be pointe d ou t tha t th e bette r o -
ne i s abl e to p r e d i c t th e outpu t o f a sy s
Ou r objectiv e i n adaptiv e contro l i s to tern , th e bette r on e i s abl e to contro l i t .
modif y th e adaptatio n sequenc e o f th e a - Thu s i f th e syste m respons e i s dominate d
daptiv e c o n t r o l l e r s o a s to mak e th e tra c by n o n l i n e a r c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s , i t i s prob a
k i n g / r e g u l a t i o n e r r o r e ( t ) to v e r i f y (2) b l y b e t t e r to us e a n o n l i n e a r mode l rathe r
(e*s=0) b y mdifyin g th e adaptiv e contro - tha n a n approximat e l i n e a r model . The pr o
l l e r parametrica l adaptatio n by u s i n g a n ble m o f c o n t r o l l i n g a c i d i t y i n a c o n t i -
expressio n l i ke eqn . ( l ) while m a i n t a i - nuou s flow o f i n d u s t r i a l wastewater" u s i n g
n i n g th e c l o s e d - l o o p s t a b i l i t y o f th e o - a n o n l i n e a r adaptiv e c o n t r o l l e r i s consid e
v e r a l l adaptiv e scheme . red . The mode l a i s tha t o f McAvoy, Hs u
Remark s an d Loiltentha l (1972). A s t r o n g a c i d flows
i n t o a tan k an d i s ther e thoroughl y mise d
(1 ) The S t e f f e n s e n * s method , l i ke show n with a s t r o n g bas e inwar d rat e o f flow i s
i n ( 1 ) , i s applicabl e f o r s c a l a r sequen - c o n t r o l l e d i n suc h a wa y a s to produc e a
ce s s o tha t th e curren t experimentatio n n e u t r a l outwar d flow from th e tank . Beca u
ha s bee n performe d o n on e a d a p t i v e - p a r a - s e th e a c i d an d th e bas e ar e s t r o n g , eac h
mete r (o f th e adaptiv e c o n t r o l l e r c a s e ) . i s completel y d i s s o c i a t e d , an d a l s o th e
Althoug h wor k i s i n proges s abou t th e me - d i s s o c i a t i o n o f th e wate r ca n be d i s r e g a r
t h o d ' s g e n e r a l i z a t i o n to th e m u l t i - p a r a - ded . The equatio n d e s c r i b i n g t h i s mode l i s
mete r case , extension s ar e n o n t r i v i a l .
This i s b a s i c a l l y motivate d b y two r e a -
v -±JL
at
P t( a - y t) - u t( b 4 y t) (3)
s o n s , namely :
( l a ) Steffense n s metho d impose s a u - whe re
niqu e l i m it to th e i n v o l v e d (accelerated ) y t= £*r] - [θΗ~3 i s th e distanc e from
sequenc e while adaptiv e contro l s u p p l i e s neutrality .
l i m i ts o f convergenc e o f th e adaptiv e
c o n t r o l l e r parameter s whic h ar e dependen t V== volum e o f th e tan k
Ρ =rat e o f flow o f th e a c i d
(excep t i n th e one-paramete r case ) o n t
the i n i t i a l c o n d i t i o n s an d o n th e choice s a = concentratio n o f th e a c i d
o f th e fre e parameter s (namely , thos e u^= rat e o f flow o f th e bas e
whic h ca n be f r e e l y chose n b y th e d e s i g - b= concentratio n o f th e bas e
ne r w i t h in th e s t a b i l i t y bounds) ,
y ca n be determine d from th e ρH valu e
( l b ) To ou r knowledge , ther e i s no a - "D
v a i l a b l e d i r e c t g e n e r a l i z a t i o n o f th e p ( t ) b y th e no n l i n e a r transformatio n (
S t e f f e n s e n ' s metho d to th e vecto r cas e Quagliano , 1958) ;
whic h prevent s a g a i n s t change s o f th e y t- 1 0 - * < *> -1θΡ<*> (4)
foresee n l i m it o f th e accelerate d s e -
K
quence . wher e k «wate r e q u i l i b r i u m constan t C±
(2) The a p p l i c a b i l i t y o f th e propose d me w
tho d ha s a wide characte r f o r parameter - 10"* ( u s i n g gram-ion , l i t e r u n i t s ) .
I t i s assume d tha t b (known ) an d a (unk -
Fast Adaptive Control Algorithms in pH Measurement 315
(7 ) CONCLUSIO N
T h i s pape r ha s deal t with th e a p p l i c a t i o n
w i th th e choic e to a chemica l proces s o f pH measuremen t
r.. o o f a f a s t adaptiv e c o n t r o l algorith m
u. if 0 « y, u (7a ) whic h i s base d o n th e S t e f f e n s e n ' s metho d
t ^ t '/ ms ma x o f numerica l a n a l y s i s . R e g i s t e r e d p e r f o r -
u(t)« imax
i f u t ' / ma x (7b ) mance s hav e bee n show n to be c o n s i d e r a b l y
improve d w i th respec t to th e standar d
0 i f u; ο (7c ) ornes .
é
— tuff,.,*
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Copyright © IFAC Control of Distillation
Columns and Chemical Reactors,
Bournemouth, UK 1986
DESIGN OF A MULTIVARIABLE
SELF-TUNING CONTROL ALGORITHM FOR
DISTRIBUTED SYSTEMS
C. McGreavy and J. A. A. de M . e Castro
Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Leeds, Leeds LS2 9JT, UK
Abstract. Optimal control strategies are very dependent on the accuracy of the model
and this assumes some importance in operating plant when there is a change in
characteristics. Consequently, in order to ensure good and stable performance a
detailed description of the process is required. Since it is not common to incorporate
tunable properties in the model to compensate for any process changes it is difficult
to realize the benefit of the sophisticated strategies typical of the successes in the
aerospace industry. Nevertheless, some significant improvements are possible. An
example of the kind of problems which arise in respect of distributed parameter
processes, is the fixed-bed catalytic reactor. Detailed models are not useful for
control because it results in loss of simplicity and excessive computing requirements.
Moreover, it is generally difficult and costly to identify such models because of the
problems associated with the measurement of some of the relevant variables e.g. rate
constants and/or catalyst activity. To be attractive, overall controller design must
be based on a simple but robust control algorithm which allows for an approximate form
of model. Consideration is given to the use of an adaptive closed-loop control law
based on a multi-input-multi-output system having random process inputs and the
observations subjected to noise. A comparison is made with the performance of a
multivariable optimal regulator using a quadratic performance index. The effects of
model inaccuracies, sampling times and other design parameters are also considered.
The need for this basic structure is shown to be important in the case of the tubular
reactor to allow for the approximation of multidimensional lumped parameter
representation of the process.
317
318 C. McGreavy and J. A. A. de M. e Castro
1982). In relation to the control criteria, Optimal control schemes are based on finding a
theorectical and/or experimental applications of procedure which will cause a performance index to
linear quadratic control laws (Schumann, 1982; approach an optimum value. The resulting control
Bucholt, 1979b), the fundamental minimum variance law is of the type
(Ko, 1982) or some of its suboptimal derivatives
(El-Sherief, 1982) have been reported in the
literature. Many of these self-tuning techniques Κ' χ (2)
(Astrom, 1973; Clarke, 1975) have been referred to
single-input single-output systems and therefore where Κ' is a (ncxnv) controller gain matrix
may only be applied to multivariable systems when resulting from the optimization of the desired
decoupling procedures are feasible. Recently, performance index. A common approach is to
there has been proposed a number of algorithms minimize a scalar quadratic objective function
extending the previous schemes to include the including both the states and the control variables
control of some classes of multi-input multi-output in the form
systems (Bucholt, 1979a; Morris, 1979).
pC S becomes
1 2
= -κ' ( x ) x (5) S
Γ Φ ô Ί r- -i
2fc+l
k "LE
vp m 0 1
xs
XFE+I Ψ
pm
φ pc=.
( s
(6) _-k+l _ _-k
u
k ,XK £
K where Φ- Φί and jD result from appropriate
can be obtained, where the new (nvxnv) transition factorTzation^of the "model parameters in the
matrix ψ is given by original equation model given by Eq. (1). On the
other hand, the control vector can be given by an
extended form of Eq. ( 9 ) , which when substituted in
(7)
Eq. (12) leads to the following vector differential
equation
c
Κ + Κ o£ > (9) pc
-k -k+1 3c
Factorization of the second term of the right hand In this situation the control action is given by
side of Eq. (9) allows the control vector to be Eq. (10), which when substituted into Eq. (15)
also written as gives
pc
ς s x (10) ^k+1 - |k^k 06)
I 1 I 2 ^k
where the constant matrix is only a function of where the (nv+npc)x(nv+npc) transition m a t r i x ^
the reference values for "the gains and S 2 is a
matrix with elements which are state variables or
zeros. It has a general block diagonal structure m F m
resulting from the above factorization and from the
need to maintain valid the basic matrix operations £ ( x P ) - D ( xpm)
N
in the second term of right-hand side of Eq. (10). (17)
fed directly into the controller to determine the response characterized by large off-set.
action. On the other hand, when only the model is Therefore, careful specification of the weighting
updated, the control action is obtained by using matrices in the control performance index is
the new estimates of the states and the previous necessary.
best values of K.
It should be noted that the above results
correspond to a situation where both algorithms are
DISCUSSION OF RESULTS subjected to severe changes in conditions. This is
especially true for the large value used for the
The method reported here for closed-loop adaptive sampling time. Values of one tenth of the dominant
control has the characteristic that it can easily time constant are often used in practice. The
be applied to multivariable systems typical of many results presented above correspond to a sampling
chemical processes. In this section, the main period which equals the minimum time constant of
objective will be to assess the performance of this the real process. Clearly, the slow sampling rate
strategy which does not involve the time consuming is a major factor in the unsatisfactory performance
calculation of the gains every time the model of the controller. Thus, when the initial model
parameters are updated. Inclusion of the control parameters are given as pj - p2= 3.0 and p^= 4.0
loop in the identifier allows the controller both algorithms diverge. Very poor state estimates
parameters to be also updated by the estimator so are produced as a consequence both of the
as to minimize the variance in relation to an excessively large sampling time and of the large
optimum mean value. errors in the initial estimates of the model
parameters. In addition to that, the poor state
To illustrate the essential features of this estimates give rise to inappropriate corrective
approach, consider the above algorithm when applied action even when these are highly penalized
to the two tank heating system shown in Fig. 3, according to Eq. 3.
which can be regarded as a discrete approximation
to a distributed parameter system. An energy Reducing the sampling time to a more reasonable
value leads
balance on each tank leads to the following
differential equations representing the dynamics of
= to an improved performance as
illustrated in Fig. 6 where pj = p£= 3.0 and p^- 4.0
the whole system and ^ 2 0.01 1 for a sampling period of six
seconds. Although the MST gives a slightly more
oscillatory response, mainly due to the closed-loop
dT ( p +)=
P T +T +T nature of the estimation procedure, it can cope
more satisfactorly with the problem of the off-set.
1Γ - i 3 1 Pl o P
3s This is because, compared with the OST the modified
scheme does not depend on the values of _F.
1983). This may not be sufficient if systems with discrete approximations to distributed parameter
very high nonlinearities among the main variables systems. Applying it to the fixed bed system, it
are to be considered. However, special is necessary to consider a model of slightly higher
linearization techniques, such as that using an dimensionality to take account of the equivalent
iterated form of the mean-value linearization lumped stages and this can be done by using a
theorem (McGreavy, 1972; McGreavy, 1981) have state-space model of a suitable higher order. Such
proved effective in such situations. It it then models implicitly incorporate the effects of the
possible to use this technique where locally time delay in the system response and so can be
linearized models are satisfactory. included in adaptive control algorithms of kind
considered here.
REFERENCES
CONCLUSIONS
Astrom, K.J., and B. Wittenmark (1973) On self
The conventional self-tuning regulator can be tuning regulators. Automatica, 9, 185-199.
subdivided in two distinct steps: identification Awda, F. (1980) State variable approach to the
and control. The first is mainly concerned with design of self tuning regulators. Ph.D Thesis,
updating an approximate process model so as to University of Leeds, U.K.
guarantee more reliable predictions of the system Boehm, H. (1982). Adaptive control of a dry etch
behaviour. It involves some form of on-line process by microcomputer. Automatica, 18,
recursive parameter estimator which also provides 665-673.
estimates for the system states. In the second Buchholt, F., K. Clement, and S.B. Jorgensen
step i.e. in the control stage, it is usually (1979) Selftuning control of a fixed-bed
required to recalculate the coefficients of the chemical reactor. Proc.of 5th IFAC Symp. on
controller so that appropriate control action can Identification and System Parameter Estimation,
be derived. However, the determination of new Darmstadt, Germany.
values for such parameters involves the solution of Buchholt, F., and M. Kummel (1979). Self-tuning
a set of recursive matrix equations. For a control of a pH-neutralization process.
multivariable system this becomes a very Automatica, 15, 665-671.
time-consuming procedure, so some improvement is Castro, J.A.A.M. (1983). Aspects of Modelling
highly desirable, particulary when real-time Chemical Processes for Adaptive Control. PhD
control is to be applied. Thesis, University of Leeds, U.K.
Clarke, D., and P.J. Gawthrop (1975) Self-tuning
One of the main attractive features of the adaptive controller. Proc. IEE, 122, 929-934.
control scheme considered in this work is that it El-Sherief, H., and N.K. Sinha (1982) Suboptimal
does not require the solution of such complex control of linear stochastic multivariable
matrix equations. Instead, by making use of the systems with unknown parameters. Automatica,
real process closed-loop configuration, a simple 18_, 101-105.
and effective procedure to update the coefficients Hubbard, M., and T. Da Silva (1982). Estimation of
of the controller has been proposed. This is feedstock concentrations in cement raw material
achieved by extending the identification algorithm blending. Automatica, 18, 595-606.
so as to consider the estimation of those Isermann, R. (1982). Parameter adaptive control
parameters together with the system states but in algorithms: A tutorial. Automatica, 18,
an alternative form, along with the estimation of 513-528.
the model parameters. In this way, it is possible Ko, Κ.Y., B.C. Mclnnis, and G.C. Goodwin. (1982)
to substantially reduce the computational burden Adaptive control and identification of the
characteristic of the optimal self-tuning dissolved oxygen process. Automatica, 18,
regulators when applied to multivariable systems. 727-730.
McGreavy, C , and J.A.A.M. Castro (1981) State
It has been shown that optimal control policies can estimation techniques in the identification of
be excellent. However, when the process models on chemical reactive systems. Proc. Chempor-81,
which they are based are only approximate, the Oporto, Portugal.
performance can be rather poor. In contrast, the McGreavy, C , and A. Vago (1972) Application of
regulator presented here exhibits good global nonlinear filtering techniques to adaptive
performances, particularly in terms of robustness. optimal control. A.I.Ch.E. 65th annual
In fact, it has been shown to be reliable for a meeting, New York, Paper 94-C.
wide range of filter and controller design Morris, A.J., Y.Nazer, and K.Chisholm (1979)
parameters providing a suitable sampling period is Single and multivariable self-tuning
used relative to the dominant time constant or microprocessor based regulators. Proc. of 3rd
where the degree of approximation represented by Int. Conf. on Trends in on-line computer
the model is very crude. control systems, University of Sheffield, U.K.
Morris, A.J., Y. Nazer, and R.K. Wood (1981)
The strategy takes advantage of the closed-loop Multivariable self-tuning control-theory and
nature of the identification procedure, leading to experimental evaluation. Proc. of IEE Conf.,
an equivalent open-loop dynamic representation for No.194, 106-112.
the overall system, as shown in Eq. (13) and Schumann, R. (1982) Digital parameter-adapt ive
Eq. (16). All the information related to the control of an air-conditioning plant.
process model as well as the controller has Automatica, 18, 569-575.
therefore been incorporated in the global Vago, A.G. (1974) Investigation of on-line
transition matrix. As a result, the simultaneous estimators for optimal control of chemical
estimation of both model and controller parameters reactors. Ph.D Thesis, University of Leeds,
ensures that there is some degree of self U.K.
compensation to guarantee the best response of the
process.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Thus, it can also be applied to other systems not
exhibiting overdamped responses where simple first Dr. J.A.A.M. Castro, who is on leave from the
order transfer functions containing time lags give Department of Chemical Engineering, University of
poor performance. Moreover, the multivariable Coimbra, Portugal, wishes to acknowledge the
formulation of the technique can accommodate high financial support provided by the Calouste
order s^steteis without requiring decoupling Gulbenkian Foundation, Lisbon for carrying out this
procedures, so that it is well-suited to deal with research.
C. McGreavy and J. A. A. de M. e Castro
Plant
PROCESS
Uncontrolled Response
0.02
OPTIMAL Computer
CONTROL -0.02
1
ALGORITHM
K
Uncontrolled Response
PROCESS 0.02
>
OST
0.00
STATE 10 20 30
ESTIMATOR
MST Sample Times
and and
-0.02
CONTROLLER MODEL
PARAMETERS I PARAMETERS
0.00
20 0 4
Sample Times
-0.02
0.00"
-0.02,
MST
40 80
SAMPLE TIMES
120
— ^ 20
Sample Times
30
S -0.02
Β
323
324 V. M. Chadeev and Ye. M. Maksimov
strained because at some Tq the reaction As seen from Fig. 3. the control loop in-
yields byproducts and the catalyst ages cludes an identifier in which a spectrum
fast* The catalyst has to be replaoed nor- of dynamic models is generated to predict
mally every 2 to 3 years. If T 0 is excee- temperatures in all measurement points in
ded regularly, the catalyst lifetime redu- the reactor. There is a unit in which
ces sharply. Figure 2 shows the vertical some of them are chosen and used thereaf-
temperature distribution in a reactor. ter as operating ones* These models are
Ζ γ used to determine the oritical points in
r »| &eaotor~l 1 » which the temperature is the olosest to
that acceptable for the reactor, T 0. Cont-
* Controller rol is updated by these working models wi-
Ι * thin their accuracy and the associated pro-
1 Κ bability of their correct prediction* Let
s Choice of us now consider the functioning of indivi-
working models
dual units of the control system*
# Identifier
CONTROL ALGORITHMS
Τ
The model structure is specified in ad-
x
vance as follows:
Fig. 3· Vertioal temperature y * F ( X F Y, K)« (3)
Profile in the Reactor. Transformation of input data in (1)
amounts to their orthogonalization compa-
Several models predict the temperature in red to the earlier input data* The ortho-
each measurement point at different reac- gonalization improved the convergence of
tor levels. The control objective is to the adaptive identification algorithms*
maintain the maximal temperature in the particularly for the dynamic plant models
reactor as close as possible to the maxi- in the control mode* The orthogonalization
mal acceptable T 0 for the specified pro- increased but little the computing load
bability of exceeding .this temperature. thanks to the way the data is handled in
Control of the Temperature Profile in a Tubular Reactor 325
Using a control system one can reach a Chadeev, V.M. (1967). Adaptive Models of
narrower function of temperature distri- Plants. Preprints of the IPAC Symp.,
bution in the operating points (Pig. 4 ) . Prague CSSR, Academia - Prague.
I P(T) Fundamentals of Process Control (1978).
Ed. by Rajbman, U.S., Moscow, Nauka
Publishers.
de Haas, K. 135
de la Sen, M. 313 Naka, Y. 261
de M. e Castro, J. A. A. 317 Nazmul Karim, M. 105
Desages, A. 215 Neyran, B. 129
de Valliere, P. 301
f
0 Shima, E. 261
Edwards, J. B. 189, 195 Odloak, D. 73
Ellingsen, W. R. 37
Epple, U. 279
Papadopoulou, S. Ar. 141
Penlidis, A. 147
Fele, L. 231 Piet-Lahanier, H. 307
Preisig, H. A. 255
Gani, R. 105
Georgakis, C 249 Recelj, T. 231
Gilles, G. 129 Retzbach, B. 225
Goldschmidt, L. 267 Rigopoulos, K. 153
Golob, J. 231 Romagnoli, J. A. 215
Gros, S. 61 Rong, G. 87
Guardabassi, G. Ill Rotstein, H. 215
Guilandoust, M. 195 Ruiz, C. A. 105
Guilandoust, M. T. 203
Scattolini, R. Ill
Hallager, L. 43, 267 Schuler, H. 135
Hamielec, A. E. 147 Shakouri, A. 49
Happel, J. 307 Shu, X. 153
Hashimoto, I. 237 Sourander, M. 61
Hashimoto, Y. 237
Heusinkveld, G. H. 55
Holland, C D . 255 Tabriz!, M. H. N. 189
Hsiao-Ping Huang 81 Takamatsu, T. 237
Tan, G. H. 181
Tham, M. T. 203, 209
Jhy-Shyong Chang 81 Thomasset, D. 129
Jorgensen, S. B. 11, 43, 221, 267 Toftegard, B. 43, 221
Togari, Y. 237
327
328 Author Index
Waller, Κ. V. 1, 243
Walter, E. 307 Yung-Cheng Chao 81
SUBJECT INDEX
Adaptive control, 11, 73, 203, 209, 313, 317 Fixed-bed reactor, 273, 279
Adaptive system with an identifier (ASI), 323 Fluid composition control, 189, 195
Adaptive systems, 203 Foaming in distillation columns, 37
Alarm systems, 93 Frequency domain control design, 49
Application of observers, 225 Frequency response, 175, 189, 195, 215, 301
Approximate models, 99 Fuzzy logic controller, 87
Autothermal reactors, 295
Gel-permeation chromatography, 141
Batch polymerization reactor, 87
Batch reactors, 147 Heat pump, 261
Bayes methods, 93 Heterogeneous catalysis, 307
Bilinear control, 129 Hydrodesulfurization, 81
329
330 Subject Index
*ADALI & TUNALI: Microcomputer Application in Process GELLIE 8c TA VAST: Distributed Computer Control Systems
Control. (1982)
AKASHI: Control Science and Technology for the Progress of *GENSER, ETSCHMAIER, HASEGAWA 8c STROBEL: Control
Society, 7 Volumes in Transportation Systems (1986)
*ALBERTOS & DE LA PUENTE: Components, Instruments and *GERTLER 8c KEVICZKY: A Bridge Between Control Science
Techniques for Low Cost Automation and Applications and Technology, 6 Volumes
*ALONSO-CONCHEIRO: Real Time Digital Control GHONAIMY: Systems Approach for Development (1977)
Applications
HAASE: Real Time Programming (1980)
ASTROM 8c WITTENMARK: Adaptive Systems in Control and
Signal Processing HAIMES 8c KINDLER: Water and Related Land Resource
Systems
ATHERTON: Multivariable Technological Systems
HALME: Modelling and Control of Biotechnical Processes
BABARY 8c LE LETTY: Control of Distributed Parameter
Systems (1982) HARDT: Information Control Problems in Manufacturing
Technology (1982)
*BALCHEN: Automation and Data Processing in Aquaculture
HARRISON: Distributed Computer Control Systems (1979)
BANKS 8c PRITCHARD: Control of Distributed Parameter
Systems (1977) HASEGAWA: Real Time Programming (1981)t
*BARKER & YOUNG: Identification and System Parameter HASEGAWA 8c INOUE: Urban, Regional and National
Estimation (1985) Planning—Environmental Aspects
*BASANEZ, FERRATE 8c SARIDIS: Robot Control HERBST: Automatic Control in Power Generation Distribution
"SYROCO '85" and Protection
*BASAR 8c PAU: Dynamic Modelling and Control of National *HRUZ 8c CICEL: Automatic Measurement and Control in
Economies (1983) Woodworking Industry — Lignoautomatica '86
BAYLIS: Safety of Computer Control Systems (1983) ISERMANN: Identification and System Parameter Estimation
(1979)
BEKEY 8c SARIDIS: Identification and System Parameter
Estimation (1982) *ISERMANN: Automatic Control, 10 Volumes
BINDER 8c PERRET: Components and Instruments for ISERMANN & KALTENECKER: Digital Computer
Distributed Computer Control Systems Applications to Process Control
BRODNER: Skill Based Automated Manufacturing JANSEN 8c BOULLART: Reliability of Instrumentation Systems
for Safeguarding and Control
BULL: Real Time Programming (1983)
JANSSEN, PAU & STRASZAK: Dynamic Modelling and Control
BULL 8c WILLIAMS: Real Time Programming (1985) of National Economies (1980)
CAMPBELL: Control Aspects of Prosthetics and Orthotics JOHANNSEN 8c RIJNSDORP: Analysis, Design, and Evaluation
*Van CAUWENBERGHE: Instrumentation and Automation in of Man-Machine Systems
the Paper, Rubber, Plastics and Polymerisation Industries *JOHNSON: Modelling and Control of Biotechnological
(1980) (1983) Processes
CHESTNUT: Contributions of Technology to International *KAYA 8c WILLIAMS: Instrumentation and Automation in the
Conflict Resolution (SWIIS) Paper, Rubber, Plastics and Polymerization Industries (1986)
CHESTNUT, GENSER, KOPACEK 8c WIERZBICKI: *KLAMT 8c LAUBER: Control in Transportation Systems (1984)
Supplemental Ways for Improving International Stability
*KOPACEK, TROCH 8c DESOYER: Theory of Robots
"CHRETIEN: Automatic Control in Space (1985)
KOTOB: Automatic Control in Petroleum, Petrochemical and
CICHOCKI 8c STRASZAK: Systems Analysis Applications to Desalination Industries
Complex Programs
LANDAU, TOMIZUKA 8c AUSLANDER: Adaptive Systems in
CRONHJORT: Real Time Programming (1978) Control and Signal Processing
CUENOD: Computer Aided Design of Control Systems! *LARSEN 8c HANSEN: Computer Aided Design in Control and
*DA CUNHA: Planning and Operation of Electric Energy Engineering Systems
Systems LAUBER: Safety of Computer Control Systems (1979)
De GIORGIO 8c ROVEDA: Criteria for Selecting Appropriate LEININGER: Computer Aided Design of Multivariable
Technologies under Different Cultural, Technical and Social Technological Systems
Conditions
LEON HARD: Control in Power Electronics and Electrical Drives
DI PILLO: Control Applications of Nonlinear Programming and (1977)
Optimization
LESKIEWICZ 8c ZAREMBA: Pneumatic and Hydraulic
DUBUISSON: Information and Systems Components and Instruments in Automatic Controlf
ELLIS: Control Problems and Devices in Manufacturing MAFFEZZONI: Modelling and Control of Electric Power Plants
Technology (1980) (1984)
ELZER: Experience with the Management of Software Projects MAHALANABIS: Theory and Application of Digital Control
FERRATE 8c PUENTE: Software for Computer Control (1982) *MANCINI, JOHANNSEN 8c MARTENSSON: Analysis, Design
FLEISSNER: Systems Approach to Appropriate Technology and Evaluation of Man-Machine Systems (1985)
Transfer MARTIN: Design of Work in Automated Manufacturing
*FLORIAN & HAASE: Software for Computer Control (1986) Systems
*GEERING 8c MANSOUR: Large Scale Systems: Theory and *MARTOS, PAU, ZIERMANN: Dynamic Modelling and Control
Applications (1986) of National Economies (1986)
McGREAVY: Dynamics and Control of Chemical Reactors *SANCHEZ: Fuzzy Information, Knowledge Representation and
and Distillation Columns Decision Analysis
MILLER: Distributed Computer Control Systems (1981) SAWARAGI 8c AKASHI: Environmental Systems Planning,
MUNDAY: Automatic Control in Space (1979) Design and Control
NAJIM 8c ABDEL-FATTAH: System Approach for SINGH 8c TITLI: Control and Management of Integrated
Development (1980) Industrial Complexes
NIEMI: A Link Between Science and Applications of Automatic *SINHA 8c TELKSNYS: Stochastic Control
Control, 4 Volumes SKELTON 8c OWENS: Model Error Concepts and
*NORRIE & TURNER: Automation for Mineral Resource Compensation
Development SMEDEMA: Real Time Programming (1977)t
NOVAK: Software for Computer Control (1979) *STRASZAK: Large Scale Systems: Theory and Applications
OLLUS: Digital Image Processing in Industrial Applications— (1983)
Vision Control SUBRAMANYAM: Computer Applications in Large Scale
O'SHEA & POLIS: Automation in Mining, Mineral and Metal Power Systems
Processing (1980) SUSKI: Distributed Computer Control Systems (1985)
OSHIMA: Information Control Problems in Manufacturing SZLANKO: Real Time Programming (1986)
Technology (1977)
*TAL': Information Control Problems in Manufacturing
*PAUL: Digital Computer Applications to Process Control (1985)
Technology (1986)
*PONOMARYOV: Artificial Intelligence
TITLI & SINGH: Large Scale Systems: Theory and Applications
QUIRK: Safety of Computer Control Systems (1985) (1986) (1980)
*RAMAMOORTY: Automation and Instrumentation for Power *TROCH, KOPACEK 8c BREITENECKER: Simulation of
Plants Control Systems
RAUCH: Applications of Nonlinear Programming to
UNBEHAUEN: Adaptive Control of Chemical Processes
Optimization and Controlf
*RAUCH: Control of Distributed Parameter Systems (1986) *VALADARES TAVARES 8c EVARISTO DA SILVA: Systems
Analysis Applied to Water and Related Land Resources
RAUCH: Control Applications of Nonlinear Programming
*WANG PINGYANG: Power Systems and Power Plant Control
REMBOLD: Information Control Problems in Manufacturing
Technology (1979) *WESTERLUND: Automation in Mining, Mineral and Metal
Processing (1983)
RIJNSDORP: Case Studies in Automation related to
Humanization of Work van WOERKOM: Automatic Control in Space (1982)
*RIJNSDORP, PLOMP & MÔLLER: Training for T o m o r r o w - *YANG JIACHI: Control Science and Technology for
Educational Aspects of Computerized Automation Development
RODD: Distributed Computer Control Systems (1983) *YOSHITANI: Automation in Mining, Mineral and Metal
RODD & MULLER: Distributed Computer Control Systems Processing (1986)
(1986) *ZWICKY: Control in Power Electronics and Electrical Drives
*ROOS: Economics and Artificial Intelligence (1983)