PROCESS CONTROL

KKEK 3154

DEPARTMENT OF CHEMICAL
ENGINEERING

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In the chemical industry,

the design of a control system is essential to ensure:

Good Process Operation
Process Safety
Product Quality
Minimization of Environmental Impact

Process Control
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 What is the purpose of a control system?
To maintain important process characteristics at
desired targets despite the effects of external
perturbations/disturbances.
Perturbations Process / Plant Control
/disturbances objectives

Market Safety
Economy Make $$$
Climate Product quality
Variations in raw materials Environment...

Control

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 Example

Control of temperature in an exothermic reactor

Disturbances
Temperature variations in
cooling water
Variations in concentrations
of reactants

Operation based on
optimised steady-state
condition (set and forget)
wont work!

The process needs to be

operated (controlled)
dynamically.

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Importance of Process Control
1. Process control improves the safety and reliability of a process
A Control system must provide safe operation, e.g., alarms, safety
constraint control
Stabilise unstable processes, prevent certain important variables from
running away. E.g, temperature control of an exothermic reaction

2. Proper process control improves the quality of the products produced

by a process, reducing variability and keeping the process in a good
operating region

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Importance of Process Control
3. Can affect how efficient a process is operated more efficient use of
raw materials and energy

Process control often involves controlling against constraints. The closer

that you are able to operate to these constraints, the more profit you
can make.
More environmentally friendly operation, i.e., reduce energy
consumption and pollution

Bottom line: Process control has a major impact on the profitability of

a company.

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What constitutes a control system?
Control

Combination of process
sensors, actuators and
computer systems
designed and tuned
to orchestrate
safe and profitable
operation.

Plant

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Because good control needs understanding of process dynamics, this subject will
cover two major areas:

Process Dynamics:
Study of the transient behavior of processes
Process Control
the use of process dynamics for the
improvement of process operation and
performance
Or
the use of process dynamics to alleviate the
effect of undesirable (unstable) process
behaviors

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What do we mean by process?

A process, P, is an operation that takes an INPUT and/or a

DISTURBANCE and gives an OUTPUT

u
y
P
d

Information Flow
INPUT (manipulated variable) : (u) Something that you can manipulate
DISTURBANCE: (d) Something that comes as a result of some
outside phenomenon but cannot be manipulated
OUTPUT (controlled variable): (y) An observable quantity that we want to
regulate/control
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 Examples of Process
Examples: Temperature of Stirred Tank
Control Objective
Controlled Variable (CV)
Set Point (SP)
M Controller Output (CO)
Manipulated Variable (MV)
Disturbances (D)
Tin, w

T, w
Q

Inputs Output

Tin
w Process T
Q

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 Control

Steps necessary to ensure process operates at

required conditions and produced the products
at required specification

Time based concept (dynamic)

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Examples: Control of Stirred-Tank Heater

Tin, w

Heater
Q T, w
TC
Thermocouple
Tin, w
Controller Heater T
TR e u y
+ Q
C A P
-
Tank
M

Thermocouple

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 Examples of Control System

Closed-loop Artificial Pancreas

u
glucose
setpoint y
r

controller pump patient sensor

measured glucose Control Objective

Controlled Variable (CV)
Set Point (SP)
Controller Output (CO)
Manipulated Variable (MV)
Disturbances (D)

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Control development is usually carried out following these important
steps
Define objectives

Develop a process
model (KKEK 3152!)
Often an iterative
process, based on Design controller ba sed
performance we may on model
decide to retune,
redesign or remodel a Test by simulation
given control system

Commissioning,
Implement and tune

Monitor performance

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 Objectives
What are we trying to control?
Process modeling
What do we need?
Mechanistic (first principle) and/or empirical
Controller design
How do we use the knowledge of process behavior to reach our
process control objectives?
What variables should we measure?
What variables should we control?
What are the best manipulated variables?
What is the best controller structure?

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 Implement and tune the controlled process
Test by simulation
incorporate control strategy to the process hardware
theory rarely transcends to reality
tune and re-tune

Monitor performance
periodic retuning and redesign is often necessary based on
sensitivity of process or market demands
statistical methods can be used to monitor performance

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