Topics for Chapter 1

Friday, January 3, 2025 5:24 AM

Chapter 1: Introduction to Process Control

1. Introduction to Processes
2. Continuous and batch Processes
3. Blending Process
4. Design vs Control Problem
5. Feedback Control - principle and block Diagram
6. Feedforward Control - principle and block Diagram
7. Cascade Control
8. Control of a Complicated Process- Distillation Process

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Lecture 1
Friday, January 3, 2025 6:20 AM

• The two main subjects of this course are process dynamics and process
control.
• The term process dynamics refers to unsteady-state (or transient) process
behavior. By contrast, most of the chemical engineering curricula emphasize
steady-state and equilibrium conditions in such courses as material and
energy balances, thermodynamics, and transport phenomena. But the topic
of process dynamics is also very important. Transient operation occurs during
important situations such as start-ups and shutdowns, unusual process
disturbances, and planned transitions from one product grade to another.
Consequently, the first part of this book is concerned with process dynamics.

• The primary objective of process control is to maintain a process at the desired operating
conditions, safely and economically, while satisfying environmental and product quality
requirements. The subject of process control is concerned with how to achieve these goals. In large-
scale, integrated processing plants such as oil refineries or ethylene plants, thousands of process
variables such as compositions, temperatures, and pressures are measured and must be controlled.
Fortunately, thousands of process variables (mainly flow rates) can usually be manipulated for this
purpose. Feedback control systems compare measurements with their desired values and then
adjust the manipulated variables accordingly.

Chemical Process: The conversion of feed materials to products using chemical and
physical operations. In practice, the term process tends to be used for both the
processing operation and the processing equipment.

Why to Control a Process? What will happen if we do not control a Process?

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 • It is desirable to operate the processing units safely.

• Specified production rates must be maintained

• Production Quality must be maintained.

Continuous Processes

Four continuous processes are shown schematically in Fig. 1.1:

(a) Tubular heat exchanger. A process fluid on the tube side is cooled by cooling
water on the shell side. Typically, the exit temperature of the process fluid is
controlled by manipulating the cooling water flow rate. Variations in the inlet
temperatures and the process fluid flow rate affect the heat exchanger operation.
Consequently, these variables are considered to be disturbance variables.

(b) Continuous stirred-tank reactor (CSTR). If the reaction is highly exothermic, it is

necessary to control the reactor temperature by manipulating the flow rate of
coolant in a jacket or cooling coil. The feed conditions (composition, flow rate, and
temperature) can be manipulated variables or disturbance variables.

(c) Thermal cracking furnace. Crude oil is broken down (“cracked”) into a number of
lighter petroleum fractions by the heat transferred from a burning fuel/air mixture.
The furnace temperature and amount of excess air in the flue gas can be controlled
by manipulating the fuel flow rate and the fuel/air ratio. The crude oil composition
and the heating quality of the fuel are common disturbance variables.

(d) Kidney dialysis unit. This medical equipment is used to remove waste products
from the blood of human patients whose own kidneys are failing or have failed. The
blood flow rate is maintained by a pump, and “ambient conditions,” such as
temperature in the unit, are controlled by adjusting a flow rate. The dialysis is
continued long enough to reduce waste concentrations to acceptable levels.

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For each of these four examples, the process control problem has been characterized
by identifying three important types of process variables.

Controlled variables (CVs): The process variables that are controlled. The desired value
of a controlled variable is referred to as its set point.
Manipulated variables (MVs): The process variables that can be adjusted in order to
keep the controlled variables at or near their set points. Typically, the manipulated
variables are flow rates.
Disturbance variables (DVs): Process variables that affect the controlled variables but
cannot be manipulated. Disturbances generally are related to changes in the operating
environment of the process: for example, its feed conditions or ambient temperature.
Some disturbance variables can be measured on-line, but many cannot such as the
crude oil composition for Process (c), a thermal cracking furnace.

1.1.2 Batch and Semibatch Processes

Batch and semibatch processes are used in many process industries, including microelectronics,
pharmaceuticals, specialty chemicals, and fermentation. Batch and semibatch processes provide
needed flexibility for multiproduct plants, especially when products change frequently and production
quantities are small. Figure 1.2 shows four representative batch and semibatch processes:

(e) Jacketed batch reactor. In a batch reactor, an initial charge (e.g., reactants and catalyst) is placed in
the reactor, agitated, and brought to the desired starting conditions. For exothermic reactions, cooling
jackets are used to keep the reactor temperature at or near the desired set point. Typically, the reactor
temperature is regulated by adjusting the coolant flow rate. The endpoint composition of the batch can
be controlled by adjusting the temperature set point and/or the cycle time, the time period for reactor
operation. At the end of the batch, the reactor contents are removed and either stored or transferred
to another process unit such as a separation process.
(f) Semibatch bioreactor. For a semibatch reactor, one of the two alternative operations is used: (i) a
reactant is gradually added as the batch proceeds or (ii) a product stream is withdrawn during the
reaction. The first configuration can be used to reduce the side reactions while the second
configuration allows the reaction equilibrium to be changed by withdrawing one of the products
(Fogler, 2010).
For bioreactors, the first type of semibatch operation is referred to as a fed-batch operation; it is shown

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 For bioreactors, the first type of semibatch operation is referred to as a fed-batch operation; it is shown
in Fig. 1.2(f). In order to better regulate the growth of the desired microorganisms, a nutrient is slowly
added in a predetermined manner.
(g) Semibatch digester in a pulp mill. Both continuous and semibatch digesters are used in paper
manufacturing to break down wood chips in order to extract the cellulosic fibers. The end point of the
chemical reaction is indicated by the kappa number, a measure of lignin content. It is controlled to a
desired value by adjusting the digester temperature, pressure, and/or cycle time.
(h) Plasma etcher in semiconductor processing. A single wafer containing hundreds of printed circuits is
subjected to a mixture of etching gases under conditions suitable to establish and maintain a plasma (a
high voltage applied at high temperature and extremely low pressure). The unwanted material on a
layer of a microelectronics circuit is selectively removed by chemical reactions. The temperature,
pressure, and flow rates of etching gases to the reactor are controlled by adjusting electrical heaters
and control valves.

1.2 ILLUSTRATIVE EXAMPLE—A BLENDING PROCESS

A simple blending process is used to introduce some important issues in control

system design. Blending operations are commonly used in many industries to
ensure that final products meet customer specifications.

Design Question vs Control Question.

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Ch.1 Page 6
Lecture 2
Tuesday, January 14, 2025 7:17 PM

Basic Principle of Process Control

Feedback Control of a blending Process

Figure 1.4 Blending system and Control Method 1.

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 Figure 1.6 Block diagram for the outlet composition feedback control system in Fig. 1.4.

Feedforward Control of a blending Process

Measure x1 and adjust w2. we could measure disturbance variable x1 and adjust w2
accordingly.

Method 2 is an example of a feedforward control strategy. The distinguishing feature of

feedforward control is that the disturbance variable is measured, but the controlled variable
is not. The important advantage of feedforward control is that corrective action is taken
before the controlled variable deviates from the set point. Ideally, the corrective action will
cancel the effects of the disturbance so that the controlled variable is not affected by the
disturbance. Although ideal cancelation is generally not possible, feedforward control can
significantly reduce the effects of measured disturbances

Feedforward control has three significant disadvantages: (i) the disturbance variable
must be measured (or accurately estimated), (ii) no corrective action is taken for
unmeasured disturbances, and (iii) a process model is required. For example, the
feedforward control strategy for the blending system (Method 2) does not take any
corrective action for unmeasured w1 disturbances.
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 corrective action for unmeasured w1 disturbances.

Advantages Disadvantages
Feedforward Controller
Acts before the effect of a Requires identification of all possible
disturbance has been felt by disturbances and their direct
the system measurement
Is good for slow Can not cope with unmeasured
(multicapacity) or with disturbances
significant time delay
It does not introduce Sensitive to process parameter
instability in the closed-loop variations
response
Requires good knowledge of the process
model
Feedback Controller
It does not require It waits until the effect of disturbances
identification and has been felt by the system, before
measurement of any control action is taken
disturbance
It is insensitive to modeling It is unsatisfactory for slow processes or
error with significant time delay
It is insensitive to parameter It may create instability in the closed-
changes loop.
Multiple controlled variables and Multiple manipulated variables
As a representative example, consider the distillation column in Fig. 1.7, with five controlled variables and five
manipulated variables.
Controlled variables: product compositions, xD and xB, column pressure, P, and the liquid levels in the reflux drum
and column base, hD and hB.
Manipulated variables : product flow rates, D and B, reflux flow, R, and the heat duties for the condenser and
reboiler, QD and QB. The heat duties are adjusted via the control valves on the coolant and heating medium lines.

Note: The feed stream is assumed to come from an upstream unit. Thus, the feed flow rate cannot be manipulated,
but it can be measured and used for feedforward control.

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Pairing of CV-MV in a multiple loop Control System

A conventional multiloop control strategy for this distillation column would consist of five feedback
control loops. Each control loop uses a single manipulated variable to control a single controlled
variable. But how should the controlled and manipulated variables be paired? The total number of
different multiloop control configurations that could be considered is 5!, or 120. Many of these
control configurations are impractical or unworkable, such as any configuration that attempts to
control the base level hB by manipulating distillate flow D or condenser heat duty QD. However, even
after the infeasible control configurations are eliminated, there are still many reasonable
configurations left. Thus, there is a need for systematic techniques that can identify the most
promising multiloop configurations.

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Practice Problem
Tuesday, January 14, 2025 6:50 PM

A process furnace heats a process stream from near ambient

temperature to a desired temperature of 300℃. The process stream
outlet temperature is regulated by manipulating the flow rate of the fuel
gas to the furnace, as shown below.
(a) Discuss the objectives of this control strategy.
(b) What is the measured output?
(c) What is the manipulated variable?
(d) What are the possible disturbances?
(e) Is this a continuous or batch process?
(f) Is this a feedback or feed-forward controller?
(g) Draw a control block schematic diagram and label all signals and blocks
on the diagram.

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Practice Question 2
Friday, January 3, 2025 6:28 AM

The distillation column shown in Fig. E1.7 is used to distill a binary mixture. Symbols x, y, and z denote mole
fractions of the more volatile component, while B, D, R, and F represent molar flow rates. It is desired to
control distillate composition y despite disturbances in feed flow rate F. All flow rates can be measured and
manipulated with the exception of F, which can only be measured. A composition analyzer provides
measurements of y.
(A) Propose a feedback control method and sketch the schematic diagram.
(B) Suggest a feedforward control method and sketch the schematic diagram

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Practice Question 1
Friday, January 3, 2025 6:25 AM

Which of the following statements are true? For the false statements, explain why you think they are false:

(A) Feedforward and feedback control require a measured variable.

(B) For feedforward control, the measured variable is the variable to be controlled.

(C) Feedback control theoretically can provide perfect control (i.e., no deviations from set point) if the process model used
to design the control system is perfect.

(D) Feedback control takes corrective action for all types of process disturbances, both known and unknown.

(E) Feedback control is superior to feedforward control.

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