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17 viewsControl system Note ( Refinery)
The document discusses the control of chemical processes, outlining the objectives of defining chemical process control, describing its needs, analyzing control system characteristics, and formulating associated problems. It emphasizes the importance of safety, production specifications, and economic performance in chemical plants, while introducing feedback and feedforward control systems to manage external disturbances. Examples from the chemical industry illustrate the necessity of effective control mechanisms to maintain stability and optimize operations.
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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
17 viewsControl system Note ( Refinery)
The document discusses the control of chemical processes, outlining the objectives of defining chemical process control, describing its needs, analyzing control system characteristics, and formulating associated problems. It emphasizes the importance of safety, production specifications, and economic performance in chemical plants, while introducing feedback and feedforward control systems to manage external disturbances. Examples from the chemical industry illustrate the necessity of effective control mechanisms to maintain stability and optimize operations.
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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/ 14
Ww
wn rye
The Control of ”
a Chemical Process:
Its Characteristics
and Associated
Problems
The needs are intimately related to the problems, and the problems, as
usual, wear a sometimes effective camouflage.
A. S. Foss*
The purpose of the following three introductory chapters is:
1. To define what we mean by chemical process control
” 2. To describe the needs and the incentives for controlling a chemi-
cal process
3. To analyze the characteristics of a control system and to formu-
late the problems that must be solved during its design
4. To provide the rationale for studying the material that follows in
subsequent chapters
To achieve the foregoing objectives, we will use a series of exam-
ples taken from the chemical industry. These examples are usually
simplified and serve only to demonstrate the various qualitative points
made.
“Critique of Chemical Process Control Theory,” AIChE J., 19(2), 209 (1973).
\ Incentives for Chemical 1
Process Control
A chemical plant is an arrangement of processing units (reactors,
heat exchangers, pumps, distillation columns, absorbers, evaporators,
tanks, etc.), integrated with one another in a systematic and rational
manner. The plant's overall objective is to convert certain raw materials
(input feedstock) into desired products using available sources of
grin the most economical way z .
uring its operation, a chemical plant must satisfy several require-
ments imposed by its designers and the general technical, economic,
and social conditions in the presence of ever-changing external influ-
irbances). Among such requirements are the following:
“Safety: The safe operation of a chemical process is a primary
O ireauinement for the well-being of the people in the plant and for
bs its continued contribution to the economic development. Thus
the operating pressures, temperatures, concentration of chemi-
cals, and so on, should always be within allowable limits. For
example, ifa reactor has been designed to operate at a pressure up
to 100 psig, we should have a control system that will maintain the
pressuse-below this value. As another example, we should try to
jdthe development of explosive mixtures during the opera-
ofa plant.
Production specifications: A plant should produce the desired
/ amounts and quality of the final products. For example, we may
Incentives for Chemical Proc c a
5 Cont
ion of 2 mini
Theres ‘On Pounds of
the production jeer # COMtO system jg ee veRe er day, of
u 0, which implies that
T < Ty the controller opens the steam valve so that more heat ean be
supplied. On the contrary, the controller closes the steam valve when
«<0 or T> T,. Itis clear that when T= T, (ie., €=0), the controller
docs nothing. This control system, which measures the variable of direct
importance (T” in this case) after a disturbance had its effect on it, is
called the feedback control system. The desired value T, is called the set
oint’and is Supplied externally by the person in charge of production.
‘A similar configuration can be used if we want to keep the volume V
¢r equivalently the liquid level A, at its set point A, when F; changes. In
this case we measure the level of the liquid in the tank and we open or
(see Figure'.3) Its clear that the control systems shown in Figure 1.3 are
also feedback control systems. All feedback systems'shown in Figures 1.2
and 1.3 act post facto (after the fact), that is, after the effect of the
disturbances has been felt by the process. ae
Returning to the tank heater example, we rgalize that we can use @
Sifferent control arrangement to maintain 7'~ 7, when T, changes. Mea-
Sure the temperature of the inlet stream 7; arid open or close the steam
Valve to provide more or less steam. Sugh a control configuration is
called feedforward control and is shown in Figure 1.4. We notice that the
feedforward control does not wait until the effect of the disturbances has
been felt by the system, but acts appropriately before the external disturb
ance affects the system, anticipating what its effect will be. The charac.
teristics of the feedback and feedforward control systems will be studied
Goeite valve that affects the eMMuent ow rate F, oF inlet flow rate F
x ee “antives for Chom o
hahtmtenaate sty soc) cai v1 (eva for Cherrcal Procaes Cong
ess. Characteristics and As:
remica Prove
The suppresion of the impact that disturt
| seam yt hima tte mats ve
Control in the chemical industry Festons f0F the use of
| teal measarng Ss
| = fan the Stabilty of a Process 7
Set pont “onsider the behavior of t He LS. Notice that
Dt eg (at time t= to the constant value of is disturbed hm
i é
