Temperature control strategies comparison: a case study of an industrial semi-batch hydrogenation reactor

• Autor(a) principal: Lima, Fabrício Feijó de
• Data de Publicação: 2020
• Tipo de documento: Dissertação
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Biblioteca Digital de Teses e Dissertações da USP
• Texto Completo: https://www.teses.usp.br/teses/disponiveis/97/97139/tde-06082021-084510/
• topic: Estratégia de controle de temperatura; Hidrogenação; Hydrogenation; Reator semi-batelada; Semi-batch reactor; Temperature control strategy

Nowadays, semi-batch processes are widely used due to their high added-value products and their production flexibility. Therefore, the optimization of this kind of process plays a major role to guarantee economic performance of the business. In this work, an industrial hydrogenation reactor from a multinational chemical company located at São Paulo state in Brazil was mathematically modeled and then simulated at MATLAB. The model, based on the reaction\'s kinetics, and mass and energy balances, was validated through real plant data and then, the open-loop dynamic of the process was evaluated through a model sensitivity analysis. In the light of model sensitivity analysis, three new temperature control strategies were proposed: cascade, override and cascade+override. These techniques were then compared with each other and with the current feedback controller of the industrial hydrogenation reactor. As a result, the cascade controller showed good results regarding not only temperature tracking but also for product quality and then was chosen as the most suitable for this case study. In addition, several future work proposals were done, aiming the use of tools to refine the model, use of the model to perform operational training and process safety analysis, development and comparison with other control strategies, and investigation of anti-reset windup and controller\'s tuning methodologies.