Optimization and control of a continuous polymerization reactor

This work studies the optimization and control of a styrene polymerization reactor. The proposed strategy deals with the case where, because of market conditions and equipment deterioration, the optimal operating point of the continuous reactor is modified significantly along the operation time and...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Brazilian journal of chemical engineering 2012-12, Vol.29 (4), p.807-820
Main Authors: Alvarez, L. A., Odloak, D.
Format: Article
Language:eng ; por
Subjects:
ENGINEERING, CHEMICAL
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:This work studies the optimization and control of a styrene polymerization reactor. The proposed strategy deals with the case where, because of market conditions and equipment deterioration, the optimal operating point of the continuous reactor is modified significantly along the operation time and the control system has to search for this optimum point, besides keeping the reactor system stable at any possible point. The approach considered here consists of three layers: the Real Time Optimization (RTO), the Model Predictive Control (MPC) and a Target Calculation (TC) that coordinates the communication between the two other layers and guarantees the stability of the whole structure. The proposed algorithm is simulated with the phenomenological model of a styrene polymerization reactor, which has been widely used as a benchmark for process control. The complete optimization structure for the styrene process including disturbances rejection is developed. The simulation results show the robustness of the proposed strategy and the capability to deal with disturbances while the economic objective is optimized.
ISSN:0104-6632
1678-4383
0104-6632
DOI:10.1590/S0104-66322012000400012