Adaptive Process Control Using Chemical Engineering Fundamentals

One weakness of traditional regulatory and advanced process control (APC) applications is their assumption that the underlying process is linear, i.e. it always behaves in exactly the same way. Non-linear control (NLC) technology can be applied in extreme cases, but usually with significantly higher cost and difficulty level. In many cases, traditional linear control applications can be configured to automatically adjust, or adapt, to changing conditions using chemical engineering fundamentals such as hydraulics, material balances and thermodynamics. This presentation will discuss the need for adaptive process controls, including several practical examples that use basic chemical engineering principles to improve control performance over a range of operating conditions, and some important requirements and limitations for implementing adaptive process control applications.