Control of Quaternary Reactive Distillation Columns: Effects of Number and Location of Temperature Loops

Abstract

The most frequently studied ideal system for reactive distillation columns is the quaternary system with two reactants and two products. The vast majority of reactive distillation literature on control uses two-point inferential control structures with conventional tray selection techniques such as singular value decomposition (SVD) and relative gain array (RGA) analysis. Another common practice for the ideal systems is the assumption of constant relative volatilities. This paper compares two control structures with different number of temperature loops and two alternative sets of tray locations, in terms of the controllability of systems with temperature-dependent relative volatilities. It is observed that a three-point inferential control structure with a new set of tray locations based on a semisystematic method improves the control performance for all three systems studied. This improvement is particularly significant in the purity of the distillate stream as the temperature dependency increases.

Reaction‐separation interaction on the control of ideal two‐feed, two‐product exothermic reactive distillation columns

“…Numerous control schemes ranging from simple decentralized to more advanced ones were proposed for the same . The effect of the relative volatilities of the components and the number and location of the temperature control loops were explored on the temperature inferential control. The column designs of the RD system with an extra number of reactive trays over the optimum design were shown to be more controllable .…”

Design and Control of Dividing-Wall Column for the Synthesis of n-Propyl Propionate by Reactive Distillation

“…Control of an R-DWC is extraordinary more difficult than that of an RD column because of the inner complex structures of the R-DWC . The control of RD columns and DWCs has been studied by many researchers, − but the control of R-DWCs has received less attention, and few studies of it have been reported. However, an R-DWC can be considered as the combination of an RD column and a DWC, so it might be useful to investigate the control of an RD column and a DWC in a study of the control of an R-DWC.…”