Abstract:
The continual economic drive to achieve
improved process efficiencies has made process integration and
intensification a main stay in process industries ranging from
petrochemicals to biotechnology. However, from a process
control viewpoint these integrated and intensified processes are
much harder to control due to complex process dynamics
and/or reduced degrees of freedom. As such, in many process
industries the realized efficiency gain through integration and
intensification is diminished. The objective of this article is to
highlight some of the lessons learnt by the authors during their
involvement in controlling intensified processes in different
process industries. To this end two industrial troubleshooting
case studies of a side-draw distillation column and a divided
wall column are presented together with actual problems the
facilities faced and how the solutions developed enabled them
to be remedied within industrial limitations. This is followed by
an analysis of the current process integration and
intensification drive of dairy and bioprocesses. Finally the
lessons learnt in these diverse process industries are
summarized and its implication for process control discussed.
