Purpose of Process
Control in Chemical
Process Industries
Purpose of Process Control in Chemical Process Industries
(CPI)
SAFETY: PRODUCT ENVIRONMENTAL
QUALITY/QUANTITY: REGULATIONS:
Purpose of Process Control in Chemical Process Industries
(CPI)
OPERATIONAL ECONOMICS: RELIABILITY:
CONSTRAINTS:
Ensuring the
Suppression of
stability of the
What disturbances
process
Process
Control Optimizing the
performance of the
actually process
do?
Control
Hierarchy
Hierarchy
of plant‐
wide
control
framewor
k
Regulator
y PID
Control
Layer
Regulatory The bottommost level, which is directly
PID Control connected with the instruments of the plant,
is known as basic regulatory PID control
Layer level
Simple conventional temperature, pressure,
flow control loops along with cascade
control, and ratio control are fall under this
level
The primary goals of this base‐level control
are fast sensing the disturbance, fast
disturbance rejection, and operational
stability
Execution time is typically one second or
less
PID controllers have been available for
decades across chemical process industries
and are considered the backbone of the
industrial control system
Advance
Regulatory The second layer just above
the PID control layer is called
The main feature of this
control layer is that most of
Control Layer the advanced regulatory
control
the time they are multi‐input,
singleoutput systems
A few examples are pressure‐
compensated temperature,
Simple inferential process
pressure, temperature, and
calculation‐based control
density‐compensated flow or
systems such as heater duty
mass flow, simple
control and distillation tower
feedforward control based on
flooding control also fall
auxiliary measurements, and
under this category
override or adaptive gain
control
ARCs are typically
implemented using function
Execution time is typically
blocks or custom
one to two seconds
programming capabilities at
the DCS level
Advance Regulatory
Control Layer
→ Primary goals are
enhanced stability
and performance,
simple inferential
control, and
feedforward actions
along with feedback
control
Multivaria
ble Model‐
Based
Control
This type of control is
characterized by
Multivariable simultaneous
Model‐Based considerations of many
controlled variables and
That’s why this type of
control is called a multi‐
Control simultaneously
adjusting many
input, multioutput
system
manipulated variables
based on model
predictions
Simultaneous control of
The heart of the control
more than one CV by
is a dynamic model of
coordinated adjustment
the process that
of more than one MV is
predicts future paths of
a main feature of this
control variables
control layer
An MPC is a
multivariable model
predictive controller that Typical execution time is
sits above a regulatory one to five minutes
control implemented in
DCS
Multivariable Model‐
Based Control
→ MPC resides in a
supervisory
computer, which at
regular intervals
scans measured
data from the DCS
system and then
writes set point to
the regulatory
control loop
Economic Optimization Layer
Optimization layers sit at the top of multivariable control
layer
Optimization again has three layers
First Layer of
Optimization
MPC provides first‐level
optimization
User normally specifies an
economic objective function for
the controller and assigns costs
or values to its variables
The multivariable control layer
and this first layer of optimizer
together are known as model‐
based predictive control
Typical execution time is one to
five minutes
Second
Layer of
Optimizati
on
Second Layer of
Optimization
This layer sits on the top of first layer of
optimization and overlooks any potential
opportunity that exists among the
different units of a process plant
This optimization algorithm coordinates
between different units of the plant,
makes use of feedforward or disturbance
variables, and tries to optimize the overall
plant objective functions instead of
individual unit objective functions with an
aim to maximize the economic benefit of
whole plant
This particular feature is exploited in the
multiunit optimizer
Hierarchy
of plant‐
wide
control
framewor
k
Real time optimizer
(RTO) Real‐time optimizer is the highest level
of optimizer whose job is to optimally
shift in operation priorities as per
market demand and raw material
availability
Via this technique, circumstances of
changing economics, varying feed
types, and modes can be handled such
that a high number of multiple
constraints can be met simultaneously
and “hidden” opportunities from distant
interactions in the plant can be
exploited
As already seen, advance process
control today is a multilevel hierarchical
control, solves a variety of problems,
and requires large, multilevel technical
skills starting with control engineering,
planning and scheduling engineers,
process engineering, and optimization
experts
Process Control is Today’s process control
most important tool to systems not only keep the
maximize profit in process parameters within
chemical process their desired range but
industry also dynamically move
the plant in the most
economically optimum
zone
They keep recalculating
and moving the plant
while the economical
optimum zone keeps
moving from one place to
another based on market
demand and input
constraints
Advantage of Implementing advance process control
Expected cost vs. benefits for different levels
Typical benefit of process
control
How Does Process Control
Extract Benefit?
PROCESS CONTROL
Inherent Stabilization
Effect
It pushes
its controlled
variables
toward their
constraints.
PROCESS CONTROL
Inherent Stabilization
Effect
Reduced
variability
allows operation
closer to
constraints by
shifting set
point
Multiple
constraints
Operating zone
limited by
multiple
constraints
Intangible Benefits of Process
Control •
Improved PROCESS CONTROL works as a process watchdog and is
capable of identifying any problem beforehand, as it has
process safety: predictive capability.
Improved • After PROCESS CONTROL implementations, operators can
focus on key operating parameters and plant constraints
operator rather than focusing on every temperature, pressure, and
effectiveness: flow value.
Reduced • It has been reported in industry that fewer process upsets
downstream unit are seen in downstream units after PROCESS CONTROL
implementations.
variability:
• As PROCESS CONTROL works on plant economics and
Better process plant constraints, operators and engineers have better
process understanding after PROCESS CONTROL
information: implementation.
