PLANTWIDE CONTROL STRUCTURE DESIGN OF HYDRODEALKYLATION PROCESS

Abstract

The Hydrodealkylation process (HDA) contains a complex flowsheet with material and energy recycles and many different unit operations. The behavior of this nonlinear petrochemical process is considered highly complex. Hence, the effective plantwide control structure is evidently crucial. In this present work, Wongsri’s plantwide control structure design procedure is applied to the HDA plant. The design procedure consists of 5 stages of 8 steps which emphasis on the establishment of a fixture plant by regulating material component flow rates using their quantifiers and handlers on their pathways and employing disturbance management policy. The design is illustrated through transparent and instructive steps resulting in workable plantwide control structures. The performances of the new designs are evaluated using the commercial rigorous dynamic simulator and compared with Luyben’s structure. The performances of the new structures are better than that of Luyben in terms of disturbance handing, response speed, and product purity maintaining.