Abstract:
This article aims to study the control structure design of N-Propyl Propionate synthesis process with the application of process gain analysis. The N-Propyl Propionate synthesis process is a complicated chemical plant due to complex interaction between reactive distillation column and material recycle stream, so the process might be difficult to control.
The study started with the simulation of N-Propyl Propionate synthesis proposed by Hong Xu et al. (2014) in steady-state mode and dynamic mode by using Aspen Plus and Aspen Dynamics simulation software, respectively. In the second step, the process was analyzed by applying the process gain to determine the possibility of matching control variables (CVs) to manipulated variables (MVs). The control structure design (CS1), then, was proceeded by matching CVs to MVs through the use of gain array analysis. In the third step, the process gain was applied to the control structure design proposed by Hong Xu et al. (2014) (CS0) before finding the difference between CS0 and CS1. Finally, the control performance of CS1 was tested by feed-flow disturbance and temperature disturbance, and compared with the control performance of CS0.
The simulation results showed that the control performance of CS1 had a quicker response than that of CS0; therefore, it was concluded that the process gain could be used for designing the control structure in such process effectively.