Process Design and Control by Nonlinear Analysis: Applications to Reactor-separator-recycle Systems

Nowadays it is widely accepted that a strong interaction between design and control exists, and the design of a chemical process fundamentally determines its inherent controllability. Consequently, it is extremely important to realize that the controller and the chemical process form a unit. Therefore, credit or discredit for the excellent or poor results obtained are attributable to one as much as the other. This book provides original insights by considering the integration of dynamics and plantwide control strategies during the process synthesis and design activities. Nonlinear analysis is used as a powerful tool to investigate the state multiplicity of chemical processes such as reactor-separator-recycle systems, and consequently establish the best design and plantwide control strategy. Furthermore, a novel process design and control methodology is developed and applied to various case studies from the chemical industry (e.g. hydrogenation, alkylation and polymerization). The topics included in this book are addressed to everyone involved in chemical process design and control, from undergraduate students and graduate researchers to professors and industrial professionals.