On applying model predictive control for distillation system of linear alkylbenzene (LAB) complex

Abstract This paper introduces industrial application via a commercial software of model predictive control (MPC) for distillation columns in a LAB plant, which consists of four distillation columns, HF acid stripper, benzene column, paraffin column, and LAB column in series. A MPC system in which is constructed of 12 controlled variables, 12 manipulated variables and 8 disturbance variables is developed to deal with the constrained multivariable control problem on-line of the distillation columns. The MPC system is divided to four subsystems according to the distillation columns. Each subsystem is relatively independent with the others and mainly takes charge one column. Industrial application results show that the MPC software can maintain the best operation for a long time and realize ultimate operating potential of the distillation system by reducing the consumption of energy, improving product purity, and minimizing operating cost.