Decentralized Process Control of Reactive Dividing Wall Columns

In this work a decentralized control structure for the reactive dividing wall column (RDWC) is proposed. Based on sensitivity analyses with a steady state model the optimal pairing of controlled and manipulated variables is shown. For the first time an experimental study about a RDWC control structure is conducted. Therefore, an enzymatic catalysed reactive dividing wall column in pilot scale is employed. Several experiments are carried out systematically in order to examine the dynamic performance under the influence of disturbances. In this paper the results of disturbances in heat duty and set point changes are shown and discussed.