Improved Operation of an Industrial Distillation Column Through Advanced control

Abstract This paper considers the potential improvement in operation of an industrial C 3 -splitter column. A simplified model was developed to determine the optimal operation of the column and requirements for closed-loop control. Model predictive control was shown to provide a substantial improvement over a conventionally tuned multiloop controller. Controlled column behaviour comparable to that possible with model predictive control was shown to be achievable using a multiloop controller tuned specifically so as to incorporate disturbance rejection capabilities.