Control of Axial Temperature Distribution in a Packed-Bed Reactor

Control of temperature profiles of a tubular packed-bed reactor with our proposed design method for a parabolic distributed parameter system is investigated. The oxidation reactor of carbon monoxide over a platinum-catalyst is used as a controlled process. The reactor dynamics are modeled by a simple parabolic partial differential equation in one-dimensional space, on the assumption that temperature distribution in the radial direction of the reactor is negligible. A state feedback controller was designed by use of a reduced order lumped parameter system, which was obtained by applying the finite integral transform technique to the phenomenological model of the process. It is demonstrated that hot-spot temperatures can be eliminated and the axial temperature profile of the reactor can be made to agree well with a specified target profile.