Process Control Fundamentals

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Process Control Fundamentals

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Introduction to Process Control

•Chemical plants are never truly at steady state. 

•Feed and environmental disturbances, heat exchanger 

fouling, and catalytic degradation continuously upset the conditions of a smooth-running process

•Process dynamics refer to an unsteady-state or transient behavior.

What does a control system do?

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Imagine you are sitting in a cabin in front of a small fire on a cold winter evening. You feel uncomfortably cold, so you throw another log on the fire.

This is an example of a control loop. In the control loop, a variable (temperature) fell below the setpoint (your comfort level), and you took action to bring the process back into the desired condition by adding fuel to the fire. The control loop will now remain static until the temperature again rises above or falls below your comfort level.

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