Process control

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Automatic process control in continuous

production processes is a combination of
control engineering and chemical
engineering disciplines that uses industrial
control systems to achieve a production
level of consistency, economy and safety
which could not be achieved purely by
human manual control. It is implemented
widely in industries such as oil refining,
pulp and paper manufacturing, chemical
processing and power generating plants.

There is a wide range of size, type and

complexity, but it enables a small number
of operators to manage complex
processes to a high degree of consistency.
The development of large automatic
process control systems was instrumental
in enabling the design of large high volume
and complex processes, which could not
be otherwise economically or safely
operated.

In process control, there is process gain.

Process gain is the relationship between
the process control output and the
process control input, and is defined as the
change in input divided by the change in
output. Positive gain is when both the
input and the output are increasing, while
negative gain is when the input increases,
while the output decreases.

The applications can range from

controlling the temperature and level of a
single process vessel, to a complete
chemical processing plant with several
thousand control loops.

History
Early process control breakthroughs came
most frequently in the form of water
control devices. Ktesibios of Alexandria is
credited for inventing float valves to
regulate water level of water clocks in the
3rd Century BC. In the 1st Century AD,
Heron of Alexandria invented a water valve
similar to the fill valve used in modern
toilets [1].

Later process controls inventions involved

basic physics principles. In 1620, Cornlis
Drebbel invented a bimetallic thermostat
for controlling the temperature in a
furnace. In 1681, Denis Papin discovered
the pressure inside a vessel could be
regulated by placing weights on top of the
vessel lid[2]. In 1745, Edmund Lee created
the fantail to improve windmill efficiency; a
fantail was a smaller windmill placed 90°
of the larger fans to keep the face of the
windmill pointed directly into the
oncoming wind.

With the dawn of the Industrial Revolution

in the 1760’s, process controls inventions
were aimed to replace human operators
with mechanized processes. In 1784,
Oliver Evans created a water-powered
flourmill which operated using buckets
and screw conveyors. Henry Ford applied
the same theory in 1910 when the
assembly line was created to decrease
human intervention in the automobile
production process[3].

Major breakthroughs in process controls

came in the 1920’s, when Nicolas
Minorsky published a study on using
proportional, derivative, and second-
derivative controllers to steer ships.
Minorsky also demonstrated that
differential equations could be used to
improve ship steering stability. In addition,
Harry Nyquist developed a procedure for
determining the stability of feedback
systems. Throughout the next 3 decades,
countless articles and papers on process
control theory appeared. Most notably, the
first text on process controls was
published by AJ Young in 1954, followed
by a second text from Norman Ceaglske in
1956. From this point onward, process
controls became fundamental topic for
chemical engineering students[4].

Hierarchy

Functional levels of a manufacturing control

operation
operation.

The accompanying diagram is a general

model which shows functional
manufacturing levels in a large process
using processor and computer-based
control.

Referring to the diagram;

Level 0 contains the field devices such

as flow and temperature sensors
(process value readings - PV), and final
control elements (FCE), such as control
valves
Level 1 contains the industrialised
Input/Output (I/O) modules, and their
 associated distributed electronic
processors.
Level 2 contains the supervisory
computers, which collate information
from processor nodes on the system,
and provide the operator control
screens.
Level 3 is the production control level,
which does not directly control the
process, but is concerned with
monitoring production and monitoring
targets
Level 4 is the production scheduling
level.

Control Model
To determine the fundamental model for
any process, the inputs and outputs of the
system are defined differently than for
other chemical processes[5]. The balance
equations are defined by the control inputs
and outputs rather than the material
inputs. The control model is a set of
equations used to predict the behavior of a
system and can help determine what the
response to change will be.

State Variable (x) - This is a measurable

variable that is a good indicator of the
state of the system, such as
temperature (energy balance), volume
(mass balance) or concentration
(component balance).
Input Variable (u) - This is a specified
variable that commonly include flow
rates. It's important to note that the
entering and exiting flows are both
considered control inputs. The control
input can be classified as a manipulated,
disturbance, or unmonitored variable.
Parameters (p) - The parameters are
usually a physical limitation and
something that is fixed for the system,
such as the vessel volume or the
viscosity of the material.
 Output (y) - The output is the metric
used to determine the behavior of the
system. The control output can be
classified as measured, unmeasured, or
unmonitored.

Types
Processes can be characterized as one or
more of the following forms:

Batch – Some applications require that

specific quantities of raw materials be
combined in specific ways for particular
duration to produce an intermediate or
end result. One example is the
production of adhesives and glues,
which normally require the mixing of raw
materials in a heated vessel for a period
of time to form a quantity of end
product. Other important examples are
the production of food, beverages and
medicine. Batch processes are generally
used to produce a relatively low to
intermediate quantity of product per
year (a few pounds to millions of
pounds).
Continuous – Often, a physical system
is represented through variables that are
smooth and uninterrupted in time. The
control of the water temperature in a
heating jacket, for example, is an
example of continuous process control.
 Some important continuous processes
are the production of fuels, chemicals
and plastics. Continuous processes in
manufacturing are used to produce very
large quantities of product per year
(millions to billions of pounds). Such
controls use feedback such as in the
PID controller A PID Controller includes
proportional, integrating, and derivative
controller functions.
Hybrid - Applications having elements of
batch and continuous process control
are often called hybrid applications.

Control loops
Example of a continuous flow control loop. Signalling
is by industry standard 4-20 mA current loops, and a
"smart" valve positioner ensures the control valve
operates correctly.

The fundamental building block of any

industrial control system is the control
loop, which controls just one process
variable. An example is shown in the
accompanying diagram, where the flow
rate in a pipe is controlled by a PID
controller, assisted by what is effectively a
cascaded loop in the form of a valve
servo-controller to ensure correct valve
positioning.

Some large systems may have several

hundreds or thousands of control loops. In
complex processes the loops are
interactive, so that the operation of one
loop may affect the operation of another.
The system diagram for representing
control loops is a Piping and
instrumentation diagram.

Commonly used controllers are

programmable logic controller (PLC),
Distributed Control System (DCS) or
SCADA.
Example of level control system of a continuous
stirred-tank reactor. The flow control into the tank
would be cascaded off the level control.

A further example is shown. If a control

valve were used to hold level in a tank, the
level controller would compare the
equivalent reading of a level sensor to the
level setpoint and determine whether more
or less valve opening was necessary to
keep the level constant. A cascaded flow
controller could then calculate the change
in the valve position.

Economic advantages
The economic nature of many products
manufactured in batch and continuous
processes require highly efficient
operation due to thin margins. The
competing factor in process control is that
products must meet certain specifications
in order to be satisfactory. These
specifications can come in two forms: a
minimum and maximum for a property of
the material or product, or a range within
which the property must be.[6] All loops are
susceptible to disturbances and therefore
a buffer must be used on process set
points to ensure disturbances do not
cause the material or product to go out of
specifications. This buffer comes at an
economic cost (i.e. additional processing,
maintaining elevated or depressed
process conditions, etc.).

Process efficiency can be enhanced by

reducing the margins necessary to ensure
product specifications are met.[7] This can
be done by improving the control of the
process to minimize the effect of
disturbances on the process. The
efficiency is improved in a two step
method of narrowing the variance and
shifting the target.[8] Margins can be
narrowed through various process
upgrades (i.e. equipment upgrades,
enhanced control methods, etc.). Once
margins are narrowed, an economic
analysis can be done on the process to
determine how the set point target is to be
shifted. Less conservative process set
points lead to increased economic
efficiency.[9] Effective process control
strategies increase the competitive
advantage of manufacturers who employ
them.

List of techniques and

mechanisms used
Actuator
Automation
Automatic control
Check weigher
Closed-loop controller
Control engineering
Control loop
Control panel
Control system
Control theory
Controllability
Controller (control theory)
Cruise control
Current loop
Digital control
Distributed control system
Feedback
Feed-forward
Fieldbus
Flow control valve
Fuzzy control system
Gain scheduling
Intelligent control
Laplace transform
Linear parameter-varying control
Measurement instruments
Model predictive control
Negative feedback
Nonlinear control
Open-loop controller
Operational historian
Proportional Control
PID controller
Piping and instrumentation diagram
Positive feedback
Process capability
Programmable Logic Controller
Regulator (automatic control)
SCADA
Servomechanism
 Setpoint
Signal-flow graph
Simatic S5 PLC
Sliding mode control
Temperature control
Transducer
Valve
Watt governor
Process control monitoring

External links
The Michigan Chemical Engineering
Process Dynamics and Controls Open
Textbook
 PID Control Theory and Best Practices
Process Control Equipment Video
Tutorials
PID control virtual laboratory, free video
tutorials, on-line simulators, advanced
process control schemes
Process & Control publication

References
1. 2
2. 2
3. 2
4. 2
5. 3
6. 1
7. 1
8. 1
9. 1

1. Smith, C. L., “Process Control for the

Process Industries - Part 2: Steady State
Characteristics,” Chemical Engineering
Progress, pp. 67–73 (March 2017).

2. Svrcek, William Y., et al. “A Brief History

of Control and Simulation.” A Real Time
Approach to Process Control, John Wiley &
Sons Inc., 2014, pp. 1–2.

3. Bequette, B. W., "Process Control:

Modeling, Design, and Simulation."
Prentice Hall, 2003, pg. (57-58).
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