MODELING THE DYNAMIC AND STATIC BEHAVIOR OF CHEMICAL PROCESSES

what goes on in the modellers head is not purely formalizable, either in abstract termsor in
the taxonomic views it has structure, it has technique that can be taught and learned, but
involves also a personal touch , not only in trivialities but in deeper considerations of skill
and suitability.
R. Aris and M.Pen
in order to analyze the behavior of a chemical process and to answer some of the
questions raised in previous chapters abut its control, we need a mathematical representation
constitutes the model of the system, while the activities leading to the construction of the
model will be referred to as modeling.
Modeling a chemical process is very synthetic activity, requiring the use of all the basic
principles of chemical engineering , science, such as thermodynamics, kinetics, transport
phenomena, etc. For the design of controller for chemical processes, modeling is ery critical
step. it should be approached with care and thoughtfulness.
The purpose of the following two chapters is
1. To explain why we need to develop a mathematical description ( model) of a
chemical process as a prerequisite to the design of its controller
2. To describe a methodology for the modeling of a chemical process using the balance
equations and provide examples of its implementation
3. To determine the scope and difficulties of the mathematical modeling for process
control purposes
it should be noted that the subsequent chapters dont constitute a complete treatment
of all the aspects on mathematical modeling . but it is limited to those of interest for process
control.
4. development of a mathematical Model
Consider a general processing system with its associated variables as shown in figure
2.1. To investigate how the behavior of a chemical process. (i.e., outputs) changes with time
under the influence of changes in the external disturbances and manipulated variables and
consequently design an appropriate controller, we can use two different approaches :
1. Experimental approach : in this case the physical equipment(s) od the chemical
process is available to us. Consequently, we change deliberately the values of
various inputs (disturbances, manipulated variables) and through appropriate
measuring devices we observe how to output ( temperatures, pressures, flow rates,
concentrations) of the chemical process change with time. Such a procedure is
time and effort consuming and its usually quite costly because a large number of
such experiments must be performed.
2. Theoritical approached : it is quite often the the case that we have to designthe
control system for a chemical process before the process has been constructed. in
such a case we cannot rely on the experimental procedure, and we need a different

representation of the chemical process in order to study its dynamic behavior .

This representation is usually given in terms of a set of mathematical equations
( differential, algebraic whose solution yields the dynamic or static behavior of
the chemical process we examine.

in this text we discuss both approaches for the development of a model for a chemical
process. Initially, we will examine the theoretical approach, leaving the experimental
for subsequent chapters ( chapters 16 and 31)
4.1 Why Do we need mathematical Modeling For Process Control?
Let s repeat that our goal is to develop a control system for a chemical process which
will guarantee that the operational objectives of our process are satisfied in the
presence of ever-changing disturbances. Then, why do we need to develop a
mathematical description (model) for the process we want to control?
in the introductory paragraphs earlier we noted that often the physical
equipment of the chemical process we want to control have not been constructed.
Consequently, we cannot experiment to determine how the process reacts to various
inputs and therefore we cannot design the appropriate control system . But even if the
process equipment is available for experimentation, the procedure is usually very
costly. Therefore, we need a simple description of how the process reacts to various
inputs, and this is what the mathematical models can provide to the control designer.
Let us demonstrate now in terms of some examples the need for the
development of mathematical model before we design the control system for a
chemical process.
Example 4.1 : Design an Integral Controller for a stirred Tank Heater
consider the problem of controlling the temperature of a liquid in a tank using
integral control ( example 2.12) From Figure 2.8 we notice that the quality of the
control depends on the value of the parameter . But the question is : How does
affect the quality of control , and what is its the best value? To answer this question
we need to know how the value of the liquid temperature Ti or the integral action of
the controller . This is given by eq. (2.7), which constitutes the mathematical model
of the tank with integral control.
Example 4.2 : Design a Feed forward controller For a process
in the feedforward control arrangement show in figure 4.1 we measure the value of
the disturbance and anticipate what its effect will be on the output of the process that
we want to control.
value of this output at the desire level, we need to change the value of manipulated
variable by such an amount as to eliminate the impact that the disturbance would
have on the output . The question is : By how much should we change the

manipulated variable in order to cancel the effect of the disturbance? To answer this
question we must know the following two relationships :
Output = f1 (disturbance)
Output = f2 ( manipulated variable)
which are provided by mathematical model of the process. indeed, if the output is
remain the same, the manipulated variable must take such a value that
f1(disturbance) f2 (manipulated variable) = 0
This example demonstrates very vividly how important mathematical modeling is for
the design of a feedforward control system, in fact, without good and accurate
mathematical modeling we cannot design efficient feedforward control systems
Example 4.3 : Design of an Inferential Control System
in the inferential control scheme shown in figure 4.2 we measure the
measured output and try to regulate the value of the unmeasured control objective at a
desired value. Since the control objective is not measure directly, it can only be estimated
from the value of the measured output if a relationship such as the following is available :
Control objective : f (measured output)
Such a relationship in turn is not possible if we dont have a mathematical representation of
the process ( mathematical model). Once the value of the control objective can be estimated
from a relationship such as the above, it can be compared to the desired value ( set point) and
the contoller can be activated for appropriate action as in feedback control.
We notice, therefore, that the availability of a good mathematical model for the
process is indispensable for the design of good inferential control systems.
The three examples above indicate very clearly that mathematical modeling of a process is of
paramount importance for the design of good and efficient control systems for a chemical
process. In the following sections we develop a methodology for the concise modeling of
chemical processes.
4.2 State Variables and State Equations for a Chemical Process
In order to characterize a processing system ( tank heater, batch reactor, distillation column,
heat charger, etc.) and its behavior we need :
1. a set of fundamental dependent quantities whose values will describe the natural
describe the natural state of a given system
2. a set of equations in the variables above which will describe how the natural state of
the given system changes with time.

For most of the processing systems of interest to a chemical engineer there are only three
such fundamental quantities: mass, energy and momentum. Quite often, though, the

fundamental dependent variables cannot be measured directly and conveniently. In such

cases we select other variables which can be measured conveniently , and when grouped
appropriately they determine the value of the fundamental variables. Thus mass, energy
and momentum can be characterized by variables such as density, concentration,
temperature, pressure, and flow rate. These characterizing variables are called state
variables and their values define the state of a processing system.
The equations the relate the state variables ( dependent variables) to the various
independent variables re derived from application of the conservation principle on the
fundamental quantities and are called state equations.
The principle of conservation of quantity S states that :
the quantity S can be any of the following fundamental quantities :
total mess
mass of individual components
total energy
momentum
Remark. it should be remembered that for the physical and chemical processes we will be
studying, the total mass and total energy cannot be generated from nothing : neither do they
disappear.
Let us review now the forms used most often for the balance equations. Consider the
system shown in figure 4.3. we have :
By convention, a quantity is considered positive if it flows in the system and negative if it
flows out. the state equations with associated state variables constitute the mathematical
model of a process, which yields the dynamic or static behavior of he proess. the applications
of the conservation principle