Model predictive control of a fixed-bed reactor with nonlinear quality inference

A generic model predictive control framework has been proposed for a fixed-bed reactor with exothermic reaction. The proposed framework can conduct nonlinear inferential control of a product concentration together with linear multivariable control of bed temperatures. In addition, the framework can accommodate the multi-rate sampling and analysis delay caused by the product measurement. Performance of the proposed technique has been demonstrated with a non-adiabatic fixed bed reactor model producing maleic anhydride under various operating scenarios.