CHAPTER 5- Elements of Process Control

5.1 Introduction
Process control is the organization of activities with the purpose of:
1. Maintaining certain variables of a process (such as temperatures, pressures,
concentrations, fl ow rates etc.) within specifi ed limits
or
2. Changing said variables according to a preset program.
The activities of type (a) are called regulation activities. Those of type 2 are servo
activities.
The objectives of process control are, among others:
1. To enhance the reliability of the process
2. To improve process safety
3. To increase production
4. To reduce the proportion of production units which do not meet the specifi cations
5. To improve process economics, by reducing production cost.

5.3 Basic Control Structures

In classical process control, there are two basic control structures: feedback control
and feed-forward control ( Stephanopoulos, 1983 ).

5.3.1 Feedback control

Consider the simplifi ed control system of a milk pasteurization line ( Figure 5.3 ).
The control objective in this case is to secure that the milk is heated to the correct
pasteurization temperature. Automatic control is achieved in the following way:
1. A thermometer measures the temperature of the milk coming out of the heat
exchanger and sends to the controller a measurement signal
2. The controller compares the measurement value with the desired value and
determines the error. A correction signal is sent to the steam valve
3. The correction signal causes the valve to open or to close. As a result, the steam
fl ow rate to the heat exchanger is increased or reduced. Consequently, the temperature
of the milk exiting
the heat exchanger
changes in the appropriate direction.

4. The thermometer sends to the controller a measurement signal which constitutes

the feedback from the process to the controller.

This type of closed-loop control structure is called feedback control . This is the
most common structure in food process industry.

5.3.2 Feed-forward control

Consider the same pasteurizer with a different control system, as shown in Figure 5.4 .
 1. The thermometer measures the temperature of the milk entering the heat
exchanger and sends a measurement signal to the controller. (The measured
variable can be the temperature, the fl ow rate or both)
2. In the light of the measurement signal from the sensor, the controller calculates
(or rather, predicts) the temperature of the milk at the outlet of the pasteurizer.
In this case, the calculation involves material and energy balances and knowledge
of parameters such as the coeffi
cient
of heat transfer and the area of the
heat
exchange
surface.
The
difference
between
the predicted

temperature and
the
set point is the error

3. A correction signal is sent to the steam valve and operates the valve, according
to the error. There is no feedback to the controller.
This type of control is known as feed-forward or predictive control . Its use in the
food industry is much less widespread.