Laboratory Exercise No.

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Basic Concepts of Process Dynamics and Control

1. Objective:
The activity aims to understand the basic concepts of process dynamics and control.
2. Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs):
The students shall be able to:
2.1 Determine the input and output in the different chemical processes.
2.2 Provide instrumentation requirements for a chemical process.
2.3 Identify the different process variables in a chemical process.
2.4 Specifiy the controlled variables (CVs), manipulated variables (MVs) and disturbance variables
(DVs) from the different chemical processes.
3. Discussion:
Most chemical processing plants were run essentially manually prior to the 1940s. Only the most
elementary types of controllers were used. Many operators were needed to keep watch on the many
variables in the plant. Large tanks were employed to act as buffers or surge capacities between various
units in the plant. These tanks, although sometimes quite expensive, served the function of filtering out
some of the dynamic disturbances by isolating one part of the process from upsets occurring in another
part.

With increasing labor and equipment costs and with the development of more severe, higher-capacity,
higher-performance equipment and processes in the 1940s and early 195Os, it became uneconomical and
often impossible to run plants without automatic control devices. At this stage feedback controllers were
added to the plants with little real consideration of or appreciation for the dynamics of the process itself.
Rule-of-thumb guides and experience were the only design techniques.

In the 1960s chemical engineers began to apply dynamic analysis and control theory to chemical
engineering processes. Most of the techniques were adapted from the work in the aerospace and electrical
engineering fields. In addition to designing better control systems, processes and plants were developed or
modified so that they were easier to control. The concept of examining the many parts of a complex plant
together as a single unit, with all the interactions included, and devising ways to control the entire plant is
called systems engineering. The current popular “buzz” words artificial intelligence and expert systems
are being applied to these types of studies.

The rapid rise in energy prices in the 1970s provided additional needs for effective control systems. The
design and redesign of many plants to reduce energy consumption resulted in more complex, integrated
plants that were much more interacting. So the challenges to the process control engineer have continued
to grow over the years. This makes the study of dynamics and control even more vital in the chemical
engineering curriculum than it was 30 years ago.

Feedback control. The traditional way to control a process is to measure the variable that is to be
controlled, compare its value with the desired value (the set-point to the controller) and feed the difference
(the error) into a feedback controller that will change a manipulated variable to drive the controlled variable
back to the desired value. Information is thus “fed back” from the controlled variable to a manipulated
variable, as sketched in the figure below.

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Feed-forward control. The basic idea is shown in the figure below .

The disturbance is detected as it enters the process and an appropriate change is made in the manipulated
variable such that the controlled variable is held constant. Thus we begin to take corrective action as soon
as a disturbance entering the system is detected instead of waiting (as we do with feedback control) for the
disturbance to propagate all the way through the process before a correction is made.

4. Resources:
Elementary Principles of Chemical Processes
Process Modeling, Simulation and Control for Chemical Engineers
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5. Procedure:
1. Explain each of the chemical processes that chemical engineers usually encounter in chemical
plants with a corresponding block diagram noting what enters into it and what comes out. Tabulate
your answers in Table 1.

2. Consider the heat exchanger as shown below:

An oil stream passes through the tube side of a tube-in-shell heat exchanger and is heated by condensing
steam on the shell side. The steam condensate leaves through a steam trap ( a device that only liquid to
pass through, thus preventing “blow through” of the steam vapor). To control the temperature of the oil
leaving in the heat exchanger, a thermocouple is inserted in a thermowell in the exit oil pipe. The
thermocouple wires are connected to a “temperature transmitter”, an electronic device that converts the
millivolt thermocouple output into a 4- to20-milliampere “control signal.” The current signal is sent into a
temperature controller, an electronic or digital or pneumatic device that compares the desired temperature
(the “setpoint”) with the actual temperature, and sends out a signal to a control valve. The temperature
controller opens the steam valve more if the temperature is too low and closes it a little if the temperature is
too high.

In order to provide automatic control of some variable in a process, in the above case temperature,
determine the requirements/instrumentation that must be installed in the system. Also, provide explanation
of its role in the automation. Tabulate your answers in Table 2.

3. Consider the simple schematic sketch of the process configuration and its control system, as
shown below:

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Two liquid feeds are pumped into a reactor in which they react to form products. The reaction is exothermic,
and therefore heat must be removed from the reactor. This is accomplished by adding cooling water to a
jacket surrounding the reactor. Reactor effluent is pumped through a pre-heater into a distillation column
that splits it into two product streams.

Identify the different process variables that must be controlled and provide available instrumentation for
each process variable. Tabulate your answers in Table 3.
4. For the heat exchanger in Procedure 2, determine the type of the different variables in the system
as Manipulated Variables (MV), Controlled Variables (CV), Uncontrolled Variables (UV) and Load
Disturbances (LD) or Disturbance Variables (DV). Tabulate your answers in Table 4.

5. For the distillation column in Procedure 3, determine the type of the different variables in the
system as Manipulated Variables (MV), Controlled Variables (CV), Uncontrolled Variables (UV) and
Load Disturbances (LD). Tabulate your answers in Table 4.

6. Consider the schematic diagram of a heat exchanger as shown below:

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A process fluid on the tube side is cooled by cooling water on the shell side, determine the type of the
different variables in the system as Manipulated Variables (MV), Controlled Variables (CV), Uncontrolled
Variables (UV) and Load Disturbances (LD). Tabulate your answers in Table 6.
7. Consider the schematic diagram of continuous-stirred-tank reactor (CSTR) as shown below:

If the reaction is highly exothermic, it is necessary to control the reactor temperature by manipulating the
flow rate of coolant in a jacket or cooling coil. Determine the type of the different variables in the system as
Manipulated Variables (MV), Controlled Variables (CV), Uncontrolled Variables (UV) and Load
Disturbances (LD). Tabulate your answers in Table 7.
8. Consider the thermal cracking furnace as shown below:

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Crude oil is broken down (“cracked”) into a number of lighter petroleum fractions by the heat transferred
from a burning fuel/air mixture. Determine the type of the different variables in the system as Manipulated
Variables (MV), Controlled Variables (CV), Uncontrolled Variables (UV) and Load Disturbances (LD).
Tabulate your answers a Table 8.
9. Consider the schematic diagram of a batch or semi-batch reactor as shown below:

An initial charge of reactants is brought up to reaction conditions, and the reactions are allowed to proceed
for a specified period of time or until a specified conversion is obtained. Batch and semi-batch reactors are
used routinely in specialty chemical plants, polymerization plants ( where a reaction by-product typically is
removed during the reaction), and in pharmaceutical and other bio-processing facilities (where a feed
stream, e.g. glucose, is fed into the reactor during a portion of the cycle to feed a living organism, such as a
yeast or protein). Determine the type of the different variables in the system as Manipulated Variables
(MV), Controlled Variables (CV), Uncontrolled Variables (UV) and Load Disturbances (LD). Tabulate your
answers in Table 9.

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 10. Consider a schematic diagram of a batch digester in a pulp mill as shown below:

Both continuous and semi-batch digesters are used in paper manufacturing to break down wood chips in
order to extract the cellulosic fibers. The end-point of the chemical reaction is indicated by the kappa
number, a measure of lignin content. Determine the type of the different variables in the system as
Manipulated Variables (MV), Controlled Variables (CV), Uncontrolled Variables (UV) and Load
Disturbances (LD). Tabulate your answers in Table 10.

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Course: ECE 006 Laboratory Exercise No.: 1
Group No.: Section: CH42FB1
Group Members: Date Performed: November 11, 2019
Ramirez, Francesca Reane M. Date Submitted: November 18, 2019
Instructor: Engr. Maranan

6. Data and Results:

1.
Table 1. Different Chemical Processes, Its Block Diagram and Explanation

Chemical Process Block Diagram

1 Absorption

Explanation:

Absorption is a mass transfer process in which one or more gases in

a gaseous mixture is transferred into a liquid solvent or a solid. It is
also the most common form of separation of low molecular weight
materials. Absorbers are usually used with strippers to permit the
recovery and recycling of the absorbent.

2 Condensation

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 Explanation:

This is a type of heat exchange used to cool a vapor at a constant

pressure to a temperature sufficiently low as to change the state from
a vapor to a liquid, and to carry away the heat from the vapor-liquid
mixture. The latent heat is removed using a coolant.

3 Crystallization

Explanation:

This is the process of forming crystalline substances from vapor,

solutions, or melts. The crystals formed have highly regular internal
structure called the crystal lattice. The simultaneous formation and
purification of a solid product makes crystallization an important
operation in the industry.

4 Distillation

Explanation:

The separation of liquids by virtue of their difference in boiling points.

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 The process consists of boiling the liquid mixture and condensing
and collecting the vapor.

5 Drying

Explanation:

The removal of moisture or a liquid from a solid in a process that

involves simultaneous heat and mass transfer. The heat is
transferred for evaporation by a combination of conduction,
convection, and radiation.

6 Evaporation

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 Explanation:

The change of state from a liquid to a vapor at a temperature below

the boiling point of the liquid. Evaporation occurs at the surface of the
liquid in which the kinetic energy is sufficient to enable it to leave the
surface as vapor. A heat exchanger device used to concentrate a
solution by boiling. The solution is heated until vapor is released and
removed, leaving behind a more concentrated solution. A drying
process may then follow evaporation and low pressures may be used
for heat-sensitive materials such as milk and other thermally labile
foods.

7 Extraction

Explanation:

A separation process in which a component is selectively removed

by chemical or physical means such as the pressing of seeds to
remove oils.

8 Filtration

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 Explanation:

The filtration process is generally used to separate a suspension

mixture where small solid particles are suspended in liquid or air. In
the case of filtering water, the water is forced through a paper that is
made up of a very fine mesh of fibers. The water that has been run
through the filter is called the filtrate. The particles that are removed
from the water by the filter are called the residue.

9 Flash Vaporization

Explanation:

The rapid separation of a saturated liquid of a single component into

a vapor and a liquid when it passes through a throttling valve to a
lower pressure. As a single-stage vapor–liquid separation process,
the liquid mixture is partially vaporized by heating and reducing the
pressure, allowing the vapor to form at the expense of the liquid
adiabatically. The vapor is allowed to reach equilibrium with a
residual liquid, and the resulting vapor and liquid phases are
separated and removed. It may be operated as either a batch or
continuous process.

10 Heat Exchange/ing

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 Explanation:

A heat exchanger is a device in which energy is transferred from one

fluid to another across a solid surface. Exchanger analysis and
design therefore involve both convection and conduction.
Radioactive transfer between the exchanger and the environment
can usually be neglected unless the exchanger is uninsulated and its
external surfaces are very hot.

11 Stripping

Explanation:

The opposite process to the absorption is generally called as

stripping. The operation of removing absorbed solute from the
solvent is called as stripping. For example the Ammonia is dissolved
in water through the absorption process. The removal of absorbed
Ammonia from the solvent (water) is called as stripping . The
stripping is also called as desorption process.

2.
Table 2. Different Instrumentation Requirements and Its Explanation

Requirements/Instrumentation Explanation

Controller and Control Valve It is an instrument used to control fluid by

varying the size of the flow passage as
directed by a signal from a controller. It
enables the direct control of flow rate of
process quantities like pressure,
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 temperature and the liquid level.

Sensor It performs various tasks of detecting and

monitoring process values in industrial
applications.

Transmitter It is an instrument that receives input from

a connected process sensor, then
converts the sensor signal to an output
signal using a transmission protocol.

Trap It is an instrument that allows liquid to

pass through and prevents the blow
through of the steam vapor.

3.
Table 3. Different Process Variables and Its Instrumentation

Process Variable Instrumentation

Temperature Transmitter, Sensor, Controller

Pressure Transmitter, Sensor, Controller, Condenser

Volume Transmitter, Sensor, Controller

Flow Rate Transmitter, Sensor, Controller, Pumps

4.
Table 4. Types of the different process variables for a heat exchanger

Process Variable MV/CV/UV/LD

oil feed flow rate F LD

oil inlet temperature TO LD

steam flow rate F MV

oil exit temperature T CV

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5.
Table 5. Types of the different process variables for a distillation column

Process Variable MV/CV/UV/LD

feed flow rate LD

feed composition LD

Reflux MV

steam CV

cooling water CV

distillate CV

bottoms flow rates MV

distillate product composition LD

bottoms product composition LD

column pressure MV

base liquid level MV

reflux drum liquid level MV

compositions on all the trays LD

temperatures on all the trays LD

6.
Table 6. Types of the different process variables for a heat exchanger

Process Variable MV/CV/UV/LD

Exit temperature of the process fluid CV

Cooling water flow rate LD

Variation in inlet temperature MV

Process fluid flow rate LD

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7.
Table 7. Types of the different process variables for a continuous-stirred-tank reactor (CSTR)

Process Variable MV/CV/UV/LD

Feed composition LD

Feed flow rate LD

Feed temperature LD

8.
Table 8. Types of the different process variables for a thermal cracking furnace
Process Variable MV/CV/UV/LD

Furnace temperature LD

Amount of excess air in the flue gas LD

Fuel flow rate LD

Fuel/air ratio CV

Crude oil composition CV

Heating quality of the fuel MV

9.
Table 9. Types of the different process variables for a batch or semi-batch reactor
Process Variable MV/CV/UV/LD

Reactor temperature LD

Coolant flow rate LD

End-point (final) concentration of the batch CV

Desired temperature MV

Flow of reactants (for semi-batch MV

operation)

Cycle time LD

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10.
Table 10. Types of the different process variables for a batch digester in a pulp mill

Process Variable MV/CV/UV/LD

End-point (final) concentration of the batch LD

Digester temperature LD

Digester pressure LD

Cycle time LD

7.Conclusion:

In conclusion, the laboratory experiment allowed the student to get acquainted with the different
chemical processes and their instrumentation. The students was also able to specify the controlled,
manipulated, disturbance and load variables from the different chemical processes given in the laboratory.
The basic concepts of process dynamics and control is important to be familiarize with because it is
essential as we continue with the course.

8. Further Readings:
Seborg Dale E., Edgar, Thomas F., and Mellichamp Duncan A. (2004). Process Dynamics and
Control. Singapore: Wiley.
Wiley.
Knopf, F. C. (2012). Modeling, analysis and optimization of process and energy systems.Hoboken,
New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons.
Velten, K. (2009). Mathematical modeling and simulation: introduction for scientists and engineers.
Singapore: Wiley-VCH.

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9. Assessment (Rubric for Laboratory Performance):
TECHNOLOGICAL INSTITUTE OF THE PHILIPPINES
RUBRIC FOR MODERN TOOL USAGE
(Engineering Programs)
Student Outcome (e): Use the techniques, skills, and modern engineering tools necessary for engineering
practice in complex engineering activities.
Program: Chemical Engineering Course: CHE 506 Section: _______ ____Sem SY ________
Performance Unsatisfactory Developing Satisfactory Very Satisfactory Score
Indicators 1 2 3 4
1. Apply Fails to identify Identifies Identifies modern Recognizes the
appropriate any modern modern techniques and is benefits and
techniques, techniques to techniques but able to apply constraints of
skills, and perform fails to apply these in modern
modern discipline- these in performing engineering tools
tools to specific performing discipline-specific and shows
perform a engineering discipline- engineering task. intention to apply
discipline- task. specific them for
specific engineering engineering
engineering task. practice.
task.
2. Demonstrate Fails to apply Attempts to Shows ability to Shows ability to
skills in any modern apply modern apply fundamental apply the most
applying tools to solve tools but has procedures in appropriate and
different engineering difficulties to using modern effective modern
techniques problems. solve tools when solving tools to solve
and modern engineering engineering engineering
tools to problems. problems. problems.
solve
engineering
problems.
3. Recognize Does not Recognizes Recognizes the Recognizes the
the benefits recognize the some benefits benefits and need for benefits
and benefits and and constraints of and constraints of
constraints constraints of constraints of modern modern
of modern modern modern engineering tools engineering tools
engineering engineering engineering and shows and makes good
tools. tools. tools. intention to apply use of them for
them for engineering
engineering practice.
practice.
Total Score
Mean Score = (Total Score / 3)
Percentage Rating = (Total Score / 12) x 100%
Evaluated by: Engr. Crispulo G. Maranan November 11, 2019
Printed Name and Signature of Faculty Member Date
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