PROCESS CONTROL

Process control

Process control is a mixture between the statistics and engineering discipline that deals with the mechanism, architectures, and algorithms for controlling a process.

• Structure of chemical process plant is very complex
• Any chemical plant consists of various process units which are inter connected with one another in a systematic manner
• The main objective of any plant is to convert certain raw materials into the desired product using available sources of energy
• Other objectives- safety, product specification, environmental regulations, operation constraints, economics
• These all these parameters are controlled by an arrangement of various equipment like measuring devices, valves, controller

Examples of controlled processes are:
1. Controlling the temperature of a water stream by controlling the amount of steam added to the shell of a heat exchanger.

2. Operating a jacketed reactor isothermally by controlling the mixture of cold water and steam that flows through the jacket of a jacketed reactor.

3. Controlling the height of fluid in a tank to ensure that it does not overflow.