Design of Robust PI Controller with Decoupler for a Fluid Catalytic Cracking Unit

Abstract

In this work, a decoupling control system is designed for the riser section of the fluid catalytic cracking unit (FCCU). The decentralized control system is implemented on FCCU to estimate the magnitude of the interactions using relative gain array (RGA). Interactions among the loops are minimized by applying the decoupling control strategy to decentralized FCCU. Relative normalized gain array and dynamic relative gain array (dRGA) are computed for the closed-loop FCCU and used to design the decouplers for the process. The advantages of the decoupling control strategy are a simple design and it does not need extensive calculations. This method gives a dynamic decoupler in the form of lead/lag modules with time delays. PI controllers can be designed efficiently for controlling the riser temperature, mass fractions of gasoline, and LPG. The decentralized controller and the decoupling control system performances are studied on the basis of the closed-loop performance of control variables, and it is found that the decoupler performs better. Copyright 2019 American Chemical Society.