Nonlinear MIMO Control of a Continuous Cooling Crystallizer.

In this work, a feedback control algorithm was developed based on geometric control theory. A nonisothermal seeded continuous crystallizer model was used to test the algorithm. The control objectives were the stabilization of the third moment of the crystal size distribution (μ₃) and the crystallizer temperature (T); the manipulated variables were the stirring rate and the coolant flow rate. The nonlinear control (NLC) was tested at operating conditions established within the metastable zone. Step changes of magnitudes ±0.0015 and ±0.5°C were introduced into the set point values of the third moment and crystallizer temperature, respectively. In addition, a step change of ±1°C was introduced as a disturbance in the feeding temperature. Closed-loop stability was analyzed by calculating the eigenvalues of the internal dynamics. The system presented a stable dynamic behavior when the operation conditions maintain the crystallizer concentration within the metastable zone. Closed-loop simulations with the NLC were compared with simulations that used a classic PID controller. The PID controllers were tuned by minimizing the integral of the absolute value of the error (IAE) criterion. The results showed that the NLC provided a suitable option for continuous crystallization control. For all analyzed cases, the IAEs obtained with NLC were smaller than those obtained with the PID controller. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]