Model Predicitve Control of First Order Hyperbolic PDE Systems

Most of the process control algorithms in practice are based on the finite dimensional control theory. However, many chemical processes are described by partial differential equations (PDE's) and are infinite dimensional in nature due to spatial variation. Especially when the convection is dominant and thus diffusion can be ignored, chemical processes that are described by a system of first order hyperbolic PDE's. Such processes include tubular reactors, fixed bed reactors and pressure swinging adsorption. Conventionally such infinite dimensional systems described by PDE's are controlled by finite dimensional controllers that are designed through finite dimensional reduction of the process m...