Entropy based control and optimization of a three-phase catalytic slurry intensified continuous chemical reactor

This paper focuses on the optimization and control of three-phase continuous chemical reactors. Such processes are widely applied industrially. They are highly nonlinear, multivariable systems. The control strategy that we propose consists in an optimization and control of the system by using a hierarchical two-layer approach. The two-layer approach is a SISO control structure where the optimization layer calculates the set points of the advanced non linear controller that is based on the concavity of the entropy function and the use of thermodynamic availability as Lyapunov function. A knowledge based dynamic model of the process in the case of the catalytic o-cresol hydrogenation reactor is described and closed-loop simulations are provided to illustrate the approach.