PROCESS SIMULATION and CONTROL CENTER

DeltaV and PI Systems

The pilot plants are operated from a modern control room overlooking the three-story, open-bay Unit Operations Lab. Each pilot plant is embedded with adequate instrumentation so that on-line mass and energy balances can be performed around each unit operation, providing a clear window into every step of the process.

The pilot plants are monitored and controlled by the Emerson Process Management DeltaV® control system using their PlantWeb® technologies. The DeltaV system provides operators with a window to the process as well as performance monitoring, process and logic control, and data acquisition capability. The DeltaV system allows our students to study process improvements through on-line control loop tuning, the implementation of feedforward control, Fuzzy logic control, and neural networks.

OSISoft, Inc. donated their PI® system and all of its software tools for long-term data archival, process monitoring, batch and continuous processing management, convenient viewing of batch data, easy access to real-time and archived data, and importing of those data into commonly used third-party desktop applications.

Batch Polymerization Reactor

The 30-gallon batch Polymerization Reactor pilot plant is a jacketed, stirred tank, 316SS reactor rated for temperatures of 0-200oC over the pressure range of full vacuum to 80 psig. Currently, the undergraduate Chemical Engineering students are studying the manufacture of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) through batch polymerization of decamethylcyclopentasiloxane. PDMS is a silicone fluid with many applications in healthcare products industry, for lubrication, and many other uses. This project is made possible through the continuing support and generosity of the Dow Corning Corporation.

Solvent Recovery Unit

The Solvent Recovery Unit (SRU) includes a 30-foot tall, 6-inch diameter distillation column with Koch structured packing and internals. The distillation column with its associated instrumentation, tanks, pumps, and heat exchangers is used to separate ethanol from water. Recent undergraduate studies have been focused on improvements to process stability, applications of advanced process control, and on process optimization.
During the fall of 2004, Foundation Fieldbus® temperature and mass flow meters were installed in the SRU. This new capability allows the students to tightly close mass and energy balances, to monitor the health of the instrument, and to assess the accuracy of each measurement.

Future Plans

Future plans call for an additional integrated pilot plant with multiple processing steps. The first step would be a 100-liter fermentation system. The intermediate fermentation product will be converted into a usable product in a batch reaction system, including crystallization, solids recovery, and drying. A suitable chemical process has yet to be defined.
These additions to the existing pilot plants will allow our engineering students and researchers to investigate chemical manufacturing, process control, and process improvement in the food processing and pharmaceuticals industries.