International Conference on Chemical, Environmental and Biological Sciences (ICCEBS'2012) Penang, Malaysia

Dynamic Analysis of a CSTR using Aspen Dynamics

SarathBabuAnne andPraveen KumarBommineni

AbstractPresent study is aimed at carrying out dynamic

simulation of a continuous stirred tank reactor using Aspen Dynamics which is useful for finding required control structure to the process, controller parameters, controller interactions and response of the system for various disturbances in feed as well as products.Exothermic reaction of ethylene and benzene carried out in a continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) to form desired product Ethyl benzene and the undesired product diethyl benzene is studied.Two controllers (temperature controller and level controller) are used in the present simulation. Temperature controller maintains the reactor temperature at the set point value by manipulating the coolant temperature. Level controller operates in such a way to maintain liquid level in the reactor according to set point value by manipulating the valve position. The response of the process has been found to be faster in the case when controller with tuned controller parameters compared to that with default parameters. The response of the process was found to be better when controller with Ziegler-Nicholos tuned parameters were used in the case of servo problem, whereas Tyreus-Luyben controller tuning parameters were found to be better in the case of regulatory problem subjected to a ramp disturbance. It has also been observed that disturbance in temperature had effect on reactor liquid level. Contrastingly, disturbance in level had no effect on temperature.

The Ziegler-Nichols(Z-N) closed-loop technique is one of the most popular methods for tuning controllers. This technique gives approximate values for the controllers gain, integral time, and derivative time required to obtain a one quarter amplitude response.The gain that gives these continuous oscillations is called the ultimate gain, K U . The period of the oscillations is called the ultimate period, P U . The following expressions are used to calculate the controller settings from the ultimate gain K U and the ultimate period P U.
TABLE I APPROXIMATE DECAY RATIO SETTINGS: Controller type P PI PID Gain Integral TimeDerivitive Time 0 0 P U /8

0.5K U 1E+06 0.45 K U P U /1.2 0.6K U P U /2

In Tyreus-Luyben (T-L) settings K C =K U /3.2 and I =2.2P U. II. PROBLEM DEFINITION In the present study dynamic simulation of a continuous stirred tank reactor has been carried out using Aspen Dynamics. Required control strategy is developed for the process and controller parameters were tuned using Z-N and T-L settings[5]. Exothermicreaction of Ethylene and Benzene to form desired product Ethyl benzene and an undesired product Diethyl benzene (DEB) is considered[1]. FEED: The two feed streams to the reactor are at 298K and 1 atm: 1) 0.2 kmol/s of pure ethylene and 2) 0.4 kmol/s of benzene. The excess of benzene is used to keep the ethylene concentration low so that the formation of DEB is suppressed. CSTR volume has been taken as 100m3 , and the reactor temperature has been taken as 430 k. The reactions taking place are: C 2 H 4 + C 6 H 6 C 8 H 10 (ethylbenzene) C 2 H 4 + C 8 H 10 C 10 H 14 (di-ethylbenzene) C 6 H 6 + C 10 H 14 2 C 8 H 10 All the reactions occur in liquid phase and are assumed to be irreversible. Temperature in the reactor is the main parameter which needs to be controlled in order to control the product composition. The following two controllers are used:

KeywordsCSTR, Aspen dynamics, Z-N and T-L control

settings.

I. INTRODUCTION

YNAMIC simulation is useful to design the control structure of the process, study the performance of the controllers by subjecting the system to various disturbances and to optimize the control parameters with a view to develop an economic process. PID controller uses ideal algorithm in Aspen Dynamics to determine the controller output [3].

1 OP = Bias + Gain E P + I

E dt +
I

dE D dt

(1)

Where E P -Proportional mode error, E I = Integral mode error E D = Derivative mode error, I = Integral time, D = Derivative time

Sarath BabuAnne is with the National Institute of Technology, Department Of Chemical Engineering, Warangal(phone: (91-870)2462610; email: sarat@nitw.ac.in). Parveen Kumar Bommineniiswith the National Institute of Technology, Department Of Chemical Engineering, Warangal (phone: 91-9703184141; e-mail: pravenbr@gmail.com).

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International Conference on Chemical, Environmental and Biological Sciences (ICCEBS'2012) Penang, Malaysia

1) Temperature controller to maintain reactor temperature at set point value by manipulating medium temperature or heat duty. 2) Level controller to maintain liquid level by opening or closing the valve. III. METHODOLOGY 3.1 Steady State Simulation The steady-state design results can be used to yield valuable information that gives reasonably reliable indications of how effectively the reactor can be dynamically controlled. The first step in simulation is developing the flow sheet by adding the necessary equipment and connecting the input and output streams. All the parts of a flow sheet will be specified (reactor, control valves, and pumps) at this point, so that a dynamic simulation can be performed after the steady-state simulation is completed. In order to carry out only steady-state simulation, pumps and control valves need not be included in the flow sheet.

Dynamic simulation can be carried out based on heat transfer option that has been specified in order to export steady state simulation. Either constant duty or constant temperature can be specified. When constant duty is specified heat duty will be the controller output and when constant temperature is specified controller output will be the temperature. When steady state simulation is exported to Aspen Dynamics, it is required to choose either simple flow driven simulation or rigorous pressure driven dynamic simulation. Pressure driven simulations include pumps and compressors where needed to provide the required pressure drop for material flow. Control valves must be installed where needed, and their pressure drops need to be selected. For flow driven simulations no such arrangements are required. When steady state simulation results are exported to Aspen Dynamics, the default control structures are automatically installed on some control loops. Usually level, pressure and temperature controllers included wherever appropriate. These control loops are modified or even replaced with other suitable control loops available in Aspen Dynamics. The impacts of installing various controllers on reactor control have been studied under dynamic simulation. Possible control structures and controller interactions are observed.
TABLE II DETAILS OF TWO CONTROLLERS Control LC TC ler Type of controller Proportional only Proportional Integral Controlled variable Reactor liquid level Reactor temperature Manipulated variable Valve position Heat duty or medium temp Controller action Direct Reverse Default controller valuesK C =10,T i =60 K C =10,T i =20

Fig. 1Aspen Plus Steady state flow sheet

The key element in temperature control of chemical reactors is to provide sufficient heat transfer area or some other heat removal mechanism so that dynamic disturbances can be safely handled without reactor runaways. Two valves at the inlet of feed streams are installed. These valves are used to manipulate flow rates into the CSTR. Another valve is installed at the outlet which is used to control liquid level in the reactor. These valves are less useful in steady state simulation but when steady state flow sheet is exported to dynamic simulation under pressure driven mode their role comes into picture. After specifying the necessary stream and reactor specifications, the steady state simulation of the reactor can be carried out. In the present simulation Chao-Seader property estimation method has been chosen. When the steady state simulation is exported to dynamic state, it is required to specify the reactor geometry (length or diameter), and mode of heat transfer (constant duty or constant temperature). For an aspect ratio of 2 (i.e., L/D=2), the reactor length has been calculated as 8m for a diameter of 4m.3.2 Dynamic Simulation The steady-state simulation now can be converted into a dynamic simulation mode. Basically the additional information that must be provided is the physical dimensions of all the equipment, and heat transfer options. The design details given from the steady state simulation for different equipment in the flowsheet can be used to achieve this.

Fig. 2Aspen Dynamic state flow sheet with control structure

Direct acting control system increases the output signal as the input signal to the controller increases. On the other hand as the input signal to the control structure increases the output
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International Conference on Chemical, Environmental and Biological Sciences (ICCEBS'2012) Penang, Malaysia

signal from the controller must decrease for the case of reverse acting control strategy. The direct acting control law has negative gain and increase/increase (or decrease/decrease) term is commonly used to represent it. For the reverse action, increase/decrease (or decrease/increase) term is used and controller gain has positive sign[6]. The reactor flow sheet includes two (LC1 and TC) singleinput/single output (SISO) control loops. Therefore this control structure is a multi-input/multi-output (MIMO) or simply multivariable closed loop system. In aspen terminology, the process variable or controlled variable is denoted by PV, the set point is represented by SP and the controller output or control variable or manipulated variable is abbreviated by OP.

3.2.2 Regulatory Performance Step disturbance in feed temperature for both ethylene and benzene streamsgiven and its effect on reactor liquid level, temperature and ethyl benzene purity in product has been studied. 10% and -10% step disturbancesin both feed temperatures are given [2]. In stream specification sheet variable has been changed from fixed to free variable and after changing value again the variable is specified as fixed. Effect of changing the feed streams has been reported in Table-VI. Tuning of Controller(relay auto tuning test) Tuning isessential for all process controllersto obtain optimum controller parameters. By conducting Relay AutoTuning test theultimate gainand ultimate period are calculated[4].For this test, the feedback controller is temporarily replaced by an on-off controller (or relay). After the control loop is closed, the controlledvariable exhibits a sustained oscillation that is characteristic of On-Off controller. The ultimate gain and ultimate period can be obtained from the following. Ultimate period P u is equal to the period of oscillation for the process output.Ultimate gain K u =4d/a where d is relay amplitude set by the user and a is measured amplitude of the process oscillation. IV RESULTS 4.1Steady state Simulation results Steady state simulation results for CSTR are shown in TABLE-III. The mole fraction of ethyl benzene in the product is 0.4741.
Parameter TABLE III STEADY STATE SIMULATION RESULTS Values

1.

Fig. 3 Level controller faceplate

Fig. 4 Temperature controller faceplate

In above diagrams default set point value is the steady state value of the process variable (PV). Reactor liquid level is the PV for level controller and reactor temperature for temperature controller. Bias signal is the output from the controller when the error (SP-PV) is zero. From Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, it can be seen that error is zero for both controllers. Therefore, aspen dynamics has set the value of OP as the bias value. 3.2.1Servo performance Disturbance in reactor liquid level or reactor temperatureare given and effects of the disturbance on process and control loop interactions have been studied. 3.2.1a Servo performance on level controller: A disturbance of +20% and -20% in reactor liquid level is given at time t = 6 hours by changing SP value in level controller faceplate. Response time taken for PV to reach new steady value, effect on temperature of reactor observed. 3.2.1b Servo performance on temperature controller:+10% and -10% disturbances in reactor temperature are given by changing SP value in temperature controller face plate. Response time taken for PV to reach new steady state value, effect on reactor level and duty arereported in Table-V.

Outelet Temperature Heat Duty Reactor volume99.99m3 Residence time

430K -12467358watts 1967 sec

4.2 Dynamic Simulation results Process response has been first studied with default controller parameters for both temperature and level controllers and without any disturbance. Response time for the process variables to reach steady state has been observed. From the results it can be observed that the system response is very poor with the default controller values.

Fig. 5 Temperature controller response with default controller values

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International Conference on Chemical, Environmental and Biological Sciences (ICCEBS'2012) Penang, Malaysia
BLOCKS("R1").Q W -5.e+007 -4.e+007 -3.e+007
BLOCKS("R1").Q W -3.5e+007 -3.e+007 STREAMS("6").T K 440.0 460.0 BLOCKS("R1").T K 420.0 440.0 460.0

460.0

STREAMS("6").Zn("EB") kmol/kmol 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0

STREAMS("6").F kmol/s 0.5 0.55 0.6 0.65 0.7

BLOCKS("R1").level m 5.3 5.4 5.5

S6.F R1.Q

STREAMS("6").F kmol/s 0.7 0.75

BLOCKS("R1").level m 5.3 5.35

5.6

plot1

BLOCKS("R1").T K 420.0 440.0

S6.T R1.T S6.F R1.Q level

400.0

-6.e+007

0.45

R1.T

5.25

0.65

EB mollfraction level

-4.e+007

5.0

5.5

6.0

6.5 7.0 7.5 Time Hours

8.0

8.5

9.0

400.0

5.2

0.4

Fig. 8 Effect of TC disturbamce on different variables(+10% Sp)

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 Time Hours

Fig. 6Response of different variables with default controller values

5.55 Controller Output % 45.0 50.0 55.0 60.0 65.0 70.0 75.0 80.0 85.0 6.0

Process Variable m 5.35 5.4 5.45 5.5

Set Point m 5.25 5.5 5.75

TABLE V RESPONSE TIMES FOR +/-10% STEP DISRURBANCE IN TC SET POINT Parameter Response times(in hours) +10% disturbance -10% disturbance in TC SP in TC SP Reactor Temperature 2 5 Reactor level 2 4 Duty 1.5 2.5

OP
4.4 Regulatory Performance

SP PV

5.25

In order to investigate the regulatory performance of level and temperature controllers at time t=6 hours, +10%step input change in both feed temperatures (from 298K to 330K) was introduced. Response of the process, level and temperature controllers have been given in TABL-V.
TABLE VI RESPONSE TIMES FOR +10%/-10% STEP DISTURBANCE IN FEED TEMPERATURE Parameter Response times(in hours) +10% disturbance -10% disturbance in TC SP in TC SP Reactor Temperature 56 Reactor level 33 Duty 2 4

5.3

Fig. 7 Level controller response with default controller values

TABLE IV CSTR RESULTS Response times(in hours)

Parameter

Reactor Temperature Reactor level Duty

5.0

0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 2.5 3.0 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 Time Hours

5 5 2.5

Temperature controller and Level controller tuned parameters are shown in Table-VI and VII.
TABLE VII TEMPERATURE CONTROLLER TUNED PARAMETERS KC TI KUPU Z-N Settings 11.4 3.5 22 T-l Settings 7.8 10.56

4.3 Servo Performance On Temperature Controller 4.3.a+10% disturbance in TC set point After the controllers reached steady state TC has been subjected to +10% set point disturbance(with default controller parameters) by changing SP in TC faceplate from 430K to 470K at time t=6 hours. Effect of set point disturbance on various parameters has been observed. For this disturbance TC attempts to compensate for changes through manipulation of coolant temperature (controller OP).Disturbance in TC set point has been found toeffect the reactor liquid level which can be observed from the LC plot. Level controller compensates the TC set point disturbance by increasing liquid level in the reactor. And TC set point disturbance also effects the Ethylbenzene purity and total flow rate in the product stream.

4.2

TABLE VIII LEVEL CONTROLLER TUNED PARAMETERS KC TI KU PU Z-N Settings 1200 1E+06 2494 T-l Settings 14701E+06

0.18

4.5 Process responses with tuned control parameters Response of the system with Z-N and T-L control settings for +10%/-10% disturbances in TC set point are given in TABLE-IX and Table-X.

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International Conference on Chemical, Environmental and Biological Sciences (ICCEBS'2012) Penang, Malaysia

TABLE IX RESPONSE TIMES FOR +/-10% STEP DISRURBANCE IN TC SET POINT WITH Z-N
SETTINGS

Parameter

Reactor Temperature Reactor level Duty 1218

Response times( minutes) +10% disturbance -10% disturbance in TC SP in TC SP 1624 --

TABLE -X RESPONSE TIMES FOR +/-10% STEP DISRURBANCE IN TC SET POINT WITH T-L SETTINGS Parameter Response times( minutes) +10% disturbance -10% disturbance in TC SP in TC SP Reactor Temperature 12 Reactor level 10 Duty 10 15

Disturbance in level controller set point (servo problem) has been observed to show no loop interaction. It can be concluded that the process control structure has one-way interaction only. T-L controller tuning parameters have been observed to provide good ramp disturbance rejection settings when compared to Z-N controller tuning parameters. In the case of disturbance in temperature controller set point (Servo problem), Z-N settings provided better response when compared to T-L settings. The regulatory performance of the process subjected to step disturbance has been found to be almost similar with both Z-N and T-L settings. For ve step disturbance in temperature controller set point (servo problem), the process performance is oscillatory, while such oscillatory behavior was absent in the case of +ve step disturbance.

BLOCKS("R1").Q W -8.e+007-6.e+007-4.e+007-2.e+007

STREAMS("6").Zn("EB") kmol/km 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0

BLOCKS("R1").T K 430.0 435.0 440.0

BLOCKS("R1").level m 5.285 5.29

STREAMS("6").F kmol/s 0.6 0.8 1.0

305

305

VI. REFERENCES
[1]
R1.Q

[2]
S6.F level R1.T EB molfraction S1.T S2.T

[3]

0.0 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0 Time Hours

[4] [5]

Fig. 9 Response of different variable with tuned Z-N controller settings for step disturbance in TC Set point
BLOCKS("R1").Q W -4.5e+007 -2.5e+007 34

[6]
BLOCKS("R1").T K 420.0 425.0 430.0 435.0 440.0 445.0 450.0 455.0 STREAMS("6").Zn("EB") kmol/kmol 0.4 0.5 0.6 0.7 0.8 0.9 1.0 STREAMS("1").T K 280.0290.0300.0310.0320.0330.0340.0 STREAMS("6").F kmol/s 0.6 0.8

William L. Luyben, Chemical reactor design and control, John Wiley&sons, 2007. Amia K Jana, Process simulation and control using Aspen dynamics, 2ndedition,2008,PHI Learning private ltd. J. Ingham,I. J. Dunn,E.Heinzle, J. E.Penosil, Chemical Engineering Dynamics, ( An Introduction toModeling and Computer Simulation),2nd Edition, Wiley-VCH. 2000 Karl J. Astrom, Tore Hagglund, PID controllers design theory and tuning, 2nd edition, Instrument Society of America, 1995 Cheres, Parameter estimation of an unstable system with a PID controller in a closed loop configuration, J. Franklin Inst., Automatica, 37, 2005 MassimilianoVeronesiand Antonio Visioli,Performance assessment and retuning of PID controllers for integral processes, IEE proceedings on the CTA, pp. 148, 2009

425.0

BLOCKS("R1").level m 5.281 5.282 5.283

265.0

5.28

0.4

STREAMS("1").T K 285.0

STREAMS("2").T K 280.0 300.0 320.0

STREAMS("2").T K 285.0

R1.T R1.Q S6.F S2.T level EB molfraction S1.T

-6.5e+007

5.28

0.4

2.0

2.5

3.0 Time Hours

3.5

4.0

Fig.10. Response of different variables with tuned T-L controller parameters

VCONCLUSIONS Controllability of an irreversible exothermic reaction is difficult when compared to that of an endothermic reaction. The performance of the process was found to be poor when default controller parameters were used. Tuning the controller parameters has been found to improve the process performance with respect to both Z-N and T-L tests. Disturbance in temperature controller set point (servo problem) has been observed to influence the reactor liquid level, causing loop interaction.

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