MODEL PREDICTIVE CONTROL (MPC) AND ITS CURRENT ISSUES IN CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Model predictive control (MPC) is one of the main process control techniques explored in the recent past; it is the amalgamation of different technologies used to predict future control action and future control trajectories knowing the current input and output variables and the future control signals. It can be said that the MPC scheme is based on the explicit use of a process model and process measurements to generate values for process input as a solution of an on-line (real-time) optimization problem to predict future process behavior. There have been a number of contributions in the field of nonlinear model–based predictive control dealing with issues like stability, efficient computation, optimization, constraints, and others. New developments in nonlinear MPC (NMPC) approaches come from resolving various issues, from faster optimization methods to different process models. This article specifically deals with chemical engineering systems ranging from reactors to distillation columns where MPC plays a role in the enhancement of the systems’ performance.