A Theory-Guided Advanced Regulatory Control Synthesis for Cooling-Limited Exothermic Semi-Batch Reactors

Abstract

This paper studies theory-guided advanced regulatory control (ARC) synthesis for cooling-limited exothermic semi-batch reactors, whose productivity and thermal safety are governed by changing active constraints. Industrial ARC uses feedback loops, cascades, selectors, feedforward/override logic, and valve-position elements, but signal selection, pairing, interconnection, and tuning remain heuristic. Nonlinear model predictive control (NMPC) gives a systematic constrained-operation workflow, but requires a maintained nonlinear model, state estimator, and online optimizer. We combine finite-horizon minimum-time optimality with local safety analysis to develop a systematic analysis-to-architecture ARC synthesis workflow for cooling-limited semi-batch reactors. Under stated assumptions, the workflow translates boundary-seeking optimality into a cooling-demand valve-position-control (VPC) architecture and translates local safety requirements into near-boundary tuning rules. On a reduced benchmark and an industrial-scale polymerization, ARC is nominally competitive with an implemented nominal-model output-feedback nonlinear model predictive control (OF-NMPC) benchmark using extended Kalman filter (EKF) state estimation. In the studied adverse parameter mismatch and unmodeled fault scenarios, ARC keeps temperature-limit violation at 0%, whereas OF-NMPC either violates the limit or fails to complete the batch.