Backstepping design of composition cascade control for distillation columns

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AbstractAlthough the cascade control of distillation columns had been extensively studied, some aspects still remain unexplored or unresolved. For instance, a unifying approach is needed to systematize the existing ad hoc controller constructions, to rigorously explain their remarkably robust property in using rather simple input‐output linear models, and to explore the possibility of improving their construction and functioning. Some of these problems are addressed by the recently developed backstepping‐passivation approach in constructive nonlinear control, yielding a systematic controller construction coupled to a simple tuning scheme that can be executed with standard tuning rules, a closed‐loop stability criterion, an explanation of the closed‐loop dynamics behavior, and controllers that perform better than existing ones. The applicability of the theoretical results and their controller construction‐tuning schemes are illustrated by considering the single‐ and dual‐point control cases of a binary acetone‐ethanol distillation column.