Dynamic Modeling and Plantwide Control of a Production Process for Biodiesel and Glycerol

Abstract

Biodiesel production comprises several interconnected process steps with complex dynamic behavior. Dynamic plant modeling and simulation enhance process understanding and enable model-based control. We present a modular and rigorous dynamic model for biodiesel and glycerol production by alkali-catalyzed oil transesterification. We share the implemented model in Modelica open-source. Moreover, we implement two plantwide control (PWC) structures, where we assume the availability of information-rich measurements in the first and only conventional measurements in the second. To study the process dynamic behavior, we investigate several disturbance scenarios, demonstrating the importance of the plantwide perspective. The PWC structure based on an information-rich configuration shows satisfactory control performance, whereas the other fails to always satisfy product quality requirements, underlining the importance of developing dynamic models for advanced control and estimation techniques. Moreover, the model can be used as a digital twin for industrial plants as well as for model-based control and estimation applications.