Systematic Evaluation of Arduino Open Source for Automation and Control of Chemical Processes

Abstract

Inceptions for chemical process automation are presented in this study. A chemical process demonstrated by neutralization reaction was designed, built, and tested experimentally towards evaluating automation and control algorithms through the Arduino Mega platform. The main objective parameter in this work was selected to be the product pH value, which was evaluated based on several scenarios that targeted various changes in direct and indirect effects. Two main branched ideas were investigated in this study; the first was dealt with the application of Arduino board in the automation of chemical process; the second was dedicated to studying integration of Arduino board in controlling the targeted pH parameter in the product side. Upon examining different automation scenarios, an algorithm was developed to approach the product quality of specific pH and temperature efficiently. The automation algorithm was further developed by integrating the process dynamics and control concepts towards speeding up the pH set point's reach. To make this happen, the pump's speed was corrected and tuned based on the feedback signal from the pH sensor. Consequently, the setpoint was reached in shorter periods, attaining considerable savings in time (≈ 35%). Based on the study outcomes, it is believed that Arduino open source is a challenging and promising low-cost platform, proved useful for mimicking control and automation of chemical processes.