The purpose of this project is to apply an exergy balance to the PPC Hercules plant in Pretoria. The project is done in collaboration with the Eindhoven University of Technology in The Netherlands. The designed controller for this system must be able to control the process over its entire operating range. Given that a linearized model is used for controller design and that a linearized model is dependent on the operating point, it becomes necessary to consider the robustness of the controller. Robustness deals with the ability of a controller to still yield the desired output, despite mismatch between the model and actual process.
Techniques are available to test the robustness of controllers.
These techniques were applied to this case study, which was based on a biotechnological process. The integration of modeling and control know how is achieved by a thorough understanding of the behaviour of components in mixtures, unit operations and process dynamics. An excellent opportunity exists within an educational and research environment to develop and continuously improve tools to extend our understanding of such activities.