Control structure design for the ammonia synthesis process

This paper discusses the application of the plantwide control design procedure of Skogestad [Skogestad, S. (2004a). Control structure design for complete chemical plants. Computers and Chemical Engineering, 28, 219–234] to the ammonia synthesis process. Three modes of operation are considered: (I) given feed rate, (IIa) maximum throughput, and (IIb) “optimized” throughput. Two control structures, one for Mode I and another for Mode IIb, are proposed. In Mode I, it is proposed to keep constant purge rate and compressor powers. There is no bottleneck in the process, and thus there is no Mode IIa of operation. In Mode IIb, the compressors are at their maximum capacity and it is proposed to adjust the feed rate such that the inert concentration is constant. The final control structures result in good dynamic performance.