Modeling and model predictive control of the BioPower combined heat and power (CHP) plant

This paper presents a model predictive control (MPC) strategy for BioGrate boiler, compensating the main disturbances caused by variations in fuel quality such as the moisture content of fuel, and variations in fuel flow. The MPC utilizes models, the fuel moisture soft-sensor to estimate water evaporation, and the fuel flow calculations to estimate the thermal decomposition of dry fuel, to handle these variations, the inherent large time constants, and long time delays of the boiler. The MPC strategy is compared with the method currently used in the BioPower 5 CHP plant. Finally, the results are presented, analyzed and discussed. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.