A Scheduling and Nonlinear Model Predictive Control Strategy for Continuous Polymerization Reactors

A novel formulation for addressing planning, scheduling, and control problems in a Methyl-Methacrylate CSTR is presented. Improved optimal solutions can be obtained by using a simultaneous solution approach where the interactions among these problems are explicitly taken into account, in contrast with the classical sequential or decoupled way to address it. In previous works a cyclic production strategy for addressing production patterns has been used. For real-time implementation an extended-horizon production strategy has been used. Moreover, the open-loop optimal dynamic transition trajectories among target polymerization grades are closed-loop implemented using a Nonlinear Model Predictive Control strategy for dealing with disturbance rejection and set-point tracking issues.